Interstellar Farming: I Make Potions and Climb to the Top

"Youling, driving is too slow and risks exposing our position. We’re not far from the target, so you’ll fly Lan Xin the rest of the way," Ning Xuan instructed.

"Master, you don’t need me to take him. Just have him draw a map, and I can go by myself." Di Youlin was instantly displeased. He could fly, yes, but the only person he was willing to carry was Ning Xuan.

He couldn’t tolerate anyone else.

"Master, the target has no vehicle, so they can’t cover much ground in a day. We still don’t know how far Zone 13 is from here, and finding it could take a significant amount of time. Why don’t I track their location and direction of movement? Once we’ve pinpointed Zone 13’s exact location, Mr. Di can make his move," Lan Xin proposed. In truth, he didn’t want to travel with Di Youlin either.

"Have Qinghe and Wang Teng assist you. Don’t lose them," Ning Xuan instructed Lan Xin.

"Yes." Lan Xin answered respectfully. Seeing that Ning Xuan had no further orders, he excused himself.

Once Lan Xin had left, Di Youlin knelt beside Ning Xuan and tilted his head up to look at her.

It wasn’t as apparent when Ning Xuan was standing, but whenever she was seated, her Contractors or slaves would automatically kneel when approaching her to speak. It was an unspoken rule.

Di Youlin looked up, his beautiful, almond-shaped eyes filled with caution. "Master, there’s a large lake to the west with an island in the center. The scenery is lovely, and there are many beautiful waterfowl. May I take you to see it tomorrow?"

Normally, Di Youlin’s almond-shaped eyes were piercingly sharp. But before Ning Xuan, they would soften, shimmering like gentle waves. When he looked at her, his gaze held only dependence and submission.

"Youling," Ning Xuan stated bluntly, "when Chairman Wang handed you over to me, he explained your situation. I have no desire to provoke your family. Keeping you by my side to help you stabilize your spiritual power and degree of transformation is already more than fair. Anything more is impossible."

Di Youlin had previously requested a spiritual connection, but Ning Xuan had refused.

Ever since she established the connection with Lan Xin, Di Youlin’s gaze had been full of resentment, as if she had betrayed him.

Ning Xuan was starting to dread seeing him, which was why she had wanted to send him away.

"Master, after my Half-beastman blood was exposed, I was no longer considered part of the Di Family! I have nothing to do with them anymore," Di Youlin said urgently. "If I hadn’t met you, I’m afraid I would have fully transformed by now. I have no connection to them. I belong only to you."

"Your father and mother don’t see it that way. Say no more. You may leave." Ning Xuan recalled what Ying Yaoshi had once told her about Di Youlin’s background. Even after the incident, the Di Family had continued to monitor his situation.

Lady Di had not given up. For years, she had been searching for a Controller who could soothe him, and her methods were extremely aggressive. Any Controller she deemed suitable was captured and sent to where Di Youlin was being held to be tested on him.

With a situation like that, Ning Xuan wanted nothing to do with him.

"Master..." Di Youlin began to plead again.

Ning Xuan shot him a cold glance, then stood up and walked out.

Di Youlin immediately got to his feet and followed.

Ning Xuan entered the Alchemy Room. Di Youlin stared at the tightly shut door, not daring to follow. He knew she would be furious if he disturbed her during Alchemy.

When Di Youlin had first arrived by Ning Xuan’s side, he had been somewhat willful and reckless. But the longer he stayed with her, the more his anxiety grew.

Now that Di Youlin understood the main reason for Ning Xuan’s refusal, a sense of helplessness washed over him. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

He hadn’t learned that his mother had concealed his Half-beastman heritage until his third year on the battlefield. Before then, his wings had been suppressed with medicine, appearing as nothing more than two inconspicuous fleshy lumps. But during that third year, the suppression suddenly failed, and it was only after his wings emerged that his mother told him the truth.

From that moment on, he was plunged into an indescribable state of struggle and pain.

He had visited a Half-Beastman Tribe and seen how they were raised in captivity from birth, educated as slaves, and forced to live without a shred of dignity. The sight had filled him with gratitude for his mother’s deception.

But from then on, he was burdened by this secret, knowing he could be exposed at any moment and cast into the abyss. Living in constant fear, he sometimes wondered, ’If I had been brainwashed from childhood like those captive Half-beastmen, would I have been blissfully ignorant, free from all this pain?’

He had no defense against the issue Ning Xuan had raised. It had been his father’s decision to send him to her; his mother would have rather seen him die than allow him to become someone else’s slave.

Di Youlin sat outside the Alchemy Room door, not daring to enter but unwilling to leave.

Inside, Ning Xuan had already prepared the medicinal ingredients and was beginning the Alchemy process.

This time, she wasn’t concocting a medicinal liquid, but refining Elixir Pills.

Ning Xuan’s slender fingers arranged the ingredients. The Alchemy Furnace before her was her customary Panlong Purple Pattern Refining Furnace.

Ning Xuan gathered the Flame Energy within her body. A bright flame ignited at her fingertip, and fine energy threads cascaded from her hand. The coiling dragon on the surface of the Panlong Purple Pattern Refining Furnace instantly seemed to come to life. The flame grew stronger, climbing along the dragon relief to lick the base of the furnace.

With a wave of her slender hand, a palm-sized stalk of Red Ginseng rose into the air. The energy threads sliced away its outer skin with a soft RUSTLE.

The bright flame seared the surface of the Red Ginseng. Before droplets of gleaming red ginseng liquid could even fall, they transformed into a crimson stream that plunged into the Alchemy Furnace.

Seeing the Red Ginseng gradually melt down, Ning Xuan picked up a white Ice Soul Snow Lotus and tossed it directly into the Alchemy Furnace. The Snow Lotus’s petals, initially closed, unfurled abruptly upon contact with the crimson liquid. Its sixteen petals spread wide, the pristine white flower floating beautifully in the gleaming red concoction.

Watching the red liquid seep into the petals of the Snow Lotus, Ning Xuan slit her wrist and let her own blood drip into the furnace.

Ning Xuan’s blood contained an incredibly pure form of energy. The vital essence enveloped the Snow Lotus petals, making them resemble beautiful pieces of amber at first glance.

After another ten or so minutes, the petals had fully merged with the ginseng liquid. Just then, Ning Xuan tossed in the golden medicinal herb. With a deep HUM, the Alchemy Furnace began to shake violently. Ning Xuan formed a Lotus Seal with her hands, and three vines coiled around the furnace’s inner walls. She controlled the flames below with one part of her focus while extending her spiritual power to untangle the clashing energies inside.

An unknown amount of time passed. Then, the golden shell around the nascent Elixir Pill shattered. A sudden cry echoed from within the furnace as a brilliant golden light shot toward the ceiling.

Sensing the energy fluctuations from the Elixir Pill, Ning Xuan broke into a satisfied smile. This batch of Elixir Pills was a success.