Guide to the Rebirth of the Evil Woman in the Immortal Realm - Chapter 13

Shen Fuxin obediently ignited the spiritual flame in her palm.

The young immortal attendants who had been tending the fire stepped away from the cauldron, leaving only the three of them standing beside it. The moment Yan Dan Shang Shen saw Shen Fuxin’s spiritual flame, the furrow in her brow eased slightly, as if she had breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. With your innate talent, your rate of comprehension will naturally be faster than that of ordinary people.”

With that, she guided Shen Fuxin to press her palm against the cauldron. Shen Fuxin had expected the cauldron to be scalding hot, but to her surprise, it felt icy cold to the touch. The spiritual flame in her palm instinctively transferred into the hollow interior of the cauldron. In an instant, a blue-purple spiritual flame blazed fiercely within.

Seeing her rapid progress, Yan Dan Shang Shen said with satisfaction, “Lighting the flame is only the first step. The true essence lies in alchemy. I will teach you how to refine pills right away.”

Shen Fuxin replied, “Master, I’ve already used your cauldron to refine a pill once before.”

Yan Dan Shang Shen nearly dropped the cinnabar in her hand, exclaiming in astonishment, “You’ve already refined one? Without materials or knowledge of the formula, how did you manage it?”

Shen Fuxin answered candidly, “I threw my lifebound sword into the cauldron and refined it into a well, a small crimson pill. It’s now circulating within my body.”

As she spoke, she activated the sword pill to demonstrate it to Yan Dan Shang Shen. “This is it.”

Yan Dan Shang Shen felt a sudden rush of wind beside her ear, followed by the sharp, metallic clang of swords. Hesitantly, she turned her head and saw more than ten small swords embedded in her most treasured alchemy cauldron.

Never mind.

With a single thought, Shen Fuxin’s small swords clattered to the ground. Yan Dan Shang Shen gently stroked the still-intact cauldron, shaking her head. “In that case, there isn’t much left for me to teach you.”

Seeing Shen Fuxin’s confusion, she explained, “Just as there are many schools of thought in swordsmanship, alchemy cauldrons also have their own lineages. If my approach is about seeking stability through careful refinement of rare materials, your innate talent leans toward extracting essence from chaos anything can be thrown into the cauldron for refinement, though no one can predict what you’ll produce next.”

After a pause, Yan Dan Shang Shen seemed lost in thought before continuing, “This path has been walked by predecessors before. They called it ‘Stir-Frying Heaven and Earth in One Pot.’”

Stir-Frying Heaven and Earth in One Pot? Shen Fuxin pursed her lips. That sounds suspiciously like a cook.

Ji Ting, standing to the side, turned her head and stifled a laugh. Unwilling to accept this, Shen Fuxin pressed further, “Can’t I follow the same school as you, Master?”

“It’s difficult,” Yan Dan Shang Shen shook her head. “Ultimately, it’s because your spiritual flame constitution is different from others. Even if I gave you the exact alchemical ingredients and you used the same flame intensity and duration, the elixir produced in your cauldron would most likely differ from mine. Yesterday, you threw a sword in and refined a sword pill capable of generating sword intent. If you try again tomorrow, you might produce a pill that turns into a spiritual pet with spines on its back. Try again another time, and the pill might simply cause a sharp pain in your throat when swallowed, as if a blade were scraping it.”

Shen Fuxin understood and withdrew the sword intent surrounding her. “Then, can this sword pill of mine be upgraded to become even more powerful?”

“Since you’ve already ingested it, the sword pill has merged with your very being,” Yan Dan Shang Shen observed Shen Fuxin closely. “As you grow stronger, so will it. It’s also possible that other opportunities may arise to accelerate its growth.”

After speaking, she handed the mixture of powdered materials in her palm to Shen Fuxin: “Try wrapping it with spiritual fire, form it into a sphere, and toss it into the cauldron.”

Shen Fuxin was well-versed in manipulating spiritual fire and needed no further instructions from High Deity Yan Dan. She effortlessly molded the pile of shimmering powder in her palm into a small sphere. Standing by the cauldron, they all watched intently as Shen Fuxin dropped the sphere into the alchemical cauldron, their curiosity piqued.

High Deity Yan Dan waited a few moments before saying, “According to the original immortal pill formula, this should be the most basic Fragrant Body Pill. Consuming it will envelop the body with the fragrance of golden osmanthus, lingering for a hundred years without fading.”

No sooner had she spoken than movement stirred within the cauldron.

Shen Fuxin leaped to the edge of the cauldron and peered inside, only to see a lush golden osmanthus tree bursting forth, nearly colliding with her. Ji Ting and High Deity Yan Dan stood below, looking up to find not only a tree growing inside the cauldron but also many large, gleaming golden ingots adorning its branches.

Ji Ting let out a simple exclamation: “Wow.”

Shen Fuxin plucked two ingots and squeezed them in her palm: “They’re pills.”

High Deity Yan Dan watched as an ingot pill flew automatically into her hand, feeling a rare flutter of excitement in her long-calm heart. She took a bite and remarked in surprise, “It’s sweet, like osmanthus cake.”

When Shen Fuxin glanced at Ji Ting again, she saw her lowering her eyes and nibbling delicately on the ingot pill, eating with restrained elegance.

At this point, Shen Fuxin could only hope that the high deities at the Divine Court Flower Banquet wouldn’t object to osmanthus cake.

Just then, an immortal attendant who had been waiting outside hurried in, looking up at High Deity Yan Dan and speaking urgently: “Master, the Flower Banquet is urging your attendance. The divine bird is already waiting at the palace entrance.”

High Deity Yan Dan frowned: “Whose divine bird has come to fetch me?”

