Refining the Qi Recovery Pill

Sensing the snake girl following behind him, Yao Feng smiled faintly. It seemed she was not foolish enough to leave on her own, knowing that if she did, she would likely be captured again before even making it out of the Imperial Capital.

After buying the snake girl several sets of clothes along the way, Yao Feng rented her a room at an inn. What he had done eased much of her fear, and she told him her name—Xue Ying. It was a beautiful name. She had originally lived carefree in the Snake People Tribe, only to be captured by a group of mercenaries and brought here as a prisoner.

"Xue Ying, rest properly for now. Once I am done with my affairs, I will send you back to the Snake People Tribe."

Looking at the girl after she had cleaned herself up and changed into new clothes, Yao Feng felt as though he were looking at a two-dimensional anime girl. Her pink eyes were truly distinctive.

"Thank you."

Although much of the fear in her eyes had faded, Xue Ying's wariness had not diminished. Yao Feng knew there was no rushing such matters. No one could recover so quickly after going through something like that. Fortunately, he had time. There was still nearly a year before Medusa swallowed the Green Lotus Core Flame, and several months before Medusa discovered it. If he moved quickly enough, Yao Feng might be able to reach the place before Medusa found the Green Lotus Core Flame and complete the check-in.

After settling Xue Ying in, Yao Feng returned to his room and said to Zhou Tong, who was standing to one side, "Seal off this room. Do not let anyone disturb me!"

Alchemists feared being disturbed most when refining pills. A mistake could result in ruined pills at best and a qi deviation at worst. Thus, even with the system, Yao Feng did not want such a thing to happen.

Watching Zhou Tong set up a barrier and leave the room, Yao Feng remembered there was one more thing he needed to do before refining pills. He took out the bundle filled with medicinal ingredients and picked up the black stone. "This thing is actually a Star Meteorite? Let's see what good stuff you can bring me! System, refine!"

"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for refining the Star Meteorite. You have obtained the mid-tier Xuan-class sword technique, the Star Sword Technique."

"A sword technique!" Feeling a Dou Technique suddenly appear in his mind, Yao Feng murmured in delight. He possessed a fine sword but had never cultivated any sword technique. The Star Sword Technique perfectly filled that gap.

After familiarizing himself with the Star Sword Technique once, Yao Feng took out his Medicine Cauldron. Looking at the ancient, unadorned cauldron, he thought that he would need to find a better one in the future. He wondered when he would obtain a Medicine Cauldron from the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking. Cauldrons worthy of a place on that ranking were all kings among Medicine Cauldrons, and the boost they provided an alchemist was beyond imagination.

After sorting through the medicinal ingredients, a second-tier pill called the Qi Recovery Pill surfaced in Yao Feng's mind. Although it could not compare to the third-tier Qi Returning Pill, its effect in restoring Dou Qi was still quite good. Moreover, it was the best pill Yao Feng could currently refine.

After calming himself, Yao Feng pressed his palm against the Medicine Cauldron. As his Dou Qi circulated, Mysterious Yellow Flame rose up. One medicinal ingredient after another was tossed into the cauldron. With his increased cultivation, along with the support of the beginner Flame Control Technique and Mysterious Yellow Flame, Yao Feng's alchemy had improved by far more than a little compared to when he was in the Yao Clan. He might even have been capable of attempting a third-tier pill, but he could not afford to push himself like that right now. There was not much money left in his pocket, and the Hidden Dragon Ranking was about to begin. Though Yao Feng was confident, he still needed to remain in good condition. It would be rather laughable if he carelessly capsized.

As time passed, several jade bottles were soon arranged beside Yao Feng, each containing five Qi Recovery Pills. After refining the final batch, Yao Feng held his dizzy head and wearily crawled onto the bed, muttering, "Refining pills really is exhausting work. It nearly wore me to death! Still, the harvest is quite plentiful. Six bottles in total, five Qi Recovery Pills per bottle—thirty pills altogether. That should be enough for me for quite a while."

Seeing that it was already pitch-black outside the window, Yao Feng lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

The night passed without incident.

