The High Society Is Really a Mess...

"Mm, if I added a little more Mind-Clearing Herb, it probably wouldn't have that effect anymore, right?"

On an open mountaintop somewhere within the Magical Beast Mountain Range, a handsome young man with a gentle temperament sat cross-legged before a white medicinal cauldron.

Dark yellow flames wrapped around the cauldron, their intense heat warping the surrounding air. The young man casually tossed medicinal herbs into the cauldron one after another. Once they were all inside, he took out an ice-blue medicinal flower with only four petals. Merely catching its fragrance made one feel refreshed and clear-headed. It was clear that this spiritual flower was no ordinary thing.

Without hesitation, the young man tossed the ice-blue flower into the white cauldron. His expression grew slightly more serious—only slightly. His hand seals changed continuously, and the dark yellow flames around the cauldron expanded and shrank at his will.

This style of alchemy was like a feast for the eyes. Under his control, the flames danced nimbly. Combined with his elegant hand seals and long, fair fingers, what should have been a solemn alchemical process became an artistic performance.

As the young man continued manipulating the flames, the fire beneath the cauldron gradually subsided.

"Mm, there shouldn't be any problems with this batch of Heavenly Fragrance Pills..."

After the flames completely died out, the young man placed the several round, smooth pills resting within the cauldron into a jade bottle. They carried a faint orchid-like fragrance...

Looking at the pills in the jade bottle, Gu Xia pondered for a moment before deciding to take one out and test it on himself.

He did not hesitate much, confident in his own strength. Opening his mouth wide, he tossed the pill straight in...

"Mm~ Not bad. It's actually pretty sweet..."

The pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth. Gu Xia only felt a cool, honey-sweet stream slide down his throat, followed by a chilling sensation flowing into his abdomen. From there, a faint tingling sensation gradually spread throughout his entire body...

"Burp... Not bad. There shouldn't be any major issues now. Xun'er will probably like this gift..."

Relying on his powerful soul force, Gu Xia monitored the effects of the improved Heavenly Fragrance Pill within his body at all times. He was finally completely reassured about this modified second-generation version. This time, the Heavenly Fragrance Pill had finally succeeded. It no longer gave people the numbingly exhilarating sensation of the first generation, nor did it attract every insect within ten meters like the second generation. This final version had finally achieved what Gu Xia had envisioned...

"Phew~ Finally done. Next, I just need to wait until Xun'er breaks through to a seven-star Dou Practitioner, and it'll be about time to leave..."

Gu Xia had brought Xun'er to the Magical Beast Mountain Range for training this time. Helping Xun'er gain experience was one reason, while gathering medicinal herbs to produce the Heavenly Fragrance Pill was another of his goals for coming here...

"Oh, right. I still haven't checked the storage rings of those people who came delivering themselves a few days ago..."

As he spoke, Gu Xia took out several ordinary-looking storage rings. He opened the ring belonging to that fourth-tier alchemist first, and what he found inside left him speechless...

"Five, seven bellybands, two sets of women's clothing, four bottles of aphrodisiacs, two packets of enhancement stuff, a bundle of ropes, a pack of candles, a whip... Fuck, if I keep going, I'm afraid my pure (uncensored) soul will be contaminated! What the hell is all this crap? You're a dignified fourth-tier alchemist, and this is the junk you keep in your storage ring?..."

The more Gu Xia looked, the more excited he became... Ah, no, furious! How could an alchemist's ring lack basic medicinal herbs and pills? And gold coins were even more fundamental!

"Forget it, forget it. This guy whose lust had gone straight to his brain was beyond saving."

After painstakingly checking through everything, Gu Xia discovered that the fourth-tier alchemist was truly poor. His lower half was probably his real body. Apart from a few bottles of relatively "normal" medicine and several tens of thousands of gold coins, there was nothing that caught Gu Xia's eye.

All that remained was a damaged pill formula... "...Boneless Flower, Dragon King's Jade Ling Saliva, Rosy Cloud Spirit Spring, and even Dou Emperor blood!!"

Gu Xia stared at the medicinal ingredients listed on the incomplete formula. They were all spiritual medicines he had never heard of or seen before, and in the end, it even required a drop of a Dou Emperor's blood! Gu Xia was shocked when he saw this, then overjoyed, before forcing himself to calm down...

"Phew. If nothing unexpected happened, this incomplete pill formula should be genuine. Otherwise, that pervert wouldn't have hidden it among that pile of women's clothes... It's just that I still don't know why that group came into the Magical Beast Mountain Range..."

Gu Xia thought it over and realized that he seemed to be overthinking things...

"Uh... Could they have simply gotten lost and wandered into Xun'er's area...?"

After checking the storage rings of the other five people, Gu Xia found that the fourth-tier alchemist had been forcibly brought into the Magical Beast Mountain Range by them. The five of them had been a team, and they had not been hired by the fourth-tier alchemist.

"Tsk tsk, their relationships really were a complete mess..."

Both women's storage rings contained items belonging to the other three men, such as clothing and undergarments... and both women had them!

The other three men's storage rings also contained some of the two women's clothes. At that point, Gu Xia stopped thinking about it... Why? Because if he thought any further, he was afraid he would not be able to stop himself from throwing their storage rings away! He felt that they might carry some harmful pathogens for certain body parts...

So the unlucky one was actually that fourth-tier alchemist?

Following the clues, Gu Xia roughly guessed the origins of those people. First, the fourth-tier alchemist had likely been kidnapped by the five of them midway through their journey. Gu Xia had found that the alchemist's storage ring lacked sufficient wilderness supplies and instead contained all sorts of strange adult items...

The others' storage rings, however, were fully stocked. They had water, dry rations, and even a map of the Tagore Desert! Clearly, they were a wandering squad. Gu Xia also found that the healing pills and Qi Recovery Pills on the five of them were nearly exhausted. He guessed that they had offended someone they could not afford to offend. Their storage rings still held plentiful supplies for surviving in the desert wilderness. Clearly, they had intended to cross the Magical Beast Mountain Range and flee into the Tagore Desert to avoid pursuit. As for this alchemist, taking him along had probably been an unexpected move...

Gu Xia guessed that while fleeing, they had happened upon this unfortunate alchemist, who had discovered their trail. Just as they were about to kill him to silence him, they suddenly discovered that he was a member of the Alchemist Guild, and other thoughts arose. After all, a living alchemist was always far more valuable than a dead one!

So they used some method to control the alchemist. To conceal themselves, they pretended to be mercenaries hired by him to enter the Magical Beast Mountain Range, thereby successfully escaping the pursuit of that force...

"Tsk tsk, I wonder if they raped some clan's young miss to be forced into crossing the Magical Beast Mountain Range and living in the Tagore Desert..."

Gu Xia was only guessing. He had no interest in learning the truth, nor did he need to know it. Even if they were core disciples of some super faction who enjoyed "group activities," it had nothing to do with Gu Xia. Who told them to set their sights on his Xun'er? Gu, who had evolved from a straight man of steel into a wife-doting fanatic, declared that anyone who dared set their sights on his Xun'er had to go play cards with Jesus! No matter who they were!

"Hmph. I hope you never appear before me... Otherwise..."

Thinking about protecting Xun'er made him once again think of the mysterious person who had placed that strand of hair on Xun'er, nearly destroying her.

A cold golden glint flashed through Gu Xia's eyes. Looking at the vast world before him, he slowly calmed the killing intent in his heart. After glancing in Xun'er's direction, he turned into a wisp of green smoke and vanished from where he stood...