A stream of green vapor seeped out from the pitch-black pill. A dazzling gleam shone through the cracks, and the rich medicinal fragrance even moved Yao Lao, causing his expression to change drastically.
The next second, Yao Chen flashed forward and swiftly used his methods to seal the cracked pill. Holding it in his hand, he carefully sensed it with his Soul Force. Gradually, his transparent remnant soul began to tremble, as though he had witnessed something unimaginable.
Yao Lao examined it closely and discovered a startling sight. Within the pill was a black ferocious tiger wreathed in baleful aura, curled up within the dense green medicinal liquid as if sleeping.
Whoosh!
After a long while, Yao Lao abruptly opened his eyes, looking as though he had seen a ghost.
"How is this possible? It's unbelievable! How could such miraculous alchemy exist in this world? I, Yao Chen, have lived for so many years, yet I've never even heard of it." The shock on Yao Lao's face instantly turned into burning excitement. It was as if the heavens had opened a door to another world for him.
Xiao Yan took in Yao Chen's reaction completely, and it left him utterly stunned. Although he could not judge what rank of alchemist Yao Chen had once been, he knew that Yao Chen's alchemy was absolutely a hundred times better than that so-called Pill King Gu He of the Misty Cloud Sect.
Yet now, his teacher had reacted so intensely to this unremarkable black pill and had even been moved by it. That was enough to show that this pill, previously considered trash, possessed something extraordinary.
Could Third Brother truly be an alchemy genius? Had the pills he refined already reached a level that shocked the world? Xiao Yan was horrified, but he quickly dismissed the thought.
The three most important requirements for refining pills were materials, a flame source, and Soul Force.
There was no need to say much about materials. They were naturally all manner of heavenly treasures. Alchemists were not gods; without top-grade ingredients, even the cleverest woman could not cook without rice. Thus, materials were of paramount importance.
The flame source was the fire required for alchemy. Ordinary fire could not be used to refine pills. One had to use Dou Qi flames catalyzed by fire-attributed Dou Qi. Of course, the world also contained strange flames such as Heavenly Flames, beast flames, and Earth Flame. Some powerful alchemists would use them as well. Refining pills with such flames not only greatly increased the success rate, but the resulting pills also had stronger effects than those refined with ordinary Dou Qi flames.
However, whether it was Dou Qi flames catalyzed by fire-attributed Dou Qi or Heavenly Flames, Dou Qi was needed to sustain them. Xiao Meng had no Dou Qi in his body at all, so how could he possibly wield a flame source?
What Xiao Yan did not know was that Xiao Meng possessed a power even more advanced and purer than Dou Qi—Origin Force.
And there was one final requirement: spiritual perception.
When refining pills, controlling the heat was even more crucial. Sometimes, if the heat was just slightly too intense, an entire batch of pills would turn to ashes, making all previous effort futile. Therefore, mastering the heat was something every alchemist had to learn. Yet to control it properly, one needed formidable Soul Force.
He could understand Xiao Meng being born with a divine body, but could his Soul Force really be absurdly powerful as well?
Moreover, to become an alchemist, none of those three requirements could be lacking.
"Teacher, what is going on with this pill? Does it have some extraordinary quality?" Xiao Yan could not help asking.
"This pill can be called a heaven-shaking creation. I have roamed the Dou Qi Continent for many years, but I have never seen alchemy like this. This is an unprecedented breakthrough, an innovation."
Yao Lao spoke with an excited expression. This kind of alchemy was simply inconceivable.
"A heaven-shaking creation? An unprecedented breakthrough? An innovation?"
Xiao Yan stood frozen on the spot, dumbstruck.
"Teacher, what makes this pill so special?" Xiao Yan asked with a face full of shock, his voice trembling.
"Besides its novel pill formula, this pill uses the essence of medicinal ingredients to form a vessel, sealing the most refined medicinal power within. This prevents the medicinal power from leaking out. Furthermore, there are seventy-two strange hand seals inside the pill, continuously purifying the medicinal power within and ultimately allowing it to exert its greatest effect," Yao Lao said after taking a deep breath.
"Such a method can be said to have no precedent."
After sighing, Yao Lao continued, "The pills we refine distribute their medicinal power evenly throughout the pill. That is considered top quality. But because of this, the medicinal power can easily dissipate. The longer it is stored, the more medicinal power is lost, until it eventually becomes a useless pill. This pill, however, is different. Unless its outer shell disperses, its medicinal power will not leak away."
"But that is not even its most astonishing aspect." At this point, Yao Lao fell silent.
"That still isn't the most astonishing part? Then what is the most astonishing aspect of this pill?" Xiao Yan's mind was a little muddled. Could the second-grade pill his Third Brother had brought out actually defy the heavens?
Yao Lao took another deep breath. "Once a pill reaches the eighth grade, it gains immense intelligence and can even fight people. A ninth-grade pill possesses intelligence comparable to that of humans and can transform into either human or beast form."
"What? Pills can possess intelligence and even transform into human form?" Xiao Yan was dumbfounded, scarcely daring to believe his ears.
"What's so surprising about that?" Yao Lao rolled his eyes.
"Teacher, this is the first time your disciple has heard of such things."
After recovering his senses, Xiao Yan gave a bitter smile. The world of martial cultivation truly held every possibility. Even pills could transform into human form.
"But Teacher, what does that have to do with the pill my Third Brother brought out?" Xiao Yan asked.
