Demoness, Stop! - Chapter 51 - Chapter 51 – Guidance

Danding Peak, Li Yu’s small courtyard.

Li Yu warmly poured a cup of tea and said, “Senior Brother Zhao, please have some…”

Zhao Wuliang lifted the teacup, took a small sip, and smiled. “It’s been many years since I last tasted mortal tea. Compared to the spiritual tea of the sect, this has its own unique charm.”

Li Yu chuckled. “Within the sect, there is no day or night, no heat or cold, and no change of seasons. After staying here long enough, it’s hard not to miss worldly pleasures. If Senior Brother enjoys it, I can give you some mundane tea leaves to take back later.”

Though Li Yu spoke casually, his words gave Zhao Wuliang pause.

His master had once said that prodigies who grew up cultivating in the sect, with little experience of the mortal world, often progressed quickly during the Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and Golden Core stages. But once they reached the Nascent Soul stage and beyond, that lack of worldly experience became a major flaw, potentially causing their cultivation to stagnate.

In contrast, disciples who had lived in the mortal world for over a decade and entered the sect later often lagged behind in cultivation. However, once they reached the Nascent Soul stage, their progress could accelerate dramatically, and they often broke through to the Divine Transformation stage ahead of others—though such cases were rare, as these disciples generally lacked the talent to even reach the Golden Core stage.

This was also why Junior Sister Jiang was so highly valued by the sect.

Zhao Wuliang set down his teacup and said, “Thank you, Junior Brother. I’ll leave this jar of spiritual tea with you to enjoy.”

A faint glow flashed from the spatial ring on his hand, and a beautifully crafted jade jar appeared on the stone table. Li Yu had only made a passing offer, not expecting that this genius disciple would actually accept the mortal tea—and even gift him a jar of spiritual tea in return.

Just earlier, Zhao Wuliang had also brought ten Meridian Clearing Pills as a visiting gift.

Li Yu couldn’t help but think—this was a man who valued propriety.

Thus, Li Yu took the initiative and said, “I understand why you’ve come, Senior Brother Zhao. But when it comes to entering the Heaven-Man Unity realm, I only have some personal conjectures. Junior Sister Zheng was able to break through because of her innate talent—what worked for her may not work for everyone…”

Zhao Wuliang smiled slightly and said, “There’s no need to be modest, Junior Brother Li. Junior Sister Zheng reached the Heaven-Man Unity after receiving your guidance. If I fail, I’ll simply consider it fate. I won’t hold anything against you…”

What he meant was—regardless of the outcome, he wouldn’t be asking for those ten Meridian Clearing Pills back.

Li Yu was relieved at that, and proceeded to repeat the insights he had shared with Junior Sister Zheng.

Zhao Wuliang’s expression grew contemplative as he murmured, “What you’re saying is… one shouldn’t overly obsess over things. Instead, by wholeheartedly pursuing the essence of alchemy, one becomes more likely to be favored by the Dao of Alchemy itself…”

Li Yu nodded and said, “Exactly. It’s like the saying—‘A watched flower never blooms, while an unplanted willow takes root and thrives.’ But this might vary from person to person. I can’t always enter that state myself.”

Zhao Wuliang seemed thoughtful. After a moment, he stood and cupped his hands toward Li Yu. “Thank you for your guidance, Junior Brother. I’ll return to my peak and give it a try.”

As Li Yu saw Zhao Wuliang off, he noticed quite a few people with their ears pressed to the courtyard walls. When they saw the two coming out, they all quickly straightened up and gave awkward laughs before shuffling away.

Only a few figures remained where they were.

These were all familiar faces to Li Yu—Deng Qingsong, He Jin, Liu Ren, Jia Song… the top ten contestants from the last competition. Seeing the way they looked like they wanted to ask something but didn’t dare to, Li Yu made a welcoming gesture and said, “Senior brothers, if you have questions, come on in.”

These alchemy prodigies all had some background or backing within the sect. Following the principle of “the more friends, the better,” Li Yu still welcomed them into his courtyard and engaged in detailed discussions with them about the intricacies of entering the Heaven-Man Unity realm.

Cultivation, after all, was also about navigating social relationships. Expanding your network would always pay off someday.

These alchemy prodigies were grateful for Li Yu’s selfless sharing and sincerely invited him to visit them sometime. Li Yu smiled and promised he would next time.

After seeing them off, Wu Tong came running over from the courtyard next door with a pained expression and exclaimed, “Li Yu, you fool! That kind of secret, and you just gave it away like that? If I were you, I’d host a grand lecture! There are so many alchemists in the sect—charge each one a hundred spirit coins. Even if you only hold one session, that’s tens of thousands of spirit coins right there!”

He looked genuinely distressed, as if it were his own money that had been lost, not Li Yu’s.

But Li Yu didn’t feel it was a loss at all. Wu Tong only saw the potential spirit coins—Li Yu, on the other hand, was more concerned with the risks.

Alchemy wasn’t something that could be taken lightly. A single lapse in concentration could mean wasted materials at best… or a furnace explosion at worst. Senior Brother Zhao had made a clear disclaimer earlier. With so many witnesses present, even if he failed, no one could blame Li Yu.

