Chapter Sixty-Eight: Walking Together

Li Mu circled the building several times, but in the end, he failed to find any weaknesses.

He had little understanding of the Dao of Forbidden Arrays, and there had never been any opportunity for him to study it.

Therefore, he could only resort to force.

Li Mu took out the Fire Gourd, and a tangible stream of burning flame shot into the mist.

Wherever the fire passed, the mist completely dissipated, which delighted Li Mu. But in just an instant, the flame vanished, and the surrounding mist surged in to fill the empty space.

The flames were controlled by spiritual power; once the mist disrupted it, the fire lost its support and quickly faded away.

Although he could cause some loss to the mist this way, if he continued to consume his strength like this, it would take dozens of days to clear it all—something he simply did not have the leisure for.

Since the mist consumed spiritual power, he would simply avoid using it.

Li Mu’s mind was agile, and he quickly devised another plan. “Who says cultivators must always rely on spiritual power?” he thought. “I won’t do it that way.”

Putting thought into action, he and Sun Qi found a thick tree nearby, several meters wide. They dug it up by the roots and cut a large root.

Li Mu, skilled with a knife, quickly hollowed out the root, creating a tunnel several meters long.

“I’ll be back soon. Apothecary Shen, be careful,” he said.

Applying the Vajra Technique, Li Mu made swift work of the rest. The array only forbade spiritual power, so its defenses were secondary, and the array master, Wang Qi, had not anticipated such a crude method of breaking the seal.

The hollowed root was thrust straight into the building shrouded in mist, accompanied by a series of sharp cracking sounds, like bamboo exploding.

“Hurry, come through the root tunnel,” he called out.

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Bingxue emerged from the other side of the root tunnel.

She landed lightly, wearing a gentle smile as she looked at Li Mu, her manner courteous. “You’ve worked hard this time, Manager Li. You’re truly clever, and I admire you.”

At that moment, she no longer wore her veil, and her stunning beauty was revealed entirely. Dressed in simple blue, her skin was as fair as jade, her features flawless, brows like painted arches, lips as red as vermilion, eyes as innocent as a child’s—so striking and pure she seemed untouched by the dust of the world. Standing there, she resembled a blue lotus swaying in a gentle breeze, making everything around her seem colorless by comparison.

Having been trapped for so long, her complexion was a little pale and fragile, but this only added a transcendent quality to her beauty.

Sun Sanjiu stared in a daze, unmoved even when Sun Qi nudged him; belatedly, he turned around apologetically. In his heart he thought: “Apothecary Shen is already a cultivator, not someone people like us can fathom. Staring too long only shows disrespect.”

Li Mu, too, sighed inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged. Apothecary Shen’s beauty at that moment was peerless in the world.

Li Ying exclaimed with delight, “Big Sister, you are truly beautiful.”

“Apothecary Shen, you should put your veil back on,” Li Mu said with a smile, at last discarding the root.

“Oh, I was in such a hurry I forgot,” Shen Bingxue quickly replied, covering her face again with her veil.

Li Mu nodded, hiding the flash of amazement from earlier. “Since you’re well, Apothecary Shen, we should take our leave.”

“Wait,” Shen Bingxue said, “Wang Qi is gone, and Xue Hen’s vengeance is fulfilled. Many disciples were lost to Wang Qi’s hands. I have no attachment left to Flower Grove Sect. Manager Li, since you’ve come all this way, take everything the sect has stored.”

She looked back at the sect she’d belonged to for more than twenty years, her head gently shaking. The sect that had raised her had once flourished, but now had reached its end.

Li Mu smiled faintly. “If you say so, I won’t stand on ceremony.”

“Follow me,” Shen Bingxue said softly, her steps appearing slow but actually swift—Sun Qi and Sun Sanjiu could barely keep up.

At the heart of Flower Grove Sect, the treasure refining room, the alchemy room, the treasure vault, the storeroom—everything was taken by Li Mu.

For a small sect, the accumulation was not much; most of the resources had already been seized by Wang Qi, perhaps converted into pills or artifacts. After Wang Qi’s demise at the Jade Iron Assembly, Li Mu couldn’t openly claim his belongings, which instead went to the Jade Iron Sect.

But to Li Mu, what he gained now was already quite satisfactory.

The materials and lower-grade spirit crystals were exactly what he needed, not to mention the many low-grade pills that would be useful to him in the future.

Shen Bingxue watched Li Mu take away item after item, her storage pouch empty, and could not help but sigh. “Manager Li, you have a Mustard Seed Ring, such a treasure—it seems the things here are beneath your notice.”

Li Mu was delighted with his gains and said with a smile, “Still, Apothecary Shen, with so many things gifted, I am truly grateful. By the way, where will you go now?”

Shen Bingxue frowned slightly, thinking for a moment. “I don’t know. I cannot stay in Flower Grove Sect, nor in Deyang City.”

Suddenly, she turned to Li Mu with a light smile, her expression carrying a trace of melancholy.

The smile was somewhat odd; if an ordinary woman revealed it, one would be wary. Li Mu sensed this and asked, “Is there something you wish to say, Apothecary Shen?”

“Manager Li, do you remember what I said before?”

“What was it?” Li Mu became cautious.

Shen Bingxue waved her hand in feigned helplessness. “I simply wanted to see that mysterious alchemist. Now that I have nowhere to go, I’d like to follow that alchemist and learn the way of medicine. Manager Li, you are kind-hearted, and seeing my current state, I doubt you’ll refuse such a small request?”

Li Mu was stunned. “You really want to meet him?”

Shen Bingxue nodded firmly. “I truly wish to. I’ve never seen such a talented alchemist before; I won’t forget him for the rest of my life.”

Li Mu’s expression turned strange. “What if I told you I am that alchemist—would you believe me?”

“Really?” Shen Bingxue’s veil trembled, her breathing quickened in excitement. “Is that true? I suspected as much, but Manager Li, you don’t seem to know much about alchemy.”

“It’s me,” Li Mu answered with a wry smile, scratching his head. “Perhaps I don’t know the Dao of medicine, but that doesn’t mean I can’t refine pills.”

“I simply cannot believe it!” Shen Bingxue replied at once. She could not fathom that someone ignorant of alchemy could refine pills even better than her.

“I’m just lucky. Give me some herbs and I can make pills—it’s hard to believe, but that’s how it is.”

Li Mu could not explain further. Even he sounded like he was making excuses.

Shen Bingxue was silent for a while, pondering. She had many doubts, but Li Mu’s explanation was, in fact, the most reasonable. The Mu Yu Hall simply could not afford another alchemist.

“I still can’t believe it—unless you prove it.” Her expression was sly.

Li Mu hastily waved his hands. “How can luck be proved? Unless your medicinal herbs contain some mystery, then I could perhaps solve it for you—but only with herbs.”

“That will do. In any case, from now on, I’ll follow you and study alchemy.”

“What?” Li Mu was dumbfounded.

“No more questions—let’s go.” Shen Bingxue left the storeroom, quietly saying, “I have a feeling that by following you, I might understand the way of medicine and achieve my dreams.”