Chapter 179: Strategic-Grade Pill
Just as Hou Chunyu remained lost in a mix of shock and doubt, the Sect Master of Shennong Valley—Peak Nascent Soul cultivator and True Lord Nong Weili—appeared in the council hall.
"Greetings, Sect Master!"
As soon as they saw Nong Weili, the elders immediately rose to their feet and bowed in unison.
"Elder Qin, you're in charge of the Mission Hall. You explain the situation," Nong Weili said bluntly. After all, the reason he had summoned all the elders here today was for this matter alone. Even if he wanted to bring up something else, there was nothing else worth mentioning.
"Yes, sir!"
Upon receiving the order, a middle-aged man stood up and began detailing the recent developments regarding the appearance of an alchemist in the valley who could refine top-grade Vein Expanding Pills.
"Junior Sister Liu, are you sure that person isn't you?" Some of the elders who had been unaware of the situation looked toward Liu Shulan with surprise after Elder Qin's explanation.
Within all of Shennong Valley, the only one they could imagine capable of such a feat was Liu Shulan—their resident Tier 4 alchemist.
"It's not me!" Liu Shulan said, clearly annoyed. Ever since the so-called 'Koi Master ' had revealed his ability to refine top-grade Vein Expanding Pills, she'd been bombarded with the same question countless times.
"That Koi Master is indeed not Junior Sister Liu," Elder Qin confirmed.
"Then who is it? Elder Qin, can you please get to the point already?" one elder snapped, clearly irritated that Qin was keeping them in suspense.
"This person is someone you've all heard of before—he's none other than Gu Mo, the disciple Senior Brother Hou brought in not long ago," Qin finally revealed without further delay.
"What?!"
His words sent a ripple of disbelief through the hall. The elders exchanged stunned glances. None of them had expected this outcome. If the mysterious Koi Master wasn't Liu Shulan, then they had assumed he must be some exceptionally talented alchemist from the Pill Division.
But instead, it turned out to be a disciple from the Plant Cultivation Division.
The elders still clearly remembered Gu Mo's file, and nowhere in it had it mentioned that he possessed any talent for alchemy.
"Don't look at me like that. I just found out myself," Hou Chunyu snapped, glaring back at the elders. Although he had already suspected the truth based on Liu Shulan's reactions, getting it confirmed was still shocking.
"Enough," said Nong Weili, cutting off the rising chatter. "The reason I called you all here today is to discuss the matter of this top-grade Vein Expanding Pill."
"Senior Brother Hou, since Gu Mo is from your division, you go ahead and give us a starting position," he continued, turning to Hou Chunyu.
"Top-grade Vein Expanding Pills must not be allowed to circulate outside the sect," Hou Chunyu said after a brief pause.
For rogue cultivators, these pills were of little use. But for a top-tier sect like Shennong Valley—with vast numbers of disciples—this pill could absolutely be considered a strategic-grade resource.
If the sect could obtain a stable supply of top-grade Vein Expanding Pills, it would vastly improve the foundational strength of its outer disciples, increasing their chances of reaching higher cultivation realms in the future.
There was no exaggeration in saying that this pill had the potential to elevate the overall strength of the entire sect. Although it would take a long time to see the results, Shennong Valley—as one of the top sects—was not focused solely on short-term gains. Long-term strategic advantages were its true priority.
"However, the sect must compensate my grand-disciple," Hou Chunyu added with a turn in tone.
"Of course," Nong Weili agreed with a nod. "The sect will purchase every batch of his top-grade Vein Expanding Pills at the price of Tier 3 pills."
"That's not enough," Hou Chunyu replied, shaking his head. As Gu Mo's grandmaster, it was his duty to fight for maximum benefit for him. "What about True Disciple treatment...?"
"Elder Hou, you're pushing it!" interjected Elder Gu, who had always been at odds with Hou Chunyu. "Your grand-disciple may have contributed greatly with these top-grade pills, but I believe True Disciple treatment should be reserved for those with exceptional talent in plant cultivation."
"After all, many of the resources allocated to True Disciples are designed to improve the skills of plant cultivators. Since your grand-disciple shows more talent in alchemy, perhaps he should focus on that instead."
"Elder Gu, are you implying that alchemists aren't worthy of True Disciple status?" Liu Shulan shot back immediately. Other elders outside the Plant Cultivation Division also stared coldly at Elder Gu.
