About ten days passed before Qin Zhou returned to the upper realm, carrying two rudimentary furnaces.

Transforming these furnaces into true ‘Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace’ required the vital essence and spiritual energy of Lu Wu and Baixing. The process was extraordinarily perilous; failure would render both furnaces utterly useless.

Even Qin Zhou dared not guarantee success in accomplishing these tasks in the lower realm. Especially since Lu Wu and Baixing’s cultivation was restricted by the barrier, preventing them from truly descending to the lower realm.

He had no choice but to make the journey himself.

Fortunately, Tunfeng proved to be a capable steed, somehow recognizing the path to Yuanqing Mountain.

Tunfeng delivered Qin Zhou safely to the foot of Yuanqing Mountain, but the mountain was now bustling with activity.

Before the mountain gates, cultivators clad in green robes adorned with flowing cloud patterns were holding clinics. Long queues had formed at each of their stations. Beyond the lines, people sat or lay haphazardly on their own chairs.

Most were the injured, broken limbs being the lesser wounds, while the more severely hurt lay unable to rise. Qin Zhou glanced around and noticed quite a few demon cultivators among them.

Of course, there were also disciples from righteous sects and independent cultivators gathered before Yuanqing Mountain’s gates. Yet, no one was deliberately causing trouble or engaging in open conflict.

Yuanqing Mountain disciples bustled among them, tending to the injured.

It seemed he had arrived at an inopportune moment.

Qin Zhou sighed inwardly.

These people were undoubtedly connected to the Secret Realm. Setting aside Lu Yi and Lu Qi’s actions within the realm, the secret realm itself was fraught with danger, especially with demon cultivators lurking nearby. Those who had sustained injuries had wisely retreated from the secret realm, preserving their lives, but casualties were everywhere.

Yuanqing Mountain was essentially the largest hospital in the upper realm.

It was only natural that it was bustling.

“I heard that the entire group leading the Righteous Alliance this time perished. Not a single one of them made it out alive.”

“Several sects are in an uproar. They stormed the Sword Sect, demanding answers from the Cangyun Sword Immortal. But who would’ve thought they didn’t even catch a glimpse of him? They were left stranded at the mountain gates for days before finally returning in fury.”

“Didn’t the Sword Sect send anyone out to placate them?”

“Placate them? They formed an alliance without inviting the Sword Sect, likely intending to isolate them. Now they come blaming us for not protecting them? That’s absurd.”

“Anyway, the Demon Sect and those righteous sects have sworn mortal enmity.”

“I reckon the two factions won’t stay quiet for long. While battles in the secret realms have always been fierce, the righteous faction has never suffered a total annihilation of its disciples before.”

“You can say that again.”

“This might just spark a major war between the righteous and demonic factions!”

After listening to the two wandering cultivators’ rough account, Qin Zhou turned and headed toward the mountain gate.

“Injured patients line up over there,” a disciple at the gate said after glancing at him.

“I’m not here for treatment,” Qin Zhou replied, producing the token Baixing had given him. “I seek an audience with the Sect Master.”

The disciple froze upon seeing the token. After gently tracing it to verify its authenticity, his expression turned solemn. “As an honored guest, please come inside.”

This token truly spared him much trouble.

Qin Zhou ascended Yuanqing Mountain effortlessly, yet Baixing proved busier than the disciples guarding the entrance.

Qin Zhou was escorted directly to the mountain’s medical hall.

“The Sect Master is in the medical hall. I’ll send someone to announce your arrival.”

Before the disciple finished speaking, Baixing had already rolled up his sleeves and stepped out first. Seeing Qin Zhou, his eyes lit up with joy. “Grandmaster, I should be the one to greet you.”

Baixing knew Qin Zhou wouldn’t visit without a reason.

“Mind your own business.” Qin Zhou glanced briefly around the medical hall before asking, “Where is Lu Wu?”

“The Master is in the Alchemy Hall. I’ll have someone escort you there.”

His use of “Grandmaster” left the nearby disciple stunned. The Grandmaster of the Sect Leader? That meant he was the Sect Leader’s own Grandmaster? That meant he was… the master of the Alchemist of Apricot Grove?!

