Xiao Hong stared blankly at the Pill Appraisal Mirror, struggling to process the fact that AI, of all damnable things, had wormed its way into the World of Cultivation. It was like discovering an accountant carefully crunching numbers at a heavy-metal concert - completely incongruous!
Sure, sentient weapons were commonplace in webnovels, but those were top-of-the-line protagonists' cheats, late-game Artefacts or even some powerful faction's supreme treasure, not some unranked Artefact.
An indescribable feeling settled in her heart. First, there was scientific Cultivation, now there's this… Machine Learning Artefact…?
Was this a World of Immortal Cultivation or some Silicon Valley cultivation tech startup disguised as one?! Xiao Hong's heart yearned to flip a table! Only there weren't any nearby.
Heavenly Way, get out here this instant! What have you done to my pure and cute Xianxia World?!
While she rained a hailstorm of abuse on the innocent Way of Heaven, a cheered 'Ping!' came from the mirror. The mirror's surface rippled smoothly, producing a beautiful notification box with elegantly rounded corners.
She reached instinctively, ready to swipe away the notification, only to freeze mid-air. Awkwardly lowering her hand, she looked around and then sighed in relief - it seemed no one noticed her action. She turned to the mirror.
[Grade 1 Qi Gathering Pill, Fine Quality (77% purity)]
Wow, it identified it perfectly! And with a level of detail even she didn't know about.
Senior Brother Not-so-green-Hulk turned to her with a smile, "Well? What do you think? Is it accurate?"
She nodded absentmindedly.
"Actually, what I used just now was the deep analysis mode of the Pill Appraisal Mirror. If I were to forgo a little precision and focus on speed of analysis, it would be even faster!" he clarified.
"How much does it cost to produce one of these?" She eyed the mirror with great curiosity.
The smile on Senior Brother Not-so-green-Hulk's face widened. "Fifteen Spirit Stones."
"Mid- or high-grade?"
"Low," he replied. She raised a disbelieving eyebrow - that was too damned cheap!
Senior Brother Not-so-green-Hulk laughed, seeing her disbelief, "I'm not kidding. In fact, with a bit more R&D, we could bring the price down even further."
Xiao Hong couldn't help but pity those Grade 1 Pill and Talisman Appraisers, 'Months, perhaps years of effort spent honing your craft, only for your efforts to barely amount to fifteen Spirit Stones - maybe even less.
'No wonder they seem so grumpy,' she observed, a split second of silence for the newly obsolete in her heart before throwing it to the back of her mind.
***
"Thank you for testing our product! Please be sure to recommend it to your friends and family!" Senior Brother Not-so-green-Hulk happily waved her goodbye.
Xiao Hong, walking towards the counters surrounding the Purple Flame Star Refining Cauldron, just pushed out an absent-minded thumbs-up, uncaring whether her gesture meant anything in this new world.
It could be the Xianxia version of the middle finger for all she knew!
'It feels like these Array Formations can do practically everything.' She mused. In just one day, she had witnessed at least four different applications of Array Formations. 'Securing one's home, powering Puppet Horses, on Pill Cauldrons, and even a rudimentary form of Machine Learning.'
She wondered if she had chosen wrong.
Then, her gaze fell upon the massive pillar of white marble as girthy as she was tall. Xiao Hong's brief career crisis evaporated instantly - no matter how cool or versatile, when slapped in the face with a thousand Spirit Stones, everything else is secondary!
Walking up to a free counter, she found a middle-aged man meditating away like your typical Xianxia Sect Elder.
The moment she stepped closer, his eyes snapped open.
Eyes like tiny pools of ink met bored into her own. She felt an almost physical pressure, as though a great flood of power was stripping away every layer of her defences. Those dark orbs pierced into her very soul, dispassionately evaluating her worth. A sharp stab of pain lanced through her own eyes, forcing her gaze downward.
Clasping her hands together and inclining her head, "Please forgive this worthless disciple's impudence, great elder, for disturbing-!"
"Ahem! It's quite alright, disciple." The middle-aged man coughed and hurriedly stopped Xiao Hong. He had just been casually meditating when this heavenly vision of a girl strolled up.
He would never admit it, but even his 77-year-old, near-dead heart was moved. No, it wasn't just moved - it was fucking jumping around!
Subconsciously, his power gathered as per his desire to stare a bit longer, and he accidentally exerted his Spirit Sense, and judging by the sudden pallor of her face, he'd probably scared the poor lass.
'What a damned blunder!' he cursed himself. To have such thoughts about a junior and even lose control of his own power - how shameful! 'The Cultivation of my Spirit is not deep enough! It seems this cushy job has dulled it.
'No. This won't do. As soon as this term ends, I must descend the mountain and temper myself!' He firmed up his mind.
Meanwhile, Xiao Hong, unaware that she had driven the 'great elder' into going down the mountain, was on the verge of panic. She cursed herself internally, 'Dammit! How the hell did I manage to break a major taboo on my first outing?! Now, I've gone and offended an Elder! What to do now?'
