Alchemy

"Master Xiao Heng, this is everything you requested. It's all in the Storage Ring!" The Middle-aged Man respectfully handed a black ring to Xiao Heng.

Low-grade Storage Rings did not have the ability to recognize a master. They could be used as long as Dou Qi was injected into them. Xiao Heng took a rough look, and almost everything was there. With Mittel's reputation, they certainly would not skimp on such a small order of his.

"Good, everything's here! Swipe the card!" He took out a Purple Card and handed it to the Middle-aged Man.

The man took the card from Xiao Heng and said, "Sorry, Young Master Xiao Heng, please wait a moment."...

By the time he returned to the Xiao Family, it was almost dark. Xiao Heng took out the Storage Ring from his chest. He understood the principle of not flaunting one's wealth. He was not afraid of trouble, but it was best to avoid trouble when possible.

After closing his door, Xiao Heng took out the medicinal ingredients and Medicine Cauldron one by one. As the Innate Skill circulated, Dou Qi flowed into the Medicine Cauldron and formed Milky White flames. Perhaps because of the Innate Skill, the color of his flames was somewhat different, and they also seemed much gentler.

"Sense that trace of Wood Attribute within your body, then inject it into the Medicine Cauldron." The Third-grade Alchemist was inferior to Old Yao, but unlike Old Yao's instruction, what he had received was everything—including alchemy techniques and the problems that could only be discovered after refining pills for a long time.

The system's transmitted knowledge had one advantage: it did not make you learn something directly, but it was as if someone had already used your body to do it once. With that, learning it generally was not a problem. As for how well you refined things, that depended on yourself.

As that trace of Wood Attribute entered the Medicine Cauldron, the originally violent flames slowly calmed down.

According to the rules of the Dou Qi Continent, a person could only possess one attribute, though a very small number of people could possess a second. Xiao Heng was different from them—he possessed every attribute within his body. In other words, he could cultivate techniques and Dou Techniques of any attribute without any hindrance.

His Soul Power extended into the cauldron, carefully sensing the changes within. Xiao Heng began slowly placing the herbs into the Medicine Cauldron.

"Purple Vine Flower, White Fruit, Alum Grass!" What he was refining now was an ordinary Healing Potion, which had the effects of stopping bleeding and promoting healing.

Purple Vine Flower was a vine with astonishing vitality. Given a year, it could grow from a seedling into something dozens of meters long. Alum Grass had a hemostatic effect, while White Fruit served as a neutralizing agent that fused the two medicinal ingredients. It could combine their advantages and form them into a potion.

Thanks to the knowledge transmitted by the system, Xiao Heng's current state was as if his mind already knew how to handle everything, but he had never actually done it. Thus, he now needed to turn the knowledge in his mind into reality.

Sizzle! As the sound rang out, the medicinal ingredients inside the Medicine Cauldron turned into a mass of ash.

"The flames are too strong!"

Sizzle!

"The White Fruit wasn't roasted long enough!"

Sizzle!

"The fusion was too rushed!"

Xiao Heng failed again and again! Yet every time he failed, he could accurately explain why. This continued until the thirty-second attempt.

Xiao Heng happily looked at the green liquid in the bottle.

"Hahaha! I told you this wasn't that difficult!"

"Based on the current price, this small bottle can sell for at least two hundred Gold Coins! Alchemists... truly are the wealthiest profession on the Dou Qi Continent! Let's continue!"

Since he had transmigrated, Xiao Heng's Spiritual Power was not weak either. At the very least, it was definitely no worse than Xiao Yan's!...

The next day!

Xiao Heng watched the sunlight pour through the window, then glanced at the potion on the table. He closed his eyes and continued cultivating. His Dou Qi was nearly depleted, and his spirit was exhausted. This was despite having rested once during the process. Still, everything had been worth it. After his thirty-second failure, he had only failed five more times, so his failure rate could be said to be very low.

At this rate, he estimated that in three or four days, he could officially begin attempting to refine First-grade Pills. This was also the reason he had obtained the complete inheritance of the Third-grade Alchemist. Whenever he failed, he could find the reason and correct it, giving him the foundation to rapidly increase his success rate in alchemy.

