My mother is the white moonlight of the cultivation world.

The superior-grade Bigu Pill lying in Hua Yue's palm felt warm to the touch, and its spiritual energy was almost solidified into mist, forming a stark contrast to the charcoal she had refined herself.

She stared blankly at Mu Qingmao, feeling that her understanding of alchemy and even of this world had been completely refreshed.

This is no longer a difference in skill; it's a gap between species!

Mu Qingmao seemed to enjoy her naive and ignorant look, letting out a soft snort from under her hood, her tone brimming with obvious superiority: "You understand? Alchemy relies on your brain and understanding of spiritual plants, not on blindly fiddling around with a tattered book."

Hua Yue nodded, carefully put away the pill, and solemnly bowed to Mu Qingmao: "Senior's teachings will be remembered by this junior."

She understood.

They've latched onto a really powerful figure.

Over the next few days, Hua Yue fully experienced what grueling, devilish training meant.

Mu Qingmao's teaching method was simple and brutal: she just made her practice constantly.

But he wasn't just a simple supervisor.

He was like a walking encyclopedia of elixirs, his knowledge base seemingly bottomless.

"Idiot, the medicinal properties of Purple Monkey Flower and Iron Wire Grass clash. Are you trying to create a hole in the alchemy furnace by putting them together?"

"Who taught you to use spiritual power to envelop the medicinal liquid? You need to guide it, not envelop it! Spiritual power is like a comb, not a blanket!"

Hua Yue had just finished processing a "Flame Sun Grass" when Mu Qingmao suddenly floated over, picked up a leaf, and examined it.

"Tsk, the method is too rough, losing 30% of the medicinal properties. If I were you, I would simply grind the roots of this herb into powder and add it in two batches with the leaves, which would increase the efficacy by more than 10%."

After saying that, he muttered to himself, "Hmm... if I add the stamens of the Moonflower to neutralize its dryness, perhaps I can refine a completely new healing pill... no, the Moonflower is cold in nature, perhaps I could try the Star Vine..."

Hua Yue listened in stunned silence.

How come this person started doing scientific research while teaching?

She felt less like she was learning alchemy and more like a miserable experimental assistant, while her mentor was an academic fanatic who could burst forth with inspiration at any moment.

However, the results are also significant.

After the furnace exploded more than ten times, Hua Yue finally managed to consistently refine a low-grade first-rank fasting pill. Although the quality was still appalling, at least the pill was successfully made!

The only side effect is that it uses too many medicinal herbs.

The medicinal herbs she bought were dwindling at a visible rate.

That day, the storage bag ran out of supplies again, so Hua Yue had to go to Baibao Street once more to replenish her "ammunition".

Baibao Street was as bustling as ever.

Hua Yue chose an inconspicuous little stall.

As she was picking out medicinal herbs, she caught a glimpse of a young man approaching from the corner of her eye.

The boy looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a clean light blue long robe, and was slender.

He was born with a non-aggressive beauty, his skin was a smooth white that had not seen the sun for a long time, his eyebrows and eyes were gentle like the misty rain of Jiangnan, and the white arc at the back of his neck was so fragile that it seemed as if it would break at the slightest touch.

He stood quietly in front of the stall, his eyelashes lowered, as if he were carefully selecting items.

However, Hua Yue soon noticed something was amiss.

The boy's movements were somewhat slow, and when he reached out to touch the herbs, it was with a tentative, tentative groping.

He picked out a "heart-clearing herb" and handed it to the stall owner.

The stall owner took the herbs with a smile on his face, but his hands and feet were not very well-behaved.

Just as he was collecting the spirit stones, he swiftly used his sleeve to block the way, replacing the excellent Qingxin Grass chosen by the boy with a inferior one with yellowed leaves and weak spiritual energy.

The entire movement was fluid and fast, almost imperceptible.

But all of this was clearly seen by Hua Yue.

The young man seemed completely oblivious. He paid the spirit stones, accepted the substandard plant, and turned to leave.

Hua Yue then suddenly realized.

The boy had a pair of extremely beautiful eyes, but those eyes were empty and devoid of any light.

He can't see.

Hua Yue was annoyed. Was someone bullying a child who couldn't see?

"Wait!" Hua Yue said coldly.

The stall owner was startled. He turned around and saw it was her. He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Fairy, is there...is there anything else you need?"

Hua Yue ignored him and walked a few steps to the boy, blocking his way.

"Young master, the medicinal herbs you bought have been switched."

Upon hearing the voice, the boy turned his head to "look" at her, a look of confusion on his face.

"Switched?" His voice was soft, like melting snow in early spring, clean and gentle.

Hua Yue took the withered Qingxin Grass directly from his hand, then pointed to another lush green one on the stall, creating a striking contrast.

"He replaced the good one you chose with this inferior one."

The stall owner's face turned deathly pale instantly, and he waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, that's not true! Fairy, please don't talk nonsense! I, Old Li, value honesty above all else in business!"

"Is that so?" Hua Yue said with a forced smile. "Should I invite some fellow Daoists from the Enforcement Hall over so they can see just how much integrity you actually have?"

Upon hearing the words "Enforcement Hall," the stall owner's legs went weak.

He dared not disturb the Enforcement Hall, so he quickly replaced the good Qingxin Grass with it and bowed and scraped as he apologized to the boy.

Holding the replaced herb, the young man bowed slightly towards Hua Yue and earnestly thanked her, saying, "Thank you for speaking up for me, young lady. My name is Mu Yunling. May I ask your esteemed name?"

