Valley Head Nie Changyun

"What are you doing?" Elder Gui Heng asked.

Protector Jun Mo, who was fully focused on watching Elder Kang Xian's pill refinement techniques, frowned at the sudden distraction.

But when he turned around to see who it was, he almost jumped in shock.

"Disciple Jun Mo pays my respect to Valley Head!" Protector Jun Mo hurriedly bowed.

Elder Gui Heng might have gone to seek the valley head's permission to sell the flexible armour earlier, but Protector Jun Mo never expected that he would directly bring the valley head back with him!

"Dispense with the formalities," the man beside Elder Kang Xian said.

He looked to be in his mid-forties, with his long black hair tied neatly into a topknot. He had a lean body and sharp eyebrows, complete with rather handsome facial features. There was also an otherworldly aura about him, giving off the feeling that he had transcended the secular world.

As Protector Jun Mo had said, this man was Nie Changyun, more commonly known as Valley Head Nie.

Within the Five Elements Valley, he had absolute authority below none other!

"Why is Elder Kang Xian suddenly refining a pill?" Elder Gui Heng asked once more.

"Reporting to Master," Protector Jun Mo dared not be careless with his etiquette in the presence of the valley head. "Elder Kang Xian received some pointers from the young sir, and is thus giving it a try while waiting for your return."

"Some pointers?" Elder Gui Heng was surprised to hear that. "Is this about the Cloud Larvae Heart Stabilising Pill?"

"Master is wise," Protector Jun Mo nodded.

"How interesting, to think that the young sir knows about pill refinement too," Elder Gui Heng turned his attention towards Elder Kang Xian. "Elder Kang Xian has been struggling with this matter for a while now. I wonder if he will succeed this time."

"It looks like we will find out soon enough," Nie Changyun said with a smile. "Elder Kang Xian is already entering the final phase of the pill refinement process."

At this moment, the temperature outside the guest house had risen to a level that ordinary people would find completely unbearable.

Even the strongest of mortals would find themselves overwhelmed by the heat and collapse, while those with a weaker constitution might never wake up from that.

Fortunately, the four of them, including Elder Kang Xian, were cultivators who had physiques far surpassing that of ordinary mortals.

And it was not just that either. As cultivators, they also possessed special means to guard themselves against the heat. This allowed them to remain in the vicinity without feeling much discomfort at all.

Sizzle-!

The pill cauldron released a cloud of black smoke as the pill refinement process came to an end.

It was only then did Elder Kang Xian finally turn around and bow towards them. "Kang Xian pays my respect to Valley Head. Please pardon me for the late greetings."

"Don't worry about it. You were in the midst of pill refinement, so it will be asking too much to expect you to stop in the midst of it," Nie Changyun gestured for him to rise. "You must be curious about the results of the pill refinement. Don't mind me, go ahead and check it."

"Thank you for your understanding, Valley Head," Elder Kang Xian bowed again in gratitude before turning back to his pill cauldron.

As he prepared to open the cauldron, Elder Kang Xian could feel his heart palpitating in nervousness.

Just because the pill refinement process had come to an end did not mean that it was a success.

Many a time, an apothecary would spend much time and effort refining a batch of pills, only to find out after opening the lid that the concoction within the cauldron had ended up as a failure.

As an experienced apothecary, Elder Kang Xian was capable of sensing the minute changes happening within the pill cauldron, giving him a good sense of the outcome. However, even he would be unable to know for certain if the pill refinement process had succeeded or failed without opening it up to check for himself.

Moreover, he had never succeeded in refining the Cloud Larvae Heart Stabilising Pill in the past.

This time, he did change things up slightly according to the instructions from Wu Meng, but Elder Kang Xian still could not help but feel nervous about the result.

Adding Firegrass at the start was such a stupidly simple tweak to the formula. Would that really be enough to make things work?

Under the anticipating gazes of the rest, Elder Kang Xian slowly reached out with his hand and grabbed the lid of the pill cauldron.

