Xu Mu returned home in the afternoon.
Holding the medicinal herbs in his hand, he fell into deep thought.
Eventually, he grabbed his car keys, drove off, and headed toward Yang City.
For low-grade elixirs, an oven or microwave would suffice, but this time, he intended to refine a seventh-grade elixir.
Seventh-grade elixirs were considered high-tier, so he needed to craft a simple alchemy furnace.
The quality of an alchemy furnace was easy to understand—it all came down to the materials used.
Heavenly treasures weren’t limited to medicinal herbs; they also included rare materials.
Some mysterious materials could amplify the potency of herbs, maximizing their effects.
Others possessed innate properties that could fuse into the elixir, elevating its quality.
This time, Xu Mu planned to visit Yang City’s antique market.
If nothing unexpected had happened, Dai Xingluo’s injuries should have healed by now.
Lin Yang had broken her ribs, and no matter how potent the elixir Xu Mu refined was, it couldn’t instantly mend fractured bones.
That was why he had sent her to the hospital.
But after more than a day, the medicine’s effects should have fully taken hold, and her injuries were likely nearly recovered.
Dai Xingluo owned an antique shop—perhaps she could help him find some materials.
Driving into Yang City’s antique market, Xu Mu first wandered the streets but found no high-grade heavenly treasures.
There were indeed a few valuable antiques, but at most, they were worth a hundred thousand or so. He didn’t want to waste time on them.
Before he knew it, he arrived at Dai Xingluo’s antique shop.
As usual, Li Zizai sat at the front counter, peering at a porcelain piece through his reading glasses.
Dai Xingluo had changed back into her Hanfu and was lounging on a recliner.
“Oh? What a rare guest!”
Li Zizai noticed someone entering and lifted his gaze. When he saw it was Xu Mu, he smiled.
Dai Xingluo, who had been daydreaming on the recliner, also looked up.
“Brother, what brings you here?”
Her face lit up with delight.
“Your injuries should be healed by now, right?” Xu Mu asked as he stepped inside.
Originally, he had planned to keep his distance from Dai Xingluo. But fate had other plans.
Unexpectedly, she had risked danger to help him.
Even if her assistance hadn’t amounted to much, her intentions were genuine.
Someone like Xu Mu couldn’t just coldly push her away again.
He’d have to take things as they came.
“All better, thanks to you, brother.”
Dai Xingluo nodded gently. “Did you come just to see me?”
“Partly. I also have a small favor to ask.”
Xu Mu gave a slight nod.
“So, the main reason was the favor, and seeing me was just a side trip?”
Dai Xingluo pouted, her tone laced with playful sarcasm.
“Cut it out.”
Xu Mu sighed helplessly. Admittedly, she wasn’t wrong.
If not for the alchemy furnace, he probably wouldn’t have come to see her today.
“Fine, what’s the favor?”
Dai Xingluo settled back into the recliner.
“Do you have any heavenly treasure materials? Not medicinal herbs—I need materials, even if they’re low-grade.”
Xu Mu currently had none of these. His requirements weren’t high—anything that could enhance the elixir’s potency would suffice.
“What do you need them for?”
Dai Xingluo tilted her head curiously.
After a brief pause, Xu Mu decided to be honest. “I’ve been learning alchemy. I want to make a simple furnace.”
At this, Li Zizai, who had been busy with his work, stared at Xu Mu in shock.
Dai Xingluo narrowed her eyes slightly. Could it be that Xu Mu was an alchemist?
Come to think of it, was the elixir she had taken his creation?
If so, she absolutely had to secure his help.
With an alchemist’s touch, the same heavenly treasures could yield far greater results.
With Xu Mu’s assistance, her progress would far outpace what she could achieve alone.
“Old Li, didn’t you used to collect these things?”
Dai Xingluo glanced at Li Zizai.
“I did, but I mostly used them for crafting.”
Li Zizai nodded with a smile. “I have quite a few stored at home. Why don’t you take Xu Mu there? I’ll mind the shop.”
“Sure.”
Dai Xingluo took the keys and immediately looped her arm through Xu Mu’s. “Brother, let’s go.”
Feeling the warmth against his arm, Xu Mu maintained his composure and nodded.
Li Zizai’s home was in a village just outside Yang City.
Xu Mu and Dai Xingluo arrived together.
Xu Mu hadn’t expected Li Zizai to own land here—though it wasn’t far from the city, the property must be worth a fair amount.
Dai Xingluo unlocked the gate, and the two stepped inside.
In the courtyard’s corner lay an assortment of stones of varying sizes.
Nearby stood a shed housing cutting and polishing tools.
“What about those stones?”
Dai Xingluo pointed at the pile.
“They’re decent material, but they’re not heavenly treasures.”
Xu Mu gave them a cursory glance.
“Follow me. There’s more in this room.”
Dai Xingluo unlocked another door.
When Xu Mu entered, his eyes immediately brightened. This place was a trove.
“Second-grade Crimson Tiger Iron… third-grade Crystal Jade…”
He examined each piece carefully. Coming to Dai Xingluo had been the right call.
“Brother, you’re amazing. You know so much!”
Dai Xingluo lingered by the doorway, her mind already scheming how to keep Xu Mu for herself.
This man was a rare find.
She had already been intrigued by him before, but now, her interest had skyrocketed.
As Xu Mu rummaged through the room, his fingers finally brushed against a fist-sized, deep-red cylindrical log.
“Whoa—fifth-grade Blazing Sunwood?!”
He lifted the wooden piece, inspecting it closely. “This is perfect.”
“Using wood for a furnace?”
Dai Xingluo blinked. “Won’t it burn?”
“Blazing Sunwood is practically fireproof. It can even amplify the herbs’ effects—it’s an excellent material for a furnace.”
Xu Mu turned the red log in his hands. “It’s a bit small, but it’ll do for a few pills at a time.”
“Brother, could you refine elixirs for me in the future?”
Dai Xingluo suddenly clung to his arm again. “I’ll even tend the fire for you.”
“Fine. Just don’t burn yourself.”
Xu Mu shot her a sidelong glance.
[Affection +10]
A satisfied smile curled on Dai Xingluo’s lips.
The two returned to Yang City.
As they entered the city limits, Dai Xingluo checked the rearview mirror.
“Brother, we’re being followed.”
Xu Mu sensed it—Fan Shiyu.
Since he needed to talk to her anyway, he detoured to a distant park.
Coincidentally, it was the same park where he had previously met Meng Wanyue and Dai Xingluo.
After parking, they stood by the roadside, waiting.
When Dai Xingluo noticed the trailing Volvo pull over, she immediately strode toward the driver’s side window.
Xu Mu followed at a leisurely pace.
It was time to gauge Fan Shiyu’s stance.
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
