Advancing two realms in succession over the course of one night was a speed that was beyond comprehension. This was especially so when Ning Xiaochuan advanced to Stage Six Qi, which was something he still could not wrap his head around.
"Calm down, don't overreact, get a hold of yourself. The Heart-nourishing Cauldron produced four drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid. Then, the shortsword in my blood orifice acted weirdly before it tried to steal the four drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid. The blood and heart orifices then started chasing each other, forming a Taiji and the four drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid disappeared. I also advanced to Stage Six Qi."
If he had merely absorbed the four drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid, Ning Xiaochuan would not have advanced to Stage Six Qi. However, the four drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid were definitely the source.
Ning Xiaochuan needed to refine one more stalk of Blood-increasing Herb if he wanted to figure out the reason so that the situation could be repeated. Who knows, he might even be able to advance to Stage Seven Qi.
In the Nobles' mansions, members of younger generations that had achieved Stage Four Qi or Stage Five Qi were only seen as self-indulgent rich kids that need not be taken seriously. Only the ones that had achieved Stage Seven Qi were regarded as important geniuses that needed to be groomed well.
It could be said that Stage Seven Qi was a huge dividing line and anyone that advanced into Stage Seven Qi and above would be regarded as a "Genius Descendant" whereas those below Stage Seven Qi would be regarded as a "Good-for-nothing Descendant".
Ning Xiaochuan was one step away from Stage Seven Qi, so it made sense for him to want to achieve that as soon as possible.
However… Ning Xiaochuan had completely exhausted his piece of low-grade Magnetite while he was refining the Blood-increasing Herbs. Without a piece of Magnetite, no Heart-nourishing Master would be able to produce Mystical Medicine.
"Seems I'll have to buy a piece of Magnetite first." Ning Xiaochuan suppressed the joy he felt from advancing two realms, one after another because it was not the time for him to be happy. He would only allow himself to hold his head high after he had advanced to Stage Seven Qi.
The sky was completely bright now and the younger descendants of Marquis Jiange's Residence had already gotten up for their morning exercises; some were practicing their sword tactics while the others were absorbing and releasing Qi.
A few Good-for-nothing Descendants were lazing around to the side, entirely enjoying themselves too much. Their maidservants massaged away at their shoulders and brought tea or water over to them. Occasionally, these descendants would pinch at the exquisite and delicate bodies of these maids, causing them to yelp softly.
Ning Xiaochuan cradled his pack with the thirty-seven vials of liquid carefully to his chest and rushed towards a quiet corner of the wall. Once he was sure there was no one around, he flew about 32 feet into the air and landed upon the tall wall surrounding the residence.
His figure flickered and the next moment, he was in a crowded street.
The elders of Marquis Jiange's Residence all assumed the Bloodthirsty Devil Sect had killed Ning Han and the pair of servants, so they had issued a ban. Unless they had something important to attend to, all descendants of Marquis Jiange's Residence were not allowed to leave the residence as they pleased.
Therefore, Ning Xiaochuan had no choice but to climb over a wall.
Marquis Jiange's Residence was located in a busy part of the Imperial City, the same part of the city that also housed Guanyu Tower, famous for its beautiful jade-like women and the company they provided, and Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall, which was frequented by powerhouses.
Imperial City's inner city was divided into thirty-six districts.
The outskirts, on the other hand, had seventy-two districts.
Marquis Jiange's Residence was located in an inner city district called Tianwei District.
There were a total of six Nobles' mansions in Tianwei District so the prosperity of the district was obvious.
Ning Xiaochuan quickly arrived at Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall once more. He donned his Junior Heart-nourishing Master's robe, which featured a golden Dapeng (TN: A Dapeng is a giant bird that transforms from a Kun, a giant fish, in Chinese mythology.) embroidered with Heavenly Mystical Silk.
An attendant of Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall personally received him before leading Ning Xiaochuan to the cabinet on the second floor.