"Mu Yunling?" Hua Yue was taken aback and blurted out, "Your surname is also Mu?"

This surname immediately reminded her of Mu Qingmao.

Mu Yunling's face showed just the right amount of doubt: "Does the young lady also know anyone with the surname Mu?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a cold yet familiar voice rang out from behind the two of them, carrying a hint of displeasure.

"Didn't I tell you to stay in the sect? What are you doing out here?"

Hua Yue turned around and saw that Mu Qingmao was already standing there. He was still wearing that large green cloak, with the hood pulled low, so she couldn't see his expression, but the reproach in his tone was obvious.

Upon hearing this voice, Mu Yunling's delicate face immediately showed a hint of nervousness, and she quickly bowed in greeting.

"Master," he explained gently, "I thought I shouldn't keep troubling my senior brothers and sisters, so I came out on my own."

Master?

Hua Yue looked at this and then at that, and then she understood.

So they're master and apprentice. No wonder they both have the surname Mu; one's real name and the other's pseudonym.

Mu Qingmao snorted, accepting the explanation. He turned to Hua Yue, his tone softening slightly: "This is my good-for-nothing disciple, Mu Yunling."

"Greetings, Senior Brother Mu." Hua Yue readily agreed.

When Mu Yunling heard Hua Yue call him "senior brother," his face flushed slightly, as if he were a little shy.

She asked curiously, "May I ask which sect you and Young Master Yunling belong to? With your expertise in alchemy, your sect must be extraordinary as well."

Mu Yunling was about to speak when Mu Qingmao interrupted her.

"Just some nobody sect, not worth mentioning." He brushed the topic aside lightly.

Hua Yue raised an eyebrow.

They didn't look like people from an "unknown minor sect" at all.

But since the other person didn't want to talk about it, she was too lazy to ask.

At this moment, Mu Yunling spoke again, her tone somewhat urgent: "Master, the sect leader has been looking for you, saying there's something urgent."

"When isn't he in a hurry?" Mu Qingmao complained, but Hua Yue could sense that his aura had become somewhat more subdued.

He was silent for a moment, seemingly weighing his options, before finally saying to Hua Yue, "I have to go first. Let him teach you the rest."

He pointed to Mu Yunling beside him.

"Don't let his timid appearance fool you, his alchemy skills are quite decent. He's already a fifth-grade alchemist."

Fifth, fifth rank?!

Hua Yue's jaw almost dropped to the ground.

The boy in front of me, who looks a few years younger than me, is actually a fifth-grade alchemist?!

Are all the geniuses in this world mass-produced?

Upon hearing her master's "praise," Mu Yunling simply lowered her head slightly and said humbly, "This disciple is dull-witted and has only been able to achieve what I have today thanks to your meticulous teaching."

"Alright, stop with the pleasantries." Mu Qingmao waved his hand impatiently and suddenly said, "Don't bully her." Hua Yue asked, puzzled, "How could I bully Senior Brother Mu?"

Mu Qingmao pointed at Mu Yunling: "I told him not to bully you."

Mu Yunling stood there innocently, seemingly not understanding why her master said that.

Mu Qingmao didn't bother to say anything more. With a flicker of his body, he transformed into a green shadow and disappeared around the street corner.

Only Hua Yue and Mu Yunling remained, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

Hua Yue was still processing the astonishing information about a "fifteen or sixteen-year-old fifth-grade alchemist" and it took her a long time to come back to her senses.

She looked at the handsome and gentle young man before her and politely cupped her hands in greeting: "Then... I look forward to your guidance, Young Master Yunling."

Mu Yunling gently shook her head, a faint dimple appearing on her lips.

"You flatter me, young lady. It is Yunling who is learning from you. Please do not look down on Yunling for being blind and clumsy."

If Mu Qingmao's teachings were a raging storm, forcefully pouring a massive amount of knowledge into your mind, leaving you frantically absorbing it on the verge of suffocation and collapse.

Therefore, Mu Yunling's guidance was like a gentle spring rain that nourishes the earth.

He never directly pointed out Hua Yue's mistakes, but instead guided her to discover them herself by asking questions.

"Smell it again. Is there still a trace of raw, unrefined grassy scent?"

His five senses seemed to have become exceptionally sharp because of his blindness, allowing him to detect subtle changes that Hua Yue could hardly discern even with her spiritual power.

He should have noticed when the vendor switched the medicinal herbs, so why didn't he stop him?

Hua Yue was puzzled.

Mu Yunling would have her close her eyes, use her hands to feel the texture of the herbs, use her nose to distinguish the changes in aroma after different spiritual plants were mixed, and listen attentively to the subtle sounds inside the alchemy furnace.

Under this unusual teaching method, Hua Yue discovered that her understanding of alchemy had undergone a completely new leap.

She learned how to truly "feel" the changes in each batch of pills.

Two days later, when Hua Yue opened the alchemy furnace with great anticipation, an unprecedentedly rich medicinal fragrance wafted out.

At the bottom of the alchemy furnace lay a pure white pill, its surface shimmering with a faint glow.

The second-grade elixir, the Cleansing Dust Pill, is complete!

Moreover, judging from its quality, it's actually a medium grade!

Hua Yue was so excited she almost shouted out loud. She went from a complete novice who couldn't even refine a fasting pill to someone who was constantly burning things, to actually refining a mid-grade second-level pill in just a few days!

She looked at Mu Yunling beside her with delight, wanting to share her joy with him.

The boy was sitting quietly to one side, a gentle smile on his face, as if he already knew that Hua Yue would succeed.