The following afternoon, with the sun slanting westward, Yao Feng rubbed his eyes and struggled out of bed. Looking at the reddening sky outside the window, he suddenly woke up. "Damn it, what time is it now?!"

After splashing his face with clean water, he stored the Medicine Cauldron and jade bottles on the floor into his Storage Ring and walked out of the room. Zhou Tong emerged into the corridor from the room next door as well. "Young Master, you are finally awake. If I did not know you had overexerted yourself refining pills, I would have thought something had happened to you!"

Zhou Tong looked at Yao Feng with some admiration. Refining so many pills in one go was truly quite a feat.

"Heh, I was careless. I did not expect it to be this exhausting. All right, let's eat first. I have been hungry all day!" Yao Feng smiled sheepishly. He had wanted to refine everything at once and save himself the trouble, but he had not expected such heavy consumption. His mind had been muddled yesterday, and the moment he lay down, he fell asleep.

"Right away, Young Master!"

"Oh, right. Bring Xue Ying along too. She probably has not eaten either, has she?"

"No. She has not left her room since yesterday. This place is still far too dangerous for her."

At the mention of Xue Ying, Zhou Tong's expression grew solemn, and a trace of pity flashed through his eyes.

"Go get her."

"Have you placed your bets? The Mittel Auction House opened the betting today!"

"Brother, bets on what?"

"You must be new here. The Hidden Dragon Ranking begins tomorrow. Quite a few factions opened betting today on who will ultimately take first place in the Hidden Dragon Ranking. You seriously did not know?"

"I heard plenty of formidable people will participate this time. Even the Chu Yun Empire sent someone."

"What does the Chu Yun Empire amount to before my goddess? I just put down ten thousand gold coins—all on my goddess winning."

"That Nalan Yanran from the Misty Cloud Sect is indeed formidable, but anyone sent by the Chu Yun Empire should not be weak either. This time, it will truly be a battle between dragons and tigers..."

"Xue Ying, eat more meat. Build up your strength!"

Inside the tavern, Yao Feng picked up a piece of lean meat and placed it into the girl's bowl. Xue Ying's snake tail drew many gazes, but when Zhou Tong released a faint wisp of his aura, quite a few people withdrew their eyes in fear.

"Thank you."

Xue Ying lowered her head and spoke softly.

As Yao Feng ate, he listened closely to the voices at the neighboring tables. Betting and wagers? That sounds rather interesting! Old Zhou, I still have fifty thousand here. Go take a look at wherever they are taking bets later.

"Yes, Young Master!"

After simply filling their stomachs, Yao Feng watched Zhou Tong leave, then gently took Xue Ying's hand. Feeling a slight struggle from her palm, Yao Feng smiled softly and said, "Do not be afraid. I mean you no harm. We will be together for some time yet. If you remain this timid, the time ahead will probably be rather difficult for you."

Hearing Yao Feng's words and feeling the warmth of his palm, Xue Ying moved a little closer to him and looked timidly at the ground.

Yao Feng patted her shoulder, feeling some pity for her. Sensing the surrounding gazes constantly drifting their way, he tightened his grip on Xue Ying's hand and brought her back to the inn room.

"After some time, I will take you away from here. For now, you can cultivate your Dou Qi so that you will have the ability to protect yourself in the future."

When he had held Xue Ying's hand earlier, Yao Feng had sensed a faint trace of Dou Qi within her body. Though weak, it truly existed—roughly at the second stage of Dou Qi.

"This is a Spirit Nurturing Pill. After taking it, it can speed up your absorption of Dou Qi."

Yao Feng handed Xue Ying the Spirit Nurturing Pill he had refined in the Yao Clan, then returned to his own room. He needed to recover properly. Taking out the Spirit Awakening Pill he had refined at the Alchemist Guild, he found that it was just what he needed after the immense Soul Power expenditure from yesterday's pill refinement.

Yao Feng sat cross-legged, swallowed the Spirit Awakening Pill, formed a hand seal, and began recovering.

(I need a crash course in linear algebra. Show me a way to survive.｡°(°¯᷄◠¯᷅°)°｡ I said I would not cry.)