Is There Ever a Time When You're Not Around?

"Alchemy?" Yao Lao raised a brow and looked at Lu Bu in surprise. "You want to become an alchemist?"

"Can't I?" Lu Bu smiled. "Or perhaps Senior Venerable Yao could take me as your disciple?"

"I can't afford to take you on as a disciple." Yao Lao shook his head with a smile. He had observed Xiao Yan from childhood until adulthood, and only after Xiao Yan had endured the trial of losing his Dou Qi did he appear and accept him as a disciple when Xiao Yan was at his lowest point.

Asking him to accept someone of unknown origins... he couldn't do it!

A trace of disappointment flashed through Lu Bu's eyes. Though he had been prepared for it, he still could not help feeling disappointed. It meant he could only fight his way upward on his own. There was no other way.

"Then this transaction..." Lu Bu flicked the map and chuckled.

"I can give you alchemy techniques, but not my inheritance." Yao Lao said proudly, "My inheritance... is not something just anyone is qualified to receive."

At those words, the corners of Xiao Yan's mouth curled up slightly. Coincidentally, he was one of those qualified to receive it.

"Including high-grade alchemy techniques?" Lu Bu asked. He automatically ignored the latter remark. There was no need to care about such nonsense.

"Of course. My reputation would not allow me to do something so stingy." Yao Lao's lips curled into a smile.

"I have one more request," Lu Bu said. "When I ask you for guidance, I hope you won't refuse."

"Fine." Yao Lao nodded. Answering a junior's questions was no trouble at all.

"Then... deal!" Lu Bu handed them the map. Yao Lao clenched his hand, and a white jade slip carrying a faint medicinal fragrance appeared in his palm.

"What you asked for. I obtained this by chance. It is worthy of your incomplete Half-Emperor inheritance."

"Medicine Valley Inheritance"!

Delight appeared on Lu Bu's face. He snatched it up and pressed it against his forehead. In an instant, a vast flood of information surged into his soul like crashing waves.

Lu Bu half-closed his eyes and quietly endured the impact of the immense information. After a long while, he slowly let out a breath, though his expression was far from pleasant.

This alchemy technique was excellent. It even contained instruction for pills from grades one to nine, directly imprinted into his mind through soul projections. It was practically hands-on teaching. With Lu Bu's control over soul power, he quickly learned part of it.

But the problem was... there were no pill formulas!

This inheritance of alchemy techniques did not contain a single pill formula!

Damn it, that old bastard tricked me!

Seeing Lu Bu awaken, Yao Lao asked with a beaming smile, "Well? The alchemy technique is quite good, isn't it?"

"You old bastard, you tricked me!" Lu Bu glared at him darkly.

"How have I tricked you?" Yao Lao looked utterly innocent. "You wanted alchemy techniques, not pill formulas. Our deal did not include anything about pill formulas."

Yao Lao said with a smile, then could not help bursting into laughter.

Lu Bu: "..."

This old man was taking revenge on him!

Lu Bu snorted. There must be times when you aren't around, right? Just wait and see how I make Xiao Yan wish he were dead!

"Information on a Heavenly Flame in exchange for a hundred pill formulas. Deal?" Lu Bu cleared his throat. Without pill formulas, the alchemy techniques were useless to him, so he could only continue trading.

Anyway, he was being generous with someone else's possessions. Lu had no reason to feel bad about it!

"Information on a Heavenly Flame?" Xiao Yan's eyes lit up, and he instantly straightened his back.

"A hundred pill formulas... you really have the nerve to ask." The corner of Yao Lao's mouth twitched speechlessly.

"Below grade seven. I think information on a Heavenly Flame is worth that price," Lu Bu said.

"Including grades one and two?" Yao Lao asked.

"Of course."

"What Heavenly Flame?"

"Ranked fifteenth, the Sea Heart Flame." Lu Bu chuckled.

"Deal!" Yao Lao immediately agreed. With a flick of his finger, a great pile of scrolls flew out with a rustle and hovered before Lu Bu.

"Ten Sixth-grade Pill formulas, ten Fifth-grade Pill formulas, and the rest are all formulas for grades one through four." Yao Lao was completely straightforward this time and did not play any tricks.

Lu Bu nodded and happily put away all the scrolls.

"Ahem... Brother Lu, the information about the Heavenly Flame..." Xiao Yan reminded him.

"Hehe..." A wicked smile spread across Lu Bu's lips. "It's in Medicine Emperor City in the Black Corner Region, on the body of their city lord, the Medicine Emperor."

