Xiao San, Time to Take Your Medicine

Tang San's expression changed at once, as if he had realized something. His eyes flashed coldly as he stared at the ring on his hand.

The ring suddenly slipped off his finger and floated silently in midair. What shocked him even more was the transparent phantom of an Old Woman appearing beside it.

The Old Woman smiled at Tang San. "Thanks to your inner strength, I was able to awaken so quickly. I know you have something to say, but please don't speak yet."

"First of all, I wasn't the one who made you put on this ring, was I? You picked it up yourself because you thought it might be a treasure. Since you found it, it was yours. There was no question of returning it to its original owner."

Tang San's little face instantly turned pale. He suppressed the killing intent in his heart and thought to himself, This old hag has already chosen her path to death.

The Old Woman beamed at Tang San. "Young man, I know you resent me, but since I have chosen to reveal myself, I will no longer borrow your inner strength. On the contrary, I will help you. Well? Aren't you going to thank me?"

Seeing the Old Woman smile at him like that, Tang San felt goosebumps all over his body. He secretly thought, I thought I was already invincible under heaven. Whose subordinate is this, to be so fearless?

"I am the Master's Wife of an invincible existence on a High-level Continent. In that world, I could command the wind and rain and accomplish anything. My alchemy, beyond the Master Realm, had no equal. One night, as I observed the stars, I saw the Ziwei Star slant eastward, Sagittarius slant westward, and the Milky Way Galaxy's rotation slowing. That was how I knew a genius had emerged from the Bashu Tang Sect."

The Old Woman's gaze was sharp as lightning. When she spoke the last sentence, she stared straight at Tang San.

Tang San had initially been rather disdainful. This Old Woman was clearly spouting nonsense, but that last sentence was the greatest secret of his life—and this old hag actually knew it.

Tang San was horrified inside, yet he still put on a calm front without changing expression. "What are you talking about, old hag? I don't know."

"Ghost's Worry of the Bashu Tang Sect, jumping from the cliff to prove one's resolve, thoughts lingering endlessly."

Ignoring Tang San's frightened expression, the Old Woman continued on her own. "Let's make a bet. We'll wager on my alchemy. If I can refine a pill that instantly restores half of your Mysterious Heaven Skill inner strength, you will take me as your master. If I cannot, I will kill myself to atone."

Tang San felt as though he had been stripped bare before someone else. He had never felt this way before, and he answered mechanically, "Fine. What are your instructions, Senior?"

A true man could bend and stretch, and Tang San was a true man. The moment he realized he was no match for her, he immediately changed his tone.

The Old Woman's phantom slowly descended and floated before Tang San. She said slowly, "An alchemist naturally needs medicinal herbs first. I scanned everything within a hundred li using my spiritual power. The nearest herb is beneath a waterfall on the back mountain of Holy Spirit Village. Go fetch it for me, and I will refine medicine for you. I guarantee that one pill will restore half your inner strength."

"A hundred li? Is that for real?"

"Believe it or not, you'll know once you try."

Li Chen, hiding in the back, was full of question marks. "Tangyuan? Why did Tang San trust someone so easily? That doesn't fit his personality at all."

"Host, this system has already reduced Tang San's intelligence, returning his IQ to its original level. Otherwise, what kind of person would steal a sect's secret manuals to learn from them? As long as he displayed talent, plenty of people would have been willing to teach him."

"More importantly, Tang San has already had everything exposed. He's scared, so he has no choice but to believe her."

"Senior, how do we get across?" Tang San looked at the waterfall before him. Though it was not particularly high, it was extremely turbulent. If he still possessed the strength of his previous life, he naturally would not have feared it.

But right now, he was just a weakling.

The Old Woman spoke slowly. "You are an Innate Spiritual Embryo. Your blood attracts all kinds of spiritual herbs in the world. You only need to give me one drop of your blood. Leave the rest to me."

Though Tang San was doubtful, he still followed the Senior's instructions. He used a kitchen knife to cut his fingertip and squeezed out a drop of blood. The Old Woman controlled the blood as it slowly entered the waterfall. What Tang San could not see was that there was another world within the waterfall.

A layer of light covered the cave entrance. The blood passed smoothly through it and landed on a Blue Silver Grass with dark golden patterns—Tang San's mother, Ah Yin. Tang San's blood easily passed through the barrier Tang Hao had set up and brought Ah Yin out, along with that Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.

The Old Woman clasped her hands behind her back and raised her head at a forty-five-degree angle, looking as lofty as an otherworldly master. "Do you know an alchemist's rules? Unless they are master and disciple, no one may watch another person refine medicine without permission. Now, I permit you to watch me refine medicine."

Tang San frowned, feeling that after listening to her words, he had heard nothing at all.

"Watch closely, young man. Don't blink!" Black flames suddenly ignited around the Old Woman, and her eyes instantly turned golden. An oppressive pressure crashed down, forcing Tang San to his knees.

"An alchemist mixes several herbs whose medicinal properties complement one another, then uses their own Soul Power to control the tempering of the Spirit Fire, removing impurities from the herbs and maximizing their effects."

"What I am about to show you is alchemy at the Master Realm. Very soon—really, very soon. Watch carefully!"

The woman waved both hands, and black flames as deep as an abyss and as oppressive as a prison wrapped around the Blue Silver Grass. She even began chanting an incantation.

"Balala Energy, Ukato Noto, Little Magic Fairy, transform!"

Little did she know that Li Chen, lying at home and watching the scene on his Spirit Guide Tablet, was completely dumbfounded.

His face full of anticipation turned into a single sentence: "Holy shit!"

"Tangyuan, Tangyuan, wasn't she supposed to refine medicine? Where are the Heavenly Flames? Where's the technique? What kind of goddamn move is this?"

A round little dumpling rose from the tablet. Its tiny limbs waved nonstop, and the little tuft of hair on its head bobbed back and forth as it said sweetly, "Host, I don't know how to refine medicine either. I figured Tang San wouldn't understand anyway. In a moment, I can just take a pill out of the system and give it to him."

"Fine. I thought there really was alchemy from the Master Realm. If Tang San could learn it, wouldn't I be able to learn it too?"

"Host, please do not dream dreams that cannot come true!"

"Why does that sound a little familiar?"

"Why can't Tang Hao sense it? Oh, oh, Tang San's drop of blood. I get it, I get it."

Before Li Chen could think further, the scene changed again.

A blue-gold pill flew wildly through the air as if it had grown wings, but some force kept it restrained.

"Well? Eat it, and you'll immediately regain half the power you have cultivated over the years. As long as you take me as your master and work hard to find materials in the future, leveling up will be a piece of cake!"

A voice carrying a faint air of bragging reached Tang San's ears, stirring his heart with excitement.

He had just watched the Old Woman raise her hand and transform what had been an inanimate little plant into a lively, bouncing pill. Tang San could not help but admire her.

Joy showed on his face, but Tang San still pondered, "With this Senior's strength, killing me would be effortless. Yet she has not done so, and she has even helped me recover my power. I can take her as my master. If she treats me wholeheartedly, then one day, when I rule the world, I will let her enjoy a peaceful old age."

"Xiao San, time to take your medicine."