Urban Extraordinary Immortal Doctor
Chapter 1409: Attendant

Chapter 1409: Chapter 1409: Attendant

In Lingxu Palace, attendants belonged to the category of menial disciples, who usually lacked talent and aptitude, with no future in the Martial Dao. They held a low status in Lingxu Palace and were often bullied.

As such, when Wu Zhihua heard Sun Jing wanted to borrow Fang Bai to guard the pill furnace, he became slightly displeased, thinking to himself, "Elder Sun treats my disciple as if he’s just an attendant. What is the meaning of this?"

"Elder Wu, you misunderstand me. I didn’t mean it that way..."

Sun Jing explained with a bitter smile, "I want to refine a batch of Marrow Cleansing Pills for Lin’er to take, hoping she can step back onto the Martial Dao. Unfortunately, I only have enough materials to refine one batch of Marrow Cleansing Pills. If it fails, I don’t know when Lin’er will be able to recover. Therefore..."

"I understand now."

When Wu Zhihua heard the name "Lin’er," his expression softened, and a trace of shame appeared on his face. He sighed and said, "Elder Sun, I misunderstood you... How is Lin’er doing? To tell the truth, it’s been years since I’ve seen her."

Sun Jing’s expression darkened, and she sighed wistfully, "How could she be well? Since Lin’er was injured, she’s been despondent, crying every day... As her grandmother, it pains me deeply to watch her like this!"

"Sigh... Let’s hope Lin’er recovers soon!"

Wu Zhihua also let out a long sigh.

Lin’er, whose full name was Sun Lin, was Sun Jing’s granddaughter. She was originally a talented disciple within Lingxu Palace but had suffered severe injuries during a training expedition, resulting in her inability to continue cultivating. This was a heavy blow for Sun Lin.

For years, Sun Lin had shut herself away, succumbing to despair and nearly becoming a shadow of her former self.

Sun Jing loved her granddaughter dearly and felt both heartache and sorrow at her state.

To help her granddaughter regain her footing in the Martial Dao, Sun Jing had sought elixirs and spiritual medicines far and wide. When those efforts proved fruitless, she started gathering spiritual herbs herself, attempting to refine elixirs to heal her granddaughter’s injuries.

Although Sun Jing did not possess the qualifications of an alchemist, she had, during one of her expeditions, stumbled upon a furnace cauldron. This cauldron was a Holy Grade superior Spiritual Artifact capable of generating fire on its own. Sun Jing, who practiced Wood System Martial Arts, had eventually managed to refine a batch of Spirit Pills after numerous trials.

Even though the pills she refined were only Holy Grade inferior Spirit Pills, the achievement brought excitement not only to Sun Jing but to all of Lingxu Palace’s disciples.

It must be noted that regardless of whether one was in a Minor World or a Major World, alchemists were exceptionally rare individuals. For a small, unremarkable sect like Lingxu Palace to produce someone capable of practicing alchemy was an extraordinary event.

Because of Sun Jing’s ability to refine Spirit Pills, Lingxu Palace saved a significant amount of valuable cultivation resources, which previously had to be exchanged for Spirit Pills and Spiritual Liquid with alchemists in surrounding major cities using spirit stones and other resources.

With the aid of her furnace cauldron, Sun Jing gained confidence in her ability to heal her granddaughter Sun Lin’s injuries through alchemy. She began attempting to refine the Marrow Cleansing Pill, aiming to cleanse Lin’er’s bones and marrow, reshape her meridians, and enable her to return to the path of cultivation.

However, Sun Jing was ultimately not a true alchemist. After expenditure of nearly all her materials for refining the Marrow Cleansing Pill, her repeated failures left her somewhat discouraged, and she grew wary of trying again.

During this period, Sun Jing sought out several alchemists in the nearby major cities, asking them to help refine the Marrow Cleansing Pill. However, the fees those alchemists demanded were exorbitantly high, and Sun Jing could not afford them, leaving her with no choice but to abandon the idea.

