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 its web.
Refinement was the most time-consuming part of alchemy, but the most troublesome part was the fusion of medicinal liquids. Each herb possessed different properties, and if an Alchemist did not have every step and precaution of the pill's refinement firmly memorized, even a tiny mistake could render all previous effort futile.
Yet every one of Yao Lao's fusions 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, their longstanding difficulties resolved. More people, however, merely stared wide-eyed at Yao Lao's movements, afraid of missing even a single step.
Thus, no one noticed a middle-aged man in yellow robes and a youth in white slowly approaching.
"Pavilion Master, then there's no problem with proceeding according to our earlier agreement, right?"
"Of course. Who would doubt Young Master Xu's promise? Speaking of which, we were even planning to invite you and your respected master to serve as judges for the Medicine Ranking Nomination."
"My teacher is participating in the Medicine Ranking Nomination, so it would be inappropriate for us to act as judges. Hm? Why is the fourth floor so quiet today?"
The middle-aged man in yellow was puzzled. A servant on the fourth floor saw the pair arrive and bowed. "Greetings, Pavilion Master. Greetings, Young Master Xu."
"What is going on here?"
"A newly arrived Master Yan Xiao is refining pills. The other masters are observing."
Young Master Xu immediately became interested and entered the crowd. The disturbed Alchemists first looked angry, but upon recognizing him, they hurriedly bowed in greeting.
"A sixth-grade pill... remarkable." The master of the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion murmured.
Yet as the youth watched Xiao Yan refine the pill, his brows gradually furrowed tighter and tighter.
Yao Lao's refinement had reached its final stage. Pill fragrance and energy fluctuations emanated at the same time from the pill that was nearly formed.
A terrifying pillar of energy shot into the sky. However, the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion had clearly been constructed from extraordinary materials. The energy pillar only caused the hall to tremble slightly, with nothing else occurring.
Powerful Dou Qi burst forth from Xiao Yan's body, blocking the energy spilling from the pill and forcing it back. Yao Lao carefully controlled the energy, and at the instant the pill fully took shape, he added an invisible membrane of energy around it.
"Gather the energy. This condenses the medicinal effect and raises the quality. Remember that," Yao Lao reminded Xiao Yan.
The completed pill flew from the cauldron—a top-tier sixth-grade pill, the Qi Sea Spirit Returning Pill.
The youth in white murmured, "This technique... it feels so familiar..."
The Alchemists nearby were already unable to contain their praise.
"A sixth-grade pill! And its quality is unbelievably good!"
"Who would have thought Tianlan City had such a master!"
"Such achievement at such a young age! We truly wasted all those years of our lives."
"This pill can probably surpass many ordinary seventh-grade pills, right?" Xiao Yan asked.
"Correct. Furthermore, the Qi Sea Spirit Returning Pill has a gentle medicinal effect and can provide its user with a continuous supply of Dou Qi for an entire day."
The white in Xiao Yan's eyes quietly vanished, while most of those around him remained immersed in the alchemy process they had just witnessed.
Xiao Yan waved his hand and retrieved the Qi Sea Spirit Returning Pill. He said to Tang Qi, "Deacon Tang, let this pill be my entry for the competition."
The doubt in Tang Qi's eyes had already turned into worship. A Sixth-Grade Alchemist! Such figures were rare even across the entire Northwest Region! Now that he had interacted with one, as long as Xiao Yan visited a few more times, Tang Qi could make a fortune through him.
"May I ask how this master is addressed?" 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? Would you be interested in becoming an honorary elder of my Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion?"
A Sixth-Grade Alchemist was sought after wherever he went, so Tang Huang decisively extended an olive branch.
"I am merely an idle wanderer, accustomed to living freely. I must disappoint Pavilion Master Tang's generous offer."
"No matter, no matter. This is the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion's Purple-Gold Emblem. It allows you to borrow one million gold coins without charge, and you may enjoy our highest discounts at both the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion and all its branches. Master Yan Xiao, please be sure to accept it."
Xiao Yan smiled upon seeing the emblem. The Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion was wealthy and powerful, and likely held considerable influence in the Northwest Region. This emblem truly had some value.
He accepted it, cupped his hands, and said, "Thank you, Pavilion Master Tang. Then I will gladly accept."
At that moment, the youth in white beside Tang Huang stepped forward and said, "Brother Yan, I am Xu Yingwu of the Echo Sect. May I ask why you gathered the escaping energy in that final step? Wouldn't that waste Dou Qi for nothing?"
Tang Huang introduced him as well. "Young Master Xu is also a fifth-grade master Alchemist. Though he cannot compare to Master Yan, he is still a fairly renowned Alchemist in Tianlan City."
Xiao Yan looked at the youth in white. He did not seem much older than Xiao Yan himself, yet both his aura and Soul Strength faintly appeared 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 Northwest Region.
Thus, he replied, "It condenses the medicinal effect and improves the quality."
Upon hearing this, Xu Yingwu's expression became even stranger. He continued asking, "Brother Yan's alchemy skills are truly unfathomable. May I ask where you reside? I would like to visit someday and seek your guidance."
"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. "Then Brother Yan need not go to the Heavenly Snake Mansion. The Ten Thousand Beasts Assembly is approaching, and the important figures of the Heavenly Snake Mansion are likely all here in Tianlan City."
Xiao Yan raised his brows at this, then said, "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 kept coming to flatter you." Zi Yan complained as they left the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion.
"Brother Xiao Yan truly won their heartfelt admiration this time."
Xiao Yan rubbed his nose. There was nothing he could do; high-grade Alchemists were simply too rare. Many of those Alchemists had practically sought his instruction as disciples would, and one did not strike a smiling face. So Yao Lao had used Xiao Yan to casually offer them a few pointers.
"Let's head to the Heavenly Snake Mansion first. I didn't expect Tianlan City to be so lively."
Nearly half the medicinal ingredients needed to refine Yao Lao's body had been gathered. He could also obtain the Snow Bone Ginseng for free, and the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion had practically sold him materials at cost. He now had an additional twelve million gold coins, so naturally he was in an excellent mood.
The three of them did not know that someone had left the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion and raced away even faster than they had.
As a renowned force in the Northwest Region, the Echo Sect also occupied a large area in Tianlan City.
Xu Yingwu rushed back to the Echo Sect's grounds and stopped before a door. "Teacher, are you in there?"
"Yingwu? Come in."
Xu Yingwu pushed open the door and entered. An elderly man in loose robes was carefully copying text at a table. The elder was his master, Su Zhang. Xu Yingwu had seen the text being copied countless times before—it was a record of alchemy insights. Aside from refining pills, the thing his teacher cared most about was repeatedly copying those 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 were very similar to yours."
"Oh? Tell me in detail." Su Zhang set down his brush.
Xu Yingwu then described his encounter with Xiao Yan and Xiao Yan's method of refining pills step by step. "He explained the final step as condensing the medicinal effect and improving the quality."
Xu Yingwu had not expected his teacher, who usually cultivated composure and never showed joy or anger, to turn pale upon hearing the account. Su Zhang did not even notice the brush falling from his hand.
"Where is he? Take me to see him at once!"
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