Cultivation, Alchemy, Marrow Cleansing Pill

Xiao Yan returned to his room, shut the door tight, and plopped down onto his bed.

"Teacher, did you see anything unusual about that guy today?"

Yao Lao drifted out from the Storage Ring, hovering in mid-air with a complex expression on his face.

"That kid doesn't have an ordinary constitution."

Xiao Yan was stunned and hurriedly asked, "In what way is it not ordinary?"

Yao Lao remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "If my eyes didn't deceive me, he should possess the legendary Innate Medicine Body."

"Innate Medicine Body?"

"A constitution that has long since gone extinct." Yao Lao sighed, "I only saw it in an ancient text, a book at least ten thousand years old. It stated that those with an Innate Medicine Body are born with a natural talent for alchemy; they achieve twice the result with half the effort. And this constitution has the most monstrous trait of all!"

He paused, "Whatever level their cultivation reaches, they automatically become an Alchemist of the corresponding grade. No need to study, no need to practice—once they reach that level, they simply are."

Xiao Yan's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"There's such a good thing as that??!"

"Otherwise, why do you think he became a third-grade Alchemist at only fifteen years old in such a remote place?" Yao Lao shook his head, "If someone like this focuses solely on the path of alchemy, their future achievements will be limitless. To be honest, I even considered taking him as a disciple."

Xiao Yan fell silent for a long time after hearing this.

Finally, he squeezed out a sentence: "Teacher, are you implying that I'm stupid?"

Yao Lao laughed and scolded, "Get lost."

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

During the first three days, Ye Xiu spent a small fortune to acquire one low-tier Xuan-grade Dou Technique and several high-tier Huang-grade Dou Techniques to practice. Although the power of these techniques didn't catch his eye, having something was better than nothing, so they were passable.

For the last two days, Ye Xiu sat cross-legged on the ground in the backyard, focusing entirely on his cultivation.

The surrounding area had become as hot as a steamer.

Ye Xiu kept his eyes closed, his Dou Qi rippling outward in circles. At first, it was a normal red, but slowly, the red deepened until it was almost turning gold.

The blue bricks on the ground cracked, and heat began to rise from the fissures.

The sweat that broke out on Ye Xiu's forehead was evaporated the moment it appeared.

He had been sitting like this for two days and one night.

The Dou Qi in his Dantian accumulated more and more, like an inflating balloon.

Ye Xiu gritted his teeth, bit by bit forcing the Dou Qi in his Dantian back down, then releasing it, pressing it back, and releasing it again. He repeated this over and over, as if he were kneading dough.

He struggled like this for the better part of the day, and the sky was nearly dark.

Suddenly—

BOOM!

An aura more than twice as strong as before exploded from his body. The stone slabs in the courtyard shattered into pieces, and the small tree was uprooted entirely, flying off to slam against the wall.

Ye Xiu opened his eyes.

He looked down at his hands and clenched his fists; the sense of power made him grin uncontrollably.

"I've just about touched the threshold of a Dou Ling."

He was only a tiny bit away; in another ten days or half a month, he would be able to step across it steadily.

He stood up from the ground and stretched his limbs, his entire body popping and cracking.

"Alright, time to get to work."

For the next two days, Ye Xiu locked himself in his room to refine medicine.

The Five-Hole Medicine Cauldron sat on the floor, and the fire never went out.

The first batch: third-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill.

This stuff could cleanse the marrow and improve one's aptitude; it was the kind of good treasure that large clans used to give their direct descendants a head start. One pill could turn a piece of trash into a minor genius.

Ye Xiu refined three batches in one go, producing three pills per batch.

A total of nine pills.

He kept three for himself and planned to sell the remaining six.

The second batch: second-grade Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid.

This stuff was slightly inferior to the Marrow Cleansing Pill, but it was still a good item, mainly used by those below the Dou Zhe level to help stabilize their foundation. Ye Xiu refined it as if it were child's play, producing two portions of liquid from one set of herbs.

After counting them up, there were thirteen portions in total.

He kept three for himself and planned to sell the remaining ten.

With everything packed into his Storage Ring, Ye Xiu changed into clean clothes and headed out toward the Miteer Auction House.

