Chapter 102: If You Encounter Danger, Save Yourself
Luo Li looked at him, her beautiful eyes shifting, wanting to laugh but not daring to.
She hadn't expected that Gu Qing would take her casual words seriously.
"Tear him limb from limb," even.
Luo Li suddenly wondered what Gu Qing's expression would be if he knew the person she was talking about was him.
Of course, thinking was one thing, but saying it was another matter.
Thinking this, Luo Li suddenly felt a twinge of guilt in her heart and thought to herself, "Although it's hateful that senior brother doesn't reply to messages, he is still quite protective of me, coming hundreds of millions of miles to refine pills for me. I'll forgive him this once."
Seeing Luo Li delay her answer, Gu Qing frowned, "Junior Sister?"
Finding his adoptive father was a major matter; not a moment could be wasted.
"Oh!"
Luo Li withdrew her thoughts and said with a faint smile, "It's just an ant from the Li family, nothing to worry about."
"What's his name?"
"Li Ping'an."
"Tell me more." Gu Qing's eyes lit up. A name like Ping'an, you could tell it was a protagonist's name at a glance.
Luo Li frowned, not understanding why Gu Qing cared about an ant.
Could it be that he cared about her so much he didn't want to see her suffer the slightest grievance?
A warm current rose in Luo Li's cold heart. She took a sip of tea and slowly began to recount her grudge with Li Ping'an.
When she first arrived in the Haori Divine Continent, she was unfamiliar with the place and encountered a cultivator at the King Realm.
He was the Li family patriarch, Li Hong.
The old fool fell for her at first sight. It was as if he had lost his mind, madly sending her all sorts of treasures and hanging on her every word.
Even though she never gave Li Hong a single glance, he remained perfectly content.
She asked Li Hong for treasures, and he gave them without hesitation. She told him to divorce his wife, and he did so without another word.
Finally, she told him to dig out his son's Innate Sword Bone and give it to her.
Luo Li had not been hopeful and was already planning to do it herself.
Who would have thought that Li Hong would actually dig out his son Li Ping'an's Innate Sword Bone without hesitation, presenting it with both hands in a humble posture.
He was more obedient than a dog.
This left Luo Li at a loss.
She had been cold and curt toward Li Hong, having barely spoken a few words to him. Anyone with eyes could see she looked down on him.
Even when she demanded treasures, she had her subordinates handle it.
Her intentions were so obvious, did Li Hong really need to act like a dog, obeying her every command?
But doubts were doubts, what she could take, she still took.
She even intensified her demands, asking for people and treasures, almost hollowing out the Immortal Dao Tradition's Li family.
Whatever he could give, Li Hong gave almost everything.
Good fellow, digging out bones and scheming against the protagonist's father... Gu Qing's mouth twitched as he asked, "Isn't it inappropriate for you to act this way?"
"Inappropriate? How is it inappropriate?"
Luo Li was stunned, then quickly realized what Gu Qing meant by inappropriate.
Her expression gradually turned cold.
To outsiders, Li Hong was utterly devoted, giving his all just for a smile from a fair lady, a much-praised infatuated man.
For her to scheme against Li Hong like this was truly too evil and vicious.
But in her eyes, Li Hong was fickle, abandoning his wife and children. He was worse than a pig or a dog, deserving to be hacked a thousand times and have his soul burned.
What Luo Li hated most in her life were heartless men.
She would not let Li Hong off; it was just that he was still of some use to her, which was why she spared his life.
Once all value was squeezed from the Li family, it would be time for Li Hong to die.
"Does senior brother also think I'm very vicious, like those mediocre people?" Luo Li put down her teacup with an expressionless face.
She had told Gu Qing so much and shown her true colors because he already knew too much.
He knew she had massacred cities for her own selfish desires but hadn't said a single word of blame.
He had only reminded her with concern to be wary of heart demons.
Luo Li naturally assumed that Gu Qing was the same as her.