By the time he felt that his Dou Qi and spirit had fully recovered, nearly two hours had passed!

"It seems I should follow Xiao Yan's example and find a more secluded place!"

Although this place was relatively quiet, it was still in the center of the Xiao Family. That had been fine before, but now that he was refining pills, he needed to find somewhere more secluded!

"The Xiao Family's Back Mountain leads directly to the Monster Mountain Range. I might as well take a look!"

However, since he intended to leave, he had to purchase some more supplies. He could not go out empty-handed.

After putting all the potions back into the Storage Ring, Xiao Heng headed toward the Xiao Family's Market. Once he had obtained everything he needed, he began walking toward the Xiao Family's Back Mountain...

To be honest, there were quite a few cliffs in the Xiao Family's Back Mountain. He found one thirty or forty meters high, took out a rope, tied it to a tree, and slowly climbed down. When he was about halfway down, Xiao Heng held the rope with one hand and drew his sword with the other. Swish, swish! With a few strikes, he carved out a platform large enough to stand on, then continued cutting into the rock. Before long, he had carved out a space thirty or forty square meters in area. He left only a one-meter-wide opening at the entrance so he could conceal it.

With a hard tug, he sent the rope falling downward. He had used the rope earlier in case of an emergency, but now that everything seemed fine, he no longer needed it. Leaving it there would only make it easier for someone to discover him.

He blocked the entrance with branches from the surrounding trees, then sat cross-legged on the stone bed and began cultivating.

Then, when night came, he began refining pills again. His progress was very fast. On the fourth day, he successfully refined a First-grade Pill. Although he had only refined one, it was still quite good.

However, there was now a problem: he had nearly used up his medicinal ingredients. Food was not much of an issue. Every day, when he went out to practice his swordsmanship, he could "pick up" some wild beasts and such!

"I should go back. Staying away too long wouldn't be good." He had not informed anyone when he left, so if he did not return soon, the Xiao Family would probably send people to look for him.

After Xiao Heng packed up his belongings and prepared to return, he saw someone standing at his gate when he was still some distance from the courtyard!

Xiao Heng walked over. "Xiao Mu, what are you doing here?"

Xiao Mu had changed quite a bit compared to three years ago, but his relationship with Xiao Heng had always been good. In the Xiao Family, apart from Xiao Yan, Xiao Mu was the person closest to him. As for the other members of the Xiao Family, they were nothing special!

When Xiao Mu saw Xiao Heng, he immediately said happily, "Big Brother Xiao Heng, you're finally back! I haven't seen you for several days and thought something had happened to you!" After saying that, he awkwardly rubbed his head.

Xiao Heng smiled and said, "What could happen to me? I only went out to cultivate for a few days. Don't worry! Come on, let's go inside and sit for a while!"

"Mm!"

The two entered the room and sat down. Although Xiao Heng had not lived there for several days, the room was still spotless. Clearly, someone had cleaned it for him!

"What's wrong, Xiao Mu? Did you come looking for me about something?"

"Um, actually, it's nothing. I just hadn't seen Big Brother Xiao Heng for a long time, so I wanted to come visit you! I really envy you, Big Brother! You're already at the eighth level of Dou Force. You should be able to break through to Dou Zhe soon! Unfortunately, I'm only at the fifth level. I'm still so far behind you!"

Xiao Heng saw the intense envy in his eyes. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to help him. It was not that there were no pills usable before becoming a Dou Zhe—he simply did not have any. As for other techniques and such, they could only be cultivated after reaching the Dou Zhe level. He could only comfort him. "You're doing well too. You're more outstanding than some of the others your age in the Xiao Family. If you keep working hard, you might still catch up with me!"

Hearing Xiao Heng's praise, Xiao Mu awkwardly rubbed his head again. Big Brother Xiao Heng was the person he admired most. He had great talent and was clever.

"Big Brother Xiao Heng, I'll work hard!" Xiao Mu said seriously.

"Then I'll wait and see! How about this? Once you break through to Dou Zhe, I'll give you a gift!"

"Big Brother Xiao Heng is going to give me a gift? Great! I'll definitely work even harder!"