The auction house remained the same as ever, with people coming and going, bustling with activity.

Ye Xiu had just walked through the main entrance and hadn't even had time to head toward the counter when he saw a woman in a red dress hurrying down the stairs.

Ya Fei.

She was dressed even more beautifully than that day; the red long dress cinched her waist tightly, and the neckline was slightly open, revealing a patch of fair, snowy skin. Her hair was pinned up, and two small pendants hung from her ears, swaying as she walked.

The moment she saw Ye Xiu, the smile on her face bloomed like a flower.

"Senior Ye Xiu!" She walked up to him in a few steps, her voice so soft it could almost drip water. "You've finally arrived. I've been looking forward to your visit every single day."

Ye Xiu glanced at her. "What were you looking forward to me for?"

Ya Fei wasn't the least bit embarrassed, smiling as she said, "Looking forward to you teaching me a lesson, of course. I was ignorant last time; I went back and thought about it for three days, and the more I thought, the stupider I felt. If you didn't come back, I wouldn't be able to get past it in my heart."

As she spoke, she leaned in closer to Ye Xiu, and a wave of fragrance drifted over.

"Are you here to buy or sell something today, Senior? Whatever it is, would you let me accompany you?"

Ye Xiu looked at her smiling face and suddenly remembered how she had stood in the courtyard that day, her face deathly pale after being scolded by him.

It had only been a few days, and she was already full of life again.

This woman certainly had thick skin.

"I'm here to sell some medicinal pills," Ye Xiu said.

Ya Fei's eyes lit up. "Refined by you, Senior? Then they must be excellent! Please, follow me to the VIP room upstairs!"

She finished speaking and reached out to grab Ye Xiu's arm, but halfway there, she retracted her hand and switched to a gesture of invitation.

However, her eyes remained glued to Ye Xiu's face.

Third-floor VIP room.

It was the same room, but this time, it was Ya Fei herself serving the tea.

She bent over to place the teacup in front of Ye Xiu, her neckline hanging loosely; from Ye Xiu's angle, he could see a glimpse of something.

Ye Xiu didn't dodge, nor did he stare; he simply took the cup in a normal fashion and took a sip.

A flash of disappointment crossed Ya Fei's eyes.

But she quickly adjusted, sat down beside him, placed her hands on her knees, and looked at Ye Xiu with a smile. "What medicinal pills are you selling today, Senior?"

Ye Xiu took two jade boxes from his Storage Ring and placed them on the table.

"Third-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill, six pieces. Second-grade Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, ten portions."

Ya Fei was stunned for a moment.

"Th... third-grade?"

She hurriedly opened the first jade box. Inside lay three pills the size of dragon eyes, round and smooth, with a faint fragrance wafting out.

Ya Fei took a deep breath, closed the box, and looked at Ye Xiu with even brighter eyes.

"Senior, although I cannot appraise these pills myself, I can tell they are excellent just by their quality. What do you think would be an appropriate starting price?"

Ye Xiu thought for a moment. "Let's go by market price. Three Marrow Cleansing Pills, starting bid at thirty thousand. Each portion of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, starting bid at five thousand."

Ya Fei nodded, immediately called the manager from outside the door, and gave a few instructions.

Once the manager left, she sat back down next to Ye Xiu.

"Senior, are you truly no longer angry about what happened last time?"

Ye Xiu glanced at her. "When did I say I was angry?"

Ya Fei was startled, then her face blossomed into a smile. "So, that day, you were... testing me, Senior?"

Ye Xiu didn't speak; he picked up his teacup and took another sip.

Ya Fei leaned toward Ye Xiu until her arm was almost touching his, her voice dropping low. "Don't worry, Senior, I will certainly be sensible from now on. If you have any instructions, just say the word. Anything I can do, I will definitely handle it perfectly for you."

Ye Xiu turned to look at her.

She looked back at him, her eyes sparkling, her lips slightly pursed with a hint of a smile.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds.

"Enough." Ye Xiu set down his teacup. "Let's go down and watch the auction."

Ya Fei was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud.

"Alright, as you wish, Senior."

Ya Fei stood up.

"Senior, next time you come, I will brew you even better tea."