Just barely after midday passed, a knocking sound surprised everybody in the mansion. When Feng Xue saw Elder Yang in front of the gate, her eyes brighten and her face brimming with a smile.
"Welcome back, Master. Where are First brother Lin and Senior Sister Zi?" said Feng Xue as she invited Elder Yang to enter the guest hall.
"They were assigned with a different mission by Sect Master, so I come here alone. What? Not happy?" Elder Yang sneered at Feng Xue and then pulled a chair to sit on.
"Of course, I'm happy to see you, Master!" retorted Feng Xue with a pout. "You're not that old but already so grumpy."
Elder Yang squinted his eyes while raising his right hand, "How dare you teased your master, you brat! Do you think I won't spank your butt?!"
"No, no, no. Just kidding, master, I'm just kidding," Feng Xue shook her head and hastily responded.
"Here I was going to bring you good news, yet this is how you treat me?" Elder Yang scoffed with his hands crossed.
Seeing her master in a foul mood, Feng Xue swiftly moved behind Elder Yang and gently massaged his shoulder. This trick had always worked whenever Elder Yang angry at her.
"Oh, master, you're such a benevolent person. You truly preceded your reputation. You're the dragon among the man soaring over the nine firmaments. Your legend will be forever passed to nine generations of the Eastern Continent...."
"Okay, okay. Enough with your flattering. Let's back to the important topic," Elder Yang waved his hand and smiling. "After checking our sect's inventory, I'm sure that we can get 80% of the medicine's ingredients from there. The remaining ingredients had also been supplied from various auction houses and Pill Haven. The best news is I success to invite Grand Alchemist Chen to refine the medicine personally."
"Really? You're the best master in the world!" Feng Xue opened her arm, ready to hug Elder Yang but halt when she heard his next words.
"Don't be happy so fast. We failed to get one more ingredient; It's the Nine-Petal Lotus. I've already searched the library thoroughly and even consulting directly to Grand Alchemist Chen but still didn't find the clue of its whereabouts," sighed Elder Yang.
"Ah. there must be another way...." Feng Xue frowned and chewed her lip. Her fear had come true. If even Grand Alchemist Chen, with his vast knowledge of medicinal plants and alchemy, couldn't help them, then who else can? A beautiful face flashing in her mind. She turned her head and looked at Snowy with a pleading gaze.
Snowy thought a little bit and then spoke, "Hmm. Nine-Petal Lotus? I think I know where it is."
"Are you sure, Snowy?" asked Feng Xue hurriedly.
"Yes. It grows in the depth of the forest where we first met, the Blackwood Forest," said Snowy.
After getting confirmation from Snowy, Feng Xue finally breathed a relieved sigh.
On the other hand, Elder Yang stared at Snowy with a perplexed look. He had been running here and there searching for Nine-Petal Lotus but ended up with no result. It turned out, Snowy knew it all along.
If it was before, he will quickly dismiss her words and thought it was arrogant and conceited. But after spending some time with her, he knew she was speaking the truth.
The more he interacted with Snowy, the more unfathomable she was in his eyes. He remembered Feng Xuan had advised him to recruit Snowy before, but he didn't consider it much at that time. Now, he would spare no effort to get her into his sect.
"If it's in Blackwood Forest, I can go there and get it meanwhile I'm on my way returning to the sect," Elder Yang said.
"Let me handle this, Master. I can't always rely on you to solve my problem," Feng Xue said.
"But, you'll have a hard time venturing deeper into the forest with your..."
Elder Yang's eyes and mouth opened wide when he sensed Feng Xue's cultivation.
"Did something happen to you in the past week? Why did your Qi seem to be a lot purer and stronger? Are you already breakthrough to the Golden Core stage? But, it's impossible. I can't sense Golden Core inside your body," Elder Yang barraged Feng Xue with questions.
"Uuh..." Feng Xue scratched her head, didn't immediately answer. She then looked at Snowy and saw her lightly nodded. Despite getting Snowy's permission, Feng Xue still hesitated.
"It's fine. Everyone has their little secret, if you feel uncomfortable talking about it, you don't need to," Elder Yang said with a smile giving her a way out.
"Thank you, master."
"So, it means you haven't had a breakthrough? When will you consume the Phoenix Blood and Heavenly Rebirth pill?" Elder Yang asked.
Pondering for a moment, she answered, "Because you already here, I want to do it today."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Master."
"Okay, let's get ready. I'll prepare an array to ensure your safety."
Elder Yang nodded and didn't question her determination anymore. Elder Yang took out a bag of sparkling stones and spread it all over the mansion, forming a particular pattern.
"Master, is this a spirit stone?" Feng Xue asked curiously, picking a random stone and examined it closely.
Elder Yang only nodded, didn't bother to answer her, and continue to spread the stones with a serious expression.
Feng Xuan understood the formation must be very complicated and required a lot of Elder Yang's mental strength to set it up.
She turned around looking at Snowy, and asked, "What's the difference between spirit stone and spirit core?"
"Spirit Stone is purer than Spirit Core and how they come to be are also different. Spirit core is akin to a dantian but it can materialize physically. On the other hand, spiritual stone is created by a cultivator by condensing surrounding Qi outside their body. Someone needed to be at least a Nascent Soul cultivator to make a spirit stone. In other regions with a denser spiritual qi, they can also be formed naturally," explained Snowy to Feng Xue.
Not long after, Elder Yang finished setting up the formation and then he channeled his Qi into it.
The stones he scattered suddenly shone brightly. The light spread enveloping the mansion entirely. In a second, the light gathered around the mansion's perimeter and formed a thick barrier in the shape of a dome.
"Are you ready?" Elder Yang asked Feng Xue.