Chapter 23: Arranged by Senior Brother

Chapter 23: Arranged by Senior Brother

This scatterbrained junior martial sister!

Facing shrimp demons with combat power similar to ordinary humans, she actually managed to consume nearly eighty percent of the poison powder she had prepared for herself...

The dosage was enough to defeat an army of a hundred thousand commoners!

Looking at the thirteen nearly empty storage devices laid out in front of him, Li Changshou's forehead was covered in black lines. In a bout of low groaning, it seemed like a storm was brewing.

Blue Ling'e knelt on the cushion in front of him, tears hanging from the corners of her eyes, attempting to escape the righteous punishment of her eldest senior brother with a pitiful demeanor.

Li Changshou twitched his mouth, holding a pouch, and asked, "Were you going to kill the great demon of the Eastern Sea with this?"

"Well, Senior Brother said... to use this when encountering danger... I almost got chopped by those shrimp soldiers, and I instinctively sprinkled it around!"

Li Changshou's face darkened, "I remember, I prepared nine jars of this for you, right?"

"I almost got chopped many times..."

Blue Ling'e pouted, on the verge of tears, explained with grievance, "Senior Brother, don't be angry. I know it takes a lot of effort for you to refine these things, and I didn't intend to waste them."

Seeing the appearance of his junior martial sister, Li Changshou couldn't really get angry. He just sighed, "The effort is not a big deal, it's just difficult to find the materials. Few people in our sect refine poison pills, and I exchanged them bit by bit with my monthly contributions."

"Senior Brother, I have considered this."

Blue Ling'e blinked, lightly tapping her waistband, and took out seven or eight simple storage devices.

"So, I exchanged all the rewards I could get this time for poisonous herbs and toxins that can be found within the sect! We definitely won't lose this time, we might even make a lot!"

Li Changshou couldn't help but feel helpless. He gazed at Blue Ling'e's eyes, which were like gemstones, and saw a hint of... evasion in them.

This little girl...

"Is there anything else to explain? Just say it all together while I'm still in a relatively good mood."

Blue Ling'e took a deep breath, suddenly raised her hands, and bowed deeply, with her forehead and palms touching the ground, her long hair scattered on both sides of her head.

"Senior Brother! Ling'e apologizes to you! Two senior brothers in the sect showed interest in the poison powder you refined. They took several jars of the most powerful poison from me! I really didn't know how to refuse. Senior Brother, your proficiency in refining poison has accidentally been exposed by me!"

The room suddenly became silent;

Blue Ling'e's shoulders trembled slightly.

She wasn't afraid of her senior brother scolding her, she even wanted him to beat her up to vent his anger.

She was taught by her senior brother and understood his principles of conduct, so she was nervous like this, afraid that her senior brother would 'abandon' her and draw a clear line with her in the future.

Why is it so quiet...

Oh no, Senior Brother must be thoroughly disappointed with her now!

Blue Ling'e, oh Blue Ling'e, why did you forget yourself when you went out? You couldn't resist showing off in front of others, and ended up being noticed by the senior members of the sect...

What kind of person is Senior Brother, perhaps only she, his junior sister, understands him the most.

One hundred points can hide ninety points as a reserve, always keeping a low profile in everything, never involving unnecessary causes and effects;

The reason she could receive her senior brother's care purely because she was his only biological junior sister, sharing the same master. Otherwise, her senior brother would never give her a second glance, even if she were his junior sister!

Ling'e said with a crying tone, "Senior Brother, even if you beat me up, please don't ignore me in the future... I know I was wrong, I won't show off like this again!"

Feeling a large hand reaching over, Blue Ling'e subconsciously closed her eyes.

From the moment she entered the sect until now, was she going to experience the first physical punishment, being beaten by her senior brother?

It's okay to be beaten, at least Senior Brother can vent his anger...

The hand that had plucked three thousand green silk strands came straight down, not hitting hard, but turning, pinching her ear, and slowly pulling her up.

"Um, Senior Brother, be gentle... it hurts... my ear..."

"Don't use this tone. If Master hears it, he'll think I've done something to you."

Li Changshou snorted, released her petite ear, and said lightly, "Get up, it's not a big deal."

Blue Ling'e instantly sat up straight, her graceful figure undoubtedly revealed in this rise and fall.

She looked at her senior brother in confusion and asked softly, "Senior Brother, aren't you hiding it anymore? Are you going to reveal it to the sect?"

"What cards to reveal? What cards are there to reveal?"

Li Changshou was slightly amused, "Do you think I don't know your temperament? Since I gave you this poison powder for self-defense, I've already anticipated what disturbances you might cause. In fact, it was intentional to let you reveal these things. There are several considerations behind it. Come back and sit down. Among the two senior brothers who took the poison powder from you, is one of them Senior Wan Linjun from the Alchemy Peak? He has a leg problem, walks with a copper crutch, and looks a bit cold, but when he talks to people, he always puts on a stiff smile."

Intentionally let her reveal it? Several considerations?

Blue Ling'e was stunned, "Senior Brother, how did you know? It is indeed this senior brother. Didn't you just come back tonight? The first person who took the poison powder was Elder Ge, who presided over the experience meeting, and then two days ago at noon, the senior brother with the crutch came and gave me a lot of herbs, and took away those..."

"Senior Brother!"

Blue Ling'e quickly reacted, looked at Li Changshou's deep eyes, gritted her teeth, "You planned it all out!"