Since they were kindred spirits and would be spending every day together, there was no need to hide things from Gu Qing.
But now it seemed Gu Qing was not her kindred spirit after all.
"No." Gu Qing shook his head and said, "Li Hong's intentions were impure. He abandoned his wife and children; he truly deserved to die."
"It's just that killing is but a nod. To string Li Hong along like this has too great an impact on you and on the Star God Palace's reputation. Don't do it again."
So that's what he meant... Luo Li breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as Gu Qing didn't have those pedantic, chauvinistic thoughts, it was fine.
A woman was never a man's appendage, nor a piece of clothing to be worn and discarded at a man's whim.
"Rest assured, senior brother. I know how to cherish my reputation. Outsiders only know that Li Hong fell in love with me at first sight; they do not know he has given me countless treasures."
"Furthermore, I had my subordinates handle everything the entire time, so if anything goes wrong, it has nothing to do with me."
Luo Li revealed a smile, her beauty beyond compare. Her phoenix-like eyes were like gems washed clean of dust, bright, clear, and full of spirit.
She laid out her entire plan and even recounted the interesting events of the past few years.
After all, some things were uncomfortable to keep bottled up. It was rare to find someone to be partners in crime with like Gu Qing.
Chatting with Gu Qing put her mind at ease.
Gu Qing would occasionally ask a question or two, which gave Luo Li a great desire to confide in him. In the end, he asked, "Is Li Ping'an dead?"
"No, he was rescued by an old servant of the Li family and disappeared without a trace," Luo Li said with frustration.
She always eliminated the roots of problems. The moment she had the Innate Sword Bone dug out, she ordered the Li family members who had pledged allegiance to her to kill Li Ping'an, to prevent future trouble.
Who would have thought an old servant would appear out of nowhere, helping Li Ping'an fight his way out of the Li family and escape without a trace.
"But he's just a cripple now. If he escaped, so be it. He's nothing to worry about," Luo Li said with a light smile.
Gu Qing gave her a meaningful look. Nothing to worry about? You have no idea what kind of huge trouble you've gotten yourself into.
Gu Qing could even imagine what kind of protagonist script Li Ping'an had.
(A youth is born into an immortal family and awakens a heaven-defying talent. But because his talent is too heaven-defying, it draws covetous eyes.
Luo Li, a true disciple of the Star God Palace, is as beautiful as a fairy, a peerless goddess praised by all. Yet, beneath her glamorous exterior, she is as venomous as a snake.
She seduces the father, confuses the family, digs out the youth's sword bone, intending to eliminate future trouble. Fortunately, he is saved by an old servant.
The youth endures humiliation and, by a stroke of fate, obtains a heaven-defying opportunity. Watch as the youth, holding a three-foot green blade, step by step takes back everything he lost, fighting against heavenly prodigies, fighting heaven and earth...)
"Junior Sister is right. A cripple is indeed nothing to worry about. Not everyone is like Ye Hao."
Gu Qing nodded in agreement, having no intention of warning Luo Li.
Because a warning would be useless. Luo Li would absolutely not be able to find Li Ping'an, nor did she need to.
Calculating the days, the three-year agreement should be almost up.
He would quietly wait for Luo Li to be fiercely slapped in the face by the protagonist.
Thinking this, Gu Qing drank the tea in his cup in one gulp and began refining pills.
With so many spiritual herbs, refining all of them into pills would take who knows how long.
Generally speaking, an alchemist capable of refining high-grade pills needs at least two hours to refine a single batch.
For spirit pills of the third grade and above, it takes more than four hours; the higher the grade, the longer it takes.
As for Gu Qing, the fastest he could refine a batch of pills was half an hour, and the longest was two hours.
With a single thought, Gu Qing manifested pill furnaces from the void. This was a technique only attainable by grandmasters of extremely high attainment.
It allowed one to refine spirit pills without the aid of a pill furnace's formation.
