Chapter 120: How Disappointing

The atmosphere suddenly turned strange, sinking into an inexplicable silence.

Chu Xiaotong, Gu Jia'er, and the others stared blankly at Xu Zhe, their mouths slightly agape, not knowing which question to ask first. The truth was, they were already overflowing with countless questions for him.

You know ancient alchemy techniques? You can refine the high-difficulty Nine Heavens Pulse-Activating Pill?

You’ve only been in for two days, and you’ve already harvested thirty-some herb gardens?

You’re asking us how our harvest has been after being here for so long? If you want to talk about that, we’re suddenly not sleepy anymore! We haven’t harvested a single thing!

"Uncle Xu, you’re not joking with us, are you?" Finally, Qu Hongxiu blinked her bright, watery eyes, looking somewhat bewildered. When did Uncle Xu become so humorous?

"I’m not joking... am I?" Xu Zhe looked at the three of them, stunned, suddenly feeling insecure. Had he said something wrong again?

"Wait, did you say you’ve been in for two days and harvested thirty-some herb gardens?" Chu Xiaotong suddenly realized something and asked hurriedly.

"Yes!"

Xu Zhe nodded and casually opened several storage rings, moving out bag after bag of precious medicinal herbs that filled the air with their fragrance. As he moved the last bag, a golden Tongyuan Quicksand Fruit accidentally tumbled out.

Xu Zhe’s hands were swift; he caught it immediately, wiped it off on his clothes, and took a bite.

*Crunch!*

With a crisp sound, the fruit was bitten open, and the golden quicksand flowed into his mouth, releasing a refreshing, soul-stirring fragrance.

Chu Xiaotong and the others hadn't even regained their composure before this fragrance jolted them awake. Their bodies shuddered, and the spiritual energy within them trembled slightly.

"This... isn't this the golden fruit from the herb garden in the East Zone?" Gu Jia'er was very familiar with the Divine Pill Grotto-Heaven and recognized it instantly, exclaiming in shock.

She was completely dumbfounded. Even without verifying the herbs in the other bags, this was enough to prove that Xu Zhe’s harvest truly came from the Divine Pill Grotto-Heaven. This golden fruit existed only there, and no one knew what its medicinal effects were. Yet, not only had Xu Zhe managed to pick it, but he was also just biting into it like a snack?

The key was that it looked and smelled so delicious!

"Xu Zhe..." Gu Jia'er swallowed hard.

"What?" Xu Zhe looked up at her.

"This fruit..."

"It’s mine!" Xu Zhe became instantly vigilant.

"I know it’s yours, but can you..."

"No!" Xu Zhe quickly stuffed the rest of the fruit into his mouth and tossed the bag of Tongyuan Quicksand Fruits back into his storage ring.

Are you kidding? These were snacks he had worked so hard to get. They had gone extinct in his past life before he’d had enough of them; how could he just give them away to strangers?

"..." Gu Jia'er’s mouth twitched. *Damn it, how heartless!* She had been lying in a crystal coffin with him for so long, getting rubbed against for so long, and yet she wasn't even worth as much as these golden fruits? Was this fruit bigger than hers? Was it softer than hers? Infuriating!

"You harvested thirty-some herb gardens, so does that mean you broke the restrictions on thirty-some gardens as well?" Chu Xiaotong had regained her composure, looking at Xu Zhe with a strange expression.

"Yes, those restrictions aren't simple. They were quite difficult at first, taking me over an hour, but I got used to them later, so it became easier." Xu Zhe nodded and quietly winked at Chu Xiaotong, signaling that he might share a fruit with her later.

He then winked half an eye at Qu Hongxiu, hinting that he could share half a fruit with her. Qu Hongxiu, still lost in a world of shock, didn't notice the gesture at all, continuing to stare blankly at the bags of herbs on the ground.

She was going crazy. No, wait, Uncle Xu must be crazy. How could he have harvested so many herb gardens in just two short days? Did this Divine Pill Grotto-Heaven belong to the Xu family?

"Fine, I get it. The issue of the pill poison and the... premature exhaustion is clear now." Chu Xiaotong said, holding her forehead.

"Who is Pill Poison? And how..." Xu Zhe asked subconsciously, but immediately realized, "Oh, you mean the pill poison underground! I discovered that too. It seems that because I broke too many restrictions, the ones underneath loosened. It’s fine, I’ll reinforce them later and harvest a bit less."

"Yes, since you can break the restrictions, come with me quickly!" Gu Jia'er remembered the main task and immediately grabbed Xu Zhe’s hand, wanting to head off into the distance.

"Wait."

Xu Zhe’s expression changed, and he immediately pulled his hand back, looking at Gu Jia'er with a solemn gaze. "Miss Gu, please have some self-respect."

"I..." Gu Jia'er’s eyes widened, and she nearly coughed up blood. *This shameless scoundrel!* "I... no, my heart hurts..."

"Just tell me, don't use your hands. Where are we going?" Xu Zhe took half a step back, asking vigilantly.