How should she make it up to him? And would he even be inclined to let it go? She had no clue. A thought popped up in her mind: 'The only way I would be truly safe is if he died…'
While such thoughts flashed in their respective minds, the middle-aged man smiled, his tone gentle, "My name is Lu Yuan. You may address me as Deacon Lu."
"Greetings, esteemed Deacon Lu. This humble disciple is Xiao Hong, please pardon my previous offences. I did not mean to-" She once again attempted to bow, when an irresistible force pushed her back up.
"Like I said, it is of no consequence." Deacon Lu waved his hand to dismiss her concerns. He said firmly, "It is my duty as a Deacon. So even if you had driven me to Qi Deviation, the fault would lie entirely with me."
Xiao Hong nodded in relief, silently hoping he didn't spontaneously combust.
"Now," he straightened his back, tone becoming more official, "to business. Seeing as you don't have an Alchemist badge yet, you must be an aspiring Alchemist here to gather beginner Alchemy materials, correct?"
"Indeed, esteemed Deacon," she nodded as Deacon Lu reached into a cabinet drawer and pulled out a box about as long as her forearm and about half as tall.
Xiao Hong: "???"
She gazed at the small cabinet's drawer in confusion. How the hell did such a tiny little drawer contain such a large box?
"It's a Spatio-temporal Enchantment Array," Deacon Lu smiled at her confused expression and explained patiently.
'Wow, even drawers can have more spatio-temporal enchantments! You sure you don't have a blue, time-travelling robotic cat hidden in there? The kind that has a gadget for every possible problem a teenage boy faces?' she lampooned inwardly. 'Or perhaps a bunch of magical flora and fauna?'
"I see, thank you for your guidance, esteemed Deacon," she thanked the Deacon politely.
She took the box, feeling the smooth, wooden finish under her fingers.
"Esteemed Deacon Lu, I have a presumptuous request, but," she hesitated for a moment before tentatively inquiring hopefully, "is it possible to take extra portions for Alchemy?" She didn't want to go through another round of being stared at like a zoo animal. If she could take away a few dozen boxes of Alchemy materials, that would be for the best.
"I'm afraid not," Deacon Lu shook his head, "The Sect is quite clear on the rules: only one portion at a time and for the next month you won't be allowed more materials - unless you pay them out of your pocket."
"Ah," Xiao Hong exhaled, disappointed but unsurprised.
So, she quickly threw it to the back of her mind, "Then, this humble disciple thanks Esteemed Deacon for his precious time."
"Hm," Deacon Lu encouraged, "Study the Art of Alchemy well, disciple - it will take you far on your Path." After a moment of hesitation, he added, "Should you find any difficulties, attend Alchemist Lu Shen's monthly discussions, you might find it quite enlightening. Tell him Uncle Lu recommended you."
Still feeling a little guilty about scaring her, he decided to lend her some minor help. Plus, this disciple did not seem very talented in Cultivation and had chosen the Path of Alchemy to earn more resources. Even if she wasn't a potential stock, her beauty was. It'd be a piece of cake for her to enrapture a powerful prodigy.
"Many thanks, Deacon Lu," with another grateful salute, she took five steps back and then turned around and left, eager to finally get started with Alchemy!
***
Humming a light tune to herself, Xiao Hong made her way to the bus stop - or, carriage stop, perhaps? 'Hmm, "carriage stop" doesn't quite have that ring to it…'
Just as her brain was idly cooking up nonsense, waiting for her homeward carriage to arrive, fate decided to remind her that this wasn't her Earth anymore, but a place where danger lurked just around the corner.
'Hm?' She raised an eyebrow when she noticed a bunch of disciples sauntering towards her with a young man with an arrogant smirk plastered across his face at the lead.
The moment she saw him, her eyes widened. Her stomach lurched in dread.
'Shit!' her heart clenched and shoulders tightened. She recognised him all too well - he was one of the main reasons that facilitated her transmigration: 'Mo Tong!'
She immediately wanted to turn around and slip away - she had no interest in entangling with this bastard at all. Mo Tong was entirely untouchable for someone like her, whether in terms of status or Cultivation Base. A confrontation between them can only end in her defeat.
Unfortunately, she could not.
"Junior Sister Hong! It's been ages since I last saw you!" Mo Tong crowed, voice jarringly cheerful.
"It was merely a month, Senior Brother Mo," she replied evenly, turning to face the dark-haired man, barely keeping her expression from twisting into a grimace.
"Hah, a month might as well be centuries, Junior Sister Hong. Every moment spent not basking in your breathtaking presence feels like an eternity wasted." He placed his hand on his chest and recited emphatically.
Her brows furrowed slightly. "Please reserve these beautiful words for your Dao Companion, Senior Brother. This Junior Sister is undeserving."
"Oh, come now, Junior Sister, don't be so distant." He stepped closer, only for her to step back and avoid him. She stared at him coolly, "Is there a reason why you called for me, Senior Brother? If not, I have somewhere else to be."
Mo Tong's smile faltered, only to return a moment later, wider and colder. There was something so… predatory about it that her stomach twisted. He didn't immediately reply, but his gaze raked over her and nodded appreciatively. Xiao Hong almost shivered under his gaze that felt like a slimy snake slithering over her skin.
