Xiao Yan Refines Pills

Xiao Yan took out all the ingredients recorded on the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid pill formula from his Storage Ring. "Three stalks of Purple Leaf Orchid Grass, two Bone Washing Flowers, and one wood-element Level One Magic Core."

The Magic Core was even still stained with flecks of blood. Clearly, it had only been removed from a Magical Beast not long ago—to be more precise, it was one Xiao Yan had hunted himself that very morning.

As the necessary energy source for Alchemy, every round of pill refining required a Magic Core, and Magic Cores came from Magical Beasts.

Every morning, aside from supervising the clan disciples' morning training and cultivation, Xiao Yan patrolled the marketplace he had established with Xun Er. After lunch, he would usually head into the forest and wilderness to search for medicinal herbs and hunt Magical Beasts. At night, he went to the Back Mountain to train in Combat Techniques and cultivate Dou Qi.

He had done this day after day for ten years.

This was not only because Xiao Yan possessed the talent of an alchemist, but also because the Storage Ring held a vast collection of pill formulas, from First-grade Pill formulas all the way up to Tier 8 Medicinal Pill formulas, providing him with every condition he needed for Alchemy.

Pill formulas, Alchemy techniques, the Compendium of Materia Medica, Alchemy insights—these things took up more than half of the Storage Ring. Xiao Yan had spent a full ten years just to finish reading them.

But finishing them was one thing. Whether he had understood them was another matter entirely.

In truth, when Xiao Yan had picked up the pill from the ground that morning and known it was Qi Gathering Powder with a single sniff, that had already proven he possessed rather substantial knowledge of medicinal pills.

It was just that Xiao Yan's Aura in the Xiao Clan was far too dazzling. On top of that, even the Great Elder knew of Qi Gathering Powder, so no one questioned whether a fourteen-year-old boy should have known it was Qi Gathering Powder in the first place.

Even Xun Er and Xiao Zhan had not thought in that direction. They only assumed Xiao Yan might have learned about Qi Gathering Powder somewhere.

An hour later, with a boom, the Magic Core's energy inside the pill furnace suddenly surged. Terrifying heat swept through the furnace and instantly burned all the herbs still being purified into ash.

The Alchemy had failed.

"Sigh, this Tier 2 Pill is way too difficult." Xiao Yan wiped the soot from his face, looking utterly helpless. Covered in dust and grime, without a teacher to guide him, even Xiao Yan was still nothing more than a novice at Alchemy.

"It took me three years just to master refining First-grade Pills. My speed is far too slow."

If other alchemists heard that, they would probably strangle Xiao Yan to death. Reaching the level of a first-grade alchemist in only three years without a teacher—this talent was even greater than his cultivation talent.

Xiao Yan took out a second set of ingredients and continued refining. To put it bluntly, Alchemy was just like fighting monsters to level up. It was a process of constantly accumulating experience.

After Xiao Yan reached Dou Zhe, whenever he picked herbs in the wilderness or bought cheap medicinal herbs from the marketplace, he refined them as long as he could gather enough ingredients.

By the time Xiao Yan had completely exhausted his Dou Qi, he still had not managed to refine the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid.

"My Dou Qi is still too weak. Using Dou Qi to turn into Flame for Alchemy is far too inefficient."

Just as Xiao Yan was preparing to put the pill furnace back into the Storage Ring and begin cultivating Dou Qi, a powerful Soul Power suddenly descended. Not only did it seal off the entire room, it also locked Xiao Yan's whole body firmly in place, completely immobilizing him.

"Jie jie, I heard that a genius youth surnamed Xiao appeared in this remote Jia Ma Empire. I didn't expect him to really be a big fish. The Xiao Clan's inheritance is actually in such a remote place."

A Black Robed Man, his entire body wrapped in a black robe, appeared before Xiao Yan like a Ghost. With a light hook of his finger, the Storage Ring on Xiao Yan's hand flew over to him.

"Give. It. Back!" Xiao Yan glared with furious eyes, his whole body's Dou Qi circulating as he tried to break free of the restraint, but before the Black Robed Man, Xiao Yan's strength was nothing more than a mayfly trying to shake a tree.

The Black Robed Man ignored Xiao Yan's rage. If not for certain misgivings, Xiao Yan would already be a corpse.

