Sect Storms Chapter 43: Purple Flame in the Palm, Elixir Radiance at the Fingertips

Chu Xing felt his heartbeat skip a beat.

Despite his usual eloquence, his mind went completely blank in this instant, leaving behind only the fleeting, breathtaking smile.

Mu Wanqing seemed to realize her lapse as well, and that soul-stirring smile quickly vanished. She unnaturally averted her gaze, cleared her throat, and a subtle flush crept up the tips of her ears.

"Who wants a seventy-thirty split with you?"

She resumed her cold and aloof tone, though her restless, slightly curled fingers betrayed the turmoil within her heart.

Recovering his wits, Chu Xing gave a dry cough to mask his embarrassment and was about to say something more.

However, Mu Wanqing had already forcibly shifted her gaze to the patch of herbal garden, taking the initiative to speak, "Junior Brother, these spiritual herbs... what do you plan to do with them?"

"What else can I do?" Chu Xing spread his hands. "Absorb them directly, of course, just like that Dragon Blood Grass."

"If absorbed directly, not even ten percent of their medicinal efficacy will be retained."

Mu Wanqing shook her head, paused for a moment in contemplation, and softly said, "Let me help you."

Before her voice had even faded, she had already stepped forward.

Without any superfluous movements, she merely extended her delicate, slender hand and made a beckoning gesture toward those spiritual herbs in the air.

The finest-looking spiritual herbs, along with the soil clinging to their roots, were enveloped by an invisible force and steadily floated before her.

"Senior Sister, you are..." Chu Xing asked, looking on in astonishment.

The next moment, an incredible scene unfolded.

"Hum!"

A cluster of pale purple flames rose out of nowhere from her fair palm!

The flames were not scorching; instead, they carried a cold and translucent quality, glowing quietly as though carved from the finest purple jade.

Chu Xing's pupils shrank violently!

Alchemical flame! This was the alchemical flame that every alchemist dreamed of! And it was a rare, high-grade mutated alchemical flame at that!

"Senior Sister, you're refining pills here... without an alchemical cauldron?" Chu Xing asked instinctively.

Hearing this, Mu Wanqing tilted her head, a trace of innocent matter-of-factness flashing in her cold eyes.

"Refining pills... does one still need an alchemical cauldron?"

With a wave of her delicate hand, those spiritual herbs were all cast straight into the cluster of purple alchemical flame.

There was no crackling sound, nor any billowing smoke.

The moment the spiritual herbs came into contact with the flame, they were instantly purified and melted at a visible speed, turning into droplets of pure medicinal liquid. All impurities vanished into nothingness the very instant they touched the fire.

Her ten fingers moved like the most graceful dancer, continuously weaving and guiding through the ball of medicinal liquid. Every movement flowed like moving clouds and flowing water, imbued with an indescribable beauty.

Chu Xing was completely dumbfounded.

This level of control over the alchemical flame and medicinal power had reached an unfathomable realm!

This wasn't pill refining; this was clearly the creation of art!

In no more than a dozen breaths' time.

The cluster of purple alchemical flame gradually receded and finally vanished altogether.

Three round pills, the size of longan fruit, floated quietly in the palm of Mu Wanqing's hand. One of them even emitted a unique blue hue, its surface intertwined with faint vein-like patterns.

The fragrance of the pills permeated the air, refreshing the mind of anyone who smelled it.

"Take them." Mu Wanqing flicked her finger, and the three pills turned into three streaks of light, landing securely in Chu Xing's hand.

"This is... Blue Vein Pill?" Holding the blue pill and feeling the pure energy contained within it, Chu Xing was shocked beyond measure. "You... how did you do this?"

For an ordinary alchemist to refine this upper-grade Yellow-tier Blue Vein Pill, even with the assistance of an alchemical cauldron, it would take several hours, and the success rate would be exceedingly low.

Yet she had accomplished it effortlessly with a flick of her finger!

However, when he looked up, he noticed that instead of looking joyful after refining the pills, Mu Wanqing's complexion had grown even paler, and a fine layer of cold sweat had even seeped onto her temples.

"Are you alright?"

"It's nothing." Mu Wanqing waved her hand, forcing herself to walk over to the nearby stone wall and sit down, her tone laden with deep exhaustion.

Looking at Chu Xing's shocked face, she explained with a complex look in her eyes, "This is the ability of the Alchemical Heart Saint Body. It has an innate affinity for alchemical flames and medicinal power, making pill refining second nature."

"Alchemical Heart Saint Body?" This was the first time Chu Xing had heard this term.

"Mn." Mu Wanqing nodded softly. "It is an extremely rare physique. The efficiency of pill refining is extremely high, and cultivation progress is exceptionally rapid as a result. For me, refining pills is just like cultivating."

She paused, a helpless note weaving through her voice, "Yet it is also a curse. Every time I refine pills, it leaves behind waste material that cannot be completely refined, slowly accumulating in my meridians, making it feel as though my bones are being scraped away bit by bit."

This was Mu Wanqing's greatest secret, yet for some reason, she was now revealing it without reservation.

A sudden wave of understanding washed over Chu Xing.

No wonder she possessed such heaven-defying pill-refining skills yet still needed this spiritual spring to suppress something. It turned out this talent was a double-edged sword in its own right.

Looking at that slightly pale face marred by exhaustion, a complex mixture of emotions welled up inside him.

Mu Wanqing seemed to want to stand up, but her movement carried an imperceptible stiffness, and her brow furrowed almost unnoticeably.

Yet this subtle movement was completely caught by Chu Xing, who had been watching her the entire time.

After a moment of silence, Chu Xing still took a step forward and squatted down in front of her.

"Senior Sister, let me take a look for you."

Warm breath brushed against her face.

Mu Wanqing's body stiffened abruptly. She instinctively wanted to retreat, only to realize she was already pressed against the cold stone wall with nowhere left to run. Her heartbeat spun out of control, and her mind went entirely blank.

In all her years, no man had ever dared to come this close to her.

Looking into his clear eyes, she found no trace of his usual cynicism, only a pure and genuine concern. The refusal that hovered on the tip of her lips somehow refused to leave her mouth.

"Mn..."

In the end, she let out an almost inaudible sound and slowly nodded.

With her tacit permission, Chu Xing said no more.

Taking a deep breath, he reached out once again, his warm palm gently pressing against her lower abdomen.

Beneath his palm lay startling smoothness and warmth. Through the thin fabric of her clothes, Chu Xing could even feel the tension of her skin and the slight tremor caused by her nervousness.

This peculiar tactile sensation sent ripples through his own mind.

As for Mu Wanqing, she let out an almost imperceptible groan, her entire body rigid.

That warmth penetrated aggressively through her clothes, making her deeply embarrassed, yet she could not muster the slightest strength to resist.

Chu Xing forcibly gathered his wits and concentrated his attention on her Dantian.

With a thought, the black stone bead stirred under his guidance, once again erupting with that familiar suction force!

The black stone bead in his palm, like a primordial beast starved for a millennium, sensed the pure alchemical poison and trembled violently, unleashing a greedy and tyrannical suction force!

Tendrils of alchemical poison entrenched deep within her meridians were dragged out by the stone bead from within her body as if a hundred rivers were returning to the sea, surging wildly along Chu Xing's palm and pouring directly into his body!