With an extra person in the house, things should have been different.

But for Chu Mu, it seemed to have no effect at all.

His life remained as disciplined and simple as ever.

His door would remain shut, not opening even once for ten days or half a month. On the rare occasion it did open, he would hurry out for a moment at most, only to rush back in again.

The door would shut tight, and the cycle would essentially repeat.

This lifestyle continued for more than three months.

The pill also required thirteen types of Spirit Medicine, but compared to the cheap ingredients for the Vein Nourishing Pill, the Spirit Medicines for this Soul Cleansing Pill were on a completely different level.

Precious, far too precious!

Even though Chu Mu tried his best to remain calm, he was inevitably affected.

Despite his prior experience with the Vein Nourishing Pill, this was taking far longer than before.

The beginning of the month.

The door opened once again.

In the main hall, the woman sat cross-legged. Seeing Chu Mu emerge, she rose to her feet and looked at him in silence.

As Chu Mu walked toward the front door, the woman followed closely at his side, matching his every step.

This had been her behavior in the residence for the past several months.

The woman was taciturn, and Chu Mu was busy with his research. Over the past few months, the number of times they had spoken could probably be counted on one hand.

Although he still wasn’t quite used to it, it was a transaction with a generous reward, so Chu Mu could grudgingly accept it.

’It’s just a transaction, after all. Once it’s over, this strange life can finally end.’

’But before it ends, I need to confirm a few of my suspicions.’

Reaching the front door, Chu Mu stopped and turned to face the woman.

"In the next few days, I should be able to attempt the refining."

At these words, Zhao Shuang’s perpetually unchanging expression finally showed a flicker of emotion.

"Will... will it be successful?"

Chu Mu didn’t answer. Instead, he took out the Jade Scroll containing the Soul Cleansing Pill recipe. "Can you tell me where you got this Jade Scroll, this Pill Recipe?"

Zhao Shuang shook her head, her refusal crisp and direct. "That is not part of our transaction."

Chu Mu said, "Name your terms."

Zhao Shuang was silent for a moment before shaking her head. "Let’s talk after the Soul Cleansing Pill is successfully refined."

He had his answer. Chu Mu didn’t press further. He left her with one more sentence, then pushed the door open and walked out.

"Starting tomorrow, act as my Protector. Don’t let anyone disturb me until I come out. That includes you."

Zhao Shuang remained silent, offering no reply as she followed by Chu Mu’s side.

Three months had passed, and the imposing Jade Emperor City Wall seemed to have changed yet again.

Even now, one could still see Cultivators inscribing Restrictions on the outside of the wall.

Not all of them were disciples of the Longevity Sect. The vast majority of the dirty, tiring work was done by hired Loose Cultivators, who were reportedly paid quite well.

After a few glances, Chu Mu passed through the city gates and entered Jade Emperor City.

His earlier suspicions had become reality.

In the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace, the prices for all sorts of Spiritual Materials, as well as finished Magical Artifacts, Talismans, and Elixirs, had soared by thirty to forty percent, if not more.

And from what he had gathered, this situation was just as he had predicted—the price fluctuations weren’t limited to Jade Emperor City alone.

It seemed to be the same for thousands of miles around.

Moreover, there were no signs of these soaring prices stagnating or easing, at least for now.

Over the past few months, he had entered the city several times every ten-odd days, and each time, the prices had risen.

In contrast, the income of an ordinary Cultivator had not increased by much.

The conditions for survival seemed to be growing ever more difficult.

This undoubtedly exacerbated the price hikes. After all, no one knew if they would wake up to find the things they needed had reached yet another exorbitant price.

After wandering around the Marketplace, Chu Mu eventually stopped in front of Wei Wu Pavilion.

Without hesitation, Chu Mu walked straight inside.

Compared to his last visit, the shelves in the pavilion seemed much emptier. It was hard to find even a few low-level Magical Artifacts, though there was still a wide variety of high-level ones.

His gaze swept over the items, finally settling on a Pill Furnace on a shelf to the left.

The Pill Furnace was Ancient Bronze in color, about the size of a millstone and no more than two feet tall. The lid had eight holes, and its top was a jade-green leaf stalk. At a glance, it was exquisitely crafted.

Next to it was another Pill Furnace, a size larger, silver-white in color, with distinct patterns on its surface. It was clearly of a much higher grade.

"Fellow Daoist, have you taken a liking to one of the Pill Furnaces?"

A shop assistant approached and asked.

Chu Mu pointed to the shelf. "Tell me about these two Pill Furnaces."

"Fellow Daoist has a good eye! This one is called the Eight Trigrams Cloud Furnace..."

The assistant chattered on, introducing one Middle Grade Magical Artifact Pill Furnace and one Upper Grade Magical Artifact Pill Furnace. Naturally, both were extremely expensive.

Chu Mu listened quietly to the assistant’s introduction without interrupting.

His own Pill Furnace was a broken, substandard Magical Artifact—not even a Lower Grade Magical Artifact. It was barely adequate for refining Grain Avoidance Pills.

Even refining the Vein Nourishing Pill would have been a struggle without the help of his "Spiritual Radiance Blessing".

Now, to refine the Soul Cleansing Pill, any single medicinal herb from its Pill Recipe was probably more valuable than his broken Pill Furnace.

