Chapter 15: Preparing to Set Out for the Alchemy Peak

Cao Xuan heard a familiar voice, turned around, and indeed saw Chen Qianru.

She smiled sweetly. “Senior Brother Cao, we meet again!”

The disciple at the Missions Hall, originally noticing Chen Qianru’s simple blue dress without the cloud-pattern trim, was just about to say, “You’re only a prospective outer disciple—can’t you see I’m serving an outer disciple here?”

Yes, the cultivation world was just this pragmatic.

But upon seeing that Chen Qianru actually knew this outer disciple, the words at the tip of his tongue changed instantly: “Please wait a moment, I’ll check for you both.”

There was nothing to be done; although there was only a single word’s difference between a prospective outer disciple and a true outer disciple, their strength differed, and so did the tasks they could complete.

While the Missions Hall disciple was searching, Cao Xuan asked, “Junior Sister Chen, are you also interested in joining the Alchemy Peak?”

Chen Qianru’s heart leapt with joy; she hadn’t expected such luck today, to run into Senior Brother Cao Xuan.

Recently, Lin Miaoxuan and Cao Xuan, though both had advanced to the outer sect, had not received individual cave dwellings yet, since their promotion did not coincide with the sect’s assessment period, so they remained in their original lodgings.

Cao Xuan’s former roommate had advanced last year, so he’d lived alone for half a year, while Lin Miaoxuan and Chen Qianru still shared a place.

She had watched Lin Miaoxuan consume pills that Cao Xuan provided and cultivate with the three jade slips he’d gifted her—and she couldn’t help but feel envious.

While she toiled from dawn till dusk, Lin Miaoxuan could already focus on her cultivation in a comfortable cave dwelling.

Of course, she understood this situation wouldn’t last; Senior Brother Cao couldn’t possibly provide Lin Miaoxuan with pills every day.

But she had already seen the benefits of being “supported.”

It wasn’t about scarcity, but about inequality. Holding the two jade slips Cao Xuan had given her, Chen Qianru was all the more eager to strengthen her connection with him.

Though she had already selected an Alchemy Peak task at the Missions Hall, she had come forward just for a chance to speak with him.

Her voice was soft and gentle. “Yes. Ever since Senior Brother Cao gave me those two jade slips on alchemy, I’ve been studying them day and night. I’ve made up my mind to become an alchemist.”

“But as you know, Senior Brother, until we reach the seventh layer of Qi Refining and become inner disciples, before we can choose to join Alchemy Peak, we can only study and practice on our own.”

“That’s why I wanted to take missions from the sect, to get a head start in understanding the work at Alchemy Peak.”

Hearing this, Cao Xuan nodded.

Indeed, that was also why he had come to the Missions Hall. But unlike Chen Qianru, who only wanted to learn more about Alchemy Peak in advance, he intended to start alchemy directly.

Soon, while the Missions Hall disciple was searching, the two began chatting amiably.

Because she admired him, Chen Qianru was very proactive.

Cao Xuan found the conversation pleasant. Having read many humorous stories online in his previous life, he always kept the conversation lively. From time to time, novel perspectives would make Chen Qianru laugh so hard she nearly doubled over.

At that moment, Chen Qianru thought Senior Brother Cao wasn’t just powerful and wealthy at a young age—he was also witty and charming, the perfect candidate for a cultivation partner.

Meanwhile, Cao Xuan smiled as he glanced at the notification on his system panel.

[Ding~ Chen Qianru’s favorability +5]
[Ding~ Chen Qianru’s favorability +10]
[…]
[Ding~ Chen Qianru’s current favorability: 70]

From their very first meeting, thanks to Lin Miaoxuan, Chen Qianru had a favorable impression of him. When he gifted her the two jade slips, her favorability score had already jumped to 50. Now, in just a few minutes, it had soared to 70.

“If I keep this up and reach 90, I’ll get a chance at the lucky draw. Who knows, maybe I’ll win a talent that can improve my spiritual roots!”

Cao Xuan thought to himself. Through using pills, he’d realized just how poor his own aptitude was. Unfortunately, with his current status, he had no access to resources that could boost his spiritual roots.

“It’s just a possibility. The main focus should still be on increasing cultivation. For now, I’ll have to rely on pills to improve!”

He had a clear goal: acquire resources, take pills, and advance his cultivation!

Just then, the Missions Hall disciple finished searching. “Senior Brother, there are 117 Alchemy Peak missions suitable for outer disciples and 371 for prospective outer disciples. My recommendations are…”

As the dominant sect in the province, Azure Cloud Sect gathered people from all over, with tens of thousands of disciples. That number only concerned the outer disciples. Cao Xuan only knew that each peak’s leader was a cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment, and the sect master was a formidable Golden Core expert; as for the rest, he hadn’t learned much, having only recently become an outer disciple himself.

So, despite there being 117 Alchemy Peak missions suitable for outer disciples, compared to the vast number of sect missions, it was a paltry amount.

The Missions Hall disciple said a bit apologetically, “Most Alchemy Peak missions have specific requirements. I suggest you take a look at these.”

Unlike general missions that only required a certain cultivation level, Alchemy Peak tasks often had additional conditions: recognizing a hundred types of medicinal herbs, experience with herb processing, mastery of a gentle fire-control technique, and other alchemy-related skills.

To put it bluntly, it was all about whether you had the talent for alchemy.

The Missions Hall disciple had initially been respectful and searched carefully, but regretted it afterwards. He couldn’t very well say, “Senior Brother, you lack the talent for these missions.” So he simply suggested they “take a look,” since some tasks had lower requirements—if you had enough cultivation and were willing to work hard, you could take them.

Chen Qianru had already done her research and chosen in advance, though she pretended to be making her selection on the spot.

“Senior Brother, I’m familiar with harvesting spiritual herbs, so I’ll take the mission from Steward Zhang at Alchemy Peak to pick herbs from the Xuan-grade fields.”

Cao Xuan nodded. That mission did require experience—without knowing the proper harvesting technique, the medicinal properties could easily be lost. Steward Zhang was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and the spiritual herbs in the Xuan-grade fields under his care were especially valuable. Without at least two years of experience in the Spirit Herb Valley, a prospective outer disciple would not be up to the task.

After accepting the mission and verifying her identity token, Chen Qianru was authorized immediately, and the Missions Hall disciple became a touch more respectful.

A direct pass meant Chen Qianru truly had experience.

Cao Xuan, aiming for alchemy, eventually chose an assignment posted by Steward Ye, recruiting alchemy assistants—primarily helping process herbs to save time for the alchemists.

“I’ll take this mission.”

“Very well, Senior Brother. Please show your identity token.”

The Missions Hall disciple was respectful, but his expression quickly turned awkward.

“Uh, Senior Brother, perhaps you’d like to pick another task.”

“This one requires experience in herb processing…”

He sounded apologetic—Cao Xuan had never done this sort of task before, so unlike Chen Qianru, he couldn’t be approved immediately.

“No problem. I do have experience with processing medicinal herbs.”