Purple Sun Pill (Seeking Follow-up Reads, Meow)

"Alright then, you continue your seclusion; I'm going out for a stroll."

Xiao Yulü nodded without further questioning and turned back to his room. It seemed he intended not to emerge until he had broken through to level 15.

Xiao Yan watched him close the door and his silhouette vanish before turning, heading downstairs, and stepping onto the bustling streets of Shrek City.

His goal was clear: first, to search for fire-attributed items that could be integrated into the Burning Technique. If he could encounter beast fire, earth fire, or even high-quality fire-attributed treasures, he would try to see if they could be merged into the technique.

Second, he needed to prepare for alchemy.

An elder of the Xiao Clan had once given Xiao Yan a century-old Crimson Flame Herb. With the help of a Calm-Qi Root, the medicinal pill refined from it had pushed him from level 5 to level 10 in one go, with even some medicinal power to spare.

If he could find main ingredients of the same or even higher grade, combined with his increasingly refined alchemy skills, he would surely achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Shrek City was truly worthy of being the center of the continent; the luxury of its commercial district far exceeded Xiao Yan's imagination.

He hadn't walked far before his gaze was drawn to a pharmacy. The shop was luxuriously decorated, and the interior was extremely spacious and bright.

He stepped inside and discovered that behind the tall medicine cabinets at the entrance, there was even more space—a space that didn't look like a pharmacy at all, but rather an auction house.

The aisles on both sides were empty, with only two or three figures present. In the center of the aisle stood magnificent glass display cases, inside which were jade boxes used to protect precious medicinal herbs.

Xiao Yan's gaze swept over these jade boxes one by one. Soon, in one of the specialized cabinets, he saw several small flowers, purple all over, with a faint halo flowing over their petals.

"Purple Sun Flower."

Xiao Yan's heart stirred. This item, like the Crimson Flame Herb, was a fire-attributed herb. Judging by its quality, it was also a century-level spiritual herb, and its medicinal power was even purer than that of the Crimson Flame Herb.

However, the price was simply too expensive.

Below the glass display case was a small card indicating the price.

"Three-hundred-year Purple Sun Flower, three hundred Gold Soul Coins per stalk."

Xiao Yan looked a few more times before finally turning away, reluctant to leave.

There was no help for it; he really didn't have much money.

One Gold Soul Coin was equal to ten Silver Soul Coins, which in turn equaled one hundred Copper Soul Coins. Xiao Yan only had a few Silver Soul Coins on him—the living expenses the elder had given him for Shrek Academy, which was essentially just meal money.

With no other choice, Xiao Yan spent the next half-day wandering through other shops in the East District.

In a Soul Tool shop, soul tools that could assist a fire-attributed martial soul in outputting soul power cost thousands of Gold Soul Coins at every turn. In a materials shop, a palm-sized, century-old fire-attributed soul beast skull had an asking price of five hundred.

Xiao Yan even saw, in the display window of a shop for rare treasures, a dark red flame about the size of a grain of rice sealed within a transparent crystal. Its label read: "Earth Core Fire Seed (three thousand Gold Soul Coins)."

Xiao Yan stared at the window for a long time until the setting sun stretched his shadow long, only then dragging his heavy feet back, reluctant to leave.

Sigh, to have all the theory and technique but no resources—there were countless things that made his mouth water, but...

He had no money.

When he returned to the Cloud Arrival Inn, it was already near dusk.

Xiao Yan pushed open his bedroom door listlessly, preparing to get on the bed and meditate, using cultivation to numb himself and escape this stifling mood.

However, the moment he entered the room, Xiao Yan froze.

There, resting quietly on his desk, was a money pouch.

It was a bulging money pouch, identical to the one he had seen yesterday belonging to Xiao Yulü.

No, it should be said that this was that very pouch.

Xiao Yan picked up the pouch to examine it, only to discover a note pressed down beside it.

He picked up the note and looked closely; it was a line left by Xiao Yulü.

"I know you don't have much money. When you go out shopping, there will surely be things you take a fancy to but can't afford."

"Big brother has to go into seclusion to cultivate and can't help you buy them, so just take my money pouch and spend it. Consider it my treat."

"Don't feel bad about the money. Once you've used it up, I'll contact the elders and have them send more."

"--Xiao Yulü"

Xiao Yan's movements stalled. His hand tightened, and the note was crushed and crumpled.

He stood there for a long while, suddenly feeling a bit amused.

The youth ignited a flame in his hand, burning the note to ashes. Immediately after, he picked up the heavy money pouch; its weight made the youth narrow his eyes.

He reached inside to probe, only to discover that the space within was even more vast than it appeared.

He hadn't expected Xiao Yulü's money pouch to be a storage soul tool as well.

This kid...

He didn't take much, just five hundred Gold Soul Coins, which made his pocket look quite bulky.

Afterward, the youth left the inn once more.

--

Midnight.

Xiao Yulü's cultivation gradually stalled. His body was filled with soul power, yet he could find no way to break through.

"Hoo... clearly I have accumulated much, yet it is difficult to break through. Where exactly is the gap?"

"Is it because I have stagnated for too long, losing that sharp edge, that I have remained stuck?"

After pondering for a long time without finding a clue, Xiao Yulü simply walked out of his room and onto the balcony, intending to clear his mind.

However, the balcony was as bright as day.

Xiao Yulü widened his eyes, only to see a raging inferno burning fiercely on the balcony. Beside the flames stood a lean figure and a golden dragon shadow.

It was Xiao Yan and the Little Fire Dragon.

At this moment, it was the critical stage of alchemy.

After several failures, Xiao Yan had finally refined the medicinal ingredients into liquid form once more. Now was the time to add the most crucial main ingredient—the Red Sun Flower!

There was only this one portion of ingredients; failure was absolutely not an option!

Xiao Yan had stubbornly refined a batch of inferior pills using substitute materials first, specifically to ensure that this three-hundred-year-old Red Sun Flower would not be wasted.

Xiao Yulü watched as the medicinal ingredients within the flames gradually turned into liquid, merging with the other materials, and then, under the catalysis of the fire, slowly condensed into individual pills.

By this step, Xiao Yan's soul power was already somewhat depleted, his face turning deathly pale, while the Little Fire Dragon was also exhausted, lying flat on the ground.

"Whew... once the pill is formed, I shall call you... Purple Sun Pill."

Xiao Yan placed the Purple Sun Pill into a porcelain bottle, affixed a special label, and set it alongside the batch of inferior Purple Sun Pills he had refined earlier.

Finishing the alchemy, Xiao Yan picked up the Little Fire Dragon, intending to return to his room to rest, only to see the youth standing at the top of the stairs, staring at him in a daze.

He suddenly felt a wave of awkwardness.

"Ahem... why aren't you resting so late? How is your cultivation going?"

Xiao Yan cleared his throat and then asked, feigning calmness.

"It's alright. Xiao Yan, I didn't expect you to know alchemy."

"Just a little, just a little."

Xiao Yan waved his hand and draped an arm around the other's neck:

"By the way, you are currently in a bottleneck period, aren't you?"

"...Yes."

Xiao Yulü nodded, not intending to hide it.

"Heh."

Xiao Yan chuckled softly, then shoved the porcelain bottle containing a full supply of Purple Sun Pills into Xiao Yulü's hand.

"Take it, but eat them sparingly."

Xiao Yulü looked up abruptly, staring at Xiao Yan in utter disbelief.

Xiao Yan nodded, patted his shoulder once more, then walked down the stairs and returned to his own room without another word.

He left Xiao Yulü behind, staring blankly at his retreating back.