A beautiful maidservant brought over a cup of Heart-cleansing Mystical Tae before respectfully setting it before Ning Xiaochuan. The cup was made of engraved jadeite, the glimmering green was almost clear!
Ning Xiaochuan was a Heart-nourishing Master belonging to Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall now, which meant that he would not be treated normally anymore.
"You're Mister Ning who became a Junior Heart-nourishing Master yesterday. Attendant Qianqian… Nice to meet you, nice to meet you." Attendant Hua swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue because he knew that the extremely talented Attendant Qianqian would not want anyone finding out her identity. According to her, any time someone found out that she was Great King Jinpeng's youngest daughter, Attendant Qianqian and that person would no longer get along well.
Attendant Hua was a middle-aged man in his forties. He was slightly plump but was dressed immaculately in gold robes with a green belt. The smile on his face was welcoming as well.
He was sixth among the fifty to sixty Attendants at Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall. Although he was not a Heart-nourishing Master, his Martial Art Cultivation was very impressive, hence his high position. Even if Ning Hunkun of Marquis Jiange's Residence came to Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall, he might not even be received by any of the top ten Attendants.
To have the Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall's sixth Attendant receive a Junior Heart-nourishing Master was no easy feat but was made possible by Yu Qianqian's high praise of Ning Xiaochuan and her telling Attendant Hua to pay him more attention.
Attendant Hua had, of course, read through Ning Xiaochuan's file. "A Heart-nourishing Master of Hybrid Attribute. Managed to produce three drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid of the highest purity after refining a stalk of Heart-nourishing Herb for the first time. Most importantly, he's only sixteen!"
Ning Xiaochuan possessed great potential! There was a 60% chance he would become a Mid-level Heart-nourishing Master and 10% that he would become a Senior Heart-nourishing Master in the future.
A genius like him was the focus of Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall's nurturing, so the attention he received was different from other Junior Heart-nourishing Masters.
Attendant Hua immediately praised him, "You're so talented at such a young age. I'm sure youngsters like you will be the pillars of Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall in the future. Right! Mister Ning, why have you come to Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall today?"
Ning Xiaochuan unloaded his pack and laid out the thirty-seven vials before saying with a smile, "It's a small matter, really. I just wanted to sell these Heart-nourishing Liquids I produced last night, which isn't a matter that should've needed you to attend to."
Attendant Hua stared at the mass of vials, his eyebrows flying upwards before he said, "These are all Heart-nourishing Liquids you produced last night?"
"Yes! Didn't I buy ten stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb here yesterday? I refined them all that same night and produced a total of thirty-seven drops of Heart-nourishing Liquids," answered Ning Xiaochuan.
"You refined ten stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb in a single night?" Attendant Hua felt like his head was going to explode as his eyes went as big as saucers while he stared intently at Ning Xiaochuan.
Usually, Junior Heart-nourishing Masters could refine one stalk of Heart-nourishing Herb per day, at most three stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb if they really pushed themselves.
Attendant Hua had seen only one Junior Heart-nourishing Master refine five stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb in a day, but that Junior Heart-nourishing Master had possessed a Stage Seven Divine Body.
The young man before Attendant Hua obviously only had Cultivation in the Qi Realm, which made him many times weaker than that Junior Heart-nourishing Master in the Stage Seven Divine Body Realm. However, the young man had supposedly refined ten stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb in a single night. Fortunately, Attendant Hua was a combat powerhouse with a strong heart, which meant scaring him out of his wits was no easy task.
Ning Xiaochuan had seen Attendant Hua's expression, which made him very confused. Attendant Hua was one of the top Attendants of Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall, so logically, he should be familiar with the world and not lose his cool easily. Why did the thirty-seven drops of Heart-nourishing Liquids shock him so?
Attendant Hua must be new here!" thought Ning Xiaochuan to himself.
Ning Xiaochuan calmly said, "A Junior Heart-nourishing Master needs about an hour to refine a single stalk of Heart-nourishing Herb. Therefore, ten stalks would need ten hours. Refining ten stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb over a single night should be a breeze, right?"
