Yun Han’s condition had been progressively worsening, and his Companion Spirit, Little White, had been on the verge of death. But since Ning Xuan’s arrival, Little White had woken up. Today, it looked a bit bigger than yesterday, and Yun Han’s vital signs had also shown improvement.

Ning Xuan didn’t accept the key. "That won’t be necessary. I’m not sure how long it will take for my spiritual power to recover. For now, I can only temporarily resolve the collapse of his Spiritual Sea. As for my compensation, I will give you a list later."

"If there are no objections, I’ll start his treatment now," Ning Xuan asked, looking at Zhu Hongying.

"None, none at all." Zhu Hongying immediately stepped back, giving Ning Xuan space.

Ning Xuan took out a row of three-inch-long Purple-handled Golden Needles. With a light twirl of her fingertips, the nine Golden Needles flew out of the needle bag simultaneously, as if pulled by an unseen force. Ning Xuan formed a seal with her hands, manipulating the Golden Needles to precisely pierce major acupoints like Shenting, the Forehead, Ben Shen, the Four Spirit Acupoints, and He Gu. This technique was called the Nine Revolutions of the Spiritual Pivot Acupuncture Technique, designed specifically to stabilize the Sea of Consciousness and secure the Primordial Spirit.

As the Golden Needles pierced the acupoints, all ten of Ning Xuan’s fingers moved, twisting the needles from a distance. With a BUZZ, the ends of the Golden Needles vibrated rapidly, emitting a humming sound. Golden ripples suddenly spread throughout the room as the nine needles trembled at a profound and mysterious frequency.

Zhu Hongying and the others subconsciously held their breath, not daring to move a muscle, terrified of disturbing Ning Xuan and causing some kind of mistake. As Ning Xuan’s ten fingers flicked and twisted, light flashed around the Golden Needles, and a bit of color gradually returned to Yun Han’s pale skin.

About ten minutes later, Ning Xuan lifted a finger, and the nine Golden Needles flew up simultaneously, returning to the needle bag in perfect sequence. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Ning Xuan put away her needle bag and said to Zhu Hongying, "Alright, Mrs. Zhu, the treatment is finished. The extent of his recovery from here on will depend on his own body’s ability to heal."

Ning Xuan packed her things and prepared to take her leave. Zhu Hongying couldn’t help but try to persuade her to stay, but Ning Xuan’s decision was firm. Zhu Hongying transferred two hundred thousand Star Crystals to Ning Xuan’s account—the previous twenty thousand had just been the house call fee, while this two hundred thousand was the reward for a successful treatment. She also gave Ning Xuan the dozen or so medicinal herbs that Ning Xuan had specifically requested on her list.

The little white cat, Little White, seemed especially reluctant to see Ning Xuan go. It clung to her arm, refusing to let go, and was only forcibly taken back by Zhu Hongying after they had descended the Seven Star Divine Mountain.

Just as they left the vicinity of the Seven Star Divine Mountain, Yan Fuzhen spoke up. "Miss Ning, if there are any medicinal herbs you need, you can just tell me. I can procure them for you. There’s no need for you to go to such lengths to earn money."

"How can something you’re given be the same as something you’ve earned yourself?" Ning Xuan drank a Healing Potion, tending to her internal injuries while also testing the efficacy of the latest batch she had concocted.

"Miss Ning, you are General Ying’s Contractor. You are free to use all the resources the General possesses. They already belong to you; there’s no need to ask. To facilitate this, I will compile a register of all the General’s assets and supplies in the coming days for your review," Yan Fuzhen replied earnestly. He didn’t want Ning Xuan to overexert herself or place herself in danger just to earn money.

"Mhm, so sleepy. I’m going to sleep for a bit." The Healing Potion was already working to repair her internal injuries. Since the Flying Car ride back to Light City, Central Star’s main city, would still take several hours, Ning Xuan decided to take a nap.

Lin Mo perceptively moved over, letting Ning Xuan rest her head on his lap. Yan Fuzhen tactfully excused himself and went to the outer cabin.

Ning Xuan snuggled against Lin Mo, wriggling about until she finally found a comfortable position and fell into a sweet, sound sleep. As Lin Mo took in the faint, pleasant scent emanating from her, he felt his blood surge. He suppressed his own heartbeat and breathing, trying to keep his racing pulse from disturbing her. Before he knew it, a thin layer of sweat had formed on his back. In this state of restraint, his leg muscles tensed unconsciously. In her sleepy haze, Ning Xuan felt her soft pillow harden. Her hand, which had been hugging the "pillow," gave a dissatisfied twist, pinching the lean muscle of Lin Mo’s waist. He froze. A tingling itch shot straight down to the soles of his feet.

He felt the heat rushing through his body. Taking a deep breath, he slowed his breathing and tried to relax. ’The rest of this journey is going to be an ordeal,’ he thought.

「By the time they returned to Light City, it was already noon.」

Ning Xuan led Lin Mo and Yan Fuzhen back to the house assigned to her by the Controller Protection Association. Chen Nan was already standing at the door, waiting for them.

When Ning Xuan got home, she found that an Attendant, under Yan Fuzhen’s direction, had already prepared lunch. The spread was lavish, with various beast meats roasted to a glistening golden-brown, brightly colored unknown vegetables, and crystal-clear fruit juice. Ning Xuan tried a bit of everything and found it all to be excellent—far more delicious than the food she was used to. The juice was especially good. While it couldn’t compare to the Hundred Fruit Brew from the Seven Star Divine Mountain, its sweet and tangy flavor made it a rare treat.

’Yan Fuzhen must have noticed how much I liked that brew and found this juice for me somewhere. He really is an exceptionally meticulous and thoughtful steward.’

After lunch, Ning Xuan rushed to the training center for the Alchemist competition. She found the team from D618 Star and joined their centralized training session.

Ning Xuan spent the afternoon at the training center, moving between several classrooms before she finally found a lecture on High-level Compound Potions. The attendees were a motley group of all ages and genders, though young women were the least represented. Including Ning Xuan, there were only two.

Ning Xuan had just sat down when the other young woman sidled over. "Hey, I haven’t seen you here before. Why did you come to Teacher Xi’s lecture?"

"To learn," Ning Xuan replied curtly, her attention focused on the lecture.

"Can you even understand what Teacher Xi is talking about?" the young woman asked, looking at Ning Xuan with doubt.

Ning Xuan ignored her, continuing to listen intently and take notes.

Although Ning Xuan was capable of creating High-level Compound Potions, her methods were entirely self-taught, combining her own experiments with the principles of Alchemy. She had successfully created the potions by following formulas, but she didn’t have a deep understanding of the fundamental principles behind their efficacy. As it happened, this teacher was lecturing on exactly that—foundational theory—so Ning Xuan listened with rapt attention.

Ning Xuan felt she had gained a great deal from the afternoon class and decided to continue attending the lectures for the next few days. When she returned home that evening, she found that Yan Fuzhen had already set up an alchemy lab for her on the first floor. This would allow her to practice Alchemy at night, applying the theoretical knowledge she learned during the day.

And so, Ning Xuan settled into a routine of intensive training in the lead-up to the competition. During this time, her grasp of foundational theory grew by leaps and bounds, and her Alchemy techniques became all the more refined.