The Black Robed Man lightly touched the Storage Ring with a finger, and everything inside poured out in an instant. His powerful Soul Power wrapped around every item. Amid the dead objects filling the air—Skill and Combat Technique manuals, pill formulas, and the like—there was a single "living thing."

A mysterious white Flame that emitted Cold Qi.

That cluster of Flame had been sealed inside the Storage Ring, and it was also the thing Xiao Yan valued most.

Bone Chiling Flame, ranked eleventh on the Heavenly Flames ranking.

Just the descriptions in the books had been enough for Xiao Yan to understand its preciousness and terror.

That was the goal of countless alchemists across the continent! Waves of Dou Qi and Soul Power erupted from Xiao Yan's body as he desperately battered against the seal. Even with blood spilling from the corner of his mouth and his body nearly unable to endure it, he did not care.

"Hm? This isn't the Xiao Clan's inheritance?"

The Black Robed Man's Soul Power swiftly searched through every item, especially jade-pendant-like objects, which he checked again and again. But what left him puzzled was that, after his inspection, none of the things inside actually belonged to the Xiao Clan. The Skills and Combat Techniques were not the Combat Techniques and Skills possessed by the Xiao Clan he knew.

He had originally heard from his subordinates that there was a Xiao Clan in Wutan City, and that a genius youth had even appeared there, his reputation already spreading to the Royal Capital of the Jia Ma Empire. That was why he had made this trip personally.

This was also partly the fault of Nalan Yanran's grandfather, Nalan Jie. He had been very satisfied with Xiao Yan's cultivation talent, and had often boasted in the Royal Capital that he had a genius son-in-law surnamed Xiao.

Only, he had never expected that when the two words "Xiao" and "genius" were combined, they would bring down such a disaster.

The Black Robed Man frowned deeply as he looked at Xiao Yan, who was desperately struggling at the side. Because Xiao Yan had overdrawn his Soul Power, bloody tears had begun seeping from the corners of his eyes.

Without leaving a trace, the Black Robed Man glanced toward the room where Xun Er was. His Soul Power covertly swept over everyone in the entire Territory of the Xiao Clan except for Xun Er, but in the end, he still did not find what he wanted.

The Black Robed Man clicked his tongue and released the soul restraint. Grabbing Xiao Yan by the throat with one hand, he asked in a sinister voice, "Kid, tell me where the Ancient Jade is, or I'll wipe out your entire Xiao Clan."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Give the Bone Chiling Flame back to me!" Xiao Yan continuously used Eight Extremities Collapse to attack. Yet the Eight Extremities Collapse that had defeated Nalan Yanran in one move could not even tear the Black Robed Man's clothes.

This terrifying gap in strength made Xiao Yan understand that the Black Robed Man before him was likely above Dou Ling, perhaps even beyond Dou Wang!

"Bone Chiling Flame? This trash Heavenly Flame?" The Black Robed Man flicked his finger lightly. The Bone Chiling Flame, ranked eleventh on the Heavenly Flames ranking and coveted by countless alchemists, was toyed with in his palm like a child's plaything.

The Black Robed Man smiled faintly and tempted him. "Kid, tell me where the Ancient Jade is, and I can teach you Alchemy."

When Xiao Yan saw the Bone Chiling Flame being toyed with in the Black Robed Man's palm, he had already given up struggling. Xiao Yan was not stupid. He understood that the Black Robed Man's strength had probably far exceeded his understanding, and the reason he had not killed him was likely because he had some misgivings.

Seeing that Xiao Yan no longer struggled, the Black Robed Man let go. In truth, he was also afraid Xiao Yan would die. If that person had really left some method on Xiao Yan, then he would be in danger as well.

Xiao Yan noticed this too. The Black Robed Man had been using Soul Power the entire time and did not dare use even the slightest bit of Dou Qi, as if he was afraid his Dou Qi would leak out.

Xiao Yan regained his usual calm and said in an icy tone, "You've seen everything I own. I don't know what this Ancient Jade you're talking about is. And you don't have the qualifications to teach me Alchemy."

The Black Robed Man seemed to have heard the greatest joke in the world. "Jie jie! No qualifications? No qualifications! I, Hun Xuzi, don't have the qualifications to teach someone Alchemy?!"