At the Nine Heavens Holy Land, Yang Kai immediately summoned Xu Hui upon his return, ordering him to send people out to gather intelligence.
Yang Kai didn't specify what kind of information he wanted, only instructing Xu Hui to dispatch numerous disciples in all directions. They were to keep watch for any significant events along the way and return to Nine Peaks within a month.
Xu Hui complied without asking questions.
From Yang Kai's grave expression, Xu Hui could sense something unusual in the air. The Holy Master must have discovered something, or he wouldn't be acting this way.
Several days later.
In the early morning, Yang Kai made his way to his room, tiptoeing gently to the bedside.
On the bed, Xia Ningshang still sat with her eyes closed in meditation, her delicate body perfectly still. She was presumably still contemplating and digesting the information within the True Pill Refinement Technique.
Yang Kai waited quietly for a while, and seeing that she showed no reaction, he ventured into her Sea of Consciousness.
It seemed she had sensed his arrival. The Little Senior Sister slowly opened her eyes, which curved beautifully into crescent moons—exceedingly pretty to behold.
"How were your gains?" Yang Kai asked.
"Almost done. I just need to practice to familiarize myself with it." Xia Ningshang nodded gently.
Yang Kai nodded as well. He had used the power of his Divine Sense to envelop the information from the True Pill Refinement Technique and transmit it directly to the Little Senior Sister's spiritual soul body. With her comprehension of alchemy and her natural talent, spending a few days thoroughly understanding the True Pill Refinement Technique shouldn't have been difficult.
"Come, let's go refine pills right now, and I'll introduce you to a few masters while we're at it." Yang Kai grinned and willingly withdrew his spiritual body.
The next moment, both of them woke up.
The two walked side by side into the dedicated pill refining room.
The five masters were already fully prepared and waiting, each with their own pill furnace placed before them. These furnaces were small and exquisite, with streams of brilliantly glowing patterns flowing across their surfaces. None were ordinary—all were saint-grade pill furnaces, each one the most prized artifact its respective master possessed.
After ten days of rest, all five were brimming with energy, spirits high and expressions full of anticipation.
Upon seeing Yang Kai appear, the five masters perked up and nodded with smiles.
Chang Bao leaned his portly body against the wall and quipped, "Ten days without refining pills—I'm actually starting to miss the feeling. Young man, let's get started already."
Yang Kai smiled. "That's exactly what I was thinking."
"But you can refine pills all you want—why bring your sweetheart along? Can't stand to be apart for even a moment?" He Feng chuckled softly and shook his head. "Youth these days, always so full of passion."
"Just make sure you two don't start getting lovey-dovey in front of us old folk. We're not exactly young anymore—if things get too stimulating, we might not be able to handle it." Hong Fang burst into laughter as well.
Xia Ningshang was so flustered by their teasing that she didn't know what to do with herself. Her face flushed a deep crimson, and she kept glancing toward Yang Kai, looking mortified.
"Come here, dear girl, come sit with me. Don't mind those old rascals!" Kong Ruoyu waved at Xia Ningshang warmly.
Xia Ningshang glanced at Yang Kai. Only after he nodded did she walk over and sit cross-legged beside Kong Ruoyu.
"What a gentle girl, with such clear and unblemished eyes—untainted by this world. Yang Kai, you must never mistreat her," Kong Ruoyu said earnestly.
"Rest assured, Senior. I only have love and care for Senior Sister. I would never mistreat her."
The five masters looked taken aback, seemingly surprised that Yang Kai would say something so openly in front of everyone. But such words could only come from the heart. Realizing the depth of his feelings for this veiled young woman, they all showed expressions of approval.
A bloom of happiness also surfaced in Xia Ningshang's eyes.
"Alright, enough idle chatter. Let's begin." Du Wan had been smiling silently throughout, not interjecting, and only now spoke up.
Yang Kai called out to the outside: "Grand Elder!"
Xu Hui pushed open the door and entered immediately, his expression solemn. "I've been waiting for quite some time."
As he spoke, he set down batch after batch of prepared medicinal ingredients. "Here are today's twenty sets of pill materials. I leave them in the care of the Holy Lord and the honored masters. I'll return at dusk to collect the pills."
"Grand Elder, go get ten more sets of materials from outside," Yang Kai ordered.
Xu Hui was stunned. "Ten more sets?"
The five masters also stared at Yang Kai in surprise. Chang Bao said, "Young man, pill refining requires a proper balance of work and rest. If your condition isn't right and you force it, you'll very likely fail, or the pills produced will be of poor quality. We've already seen that you can refine ten sets by yourself in a day, but the five of us old fellows combined can only handle ten. What are we supposed to do with the extra ten sets?"
"Indeed. If we can't produce quality pills, it's better not to refine at all," Du Wan added wisely. An outstanding alchemist had strict standards for the pills they produced—poor quality could ruin their reputation.
For this reason, outstanding alchemists would never allow subpar pills to reach the outside world. If they produced such pills, they would destroy them with their own hands.
Yang Kai glanced at them and couldn't help but laugh. "I understand what the masters are saying, but don't worry. Those extra ten sets won't need to be refined by me, nor by any of you."
"Then who will refine them?" He Feng's eyes widened, and he suddenly turned to look at Xu Hui with a look of deep suspicion.