Chapter 361 – Su Xing Takes Disciples, A Lurking Crisis!

Su Xing took a deep breath, then used the very last wisp of his soul power to deploy the Soul Telekinesis Technique.

A thread of soul energy flew toward the Soul-Guiding Grass in the little boy’s hand. Strange white light appeared on the previously crushed herb.

A faint, ethereal voice reached the boy’s ears:

“This Soul-Guiding Grass should be taken orally — it must never be applied externally…”

Su Xing’s soul had already been extremely weak. After casting this technique, his soul teetered on the very edge of collapse. If he didn’t return to his body in time, he would truly perish, body and soul.

“With a hint this obvious, if they still don’t understand… then there’s really nothing more I can do!”

Su Xing thought weakly.

Meanwhile, the little boy saw the strange white light on the Soul-Guiding Grass in his hand and was startled.

Then, hearing that transmitted voice, he paused for a moment before looking at his sister in confusion:

“Sis, did you hear some strange voice just now?”

“This man seems to be telling me… this herb is called Soul-Guiding Grass, and it needs to be swallowed directly…”

Hearing the boy’s words, the girl smiled awkwardly, but she could tell what mattered most right now, so she quickly said:

“Then what are you standing around for? Hurry and feed it to him!”

With that, the two of them fed the Soul-Guiding Grass into Su Xing’s mouth.

Watching the Soul-Guiding Grass slide down into his stomach, Su Xing’s soul breathed a long sigh of relief. He then felt a mysterious pulling force emanating from his physical body.

The siblings watched the still-sleeping Su Xing with nervous anticipation.

“Sis… do you think this person is actually dead? I think I just heard a ghost talking…”

The moment those words left his mouth, the Su Xing lying on the bed slowly opened his eyes and spoke in a weak voice:

“If you two had waited any longer to give me that herb, I really would have died…”

Su Xing glanced at the girl, deeply puzzled:

“Where on earth did you learn such nonsensical herbal knowledge?”

“Getting the medicinal properties wrong is one thing… but how can you not even tell the difference between external application and oral consumption!”

Hearing Su Xing’s scolding, the girl’s face turned even redder. She stammered:

“No… nobody taught me… My father ran an apothecary when he was alive. I only glanced at things occasionally. I know where to gather herbs, but I don’t know how to process them…”

Su Xing was rather speechless at her answer, but still said:

“Then go bring all your herbs over and let me have a look…”

The girl hurried to fetch the herb basket and the herbs from the wooden chest, placing them before Su Xing.

Su Xing didn’t even raise his eyes to look. He simply sniffed a few times and said:

“The first and third herbs on your left are useful to me… Take them and feed them to me.”

The girl did as instructed, carefully picking up the two herbs and feeding them to Su Xing.

Su Xing opened his mouth, his throat quivering briefly as the two herbs quickly descended into his stomach, transforming into two warm currents.

“Hoo…”

Su Xing’s body frantically absorbed the medicinal power of the two herbs, causing wisps of steam to rise from his skin.

These two herbs could stabilize his physical body and prevent his injuries from worsening further.

Though they were only low-grade herbs, they still had some effect.

Given Su Xing’s current condition, there was no telling how long a full recovery would take.

But consuming more herbs could at least keep his injuries stable.

After taking the two herbs, Su Xing could feel faint traces of vital energy being born within his body. Though weak, it was at least a good sign.

This body of his had suffered severe damage to its vitality, but the foundation was still intact. With continued consumption of herbs, recovery was ultimately achievable.

Su Xing continued his instructions:

“Bring me two more stalks of Bone-Mending Grass and some Blood-Quickening Flowers… those are the two red herbs and flowers on your right.”

Su Xing gave his orders, and the girl followed them without question.

Several herbs went down, yet the effect on Su Xing’s physical recovery remained minimal.

Su Xing sighed inwardly, but said to the girl:

“For the next half month, give me as many of those herbs as you can gather…”

“I’m feeling quite tired now. Let me sleep first.”

With that, Su Xing closed his eyes to rest, and his breathing soon became steady and even.

