During the seven days, Zhao Shuning dedicated all her energy to restoring her spiritual power.
In the deep mountains and dense forests, one never knew what evil things might lurk. Her current rank was outstanding among her peers, but only above average among those of the same level.
Now, Zhao Shuning carried a much heavier burden than before.
She didn't want to end up like in her previous life, dying under the joint attack of the four great families.
If she were a ninth-rank spiritual pharmacist like her master, even if the four great families were given a hundred times the courage, they wouldn't dare to lay a finger on her.
Whenever she thought of her master, Zhao Shuning couldn't help but feel a deep sense of admiration.
In her memory, her master always had a cold expression. He was tall, dressed in fine ice-blue silk robes with elegant bamboo patterns embroidered on the snow-white hems. His hair was tied up with a bamboo hairpin, and there was a faint smell of wood on him, different from the scent of orchid and musk.
Zhao Shuning still remembered the first time she saw her master. She had just gotten separated from her younger brother.
It was winter then. The sky was a vast expanse of white, and the heavy snow had covered every corner of the Eastern Ze Wilderness.
Ye Ling was freezing. Her thin clothes clung tightly to her body.
With nowhere to go, she could only huddle in a corner, desperately blowing on her cold hands.
That was when her master appeared. He was dressed in a cyan robe, with a peerless face and an extraordinary aura. He walked towards her with light steps from afar, and behind him followed a pure white divine beast. It was later that Ye Ling learned it was the legendary Bai Ze.
Ye Ling had no other choice. She didn't want to die in this cold winter.
So she made a decision and rushed towards Yan Ruyu.
The dirty little girl crashed into the arms of the man who seemed like an immortal descending from the sky, but there was no trace of disgust in his eyes.
With just one look, Ye Ling decided that she would follow Yan Ruyu even if it meant death.
The long flute in the man's hand was blown to the ground by the wind.
"Why are you hugging me?"
When Yan Ruyu spoke, his voice was like the sound of heaven. Ye Ling had never heard such a pleasant voice before.
She was so stunned that she didn't react for a long time. It was not until the man frowned that little Ye Ling tremblingly took out a shriveled grape from her bosom and asked, "Immortal, do you want to eat the purple dumpling?"
The man was first confused, then he looked at Ye Ling. After a while, he finally showed a smile. "Sure."
He took the raisin, cleaned it, and gently put it into his mouth, then swallowed it.
At that moment, Ye Ling immediately hugged Yan Ruyu's leg tightly and refused to let go.
"Immortal, immortal, you've eaten Ling'er's purple dumpling, so you have to take Ling'er with you."
The man in the cyan robe stroked the girl's soft hair and said softly, "Okay."
The stinging pain in the water pulled Zhao Shuning back to reality. Only then did she notice that the effects of the medicinal herbs were forming a purple light, slowly flowing into her body. Her small body couldn't bear such a huge spiritual effect all at once, which was why the stinging pain occurred.
Shuang'er and Se'er couldn't stand the pain, so they quickly got up, dressed, and left.
But Zhao Shuning didn't. She stared blankly at the water in the small pond.
The excruciating pain she endured during her growth in the past was far more intense than this. She could still bear this little pain.
Zhao Shuning thought that a legendary person like her master must really like purple dumplings. Otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed a little trouble like herself to follow him for so long just because of a purple dumpling.
Zhao Shuning also thought that a person like her master who never aged must have lived for countless years. Although in her heart, he would always be the closest person to her, in his eyes, she was probably just a passing guest in his life.
Otherwise, why didn't her master show up when she was besieged and killed by the four great families more than five years ago?
Even after becoming Zhao Shuning, she still often thought of her master.
That man held a special place in her heart.
After seeing her master, no other man in the Eastern Ze Wilderness could ever catch her eye.
I don't know how much time had passed. Zhao Shuning didn't get up to dress until all the light in the pond had faded. On the towering peak in the distant Qingyun Country, a man with a peerless face suddenly covered his chest with his slender and fair fingers.
Why did his chest ache so much just now?
After Zhao Shuning left the room and returned to her own house, she calmed herself down and tried to convert the effects of the medicinal herbs she had used in the past half month into her own power.
When she sank her spiritual consciousness into her dantian, she saw a faint blue spiritual power.
This should be the effect of those precious medicinal herbs.
When Zhao Shuning tried to guide the power of these effects towards the spiritual power required by a spiritual pharmacist, she suddenly felt a huge suction force on the other side. Then, under this powerful suction force, her power was gradually defeated.
"Bang!"
Zhao Shuning's eyes suddenly opened.
Her mind was instantly filled with a surging spiritual force.
"What's this?"
Zhao Shuning slowly raised her hands and found that a wisp of flame had involuntarily emerged from her palms.
Zhao Shuning recognized this thing. A long time ago, when Ji Qinglin had such a flame in his hand, he even ran over to show it to her proudly. That little brat Ji Qinglin said that only a third-rank alchemist would have this kind of flame in their palm.
With this flame, an alchemist no longer needed to look for a pill furnace when refining medicinal herbs.
Zhao Shuning was a bit confused. It turned out that the huge suction force just now was emitted by the spiritual force?
She quickly closed her eyes and indeed found that her spiritual force had increased a lot. However, the spiritual power she had been longing for was still stuck at a bottleneck, showing no sign of improvement.
Was it really that difficult to break through to the early stage of the second level?
Zhao Shuning opened her eyes and let out a sigh.
Sometimes, when one tries hard to achieve something, it doesn't work out, but when one least expects it, success comes. She had clearly wanted to improve her spiritual power, but unexpectedly, she had improved her spiritual force instead.
Becoming a third-rank alchemist was certainly something to celebrate. Her current ability was enough to defeat a third-rank spiritual pharmacist of the same level. However, alchemists were extremely rare. Zhao Shuning didn't want to reveal her identity as an alchemist for the time being, lest it bring her a fatal disaster.
Especially the four great families. If they discovered that Zhao Shuning was an alchemist, they would surely send her to a mysterious place. As for what that place was and what was so strange about it, in her previous life, Ye Ling had only just discovered a little trace of that place before she was killed.
So in this life, Zhao Shuning had to be extremely cautious.
Now, Zhao Shuning had the power to deal with a third-rank spiritual pharmacist, but she couldn't use it.
Anyone would feel frustrated in such a situation.