Chapter 82: The Pupil Surpasses the Master

Within her sea of consciousness, her spiritual sense grew strand by strand, and her awareness had more than doubled in size compared to when she was at the first stage.

The Little Green Book lounged leisurely, its pages turning noiselessly by themselves as it floated in the vast spiritual sea. "Master, now that your sea of consciousness has grown, it's truly a delight to be here..."

Gu Weiyu was wholly absorbed in the Nine Divine Refinement Arts, paying no heed to its words.

"So boring. When will my master's sea of consciousness truly become an ocean?" The Little Green Book glanced around with faint disdain—this place was so crude!

"If you don’t want to stay, then come out," Gu Weiyu said coolly, opening her eyes slowly. Did it think she was unaware of its little schemes?

"Hehe, Master, you’re overthinking it!" The Little Green Book replied obsequiously.

"Hmph!" With a snort, Gu Weiyu rose from her meditation cushion. Outside, daylight had already filled the world. She took up her wooden sword and began to practice outside the Carefree Abode.

The Daoist Jade Ling watched with her spiritual sense as that small figure trained outside the abode and felt a quiet satisfaction. This child was truly diligent!

Gu Weiyu first went through the sword forms taught by her ancestor to warm up. After a quarter of an hour, she began practicing the first form of the Thunder Sword.

The Twelve Forms of the Thunder Sword required the cultivator to draw out thunder spiritual energy and shape it into sword techniques. This demanded the most precise control—one misstep could be disastrous...

Watching the rampaging thunder energy wreak havoc across her body, the hair on Gu Weiyu’s head stood straight up, quivering uncontrollably. She couldn’t help but curse inwardly at this damned thunder energy!

When the spiritual energy finally calmed, she quickly cast a Purification Spell on herself, and her hair finally settled back down.

Within half an hour, Gu Weiyu was repeatedly "baptized" by thunder from head to toe. The sensation could only be described as electrifying—both sour and exhilarating!

Still, whenever she thought that one day she might deliver such an "exhilarating" strike to an enemy, her motivation soared.

After an hour of sword practice, she spun around and saw a flamboyant little sparrow at the door, its claws gripping a small food box.

Daoist Jade Ling had long since abstained from mortal food, so these meals were specially delivered to Misty Peak for her by the little sparrow.

The bird was called Blossom, a spiritual beast of the first rank known for its intelligence. It could manage simple errands—delivering food, carrying messages, transporting objects—it handled them all with ease.

Gu Weiyu took the food box from Blossom’s claws. "Wait here for me, Blossom!"

With bright, lively eyes the size of mung beans, Blossom hopped to a nearby flowering tree and perched there, leisurely preening its feathers.

After an hour of sword training, Gu Weiyu’s stomach was already empty.

She sat right down at the stone table outside the Carefree Abode, opened the food box, took out the dishes, and picked up the ivory chopsticks to eat.

Now studying under a Core Formation Daoist, she was counted among the elite disciples of the Myriad Sword Sect. All her meals were prepared from spiritual grains and the meat of spirit beasts.

Though the breakfast was not particularly delicious, after she ate, a subtle spiritual energy warmed her entire body, making her feel wonderfully comfortable.

Gu Weiyu ate with a look of pure contentment. All of this she owed to her master. In the future, when she made something of herself, she would certainly honor her master well!

If Daoist Jade Ling knew her disciple already thought of her as an old master, she might cough up blood in outrage.

After finishing her meal, Gu Weiyu quickly put her dishes back into the food box.

She walked to the flowering tree and took out a bottle of spirit beast pills her master had given her. Pouring one into her palm, she offered it to Blossom.

With a quick peck, Blossom swallowed the pill and chirped in delight.

"Only one at a time, Blossom," Gu Weiyu said, tapping the bird’s crest with her finger before handing it the food box.

Blossom fluttered into the air, grasped the box’s wooden handle with its claws, circled once, and vanished into the distance as a tiny black dot.

"Master, I’d like to try refining pills with earth fire today," Gu Weiyu said as she entered the Carefree Abode, coming before Daoist Jade Ling.

"Go ahead," her master replied with a nod, rising from her wooden couch to join Gu Weiyu in the alchemy room.

Gu Weiyu sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion and formed a hand seal. "Boom—"

A wisp of faint red earth fire leapt from the furnace at her gesture.

That was the easiest step; now came the true challenge:

She needed to use the earth fire to extract the essence liquid from spiritual herbs and merge them, refining them into pills that cultivators could easily absorb.

Gu Weiyu carefully formed intricate seals with her fingers, controlling the earth fire within the furnace while her spiritual sense extracted the herbs’ essence.

At first, her gestures were awkward and clumsy, but as time passed, her fingertips grew increasingly agile.

"Bang—"

Extracting the essence went smoothly enough, but when it came time to combine the liquids, Gu Weiyu lost control. The earth fire flared too hot, and the herbal essence scorched in an instant...

A pungent burnt smell drifted from the furnace. Having not failed in pill-making for some time, Gu Weiyu hurriedly formed a seal to sweep the charred remnants into a bamboo basket.

Even pill waste made excellent fertilizer for spiritual plants—it would be sent to the herb fields.

She cast another Purification Spell to thoroughly clean the furnace and was just about to try again when Daoist Jade Ling spoke. "Wait."

Only then did Gu Weiyu belatedly remember—she had a master now!

"Did you encounter any confusion during your alchemy just now?" Daoist Jade Ling asked gently.

At her words, Gu Weiyu immediately recounted her uncertainties, such as how to judge the heat and when to merge the liquids.

Daoist Jade Ling patiently explained each point in detail.

Enlightenment dawned on Gu Weiyu. "Master, let me try again!"

Her master smiled slightly. She understood her disciple’s eagerness all too well. She herself had once looked just the same after being guided by her own teacher in her first attempts at alchemy.

With her master’s pointers, Gu Weiyu’s second attempt went much more smoothly—not only were her hand seals more fluid, but her control over the heat and the timing of the fusion were much improved.

Within the furnace, the spiritual herbs melted into liquid, and under the steady earth fire, began to blend together.

Gu Weiyu tensed—this was the most critical moment!

Her spiritual sense focused intently on the thickening liquid inside the furnace. Carefully, she increased the fire, furthering the merging until the essence began to condense into pills.

"Now!" She formed another seal. The earth fire slowly receded.

At that moment, the viscous liquid in the furnace transformed into more than a dozen round, pale green pills.

A gentle medicinal fragrance wafted from the furnace. Gu Weiyu beamed with delight as she looked to her master.

Daoist Jade Ling extended her spiritual sense into the furnace. When she saw the dozen or so Rejuvenation Pills, she could not help but smile softly. "Very good!"

Her disciple’s talent for alchemy already far surpassed her own at the same age.

Truly, the student had outdone the master!