She clenched her fists to suppress the tremor that ran through them and opened her mouth when he spoke up, voice lowered to little more than a whisper, "Actually, I am tasked with investigating the cause of Senior Brother Lin Fan's demise.
"My Clan's subordinate business - the Black Serpent Escort Agency - is headquartered close to the place where Senior Brother Lin lost his life. So, I took the initiative to look into it." His smile grew deeper.
"And I wanted to ask you some questions, since you seem to have had a… good relationship with him." Tilting his head slightly, he continued, "You see, in Lin Fan's Final Will, he left behind all his possessions, which are worth around two thousand Lower-grade Spirit Stones, to you."
Did he want to somehow stick the blame on her? Her eyes narrowed slightly, heart hammering painfully against her ribs. "And?"
Mo Tong said nothing for a few moments, his eyes boring into hers, "And nothing, really. I just needed to understand the series of events that led to his death. It seemed that he submitted his possessions and Final Will to the Sect just before departing for this mission.
"It is a little odd, don't you think?" His eyes narrowed meaningfully. He leaned towards her. His voice dropped to an eerie whisper, "It is as if he knew that he might not survive the mission. So he decided to leave behind his possessions to his loved ones." His smile grew wider still.
Her eyes widened and blood drained from her face as a terrible thought occurred to Xiao Hong. She stared at Mo Tong in disbelief.
He smirked.
"Eh, it's not so urgent, anyway." He leaned back. Savouring her distress, he shrugged casually, "Just swing by the Disciplinary Hall any time you want to.
"Well, then. See you around, Junior Sister." He turned around to leave and walked a few steps before pausing, causing Xiao Hong's heart to leap to her throat. He turned his head, "Ah, by the way, our cohort's Compulsory Missions will start in about half a year, right? I look forward to your presence in my team."
With that, he left along with his entourage of lackeys, leaving her in a daze. She stood there, skin crawling, until her semi-private carriage finally arrived and yanked her from her stupor.
***
"That bitch really thinks of herself as all that because of her title as the 'No.1 Beauty of the Outer Sect, doesn't she?" a lackey spat in disdain.
"Heh!" another scoffed, "She should count her blessings that Senior Brother Mo has even set his eyes on her."
"Indeed. For a nobody like her, Senior Brother Mo's favour is like ascending to the heavens in one leap." Another sycophantic lackey started warming up his tongue to start a new round of bootlicking.
Senior Brother Mo just chuckled, "Relax, she'll come around one day. What I want, I will take, and no one will deny me."
"Senior Brother's words are profound!" praised one of the juniors. "You truly embody the essence of the Heart of Indulgence!"
One disciple, his curiosity briefly overpowering his survival instincts, hesitantly raised his voice, "Senior Brother, I've been meaning to ask: why do you cultivate the Heart of Indulgence, why not the Heart of Temperance?"
"Silence, you fool! Is Senior Brother Mo's motivation something you can fathom?!" A lackey quickly smacked him and shouted furiously. He quickly turned to Mo Tong and bowed deeply, "Senior Brother Mo, my friend is dimwitted, please don't mind his drivel…"
Mo Tong casually waved his hand, "It's no big deal. A Cultivator should be curious."
The lackey breathed a quiet sigh of relief before glaring at the other fool.
"The Heart of Temperance…" Mo Tong whispered. Then he shook his head, lips curling in contempt, "I truly can't fathom those sanctimonious fools. Why do they even Cultivate? What's the point of power if you don't use it to get what you want, don't indulge? If you want something and have the means to seize it, just do it!
"But noo. They contain themselves, suppressing their desires and acting all high and mighty," he spat.
He grimaced, as though just speaking of it tainted his mood. "Temper my desires? Polish my heart? Ridiculous! That's just too stifling!" Doing so only ever made his blood boil. Even his Cultivation sessions showed a decrease in efficiency. So he simply gave up.
"What a profound understanding Senior Brother has of the Heart of Indulgence! You truly leave us in awe!" Another round of bootlicking ensued. Mo Tong shook his head. These lackeys were useful, but that was all - they didn't truly understand.
"By the way, Senior Brother Mo, that Chu girl is finally willing to give in," a lackey reported.
"Hoh~? How did you manage that?" Mo Tong's interest piqued instantly, eyebrows lifting in delighted surprise.
"Apparently, she has a little brother back in her hometown…"
"Well done! I will make sure to reward you handsomely, Junior Brother." He nodded towards the lackey, causing him to nearly jump in delight. "Just tell me what you want!"
Mo Tong licked his lips. That Chu girl paled in comparison to the 'No.1 Beauty of the Outer Sect', but she was still one of the most beautiful women he had laid eyes on.
***
Back in her residence, Xiao Hong slumped against her sofa, fingers digging into the armrest as she replayed her encounter with Mo Tong.
'The way he spoke and his earlier statement about his clan's subordinates being close to the place of Lin Fan's death…' She looked up at the ceiling, as the icy hand gripping her heart seemed to tighten, claws digging deeper, 'He had Lin Fan killed.'