He lifted the lid in one go and peered within, then his eyes widened in astonishment.

"I-It's a success!" Elder Kang Xian exclaimed excitedly.

"Let me take a look!" Elder Gui Heng rushed forward immediately, with Protector Jun Mo following right behind him.

Inside the pill cauldron lay three small pills about the size of a fingernail. They were a light shade of blue, and continuously emitted weak ripples of mental energy.

"It really is the Cloud Larvae Heart Stabilising Pill!" Elder Gui Heng said. "Congratulations to Elder Kang Xian, you finally managed to do it!"

"Hahaha! What a wonderful day this is!" Elder Kang Xian laughed boisterously as he continued to admire the three pills in his pill cauldron. "It is all thanks to Elder Gui Heng's help along the way!"

"How would I dare to take credit for this?" Elder Gui Heng shook his head. "It is Elder Kang Xian's hard work that finally paid off. And perhaps also due to the pointers from the young sir."

"That's right, the young sir!" Elder Kang Xian was suddenly reminded of the matter. "I should go thank him!"

"Shall we return to the house then?" Protector Jun Mo said. "Valley Head is here as well, so let's not keep him waiting."

"Right, let's go," Elder Kang Xian agreed. With a wave of his hand, the pills and pill cauldron vanished from its spot.

"Let's go meet the young sir now, Valley Head," Elder Gui Heng went over to him and said.

"Mm," Nie Changyun nodded.

***

"Wake up, they are coming back," Wu Meng tapped Zhang Wanqing who was sleeping with her head resting on the table.

The pill refinement process had taken hours. During this time, the accumulated exhaustion finally kicked in for Zhang Wanqing.

After all, being in the presence of cultivators had kept her on edge all day, so she could not help but feel tired – both mentally and physically so.

"O-Oh!" Zhang Wanqing hurriedly stood up and wiped the bit of drool from the corner of her mouth.

The next moment, knocking sounds came from behind the door.

"Young Sir, this is Jun Mo. May we enter?" Protector Jun Mo's voice sounded out.

"Come in," Wu Meng replied.

The door opened, and the group of four walked in to see Wu Meng still seated at the table with Zhang Wanqing standing at attention behind him.

"I didn't lie, did I?" Wu Meng was the first to speak.

"Please pardon this one for my earlier scepticism. I just tried Young Sir's method, and it worked like a charm!" Elder Kang Xian said embarrassedly. "If it is not too much of a trouble, may I know the theory behind it?"

"There's no harm in letting you know that," Wu Meng said. "Your pill cauldron might have been refined with numerous wondrous materials, but you focused too much on the fire aspect of pill refinement. This works in your favour when refining most other pills, but the Cloud Larvae Heart Stabilising Pill is a very delicate pill that places great emphasis on the Yin attribute for the sake of calming the mind. The imbalance in the Yin and Yang attributes within your pill cauldron made it such that the Yin attribute of the ingredients cannot spread out evenly within your cauldron, forcing it to congregate at the centre and thereby preventing an even formation of the pill."

"I see. By adding Firegrass at the start, it acted as a cushion to absorb the excess Yang attribute in my pill cauldron, making it such that the imbalance of Yin and Yang is not too apparent?" Elder Kang Xian concluded. "What a simple yet clever tweak to the formula! Thank you for the guidance, Young Sir. I have learnt much this time."

"I am only doing it because I have spare time on my hand anyway," Wu Meng waved him off before turning towards Elder Gui Heng. "So? Have you decided?"

"Before that, this is the head of our Five Elements Valley, Valley Head Nie," Elder Gui Heng introduced.

"Nie Changyun greets Young Sir," Nie Changyun clasped his fists towards Wu Meng. "Please pardon my rudeness for not having greeted you personally upon your arrival."

"Hmm?"

His words caused everyone to look at him in surprise.