"I didn't say that!" Elder Gu quickly tried to backtrack, knowing he had spoken poorly. Still, he remained opposed to granting Gu Mo True Disciple treatment. His division directly competed with Hou Chunyu's, and if Hou's side gained another disciple with True Disciple status, it would place Elder Gu's faction at a disadvantage.
"Resources for True Disciples are indeed quite limited. Here's what we'll do instead—let your grand-disciple pick out one treasure from the sect's vault as extra compensation," Nong Weili quickly intervened before the argument escalated further.
As the Sect Master, Nong Weili had to maintain balance between the various factions. More importantly, Gu Mo had not grown up and cultivated within the sect, which made Nong Weili wary of fully trusting him.
True Disciple treatment involved access to many of the sect's core secrets. Nong Weili couldn't risk exposing those secrets to someone he couldn't fully vouch for.
That said, Gu Mo's contribution with the top-grade Vein Expanding Pills was undeniable. The sect would not shortchange him—offering unlimited purchase of his pills at Tier 3 pricing and even letting him choose one item from the sect's treasure vault was, in Nong Weili's view, a very generous offer.
After all, these were still Tier 1 pills. And in the grand scheme of a sect's rise and fall, only the most elite cultivators truly made a difference.
Certainly, the top-grade Vein Expanding Pills might increase the odds of nurturing future top cultivators over the next few centuries or millennia—but that was a long shot. The road from Qi Refining to Nascent Soul was filled with too many deadly hurdles. Very few ever made it.
"Understood," Hou Chunyu replied with a sigh, accepting the decision. He knew that the fact Gu Mo hadn't grown up within the sect would always be a hurdle on his path to becoming a core disciple of Shennong Valley.
"Hmm?" Liu Shulan raised a brow in surprise, a little confused by Hou Chunyu's swift concession. She had been expecting him to reveal the special spirit plant Gu Mo had cultivated.
If that stump-shaped plant were brought up now, it would absolutely shut Elder Gu up and even make the Sect Master reconsider. As an alchemist, she understood all too well just how valuable the Torch Stump Spirit Plant really was.
With it, Shennong Valley could achieve tremendous breakthroughs in both alchemy and artifact refinement.
But as it stood, it seemed Hou Chunyu either didn't know about the plant, or he had decided not to reveal it just yet—perhaps waiting for the upcoming Grand Spiritual Plant Competition to make his move.
As the premier sect for plant cultivators, Shennong Valley hosted this competition every few years. In it, spirit cultivators would present the plants they had personally cultivated, and the winner would be judged based on the plant's quality.
Importantly, this competition was open to spirit cultivators from outside the sect as well. While Shennong Valley was the top dog in the field, there were still many exceptional plant cultivators beyond its borders.
Closing themselves off would be foolish—hence, the sect had long since opened this competition to outside participation. In some past years, the spirit cultivators from the outside had even managed to shock Shennong Valley's prodigies.
Let those so-called prodigies learn that there's always someone better out there.
With that thought, Liu Shulan said nothing more. After all, if Gu Mo's Torch Stump were exposed now, it could seriously affect his performance in the upcoming Grand Competition.
"Junior Sister Liu, is something the matter?"
As a Nascent Soul True Lord, Hou Chunyu's senses were incredibly sharp. Naturally, he had noticed Liu Shulan's gaze and felt somewhat puzzled.
"No!"
Liu Shulan shot him a glare and turned to leave. "Hmph, you're really good at playing dumb."
"What was that all about?"
Having been glared at for no reason, Hou Chunyu looked completely baffled. Still, since it was his beloved junior sister, he let it go.
He didn't dwell on it. Hou Chunyu quickly departed—he still had to inform Gu Mo of the decision made at today's meeting.
With Hou Chunyu's deep mastery of Wood-element techniques, a single thought brought him directly to the front of Gu Mo's leaf courtyard. These leaf courtyards all had protective wards, and without the owner's consent, it was impossible to directly enter.
Since this was an unannounced visit, Hou Chunyu had not notified Gu Mo in advance, so he needed to knock.
"Coming!"
A crisp, sweet voice rang out from inside the courtyard. Hearing that all-too-familiar voice, Hou Chunyu felt a headache coming on.
Who could understand? The daughter he'd raised for hundreds of years had been snatched away by a young brat who'd barely been here a few days. The feeling was unbearable.
"Huh? Master, what are you doing here?"
As Hou Chunyu was sighing inwardly, the courtyard gate opened. Xiaohua appeared, the flower blooming atop her head gently swaying. She blinked her big, bright eyes at him.
