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However, Qin Shu's confusion didn't last long—her transmission jade soon lit up again.

She tapped it, and Chi Yu's voice came through.

"No sword cultivator can refuse the friendship of an alchemist—especially one who refines hundreds of furnaces of pills a day like you."

Qin Shu rubbed her nose, feeling an inexplicable sense of pride.

"If you want to go, I can ask Master Jian Wang for you?"

Qin Shu immediately agreed. "Thank you, Senior Sister!"

As soon as she put down the transmission jade, she looked up to find Cheng Yan hesitating to speak.

She asked casually, "Senior Brother, do you have something to say?"

Cheng Yan shook his head, a rare flush appearing on his usually cold face. He cleared his throat before pretending to be calm.

"Junior Sister, could you also ask for me? I'd like to see if I can learn swordsmanship at the Sword Sect too."

Wen Chi's forehead twitched. "If Master finds out that you two are thinking of switching sects, who knows how he'll punish you!"

Qin Shu immediately straightened up and patted her chest in assurance. "Although I have the heart of a swordsman, I will always belong to the Alchemy Sect!"

Cheng Yan nodded. "Agreed."

Wen Chi lifted his jade teacup, the translucent green liquid gently swaying with his movement.

Qin Shu's gaze fell on his pale, slender fingers.

Such delicate hands—it would be such a waste if they weren't trained in body refinement.

She tried again, "Second Senior Brother, are you sure you don't want to consider body refinement?"

Wen Chi took a sip of tea before replying leisurely, "No need. I have enough defensive artifacts. Ordinary people can't break through my defenses. If I ever encounter an opponent strong enough to shatter them, then no amount of body refinement will save me."

Qin Shu fell silent.

So this is the confidence of a pay-to-win cultivator.

Yes, she understood now—body refinement was for the broke.

"Very well, Senior Brother. In that case, I hope you can begin refining the Qi and Blood Tempering Pill soon."

Although it was improper to rush someone doing her a favor, knowing that her senior brother had sixty years' worth of alchemy tasks left unsettled made her feel uneasy.

"Don't worry, I'll start within three days."

With this promise, Qin Shu felt reassured. She cupped her fists and said, "I'll collect the necessary herbs from the medicine hall later. Thank you for your help, Senior Brother!"

Qin Shu followed Cheng Yan out of Wen Chi's cave, walking behind him.

Just as they exited the protective formation, Cheng Yan suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Qin Shu almost stepped on his heel. "Senior Brother, what's wrong?"

Cheng Yan turned around, looking down at his little junior sister who barely reached his waist. He spoke seriously.

"Don't forget to ask about the Sword Sect for me."

His sword skills were decent, but he hadn't improved in years. If he could receive guidance from the Sword Sect's elders, he might finally overcome his bottleneck.

Qin Shu smiled. "Don't worry, Senior Brother. If I can go, I will definitely ask for you too."

Cheng Yan gave a reserved nod before summoning his sword and stepping onto it.

Before leaving, he turned back and asked, "Junior Sister, would you like a ride?"

Qin Shu recalled her past not-so-pleasant experiences riding his sword and quickly shook her head. "No need, Senior Brother! I'll run—body refinement!"

Cheng Yan: "..."

"Alright then, I'll be off."

Qin Shu didn't intend to rely solely on running either. The medicine hall was quite a distance away, and if she ran the whole way, she wasn't sure she'd make it back before dark.

Activating her Shrinking Earth Technique, her surroundings blurred as she dashed forward.

She collected the herbs, delivered them to her second senior brother's cave, and then returned to her own mountain peak.

Her movement technique did not go unnoticed.

The moment she entered her cave's protective array, a shadow flickered before her.

Qin Shu instinctively took a step back, startled by the sudden appearance of a black figure.

Recognizing who it was, she exhaled in relief. "You always appear out of nowhere."

Xie Shiyuan simply said, "That movement technique—do it again. Let me see."

Qin Shu blinked but still took a step forward.

Xie Shiyuan watched carefully, then lost interest.

"Ah. Not spatial power—just borrowing strength from the earth."

Qin Shu wrinkled her nose before suddenly thinking of something.

"What's your element?"

She had his inner core inside her, yet she had never figured out his element.

His spiritual energy was venomous, but that seemed to be a natural trait rather than an elemental attribute.

Xie Shiyuan didn't answer her question. Instead, he took a single step forward.

The next instant, he vanished.

He reappeared by the pond behind the cave, with a green frog conveniently squashed under the tip of his tail.

"Can you tell now?" he asked.

Qin Shu stared in awe.

She hadn't even seen his movement! Unlike her technique, which left behind afterimages, his was completely traceless.

If he used this in combat, his opponent wouldn't even be able to predict where he'd strike next.

"Spatial affinity?" she guessed.

Xie Shiyuan's lips curled up slightly. "Not bad. You're not entirely clueless."

"It really is spatial affinity?!" Qin Shu's eyes lit up.

After spending over a year with this snake demon, she knew that this smile meant he was about to be exploited.

Sure enough, she immediately removed the jade pendant from her neck and held it up to him.

"Since you're a spatial cultivator... can you expand the space inside this jade pendant? Let's help each other out! If you ever need pills, just tell me—I'll get them for you!"

The storage space inside the pendant was barely the size of a bathroom. After storing a bathtub and some kitchenware, there was hardly any room left.

Of course, she was just testing the waters.

If he couldn't do it, she'd just have to grind more pills and buy additional storage rings later.

Xie Shiyuan glanced at the pendant in her hands.

Sweeping his divine sense over it, he remarked, "This jade pendant is a damaged artifact. As your cultivation grows, it will unlock more space on its own—no need to expand it."

Qin Shu stroked the pendant, deep in thought.

Why did her mother have a treasure like this?

She had been so certain that Qin Shu had spiritual roots, sending her all the way to the Xuantian Sect... Was that really just a coincidence?

Xie Shiyuan had his own innate spatial storage, making artifacts like this useless to him.

But seeing the little girl troubled by storage limitations, he opened his palm, revealing over a dozen storage rings in various colors.