Sixty years of blacksmithing, a single hammer blow forging a celestial being.

"What? You want him to clean up all this waste?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao San was terrified.

This is no joke. If he were to clean up this pile of poison, it would be his death in no time!

With a thud, Zhao San slid to his knees and kowtowed to Qingyue, begging for mercy.

"Grandma, please forgive me! I really didn't ask this senior to clean up this waste, please forgive me this once!"

Qingyue stood with her hands on her hips, her expression icy.

"Let you off this time? Watch your mouth, it's not like I've done anything to you. Didn't you assign these tasks to my underling? Why can't you do what he does? Alright, enough nonsense, get to work!"

Upon seeing this, Li Ping'an's gaze towards the girl changed slightly.

He had initially thought that the girl was just an innocent little girl who kept failing at alchemy and always looking disheveled.

Judging from Qingyue's methods of ordering people around, it seems this girl is no ordinary person.

However, since Qingyue was standing up for him, he was happy to see Zhao San suffer a setback, so he stood silently to the side with his arms crossed, watching this good show.

Seeing that Zhao San was still begging for mercy, Qingyue frowned suddenly and said sternly.

"Why aren't you doing it yet? Are you trying to force me?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao San was so frightened that his legs went weak.

Now, a high-ranking inner disciple is giving him orders. If he dares not to, he is committing insubordination. Insubordination is an extremely serious crime in the sect, and could very well result in execution.

After a long internal struggle, Zhao San took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and stood up.

Seeing the churning poison gas inside the box, Zhao San struggled for a moment before reaching out to grab a piece of rotting flesh.

The moment Zhao San touched the piece of rotten flesh, he jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, letting out a scream.

Instantly, the poison gas corroded the skin and flesh of his hands, turning his fingers charred black, causing Zhao San to break out in a cold sweat.

"Keep going!"

Qingyue saw him stop what he was doing, raised an eyebrow, and said:

"Keep cleaning. I didn't say you can stop or not."

As she spoke, Qingyue suddenly released her spiritual energy, unleashing a power belonging to the Qi Refining stage.

Zhao San was startled and seemed to forget the pain in his hand.

Compared to pain, life is more important.

So he could only grit his teeth and continue cleaning up the highly toxic waste, but the process looked extremely painful, and Zhao San screamed in agony as he cleaned.

Just then, Li Ping'an suddenly spoke up: "Master..."

"Sister, perhaps we should forget it. This gentleman's skin is too delicate to withstand this poisonous miasma. Let me handle it."

Hearing Li Ping'an's words, Qingyue couldn't help but be a little surprised.

He was there to stand up for Li Ping'an and deliberately punish this disciple to make him suffer. He never expected that Li Ping'an would speak up for him.

For a moment, Qingyue's eyes held a strange light as she looked at Li Ping'an.

To repay evil with good—such a heart is truly rare!

There are still such pure-hearted people in this sect.

However, he didn't know that the reason Li Ping'an spoke up to dissuade him was simply because he was afraid that Zhao San would clean up all of his cultivation nutrients, then what would be the point of him cultivating?

These were all precious items in his eyes, and he couldn't let anyone have them.

As for Zhao San, after cleaning up all that waste, he suffered terribly, his face and hands were covered in blood and gore from the poison.

As for the remaining debts, I can deal with them slowly when I become stronger, so as not to waste my energy now.

"Young man, are you sure you want to let him go?"

Qingyue asked in a puzzled tone.

Li Ping'an remained calm, even displaying a hint of righteous indignation on his face, and bowed with his hands clasped.

"Senior sister, I appreciate your kindness, but I'll clean up the rest of the waste myself. That's what I do."

Seeing Li Ping'an's persistence, Qingyue stopped insisting and nodded to Zhao San.

"My little brother will let you off the hook today, but remember this: if you dare to bully him again, I won't let you get away with it, you hear me? Get out of here!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao San felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He even looked at Li Ping'an with gratitude in his eyes. Without lingering any longer, he scrambled out of the hall, screaming as he ran, and left in a sorry state.

After Zhao San left, Qingyue patted Li Ping'an on the shoulder and said with some emotion.

"Little brother, I didn't expect you to be so kind. He bullied you like that, and you let him off so easily."

Li Ping'an remained calm and composed, speaking earnestly and solemnly.

"Actually, we are all disciples of the same sect, there is no need for this fighting. As the saying goes, 'Be lenient when you can, and don't push people too far.' This is the right way to handle things."

As he spoke, a look of pity appeared on Li Ping'an's aged face, making him seem like a truly compassionate person.

Seeing this, even Qingyue couldn't help but feel admiration for Li Ping'an.

That old man is such a kind person.

"Alright, you don't need to clean up this waste anymore. I'll talk to them over there later, and you won't need to clean up this waste anymore."

He was convinced that Li Ping'an would be grateful for what he had said.

Unexpectedly, Li Ping'an's face darkened, and he quickly tried to stop him.

"Senior sister, this is absolutely unacceptable! I appreciate your kindness, but I'll handle these waste materials myself from now on. Also, if you really have that authority, you'd better tell them to let me handle all the waste materials from now on. That would be much better."

Upon hearing Li Ping'an's words, Qingyue froze on the spot.

Does this old man have some kind of peculiar fetish? Everyone avoids this garbage and waste like the plague, but he seems to enjoy it all day long, as if this garbage is sweet dew and he loves it to death.

This is truly bizarre.

For a moment, Qingyue looked at Li Ping'an with a different expression and became more curious about the old man.

"Fine, whatever you want."

Qingyue stopped insisting and instead showed a look of excitement on her face.

"Actually, I came to see you today for another matter."

"What can I do for you?" Li Ping'an asked.

"That's alchemy, of course!"

Qingyue's tone was full of excitement whenever the topic of alchemy was mentioned.

"I've thought about it, and you're right. My daily alchemy practice is actually a contribution to the sect. I believe that as long as I practice diligently and persevere day after day, I will succeed one day!"

As if cheering herself on, Qingyue clenched her little fists, her face full of seriousness.