Pill Storm!

"What do we do, Patriarch?"

"What else can we do? Take it!"

A vicious glint flashed through Jia Lie Bi's eyes.

"We absolutely cannot let the Xiao Family monopolize it!

Especially that Xiao Yan. That brat's talent is too terrifying. If he gains even more power, where will we have room to stand in Wutan City?

Send word out. Gather our funds. At this auction, we'll fight the Xiao Family to the bitter end!"

The news did not stop at Wutan City.

Black Rock City, Alchemist Guild.

As a branch of the Jia Ma Empire, this place usually carried an air of pride.

But today, that pride had been shattered by an invitation from Wutan City.

Guild President Frank sat behind a broad desk, holding the gilded invitation with a deep frown.

Vice President Otto wore an equally strange expression.

"What do you think, old man?

In a little place like Wutan City, someone actually managed to refine a third-tier pill like the Yuan-Coagulating Pill, one that has never appeared in the Jia Ma Empire?"

"This is the first time I've even heard the name Yuan-Coagulating Pill."

Frank tapped his fingers against the desk.

"Either the advertisement is exaggerating, or..."

"Or a master with extraordinary attainments in alchemy is living in seclusion in Wutan City."

Otto picked up the thought, a sharp gleam flashing through his eyes.

"Interesting."

Frank rose to his feet and straightened his robe.

"I've been bored out of my mind lately anyway. Why not go take a look? We can also meet this expert capable of refining such a pill."

A storm sparked by several bottles of pills was gathering around the Miteer Auction House.

Yet Lu Heng, the instigator at the center of the storm, had locked himself in the alchemy room, wrestling with a cauldron of medicinal liquid.

Miteer Auction House, premium appraisal room.

The soundproofing here was excellent. Even though chaos raged outside, the room was still so quiet that only breathing could be heard.

Gu Ni held a jade bottle as though he were cradling a newborn infant. His slightly clouded old eyes now shone with a light as dazzling as searchlamps.

"This color... this scent..."

Gu Ni carefully pulled out the stopper. With only one breath of the escaping medicinal fragrance, he felt the long-dormant Dou Qi within him stir with renewed vigor.

"This is absolutely top-grade! No, peerless grade!"

Trembling, Gu Ni shoved the stopper back in, afraid that even a trace of the medicine's potency might escape.

"Miss, tell me honestly. Which master refined these Yuan-Gathering Pills?

With this extraction method and this control of the heat, I am ashamed to admit that I cannot compare!"

Ya Fei sat in the soft chair opposite him, holding a cup of black tea with her trademark professional fake smile.

"Uncle Gu Ni, please stop asking." Ya Fei took a small sip of tea, her tone mysterious.

"That master has a very strange temperament and does not like being disturbed.

He was willing to consign these pills to us only because... cough, because he was giving me some face."

"Giving you face?"

Gu Ni froze for a moment, then revealed an enlightened expression tinged with ambiguity.

"Oh... I understand, I understand. Our Ya Fei's charm is unmatched. Even an alchemy master cannot escape a beauty's allure."

Ya Fei nearly sprayed out her tea.

She could only smile awkwardly, while inwardly raging, What alchemy master? He's just an eleven-year-old little bastard! Though he really is unable to escape a beauty's allure!

"However..."

Gu Ni changed the subject, his brows knitting slightly.

"Have the third-tier Yuan-Coagulating Pills not been delivered yet? The auction is only two days away. If we cannot produce the goods by then, the Miteer Auction House's reputation will..."

"Don't worry."

Ya Fei set down her teacup, her tone firm. "Since the master promised, he will definitely deliver them. Don't you trust me?"

Gu Ni sighed.

"It isn't that I don't trust you, Miss. It's just that I have never even heard of this pill anywhere in the Jia Ma Empire. I'm simply too curious."

At that moment, Ya Fei felt the floor beneath her feet tremble faintly.

It was an extremely subtle energy fluctuation. Ordinary people might not have noticed it, but Gu Ni, as a Dou Master, abruptly rose to his feet and looked uncertainly toward the auction house's rear courtyard.

"This fluctuation... Someone is forming a pill? And with such a commotion, it has to be at least a third-tier pill!" Gu Ni said in shock. "That master is in the rear courtyard?"

Ya Fei's heart skipped a beat.

Oh no. Lu Heng had made too much of a disturbance.

"Uncle Gu Ni!"

Ya Fei hurriedly stood up and blocked Gu Ni as he tried to head outside, her face instantly turning serious.

"The master is at a critical stage of pill refinement. The greatest taboo is being disturbed. You're an alchemist, so you should know that rule best, right?"

Gu Ni halted, shame appearing on his face. "I was reckless. You're right, he absolutely must not be disturbed now."

Ya Fei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, cold sweat already covering her back.

If Gu Ni rushed in and discovered that the so-called "master" was actually Lu Heng, who usually wandered around right under his nose, things would become very interesting.

Xiao Family Back Mountain, a secluded bamboo grove.

A cool breeze passed through, making the bamboo leaves rustle.

A young girl in a pale green dress sat on a stone bench, holding the Miteer Auction House flyer.

She possessed a cool, ethereal temperament, like a green lotus. Yet a trace of surprise flashed through her star-like eyes.

"Yuan-Gathering Pill, Yuan-Coagulating Pill..." Xiao Xun'er softly repeated the two names, a playful curve appearing on her lips.

"Elder Ling."

"Young Miss."

A black shadow emerged from the shade of the trees like a ghost. It was Ling Ying.

"In a remote place like Wutan City, pills with such effects have actually appeared?"

Xiao Xun'er placed the flyer on the stone table and gently brushed her fingers over the line of red lettering.

"Though their grades are not particularly high, their effects strike directly at the heart of what cultivators need. Whoever can refine pills like these is no simple person."

Ling Ying spoke in a low voice.

"Young Miss, I investigated it. These pills appeared at the Miteer Auction House without warning.

That woman Ya Fei keeps her mouth tightly shut, saying only that they were consigned by a mysterious master.

However, I sensed that there has indeed been a rather strong fire-attribute fluctuation in the auction house's rear courtyard lately."

"A mysterious master?" Xiao Xun'er gently shook her head.

"Perhaps.

Brother Xiao Yan has just broken through to the Dou Zhe realm. These Yuan-Gathering Pills would be useful to him.

Although the family has prepared plenty of resources, if these pills truly have remarkable effects, they could save him much time in arduous cultivation."

She did not lack high-tier pills. Even a fingernail-sized fragment of the Ancient Clan's foundation could crush the entire Jia Ma Empire.

But for Xiao Yan as he was now, pills of too high a grade would instead be more than he could handle.

Second-tier and third-tier pills like these were just right.

"Elder Ling."

Xiao Xun'er rose to her feet and smoothed her skirt.

"Since these pills have appeared, do not let them fall into anyone else's hands.

The three great families will surely fight madly over them, but it would not be convenient for us to act openly."

"I understand." Ling Ying replied respectfully.

"I will arrange personnel. No matter the price, we will secure one of each."

"They are not only for Brother Xiao Yan."

Xiao Xun'er looked into the distance, wisdom gleaming in her eyes.

"I am also curious why a little Wutan City has produced pills with such effects."

At that moment, inside Lu Heng's secret chamber.

Within the Crimson Medicine Cauldron before Lu Heng, a fist-sized mass of greenish-red liquid churned violently, as though a wild beast were ramming about inside, trying to break free of the flames' restraints.

"Condense for me!"