"Talking about planning between senior brothers and sisters, this is goodwill protection. The more you know, the more psychological burden you will have."

Li Changshou waved his hand calmly, smiling, "The poison powders I gave you focus on the combination of various herbs and toxicology. There are no difficult refining techniques involved, so even if someone notices, it's not a big deal. The formula is in the outer hall of the Daoist Treasury, and the herbs can be exchanged in the Hundred Varieties Hall. Nowadays, within the sect, or rather, among the cultivation sects of the Five Continents, most people look down on the art of poison. They think it's dishonorable, and practitioners of poison are often ostracized and prejudiced against. Therefore, even if it's discovered that I can refine poison and my skills are decent, it won't attract much attention. On the contrary, they might think that I, an ordinary disciple, have deviated from the right path."

Pausing, Li Changshou's lips revealed a slightly meaningful smile.

"Moreover, among the poison powders I gave you, there are several kinds of strange poisons from a poisonous scripture I transcribed in the Daoist Treasury. The author of that poisonous scripture is Senior Wan Linjun. He should be the most knowledgeable senior in our sect when it comes to the art of poison. If I can establish a good relationship with him through this opportunity, perhaps I can receive guidance from him in the future regarding refining poison."

"Senior Brother," Blue Ling'e complained somewhat discontentedly, "Do you have to calculate everything, even considering me? If it's about this kind of thing, wouldn't it be enough to just remind me directly? Even arranging your gentle and lovely junior sister like me, it's just... too much..."

Li Changshou glanced at her, "Don't change the subject. What we're talking about now is your wastage of poison pills. In any case, you have to suffer a bit to learn your lesson. Tomorrow, you'll be punished to go to the back mountain to chop wood and clear land, and you can't use any Dao techniques."

"Chop wood? That's nothing special," Blue Ling'e obediently responded, her pretty face showing a touch of 'sincerity'.

She couldn't help but ask again, "What are we going to do when we clear land?"

"Build an alchemy and poison refining room. Through your hands this time, the management of the sect will know that I'm good at refining poison. In the future, I'll be able to do these things in our Little Qiong Peak as a matter of course, without having to play hide-and-seek every time."

Finishing his words, Li Changshou stood up, collected all the medicine pouches on the table, and stretched lazily, "After my noon meditation, I'll go find a suitable location to build the alchemy room."

"Senior Brother, you're clearly just being lazy, why make such a weak junior martial sister like me go chop wood!"

Blue Ling'e made a face behind his back, somewhat dissatisfied.

"Here, this is for you, the weak Qi refining cultivator."

Just as Li Changshou was about to leave the room, he suddenly remembered something and casually took out a jade box from his sleeve, tossing it to his junior sister.

"A gift?"

Blue Ling'e instantly forgot her previous grievances and happily hugged the jade box.

Just as she was about to open the jade box, she seemed to remember something, held the jade box with mana, and sent it ten feet away, and then opened it remotely.

A faint fragrance wafted out, and inside the jade box lay a small white flower with six petals.

A medicinal herb, she thought it was jewelry at first.

Just as Blue Ling'e was about to complain, Li Changshou had already left the room, leaving only his slightly tired voice in the formation:

"Put it in warm water before your next bath, it can help expand your meridians, detoxify, and beautify your skin, making it more radiant. See you tomorrow."

"Alright, thank you Senior Brother, see you tomorrow..."

Phew...

Blue Ling'e let out a long sigh, slumping in the chair, followed by a triumphant smile.

Passed the test!

Senior Brother still cherishes her. She originally thought that wasting so much poison powder would at least earn her a scolding, but unexpectedly, she just had her ears pulled.

But the matter of the experience meeting seemed to have been arranged from beginning to end by Senior Brother.

This does feel a bit unpleasant; it always feels like Senior Brother still can't trust her...

Oh well, that's just how Senior Brother is.

Even the hair he cut off is burned to ashes with real fire, and the nail clippings he trims are completely melted with venom. Even his deliberately drunk junior sister can be bound to the bed with the Immortal Binding Lock and covered with a blanket...

Oops, seems like I've accidentally revealed something.

Blushing, Ling'e recalled, last year, it wasn't deliberate to get drunk!

...

Back in his own thatched hut, Li Changshou returned to his bed to meditate, planning in his mind about the arrangement of the alchemy room.

He had been considering the matter of the alchemy room for thirty to forty years, but he had always been hesitant.

Ordinary was the best disguise.

From the isolation formations covering their living areas to the formations outside his and his junior sister's huts, to every aspect of Little Qiong Peak, they were all ordinary, without any unique features.

And building the alchemy room would inevitably require various arrangements inside and outside the room to avoid being discovered when he refined pills and toxins.

From the beginning, Li Changshou understood that, when he was just starting out in cultivation, any deliberate disguise couldn't deceive the observation of those high-level cultivators. Instead, it would attract extra attention from them.

Being noticed by these high-level cultivators might not necessarily lead to anything good;

Not being noticed by them would reduce the probability of things going out of his control — at least the probability of trouble would be much lower.

"The alchemy room shouldn't be too close to the residence, to prevent any poison gas leaks..."

Li Changshou murmured softly, taking out a storage device specifically used to store books from his arms, and took out a stack of thick parchment.

On them were drawn formation diagrams and architectural drawings, each with many traces of repeated modifications, and the oldest parchment had very faint lines.