Pill Complete, Fame Spreads

After the medicinal liquids had been refined, it was time for fusion. Yao Lao controlled dozens of medicinal liquids, merging them like a spider weaving a web.

The most time-consuming part of alchemy was refinement, but the most troublesome part was the fusion of medicinal liquids. Each medicinal ingredient had different properties. If an alchemist did not have every step and precaution of the pill they were refining firmly memorized, even a tiny mistake could render all their previous efforts worthless.

Yet every fusion performed by Yao Lao seemed perfectly natural, like a master painter completing a work of art.

Some alchemists had already stepped aside to ponder in silence, clearly deeply inspired as problems that had troubled them were resolved. But even more people continued to stare wide-eyed at Yao Lao's movements, afraid of missing a single step.

Thus, no one noticed a middle-aged man in yellow robes and a youth in white slowly making their way over.

"Pavilion Master, there is no problem with the preliminary cooperation being arranged this way, right?"

"Of course not. Who would doubt Young Master Xu's promise? In fact, we had intended to invite you and your honored master to serve as judges for the Medicine Ranking Nomination."

"My teacher is participating in the Medicine Ranking Nomination as well, so it would not be appropriate for us to serve as judges. Hmm, why is the fourth floor so quiet today?"

The middle-aged man in yellow was puzzled. A servant on the fourth floor saw the two arrive and bowed. "Greetings, Pavilion Master. Greetings, Young Master Xu."

"What is going on here?"

"A newly arrived Master Yan Xiao is refining medicine, and the other masters are observing."

Young Master Xu immediately became interested upon hearing this. He walked into the crowd, and the disturbed alchemists initially looked furious. But once they recognized him, they hurriedly bowed in greeting.

"A sixth-tier pill. Incredible." The master of the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion spoke softly.

However, as the youth watched Xiao Yan refine the pill, his brows drew tighter and tighter.

Yao Lao's refinement had reached its final stage. Pill fragrance and energy fluctuations emanated simultaneously from the nearly formed pill.

A terrifying pillar of energy shot into the sky. However, the construction materials of the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion were clearly extraordinary. The energy pillar merely caused the hall to tremble slightly, with no further disturbance.

Powerful Dou Qi burst from Xiao Yan's body, blocking the energy spilling from the pill and forcing it back. Yao Lao carefully controlled the energy, and just as the pill fully formed, he added an invisible membrane of energy around it.

"Gather the energy. This condenses the medicinal effect and raises the quality. Remember it." Yao Lao did not forget to enlighten Xiao Yan.

The completed pill flew out of the medicine cauldron—a top-grade sixth-tier pill, the Qi Sea Spirit Returning Pill.

The white-clothed youth beside them murmured, "This technique... feels so familiar..."

The surrounding alchemists could no longer contain their praise.

"A sixth-tier pill! Its quality is unbelievably good!"

"Who would have thought Tianlan City had such a master!"

"Such accomplishments at such a young age! We truly have lived all these years for nothing."

"This pill can probably surpass many ordinary seventh-tier pills, right?" Xiao Yan asked.

"Indeed. Moreover, the Qi Sea Spirit Returning Pill has a mild medicinal effect and can provide its user with a steady supply of Dou Qi for an entire day."

The white in Xiao Yan's eyes quietly faded away, while most of those around him were still immersed in the alchemy process they had just witnessed.

Xiao Yan beckoned and retrieved the Qi Sea Spirit Returning Pill. Then he said to Tang Qi, "Deacon Tang, let this pill be my entry for the competition."

Tang Qi's gaze had changed from initial suspicion to admiration. A sixth-tier alchemist! Even across the entire Northwestern Region, such people were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns! Now that he had established contact with someone like this, Tang Qi would make a fortune as long as Xiao Yan came by a few more times.

"How should I address this master?" Before Tang Qi could speak, the master of the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion took the initiative to ask.

"Yan Xiao. And you are?"

"I am Tang Huang, master of the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion. May I ask where Master Yan Xiao is from, and whether you would be interested in becoming an honorary elder of my Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion?"

A sixth-tier alchemist was sought after everywhere, so Tang Huang decisively extended an olive branch.

"I am merely an idle wanderer, accustomed to a carefree life. I must disappoint Pavilion Master Tang's generous regard."

