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Chapter 183: You're My Real Brother Now

Chen Su set up the alchemical furnace and prepared to concoct a Golden Pill for Chu Liang.

Her furnace wasn't particularly large, and it had flowers and birds painted on it in colors of green and red. This furnace was devoid of the fiery vibe that was normally associated with furnaces. Instead, it looked elegant and beautiful. It was obvious from a glance that it belonged to a woman.

Chen Su then placed four blocks of Divine Fire Gel under the furnace. This gel could sustain various kinds of divine fire efficiently and economically. It was the type of fuel that alchemists used the most often.

This was Chu Liang's first time observing the concoction process, so he made use of the opportunity to study it. After all, it would be best if he could master alchemical techniques and concoct his own pills in the future.

Chen Su habitually arranged several materials on the side and then placed a golden plate used specifically for concocting the Golden Pills on the rack inside the furnace. After that, she lit the Five-Spirit Divine Fire under the furnace. The Five-Spirit Divine Fire wasn’t the divine fire that produced the highest temperatures, but it was the most stable, which made it the best choice for concocting a Golden Pill.

The five-colored divine flames burst to life, illuminating the green and red paintings on the furnace. With the radiance of the divine light, the flowers were blooming, and the birds were flying. The paintings on the furnace seemed to come alive like the projections of a revolving shadow puppet lamp.

As the roaring fire heated the furnace, Chen Su entered a state of deep concentration and deftly prepared the ingredients. When the furnace reached the optimal temperature, she placed the ingredients into the furnace one by one.

Chen Su drew her qi to her hands and constantly changed the positioning of the ingredients so that they gained the right exposure to the heat. As she did that, she gradually rolled the ingredients into a ball. When everything seemed about right, she closed the furnace lid.

"Phew..." Chen Su let out a sigh and wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Just one last step to go."

With a flick of her fingers, the fire under the furnace suddenly doubled in size. The baking process had finally begun.

After waiting for precisely fifteen minutes, Chen Su killed the fire. The furnace that had been illuminated by vibrantly colored lights instantly went dark and fell silent once more.

"Is it done?" Chu Liang asked, standing up immediately in great anticipation.

"Please wait a moment." Chen Su raised her hand, gesturing for Chu Liang to hold his horses. "Let it absorb the heat a while longer."

Chu Liang nodded. "Mm."

He didn't understand how to concoct pills, but he had cooked rice before, so he thought it made sense to wait.

A while later, Chen Su lifted the lid of the furnace, and the fragrance of the pill filled the air. The sound of fanfare[1] was playing in Chu Liang's mind as he looked at the Golden Pill. It was the size of a longan[2] and gleaming with multicolored light.

"So, this is the ultimate-grade Golden Pill?!" Chen Su cried out in surprise and wonder. "This is my first time concocting such an ultimate-grade Golden Pill... and it will probably be the last time."

She took out a brocade box, placed the Golden Pill inside it, and handed it to Chu Liang.

"With the Celestial Herb of Ascension as one of the ingredients, this Golden Pill has a very high level of stability, which means you will have an extremely high chance of successfully forming a Golden Core. Junior Brother Chu, congratulations in advance for forming a rare ultimate-tier Golden Core!"

It made sense that having the Celestial Herb of Ascension as one of the ingredients increased the success rate of Core Formation. After all, the usual success rate was very low, and the Celestial Herb of Ascension was such a rare ingredient that any cultivator attempting to form a Golden Core with an ultimate-grade Golden Pill would likely be able to attempt it only once in their life. So, if the rate of success didn't increase even with the Celestial Herb of Ascension as an ingredient, that meant the feat of successfully forming an ultimate-tier Golden Core was probably one that only occurred once every few thousand years.

"If I manage to succeed, it will be thanks to your superb alchemical skills, Senior Sister Chu," Chu Liang replied with a smile.

As Chu Liang was leaving Chen Su's alchemy lab, he saw a tall man in a white robe walking toward him. The man looked pretty ordinary with no remarkable facial features.

Chu Liang didn't recognize the man and was about to simply walk past him. However, Chu Liang noticed that the man's pupils suddenly contracted. He seemed greatly shocked by the sight of Chu Liang.

Nevertheless, the man didn't say anything and immediately concealed his emotions.

Chen Su, who was seeing Chu Liang off, called out from behind him, "Senior Brother Lu."

"Mm," the man uttered.

He nodded in acknowledgment and went on his way.

Chu Liang furrowed his brows in thought.

He turned back to Chen Su and asked quietly, "Senior Sister Chen, who was that senior brother?"

Chen Su explained, "He's Senior Brother Lu Xun, the Alchemy Master's ninth disciple. He holds a high position in the Hall of Alchemy."

"Oh..."

Chu Liang glanced once more at the receding figure before exiting the Hall of Alchemy.

...

Just as Chu Liang arrived at the square of the Heaven-Reaching Peak, he heard a surprised shout ring out behind him.

"Big Bro!"

Turning around, Chu Liang saw Shang Ziliang and his two lackeys. They had just walked out of the Hall of Weapons and happened to see Chu Liang.

With wide eyes, Shang Ziliang ran over extremely excitedly. However, it was obvious that his back was still weak... His upper body leaned forward eagerly as he ran, while his lower body lagged behind.

