Li Guangzong has been busy refining Foundation Establishment Pills in the Moon Rhinoceros District for the past few months and has likely not paid attention to Chen Ye.
Moreover, Chen Ye’s sudden arrival at the Moon Rhinoceros Lake District was undoubtedly beyond his expectations.
This means that now Li Guangzong is in the open, while he is in the dark.
"Behind Li Guangzong, there must be a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Also, he seems to have some connections with the Emotion Crossing Sect... With my current strength, it’s difficult to kill Li Guangzong."
Chen Ye toyed with the puppet core.
Even if he succeeds in crafting the General Puppet, it may not be enough to kill this scoundrel.
But...
Thanks to his two good apprentices!
Bai Susu had once promised the young girl that if Chen Ye encountered an insurmountable problem, Bai Susu would lend a hand.
"But... is this promise meant for the Xu family, or for Li Guangzong?"
Chen Ye pondered in his heart.
He knew that if he always relied on Bai Susu for everything...
With Bai Susu’s capricious and arrogant nature, she wouldn’t allow herself to be dictated by him.
"Raising a tiger can eventually lead to trouble. The Xu family, after all, belongs to the Lingyin Sect, and there’s no life-and-death grudge between us, merely some conflicts with Qing Jun. Besides, there’s room for mediation with Mao Qingzhu acting as a buffer. It’s not an imminent crisis."
"But Li Guangzong is different... He’s connected to the Demon Sect, highly shrewd, and has climbed up step by step from a loose cultivator. Now he even has a Foundation Establishment True Man aiding him. If he suspects that I’m a threat to him, he might even directly enlist a Foundation Establishment True Man to kill me..."
Chen Ye made up his mind to ask Bai Susu for help.
At this time, both apprentices were bustling about in the Herb Pavilion, doing some chores.
These two girls, especially Qing Jun, were sweet talkers and quite liked by the stewards of the Herb Pavilion.
Moreover, with Chen Ye in the medicinal garden at the back of the Herb Pavilion, no one dared to bully these two young girls.
Chen Ye enjoyed the tranquility and was happy for their accomplishments.
For the two apprentices, though cultivation is important, gaining ample social experience is equally vital.
He took out the damaged General Puppet core and the materials collected from the ghost market.
"Hundred Refining Technique!"
He immersed his divine sense, carefully following the methods recorded in the jade scroll to refine the core.
The Hundred Refining Technique is the foundation of artifact refining, emphasizing repeatedly tempering materials with spiritual power to remove impurities and enhance their toughness and spirituality.
A day passed in an instant.
[Hundred Refining Technique, Minor Achievement: 75/100]
Repairing the magical treasure core was more exhausting for his mind and spiritual power than he imagined.
Even with his current cultivation at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer and the strength of his divine sense surpassing others of the same level, he still felt waves of fatigue after several hours of continuous refining.
But fortunately, he had preliminarily integrated these materials into the core.
"It seems that I still need to rely on the Artifact Refining Furnace... To do a good job, one must first sharpen one’s tools."
Chen Ye sighed and temporarily paused his refining.
He got up to stretch his somewhat stiff muscles and leisurely walked out of the bamboo house.
In the medicinal garden, various spiritual medicines were thriving, emitting a faint medicinal fragrance.
"Master! Master! We’re back!"
Before seeing them, he heard their voices.
Qing Jun’s clear and lively voice could be heard from afar at the entrance of the medicinal garden.
As Chen Ye looked up, he saw Qing Jun hopping towards him.
In her hand, she held two strings of bright red sugar-coated haws, proudly presenting them to Chen Ye: "Master! Grandpa Sun said we did well today and rewarded us with these! They’re really delicious!"
Chen Ye, seeing her mouth shiny from the syrup, couldn’t help but chuckle.
He used his sleeve to wipe her little mouth clean, smiling as he asked, "Oh? What big help did Qing Jun lend today?"
"Of course!" Qing Jun said proudly, puffing out her little chest, "Grandpa Sun said that Qing Jun has a good memory and calculates the abacus quickly, and might become the Manager in the future! My senior sister is even more impressive; she can distinguish several similar poisonous herbs at a glance!"
As she spoke, she took out a small pouch from her bosom.
Inside the pouch were five spirit stones!
The little girl proudly showed Chen Ye the spirit stones she had painstakingly accumulated: "Qing Jun’s half-month earnings in spirit stones, way more than Master used to earn!"
Chen Ye was a bit shocked; when he was a medicinal farmer in the shantytown, he only earned five or six spirit stones a month.
But on second thought, it seemed quite reasonable.
Most of the stewards in the Herb Pavilion were late-stage Qi Cultivators and generous.
Sometimes, when in a good mood, they might casually give Qing Jun a spirit stone.
Chen Ye raised an eyebrow, questioning, "Didn’t Master give you a storage bag? Why keep them in a pouch..."
Qing Jun pouted, "Master just doesn’t get it! Spirit stones need to be carried close to the body to make one feel good!"
Saying that, she carefully stowed the spirit stones back, not forgetting to look cautiously at Chen Ye: "Master better not have any ideas about Qing Jun’s spirit stones!"
Chen Ye’s old face darkened: "What are you saying? Could Master really rob you of five spirit stones?"
"Who knows..."
The little girl muttered, and before Chen Ye could get angry, she stuffed a string of sugar-coated haws into his hand, urging,
"Master, quickly eat, it’s really sweet!"
Chen Ye’s incantation was immediately interrupted, looking at the little girl’s innocent smile, he helplessly took a bite of the sugar-coated haw, the sweet and sour taste spreading in his mouth:
"Mm, it’s indeed sweet."
This sweetness added a touch of enjoyment to his tedious cultivation...
...
At this moment, outside the Herb Pavilion, a petite golden figure, hands behind her back, was strutting with an air of arrogance.
It was Bai Susu.
She originally intended to find Chen Ye to continue listening to the story of the monkey causing havoc in the Celestial Palace, but upon arriving at the Herb Pavilion, she saw a familiar figure busy sorting spirit plants.