Chapter Sixty-Four: The Dominance of Thunder and Flame

"Knock, knock—"

A burst of knocking echoed through the room.

Sitting cross-legged in meditation, Gu Weiyu abruptly opened her eyes. "Who is it?"

"Young Master Hu, my lord requests your presence," came the respectful voice of Sanshui, Chu Liuxing's personal attendant, from outside the door.

"You go ahead, I'll come at once," Gu Weiyu replied.

"Yes, Young Master Hu." The sound of Sanshui's footsteps faded into the distance as Gu Weiyu rose from her meditation cushion.

Last night, she had studied the Heaven-Thunder Ninefold Pill Refining Method for more than an hour and pored over the Complete Compendium of Spirit Herbs left by Ancestor Qiyu until her head swam with exhaustion.

Thinking of the awkward situation she might soon face, she sighed inwardly but stood and made her way to Chu Liuxing's neighboring courtyard.

"You've finally come, Yu!" Chu Liuxing greeted her with warmth, taking her hand and leading her out of the courtyard. "My father wishes to meet you."

Just as she had expected, this day had come. Chu Liuxing's father was the branch master of the Treasure Pavilion—a man not easily deceived. The thought alone made her scalp tingle.

But the arrow was already nocked; there was no turning back now.

Chu Liuxing led Gu Weiyu along the winding corridors back to the front hall of the Treasure Pavilion.

"Father, I've brought Yu!" Chu Liuxing announced as he brought her to a refined private room on the pavilion's second floor.

Gu Weiyu instinctively glanced up at the room before quickly averting her eyes.

Inside sat a middle-aged man in a dark red robe. He had a prosperous air about him, and when he saw Chu Liuxing, his expression softened with paternal affection.

"You must be Hu Xiaoyu?" Chu Nanhe's gaze landed on Gu Weiyu, appraising her unobtrusively. He knew his son was spoiled and fond of befriending all sorts of questionable characters.

Gu Weiyu stiffened. No wonder this man was the branch master of the Treasure Pavilion—his oppressive presence washed over her, draining the color from her face.

"Father, what are you doing?" Though Chu Liuxing could be rather careless, he wasn't stupid; he quickly realized that something was wrong with Gu Weiyu.

"What pills are you able to refine?" Chu Nanhe saw Gu Weiyu straighten her back and remain composed, nodded slightly in approval, withdrew his spiritual pressure, and his tone became much gentler.

Here it comes! Gu Weiyu knew the critical moment had arrived.

"I can refine the Rejuvenation Pill and the Spirit Supplement Pill, but... my success rate isn't very high," she answered with some reluctance.

"Good. Later, you will collect ten sets of spirit herbs for the Rejuvenation Pill and ten for the Spirit Supplement Pill. The pills you produce must be sold to our Treasure Pavilion. You may also use our alchemy room," Chu Nanhe said, then waved his hand, clearly too busy to waste time.

Gu Weiyu bowed respectfully and followed Chu Liuxing out of the room to collect the necessary herbs. "Don't worry about your success rate, Yu. With your brother here, everything will be fine," Chu Liuxing assured her.

Gu Weiyu felt a warm surge in her heart at his words, secretly resolving to treat this task with utmost seriousness—she must not waste these precious spirit herbs.

Chu Liuxing wanted to escort her to the alchemy room himself, but Gu Weiyu declined. "Brother Chu, let Sanshui guide me. That will be enough."

It was a minor matter, and Chu Liuxing had other things to attend to, so he didn't insist.

The Treasure Pavilion's alchemy room.

Gu Weiyu sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion, savoring the dense spiritual energy around her. After just one cycle of breathing, she found cultivation here much faster than in Qin Prefecture.

She told herself silently that she must do her utmost to stay in Danyang City.

Last night, she had made up her mind: she would strive to improve her alchemy skills without neglecting her cultivation. From now on, she wouldn't sleep at night but dedicate all those hours to training. After all, sleep wasn't essential for cultivators.

Once more, she reviewed the methods for refining the Rejuvenation Pill and Spirit Supplement Pill with the Heaven-Thunder Ninefold technique until she knew them by heart, then opened her eyes.

She took a set of herbs for the Rejuvenation Pill from her storage pouch and approached the alchemy furnace.

Following the correct sequence, she sat before the furnace, extended her spiritual sense to her dantian, and carefully drew out a wisp of Heaven-Thunder Flame, intending to place it in the furnace.

Within less than three seconds, the Heaven-Thunder Flame sputtered out before it could even leave her dantian.

Startled, Gu Weiyu tried again, this time with even more care. Finally, she succeeded in guiding the flame into the furnace.

But just as she breathed a sigh of relief, crackling noises erupted from within. Her heart skipped a beat—the Heaven-Thunder Flame had gone out again.

Had she damaged the furnace with her flame?

She examined the furnace inside and out with her spiritual sense, only to discover that the interior was nearly scorched black by the Heaven-Thunder Flame.

What now? Suddenly, she remembered the small jade-green furnace she had stored away—the very one Ancestor Qiyu had used. Surely it could withstand the Heaven-Thunder Flame.

With a thought, the jade alchemy furnace appeared before her.

She infused it with spiritual energy, and the palm-sized furnace instantly expanded to over a person's height.

Gu Weiyu steadied herself, then carefully guided the Heaven-Thunder Flame into the jade furnace.

Success?

Watching the wisp of dark violet flame silently dancing inside, she finally relaxed.

Next, it was time to use the Heaven-Thunder Flame to refine the spirit herbs.

She took out an essential herb for the Rejuvenation Pill—Scarlet Spring Grass—and gently placed it in the furnace.

Having learned from her earlier blunder, Gu Weiyu was especially cautious. She guided a trace of Heaven-Thunder Flame onto the Scarlet Spring Grass. Whoosh—

The flame suddenly flared, engulfing the entire herb, and then... nothing remained.

Inside the jade furnace, the Scarlet Spring Grass had been reduced to ashes.

Gu Weiyu was utterly bewildered. Hadn't Ancestor Qiyu said the Heaven-Thunder Flame could increase the pill's success rate?

But the flame was so fierce, it had burned the herb to cinders! How was she supposed to make pills like this?

"Fool, your spiritual sense is far too crude!" came the scornful voice of Little Book in her mind.

Gu Weiyu's eyes brightened at the sound. "Little Book, can you teach me how to refine spirit herbs for the Rejuvenation Pill?"

"That's simple! If you follow my instructions, refining a first-tier Rejuvenation Pill is child's play," Little Book replied, full of pride.

Delighted, Gu Weiyu urged, "Little Book, please teach me quickly!"

"When refining spirit herbs, first use your spiritual sense to thoroughly familiarize yourself with the herb. Only then, during refinement, can you avoid the slightest error..." Little Book began to explain, chattering away with sharp precision.

Gu Weiyu listened, her eyes shining, as if a pair of hands had parted the clouds before her, revealing the true path of alchemy.

Following Little Book's instructions, she took out another herb.

This time, she didn't rush but closed her eyes and used her spiritual sense to observe every detail of the herb.

"Begin!"

Once more, Gu Weiyu guided the Heaven-Thunder Flame to refine the spirit herb.

Under her careful control, the flame wrapped gently around the herb, burning away the excess impurities and preserving only its purest essence.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but eventually, a lump of emerald-green medicinal liquid gradually formed inside the jade furnace.

Gu Weiyu opened her eyes and, seeing the glowing medicine within, broke into a radiant smile.