Though he called it sleeping, Su Xing was actually regulating the energy and injuries within his body. The medicinal effects were weak, but he had to recover as quickly as possible.

Seeing that Su Xing’s breathing was smooth and his eyes firmly shut, the girl assumed he had fallen asleep and led the little boy out of the room.

The boy followed his sister out, but felt somewhat indignant:

“Sis! We went through so much trouble to save him… and the moment he wakes up, he acts like that? What gives him the right?”

The girl shook her head gently and simply said:

“Little brother, powerful cultivators all have strange temperaments… As long as we show our sincerity, we’ll surely gain a fortunate encounter…”

The boy nodded, seeming to half-understand.

The two picked up their herb baskets and headed back into the mountains to gather more herbs.

…

A month passed quickly…

On this day, Su Xing sat on the bed, inhaling and exhaling the faint spiritual energy in the air, attempting to restore his magical power.

But after several attempts, he failed once again.

Su Xing opened his eyes and sighed:

“My magical power probably can’t be recovered in the short term… But at least my body has recovered somewhat. I no longer have to worry about dying at any moment.”

Over the past month, the siblings had gathered quite a number of herbs for Su Xing.

With the help of these herbs, Su Xing’s recovery rate had accelerated considerably.

At the same time, Su Xing had also taught the siblings some knowledge about identifying herbs and their medicinal properties.

On this day, after another failed attempt at cultivating spiritual energy, Su Xing paused his efforts.

“What a shame — I can’t restore my magical power… and the spirit field grotto-heaven can’t be accessed either!”

Su Xing felt rather helpless. After several years of unconsciousness, all of his storage artifacts had been lost, and even his Portable Grotto-Heaven couldn’t be opened temporarily.

Once Su Xing recovered some of his cultivation, he might be able to access the treasures within the spirit field grotto-heaven. Only then would his ability to protect himself improve significantly.

Su Xing glanced toward the doorway and called out:

“You two, stop lurking outside. Come in.”

At his words, the siblings carefully entered from beyond the window.

After a month of living together, Su Xing had learned their names.

The older sister was called Bai Xiaoxiao, and the younger brother was called Bai Yutang.

Their parents had been cultivators who ran an apothecary in White Cloud City.

Their parents had been inner disciples of the White Cloud Sect, but were killed by a sect Elder. The siblings had barely escaped with their lives, yet lost all their family’s wealth. They could only scrape by gathering herbs.

Bai Xiaoxiao’s greatest wish was to cultivate to the Foundation Establishment stage, join the White Cloud Sect as an outer disciple, and find an opportunity to avenge her parents.

This was also the favor the siblings wished to ask of Su Xing.

“Senior, here are today’s herbs…”

Bai Xiaoxiao handed over a small wooden box and placed it by the bed. Su Xing reached in, selected a few items, and began consuming them.

After absorbing the medicinal effects, Su Xing felt noticeably better and continued:

“This past month, you two have worked hard…”

“I ask you — would you be willing to take me as your master?”

“I understand your situation… The vengeance for your parents is something you must carry out yourselves. But I can transmit the Dao to you, and your cultivation speed will certainly not be slow.”

Hearing Su Xing’s words, Bai Xiaoxiao’s eyes reddened, and she immediately dropped to her knees.

The siblings had spent this past month tirelessly serving him precisely for this very moment.

Both of them quickly knelt and said:

“Master, please accept your disciples’ bow!”

Su Xing nodded slightly at the sight.

Over the past month, he had actually been testing both of their characters. Su Xing didn’t place much importance on cultivation aptitude — what he valued was character.

And the siblings’ sincere devotion had clearly passed this test.

Though their purpose in saving Su Xing was to seek revenge, the fact that they saved him was undeniable.

As such, there was nothing wrong with Su Xing taking two disciples.

“Very well. Now that you have taken me as your master, from this point forward… you shall respect me as you would your own parents.”

“And I will do everything in my power to teach you the way of cultivation…”

Over the past month, Su Xing had assessed both of their cultivation aptitudes.

Bai Xiaoxiao possessed a wood-fire dual spiritual root, making her perfectly suited to learn Su Xing’s path of alchemy.

