"Sister Lingyue, all the herbs have been put into the alchemy furnace."
Xu Taiping turned his head to look at Fairy Lingyue, his eyes filled with a hint of excitement.
"You did very well. Now we just need to maintain the furnace temperature, and after half an hour, the elixir will be ready."
Fairy Lingyue immediately regained her composure and nodded at Xu Taiping with a smile.
"Even if I can't take you as a disciple, having a clever little brother isn't bad either."
Watching Xu Taiping meticulously tend to the furnace as she had instructed, Fairy Lingyue's lips curled up slightly, revealing a warm smile.
Xu Taiping tiptoed, opened the furnace lid with both hands, and a wave of heat rose from inside, turning into a cloud of white mist that spread throughout the backyard.
"Sister Lingyue, two elixirs have been formed!"
Bathed in the moonlight, Xu Taiping's face was filled with surprise as he discovered two jade-like, crimson pills lying among the black dregs.
"Two elixirs actually formed?"
Fairy Lingyue was equally surprised.
Although she rarely refined such low-grade elixirs, based on her experience, with the quality of the herbs Xu Taiping had bought, forming even one elixir would have been quite good.
"It seems this little guy really has a talent for alchemy. I can't teach him the secret techniques of the sect for now, but some elixir formulas are fine. Besides, if I want to restore my cultivation, I will need the help of an alchemist."
She made up her mind to cultivate Xu Taiping as an alchemist in the future.
"Sister Lingyue, what's wrong?"
Seeing Fairy Lingyue lost in thought, Xu Taiping immediately called out to her softly.
"Oh, I was thinking that the remaining Qi-Gathering Pill can be used to deal with the tiger demon."
Fairy Lingyue looked down at the two Qi-Gathering Pills in Xu Taiping's hand.
"Can the Qi-Gathering Pill be used to deal with the tiger demon?"
Xu Taiping was somewhat surprised.
"The Qi-Gathering Pill can provide you with a massive amount of spiritual energy in a short time. When it transforms into true qi, it's like having an additional dantian, allowing you to use techniques beyond your current realm, for example..."
Fairy Lingyue looked up at the moon, trying to recall, then looked back at Xu Taiping. "For instance, it can be used in conjunction with your Residual Afterglow Technique to perform the Ice Breath Technique, which can only be used by those who have achieved the Great Perfection stage of the Opening Gate realm. The Ice Breath Technique can freeze everything within a ten-zhang square area in a single breath, even with your current cultivation, as long as you use the Qi-Gathering Pill."
Xu Taiping asked excitedly.
"Although the Ice Breath Technique is not a secret technique, in your cultivation world, it can still catch opponents off guard, even those one realm higher than you."
Fairy Lingyue nodded confidently.
"Sister Lingyue, once I break through to the Opening Gate realm, please teach me the Ice Breath Technique!"
Xu Taiping's eyes sparkled as he requested.
"If you are willing to learn, I will definitely teach you. Don't forget, we are partners now."
Fairy Lingyue patted Xu Taiping's little head and smiled at him.
The Ice Breath Technique, in her original cultivation world, was a勉强算得上玄阶的法术，散修最喜欢使用，宗门弟子大多有更好的选择，更不用说她所在的宗门了，所以不用担心因此暴露她的身份。
Xu Taiping returned to his bedroom, preparing to break through to the Opening Gate realm.
Fairy Lingyue's residual soul was also in the room.
"Xiao Taiping, relax. You have two Qi-Gathering Pills; there's no way you can't break through to the Opening Gate realm."
Seeing Xu Taiping's tense expression, Fairy Lingyue smiled and gestured for him to relax.
Xu Taiping nodded heavily, then closed his eyes and exhaled a long, deep breath.
"Sister Lingyue, I am ready."
Xu Taiping opened his eyes and looked at Fairy Lingyue.
"Then take the Qi-Gathering Pill and break through."
Seeing that Xu Taiping's expression was much more relaxed, she felt greatly relieved.
Xu Taiping didn't hesitate, grabbed the Qi-Gathering Pill, and swallowed it directly.
The pill dissolved as soon as it entered his mouth. Xu Taiping didn't even have time to taste it, only feeling a faint, elegant fragrance spreading throughout his body and then escaping through his nostrils.
As Xu Taiping began to circulate the Residual Afterglow Technique, a buzzing sound filled his ears, and the power of the Qi-Gathering Pill took effect. A surge of spiritual energy, guided by the Residual Afterglow Technique, rapidly transformed into true qi, flowing through his meridians like a river, forcefully impacting the acupoints throughout his body.
Acupoints that previously required great effort to open were now opened in just a few breaths.
"The first step to breaking through to the Opening Gate realm is to open all the acupoints in your body. The second step is to circulate the Residual Afterglow Technique, guiding the spiritual energy from the acupoints into your body, ultimately converging in the dantian and breaking through its walls to transform it into a sea of qi."
Xu Taiping fully focused on circulating the Residual Afterglow Technique while mentally reciting the key points of breaking through to the Opening Gate realm as taught by True Lord Ziyang. If he couldn't achieve this, his greatest accomplishment would be a mere martial artist who only knew how to fight with fists and feet.
With this thought, Xu Taiping decisively gathered the true qi from his acupoints and began the first impact on his small dantian. The protective true qi of the Residual Afterglow Technique spread from his body without warning.
But what followed was an excruciating pain, as if his scalp was being torn off piece by piece, even more painful than the bone-marrow cleansing bath he had endured.
Even with his strong will, he ultimately succumbed to the pain, and the massive true qi he had gathered dissipated like smoke.
"Xu Taiping, this is the price of cultivation for an ordinary person. If you can't endure this pain, I suggest you give up now!"
Fairy Lingyue deliberately provoked Xu Taiping.
How could she not know the pain Xu Taiping was facing?
But she understood even more clearly how cruel the heavens were to ordinary people. Even if you stepped onto the path of cultivation, any hint of laxity or fear in the future would result in pain a hundred times worse than today.
In her view, even if Xu Taiping failed to break through, he must not bow to this pain.
However, her worries were clearly unnecessary.
After the first failed attempt, Xu Taiping immediately began his second attempt.
He endured the lingering pain, continued to gather true qi from the acupoints, and remained calm and skilled. To Fairy Lingyue, who was watching from the side, Xu Taiping didn't seem like a teenager at all.