But if Li Yu had charged people for a formal lesson, he’d be held responsible if anything went wrong.

After all, not everyone had Junior Sister Zheng’s talent or Senior Brother Zhao’s strength. If all they did was eavesdrop, that was one thing—but if they got arrogant and tried to fire up a furnace themselves, then the consequences were on them. They couldn’t shift the blame onto anyone else.

Setting those concerns aside, Li Yu now intended to take the Meridian Clearing Pills.

Cultivating five spiritual veins required five times the resources of a normal cultivator. He couldn’t afford to waste even a single pill.

While Li Yu was refining the Meridian Clearing Pills, over on Jiuhua Peak…

Zhao Wuliang had just returned from Danding Peak and couldn’t wait to try for himself.

But as soon as he began attempting to enter that distracted, unselfconscious state of mind, a wisp of black smoke rose from his alchemy furnace. Looking at the ruined spiritual liquid inside, he sighed helplessly.

Why could Li Yu and Junior Sister Zheng do it, but not him?

Zhao Wuliang did not give up. He tried over a dozen more times, yet each attempt ended in failure.

In the end, he had no choice but to admit that when it came to this particular aspect, his talent was far inferior to those true prodigies.

Meanwhile, the disciples who had left Danding Peak began returning to their own residences. One by one, they shared with their elders the “secret” they had heard from Li Yu regarding the Heaven-Man Unity realm.

“Relax your mind before beginning alchemy?”

“The less you care, the more likely you’ll enter the Heaven-Man Unity?”

“Hmm… it does make a certain kind of sense, but actually doing it might not be so easy.”

…

It’s common knowledge among alchemists that refining pills requires full concentration and focus—this is a truth proven through countless experiences. What Li Yu proposed ran counter to this conventional wisdom.

But that didn’t mean he was just making things up.

After all, within just a few months, he had twice entered the Heaven-Man Unity realm. Even the sect’s own alchemy prodigies had succeeded in doing the same under his guidance. One could argue that in the entire Kunlun region—perhaps even the whole cultivation world—no one understood the Heaven-Man Unity better than him.

Even if he was just an alchemy apprentice.

Some high-level alchemists, after hearing their disciples’ reports and thinking it over carefully, were able to grasp some of the deeper meaning. They concluded that Li Yu’s insights did have merit—but they likely only applied to a very small group of exceptional individuals. Geniuses always operate by different rules. For the average cultivator, trying to imitate them might not just fail—it could backfire entirely.

But not all disciples had such deep understanding of alchemy.

All they knew was that they had secretly overheard the secret to entering the Heaven-Man Unity realm for free—what a massive bargain! So, upon returning to their residences, they immediately began experimenting.

Countless disciples—and even some first-rank alchemists—started deliberately zoning out during their pill refinement attempts.

That day, across the various peaks of Kunlun, loud explosions echoed from numerous alchemy rooms.

“My herbs!”
“My furnace!”
“My eyes!”

The consequences of spacing out while refining pills were severe. For low-grade pills, the worst outcome was wasted spiritual liquid. But those who ambitiously attempted first-rank pills often faced destroyed medicines, exploded furnaces, and even injuries. Some disciples were harshly scolded and punished by their elders…

“You idiots! Do you think you have the same talent as others? You dare to imitate everything you hear?”
“No fate of a genius, but you’ve caught a genius’s disease!”
“If it weren’t for your talisman, you’d be crippled—or dead—by now!”
“Go reflect in isolation for a month! From now on, you’re to practice alchemy properly. If you try anything like this again, you’re out of the sect!”

…

Not only did they suffer heavy losses, but they were also severely reprimanded. Everyone felt extremely aggrieved and wanted to blame Li Yu—but deep down, they knew they had no grounds to do so.

After all, they’d eavesdropped on the information—it wasn’t like Li Yu had encouraged them to act this way.

And more importantly, most alchemists in the sect would never share such profound insights with others. Li Yu, on the other hand, had a generous and openly shared a secret of this magnitude. To turn around and blame him would be utterly disgraceful.

Not to mention, Junior Sister Zheng had successfully applied his guidance—so if they wanted to blame anyone, they could only blame their own lack of talent.

They could only sigh at the unfairness of the heavens and fate—for granting Li Yu not only that face, but also such incredible alchemy talent. Fortunately, his cultivation aptitude wasn’t anything special. He relied entirely on “eating soft rice” to climb the ranks. And soft rice… you couldn’t eat that forever.

As for what happened after Zhao Wuliang left, Li Yu remained blissfully unaware. He didn’t know that a single sentence from him had led countless alchemists into disaster.

After refining those ten Meridian Clearing Pills, he left Danding Peak and flew west for about fifteen minutes, arriving at another mountain peak.

This was a low-lying peak, with spiritual energy even denser than Danding Peak. From afar, Li Yu could see several magnificent buildings, half-hidden among the mountains.

This place was called Lingyun Peak—the designated site for alchemy rank certification.