Rumors of Sacred Pill City!

A black giant tower stood in the center of a sprawling city that stretched for thousands of miles.

Two days had passed since Ye Yan met Xuan Yi and the other two.

During those two days, aside from feeling somewhat worried when he went to see Xuan Yi on the first day,

his mindset had now become quite calm.

In the courtyard Ye Yan rented,

space twisted like ocean waves before tearing open into a crack as tall as a person.

"Come!"

A gentle voice came from the other side of the rift.

Then, a pearly white stream of energy entered Ye Yan's body from the lightning art.

Ye Yan lowered his head for a glance but did not pay it any mind.

Without this thing, he would not have dared enter a spatial rift with his Dou Zhe cultivation.

After packing his belongings, Ye Yan casually informed Ye Jingheng before stepping into the spatial rift.

Ye Yan felt his vision go dark, while a layer of energy wrapped around his body and warded off the dangers within the rift.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw a quiet cultivation chamber.

Fire-attribute battle qi was exceptionally abundant in the room, and there was even an earth vent connected to an Earth Fire Vein that aided pill refinement.

Xuan Yi wore black robes, her hands resting before her abdomen as she looked at Ye Yan.

Since Ye Yan had been traveling directly between the courtyard and the Pill Tower lately, he naturally had not used the Thousand Illusion Bead.

"Disciple greets President Xuan Yi!"

Ye Yan cupped his fists.

"Over the past two days, I watched you refine pills. I found that your soul is powerful and your control over fire is passable, but your pill-refining techniques are rather unpresentable."

Xuan Yi bluntly pointed out the problems in Ye Yan's pill refinement.

Ye Yan nodded without arguing.

His pill-refining techniques had been taught by Ye Zhong, but how could Ye Zhong compare to the person before him?

"Please guide me, Teacher!" Ye Yan changed the way he addressed Xuan Yi.

Xuan Yi's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at this thick-skinned brat. Thinking of his possible identity, his extraordinary talent, and even that inexplicable sense of fondness,

her red lips parted as she said, "Not yet."

"Yes, President." Ye Yan's eyes lit up before he replied.

If it was not yet time, did that not mean they would become master and disciple when the time came?

One of the Three Great Heads of the Pill Tower, a future peak nine-star Battle Sovereign and peak eighth-tier alchemist, would become his master.

Damn, it looks like I really found myself a powerful backer!

Ye Yan spaced out for a moment.

Without needing Xuan Yi to say anything further, he took out his pill cauldron and began refining a pill before her.

Xuan Yi watched carefully from the side, seemingly trying to discern something from his techniques.

Yet even after watching again and again, she still could not see the shadow of anyone familiar in him.

Xuan Yi sighed inwardly and stepped forward to instruct Ye Yan in pill-refining techniques.

As an alchemist, one had to keep watch over the flames within the cauldron. Moreover, before one had formed their own system of pill refinement, one needed to strictly follow the pill formula.

The slightest lapse in soul power could turn an entire batch of pills to ash.

Refining first-tier pills was still manageable for Ye Yan now, but once he refined fifth-tier and above pills in the future, every ruined batch would be a loss.

"Pill refinement mainly consists of two steps: extraction and pill condensation."

With a slight lift of her brows, Xuan Yi saw through Ye Yan's current shortcomings.

"When extracting, you have not fully utilized the abilities of your soul perception. When condensing the pill, you also waste some medicinal potency..."

At the end, Xuan Yi frowned.

"Furthermore, judging from the foundation you have laid, your battle qi is far too scarce. It is not the amount of battle qi someone cultivating an earth-tier technique should possess."

"You... are not cultivating an earth-tier technique. It is not even a high-grade profound-tier technique!"

She was somewhat puzzled. Given the Ye Family's circumstances, they should not have been unable to provide even a high-grade profound-tier technique.

She had never considered that the Heaven-Burning Furnace Fire Art Ye Yan cultivated was only comparable to a mid-grade yellow-tier technique.

Perhaps she had never even encountered a yellow-tier technique in her life.

Ye Yan took out the somewhat shriveled Energy Storage Pill from the pill cauldron.

This Energy Storage Pill was more or less one of the most difficult first-tier pills to refine.

He had encountered some problems during pill condensation just now.

"Please offer your guidance, President."

Ye Yan rose and bowed to Xuan Yi.

Xuan Yi pondered for a moment. She had rarely taught anyone, so she could only demonstrate it herself once.