The attendant lowered his head and whispered, “It belongs to the Narcissus Flower Deity.”

At the mention of this name, High Deity Yan Dan’s expression turned peculiar. As she escorted Shen Fuxin and Ji Ting out of the palace, she murmured, “If you make any mistakes in pill refinement at the banquet, just say you’re a novice and find a way to improvise and muddle through. But be especially cautious of the Narcissus Flower Deity, do not let her catch any errors.”

Shen Fuxin asked, “May I ask, Master, what is this Narcissus Flower Deity’s name, and what does she look like?”

“Her surname is Wenren, with the given name Yi,” High Deity Yan Dan lowered her water-red eyes, her emotions obscure and unreadable. “She has a slender figure and prefers to wear green robes.”

–

Meanwhile, at the Divine Court Flower Banquet.

A high deity clad in green robes, a small white flower with yellow stamens adorning her hair, stood alone by the Hundred Flowers Pond, her expression cool and detached.

Her frail reflection shimmered in the pond water, looking so delicate she might topple with a gust of wind, even appearing somewhat sickly. With her hands clasped behind her back, she watched the fish swim by until several colleagues adorned with clusters of flowers approached and called out to her. Only then did she turn her head and accompany them to take their seats at the banquet.

With the banquet about to begin, some immortals had yet to arrive, and the flower deities exchanged a few casual remarks. One of them glanced at Yan Dan’s empty seat and smiled faintly: “She hasn’t attended for ten thousand years in a row. Yan Dan is quite timid.”

“I heard her divine power has weakened significantly, and she no longer offers any refined pills,” another high deity added. “Perhaps she truly cannot come.”

“Perhaps she’s still holding a grudge over the Wuzhen incident,” the Hibiscus Flower Goddess murmured softly. “That year when Wuzhen was executed, her followers were almost all demoted. Since Yandan was close to them, she’s been refusing to attend out of spite.”

At this point, one of them suddenly set down her cup, producing a clear, sharp clink.

Wenren Yi lifted her gaze. Though she appeared somewhat frail and sickly, her eyes were as sharp as blades, gleaming with a piercing light that seemed capable of cutting through anything daring to stand in her way.

Seeing her like this, the several Flower Goddesses exchanged glances almost simultaneously and fell silent.

Wenren Yi said, “I’ve already sent a divine bird to fetch Yandan.”

“Will she come?” the Hibiscus Flower Goddess hesitated for a moment before speaking. “The ‘Appraising Elixirs and Judging Intentions’ segment of this Divine Court Flower Banquet you arranged it specifically to make her attend, didn’t you?”

Wenren Yi didn’t answer.

She merely looked up toward the sky. Just then, a clear cry was heard as an azure divine bird soared past, carrying on its back a young man in green robes with delicate features. Behind him, a jade-clad minor immortal clung tightly to his waist, casting her gaze downward toward the flower banquet.

Her eyes fixed on Wenren Yi’s face. Their gazes met briefly before Ji Ting averted her eyes first.

This feeling was familiar, so familiar it was unsettling.

Whenever Wenren Yi closed her eyes, she could see an overwhelming expanse of crimson. Thus, she stared unwaveringly at Ji Ting’s figure, trying to piece together fragmented memories from it.

The Flower Goddesses beside her were also somewhat astonished. After a long pause, one of them let out a strange, soft laugh and whispered, “If you only look at the clothing and figure, she does bear some resemblance to Wuzhen.”

“Wuzhen will not return.”

Wenren Yi suddenly spoke: “If I were to encounter her again. I would kill her on sight every single time.”

Amidst the clinking of cups and the exchange of toasts, the Divine Court Flower Banquet commenced. Shen Fuxin sat in the seat originally belonging to Goddess Yandan, with Ji Ting standing behind her. Under the gazes from all around, Ji Ting diligently played the part of a proper immortal attendant.

On their way here, she had promised Shen Fuxin that if she spotted the old acquaintance connected to her at the banquet, she would quietly point them out. However, after scanning the surroundings, Ji Ting only felt a vague sense of familiarity and couldn’t pinpoint where that person was.

Perhaps that person was merely an immortal official under some high deity in the divine realm, like the fire-tending immortal boy under Goddess Yandan’s command. There were far more immortal officials than high deities, so it was reasonable that they might not attend the banquet as attendants today.

Shen Fuxin sat quietly at the banquet, watching the grand spectacle of song and dance without making any missteps in her actions. Earlier, several high deities seated near her had sent their immortal officials to inquire about her relationship with Goddess Yandan. Though the officials were friendly, the occasional glances cast her way were as cold as ice.

Even if she were slow to notice, she understood now there must be factional strife among these high deities. Goddess Yandan likely didn’t belong to any side; she was the one cast far outside the circle.

Just as she was pondering this, Ji Ting gently tugged at her sleeve.

Shen Fuxin lifted her eyes and saw a high deity in green robes seated across from her looking in her direction. Noticing Shen Fuxin’s gaze, Wenren Yi smiled slightly, her eyes brimming with an emotion that made Shen Fuxin instantly wary.

Shen Fuxin had seen that look in Wenren Yi’s eyes before.

She had seen it in the bronze mirror of her eldest brother’s room, in the reflection of Zhao Lanying’s eyes as they met hers, and in the distorted ripples of the bathtub when she first awoke.

It was killing intent. A sharp, almost undisguised murderous intent directed at her.

Seeing that Shen Fuxin dared to look back at her, Wenren Yi smiled faintly. The celestial officials’ song and dance had reached its conclusion, and she stood up, raising her cup toward Shen Fuxin from afar.

“I presume this is the new student recently taken under the tutelage of the High God Yandan,” Wenren Yi said gently. “The cauldron is right here, young friend. Please, help yourself.”