Bai Shengyi was famous.
Overnight, her name, along with the Spirit Root Impurity Refining Pill, spread across the entire continent. Along with it, the Mei family became a laughingstock.
The Mei family's partners distanced themselves. The once high and mighty alchemist family, in the blink of an eye, fell into a vortex of public opinion. Unable to do anything, the head of the Mei family had no choice but to expel Mei Shuying from the Mei family and announce Mei Caibing as the successor.
But it was too late.
As Bai Shengyi had said, who would dare to trust an alchemist so irresponsible, one who could refine pills that killed people?
In contrast to the Mei family's deserted doorstep, the threshold of Bai Shengyi's residence in Fengcheng was almost trampled flat.
"Does Alchemist Bai still not see everyone?"
The Chu, Li, Luo, Tang, Lou, and Xia families jointly submitted calling cards, wanting to meet Bai Shengyi, but were still refused.
The head of the Li family, a fiery woman who always spoke her mind, sighed, "If I had known, I would have interacted more with the young lady earlier. By the way, Brother Xia, aren't you acquainted with that family head from the Bai family? Bai Dan Master is that family head's daughter, and you don't see her?"
The head of the Xia family waved his hand, "I'm not familiar with that child either. But Sister Chu doesn't need to worry, the one who should be anxious now is the Sun family."
"What, did Sun Cheng really have that Mei family's poisonous pill fed to his youngest son?" the head of the Li family asked.
Seeing no one answer, she directly looked at the heads of the Lou and Tang families.
The Lou family was related by marriage to the Sun family, and chuckled, "It's just that Brother Sun's youngest son was born to a dancer, and his spiritual roots are impure..."
In fact, it wasn't just the Sun family. The Lou and Tang families had also purchased some spirit pills from the Mei family in advance. However, the two families were more cautious, and the first batch of people to take the pills were insignificant members of their clans.
Only the Sun family was severely swindled by the Mei family.
The head of the Sun family was almost two hundred years old, which was considered advanced age for a Golden Core cultivator. He had always been troubled by the fact that his daughters could not inherit the family business. It was not easy to finally have a son, so naturally, he wanted to give him the best.
He never expected it to be his son's death warrant.
"Have you found anyone?" the head of the Sun family anxiously asked his subordinate.
He had gone to Bai Shengyi's residence and missed her, so he hurried to mobilize the family's strength to find her.
The subordinate shook his head, "Patriarch, this is Feng family territory, and our people's movements are inconvenient. It will take time."
"Useless!" the head of the Sun family said impatiently, "Continue searching! Dig three feet into the ground to find her!"
Meanwhile, Bai Shengyi, whom everyone was desperately searching for, had just emerged from the Feng family's residence.
"Patriarch Feng and Patriarch Zhan are truly kind," Bai Shengyi said to Qin Si.
Qin Si replied, "The two families are good. The Feng family has a gentle tradition, and the Zhan family is simple. If you like them, you can interact with them more in the future."
"Mm."
"Are we going to the Valley of Abandoned People now?"
Bai Shengyi frowned, "I haven't decided how to settle Song Wenxi and the others yet."
After the Alchemy Battle, Song Wenxi, another beggar named Xiao Mu, and the Mei family's guards had all sworn allegiance to Bai Shen. Since Bai Shengyi had not refused them at the time, she had to take responsibility for them.
Qin Si recalled the way Song Wenxi and Xiao Mu looked at Bai Shengyi with eyes as eager as dogs, and narrowed his phoenix-like eyes.
"Didn't you say Bai Yuyue is very busy now? Let them help Bai Yuyue," Qin Si said casually, "Especially those two brats, Song Wenxi and Xiao Mu. It's inconvenient for them to follow you everywhere."
"Yes! How did I not think of that? I'll contact Bai Yuyue right away. Thank you, Qin Si." Bai Shengyi clapped her hands excitedly and stood up, leaning over to Qin Si and kissing him.
Qin Si was stunned. After a while, he touched his face, watched Bai Shengyi's retreating figure, and chuckled softly, "Little fox, used and discarded. Oh well, it won't be so useful next time."