As the head of the Five Elements Valley, even the arrival of elders from the other factions would not warrant his personal welcome. So it was rather strange for him to make such a comment.

"Don't worry about it," Wu Meng was the only one who remained calm. "You were unaware of my arrival, so you naturally cannot be faulted for that."

Wu Meng's response created even greater confusion among the people present.

It was one thing for Nie Changyun to lower his status, but Wu Meng actually accepted it as though it was only natural.

Could they have known each other before this?

"Since Young Sir wants the flexible armour of my Five Elements Valley, and Elder Gui Heng is willing to give it up, I will not be opposed to it as well," Nie Changyun got straight to the point.

"Thank you, Valley Head," Elder Gui Heng said.

Protector Jun Mo could not help but feel relieved. With that, it would be possible for his master to finally recover from his injury!

"If there is nothing else, the rest of you may leave us. I would like to have a word with the young sir in private," Nie Changyun said.

"Yes, Valley Head."

Elder Gui Heng, Elder Kang Xian, and Protector Jun Mo said in unison before leaving the guest house.

They had no idea what was going on, but since the valley head had already said the word, they would naturally obey.

Zhang Wanqing hesitated for a moment before deciding to leave too.

"Where do you think you are going?" Wu Meng said just as she took her first step.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Zhang Wanqing asked. "Valley Head Nie wants to have a word with you in private."

"He was talking to his subordinates. You stay here and listen," Wu Meng said.

"Is that really okay?" Zhang Wanqing turned towards Nie Changyun.

"Why are you asking him when I have already said so?" Wu Meng said irritably. "Just who is your master here?"

"Don't worry, young lady. I don't mind you staying," Nie Changyun replied with a smile.

"Oh, okay..." Zhang Wanqing retreated back to where she was standing.

"Does Young Sir mind if I take a seat?" Nie Changyun asked.

"Go ahead," Wu Meng gestured towards a chair across the table.

Looking at this scene alone, someone who did not know better might even think that their roles were reversed, with Wu Meng being the head of the Five Elements Valley and Nie Changyun being the visitor.

Nie Changyun took his seat, and Zhang Wanqing naturally poured a cup of tea for him.

And then, there was silence.

For the next ten minutes or so, Wu Meng and Nie Changyun simply sat there sipping their tea, not exchanging a single word.

They appeared to be contented with this, but Zhang Wanqing felt extremely uncomfortable standing by the side.

She could not help but feel that it was her presence that was preventing their conversation from flowing.

But just as she was about to suggest leaving once more, Wu Meng finally broke the silence. "Your Five Elements Valley has always been known for not interfering with the affairs of the world, but I heard that it has become more active recently."

"Is Young Sir familiar with my Five Elements Valley?" Nie Changyun asked.

"I love reading about the records of the past, and the Five Elements Valley has been mentioned more than once for having refused to get involved in the past wars of the Thousand Race World," Wu Meng answered.

"Indeed. That is what the progenitor wanted, and also what I would have preferred," Nie Changyun let out a helpless sigh. "Unfortunately, times have changed. It is getting increasingly difficult to survive alone in this day and age, especially since the Three Golden Prodigies are quickly becoming more influential and powerful. Even an established faction like ours cannot help but feel pressured by their rise."

"The Three Golden Prodigies?" Wu Meng smirked. "Has the valley been approached by any of them? Or are you perhaps planning to join any of them?"

"We have certainly received invitations from them, but it is not my intention for the valley to be involved in the fight among them," Nie Changyun shook his head. "My only wish is for the Five Elements Valley to gain enough strength to not get swept away by the coming conflict."

"That is a wise decision," Wu Meng nodded in approval. "With the current strength of the Five Elements Valley, not hungering for power and influence is rather commendable."

"Young Sir has my gratitude for your kind words," Nie Changyun answered.

"That's nothing. More importantly..." Wu Meng leaned forward with a meaningful smile. "Does Valley Head Nie have anything troubling you that I can help with?"