Xiao Yun

This vast complex belonging to the Alchemy Hall was built after Xiao Zhan specifically ordered a large area within the clan to be partitioned for the Xiao Clan's alchemists. Do not be fooled by its somewhat remote location; there is a method to this madness.

Because there is an active Earth Fire vein beneath this area, drawing Earth Fire from the underground vein to the surface to serve as a heat source for alchemy is an essential requirement for constructing an alchemy room.

"Young Master Yan!"

The guards at the entrance bowed in greeting the moment they saw Xiao Yan, the most prominent figure in the clan.

Xiao Yan nodded indifferently and led the two little girls into the Alchemy Hall. As soon as he entered the inner courtyard, he caught a faint, peculiar fragrance that was a mixture of medicinal herbs and pills.

Xiao Yan smiled faintly; this was a familiar scent.

Xiao Yan strolled into the building with Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin, seeing alchemist apprentices slightly older than him communicating and moving about. The apprentices all nodded to Xiao Yan in acknowledgment; there was no such thing as a brainless villain appearing to mock him. After all, in the strictly governed Xiao Clan, if anyone didn't recognize the young master of the main family, they would have been beaten to death by Xiao Zhan's orders long ago, so they wouldn't have lived this long.

"Young Master Yan."

At this moment, a sharp-witted alchemist apprentice stepped forward to greet him.

"Mm, take me to Elder Xiao Yun." Xiao Yan glanced at the person before him and said.

"Yes, Young Master Yan, this way."

Seeing that he had been given a task by Xiao Yan, the apprentice hurriedly led the way with excitement.

"Elder Xiao Yun is currently refining pills inside and has ordered that no one is to disturb him."

The apprentice stopped in front of a closed alchemy room; the sound of flames fluttering from within clearly indicated that someone was refining pills.

"Mm, you may go." Xiao Yan waved his hand.

"Yes, Young Master Yan." The apprentice's joy was evident on his face.

Xiao Yan pushed open the doors to the alchemy room, and a wave of heat rushed toward them.

"Cough, cough." Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin coughed, unable to adapt to the temperature.

Xiao Yan chuckled at the sight and waved his long robe, isolating the heat wave from those behind him.

Xiao Yan looked toward the center of the room, where a disheveled middle-aged man was obsessively controlling the Earth Cauldron on a platform connected to the underground Earth Fire.

Xiao Yun nimbly manipulated the flames within the Earth Cauldron on the stone platform, constantly controlling the fire to fuse the medicinal herbs inside. Finally, at the last step of pill fusion, with a "bang," the Earth Cauldron exploded.

"That shouldn't be right, this is my seventh time refining it!"

Xiao Yun reached up to scratch his messy hair, looking distressed.

"Elder Xiao Yun."

Seeing Xiao Yun stop his movements, Xiao Yi Xian called out.

"Oh, it's Xiao Yi Xian. Did you finish the medicine I prepared for you the day before yesterday so quickly? I don't have time to prepare medicine for you today."

Xiao Yun turned around and saw the three of them, speaking to Xiao Yi Xian before he finally noticed the others in the room.

"It's not that, I'm not here for medicine today, it's Brother Xiao Yan." Xiao Yi Xian tugged at Xiao Yan beside her.

"Young Master Yan, you've returned from your training?"

Xiao Yun looked at Xiao Yan beside Xiao Yi Xian in a daze.

"..." Xiao Yan.

"Elder Xiao Yun, Brother Xiao Yan has been back for almost three months now."

Xiao Yi Xian covered her mouth and giggled at the elder, who seemed even more muddled than Qing Lin usually was.

"Hehe, Young Master Yan."

Xiao Yun finally reacted and hurriedly stood up to offer his greetings.

Perhaps it is because of this focus that he was able to advance from an alchemist apprentice to a Tier 3 Alchemist in less than five years. Moreover, looking at his current state, he seems to have reached the peak of the Tier 3 Alchemist realm, only a step away from the Tier 4 Alchemist realm, Xiao Yan thought to himself.

Let me give him a push.

"Elder Xiao Yun, do you want to know why you failed when you were refining the Green Spirit Pill just now?"

The moment Xiao Yan spoke, he firmly captured Xiao Yun's attention.

"Young Master Yan, you know why?" Xiao Yun said, eagerly stepping forward to grab the corner of Xiao Yan's robe.

"Oh, that's right. After all, Young Master Yan is a disciple of that master who gives us lectures, so he must be extremely proficient in alchemy."

Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Yun, who was gazing at him with such longing, and found it amusing.

"Elder Xiao Yun, the reason you failed just now while refining the Green Spirit Pill is mainly because you didn't invest enough soul power during the final fusion step, causing your technique to warp, and ultimately, the medicinal herbs didn't fuse harmoniously."

"Also, I noticed that the technique you were using suggests you were trying to refine a Two-Pattern Green Spirit Pill, but the quality of the fire you prepared is too poor."

Xiao Yan looked at the two flames in the Earth Cauldron; one was a pale yellow flame that should have been the Earth Fire drawn from beneath the room, and the other was a dark red flame that seemed to have been extracted from a Tier 3 Magical Beast.

"To refine a Two-Pattern Green Spirit Pill, you must prepare two distinct types of flames. The beast fire you prepared is passable, but that Earth Fire simply drawn from the underground vein won't do."

"If the fire's power is impure, it will inevitably lead to instability when fusing the pill."

"So that's it, so that's it." Xiao Yun clapped his hands in sudden realization.

"But how can I solve this problem? I don't have any extra, different types of flames on hand right now." Xiao Yun said, looking troubled.

"You don't have any, but I do."

Xiao Yan smiled faintly and extended his right hand.

With a whoosh, a cyan-gold flame lotus appeared in Xiao Yan's palm, rotating slowly.

The moment the Heavenly Flame appeared, the two flames inside the Earth Cauldron in Xiao Yun's alchemy room instantly flattened, as if bowing in submission to the Heavenly Flame in Xiao Yan's hand.

"Th-this is? When the Heavenly Flame emerges, ten thousand fires bow! This is a Heavenly Flame!"

Noticing all of this, Xiao Yun's expression turned to one of shock.

"I have only seen this sight when that lord gave us a lecture using a bone-white nameless Heavenly Flame. I never expected that you, being that lord's disciple, would also possess a Heavenly Flame."

Xiao Yun looked at the cyan-gold flame burning quietly in Xiao Yan's hand with envy. This was a Heavenly Flame, the dream of every alchemist on the Dou Qi Continent.

Xiao Yan was clearly satisfied with Xiao Yun's reaction and nodded faintly. However, he did not know that his actions just now had caused great trouble for some people. In the alchemy rooms next door, several alchemists were jumping up and down, cursing in frustration.

Those who had already finished their alchemy were fine, but several alchemists who were still refining pills suddenly found that they had lost control of the flames in their hands for a split second. The consequence of an alchemist losing control of their flame was that the nearly-formed pills suddenly exploded, and everything was ruined.

The few alchemists looked at what was before them, wanting to cry but having no tears, thinking that today's Earth Fire was truly possessed. Poor, poor pills!