Out of frustration, Sun Jing resolved to take matters into her own hands, using the last two batches of materials she had painstakingly gathered over the years to attempt to refine the Marrow Cleansing Pill. Whether she succeeded or failed, she would leave it to fate.

Sun Jing’s furnace cauldron allowed for precise adjustment of fire intensity at any time, but the attendants guarding the cauldron lacked sensitivity to the fluctuations in fire intensity. As a result, repeated failures in alchemy had occurred.

Of course, the failures couldn’t be entirely blamed on the attendants. Sun Jing herself made errors as well.

Nonetheless, if there were an attendant who was particularly sensitive to Fire Spirit Energy to guard the cauldron, Sun Jing would be able to refine elixirs with much greater peace of mind, and the success rate could significantly improve.

Fang Bai, possessing the Innate Fire Spirit Root, was naturally adept at perceiving Fire Spirit Energy. Upon seeing him, Sun Jing had the idea of temporarily appointing him as an attendant.

"I only wish to temporarily borrow Fang Bai. With his assistance, I might succeed in refining the Marrow Cleansing Pill, and Lin’er’s injuries could then be healed."

Sun Jing continued, "Of course, I won’t use Fang Bai’s help without compensation. If I succeed in refining the Marrow Cleansing Pill, I’ll reward him with some cultivation resources."

Wu Zhihua nodded, stroked his beard, and said, "Healing Lin’er’s injuries takes priority. I have no objections if you wish to use Fang Bai... Fang Bai, what do you think?"

Wu Zhihua and Sun Jing both turned their gaze to Fang Bai.

Although the two were confident Fang Bai wouldn’t refuse—nor did he dare—they still felt it necessary to ask for his opinion, given that Fang Bai was one of Lingxu Palace’s rare few disciples with an Innate Spiritual Root and had boundless potential.

"It would be my honor to assist Elder Sun!"

Fang Bai naturally wasn’t so foolish as to refuse Sun Jing and answered intelligently.

Moreover, Fang Bai himself was a Pill Master and had a strong interest in alchemy. He also wanted to see how Sun Jing, who wasn’t an alchemist, managed to refine Holy Grade Elixirs.

At his current level, Fang Bai could also refine Holy Grade Spirit Pills, but unfortunately, skillful cooks cannot work without ingredients. He was penniless and lacked even a single spiritual herb, making it impossible for him to refine any Spirit Pills.

Hearing Fang Bai’s expected response, Wu Zhihua and Sun Jing exchanged a glance, satisfaction showing on their faces.

"Good! Rest well for now. Early tomorrow morning, the attendant from the pill room will summon you."

After saying this, Sun Jing whispered a few words to Elder Wu, cupped her fists in farewell, and swiftly departed.

"Head to the External Courtyard Department in the back mountain and hand this token to the disciple guarding its entrance. You’ll be assigned accommodation. I have matters to attend to and must leave now."

While speaking, Wu Zhihua casually took out a palm-sized black wooden token. With his index and middle fingers extended, he swiftly inscribed a few characters onto the token before handing it to Fang Bai, then left in a hurry.

Fang Bai lowered his head and inspected the black wooden token, seeing the inscription: "Lingxu Palace, External Courtyard, Fang Bai." The strokes exuded a faint Martial Artist Aura.

The black wooden token, exclusive to the elders of Lingxu Palace, signified a direct disciple of an elder. Carrying it ensured treatment with respect wherever one went.

Holding the black wooden token, Fang Bai asked around and quickly reached the External Courtyard Department on the back mountain. When the disciples guarding the entrance attempted to block him, he handed them the token.

"Ah, so it’s Elder Wu’s direct disciple... Junior Brother Fang, my apologies. I’ll lead you to your accommodation immediately."

Upon reading the inscription on the black wooden token, the disciples guarding the entrance dared not show negligence. Among them, a middle-aged man with refined features smiled at Fang Bai.