"It already has an owner?" Yao Lao's face darkened as he said unhappily. Was this brat trying to cheat him?

"Hehehe, that Medicine Emperor's name... is Han Feng!" Lu Bu grinned maliciously.

With a boom, Yao Lao's expression abruptly turned gloomy, and a powerful aura erupted from him. Xiao Yan, who had been watching and idling the entire time, was instantly blown away.

"What happened? What's going on?" Xiao Yan looked completely bewildered.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Senior, you've got quite a temper." Lu Bu spread a barrier and teased with a smile. Serves you right for tricking me, old bastard. This news is disgusting enough for you, isn't it?

"Hmph, brat, that was underhanded!" Yao Lao snorted, quickly adjusting his emotions and withdrawing his aura.

Lu Bu spread his hands. He was only thinking of helping Yao Lao clean house. This was a kindness!

"Uh... can someone explain?" Xiao Yan weakly raised his hand. He had been confused the whole time, and had even been knocked over by the aura, nearly getting hurt.

"I'll tell you later..." Yao Lao sighed, speaking listlessly. Lu Bu's information had truly put him in a bad mood.

Lu Bu chuckled and turned to enter his cave. Activating the formation and sealing the entrance, he was about to begin studying alchemy!

Yao Lao and Xiao Yan glanced at him without paying much attention, then continued controlling the talisman puppets to train and go about their own business. More than a year had passed since the Three Year Agreement. They had no time to waste and had to seize every moment.

Qingshan Town.

More than a year had passed since Mu She disappeared. The damaged forces of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had gradually recovered. With a seven-star Dou Zhe and an eight-star Dou Zhe, they could not dominate all of Qingshan Town, but they had enough strength to keep their own side safe.

As for why Hemon, the third commander, had not left the Wolf Head Mercenary Group... it was embarrassing to say. While Mu She had been around, he had done plenty of arrogant and tyrannical things. Everyone in Qingshan Town hated him to the bone.

If he dared to leave, his corpse would surely end up in a filthy ditch by the next day. Thus, Hemon could only grit his teeth and hold up the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.

Fortunately, Mu Li was not weak. He had broken through at a critical moment, or Hemon would have been finished.

After more than a year of recuperation, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group began moving through Qingshan Town again, steadily strengthening its forces and probing into its former territory.

Undercurrents began swirling throughout Qingshan Town. The surface remained calm, but the air beneath was thick with the smell of gunpowder.

A few days later, beneath a waterfall deep in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Xiao Yan and Yao Lao, who had been fighting the talisman puppets, suddenly stopped and looked toward a part of the forest. Before long, Lu Bu emerged from within.

Compared to his previous calm and composed appearance, Lu Bu was now covered in dirt, giving him a more rugged air.

"Did he... come back from gathering herbs?" Xiao Yan asked doubtfully. He had looked the same when gathering herbs in the past.

"Looks like this brat is about to begin refining pills." Yao Lao smiled.

After being in seclusion for several days, then hurriedly going out to search for medicinal ingredients, it seemed the brat had great confidence in his abilities.

"Hehe, he doesn't have a Medicine Cauldron." Xiao Yan remembered this and immediately gave a strange laugh. Stroking his chin, he secretly considered how to sell the broken Medicine Cauldron in his possession for a good price.

Lu Bu ignored them. With a wave of his hand, several medicinal ingredients flew out of his Ring.

"Fire Ganoderma, Clear Heart Grass, and Crystal Fruit... this brat is planning to refine a Qi Burst Pill," Yao Lao said.

"A Qi Burst Pill?" Xiao Yan's expression changed slightly. It was a First-grade Pill that could raise a Dou Zhe's strength by around twenty percent for a short time. In battle, it was absolutely a weapon for turning the tide.

However, it was correspondingly difficult to refine. Xiao Yan had studied alchemy for quite some time. Although much of his time had gone toward cultivating Dou Qi, he had still attempted it once under Yao Lao's guidance. Unfortunately, he had failed.

Lightly tapping his forehead, Lu Bu opened his mouth and spat out a breath of Spirit Fire. The invisible Spirit Fire instantly enveloped all the medicinal ingredients.

"Uh... he doesn't need a Medicine Cauldron?" Xiao Yan's mouth twitched. His scheme had fallen through, and it felt as though many good things were drifting away from him.

"Stop talking and watch carefully," Yao Lao said.

"What's there to watch? He's just a beginner." Xiao Yan chuckled.