A single failure would be a loss incomparable even to the value of a Top Grade Magical Artifact Pill Furnace.

And in his heart, he already considered the other four batches of Spirit Medicine his own.

He hadn’t even been willing to damage the main body of a single Spirit Medicine during his months of research and experimentation.

Zhao Dan only required one batch of Soul Cleansing Pills. Anything else—any loss, no matter how small—would be a monumental loss for him!

Just as he finished asking about the prices and was about to start haggling, he felt a tug on his sleeve.

Chu Mu looked at Zhao Shuang beside him, a little puzzled.

"Are... are you going to buy a Pill Furnace?"

The question entered his mind via Telepathy.

He raised an eyebrow and nodded.

Zhao Shuang asked again, "The quality of a Pill Furnace should make a big difference in Alchemy, right?"

"Of course." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Chu Mu’s reply was firm.

For any Alchemist, this was basic common sense.

That he could refine Vein Nourishing Pills with a broken Pill Furnace was only because his "Spiritual Radiance" was ridiculously overpowered. Any other Alchemist would have found it nearly impossible to do as he did—refining a Pill Pattern Elixir with a broken furnace.

After all, with a broken furnace, the medicinal efficacy would inevitably leak out. In that case, forget a Pill Pattern Elixir; even successfully refining a pill at all would be considered impressive.

"I have a Pill Furnace. Do you want to take a look?"

"You have a Pill Furnace?"

Hearing another telepathic message from Zhao Shuang, Chu Mu was a bit stunned.

Then, Chu Mu pointed at the silver-white Upper Grade Magical Artifact Pill Furnace. "How does it compare to this one?"

Without even thinking, Zhao Shuang replied, "Better than that one."

Chu Mu took a deep breath. Without another word, he turned and walked out of the shop.

The enthusiastic assistant hadn’t even processed what happened before the two of them left the shop, one after the other.

They left the shop, left the city, and returned to Yuning Town. The moment the door closed, Chu Mu turned to face the ever-present Zhao Shuang.

Immediately, a simple, ancient-looking Pill Furnace half a man’s height appeared before him.

The Pill Furnace had a dull color, its Restrictions were concealed, and its overall design was extremely plain.

At first glance, it looked just like a mundane ritual Great Cauldron.

But to his Divine Sense Perception, the faint pressure it emitted was enough to cause Palpitations.

"Top Grade Magical Artifact? No, no... a Spiritual Artifact?"

Chu Mu’s pupils shrank. He had seen a Top Grade Magical Artifact Pill Furnace before!

He had seen Top Grade Magical Artifacts!

None were this terrifying.

Then it could only be something above a Magical Artifact...

According to the grading system in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, Magical Artifacts have four tiers—Lower, Middle, Upper, and Top Grade—which correspond to the Early, Middle, Late, and Perfection stages of the Qi Cultivation Realm.

Above Magical Artifacts are Spiritual Artifacts, which also have four tiers—Lower, Middle, Upper, and Top Grade—corresponding to the Foundation Establishment Realm that is above the Qi Cultivation Realm!

Of course, this classification was rather idealistic.

After all, given the miserable living conditions of Loose Cultivators, many Cultivators in the Middle to Late Stage of Qi Cultivation might not even possess a Lower Grade Magical Artifact.

But the Pill Furnace before him was not of the Magical Artifact grade. Its Spiritual Qi fluctuations far surpassed those of a Magical Artifact, so it could only be something above it.

What stood before him was a Spiritual Artifact-grade Pill Furnace!

A Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact Pill Furnace that even many Foundation Establishment Realm experts would find difficult to obtain!

Chu Mu was in a daze. First an Ancient Pill Recipe, then a large batch of Spirit Medicine, and now a Spiritual Artifact Pill Furnace...

If not for the contract and the restriction of his Dao Heart Oath, he didn’t know if he could restrain the greed in his heart.

’She’s a pure, walking treasure trove!’

After a long moment, Chu Mu managed to force out two words with some difficulty: "Spiritual Artifact?"

Zhao Shuang didn’t hide it. "It should be a Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact."

Chu Mu didn’t say another word. He picked up the Pill Furnace and headed for his room.

But after a few steps, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and asked.

"Do you know Alchemy yourself?"

Zhao Shuang shook her head. "I don’t. The Pill Furnace isn’t mine."

Chu Mu frowned. Thinking of the Soul Cleansing Pill, he seemed to understand something.

But in the end, he didn’t ask any more questions. He carried the Pill Furnace and walked into his room.

In the hall, after the door closed, Zhao Shuang watched it for a moment. Her beautiful eyes shifted, and as she turned, a Sound Transmission Talisman appeared in her hand.

A moment later, the Sound Transmission Talisman vanished. Zhao Shuang was already sitting cross-legged on the floor, her eyes slightly closed.

She appeared calm and composed, but her slightly trembling eyelashes were clear proof that her heart was anything but peaceful.

After sitting cross-legged for less than a quarter of an hour, the woman clearly found it difficult to remain calm. She got up and began to pace around the hall.

Her gaze, filled with both anticipation and obvious worry, lingered on the closed door from time to time.

For Zhao Shuang at this moment, every second of waiting was an indescribable torment...

...