Xiao Heng liked people like Xiao Mu. They did not have so many ulterior motives and were honest and straightforward. Unfortunately, whether in his Past and Present Lives, people like this generally did not fare well unless they had heaven-defying luck.

The two chatted for a while longer, discussing recent interesting events, some gossip from Wutan City, and then their ideals and futures. Nearly an hour later, Xiao Mu finally said goodbye and left!

By then, it was already almost afternoon, and Xiao Heng no longer continued cultivating. Instead, he went to the Xiao Family's Market.

"Boss, one large Mixed Grain Noodles!"

When he arrived at the market, Xiao Heng went straight into a noodle shop and chose a seat by the window. This noodle shop made the best noodles in Wutan City—or at least, that was what he thought!

"Coming right up! One large bowl of Mixed Grain Noodles!" The waiter skillfully called toward the kitchen, then brought over a pot of tea. It was not particularly good tea, but it was drinkable!

Speaking of which, the food on the Dou Qi Continent was no worse than in his Past and Present Lives. There was less variety, but the ingredients were better. Even a grain of rice here was more fragrant than anything from his previous life! If cultivation had not been the mainstream, Xiao Heng would have wanted to open a hotpot restaurant here!

He poured himself a cup of tea and slowly waited for his noodles. There were quite a few customers today, and all the more than ten tables were occupied!

Just then, two more people entered, a man and a woman. The man wore blue robes, while the woman wore a red dress. The girl did not look very old, but her figure was already quite good. The two were the young master and young miss of the Xiao Family, Xiao Ning and Xiao Mei.

As soon as the two entered, the waiter hurried over to greet them. "The two of you, this way..." He had intended to invite them over, but after glancing around, he realized there were no empty tables.

"I'm sorry, honored guests, but there aren't any seats available at the moment. Would you mind—"

Before he could finish, Xiao Ning interrupted him. Pointing at Xiao Heng's table, he said, "No need. We'll just sit there. Is that all right, Xiao Heng?"

"Suit yourself." Xiao Heng did not care.

Xiao Ning sat down with Xiao Mei, then ordered their food. As he looked at the fellow sitting opposite him, anger rose in his heart. It's this guy again, always suppressing me in every way! Xiao Mei also saw what Xiao Ning was thinking. Just then, Xiao Heng's noodles arrived. Her eyes shifted, and she immediately mocked him, "Xiao Heng, you're only eating noodles? Are you out of money? Should we lend you some? We're all surnamed Xiao, so don't be shy!"

Children really were childish. However, Xiao Heng did not bother arguing with them. The future was different, so there was no need. He merely said flatly, "No need. I'm not that short of money. But if you're short of money, you can ask the person sitting beside you."

After saying that, he picked up a pair of chopsticks and began eating his noodles as if no one else were there!

"You!" Xiao Mei understood what Xiao Heng meant and frowned. She had indeed been thinking that way, but it was much less pleasant having him say it outright!

Seeing Xiao Mei at a disadvantage, Xiao Ning showed no intention of standing up for her. Instead, he said, "Xiao Heng, when will you have time for a match?"

"You want to compete with me? Then, Young Master Xiao Ning, don't cry when you lose! As for the time, how about the next Dou Qi test? I'm sure Young Master Xiao Ning wants to defeat me then, right?" Heh! Xiao Heng did not care about the provocation of these two brats, but he was not going to indulge them either!

"Good! Then it's settled for the next test! Don't you dare not show up!" Having seemingly achieved his goal, Xiao Ning's face lit up with delight. He had already imagined the scene of defeating Xiao Heng. He would tell everyone that he was the strongest genius in the Xiao Family!

"Mm, don't worry." After perfunctorily responding to him, Xiao Heng continued his great undertaking of eating noodles. Beating up weaklings was not as important as eating.

As she watched Xiao Heng leave, worry flashed through Xiao Mei's eyes. Could Xiao Ning really defeat that guy? No, no, he can! Xiao Ning has mastered more Dou Techniques, and it took him longer to break through than that guy. He can't possibly lose!

After leaving, Xiao Heng first went to buy a black robe. He intended to go to the Mittel Auction House and deal with the pills he had refined over the past few days. Revealing too much at once would not be a good thing.