Chapter 27: The Pitch-Black Pill

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Bang!

A thunderous crash rang out, making the entire space tremble. It seemed that the pill furnace had understood the expressions on the faces of the human and the fox, and had instantly become aggrieved beyond measure.

Like a streak of lightning, it shot into the air and lunged straight at Ouyang Xiaoyue, apparently seeking a little comfort.

However, Ouyang Xiaoyue nimbly sidestepped and easily evaded its attack.

Having lost its target, the pill furnace could not stop in time and slammed directly into the rack behind her, where medicinal herbs and pills were stored.

Amid a clatter of crashes, the pills and herbs on the rack came tumbling down, throwing the entire room into chaos.

The impact left the pill furnace dizzy and disoriented. It spun several times in midair before barely managing to steady itself.

Little Ling, watching from the side, could not help frowning as she thought, “This fellow is unbelievably stupid.”

But aloud, she said, “Master, although this pill furnace looks rather foolish, it has already developed intelligence. It must be no ordinary object.”

Having finally recovered from the dizziness caused by the collision, the pill furnace immediately seemed to receive a shot of adrenaline upon hearing Little Ling’s praise. It flapped its wings and soared once more, flying back to Ouyang Xiaoyue at an even greater speed.

Then it began shaking its round, plump body incessantly, as though desperately trying to express something.

But since it could not speak, it could only gesture wildly in the air, spinning around in frantic agitation.

At that moment, Little Ling, who had been observing the pill furnace, suddenly widened her eyes. Her face filled with astonishment as she shouted at Ouyang Xiaoyue, “Master! When did you form a contract with it? How come I didn’t know anything about it?”

Ouyang Xiaoyue was already astonished, but now she was left completely speechless, unable to think of how to respond.

“Hmm?”

“Without a doubt, the contract must have been formed when that Ouyang Chenxi fellow injured you. This cunning pill furnace is truly detestable!”

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Little Ling suddenly remembered the wound on the back of Ouyang Xiaoyue’s hand. It was neither particularly deep nor particularly shallow, and worry immediately rose within her. She hurriedly asked with concern, “Master, how does your hand feel now? Is it all right?”

Ouyang Xiaoyue lowered her eyes slightly and glanced at the wound on the back of her hand, which had long since stopped bleeding. She gently shook her head to indicate that she was fine.

She had not taken that so-called contract to heart at all.

A faint crackling sound came from inside the room. Ouyang Xiaoyue sat there with an air of leisure, casually adjusting the flame beneath the pill furnace.

Yet in the midst of this seemingly ordinary task, she suddenly appeared to think of something important, and her movements came to an abrupt halt.

Immediately afterward, she swiftly took several precious drops of Marrow-Cleansing Elixir from her spatial ring—the little that remained of what her Third Grandfather had given her—and tossed them into the pill furnace without hesitation.

Time passed by second after second. An unusual scent gradually permeated the previously quiet room—a smell of something burning.

Ouyang Xiaoyue and Little Ling exchanged a glance, both of them showing confusion and surprise in their eyes. Before they could determine what had happened, a dull, thunderous boom came from inside the pill furnace, making the entire room tremble faintly.

With that resounding boom, the alchemy session officially came to an end.

The smell of burning soon spread throughout the room. Seeing Ouyang Xiaoyue lower her eyes and withdraw her spiritual power, Little Ling immediately consoled her. “Master, don’t be upset! I heard that other people’s furnaces explode the first time they try alchemy. You have already—oh?”

Before Little Ling could finish speaking, she saw the pill furnace spit out several pitch-black pills. Each pill bore a single pill pattern, and their fragrance gradually dispelled the scorched smell filling the room.

“They worked!” Little Ling cried in shock. There were ten pills in all! Clearly, her master could not be judged by ordinary standards.

Although the pills were truly unattractive in appearance—dark as ink and merely low-grade first-tier pills—the faint fragrance wafting from them indicated that their quality was not as poor as they looked.

After all, this was her master’s first attempt at alchemy in her entire life!

Ouyang Xiaoyue slightly furrowed her brows, staring intently at the dark, inconspicuous pill in her palm. Parting her lips, she called softly, “Little Ling.”

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Hearing her master call, Little Ling hurriedly replied, “Master, what is it?”

But the next moment, what reached Little Ling’s ears was Ouyang Xiaoyue’s melancholy voice.

“You lied to me.”

Three simple words, yet they seemed to carry endless grievance and hurt.

Little Ling froze at first, unable to react. Only after a long while did she suddenly seem to remember something. Her usually cheerful voice became rather lacking in confidence.

“Ah... well... Master, please don’t be angry. You are now a first-tier alchemist. As long as you continue cultivating diligently, once you become a ninth-rank spiritual master, you will definitely be able to refine ninth-tier pills!”

Ouyang Xiaoyue glanced suspiciously at Little Ling on the table. She had originally intended to destroy those unsightly pills, but fortunately, Little Ling stopped her in time.

Perhaps because she now had the goal of becoming a ninth-rank alchemist, during the following half month, aside from the occasional visits from Ouyang Xiaofeng and the Third Elder to share a meal, Ouyang Xiaoyue spent all her time either refining pills or cultivating the Golden Light Formula.

Strangely enough, no one came looking for trouble during that period.

To her, it was practically a miracle. Normally, all sorts of people were constantly coming to cause trouble for her. Yet now, everything had become so peaceful and pleasant, as though everyone had forgotten that she existed.

And so, she wholeheartedly enjoyed this hard-won tranquility. Every morning, when the first rays of sunlight streamed through the window, she would rise at her leisure and stroll into the courtyard to breathe the fresh air and feel the warm breeze.

In the afternoons, she liked to sit beneath the shade of a tree and meditate while cultivating the Golden Light Formula. Sometimes she would close her eyes and listen to the cheerful songs of the birds and the rustling of the leaves, allowing herself to become completely immersed in the embrace of nature.

Day after day passed, and before she knew it, the day of the Spiritual Talent Examination had arrived.

Ouyang Xiaoyue tidied herself up and prepared to set out with Little Ling. After all, she did not want to go on bearing the title of a good-for-nothing forever.

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