With Ye Yan's talent, he should be able to understand it at a glance.

Xuan Yi circulated the battle qi within her body, and pale blue flames appeared in her hand.

Rather than using the method of turning fire into a cauldron, she tossed the pale blue flames in her hand into her own pill cauldron.

"Watch carefully!"

"The most important things in pill refinement are the flame, the cauldron, soul perception, and the pill formula."

As Xuan Yi spoke, she took some herbs from beside Ye Yan and tossed them into the pill cauldron.

"Although your flame has not absorbed Beast Fire, it is stronger than the flames of ordinary Dou Shi. This is one of your advantages in pill refinement..."

Listening to Xuan Yi's instruction, Ye Yan firmly memorized every technique she used in pill refinement.

Seeing this, Xuan Yi deliberately slowed her pill refinement.

Seven or eight minutes later.

Xuan Yi withdrew the pale blue flames. With a sweep of her sleeve, the pill in the cauldron flew into her hand on its own.

"Try refining the Energy Storage Pill again. I will remind you whenever necessary to control the flame's temperature and extract the herbs' components."

"Yes!"

Just as Xuan Yi was teaching Ye Yan,

after several days, news had spread throughout Sacred Pill City that Xuan Yi, one of the Three Great Heads of the Pill Tower, might be accepting a disciple.

This news stirred many ambitious families into action, as they attempted to have their younger members become Xuan Yi's disciples.

Only Xuan Kongzi smiled when he heard this, his eyes full of amusement.

He was the one who had spread the news.

After anticipating that Xuan Yi would eventually take Ye Yan as her disciple and give him the Thousand Illusion Bead,

he discussed with Xuan Yi whether they should put some pressure on him. After reaching an agreement, he secretly spread the news.

However, no information such as a name, age, or appearance had been revealed.

Another five or six hours passed.

Within the Pill Tower's cultivation chamber, Ye Yan was already utterly exhausted.

Under Xuan Yi's supervision and instruction, the time he took to refine the Energy Storage Pill had shortened considerably each time, and he expended much less energy.

But over such a long period, he had still been worn out badly.

"Alright, that will be all for today's instruction!"

Xuan Yi looked calmly at the exhausted Ye Yan.

"Thank you, President. This disciple will certainly study diligently and not disappoint your expectations."

Ye Yan endured the numbness in his body as he rose from the ground and thanked Xuan Yi.

At the mention of expectations, a flicker passed through Xuan Yi's eyes as she thought of something. Her lips parted slightly.

"You can leave the Pill Tower on your own in a while. Over the next few days, you may try refining second-tier pills."

"This..."

Ye Yan frowned.

He did not need Xuan Yi to tell him to refine second-tier pills. With battle qi comparable to a nine-star Dou Zhe, he had already planned to try it himself.

What worried him was that the Pill Tower was crowded and full of prying eyes. If any problem arose, it would be troublesome.

Still, it was not convenient for him to say much, so he simply agreed.

When Ye Yan looked up, Xuan Yi had already vanished.

"I can only use the Thousand Illusion Bead and add a few more measures."

Ye Yan muttered to himself.

With a flick of his finger against his storage ring, several items that could alter his figure, such as shoulder pads and shoe inserts, appeared. He then took out more items and worked on his face, once again disguising himself as an ordinary, unremarkable person.

Once everything was finished,

Ye Yan held a mirror and looked at the plain, ordinary twelve- or thirteen-year-old youth reflected within it.

"Perfect. Looking like this, even Old Master probably would not recognize me."

Ye Yan was greatly satisfied. He happily opened the cultivation chamber door and left.

After Ye Yan departed, two people appeared once more in the previously empty cultivation chamber.

"This brat is truly afraid of death, and truly afraid of trouble."

Xuan Kongzi stroked his beard with a smile at the corner of his lips. Though his tone was full of disdain, his eyes were quite pleased.

Having talent was common. Having enemies was common. Even living a long life was common.

But having talent, having enemies, and living a long life was very uncommon.

Talent meant arrogance, while enemies meant danger.

Together, those two circumstances meant a greater chance of a genius falling prematurely!

"Xuan Yi, teach him well. Tian Leizi sent word that the brat's character in the Ye Family is quite good. He knows how to repay kindness."

"Even if... even if he has nothing to do with Yao Chen, he would still make a fine disciple."

Xuan Kongzi hesitated, but he still voiced his thoughts.

"I know."

Xuan Yi replied quietly before disappearing from the spot.