Please forgive Hua Jian— back then, the game she played didn’t let you just open and drink the cola you found in-game.
Even though she had heard that in some other similar games you could just drink it… she hadn’t played those!
Now, with Linglong’s suggestion sparking a new train of thought, Hua Jian had an epiphany.
That’s right, since this thing is useful to me but hard to take out, why not just absorb it directly?
That way, even if I can’t get out in the end, I’ll have already used up the treasure and no one else can get their hands on it.
Heh, harming others while benefiting myself—what a deal!
But now there was still one problem, and a big one: Hua Jian didn’t know how to use the Mirage Incense.
“Cough, knowledgeable and talented Saintess Daren, do you know how to use such a treasure?” Hua Jian asked Linglong respectfully.
From arrogant to humble, the contrast was so stark that Linglong couldn’t help but marvel at how thick-skinned Hua Jian was.
I have to find a way to make Hua Jian care about her dignity a little, Linglong thought to herself, even as she raised two fingers.
“Mirage Incense is generally used in two ways. The first is to combine it with other spiritual materials to make various incenses, each with wondrous effects.”
“The second is to refine it into pills, allowing cultivators with compatible attributes to absorb it directly.”
The first method basically turns Mirage Incense into a consumable item, while the second makes it a strengthening tool for oneself.
Both methods have their pros and cons— there’s no clear winner.
“Coincidentally, I was just refining—”
“Alchemy? I can do that!”
Linglong was cut off by Hua Jian, who looked at her with excitement. Linglong stared in surprise— so this girl even knew how to refine pills, a high-level skill?
Noticing Linglong’s doubtful gaze, Hua Jian was a little displeased. “What’s with that look? Not only can I refine pills, I can also weave, sew, cook, and read feng shui…”
As Hua Jian counted off her skills on her fingers, Linglong’s pupils gradually lost focus.
Refining pills was one thing, but what were the rest of these? Did she just hear ‘singing little tunes’ as a skill?
“Don’t underestimate the potential someone can unleash just to keep from starving!” In the end, Hua Jian put her hands on her hips and declared with fierce determination.
“Then… why don’t you give it a try?”
Linglong had originally intended to help Hua Jian refine the pills, but since Hua Jian claimed she could do it herself, Linglong wasn’t about to force her help on someone who didn’t want it.
Hearing Linglong’s response, Hua Jian’s face froze. She did know how to refine pills, but only low-level healing ones.
As for pills that needed Mirage Incense—there was no way she could make those. She didn’t even know the Pill Recipe.
“I don’t know the Pill Recipe…”
“I can recite it for you— listen carefully.” Linglong had expected this.
If Hua Jian had just rolled up her sleeves and started refining pills, she would have been suspicious of Hua Jian’s identity.
How could an ordinary cultivator from the bottom ranks possibly know a high-level Pill Recipe that used Mirage Incense?
“This item is called the Mirage Spirit Pill, and a thousand years ago…” Linglong began reciting the Pill Recipe she had seen in the ancient records of the Saint Sect.
That ancient record had been a gift from her Dragon Race mother for her to read as a picture book, and she had even discussed this Pill Recipe with her mother.
“An ordinary person who takes it will feel as if they’re ascending to immortality, able to sense worldly bliss. If a cultivator who practices the Illusion Path takes it, they may obtain a trace of Mirage Qi from within that bliss…”
Because this pill had little use for ordinary people and only gave a chance for specific cultivators to gain new skills, the Pill Recipe had never spread widely.
The cost-effectiveness was just too low. A full piece of Mirage Incense wasn’t like the little scraps in Hua Jian’s hand— it was a treasure even Linglong would hesitate to use.
Spending tens of thousands of Spirit Stones for a slim chance at success was not a decision ordinary cultivators would dare to make.
“But the Mirage Incense you have is just leftover scraps from a complete piece. I’m not sure if my Pill Recipe can handle what you’ve got.”
“No need to wonder. Even if it can, I don’t have any of the other ingredients.” From the beginning, Hua Jian had looked like she was thinking, ‘What are these things?’ She pressed her hand down to emphasize her point.
She had to remind the Saintess Daren: as someone born in the lower ranks and always struggling to get by, there was no way she could recognize, much less possess, the rare ingredients in Linglong’s Pill Recipe.
“So in the end, I still can’t process or absorb this Mirage Incense?”
At this moment, Hua Jian couldn’t help but miss those protagonists from the novels she’d read.
When they ran into situations like this, the old grandpa in their ring or the system in their head would have popped out and handed them the Pill Recipe already.
Unlike her— she only had a clueless Saintess who didn’t know the ways of the world.
Sigh, it’s enough to make her cry.
The clueless Saintess hesitated, then offered Hua Jian another suggestion— one that sounded extremely unreliable.
“You could also just absorb it directly, though it’s a bit dangerous.”
A cultivator isn’t so fragile— just some Mirage Incense, I’ll eat it raw!
“But if you’re not careful, you’ll get trapped in a Mirage Incense illusion and might not wake up for months.”
“If you can’t make a useful suggestion, just don’t talk…” Hua Jian stuffed the Storage Pouch with the Mirage Incense back at her waist.
After all that discussion, the best solution was still to take it out and exchange it for Spirit Stones.
Spirit Stones could be traded for all kinds of things she needed— much better than absorbing something so uncertain and risky.
“You don’t have those materials, but I do.” Seeing Hua Jian so quick to give up, Linglong hurried to remind her not to forget about this Saintess.
The ingredients Hua Jian lacked— Linglong had!
The pills Hua Jian couldn’t refine— Linglong could!
“I’ll help you refine the pill, how about that?”
Hearing this, Hua Jian eyed Linglong suspiciously, instinctively covering her chest with both hands, a hint of wariness flickering in her colorful eyes.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Linglong might be a famously kind Saintess, but was she really that generous?
Offering the ingredients, the effort, and even helping her refine the pill without asking for anything in return?
Something was definitely off.
“Let me say this first— I don’t have a single Spirit Stone on me, and selling myself is out of the question. I have no way to repay you.”
Seeing Hua Jian’s caution, Linglong felt a bit helpless. This girl was way too guarded— she really hadn’t planned to ask for anything in return.
What would she want from her future junior sister? That would make her seem petty as a senior.
But… since Hua Jian was so insistent, she’d better come up with a reward.
Tapping her chin and thinking for a couple of seconds, Linglong had an idea.
“I’ll refine the pill for you. If you manage to gain the power of Mirage Qi from it, help me lure away that Spirit Beast so I can enter its territory and investigate. How about it?”