"If I hadn't come, were you planning to never come home again?" Hou Chunyu said irritably.
He simply couldn't understand what was so great about Gu Mo's place. His own courtyard sat on 4th-grade spiritual land, while Gu Mo's was just 3rd-grade.
"Wuu~ Master, you don't play with me anymore, so I came to find Little Mo- instead. I even made a new friend!" Xiaohua said with a pitiful pout.
As she spoke, she picked up Xiao Li. The petite and adorable Xiaohua hugged the golden koi that was about the same size as her, creating a heartwarming image reminiscent of a child holding a carp—a symbol of good fortune.
"Hm?"
Hou Chunyu, as a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, felt a faint, inexplicable aura of destiny and fortune from the scene before him.
Unfortunately, fate and opportunity—even to a Nascent Soul cultivator—were extremely obscure and unknowable.
"Alright, alright. It's Master's fault."
Seeing Xiaohua's aggrieved expression, Hou Chunyu had no choice but to concede. As a Nascent Soul cultivator and a branch master, he was indeed extremely busy. Especially after Xiaohua had reached the peak of the 3rd rank and could no longer progress, he had stopped training her.
Her cultivation had reached a bottleneck, and without a breakthrough, any further effort would be of little use. To become a true Demon King, Xiaohua needed to find her own destined opportunity.
Suddenly, a realization dawned on Hou Chunyu. Could that fleeting aura of destiny he sensed earlier mean that Xiaohua had found a clue toward her breakthrough?
"Xiaohua, from now on, you're free to come here and play whenever you like."
With that thought, Hou Chunyu no longer intended to stop Xiaohua from spending time with Gu Mo.
Although he didn't understand why she had found her opportunity here, fate and fortune were too mysterious to analyze.
"Yay!"
With her master's approval, Xiaohua cheered in delight.
"Xiaohua Xiao Li, what's going on?"
Inside, Gu Mo had been refining pills. Hearing Xiaohua's cheer, he paused his alchemy and stepped outside to check.
"Greetings, Grandmaster!"
Upon seeing Hou Chunyu, Gu Mo immediately bowed respectfully.
"You little rascal, so you do remember you have a grandmaster." Hou Chunyu glared at him, clearly annoyed. It was obvious he was upset that Gu Mo hadn't told him he could refine pills. If he had known earlier, he could have done more to help behind the scenes.
"???"
Gu Mo stared at him in confusion. It wasn't until Hou Chunyu explained what had happened that Gu Mo finally understood. He felt rather helpless—how could he have known that casually refining a single pill would alarm the high-level authorities of Shennong Valley?
"From now on, don't take any more Top-grade Meridians Expansion Pill commissions. The sect will purchase them directly from you. Also, you've been granted the right to select a treasure from the sect's vault," Hou Chunyu conveyed the sect's decision.
Gu Mo really didn't have much choice in the matter. Fortunately, the sect's compensation was decent.
"Ahem… my good disciple-grandson, this is actually a good thing for you." Hou Chunyu coughed lightly. Though he wasn't entirely satisfied with the sect's arrangement either, he still had to smooth things over. He couldn't let Gu Mo develop resentment toward the sect.
"Those Top-grade Meridians Expansion Pills are of great importance. If you continue refining them and your identity gets exposed, you'll inevitably become a target. The sect will now shield your identity and purchase the pills in unlimited quantities. You avoid the risk of exposure while still earning full rewards."
"Plus, the sect is giving you a chance to choose a treasure. Do you know what's in the sect's vault? There are spiritual artifacts, even spiritual treasures. Of course, whether you can get one depends entirely on your perception."
Spiritual artifacts and spiritual treasures have already birthed a spirit. These spirits possess self-preservation instincts. Without having acknowledged a master, they will suppress their own spiritual aura to protect themselves.
This is known as a spiritual item's self-concealment.
Thus, unless you're extremely fated with a specific item and the spirit within takes the initiative to call out to you, or unless your perception is sharp enough to recognize a spiritual item in its concealed state, you'll likely miss it.
Still, even if you can't obtain a spiritual artifact or treasure, the sect guarantees that you'll receive at least a top-grade magical treasure. That level of sincerity is quite generous.
"Thank you, Grandmaster!"
Gu Mo bowed deeply to Hou Chunyu. He knew very well that these rewards wouldn't have come without his grandmaster's help. Without it, as a newly admitted Core Formation disciple, the best he could have expected was the standard reward for refining Top-grade Meridians Expansion Pills. This additional treasure selection wouldn't have been offered.
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