Transmigration: The Peerless Immortal Husband

“Is it really not?” City Lord asked, greatly intrigued.

Master Hu affirmed, “I would never fail to recognize the pills I’ve refined. This pill was definitely not made by me, but the alchemist who crafted it is highly skilled. I don’t know who they are, but I would very much like to meet them.”

At his level, it was hard to find someone with whom he could exchange alchemy techniques—he felt somewhat like a hermit seeking a worthy rival. Yan Yang couldn’t help but feel disappointed, but quickly regained his composure. If it wasn’t Master Hu, that meant it was another alchemist. The fact that Master Hu acknowledged their skills meant that this alchemist’s technique might be on par with his own. Wouldn’t it be even better to find this person?

“Master Hu, it turns out we misunderstood. The pill didn’t come from our junior brother. These past few days, we’ve been focused on searching for Master Hu’s disciple, but the other alchemist has stopped selling pills, so we couldn’t investigate their identity.”

“I see,” Master Hu nodded, understanding that others had been trying to help find his grandson. Since they hadn’t found anything, it wasn’t their fault. His attention shifted back to the pill. “If this alchemist is young, I would be interested in taking them as my disciple and training them.”

Yan Yang responded, “It’s very likely. According to our investigation, the pills they’ve sold are all high-grade ninth-rank pills. They probably haven’t yet entered the ranks of eighth-grade alchemists. If that’s the case, I believe Master Hu, if you make it known, this alchemist would definitely be willing to become your disciple.”

Master Hu said with delight, “That’s wonderful. Thank you all for your help.”

“It’s nothing, Master Hu. You can rest assured, we will continue searching for your grandson’s whereabouts and help you with the investigation.”

The Cuiyan Valley group stayed in the City Lord’s Mansion, and after the cultivators from Beixing Sect and other factions left, the news that Master Hu was looking to take on new disciples spread rapidly.

An eager disciple soon returned with exciting news: “The pills that appeared a while ago weren’t sold by Hu Weicai, the second-generation heir, but by another alchemist. Master Hu has made it known that if this alchemist is a young cultivator, he is willing to take them as his direct disciple.”

Many people were digging their ears in disbelief: “What? It wasn’t that second-generation heir who sold the pills?”

“So, the pills weren’t made by Master Hu?”

“Yeah, yeah,” the disciple who was investigating news nodded repeatedly. “It was Master Hu himself who admitted it, and he believes the alchemist who made the pills has impressive skills, so he’s interested in recruiting them. In such a short time, many people are claiming they were the ones who made the pills.”

“Ha! What a bunch of nobodies! Do they think Master Hu is blind? Does everyone want to pretend to be the one who made the pills?” Brother Zhou burst out laughing.

“Heh, maybe those cultivators were just trying their luck,” another person suggested. “They might have hoped to catch Master Hu’s attention. Even if he doesn’t take them as his personal disciple, entering Cuiyan Valley would still be a great opportunity.”

Hearing their conversation, Gu Yao and Chi Changye exchanged glances. They had thought that someone unlucky would be in front, but they didn’t expect the real culprit to be discovered so quickly. This was moving way too fast.

Chi Changye glanced sideways. The little fatty was grinding his teeth loudly, while Tian Feirong was listening with great interest. When the strange sound came from beside him, he nudged the little fatty with his elbow. “What are you doing, little fatty? Are you hungry and want something to eat?”

The little fatty ground his teeth a few more times, and with an expression that seemed as if he was about to devour something alive, he glared at Tian Feirong and said darkly, “Don’t provoke me. If you do, I’ll bite your flesh off.”

Then he turned away, facing the other direction and sulking alone.

Chi Changye raised an eyebrow. Maybe the “unlucky one” Gu Yao mentioned was right beside them?

Interesting!

Gu Yao and the others were already students of Tianfu Academy. After receiving their identity badges, they were waiting to join the rest of the group on their way to the academy. Brother Jiang didn’t hold them back, allowing them to wander around other places. He wasn’t worried about them running away. Moreover, someone like Tian Feirong still needed to say goodbye to his family before heading to the academy.

Tian Feirong forcibly dragged the little fatty, who refused to move, away. How could he leave his brother behind to have fun by himself? He was full of brotherly loyalty.

Looking at the four of them walking away, Jiang Yan smiled and said, “Perhaps this year’s junior disciples will really open our eyes.”

Brother Zhou shuddered. The person he feared the most wasn’t Master Fang, but Master Jiang. Still curious about the answer, he couldn’t help but approach and ask, “Master, it’s just two with three spirit roots and one with four spirit roots. You really think so highly of them?”

One of the three spirit root cultivators wasn’t much better than the four spirit root one. He thought about the dual spirit root disciples recruited by other sects and felt a bit sour.

Master Jiang withdrew his gaze and said earnestly, “Junior Brother, you’re being too narrow-minded. Our dean himself has three spirit roots. Who’s to say that one of them won’t follow the same path as the dean? Moreover…”

He didn’t continue speaking. Gu Yao’s alchemy skills should be decent, and the person beside him, Chi Changye, was even more mysterious. Even if he entered the academy as an attendant, it wouldn’t matter. Perhaps the dean might take an interest in this attendant, or maybe he was drawn to the Sword Pavilion of Tianfu Academy.

Brother Zhou slapped his mouth, berating himself for being too talkative, then flattered, “Master, should I go and check on their situation?”

Jiang Yan nodded, and Brother Zhou, feeling honored with his new task, hurriedly went to carry it out.

