Gu Yao pondered for a moment and summoned one of his most trusted aides.
"Head to the North-Western region immediately."
The aide, slightly puzzled, looked up at him, only to see Gu Yao's eyes filled with intense murderous intent.
"Find Xiao Yan and eliminate that trash!"
Terrified by Gu Yao's powerful aura and dark gaze, the aide broke into a cold sweat and quickly bowed his head in agreement.
While an assassin was being dispatched to deal with Xiao Yan, Gu Fei returned to his mountain peak.
After resting briefly, he decided to start refining a seventh-rank pill.
A seventh-rank pill! In the outside world, such a genius would astonish everyone.
Gu Fei was so young, only sixteen!
And yet, he was capable of refining a seventh-rank pill that many alchemists could never achieve in their lifetime.
Any seventh-rank pill could fetch an astronomical price at an auction. Many seventh-rank pills were priceless treasures, capable of stirring up fierce competition.
Earlier, the system had upgraded Gu Fei's alchemy skills to level seven. As a result, Gu Fei had also mastered numerous seventh-rank pill recipes.
Last night, while staying up late, Gu Fei's thoughts were not just focused on his marriage with Xun'er. More importantly, he was thinking about these seventh-rank pills.
Since he now had access to so many pill recipes, he naturally wanted to start refining them.
The pill Gu Fei intended to refine this time was one that could enhance the cultivation of a Dou Ancestor by one star- named the "Sea-Boosting Pill."
In the market, this pill was a priceless seventh-rank pill. Its key advantage was that, once consumed, it could raise a Dou Ancestor's cultivation by one star without any side effects! There would be no instability in the practitioner's foundation; the pill alone could directly elevate a Dou Ancestor's power.
Even for a seventh-rank alchemist, refining this pill required a lot of time, and there was still a chance of failure.
Why did Gu Fei want to attempt refining a seventh-rank pill?
Recalling the pill recipe provided by the system, he muttered to himself, "Just to pass the time."
Yes, for Gu Fei, refining a pill that would take ordinary seventh-rank alchemists weeks or even a month to prepare was simply a way to kill time.
The divorce cooling-off period was precisely one month. Perhaps by the time the pill was ready, the time would be up.
Once everything was prepared, Gu Fei set up a barrier outside his residence. He didn't want any interruptions at a critical moment that might ruin the alchemy process.
Days passed, and neither of the main characters showed up in the Gu Clan. The discussions about Gu Fei and Xun'er gradually faded. Without seeing the protagonists, who knew what they were up to? Besides, daily cultivation was quite demanding.
On the mountain peak, Gu Fei sat by the window, his eyes closed in meditation.
In front of him, a small and exquisite alchemy furnace emitted a faint glow. A subtle fragrance of medicinal herbs lingered in the room.
Half a month later, Gu Fei suddenly opened his eyes. The sky above the mountain peak had dramatically changed.
Beyond the peak, the sky was clear and sunny, but on the peak itself, dark clouds had gathered, interspersed with violent pill thunder. The pill thunder was thick and terrifying, striking fear into anyone who looked at it.
The pill thunder quickly gathered in the clouds and then struck down like lightning, directly hitting the house on the mountain top.
The sound and impact startled many people in the Gu Clan, who hurried over to watch.
Among them were several alchemists.
A young alchemist, well-respected among the younger generation, looked at the thunder in the sky and gasped in disbelief.
"This is the pill thunder that only appears when a seventh-rank pill is being born!"
Although only a few alchemists were present, they all understood how precious a seventh-rank pill was.
A young girl voiced her admiration, her face showing her longing for strong individuals.
"Who would have thought that Brother Gu Fei not only has exceptional cultivation but is also highly skilled in alchemy!"
"Indeed, Brother Gu Fei is only sixteen… Miss Xun'er really shouldn't have…"
An elder of the Gu Clan, well-regarded by others, spoke with a hint of regret in his eyes. After all, Miss Xun'er was also extremely talented, and her union with Gu Fei would surely elevate the Gu Clan further.
However, Miss Xun'er had feelings for another man...
The discussions grew louder, most of them filled with admiration. All these feelings of admiration, envy, and so on were collected by Gu Fei's system.
Gu Tian feels admiration, +1 emotion points.
Gu Yan feels admiration, +1 emotion points.
Gu Yaqin feels affection, +1 emotion points.
...
These small emotion points were all being collected by the system. Gu Fei listened with satisfaction as the points steadily increased.
While the increments were small, a steady stream could still form a great ocean, couldn't it?
The last notification made him smile.
Xun'er feels frustrated, +100 emotion points.
It turned out that Xun'er was also there, hidden among the crowd of Gu Clan members. No one had noticed her arrival, except for Gu Fei's system.
At that moment, Xun'er, hiding in the shadows, gazed up at the house on the mountain peak, just like everyone else.
She couldn't help but recall that she had lived there just a few days ago…
If Gu Fei hadn't suggested the divorce, would she also be the object of everyone's envy?
Instead of being the one people pitied, pitied because she chose another man.
All the discussions around her reached Xun'er's ears. With her high level of cultivation, the noisy chatter felt like daggers and swords piercing her ears and heart.
Initially, wasn't she supposed to be indifferent to everything about Gu Fei?
Why did hearing these people's discussions stir up feelings of frustration in her heart?
Xun'er felt very uneasy. Biting her lower lip, she frowned and looked up at the distant mountain peak, her gaze unfocused, lost in thought.
Although Xun'er did not like Gu Fei, her appreciation for strong individuals brought her here.
Because she had sensed a powerful presence, like that of a high-level pill, she had rushed over to join the excitement.
After all, her father, Gu Yuan, had been really angry and had announced that she would be grounded for a month. She wouldn't be allowed to move freely until Gu Fei came to see her father again.
Deep down, Xun'er couldn't help but blame Gu Fei.
After half a month had passed, she sensed the emergence of a high-level pill and sneaked out while Gu Yuan wasn't paying attention.
Along the way, Xun'er was excited, thinking that one of the elders of the Gu Clan had refined a high-level pill.
Who would have thought that the one who refined the seventh-rank pill was actually Gu Fei.