Chapter 4754 — The Conditions for Alchemy
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Having slipped successfully into the courtyard where Huo Yudie lived and evaded the eyes and ears of a few servants, Ren Zhongyuan soon found Huo Yudie's room. This place was no stranger to him; he had come once before under the pretext of paying his respects to Liu Ziqi. Huo Yudie's room had long been the goal of his dreams, and in those dreams he had visited it more than a few times.
After briefly reining in his excitement, Ren Zhongyuan pushed the door open without a second thought. On the surface he meant to give Huo Yudie a surprise, but what he truly hoped for was the chance to glimpse some marvelous scene ordinarily hidden from view—a bath, perhaps, or a change of clothes...
The moment the door swung open, Ren Zhongyuan poked his head in, eyes darting everywhere in search, his mind full of tantalizing fantasies of Huo Yudie in scanty silk. Yet the person before him gave him a violent start: seated in the room was not Huo Yudie at all, but Liu Ziqi!
Liu Ziqi was at that moment studying the Thunder Mystic Vine—not out of greed for her disciple's possession, for to a being of her caliber the vine was of little use anymore.
She was examining it purely for Huo Yudie's sake. After all, the Thunder Mystic Vine was the principal ingredient in refining the Thunder Mystic Pill; its quality mattered enormously, and whether it was ripe directly determined the choice of the other ingredients. Huo Yudie herself was muddled and uncomprehending about such things, so it fell to her master—teacher and mother both—to worry over them on her behalf.
Huo Yudie had been staying with Ning Xuefei and the others these past few days. Liu Ziqi had never imagined anyone would suddenly push the door open, still less that the intruder would not be Huo Yudie. Taken aback, she had no time to put away the Thunder Mystic Vine on the table, and Ren Zhongyuan saw it as plain as day.
With Liu Ziqi's strength, Ren Zhongyuan could never have escaped her perception—except that this was the island master's palace. The tightness of its defenses need hardly be described; no sane person would imagine anyone could sneak in here. Moreover, out of the most basic respect for those elders of West Island, Liu Ziqi would not lightly spread her divine sense in this place.
And servants passed through the courtyard corridors from time to time; the sound of footsteps and the like was perfectly normal, which only made Liu Ziqi more relaxed in her vigilance. Who would have thought anyone would dare enter without knocking?!
"Ah!" Ren Zhongyuan was equally startled. He had come sneaking in to give Huo Yudie a surprise—how could he have known he would come face to face with Liu Ziqi in this very room!
It felt like creeping into his sweetheart's room in secret, only to flick on the light and find her mother there. In an instant his heart turned to ice, and his whole being was utterly undone...
Yet at this moment Ren Zhongyuan felt little embarrassment, for he had seen the Thunder Mystic Vine on the table. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected Liu Ziqi to possess Thunder Mystic Vine as well!!!
When he had seen Wei Zhao produce the Thunder Mystic Vine earlier, Ren Zhongyuan had been so consumed with envy that his eyeballs nearly fell out. He was a peak Nascent Soul cultivator—one of those in all the world most desperate to obtain Thunder Mystic Vine!
Had Wei Zhao not shot to the heavens and become the West Island's consort, Ren Zhongyuan and his companions would never have let such a prize slip. They would have schemed by every means to get the Thunder Mystic Vine from his hands. But now it was impossible; to rob the West Island's consort on West Island soil—even with ten thousand times the courage, they would never dare.
And yet Huo Yudie actually had Thunder Mystic Vine too. Could Wei Zhao have given her a share?!