Truly, blessings come when least expected!

The fragrance and luster of the pill made it clear—even with her limited experience, Qin Shu could tell her bottle of fasting pills was leagues better than the ones sold by that senior in Chijin City.

Yet, when she probed Hexin earlier on the way back, Hexin's "starter gift pack" didn't include such pills. Could it be... only the first person to report to the Pill Sect gets them?

Qin Shu secretly believed she had guessed right, feeling both delighted and grateful that she didn't hesitate and ran fast enough back then.

She swallowed one of the pills, closed her eyes, and meditated briefly. Feeling the hunger in her belly dissipate bit by bit, she reopened her eyes, joy spreading across her face.

It seemed the pill was indeed a fasting pill! The Pill Sect truly had thought of everything.

Next, she retrieved the communication jade slip she had purchased. The shop assistant mentioned it required a drop of blood to bind it to her. Even if it was lost and fell into someone else's hands, they wouldn't be able to use it.

Looking at her own delicate fingers, Qin Shu hesitated, realizing for the first time how tough life in the cultivation world could be.

It took her a long time to mentally prepare herself. Recalling the stab through her heart by Qin Mian's sword, her chest involuntarily trembled.

"Well, if I don't do it, who will?"

She carefully wiped her newly purchased iron sword clean with a handkerchief, glanced at her fair and slender fingers, gritted her teeth, and made the cut.

Just as she was about to drip her blood onto the jade slip, something unexpected happened. Before she could lower the iron sword in her hand, the gray matte coating on the blade began to flake off like eggshell fragments, revealing a white jade sword underneath.

The blade bore a groove, and Qin Shu's blood flowed along it. Wherever it passed, the jade sword seemed to light up, glowing faintly red.

Curious, she infused her spiritual energy into it. The sword instantly shimmered in a misty purple hue.

Witnessing the transformation, Qin Shu was overjoyed. Who could have guessed that eight pieces of low-grade spirit stones would fetch her such a treasure?

There was still a trace of blood on her fingertip, and not wanting to waste it, she quickly smeared it onto the communication jade slip.

Once activated and infused with her spiritual imprint, the jade slip displayed a message:

"Qin Shu, Qin Shu, it's Hexin!"

Qin Shu added her as a "friend" and was about to reply when Hexin forwarded her a piece of news.

"The Young Master of the Firebird Clan, Chiyu, rooted his foundation at the age of ninety-nine, joined the Sword Sect of Xuantian Gate, reached the stage of Qi Induction within two days, and broke through to Qi Refinement Level Two within eight days. A peerless genius has emerged!"

Qin Shu couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement. Ever since discovering her exceptional cultivation efficiency under moonlight, she had become somewhat complacent.

This news served as a wake-up call, snapping her out of her comfort zone.

There were countless people more talented than her, and those individuals likely had family resources that spared them from detours.

The jade slip's news section kept popping up notifications. Qin Shu skimmed through briefly, noting the variety of postings:

Bounties offering high rewards for others' heads.Requests for rare heavenly materials and treasures.Gossip columns detailing a certain elder's concubine's infidelity and a disciple from the Hehuan Sect's new "guest partner."Discussions about the Tianji Pavilion's departure from Xuantian Gate, with no apparent response from the sect, debunking the rumor about Demon Lord Xie Shiyuan's presence at Xuantian Gate.

Qin Shu glanced over everything, finding it a perfect tool for catching up on juicy tidbits. However, this wasn't the time to lose focus.

She messaged Hexin, letting her know she was going into seclusion and encouraging her to work hard as well.

Finally, she put down the jade slip and looked at the small black snake mark on her wrist.

"Was it you speaking in my sea of consciousness earlier?" she asked softly.

She waited for a while, but the mark remained unresponsive.

Feeling helpless, she knew she couldn't just gouge out the mark from her flesh. In the end, she frowned, pulled down her sleeve to cover it, and decided to ignore it for now.

As the evening deepened, Qin Shu opened the window to let the moonlight flood in.

She sat cross-legged on a meditation mat, preparing to cultivate.

This routine continued for a month—practicing sword techniques during the day and absorbing spiritual energy at night.

Not far from her residence lived another female disciple who had entered the sect at the same time, named Chen Rong. With decent aptitude, Chen Rong reached Qi Refinement Level One within twenty days.

One night, under a full moon, Chen Rong couldn't fall asleep and decided to peek out her window, curious about the occupant of the house by the cold pond.

She didn't expect that one look to leave her wide awake.

In the bright moonlight, she saw a figure meditating.

She immediately grabbed her communication jade slip and messaged her close friend:

"Who lives near the cold pond? She doesn't sleep at all and keeps cultivating all night..."

Chen Rong didn't have fasting pills and needed to eat daily. Each time she went out, she saw Qin Shu practicing sword techniques. When she returned, Qin Shu was still practicing.

Suddenly, the spirit fruits in her hands seemed tasteless. Unable to resist, she vented her feelings in the public chat section of the jade slip:

"Oh my goodness, the person across from me practices cultivation all night and sword techniques all day. Aren't we in the Pill Sect? Why are we practicing swordsmanship too?"

The news spread quickly. Soon, everyone in Xuantian Sect's Pill Sect knew of two geniuses: the prodigy Chiyu and the "overachiever" Qin Shu.

Chiyu's talents were out of reach for most people. He was on a different level, someone whose mere breath seemed more effective than others' hard work.

But Qin Shu was different. She was also an outer disciple with similar aptitude to theirs. If she could work tirelessly, so could they!

With the sect's competition six months away—offering rewards to the top ten and a chance for outer disciples to join the inner sect—a frenzy of relentless effort swept through the Pill Sect's outer disciples.

Finally, Qin Shu completed her Ren meridian refinement, and her deep purple spiritual energy flowed naturally into her Tian Shu acupoint.

A faint "pop" sounded within her body, like a cork being pulled.

After running her spiritual energy through two large cycles, her entire body felt lighter.

Qin Shu opened her eyes, a smile spreading across her face. She had reached Qi Refinement Level Two.

When she checked her communication jade slip, she was bombarded with unread messages—all from Hexin.

"Qin Shu, let's do sect missions tomorrow!" "Are you there? How long is your seclusion?" "Word is, you're not even sleeping to cultivate!" "Wow, you're so dedicated." "Sister, you're famous."