Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Hollowgrass

"..." Che Wuyou was stunned. He had not expected Li Yiqiu's impression of him to be so poor. It seemed that although she had verbally spared him, she remained deeply resentful that he had consumed her Recovery Pill. And rightfully so—if he were in her shoes, he probably wouldn't be so magnanimous either, given that the pill was her only hope for survival. Even though he had been forced by circumstances at the time and had consumed it by sheer accident, that was hardly a reason for her to forgive him.

Yet, the opportunity was right before him. Che Wuyou was unwilling to simply give up on entering the Qingchi Sword Sect. "Miss Li, you may have many misunderstandings about me, but I must say this: as long as you give me a chance, I am willing to do anything. I desire nothing else in this life; I only wish to enter Qingchi and attain the Golden Core." Che Wuyou spoke with utmost sincerity.

"Hmph, hmph... what a fool's dream. Do you think entering the Qingchi Sword Sect guarantees a Golden Core? Besides, with your aptitude, even if you stepped into a sacred land, the Golden Core would remain beyond your reach." Li Yiqiu’s beautiful face turned icy. "Get out. Do not exhaust my remaining patience. Before I decide to change my mind, you had better leave quickly, or I might truly be unable to resist killing you."

Watching Che Wuyou’s plain, dull face bobbing in front of her, Li Yiqiu felt an instinctive urge to draw her sword and strike it down.

She had already suppressed her anger. She did not want it said that her father, Li Muqiu, had used unscrupulous demonic secret methods to turn an innocent boy into a human pill just to treat his daughter’s illness. She also did not want to see the hundred-thousand-year reputation of Qingchi destroyed by her father’s actions. Yet, seeing Che Wuyou’s lack of awareness and his shameless persistence in trying to enter the sect, her fury flared anew, and past grievances rushed to her heart.

This boy had not only consumed her Recovery Pill, cutting off her path to life, but now he dared to covet a place in the Qingchi Sword Sect to seek the secrets of the Golden Core. It was utterly absurd. As she thought about it, her anger grew. Her hand subconsciously gripped the hilt of her sword. Feeling the icy chill radiating from the blade, she couldn't help but close her eyes. If... if he dared to say another word or continue his pestering, she would have no choice but to end him. He would have only himself to blame for lacking the sense to leave when he was given a way out.

Seeing that Li Yiqiu was completely unmoved, Che Wuyou sighed inwardly. Should he leave the Qingchi Mountain now? And if he did, where would he go? What of his future? How would he ever form his Golden Core? No, he had to try one more time. Perhaps she would agree?

With this thought, Che Wuyou spoke again: "Miss Li, although the pill has been consumed, it is not necessarily impossible to recover it. The medicinal potency of the Recovery Pill is too strong for me to fully absorb; most of the energy still resides within my Dantian, my sea of qi, and even my blood. If we use special methods, perhaps it could be extracted..."

"What? Extracted? Are you mad?" Li Yiqiu’s face was filled with shock. She had never heard of a pill being extracted after ingestion, unless one resorted to the inhumane methods of the Demon Sect. But this was Qingchi, the path of the Immortals. Li Yiqiu exhaled slowly. "...Leave. You consumed the pill; it is my ill fate, a tribulation I was meant to suffer. Do not spout nonsense. Though I am not an alchemist, I understand the principles. The difficulty of extracting the pill from your blood would be far greater than the process used to refine you into a human pill."

"It may not be as difficult as you imagine. I am an alchemist myself; I naturally understand my own physical state. If one’s spiritual perception is sufficiently refined and the control over the medicinal energy is precise, it is entirely possible to extract the pill from the blood. While the amount recovered would be small, I believe the miraculous nature of the Recovery Pill would be enough to alleviate your suffering, and it would spare you the trouble of having a high-level master from the Asking Immortal Realm help suppress the energy for you." Che Wuyou looked at Li Yiqiu with bright, steady eyes, his words slow and measured.

"Pure drivel. The Recovery Pill is of the Earth grade or higher. A boy like you, who has only just entered the Purple Mansion stage, could never extract it. You are arrogant and ignorant." Li Yiqiu sneered, even adding sharply, "You say all this useless nonsense simply because you want to enter my Qingchi Sword Sect. I advise you to give up that thought. As long as I am here, I will never let you have your way."

Li Yiqiu had expected that, with the cunning of this boy, he would have some prepared retort. Yet, after waiting for a long time, Che Wuyou remained silent. For some reason, she felt a trace of disappointment. Perhaps, deep down, she harbored a sliver of hope that the extraction was possible. Seeing his prolonged silence, she grew angry. "What? No words left? Did I hit the mark? You’ve only studied alchemy for a few days and you dare to boast about extracting a Recovery Pill? Truly, ignorance knows no fear. Do you know that even in the entire Qingchi Sword Sect, a vast sect of immortals, no alchemist would dare claim they could extract a Recovery Pill from human blood?"

"Just leave. The Qingchi Sword Sect does not welcome you. As long as I am here, I will not allow someone like you to enter." Li Yiqiu did not wait for his response before speaking again, her tone filled with resentment.

"You are the one who is arrogant and ignorant. Not only are you ignorant, you are also self-righteous." Since Che Wuyou had made up his mind to enter the Qingchi Sword Sect, how could he be driven away by a few words? Seeing Li Yiqiu’s hand tighten on her sword hilt again, he knew he couldn't provoke her further. He rushed to say, "Human blood is not like a simple medicinal herb; its composition is extremely complex. Extracting the pill intact is, of course, an incredibly difficult task, but difficulty does not mean it is impossible."

Che Wuyou spoke eloquently, recalling an ancient, unique alchemy technique he had stumbled upon while reading the *Qihuang Classic*. It was called the 'Golden Touch,' and it detailed how to extract the essence of a demonic beast from its body. If he remembered correctly, it was this very technique that Liu Lanzhi had used during the Miao family’s alchemy competition to refine the Great Expansion Pill.

As he thought, his confidence grew. "With my sensitivity to my own blood, combined with the aid of the Void-Departure Herb, and using the 'Golden Touch' to force the extraction, if a third-rank alchemist or higher could assist me with their alchemy fire, it is not impossible to succeed."

"Void-Departure Herb? Golden Touch?" Li Yiqiu was suddenly bewildered. Despite her extensive knowledge, she had never heard of these. Was this cunning boy making it up? But it didn't sound like he was just spouting nonsense.

Li Yiqiu gripped her hands tightly, her heart pounding uncontrollably. Could it be true? Could this actually work? She turned her gaze toward Li Muqiu and the others. They were the top figures of Qingchi, and with their vast experience, they should be able to see through a lie.

"Is what you say true, boy? But what is this Void-Departure Herb? How have I never heard of it? Does such a herb truly exist in this world?" Master Li of Qingchi, seeing the others frowning in deep thought, broke the silence, unable to suppress his curiosity given his daughter’s eager expression.