Although Attendant Hua was no Heart-nourishing Master, he was still the sixth Attendant of Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall. How could he not know the amount of time a Junior Heart-nourishing Master would need to refine a stalk of Heart-nourishing Herb?
Attendant Hua was aggravated! He has been with Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall for decades, yet here he was being regarded as a novice by a teenager. This teenager was not only explaining the amount of time needed to refine Heart-nourishing Herb, but he was also explaining simple mathematics to Attendant Hua. How could a great Attendant of Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall tolerate this?
Attendant Hua heaved a long breath and tried to calm the turbulent emotions roaring inside him. He forced a smile. "Mister Ning, is this a joke?"
Ning Xiaochuan froze in his actions before responding, "I…I merely wanted to sell my thirty-seven drops of Heart-nourishing Liquids. I don't mean anything else. Could it be Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall doesn't accept Heart-nourishing Liquids anymore?"
"No, no…" Ning Xiaochuan did not seem like he was joking to Attendant Hua, so Attendant Hua continued, "This entire thing just sounds extraordinary to me, so I'm having a hard time believing it! I'm sure Mister Ning knows that most Junior Heart-nourishing Masters can refine three stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb a day at most, and that's only possible for the most outstanding Junior Heart-nourishing Masters."
Ning Xiaochuan squinted his eyes and commented, "Is it that difficult?"
Ning Xiaochuan really did not find it difficult at all!
Attendant Hua replied, "Heart-nourishing Masters use their Core Flames to refine Heart-nourishing Herb, which means a bit of their Heart-nourishing Cauldron is consumed each time they refine a Heart-nourishing Herb. To Junior Heart-nourishing Masters, refining three stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb a day is their limit. If they force themselves to break that limit, not only could their Heart-nourishing Cauldron break, their Combat Atrium might shatter completely as well. At best, their Cultivation might be crippled but at worst, they might die of a shattered heart."
Once his words fell, Attendant Hua immediately had somebody bring five stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb over, which were delivered to them on a jade tray!
He continued, "Of course, there are some remarkable and otherworldly geniuses, outlier Junior Heart-nourishing Masters that appear rarely, that can refine five, sometimes ten, stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb in a day. Mister Ning, you might just be one of these geniuses. I'm quite excited now and I wonder if it's possible for me to see Mister Ning refine these five stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb with my own eyes?"
A smile lit up Attendant Hua's face as he pointed at the five stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb upon the jade tray.
The pair of beautiful maidservants behind Attendant Hua also held gazes of anticipation. Their beautiful eyes betrayed their thoughts; could this handsome young man really be a genius?
Although Attendant Hua had spoken beautiful words, Ning Xiaochuan knew Attendant Hua did not believe him and wanted to verify his ability for himself.
Refining five stalks of Heart-nourishing Herbs was a piece of cake for Ning Xiaochuan but he did not agree to Attendant Hua's request immediately. Instead, he said, "Attendant Hua, you should know that refining five stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb takes quite a lot of time, which is very valuable to a Heart-nourishing Master."
Attendant Hua nodded his head with a knowing smile. "If Mister Ning is able to refine these five stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb within a day and produce Heart-nourishing Liquid out of them, they'll belong to Mister Ning. How does that sound?"
If Ning Xiaochuan truly was a peerless genius, even giving him five hundred stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb would be completely worthwhile.
Ning Xiaochuan was doing his own calculations as well. Five stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb would produce twenty drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid, with each drop priced at two hundred thousand copper coins, he would be rolling in money!
"Why give me a day when I'll only need four hours to completely fully these five stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb?"
Without another word, Ning Xiaochuan grasped a stalk of Heart-nourishing Herb in his hand. With a bang, it had completely dissipated into medicinal Qi, which was transported into his Heart-nourishing Cauldron using Combat Qi. Soon, the refining process began.