On the second day after you comprehended the Nuo Opera Masks, the three powerhouses Xie Huide, Deng Rusong, and Deng Wanshu arrived together.

Xie Huide seemed to have regained his youth, shedding his previous melancholy demeanor and appearing carefree and unrestrained.

Deng Rusong remained composed as ever, though his eyes occasionally revealed traces of contentment and ease.

This was Deng Wanshu's first visit to your manor. She already knew you were the one who provided the Reviving Yang Pill to wake her.

Her gaze was filled with gratitude and curiosity as she studied you intently.

Xie Huide carried a wooden box filled with pill recipes and generations of pill refiners' works on the True Explanation of Pill Refining.

Additionally, the box contained a translucent emerald jade peace token.

You understood this was Xie Huide fulfilling his promise in exchange for the Reviving Yang Pill.

You greeted the trio at your manor's entrance.

"Everyone, welcome!" you said, your eyes on Deng Wanshu while reaching for Xie Huide's box. "This must be Sister Wanshu in the box?"

Xie Huide smiled wryly and handed you the box without protest.

Deng Wanshu chuckled at seeing you tuck the box under your arm. "I haven't been packed into a little box yet! But thank you for the Reviving Yang Pill, um... Brother He."

You smiled and stepped aside, gesturing toward the manor. "Don't just stand at the door, everyone should go back now."

"We wouldn't want to intrude... Wait, go back?" Xie Huide froze mid-step along with the others.

"Just a little joke—hope you don't mind?"

Deng Wanshu replied cheerfully, "Even if we minded, we wouldn't say so!"

"Excellent. Please come in and make yourselves at home—just like you would in someone else's house."

You ushered them to the main hall where tea was served.

After sipping his tea, Xie Huide explained the box contained seventh to ninth-grade pill recipes—eighteen ninth-grade, thirty-seven eighth-grade, and sixty-two seventh-grade recipes.

During your last simulation, you'd obtained some seventh and eighth-grade recipes. Now you gained eighteen ninth-grade, thirty-two eighth-grade, and thirty-three seventh-grade recipes.

As for recipes below seventh-grade, Xie Huide hadn't brought them due to their overwhelming quantity, but you could consult them anytime at Danxia Sect.

Apart from the ninth-grade recipes, you had little interest in the other materials. But the jade peace token intrigued you greatly.

This token was a heritage item from the sect's founder, passed down only to successive sect leaders.

It could analyze failed pills, identifying exactly where they fell short of success.

Pill refiners often produced many failed pills without understanding the specific reasons—whether the fire was too strong or ingredients were added too late.

They could only accumulate experience through repeated attempts, like taking an exam knowing only whether they passed, not which questions were wrong.

The peace token, however, directly pinpointed the problems, allowing targeted improvements that dramatically increased refining efficiency.

You examined the token with delight. Though your eighth-grade refining skills were mastered, the leap to ninth-grade had stymied countless talents.

With this token, your confidence soared. "This is marvelous!" you thought. "Like having a personal tutor who compiles mistake logs!"

Seeing your enthusiasm, Xie Huide and Deng Rusong relaxed. They knew your family's resources meant you lacked little in recipes—your legendary ancestor was an eighth-grade refiner.

But the Reviving Yang Pill's main ingredient alone was an Earth Source. Compensating you with just some ninth-grade recipes would have troubled their conscience.

Thus Deng Rusong decided to give you the peace token to repay their debt.

The token's magic came from containing an Earth Source itself, though its original form was no longer discernible.

In terms of main ingredient value, the token and Reviving Yang Pill were comparable.

You also gained eighteen ninth-grade recipes plus numerous seventh and eighth-grade ones, along with Xie Huide and Deng Rusong's lifelong refining services.

This deal turned out far better than expected—you'd initially planned to just do a good deed at minor loss.

Now you'd profited handsomely, though being modest, you restrained your glee.

"Brother He, are you satisfied with our compensation?" Xie Huide asked.

"Extremely satisfied! Five-star rating!"

The conversation continued for hours. Since Wanshu's awakening, Xie Huide and Deng Rusong visibly glowed with vitality.

During small talk, you realized without Wanshu as their worry, Xie Huide might attempt advancing to eighth or even ninth-grade refiner this simulation.

Deng Rusong, at mid-level Grandmaster, might also progress toward the Ultimate Grandmaster realm.

"Everything's looking up!" you mused. "Only Old Hu remains at Yajiangkou battling Jin Yue Nation. If he knew Sister Wanshu awoke, he'd probably desert to return."

As you pondered, Deng Rusong asked, "Huide, have you sent word to Zhongxuan?"

Xie Huide laughed boldly. "Sent yesterday! Let Hu Zhongxuan see whether medicine could save Wanshu after all!"

Deng Rusong nodded.

You glanced at Deng Wanshu across from you, thinking, "Old Hu's returning? This will be lively!"

Wanshu gazed tenderly at Xie Huide with dependence in her eyes, then tilted her head thoughtfully—her expression also hopeful.

You blinked. Apparently they truly intended to make their three-way relationship work.

"Maybe Sister Wanshu isn't fickle," you wondered, "but her heart simply broke in two, loving different people?"

In fifty-years-past Wanshu's eyes:

Xie Huide was dashingly unconventional, his pill refining talent unparalleled.

Hu Zhongxuan was steadfast and reliable, his martial arts peerless.

Faced with such extraordinary senior brothers in her youth, young Wanshu couldn't choose decisively.

Thus this unconventional yet thrilling arrangement persisted.

You couldn't predict their future entanglements, but resolved to grab popcorn at the first sign of Danxia Sect drama.

That evening, you politely invited them to stay for dinner.

To your surprise, they shamelessly accepted, forcing Steward Wang to serve the lavish meal prepared in advance.

After rounds of drinks, a drunken Xie Huide was supported home by Deng Rusong and Wanshu.

Alone, you focused on comprehending the Nuo Opera Masks.

Year Four:

After relentless communion with the masks, you neared completion of the first mask's comprehension.

Within ten days, you'd master the shape-shifting ability.

The year-long intensive effort left you mentally drained, so you decided to rest one final day before the final push.

That day, you visited the zoo.

A year had passed—auspicious timing to harvest blood.

Your precious beasts had consumed fifth-grade Blood Essence Pills daily, eating better than most warriors below Dragon Transformation.

You were eager to see what surprises they'd yield after a year.