As for her younger brother, Bai Yutang — his talent was even more remarkable. He possessed a single fire spiritual root. The reason he couldn’t use pills to advance his cultivation was simple:

Innate Severed Meridians!

Those with Innate Severed Meridians couldn’t consume pills to increase their cultivation, but their cultivation speed was extraordinarily fast!

Currently, Bai Yutang was only at the first level of Qi Refinement, solely because he lacked a good cultivation technique — naturally his speed suffered.

Su Xing then said:

“From now on, I will teach both of you the way of cultivation.”

“Bai Xiaoxiao, I can see you have an interest in alchemy… so I shall pass on the path of alchemy to you.”

“You will learn while also refining pills for me to help me recover from my injuries as quickly as possible.”

“As for you, Bai Yutang… I will teach you the path of artifact refinement!”

After a brief pause, Su Xing continued:

“But your most important task right now is to raise your cultivation as quickly as possible!”

“I will now pass on to you a fire-attribute cultivation technique to serve as your primary method…”

With that, Su Xing recited from memory the Heaven-tier fire-attribute technique he had previously learned — the Myriad Blazing Flame Art!

This technique was perfectly suited for both siblings to cultivate.

It wasn’t that Su Xing was reluctant to teach a better technique…

It was simply that his cultivation had been severely damaged. He couldn’t perform a direct soul-to-soul transmission, so he could only recite the cultivation mnemonics aloud and let the siblings learn on their own.

As Su Xing recited, Bai Xiaoxiao frantically tried to write down the mnemonics.

But Su Xing’s pace was rather fast, and she grew so anxious that sweat poured from her forehead, yet she still couldn’t keep up.

Bai Yutang, on the other hand, was quite gifted. After hearing it two or three times, he had memorized roughly seventy to eighty percent of it.

Su Xing spent half a day helping them both commit the technique to memory, then said to Bai Xiaoxiao:

“Now that you’ve memorized the technique, focus on your cultivation from here on…”

“Every morning for 4 hours, I will teach you pill refinement.”

With that, Su Xing dismissed them both and continued recovering from his injuries.

…

In the blink of an eye, three months had passed.

This was the fourth month of Su Xing’s immersive simulation. His body had recovered considerably — he could even get out of bed and move around. However, the chaotic magical power within him still prevented him from channeling spiritual energy.

On this day, Su Xing was guiding Bai Xiaoxiao in pill refinement inside the woodshed.

After three months of study, Bai Xiaoxiao had officially become an alchemy apprentice, capable of refining first rank pills.

Now, under Su Xing’s guidance, she was beginning to learn how to refine a first rank pill called the Blood Replenishing Pill.

This pill could help Su Xing recover from his internal injuries more quickly.

As Bai Xiaoxiao refined the pill, Su Xing offered instruction:

“Your control over the fire needs to be steadier… You’re using mundane fire right now, so pill refinement demands even greater care.”

“And the pill-forming step needs to be as slow as possible, or all your effort will be wasted.”

While instructing, Su Xing popped two pills into his mouth.

These pills had all been refined by Bai Xiaoxiao.

Pills naturally recovered injuries far faster than raw herbs.

Though Su Xing currently couldn’t channel spiritual energy to refine pills himself, his knowledge and experience remained. As a pill refinement instructor, he was undoubtedly top-tier.

Time ticked by, and this batch of pills reached the most critical stage — pill formation.

Bai Xiaoxiao channeled her faint spiritual energy, eyes fixed unblinkingly on the pill furnace. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead as she strained to maintain the flame beneath the furnace.

Finally, a batch of red pills was successfully refined.

Seven pills formed, with three being waste pills…

Su Xing nodded approvingly:

“Not bad. You’re finally showing some skill!”

“Now that you can refine Blood Replenishing Pills, you should be able to handle any ordinary first rank pill… In the future, even if you only work as an alchemy apprentice at some apothecary, at least you won’t starve.”

Su Xing took the seven Blood Replenishing Pills, examined them briefly, and offered a word of praise.

Bai Xiaoxiao, meanwhile, was so excited she jumped up and rushed over to give Su Xing a hug.

“Master, I did it! I finally did it!”

