In this world, it is often said that children born late in life are a great joy and affirmation of one's abilities. Zhen Hu never expected he would encounter even greater joy than this.
A father in his old age!
And not just a father to him alone, but a father to the entire Starry Sky Pill Sect!
Half a supreme medicinal pill, worth at least 150,000 Spirit Stones - the YinYang LiHuo Pill - casually gifted away.
This could only mean Chen Xia truly did not care about that half pill.
Having witnessed Chen Xia's casual pill refining methods, it was difficult to believe he would care.
With just a stir, a flip, and a snap of his fingers.
The only relation to pill refining was in the medicinal ingredients.
But there was one puzzling point Zhen Hu just could not understand: the medicinal ingredients, although sufficient to refine a high-grade pill, were not enough to support a supreme-grade YinYang LiHuo Pill.
It lacked some amount and key ingredients.
Yet Chen Xia refined it nonetheless, leaving Zhen Hu rather baffled.
It should not have been possible!
He carefully recalled Chen Xia's pill refining process, and suddenly it all seemed reasonable.
It was just lacking some ingredients and amounts. Chen Xia did not even use a pill furnace. With the lacking ingredients, so what?
Could a pill not form without enough ingredients?
Zhen Hu felt he could not judge Chen Xia's skills with an orthodox mindset. His thinking needed opening up.
He neatly arranged the half supreme pill in hand, tidied his robes, his expression shifting from initially somewhat arrogant to solemn, and even somewhat prudent.
He faced Chen Xia with clasped fists. His mouth opened and closed, his gaze seeming confused, but soon steadied. Bowing at the waist, he spoke in a deep voice.
"Brother!"
This was the highest form of respect a cultivator of this realm could show Chen Xia.
"Father!"
Suddenly another voice cried out as Bai Jie hurried over, shouting loudly:
"Father, after working hard all day, you must be tired. Let your son massage your shoulders for you."
Speaking thus, Bai Jie moved to massage Chen Xia's shoulders, his expression extremely attentive and enthusiastic.
Chen Xia declined with a shake of his head: "No need for a shoulder massage. Since matters are settled, just send me home. I'm rushing to have dinner."
"Father, it would be too courteous of you to refuse. Let me make dinner for you. Even if you want ancient beast meat, I will hunt and serve it to you tonight!"
Bai Jie was very attentive, thumping his chest as he called out.
"Aren't you an ancient beast yourself?" Chen Xia curiously asked.
Bai Jie was startled. After thinking for a bit, he whispered to Chen Xia: "I'm a white colt. Not very tasty. How about I find you some flying ancient beast meat instead? Their meat is more tender."
"Forget it. I don't have such tastes. Just eating some beasts whose wisdom has not awakened will do. Eating you who can transform into humans still feels a bit unacceptable." Chen Xia shook his head.
"You truly have insight!" Bai Jie hurriedly gave a thumbs up, laughing loudly in praise.
Chen Xia yawned slightly, feeling somewhat bored. He waved his hand. "Just send me home."
"Alright." Bai Jie hurriedly nodded. Just as he was about to speak, his head was suddenly grabbed by a hand. Glancing over, he saw it was Zhen Hu. Not daring to move, he puzzledly asked:
"Lord Sect Master?"
"Get lost." Zhen Hu coldly snorted. With a single hand he flung Bai Jie aside, then neatly turned, his sleeves swirling as his face instantly switched to a warm smile. He extended his hand:
"Sir, allow me to send you home. Bai Jie is still too young and lacks manners."
"It's fine, whoever does it." Chen Xia was indifferent. He was quite satisfied with the customs of this realm.
Zhen Hu raised his hand high and forcefully beckoned: "Move out!"
Within Starry Sky Pill Sect, over ten thousand-meter flying shuttles abruptly rose up, suspended in the air. This was the battle formation Starry Sky Pill Sect would deploy when fighting other sects.
Yet now it was only to send Chen Xia home.
Today, the mighty fleet of Starry Sky Pill Sect set out, over ten thousand-meter flying shuttles majestically departing, giving a sensation of blotting out the sun.
The surrounding smaller sects were extremely panic-stricken, feeling that Starry Sky Pill Sect intended to annihilate them all!
Fortunately that was not the case.
The ten-plus flying shuttles of Starry Sky Pill Sect all went to the lower levels of the realm.
The surrounding cultivators who witnessed this were confused.
