Alchemy

Heyang County,

the County Yamen's rear courtyard.

It was the same time and the same place.

Having bathed and burned incense, Gao Yunyi stood in a set of azure everyday robes, his expression calm.

After two days of work without sleep or rest, every robber and bandit in Heyang County's territory had been wiped out.

Now, within a hundred-li radius, let alone bandits and robbers, even thieves, swindlers, hooligans, and scoundrels had vanished without a trace. They had either fled overnight in terror or turned over a new leaf.

It could be said that, from ancient times to the present, Heyang County had never been so orderly. It had almost reached the point where doors went unbarred at night and no one pocketed valuables found on the road.

There was no helping it. Immortals really did kill people.

And this one killed indiscriminately, tearing out the roots with the grass and wiping them all out. Who still dared to commit crimes and harm others?

Gao Yunyi did not feel tired at all, but Constable Chen and the others were completely exhausted. They had spent all their time either collecting corpses or transporting severed heads, and were still lying in bed, fast asleep.

Everyone who could be killed had been killed, and those left were people who could not be killed,

so Gao Yunyi had no choice but to return with regret.

There had not been many bandits and robbers, and they had been scattered too far apart. Most of the time had been spent traveling and looking for them, so even after two days, Gao Yunyi's level still had not risen.

Fortunately, the bandits and robbers had dropped quite a few things, which made up for some of his regret and disappointment.

Although they had not dropped any equipment blueprints, they had dropped a rare Pill Formula.

Spirit-Gathering Pill: Quickly restores 90 health and 40 mana to the character.

Required medicinal ingredients: Dew-Congealing Grass ×2, Red Spirit Flower ×1.

What a good thing! His health and mana were currently 190 and 100 points respectively, so one Spirit-Gathering Pill could restore almost half of each bar.

That was equivalent to gaining half an extra life.

That was why he attached such importance to this alchemy session.

Unlike equipment, pills did not have quality grades, but there was a chance of failure.

If the pill refinement failed, all the medicinal ingredients would be consumed and disappear.

The ingredients in Gao Yunyi's inventory were only enough to refine four Spirit-Gathering Pills. If he failed, it would really pain him to death.

All right, it was time for the thrilling part again.

The special effect for crafting equipment was a cyan glow, while the special effect for refining pills was a red glow.

Red flames appeared out of thin air in the courtyard. The raging fire churned and burned in midair, sending waves of searing heat outward.

"Wow... the immortal is using an immortal art again."

"What terrifying flames! I can feel the heat even from this far away. Truly impressive."

"What do you think the immortal is doing this time?"

"Could he be refining pills?"

"Shh... everyone, be quiet. Don't disturb the immortal."

Whispers came from all around, but Gao Yunyi paid them no mind. His thoughts were entirely focused on the blazing fire.

Hummm—

A soft hum rang out as the searing flames slowly faded. A thumb-sized red pill had already formed, seemingly shimmering with a wondrous halo in the sunlight.

"Good heavens, the immortal really is refining pills!"

"An Immortal Elixir... that's an Immortal Elixir!!!"

"If I ate one, could I live forever without growing old?"

"..."

Only when he saw that the Spirit-Gathering Pill had been refined successfully did Gao Yunyi's lips curl up slightly. With a casual wave of his hand, he stored the pill in his inventory.

The first pill had been a success, and he felt much more relaxed. At least he had one guaranteed.

His confidence doubled, he pressed his advantage and immediately began refining the second.

Half an hour later,

there were three more Spirit-Gathering Pills in his inventory.

His whole metaphysical ritual for aligning heaven, earth, and people had indeed proven reliable, greatly increasing the success rate.

After refining the pills, Gao Yunyi noticed the whispers around him.

It seemed he could not stay in Heyang County any longer.

There were no quests, and it could not provide him with experience. This place was no longer of any use to him.

It was time to leave.

The next day.

County Magistrate Zhang got up early.

For the past few days, he had handled official business until late every night before resting.

Though he had worked hard, he did not feel tired at all. Instead, he was brimming with vigor.

Under his governance, Heyang County truly was getting better by the day. Officials no longer dared to be corrupt, merchants no longer dared to cheat, and there were more smiles on the people's faces.

The satisfaction and sense of accomplishment made County Magistrate Zhang feel as though he were more than a decade younger.

But no matter how hard or tiring things were, County Magistrate Zhang came to pay his respects outside the immortal's room early every morning.

Although there might have been an element of flattery in it, more than anything, he had already come to regard the immortal as his spiritual pillar.

As he had on previous days, County Magistrate Zhang stood outside the room and respectfully reported the good deeds he had done the previous day for the county and its people.

Whenever he reported, a perfunctory "Mm, good, understood" would come from inside the room. But today, there was not a sound.

At first, County Magistrate Zhang thought nothing of it, assuming the immortal was simply busy with something else and had no time to attend to him.

But as the wait grew longer and longer, County Magistrate Zhang grew increasingly anxious.

"Exalted Immortal, are you in the room?"

County Magistrate Zhang finally could not help calling out softly, but he still received no response.

"Exalted Immortal?"

By now, County Magistrate Zhang seemed to have sensed something, and urgency unconsciously crept into his voice.

"Exalted Immortal, this subordinate is coming in."

County Magistrate Zhang took a deep breath, then slowly pushed the door open.

The room was empty. There was no sign of the immortal.

"Exalted Immortal!"

County Magistrate Zhang shouted in a trembling voice, his plump face, now somewhat thinner, filled with panic.

But even after searching the whole room, he still found no trace of the immortal.

"The Exalted Immortal... left without saying goodbye."

County Magistrate Zhang slumped into a chair, utterly distraught, feeling as though a piece of his heart had been hollowed out.

His spiritual pillar had collapsed.

It was entirely because of the Exalted Immortal that he had awakened to his errors and changed from a corrupt, muddleheaded official into an honest and good one.

It could be said that without the Exalted Immortal, he would not be the man he was now.

Now that the Exalted Immortal had left, what meaning did his present deeds have?

For a moment, County Magistrate Zhang was lost. Then he noticed a small brocade box on the table.

He reached out and opened it. Inside lay a thumb-sized red pill.

"It's an Immortal Elixir! It's the Immortal Elixir the Exalted Immortal refined yesterday!"

County Magistrate Zhang sprang up from his chair, staring at the pill in the brocade box in disbelief.

News that the immortal had refined an Immortal Elixir had spread throughout Heyang County the day before, causing a stir across the entire county seat. Everyone said that eating it would grant eternal life without aging.

County Magistrate Zhang naturally knew about it, but how could a mortal dare covet an Immortal Elixir in the immortal's possession?

Yet he had never imagined that, before leaving, the immortal would actually bestow such a precious Immortal Elixir upon him.

This meant that he, Zhang Huaimin, had a place in the immortal's heart.

The immortal acknowledged him and would not forget him. Everything he had done had meaning.

"Exalted Immortal..."

County Magistrate Zhang sat on the floor, clutching the brocade box and wailing, crying like a child who had yet to grow up.