And Gu Qing was simultaneously operating thirty-six of these Void Pill Furnaces.
This was the heaven-defying alchemy technique that Jiang Yu had taught him.
"This..."
Luo Li was dumbfounded, as if to say, this is possible too?
Don't be fooled by the mere increase in quantity; the mysteries within were worlds apart, belonging to completely different leagues.
After all, the energy contained within a single batch of pills was enough to kill or injure someone at the same cultivation level.
Furthermore, alchemy involved purification, extraction, pill condensation, further refinement, inscription of formations, and so on.
Every step had to be flawless; a tiny error could lead to a huge deviation.
In short, alchemy required not only sufficient cultivation but also powerful divine soul strength for control.
Luo Li watched Gu Qing without blinking, his alchemy techniques flowing like clouds and water, a pleasure to behold. It was as if he wasn't refining pills, but performing an art.
When she saw the thirty-six batches of pills emerge from the furnaces, all of them supreme-grade, and each batch yielding the maximum of nine pills, Luo Li's heart pounded. Her entire worldview was turned upside down.
What kind of heaven-defying method was this?
Luo Li didn't leave. She propped her chin with one hand and quietly watched Gu Qing refine pills.
She was observing and comprehending his alchemy technique.
At this moment, she had shed her domineering air. Her entire expression was gentle, noble yet languid, possessing a different kind of beauty.
Time flew by, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.
Gu Qing stopped refining pills and let out a long breath.
He wouldn't refine anymore.
It was too exhausting.
He planned to melt down all the remaining spiritual herbs in the Golden Gourd.
"Here you go." Gu Qing tossed her a storage ring, secretly looking at her with surprise.
He never expected that Luo Li, who was so domineering and viewed all living beings as ants, could also have a side as gentle as water.
For the past three months, she either meditated quietly or simply watched him refine pills, her beautiful eyes full of expectation, still as a maiden, like a lady from a great house.
"Thank you, senior brother."
Luo Li swept it with her divine sense, and a look of joy appeared on her face.
Two hundred bottles of Ninth-Grade Pills, and five hundred bottles from the Sixth to Eighth Grade.
This was simply an astronomical figure.
Luo Li didn't mind that Gu Qing had kept the remaining spirit pills and herbs for himself.
As long as Gu Qing was willing to refine pills for her, it didn't matter how much he took. If she ran out, she could just go and rob some more.
"Why be so polite? You are my junior sister. If you need anything in the future, just come to me," Gu Qing said with a light smile, in a cheerful mood.
He couldn't help but be happy after obtaining so many spirit pills and herbs.
It had to be said, Luo Li was worthy of being a villain; her magnanimity was on another level.
If it were a protagonist, and he took this much as a reward, he would probably be jealous to the point of madness, his eyes bloodshot.
"Good!"
"By the way, senior brother, I'm going to the Li family for a trip. Do you want to go with me?"
A month ago, Luo Li received news that Li Ping'an had returned, and his talent had even recovered, allowing him to break through to the Profound Pellet Realm. It was simply unbelievable.
Luo Li suspected he was another Ye Hao, someone who possessed a great treasure.
This time, she did not want to miss it again.
"No, you go by yourself. I've had some insights from refining pills and need to enter closed-door cultivation for a while," Gu Qing shook his head.
Luo Li going to the Li family—he could guess without asking that it must be Li Ping'an making his grand return as a king.
But the protagonist wasn't so easy to kill. He would let Luo Li test the waters first.
Besides, in these three months, his own cultivation realm had reached a bottleneck, and he could break through to the King Realm Fourth Level at any time.
There was also the Xuan Huang Bead, which had been continuously washing and strengthening his physique. His physical body had also reached a critical point for a breakthrough.
"Alright! Then I'll take Ji Ning with me."
Luo Li's gaze shifted toward Ji Ning, who was meditating in a corner.
During these three months, although Ji Ning was like an invisible person, Luo Li would not truly treat her as one.
"Of course!"
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