Before the disciple could ponder why Qin Zhou only possessed Gold Core cultivation, Baixing’s gaze signaled him to move.

The disciple grew even more respectful. “Sect Leader, I’ll escort our honored guest to the Alchemy Hall.”

“Very well. I’ll be there shortly.”

Qin Zhou didn’t linger, readily complying as he headed toward the Alchemy Hall.

Lu Wu’s Alchemy Hall was unique on Yuanqing Mountain.

He should have been traveling the world, but with the secret realm’s arrival, the cultivation world had gained many more injuries. With the entire Yuanqing Mountain bustling with activity, he naturally stayed behind to help.

Seeing Qin Zhou, Lu Wu felt both surprised and yet not entirely so.

“You actually came,” Lu Wu sighed, setting aside his work and inviting Qin Zhou to sit.

Qin Zhou: “Do I seem like someone who breaks promises to you?”

Lu Wu’s smile held a hint of bitterness. “It’s precisely because you keep your word so well that I feared you might come looking for me.”

Qin Zhou pulled two fully crafted furnaces from his Cosmos Bag.

Each furnace stood about half a person tall.

“Take a look. Do you like them?”

His tone was like announcing a birthday gift was ready for selection—see if it pleased him.

Lu Wu stared blankly. “You… already finished crafting them?”

He knew the secret realm had ended, and the village chief had likely departed. He’d assumed the chief had come to forge the furnaces for him, but never imagined he’d already completed them.

“Mhm.” Qin Zhou nodded. “Both of these are seventh-tier furnaces.”

“How could I possibly accept…” Lu Wu stood up, unable to look.

“Not both are for you. One is for Baixing. Since he calls me Grandmaster, he deserves a token of appreciation.” Qin Zhou explained, “As for yours, it should have been given to you nine thousand years ago.”

Lu Wu swayed slightly. “For Baixing’s, I thank the Village Chief on his behalf. As for mine… I’m unworthy of a seventh-tier alchemy furnace.”

“Whether you’re worthy or not is for me to decide.”

Hearing his stubborn words, Lu Wu stood up and urgently protested, “With your discernment, you should know my Dao Heart is shattered. I can’t even refine a sixth-tier Soul-Stabilizing Pill, let alone refine this seventh-tier furnace into a Dao-Protecting Pill Furnace.”

“You can’t save them, so you’ve given up on alchemy? Do you think abandoning the elixirs will bring them back to life? Or is it that, since you can’t save them, you’ve even abandoned your calling as a healer?”

This statement plunged the entire Alchemy Hall into silence.

“You…” Lu Wu’s eyes darted nervously, as if his innermost thoughts had been laid bare.

Qin Zhou’s eyes remained serene. “Your Fourth Brother, Sixth Brother, Eighth Brother, Ninth Brother, Tenth Brother… those thirty-odd who perished. I imagine you treated at least a few of them before their deaths.”

Lu Wu had chosen the path of medicine, guarding the heart of healing. He was the only healer among the disciples.

He would never stand by and watch his childhood brothers and sisters die before his eyes.

Therefore, Lu Wu must have tried, yet still failed to save them.

“…You know,” Lu Wu’s face turned pale. “If I possessed even half your alchemy skill, perhaps… everyone could have lived.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s mine for not leaving you the seventh-tier alchemy furnace before I departed.”

With a seventh-tier alchemy furnace, perhaps Lu Wu could have saved some lives in his absence.

“This… How could it be your fault?” Lu Wu couldn’t believe it.

“Then how could it be your fault?” Qin Zhou’s gaze seemed to pierce straight into his soul. “Lu Wu, just because you couldn’t save them, does that mean you’ll abandon your path as a healer?”

Lu Wu felt as if he might collapse.

No one had ever spoken to him like this before. Neither Baixing nor his fellow disciples had ever dared mention those events, fearing it would break his heart.

The rest either revered him or flattered him.

Gradually, he too had grown numb.

To break through, one must first shatter. Yet he remained stuck in place, unable to move forward.

