Chapter 60 Part 1

Xie Linlang had no idea that Pei Ji was only four decks away from him.

He was on the lowest deck of the ship, while Pei Ji was at the very top of the treasure ship.

Shen He’s sudden request for the Zui Pingsheng pill formula had sparked a whim in Xie Linlang, who was now sorting through his own pill formulas.

He modified the formulas he might need in the future, striving to turn them into demonic cores that demonic cultivators could refine.

This was an enormous undertaking.

After Pei Ji’s fall, Xie Linlang had been consumed by grief, trapped in a peculiar state of reckless madness.

He had even tossed materials haphazardly into the pill furnace, abandoning all the rules of pill refining he once followed, and relied solely on his exceptional insight into the spiritual qi of heaven and earth to taste the profound changes of the qi of creation within the Human Cauldron.

Sometimes, Xie Linlang even felt an illusion that he might as well have been cheated to death by the pill furnace.

As the saying went, articles hated the successful—yet it was this careless, uninhibited mindset that fully unleashed Xie Linlang’s transcendent talent, allowing him to refine one bizarre pill after another.

It was as if each of his pills contained a demon.

This demon was enchanting and unpredictable, mirroring the ever-changing spiritual power of heaven and earth, like the Dao hidden within countless heart methods and supreme Cultivation Methods—sometimes revealing faint traces, other times concealed amid illusions.

That was why Xie Linlang’s pill formulas were the hardest to replicate; even he himself didn’t know if, during refining, he had lost his mind and uttered something like Summon Heavenly Demon Descent.

At this moment, as Xie Linlang recalled the sheets of formulas he had left behind, it felt like retracing that painful and sorrowful path.

But back then, he had believed Pei Ji had truly fallen.

Now, Pei Ji was alive in the world, so Xie Linlang felt no pain at all.

Instead, he pondered something else: Could he refine all these somewhat mad pills and, when he saw Pei Ji again, make him taste them one by one?

—These are all proof of how deeply I love you. I was trapped by love, grief-stricken to the point of despair… don’t you think you should taste that flavor too?

Xie Linlang buried himself in deductions and experiments until Shen He came knocking. Only then did he learn that the treasure ship had been docked for two days, and the sect had already taken the disciples out for training.

“This swamp grows all sorts of demonic snakes, along with unique swamp plants and avian demons. If Senior Brother Xie is interested, you could release the sparrows and let them hunt on their own.”

When Shen He delivered the materials to Xie Linlang, he enthusiastically recommended, “Senior Brother Qian gave me a catalog. Their Qian Cai Hao shop acquires many swamp-produced materials. We could hand some over to the sect for contribution points, exchange others with Senior Brother Qian for True Realm materials we might need, and pick them up all at once at Qian Cai Hao’s headquarters in Jiemen City.”

Xie Linlang was somewhat delighted upon hearing this. “That’s convenient. Give me a copy of the exchange catalog; I want to research some True Realm materials.”

In truth, he wanted to experiment with the compatibility between demonic qi and True Realm materials.

Shen He glanced around.

Xie Linlang understood. “Your Night Senior hasn’t come looking for me these past few days. I’ve activated the array in the quiet room and set up an array disk—it’s safe for now.”

Shen He immediately produced the materials for the Zui Pingsheng pill formula. He said somewhat embarrassedly, “I asked the other seniors about True Realm materials. I’m not sure if the information I compiled is accurate…”

Xie Linlang raised an eyebrow. He took the jade slip, scanned it quickly, and nodded approvingly at the contents.

“Most of it is correct. Some explanations aren’t deep enough, some information is outdated, and a few are wrong. I’ve corrected them all for you.”

Xie Linlang swiftly used his divine sense to fix errors like the Tianhe Flower needing to be used dried and Jin Qian Lv not being a powder but a mineral, then handed the jade slip back to Shen He.

Though Shen He’s efforts had been in vain, this earnest dedication was still commendable.

“How about it? You really want to refine Zui Pingsheng?”

“Since I used this as an excuse to approach Senior Brother, of course I want to learn to refine it. Besides, Night Senior seems to really like this pill. He’s ultimately a task Master Lin entrusted to me—I still want to get along well with him.”

Xie Linlang was somewhat surprised. He examined Shen He closely and said softly, “You don’t need to please everyone.”

Shen He paused. “I didn’t…”

Halfway through, he stopped.

Hadn’t he? He was the child his grandfather had taken in—had he never worried that if he was useless, he’d consume more food and get abandoned?

He and his grandfather sold steamed cakes on the street; good spots had to be fought for, and bailiffs always drove away vendors like them. If they offended one, a hard day’s work might earn them nothing.

They had finally gotten work at the Pang Family Tavern, but if a guest disliked him or the head waiter gave him trouble, he’d be fired—and it might even implicate his grandfather, who had always cared for him. Had he really not tried hard to please everyone?

But for a child, what else could he do besides smile, strive to become what others liked, and curry favor?

“Shen He, I’m not denying your way of thinking, nor rebuking you.”

Xie Linlang, who had long consorted with heavenly demons, saw through others quite clearly. “You can be a bit more confident. Not just anyone gets my serious instruction. If you don’t believe in yourself, then believe in me.”

Shen He stared dazedly at the youthful shizun before him, a faint warmth stirring in his heart, his nose tingling.

He suddenly felt an immense sense of security.

“Of course I believe Shizun.”

Shen He said slyly, “Then, does Shizun trust this disciple? The leading senior said we’ll stay here another three days before heading to the next secret realm. After two secret realms, we’ll reach the True Realm. Shizun was a True Realm cultivator before, right?”