Bai Xiaoxiao’s eyes were red with emotion. Su Xing had watched all her months of hard work and progress.

Strictly speaking, Bai Xiaoxiao’s alchemy talent wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t top-tier either. Her progress was largely due to Su Xing’s guidance.

Having successfully refined the Blood Replenishing Pill, Bai Xiaoxiao could now begin attempting Second Rank pills.

Su Xing’s goal, however, was to have Bai Xiaoxiao refine a Third Rank Qi-Restoring Pill.

That pill could draw in spiritual energy and might allow Su Xing to recover some of his magical power.

Seeing Bai Xiaoxiao’s excited expression, Su Xing threw some cold water on her enthusiasm:

“You’ve only just managed to refine the most basic Blood Replenishing Pill. You still have a long way to go!”

“And don’t neglect your cultivation either… Your brother has already reached the fourth level of Qi Refinement, and you’re still stuck at the eighth level. How is that acceptable?”

After Su Xing’s reprimand, Bai Xiaoxiao’s face fell, and she looked at him pitifully.

But Su Xing firmly believed that strict masters produced exceptional disciples, so he said:

“If you don’t reach the ninth level of Qi Refinement within one month, forget about learning Second Rank pills!”

Bai Xiaoxiao nodded vigorously, assuring him she would work hard.

…

In the blink of an eye, another year had passed.

On this day, inside the dilapidated courtyard, Su Xing gazed up at the sky, lost in thought, and murmured:

“Before I knew it, the immersive simulation has already been going for a year and a half…”

“This immersive simulation… is truly different from the ones before…”

Su Xing smacked his lips. In previous immersive simulations, he had only focused on cultivation.

But this was his first time taking disciples within a simulation. Though Su Xing knew it was all illusory, the vivid, lifelike experience made it impossible to treat it as fake.

After a year and a half of effort, Su Xing’s physical condition had recovered tremendously. He could move about like a normal person.

In fact, thanks to his powerful physical body, no cultivator below the Immortal realm could pose a threat to Su Xing.

However, the magical power within him remained in disarray.

After a year and a half of gradual recovery, things were much better than before, but he still couldn’t channel immortal power.

Su Xing turned around to look, and his face immediately darkened. He had only been lost in thought for a moment, and Bai Xiaoxiao had nearly ruined another batch of pills.

“The most important thing when refining the Qi-Restoring Pill is stability!”

“Your magical power and cultivation are already insufficient as it is — you absolutely cannot rush! Every single step must be flawless!”

Su Xing instructed.

Bai Xiaoxiao glanced at the ruined pills in her furnace and guiltily stuck out her tongue.

After a year and a half of cultivation, Bai Xiaoxiao had successfully reached the third level of Foundation Establishment.

She had already mastered most Second Rank pills.

And Su Xing was now preparing to teach her the refinement of Third Rank pills…

“I know, I know, Master! I’ve already made so much progress!”

“It’s only been a little over a year, and I’m already at the Foundation Establishment stage!”

“The apothecaries in White Cloud City are all fighting to hire me as an alchemist now!”

Bai Xiaoxiao was quite content, and her gaze toward Su Xing was filled with boundless gratitude.

But Su Xing shook his head and admonished:

“On the path of cultivation, you contend against heaven, earth, and humanity… If you don’t advance, you fall behind!”

“Never let yourself become complacent!”

After his lecture, Su Xing glanced at the sky and said with some puzzlement:

“Why hasn’t Ah Yu — Bai Yutang — come back yet?”

“By this time, he’s usually rushing home for dinner…”

Hearing Su Xing’s question, Bai Xiaoxiao also felt something was off, so she said:

“An hour ago, I sent him to sell pills at the apothecary to exchange for some spirit stones for his cultivation…”

“We’ve been doing this all year. Surely nothing could have gone wrong?”

Su Xing said nothing, but an ominous premonition rose in his heart.

Though he couldn’t channel the power of the Great Dao to divine the future, a cultivator’s sixth sense was still intact.

Su Xing shook his head:

“Don’t panic yet. Go check around the apothecary… and be careful.”

Bai Xiaoxiao nodded and hurried toward the apothecary in the city.