*Are you serious about taking that half-step back?* Gu Jia'er’s eyes were practically spitting fire as she stared at him, feeling an urge to commit murder. She gritted her teeth and replied, "To get medicine for Chu Xiaotong. Her injury can only be temporarily suppressed by one type of pill, but we are missing a key ingredient."

"Suppress? There’s no need. As I said, I can refine the Nine Heavens Pulse-Activating Pill, and you can rest assured taking it—it will be perfectly fine." Xu Zhe looked at her, stunned, then turned to Chu Xiaotong. "Well? Do you trust me?"

"I do!" Chu Xiaotong nodded calmly, a faint smile playing on the corner of her lips. She realized that her childhood friend was truly different—he seemed to possess a mysterious charm he hadn't had before.

"This..." Gu Jia'er looked at Chu Xiaotong, wanting to say more but stopping herself. Chu Xiaotong ignored her.

"Alright then. But there are a few ingredients in there you might not have heard of. I’ll draw them for you..." Xu Zhe nodded, took out his notebook, flipped to a blank page, and quickly sketched the appearance of several herbs.

Chu Xiaotong paused. When Xu Zhe flipped the page, she had vaguely caught a glimpse of her own name on one of the pages, with a red pattern next to it. But he had flipped it too quickly for her to see clearly. She already had a faint suspicion—usually, the red pattern drawn after a name wouldn't be a red heart, would it? Chu Xiaotong recalled that recording in her mind and couldn't help but frown as she sized him up.

Xu Zhe didn't notice her unusual behavior, quickly finishing the sketches with great detail.

"I know where these herbs are. How did you know about them?" Gu Jia'er couldn't help but ask curiously after taking a look.

"A friend told me. By the way, you’ve been in here for so long, didn't you happen to pick up any of these herbs?" Xu Zhe asked casually.

*Happen to?* Gu Jia'er felt a tightness in her chest and didn't want to answer. Chu Xiaotong smiled, clenching her fists to suppress the urge to hit someone.

"Not at all! Uncle Xu, you are so amazing! We’ve been here for so many days and haven't opened a single restriction..." Qu Hongxiu said excitedly, her eyes glowing.

Before she could finish, Gu Jia'er covered her mouth. Chu Xiaotong’s face darkened as she glared at Qu Hongxiu. *This stupid apprentice!*

"What?" Xu Zhe looked at the three of them in horror, his expression turning complex. They lacked ambition, didn't they? He thought they had a decent harvest after being here for so many days, but it turned out they were just here for a stroll? How disappointing! He didn't like playing with people who lacked ambition—except for Brother Tong.

Soon, led by Gu Jia'er, the group set off. According to the herbs Xu Zhe had drawn, Gu Jia'er quickly found a herb garden.

Right before their eyes, Xu Zhe performed a masterclass on how to quickly break the restrictions of a herb garden. The entire process was incredibly smooth, his movements practiced and effortless. He opened the barrier, entered the garden, and took everything—not leaving a single herb behind.

The three of them watched, dumbfounded, experiencing what it felt like to have neither the brain nor the hands for the job. After repeating this several times and collecting all the missing ingredients, they once again realized that even if their brains understood it, their hands still couldn't do it.

They even tried to find a garden themselves to test it, but the moment they touched the formation patterns, they were blasted dozens of meters away by the protective light shield. In the end, they could only return dejectedly, not wanting to say another word.

Xu Zhe had already laid out the ingredients and began to ponder. The herbs were gathered, but their age—over a hundred thousand years—was a bit too high. The medicinal properties would become too intense, which would completely affect the final efficacy of the Nine Heavens Pulse-Activating Pill. He had to carefully calculate the ratios and recalibrate the heat control required for the refinement based on the age of the herbs.

"What’s wrong?" Chu Xiaotong asked, seeing his deeply furrowed brow.

"It’s nothing. I’m just thinking about how to refine them," Xu Zhe shook his head.

"Xu Zhe, why don’t I do the refining? This pill formula isn't easy, but we’ve developed a new alchemy technique with a high success rate. If I try this a few times, I should be able to refine it to above a fifth-grade pill," Gu Jia'er couldn't help but say. She had looked at the formula and felt that with the new technique, there was hope for success.

"Fifth-grade?" Xu Zhe looked at her, shocked.

*Huh?* Seeing his expression, Gu Jia'er suddenly felt the tightness in her chest vanish. She felt refreshed and full of new life—it was incredibly satisfying! "That’s right, fifth-grade shouldn't be a problem."

Gu Jia'er regained her confidence. With such a difficult formula, across the four continents, she was likely the only one who could master it in a short time and refine it to the fifth grade.

"Xu Zhe, let her refine it. Her alchemy skills are indeed quite good," Chu Xiaotong nodded, acknowledging Gu Jia'er’s level.

"Haha, Uncle Xu, you probably don't know, but Saintess Gu has been the champion of the Divine Pill Conference for five consecutive years. Pharmacist Dong and Pharmacist Lin are nothing compared to her," Qu Hongxiu added with a laugh.

"..."

Xu Zhe looked at the three of them expressionlessly, pouted, and his lips moved slightly as if he were muttering something silently. None of them heard it, but from the shape of his lips, they seemed to deduce something. Was this guy just cursing at them?