On the way to Chu Liang, Shang Ziliang kept shouting, "Big Bro! It's great that you're okay! Big Bro!"

"Hmm?"

Chu Liang was puzzled and remained that way until Shang Ziliang grabbed his hand. That was when Chu Liang confirmed that Shang Ziliang had indeed been calling out to him.

"Senior Brother Shang, what did you call me?"

"Big Bro!" Shang Ziliang's eyes were brimming with tears. "If you hadn't chosen to stay behind in the Immortals' Marsh and use your life-saving kick to get me onto the Golden-Winged Falcon, I might have died there! You are my savior. From now on, you are my big bro! Xu Ziqing is my sister-in-law! I won't compete with you anymore..."

"Eh, eh, eh?"

Chu Liang quickly raised his hand to stop Shang Ziliang.

Man, this guy's behaving more and more out of line.

Thankfully, Xu Ziyang wasn't nearby, or there would be no way for Chu Liang to explain this.

"Senior Brother Shang, there's no need for that at all," Chu Liang said, hurriedly breaking free from Shang Ziliang's grasp. "I saved you purely because we're fellow disciples of the Mount Shu Sect. Moreover, I had ways to survive, so there's no need for you to be this thankful to me. In such a dangerous situation, if our places were switched, I believe you wouldn't just stand by—"

"I would," Shang Ziliang interjected with a nod.

"..."

Chu Liang's explanation came to an abrupt end, leaving him at a loss as to what to say next.

"I used to see you as my enemy. I wanted to compete with you for Junior Sister Ziqing's affections, so much so that I even hatched petty schemes to harm you..." Shang Ziliang spoke emotionally with tears in his eyes. "When you kicked me that day, I thought for a moment that you were venting your anger at me, but then I realized you were saving me..."

So, that's what happened.

Chu Liang finally realized that Shang Ziliang had seen him as a romantic rival and schemed against him.

Nevertheless, it's no surprise that Chu Liang hadn't noticed. After all, each time Shang Ziliang hatched one of his petty schemes, he'd always ended up hurting himself instead of Chu Liang.

The first time had allowed Chu Liang to meet Jiang Yuebai, and the second time had allowed Chu Liang and Di Nufeng to extort a huge amount of money from Shang Ziliang's peak master... Shang Ziliang's obstacles for Chu Liang ended up being like acts of kindness.

Seeing Shang Ziliang weep with tears as he repented, Chu Liang thought that he should've kicked Shang Ziliang harder. He felt regretful that his kick hadn't left Shang Ziliang crippled.

After Shang Ziliang finished speaking, Chu Liang said, "There's one thing I want to make clear. I'm not close with Junior Sister Xu Ziqing. You can say whatever you want about me, but don't tarnish a girl's reputation."

"Really?" Shang Ziliang asked as he raised his head back up, his teary eyes shining brightly.

"Absolutely," Chu Liang affirmed.

"Big Bro, from now on, you're my real big bro!" Shang Ziliang exclaimed seriously. "And Junior Sister Ziqing will be your younger sister-in-law!"

You're thinking too much...

Chu Liang chuckled awkwardly.

Shang Ziliang waved to his two lackeys and said, "From now on, I'm your boss, and my big bro is your big boss! Got it?"

Both lackeys called out, "Big Boss!"

Chu Liang hurriedly waved his hand to stop them. "No, no, no..."

This is seriously getting out of hand.

Chu Liang said, "Senior Brother Shang, there's really no need for you to be so courteous to me. Let's just stick to being fellow disciples."

"Let's just do what we want. You can call me Senior Brother, and I'll call you Big Bro," Shang Ziliang insisted.

Chu Liang couldn't be bothered arguing with Shang Ziliang anymore. He just said some half-hearted words and left swiftly, returning to Silver Sword Peak.

Upon his return, Chu Liang found Xu Ziyang waiting for him on the small hillside of his home.

"Senior Brother Xu?" Chu Liang called out.

"This morning, I had to leave with my teacher, so there's something I didn't get to tell you," Xu Ziyang told Chu Liang. "I have your sixth-realm Battle Soul."

He offered a jade pot to Chu Liang.

Unexpectedly, Xu Ziyang had taken Old Fei with him. Chu Liang had pretty much forgotten about that Battle Soul.

Chu Liang hurriedly took the pot and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother Xu."

Xu Ziyang shook his head. "No need to thank me."

Then he added, "Your Battle Soul is quite rebellious. He kept trying to persuade me to take him in. He said he wants to serve me and doesn't want me to return this jade pot to you."

"Haha," Chu Liang laughed, unsurprised by Fei Qi's behavior.

If Old Fei's ashes weighed 10 jin, then 9.8 jin of the ashes was rebellious.

It's not surprising at all that Old Fei wants to run away from me. After all, before the incident at the Immortals' Marsh, Old Fei pretty much worked for free all this time he's been with me. However, at least he put in some proper effort this time. Without him, I might not have had the courage to save anyone.

"Did he say you had to light three sticks of Soul Ambrosia Incense to summon him?" Chu Liang asked Xu Ziyang.

"Three?" Xu Ziyang shook his head. "He told me to light two sticks of Soul Ambrosia Incense each time."

"Huh?"

Chu Liang frowned. He suddenly felt angry.

1. Dun-dun-dun-dah~ ☜

2. It's a fruit that's roughly in between the size of a cherry and a blueberry. ☜