"No matter, no matter. This is the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion's purple-gold badge. It allows you to borrow one million gold coins without charge, and grants you the highest discount at our pavilion and all its branches. Please, Mister Yan Xiao, you must accept it."

When Xiao Yan saw the badge, he smiled as well. The Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion was clearly wealthy and powerful, and likely held considerable influence in the Northwestern Region. This badge truly had some value.

He accepted it and cupped his hands. "Thank you, Pavilion Master Tang. Then I shall gladly accept."

At this moment, the white-clothed youth beside Tang Huang stepped forward. "Brother Yan, I am Xu Yingwu of the Echo Sect. May I ask why you gathered the dissipating energy in that final step? Would that not waste Dou Qi for nothing?"

Tang Huang also introduced him. "Young Master Xu is also a fifth-tier master alchemist. Though he cannot compare with Master Yan, he is still a fairly renowned alchemist in Tianlan City."

Xiao Yan looked at the youth in white. He was not much older than Xiao Yan himself, yet both his aura and soul power faintly seemed no weaker than Xiao Yan's own.

Xiao Yan had also heard of the Echo Sect. Like the Heavenly Snake Mansion and the Mystic Pattern Sect, it was an established force in the Northwestern Region.

Thus, he replied, "To condense the medicinal effect and raise the quality."

Upon hearing this, the expression on Xu Yingwu's face became even stranger. He continued, "Brother Yan's alchemy is truly miraculous. May I ask where you are staying? It would be convenient for me to visit and seek your guidance another day."

"Oh, the three of us are merely passing through Tianlan City. We have business at the Heavenly Snake Mansion in the Heavenly Snake Empire."

Xu Yingwu smiled upon hearing this. "Brother Yan Xiao, then there is no need for you to go to the Heavenly Snake Mansion. The Ten Thousand Beasts Assembly is about to begin, so the important figures of the Heavenly Snake Mansion are likely all here in Tianlan City."

Xiao Yan raised his brows before replying, "Then I must thank Brother Xu for informing me."

"Those people were so annoying. Couldn't they see we were leaving? One after another, they came to flatter you." Zi Yan complained as soon as they left the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion.

"Brother Xiao Yan truly won their wholehearted admiration this time."

Xiao Yan rubbed his nose. There was nothing he could do; high-tier alchemists were simply too rare. Many of those alchemists had practically sought his guidance as disciples would. One did not strike a smiling face, so Yao Lao had borrowed Xiao Yan's body to casually offer them a few pointers.

"Let's head to the Heavenly Snake Mansion first. I did not expect Tianlan City to be so lively."

Nearly half of the medicinal ingredients needed for Yao Lao to refine a body had been collected. They could also obtain the Snow Bone Ginseng for free, and the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion had practically given him the selling price for the medicinal ingredients he sold. He now had an additional twelve million gold coins, so naturally he was in an excellent mood.

What Xiao Yan's group did not know was that someone had left the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion and sped away even faster than they did.

As a renowned force in the Northwestern Region, the Echo Sect also occupied a large area in Tianlan City.

Xu Yingwu rushed back to the Echo Sect's grounds and stopped outside a door. "Teacher, are you in there?"

"Is that Yingwu? Come in."

Xu Yingwu pushed open the door and entered. An old man in loose robes was carefully copying text at a table. The old man was his master, Su Zhang. Xu Yingwu had seen the text being copied many times before—it was a collection of alchemy insights. Aside from alchemy, what his teacher cared most about was repeatedly copying these insights. Xu Yingwu had once asked why he copied them so many times. At the time, Su Zhang had replied in an unprecedentedly solemn tone, "How could one treat a gift from an elder lightly?"

"Teacher, I encountered someone whose alchemy techniques are very similar to yours."

"Oh? Tell me everything in detail." Su Zhang set down his brush.

Xu Yingwu then recounted, one by one, his encounter with Xiao Yan and Xiao Yan's method of refining medicine. "He explained the final step as condensing the medicinal effect and raising the quality."

Xu Yingwu had never expected that his teacher, who was usually so composed and never revealed his emotions, would turn pale upon hearing the account. The brush fell from Su Zhang's hand, yet he did not even notice.

"Where is he? Take me to see him at once!"