The four of them wandered around the square. In some places, the crowd was so dense that it was hard to see anything clearly, and they had to squeeze in to get a better look. When they tried pushing their way through, they were met with complaints, as others assumed they were there to steal opportunities.

They hadn’t expected that they were just there to join the fun.

Some kind-hearted people explained to them, “Do you see that gate? For those who want to join Beixing Sect, the first trial is to undergo an examination at that gate. Only if they trigger a response from the gate can they proceed to the second and third rounds of testing, like testing bone age, spirit root aptitude, and even checking spiritual power and mental strength. Originally, there were more people here, but didn’t you hear the news? Cuiyan Valley is recruiting disciples, and Master Hu is accepting personal disciples. Many cultivators came hoping to strike it lucky.”

Gu Yao was taken aback. Tianfu Academy was so peaceful, but looking at the frenzy here, with people desperately trying to squeeze in, it was no wonder that Master Fang was so angry.

“You don’t know, the senior brother of Beixing Sect, Yan Yang, is the top choice for many female cultivators looking for a husband. Just look, there are so many female cultivators queuing up to join Beixing Sect. Once they’re in, they’ll have more opportunities to interact with Senior Brother Yan, and who knows, they might even catch his eye.”

“And because so many female cultivators are rushing here, they’ve also attracted a lot of male cultivators.”

“Haha, looks like Beixing Sect is the smartest, Senior Brother Yan is a living advertisement—how could they ever struggle to recruit good disciples?” Tian Feirong said, holding back a mischievous laugh.

Others assumed he was just speaking well of them, and responded with pride, “Exactly. When Master Hu arrived, it was Senior Brother Yan who represented Beixing Sect to welcome him. Do you know how Master Hu figured out that the elixirs weren’t sold by that second-rate heir? It’s because Senior Brother Yan had a pill from that person, and when he showed it to Master Hu, Master Hu immediately recognized it. Not everyone has the kind of influence that Senior Brother Yan has.”

It seemed as if it was entirely because of Senior Brother Yan that Master Hu was able to clear his grandson of any wrongdoing regarding the stolen pills.

But then someone ground their teeth together angrily and muttered, “So it was that bastard causing trouble. Before, they said… Hu Weicai stole the elixirs, and it was probably him who spread the rumors too. A disciple of the dignified Beixing Sect, bowing and scraping like that to Master Hu… Beixing Sect is nothing special! What’s your problem? Why are you pulling my clothes? Am I wrong?”

Tian Feirong wished he could cover the little fatty’s mouth or make him swallow his words. Didn’t he see all the people around them turning to glare at the little fatty, with looks that could tear him apart? Tian Feirong knew how good Yan Yang’s reputation was, and with the little fatty belittling him like this, wouldn’t it provoke all the disciples of Beixing Sect to come after them?

“Quick, if you don’t want to be hunted down, you better run now. If you don’t run, we’ll leave without you,” Tian Feirong lowered his voice and threatened. Then he turned around and dove into the crowd with Gu Yao and Chi Changye.

The little fatty looked up and saw that the surrounding cultivators were all glaring at him with murderous intent. The cold stares made his hair stand on end, and instantly, he lost all his courage. Holding his head, he started running, shouting, “Tian, wait for me!”

“What is that little fatty’s background? How dare he belittle our Beixing Sect and criticize Senior Brother Yan! Don’t let me catch him, or I’ll strip him down to his bones!” A Beixing Sect disciple rushed out, but by then, there was no sign of the little fatty and his group. The disciple could only shout threats.

A few people in the crowd exchanged furtive glances. Two of them were from the Tian family, hoping to test their luck and see if they could pass the Beixing Sect’s assessment. They didn’t know the little fatty, but Second Young Master Tian was not one to be mistaken. They didn’t expect that, after only a short time, he would somehow meet such a reckless person who nearly offended the entire Beixing Sect. They were worried for second master Tian, but fortunately, they had managed to escape.

There were also people from the Lu family, their eyes flashing with malice. They wondered why the Beixing Sect hadn’t caught them yet, so they could make them pay.

As for the Gu family, they had all gone to the Cuiyan Valley, acting as if they were putting all their hopes on it.

Once they left the Beixing Sect’s territory, Tian Feirong and the little fatty began to blame each other for not sticking to their principles, laughing and joking. They arrived at a place where the scent of medicinal herbs filled the air.

“This is… Cuiyan Valley’s territory, right? There sure are a lot of people here. Hey…” Gu Yao looked ahead curiously, and then saw a few familiar faces. It was the Gu family people. When they noticed Gu Yao, they immediately looked away, avoiding eye contact.

Tian Feirong and the little fatty also fell silent. The little fatty no longer wore the indignant expression from earlier.

Gu Yang saw Gu Yao approaching and lowered his voice, saying, “What is he coming here for? Does he think he made that high-quality Bi Hua Pill? He’s just a useless four-element root, and he dares to dream of becoming Hu Valley Master’s personal disciple?”

Gu Yu, with sharp eyes, said, “No, he must be here to watch the excitement. Did you see the emblem on his collar? It’s already stamped with the Tianfu Academy seal. So, Gu Yao is aiming for Tianfu Academy. No wonder he didn’t want to stay in Yuanyang Town.”

Gu Yu had also been puzzled about why Gu Yao had left, but now she understood his destination. She felt a bit envious. For a family like theirs, even though Tianfu Academy had a good reputation, they wouldn’t dare to set their sights on it. The entrance fee alone was something their family couldn’t afford for them. Having good alchemy skills was indeed a valuable asset.