"This pill has the potential to transform."
Yao Lao spoke very solemnly. "If it were placed in an area rich with spiritual herbs for a thousand years, this pill might transform into a ferocious tiger. That is the most astonishing thing about it."
Xiao Yan was shocked stiff.
This stunned Xiao Yan even more than Yao Lao's claim that eighth-grade pills could possess immense intelligence and ninth-grade pills could transform into human or beast form. After all, this was only a second-grade pill, six whole grades below an eighth-grade pill.
Bang!
At that moment, Xiao Meng suddenly shoved the door open and walked in.
"Old man, hurry up and give me back my Soul-Nourishing Wood." Xiao Meng did not notice the unusual atmosphere in the room. He stared directly at Yao Lao and held out his hand for the Soul-Nourishing Wood.
He had originally planned to go to the underground chamber beneath his side hall to study pills, but he could not even scrape together enough medicinal ingredients for a single batch. He was always missing one herb or two.
However, it was already getting late, so he planned to go out again tomorrow. First, the herbs in the mountain range were free. Second, refining pills in the mountains meant he would not have to worry about anyone spying on him. After all, two big shots were secretly hiding within the Xiao Clan. Better safe than sorry.
With nothing else to do, he had wanted to get some proper sleep. But he suddenly remembered that Yao Lao still had not returned his Soul-Nourishing Wood, so he hurried over as though his backside were on fire.
Yet the moment he entered, Xiao Yan and Yao Lao stared at him as though they were looking at a monster, making him feel uncomfortable all over.
Bang!
Xiao Meng punched Xiao Yan directly on the forehead and glared at him. "What are you staring at? I'm a real man. I'm not into men."
Xiao Yan clutched his head and sucked in a cold breath, rolling his eyes wildly at the same time. What kind of thing was that to say? It was not like he was into that either.
"Kid, did you really refine this pill?" Yao Lao asked in a trembling voice.
Xiao Meng's brows knitted together as he coldly said, "Dead old man, what do you mean by that? Are you trying to insult me? So what if I refined it? Have you never made mistakes while refining pills?"
"Hurry up and return my Soul-Nourishing Wood." Xiao Meng found this old fellow even more detestable than Gu Ni.
"Kid, you misunderstand," Yao Lao said with an ingratiating smile.
Just as Xiao Meng was about to lose his temper, Xiao Yan grabbed him and quickly explained Yao Lao's discovery.
"Is what you said true?" Xiao Meng was half-convinced. It had been judged a useless pill just moments ago. He had barely turned around, and now it had become a world-shocking pill?
Could they be messing with me?
"Why would I lie to you?" Xiao Yan said.
Cough, cough!
"That's right. This pill, which shakes heaven and earth, makes ghosts and gods weep, and astonishes the world and the universe, was refined by me, Xiao Meng." Xiao Meng coughed twice, clasped his hands behind his back, and raised his head high, feeling immensely proud.
A classic proud little sparrow.
The corners of Yao Lao's and Xiao Yan's mouths twitched. They had not believed that Xiao Meng refined the pill to begin with, and now they believed it even less. No matter how they looked at him, he seemed utterly unreliable.
"Hm? Have Fourth Brother and Old Yao gone mute?"
Xiao Meng had been waiting for their cries of amazement and praise, but after waiting for a long time, he heard nothing. The surroundings were silent. Xiao Meng frowned and turned to look at Yao Lao and Xiao Yan.
The two wore expressions that plainly said, If I believe you, then I'm a pig.
Xiao Meng's expression suddenly stiffened, and he felt as though he might faint. "Why are you looking at people sideways? No, I really refined this pill."
"Third Brother, don't get worked up." Xiao Yan hurriedly comforted him, worried that Xiao Meng might get so angry that he fainted.
"Not worked up? The hell, do I look worked up? I..." Xiao Meng was practically going mad. What kind of people had he run into?
"Kid, even I can't refine a pill like this..." Yao Lao curled his lips and said in a gloomy voice. Though he did not finish speaking, his meaning was perfectly clear.
"This really was refined by me..." Xiao Meng was about to lose his mind, but before he could finish, Xiao Yan patted him on the shoulder and said decisively.
"Third Brother, I believe you..."
"If you believe me, then why do your eyes look so strange?" Xiao Meng's mouth twitched. He wanted to hit someone. This bastard could not even lie properly.
"Kid, I believe you too," Yao Lao suddenly said with a kindly smile.
"I..." Xiao Meng was on the verge of collapsing. These two bastards claimed to believe him, but their eyes revealed something entirely different.
As though they were saying that only an idiot would believe him.
In the end, Xiao Meng left in a daze.
His day had been utterly miserable.
First, he had been thrown out of the Mite'er Auction House. Then he learned that he had only brought a rock down on his own foot. Later, the pill he refined had been mistakenly judged as trash. Although the verdict had been overturned, no one believed that he had refined it.
Xiao Meng felt terribly wronged.
"Little Yan, hurry up and pack. We're leaving!"
The moment Xiao Meng left, Yao Lao hurriedly gave the order. He had originally wanted to ask Xiao Meng who had truly refined the pill, but judging by Xiao Meng's reaction, even if beaten to death, he would only insist that he had refined it himself.
So Yao Lao was preparing to flee, lest Xiao Meng return later to demand the Soul-Nourishing Wood again.
Xiao Yan: "#@￥%..."
To act like this as a teacher was truly something else.
Before you continue