He then quickened his pace to follow her.
...
Outside the capital of Qizhou Kingdom, in a small secret realm.
A woman in white emerged from the secret realm excitedly. Her pure face bore a haughty and proud self-importance.
"I am indeed the daughter of destiny. A random spatial teleportation talisman led me to such a small, broken secret realm, and I obtained the inheritance of Venerable Xiuyuan and a wisp of divine fire."
"Now I am definitely the youngest sixth-tier alchemist on the continent. It's just a pity about the Starfall Emperor, which was snatched by Qing Buli... Who?"
Yun Youyue sensed something was wrong and suddenly looked to the front right, summoning her long sword. "If you don't come out, don't blame me for being rude!"
"Fellow Daoist Yun, don't be so short-tempered. I've come to bring you good news."
A gentle and lingering female voice was like warm winter wind, comfortable and peaceful, making people unconsciously lower their guard.
Yun Youyue sheathed her sword and looked at the woman in front of her, completely shrouded in a black robe, and raised her chin.
"A woman who doesn't even dare to show her true face, do you think this young lady will believe your good news?"
The other party was not angry at all, still maintaining a gentle attitude.
"What if this news is about the Starfall Emperor Huan, who was snatched by Qing Buli?"
"Who exactly are you!" Yun Youyue looked at her sharply, her mind racing. Who knew she wanted the Starfall Emperor Huan, and also knew that her item was snatched by Qing Buli?
Qian Ying?
Impossible, that woman wouldn't deign to tease her like this.
Jiang Ruomei?
Impossible, she was probably on the path of reincarnation by now.
As for the remaining Li Shiqing...
Yun Youyue remembered that Li Shiqing had known Qing Buli before. Perhaps after returning to the academy, she would go and meet Li Shiqing.
"Who I am is not as important as the Starfall Emperor Huan, is it?"
The black-robed woman chuckled softly. The next moment, her gentle voice, like a venomous snake, was filled with immense hatred.
She said, "Fellow Daoist Yun, the Starfall Emperor Huan you want is in Bai Shengyi's hands. And do you know? She has now become a renowned alchemist by virtue of your Starfall Emperor Huan. Don't you really want to snatch it back?"
Yun Youyue entered the capital of Qizhou Kingdom and casually found an inn to stay in.
As soon as she sat down in the lobby, she heard people all around discussing Bai Shengyi's deeds. They talked about how Bai Shengyi was a peerless genius, how Bai Shengyi was the most qualified alchemist, and how Bai Shengyi was the number one of the younger generation.
The more she listened, the more exaggerated it became, and the colder Yun Youyue's gaze became.
"Bang!"
Yun Youyue smashed the table with her palm and said angrily, "Waiter, settle the bill! The extra is compensation, no change needed."
She wanted to go back and ask Bai Shengyi, was it so easy to use other people's things with peace of mind? She was determined to make Bai Shengyi spit out the Starfall Emperor Huan!
On the other side, Bai Shengyi and Qin Si had already arrived at Qianlian City.
Although Duke Rong strongly disliked Bai Shengyi, he cared very much about his eldest son.
Especially since Bai Qingjiang had been missing for such a long time, Duke Rong was very worried that his eldest son would disappear like his late wife. Therefore, he had already given all the collected information to Bai Shengyi.
"I heard that my father's friend met him on the Road of No Return. They agreed that whoever got out would bring a letter of safety to the other's family, but I feel something is not quite right."
Bai Shengyi fiddled with the purple ginseng and reishi that Qin Si had just bought, propping her chin and thinking.
"It's right that something is not right. If he's a friend who can entrust a letter of safety, why didn't they travel together?" Qin Si suddenly spoke.
Cultivators' adventures were inherently dangerous and unpredictable, let alone a dangerous place like the Road of No Return. Generally, cultivators in the late Golden Core stage would form teams when venturing into the Road of No Return.
Moreover, Bai Qingjiang wasn't adventuring; he was looking for Bai Shengyi's mother. It was even less likely that he would deliberately put himself in danger.
"Let's go find my father's friend." Bai Shengyi suddenly stood up and walked towards another direction.