Could it be that some lower sect had offended Starry Sky Pill Sect? Was it necessary to deploy such forces?
How was this different than using a cannon to hit a mosquito?
Not only were the mid-level cultivators of the realm confused, the lower levels were even more so. That morning when he left, there was only one shuttle!
Yet returning that afternoon, there were over ten!
Did Chen Xia kill their Sect Master?
Judging by these forces, it seemed they intended to raze the lower realms!
But the Realm Master would definitely not allow it! By acting thus, was Starry Sky Pill Sect not afraid of incurring the Realm Master's wrath?
The lower level cultivators were very puzzled. Those near Chen Xia's home were even more panicked, worried they would be the first to perish.
Zhang DaoMing sat at his door, jug of wine in hand. Staring blankly at the ten-plus shuttles hovering overhead, he froze, then set down his jug. With a sniff, he raised both hands high and shouted loudly:
"I surrender!"
"What the hell are you surrendering for?" Came Chen Xia's voice. Then in Zhang DaoMing's bewildered gaze, he walked out from the lead shuttle, adding:
"I'm just home for dinner."
"Oh, I see..." Zhang DaoMing opened and closed his mouth, unable to get the words out.
The reversal was just too huge. He was temporarily unable to process it.
Chen Xia slowly approached and behind him followed the Sect Masters of Starry Sky Pill Sect and Bai Jie. They came before Zhang DaoMing.
"Hello, hello!" Zhen Hu warmly greeted Zhang DaoMing.
"Hello." Zhang DaoMing also responded enthusiastically, then puzzledly asked: "And you are?"
"Just call him Little Hu." Chen Xia said from the side.
Zhang DaoMing nodded, feeling this Little Hu was probably a pill refiner in Starry Sky Pill Sect, though he did not know exactly who. He was not very familiar with Starry Sky Pill Sect, only recognizing the middle-aged cultivator at the Transporting Mountain Realm he had met previously as the highest status person.
Thus he smiled and boldly addressed: "Then I shall make so bold as to call you Little Hu."
"Excellent, excellent." Zhen Hu nodded. Towards someone introduced by Chen Xia, he did not dare put on airs. After all, the half pill in his pocket was so very heavy.
He further asked: "How may I address you?"
"Zhang DaoMing. Just call me Old Zhang. I have no great skills, just an alchemist, probably can't be considered a top-grade one - just middle-grade at best."
"No matter, no matter." Zhen Hu smiled and nodded. As long as a monster like Chen Xia existed, no matter Zhang DaoMing's status, he had to treat him respectfully.
Even if he were a dog, he would have to happily bark in dialogue.
Such was Zhen Hu's determination.
And very soon -
The door opened.
Out limped a big yellow dog leaning on a cane.
Dead silence.
The scene was likely rendered speechless.
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
ave】 Shen Qingling was a man with peerless looks, a cunning mind, and the ability to play both the aloof noble and the innocent sweetheart—a master of seduction who could outplay any player. But after an untimely death, he found himself bound to a system and transmigrated into the tragic "true young master" of a melodramatic novel. In the original story, his childhood sweetheart treated him as a backup plan, his fiancée swore to break off their engagement for the sake of the "fake young master," and his own sister saw him as the family's disgrace. He was nothing more than a rat everyone wanted to stomp on. System 077: "Your mission is to change the original fate and conquer the goddesses." Shen Qingling: "Thanks for the invite. If seduction had tiers, I’d be max level." His childhood sweetheart knelt, begging for forgiveness: "Qingling, I was wrong. Please give me another chance." His ex-fiancée refused to marry anyone else: "Shen Qingling, I was blind before. In this life, I’ll marry no one but you." A yandere CEO went mad for love: "Shen Qingling, you can only like me. I’ll stop at nothing to make you mine!" His green-tea sister clung to him daily: "Brother, look at me, won’t you? I’m more obedient than them—I love you the most~" At first, they scorned and trampled on him. Later, they burned themselves like moths to a flame, all for his sake. His looks were his weapon, his sweet words the bait—heroines obsessed over him, villains turned to madness for him. Shen Qingling became a true male siren, igniting battlefield after battlefield of women fighting for his affection. Years later, when System 077—now one of the elites—was asked how to become as outstanding as it, it lazily exhaled a smoke ring and replied: "Just know how to cheer ‘666’ at the right time."
