Chapter 177 - Starlight and the Moon

Bai Qingxian’s glare softened back into amusement as she studied his expression under the moonlight.

"Speaking of people who defy common sense, possess impossible knowledge, and stumble into miracles... Peak Master Su, are you one of these Children of Destiny?"

Su Ming gave a laid-back shrug, looking entirely innocent. "Me? I am just a simple peak master who enjoys peaceful days and quiet tea."

Bai Qingxian hummed softly with a knowing smile. "Hmm... You know, one of these days, you will have to come clean and tell me where all this miraculous knowledge of yours comes from."

Su Ming turned his gaze toward the starlit horizon. ’Maybe when the time is right.’

The gentle night wind swept over the summit, carrying a comfortable silence between them.

A slow warmth from the Hundred Herb Dragon Wine spread through Su Ming’s chest and face. He leaned back against the cold rock, gazing at the star-filled sky above. The wine carried a deep richness that even a Nascent Soul cultivator like himself could not immediately disperse without actively circulating qi. On a peaceful night like this, he felt no desire to force it away.

***

After a quiet moment, Bai Qingxian broke the silence, shifting the conversation to practical matters. "So... when do you plan to begin refining that pill?"

"The last ingredient, the Nine-Leaf Soul Lotus, will arrive in three days through the Wang Clan’s merchant network," Su Ming replied with a faint smile.

The pill they were discussing was none other than the legendary Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill.

In the current world, genuine breakthrough pills were practically myth. Modern such breakthrough pills were full of toxic impurities and had high failure rates. Most of all, they were kept hidden like treasures. There was no easy way to get them.

Even Bai Qingxian, with her deep background of Medicine Valley, had only ever encountered imperfect recipes.

But what Su Ming held now was entirely different.

Back during the Qiancheng Grand Auction, he had spent a hundred thousand spirit stones to purchase an unidentified bamboo slip dismissed by everyone as useless antique scrap. What outside appraisers called junk was now about to yield tenfold that value.

When he had first examined the slip on White Lotus Peak, he had only deciphered the outer layer, initially disappointed to find what looked like the ordinary diary of a Green Lotus Valley outer disciple.

Over the past few months, however, Su Ming had spent quiet hours in the sect library, using his Divine Sense and Essence Sight to translate the remaining sections of the ancient bamboo slip.

What lay hidden beneath the daily notes was far more valuable than an ancient scripture.

It was a record of the sect’s ruthless Inner Sect Entrance Exam. In that ancient era, examinees were handed raw herbs and given three hours to concoct complex pills without a recipe.

Desperate to pass, the disciple had spent his life savings bribing an inner senior brother to leak the exam information. The senior assured him that the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill would be one of the options on the final roster, alongside other ancient formulas like the Soul-Blooming Clarity Pill and the Profound Longevity Pill.

Back in that era, this breakthrough pill was a common pill rather than a legend. Convinced this was his guaranteed ticket into the inner sect, the disciple ignored his studies, leaving all his hopes on the single formula. He meticulously documented every step, the correct herb ratios, and more importantly, a secret trick learned from another senior disciple.

Yet such work was met with tragic comedy.

On the day of the exam, the disciple waited anxiously for the options to be revealed, only to discover that the elders had removed the Nascent Soul pill from the list entirely. Faced with an exam bench full of unfamiliar herbs, he panicked and tried to improvise.

The attempt ended with him producing a foul black sludge that would make even demons stay away from it. He was immediately disqualified with a heavy smack to the head from the Third Elder. In his utter despair, he filled the final sections of the slip with furious curses against the crooked senior brother.

Over the past months on White Lotus Peak, Bai Qingxian had even helped Su Ming map the ancient herb names of these lost formulas to their modern counterparts. While the longevity and clarity pills still lacked key ingredients, the Nascent Soul formula was now completely deciphered and ready.

Looking out over the valley below, Bai Qingxian let out a tired sigh.

"Starting tomorrow, Medicine Hall will not give me a single moment of peace," she said softly. "Clinic duties, personal disciple responsibilities under Grandmaster Yao... I doubt I will even see the sunlight outside."

The sheer mental exhaustion of the past few days finally pressed down on her.

She closed her eyes. Slowly, without another word, she let her head tilt back, resting gently against Su Ming’s shoulder.

Su Ming went still for half a breath.

’The wine is probably catching up to her,’ Su Ming thought, his own thoughts drifting lazily under the alcohol.

He did not pull away, nor did he make a sound. He simply remained still against the mountain stone, letting the cool summit breeze wash over them.

Above them, ten thousand stars sparkled like dust across the dark expanse of the Grotto Heaven.

After several quiet breaths, with her eyes still closed and her head resting against his shoulder, Bai Qingxian murmured softly into the night air.

"Su Ming..."

"Mm?"

"Why don’t you create a moon here? Doesn’t it feel empty without a moon?"

Su Ming paused. He looked down at her resting face bathed in the pale starlight, then turned his gaze back toward the vast sky above.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Slightly intoxicated, he murmured silently under his breath.

’I already have one.’

The cool mountain breeze carried his whisper across the growing world. Resting against him with her eyes closed, Bai Qingxian gave no response.

The two of them sat quietly beneath the sea of ten thousand stars at peace in the quiet night.