Master, don't tease me, you can't handle three of them.

Five years later.

"collapse--"

A loud bang came from one of the alchemy rooms, but the people outside were no longer surprised.

"Looks like Uncle Jing has exploded again." A disciple cracked sunflower seeds, his face blank.

"Sigh, how many alchemy furnaces are there this month?"

"If you ask me, if you don't have the talent for alchemy, then don't bother practicing it. Wouldn't it be better to focus on cultivation?"

"If you're so capable, go and say it to your martial uncle."

The group was chatting happily and didn't notice that Jing Shu had already come out.

Jing Shu ignored what they were saying, his mind filled with the scene of refining pills just now.

The refining temperature of the June Snow was still too high, causing it to lose its harmonizing properties. The medicinal properties of the other herbs could not be integrated, which led to the furnace explosion. Next time, try lowering the temperature a little.

Jing Shu sighed. Although his Light Spirit Root could detect the state of plants and find the most suitable temperature, his control over fire was too poor.

"Senior brother!" A little pink dumpling bounced into Jing Shu's arms, interrupting his thoughts.

"Meng'er, why did you come down?" Jing Shu caught Gu Meng and asked in confusion.

"Master told me to call you back! Our eldest senior brother is back!" Gu Meng said, stretching out her chubby arm to reveal a delicate silver bracelet. "Look! A gift from our eldest senior brother!"

A spatial bracelet? Jing Shu glanced at it; the quality was quite good. It seemed that this senior brother was a decent person.

"Senior brother, did you blow up the furnace again?"

"How did you know?" He clearly used a cleansing spell.

"Hehe, senior brother, your clothes have so many holes burned in them, it's hard for Meng'er not to notice."

There was a small burn hole on Jing Shu's shoulder, and Gu Meng stuck her little finger in it and hooked it out.

"Thorn-"

Jing Shu paused in his steps.

Gu Meng felt a chill run down his spine.

"Ancient Dream!"

Gu Meng swallowed hard. "Senior brother, you actually look quite good in off-the-shoulder clothes... Senior brother! No! Don't spank me! I was wrong! I won't do it again!"

The two returned to Cold Peak via the magic array.

Jing Shu put Gu Meng down and said, "You go to Master first, I'll go back and change my clothes."

Gu Meng rubbed her slapped bottom, still looking indignant. As soon as she was put down, she took off running, shouting as she ran, "Senior Brother! Your junior sister is being bullied!"

Hey! This little brat! Jing Shu laughed in anger, used his spiritual power to teleport behind Gu Meng, and was about to grab Gu Meng's collar when a sharp wind blade blocked Jing Shu's path.

Jing Shu reacted quickly, taking a step back to dodge the wind blades. Then, several more wind blades slashed out, which Jing Shu barely managed to avoid. However, the holes in his clothes were torn bigger and bigger by the wind.

As Gu Meng ran, she suddenly fell into a strong and firm embrace, and then a pleasant male voice came from above her head, "Junior Sister, don't be afraid. With me here, no one will dare to bully you."

Gu Meng turned around and saw Jing Shu being beaten and forced to retreat. She hurriedly said, "Senior Brother! Don't hit him! He's Second Senior Brother! We were just playing around!"

What? Shi Chuan was stunned. A slight fluctuation appeared in the spiritual power in his hand. On the other side, the wind blade that was fighting with Jing Shu suddenly became stronger and slashed fiercely at Jing Shu.

"Oh no!" Shi Chuan realized what was happening. "Junior brother! Get out of the way!"

Jing Shu looked at the wind blade that was so close at hand and suddenly stopped moving.

"Brother!"

"Little junior brother!"

The ice and snow stirred up by the wind blades blocked their view, so they didn't see that an ice wall suddenly appeared in front of Jing Shu, blocking the attack for him.

As the snow melted away, Shi Chuan breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Jing Shu unharmed. However, the sound coming from behind him immediately made him tense up again.

"Shi Chuan, you still haven't fully mastered the wind attribute spiritual power."

"Master..." Shi Chuan said listlessly, bowing his head to receive instruction.

Gu Meng had already slipped out of his arms and run off to find Jing Shu.

"Waaaaah, senior brother, I'm so sorry!"

Gu Meng snotted and cried, smearing it all over Jing Shu's clothes.

Jing Shu was speechless, but managed a weak smile. He pressed Gu Meng's head down and pushed it away, saying, "Don't cry, your senior brother doesn't blame you."

Having finally gotten rid of Gu Meng, Han Luo came over and said, "You could have dodged that last attack."

Jing Shu adjusted his sleeve, which Gu Meng had almost ripped off, and said, "I just finished refining pills and I'm out of spiritual energy. Master, could I change my clothes first?"

Han Luo then took a closer look at Jing Shu. His clothes were covered with black holes of various sizes, charred and torn by the wind blades. The most noticeable tear was on his shoulder. Jing Shu had tried to pull his clothes up, but they were still slipping down, revealing his smooth shoulder.

"It's...quite novel," Han Luo commented.

"..." Jing Shu rolled up his sleeves and hurriedly walked away.

Oh ho, she's getting shy now. Han Luo raised an eyebrow and returned to the hall with her other two disciples.

After changing his clothes, Jing Shu returned to the three of them.

"Junior brother, I almost hurt you, I'm so sorry," Shi Chuan said apologetically from the side.

Jing Shu shook his head. "It's alright, Senior Brother."

Shi Chuan took out a storage ring and handed it to Jing Shu. "I heard from Master that you like alchemy. Here are all kinds of spiritual plants that I collected outside, I'm giving them to you."

Jing Shu didn't stand on ceremony and immediately took back his storage bag. "Thank you, Senior Brother."

After the two exchanged pleasantries, Han Luo tossed Jing Shu a jade slip, saying, "You need to go down the mountain to do your mission tomorrow."

"Yes."

The Cloud Burial Sect assigns tasks to disciples who have reached the third level of Qi Refining based on their difficulty, for them to gain experience. However, Jing Shu's situation is special, and the sect has not made any mandatory requirements for him.

Gu Meng, who was eating peach blossom pastries nearby, immediately raised her hand upon hearing this, "Me! I want to go with my senior brother too!"

Han Luo glanced at Gu Meng and said indifferently, "You're not good enough."

Instantly, Gu Meng's eyes filled with tears, her voice soft, as if concealing all her grievances, "I... I've never left the sect since I can remember. Senior brothers can go out and play, why can't I?"

Gu Meng felt extremely wronged, and tears streamed down her face. The peach blossom pastry in her hand no longer smelled good.

Jing Shu sighed, walked up to Gu Meng, wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, and then took her hand, carefully wiping away the crumbs stuck to it. He comforted her, saying, "Senior brother needs to go out and gain experience to broaden his horizons and improve his cultivation. Meng'er is still too young to cultivate, and senior brother doesn't have enough power to protect her right now. When senior brother becomes stronger, he'll take Meng'er out to play, okay?"

Gu Meng lowered her head and stopped crying, her little shoulders trembling, which made Shi Chuan feel a little sorry for her.

“Master, how about I take Junior Sister out of the sect? I can protect her and won’t interfere with Junior Brother’s mission,” Shi Chuan suggested.

Upon hearing this, Han Luo looked at Shi Chuan and asked, "You've completely mastered your spiritual power?"

Shi Chuan hesitated for a moment, then weakly said, "Protecting Junior Sister is enough..."