He knew. He knew it all.

But he just couldn’t forgive himself.

Qin Zhou pulled a Soul-Birth Grass from his Cosmos Bag. “What is this? Recognize it?”

Lu Wu opened his mouth, then murmured, “Soul-Birth Grass.”

How could he not recognize the herb that could save Shisi’s life?

“Only one,” Qin Zhou pushed it toward him. “Save Shisi’s life yourself.”

Lu Wu trembled. Soul-Birth Grass was a genuine seventh-tier alchemical material. A seventh-tier Soul-Birth Pill was already considered the most forbidden of forbidden medicines. To put it bluntly, it was the closest one could get to an eighth-tier elixir.

“Village Chief, how can you place Shisi’s life… in my hands?”

“If you don’t save him, you’re waiting for him to die.” Qin Zhou’s tone was cold and indifferent.

Those words drove like nails into Lu Wu’s heart.

He knew the Village Chief was forcing him.

Forcing him to accept the alchemy furnace, forcing him to rebuild his Dao heart.

Lu Wu’s lips were parched, his words painfully laborious. “The Village Chief deceives me. This Soul-Birth Grass… surely there’s more than one plant.”

“There is only one. Even I possess only one,” Qin Zhou declared with absolute certainty. “Moreover, it may well be the last one in existence.”

Across the entire upper realm, no place capable of nurturing Soul-Birth Grass could be found anymore.

“Village Chief, you clearly could have saved Shisi directly…”

Qin Zhou: “I want to save Shisi. And I want to save you.”

Within the secret realm, he had resolved: he would no longer be blind. And since he refused to be blind, he wasn’t one to wait for things to come to him. If the mountain wouldn’t come to him, he would go to the mountain.

“I’ll stay on Yuanqing Mountain for a few days. When I ascended earlier, I noticed the third-tier Lingxin Fruits growing quite well in the fields. I’ll ask Baixing for some to bring back and plant in the village. Once you’ve made up your mind, I’ll fuse your essence blood and spiritual energy to forge a Dao-Protecting PillFurnace for you.”

Qin Zhou’s words were concise. After speaking, he prepared to leave.

Just as he stepped outside, he saw Baixing standing with head bowed at the corner—clearly, he’d been listening for a while.

Seeing Qin Zhou emerge, Baixing bowed deeply—

“Grandmaster, take as many Spirit Heart Fruits from Yuanqing Mountain as you need. If they’re insufficient, here’s the key to the mountain’s warehouse.” Baixing deftly produced the key.

Qin Zhou: “For now, just some third-tier Spirit Heart Fruits. No need for the warehouse key. Just come down to help during the busy farming season.”

Baixing nodded: “We will be there.”

After Qin Zhou departed, Baixing slowly made his way to the front hall.

His master’s eyes were covered, his hand clenching the Soul-Birth Grass so tightly his face was obscured. Only the veins pulsing on the back of his flawless, jade-like hand betrayed the immense effort he was exerting to restrain himself.

“Master,” Baixing called out gently, “if you squeeze any harder, the Soul-Birth Grass will be ruined.”

Lu Wu abruptly relaxed his grip. His deep, resonant voice echoed, “It won’t spoil. Seventh-tier Soul-Birth Grass is far tougher than ordinary spirit herbs.”

Baixing smiled faintly. “So, about this alchemy furnace—are we refining it or not?”

“We are.”

Receiving the definitive answer, Baixing’s expression finally softened. He knew his master was finally ready to step outside.

“I was the village’s most well-behaved child. I never once received harsh words from the village chief throughout my entire childhood,” Lu Wu said, a hint of sadness in his voice. “I only ever watched as my fellow disciples were scolded.”

“After being reprimanded today, if I don’t refine it now, the village chief won’t invite me next New Year.”

He should overcome this inner demon.

Besides, he had to save Shisi’s life.

Baixing desperately wanted to reach out and ruffle his master’s hair, baffled by how someone so old could remain so endearing.

At the same time, he felt profound gratitude toward his great-grandmaster.

Never had he been so relieved that his great-grandmaster still walked this earth.