Yao Lao's Shock and Xiao Meng's Sorrow (Please Recommend, Please Bookmark)

A stream of green gas seeped from the pitch-black pill. A dazzling glimmer shone through its cracks, and the rich medicinal fragrance even moved Yao Lao, making his expression 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 power. Gradually, his translucent remnant soul began to tremble, as though he had witnessed something unbelievable.

After examining it closely, Yao Lao discovered an astonishing sight. Inside the pill lay a black tiger shrouded in baleful aura, curled up within dense green medicinal fluid as though it were asleep.

Whoosh!

After a long while, Yao Lao suddenly opened his eyes, looking as though he had seen a ghost.

"How is this possible? This is utterly unbelievable! How could such miraculous alchemy exist in this world? I, Yao Chen, have lived for so many years, yet I have never heard of it!" The shock on Yao Lao's face instantly turned into burning excitement. It was as if Heaven had opened a door to another world for him.

Xiao Yan took in Yao Chen's reaction, and it left him deeply shaken. Although he could not judge what level of alchemist Yao Chen had once been, he knew that Yao Chen's alchemy was definitely a hundred times better than that so-called Pill King Gu He of the Cloudmist Sect.

Yet now, his teacher was reacting so intensely to this inconspicuous black pill and was so moved by it. That was enough to prove that this pill, previously considered trash, possessed something extraordinary.

Could Third Brother truly be an alchemy genius? Could the pills he refined already have reached a level that shocked the world? Xiao Yan was horrified, but he quickly rejected the thought.

There were three most important conditions for refining pills: ingredients, a flame source, and soul power.

Ingredients needed no explanation. They were naturally all kinds of heavenly treasures and spiritual herbs. Alchemists were not gods; without top-grade ingredients, even the cleverest housewife could not cook without rice. Thus, ingredients were the highest priority.

The flame source was the fire required for alchemy. Ordinary flames could not be used to refine pills. One had to use Dou Qi flames catalyzed by fire-attributed Dou Qi. Of course, there were also unusual flames in the world, such as Heavenly Flames, beast flames, and earth flames. Some powerful alchemists would acquire and use them. Refining pills with such flames not only greatly increased the success rate, but the medicinal effects of the resulting pills were also stronger than those refined with ordinary Dou Qi flames.

However, whether it was Dou Qi flames catalyzed by fire-attributed Dou Qi or Heavenly Flames, both required Dou Qi to sustain them. Xiao Meng did not have any Dou Qi in his body at all, so how could he ignite a flame source?

What Xiao Yan did not know was that Xiao Meng possessed a power more advanced and purer than Dou Qi—Yuan Power.

There was one final condition: spiritual perception.

When refining medicine, control over the heat was especially crucial. Sometimes, if the heat was even slightly too strong, an entire furnace of pills would turn to ash, rendering all prior effort worthless. Thus, mastering the heat was something every alchemist had to learn. But to control it properly required formidable soul power.

He could understand Xiao Meng being born with a divine body, but could his soul power also be outrageously strong?

Besides, to become an alchemist, not one of those three requirements could be lacking.

"Teacher, what is going on with this pill? Does it have some astonishing quality?" Xiao Yan could not help asking.

"This pill can be called a world-shaking creation. I have traveled the Dou Qi Continent for many years, yet I have never seen such alchemy. This is an unprecedented breakthrough, an innovation."

Yao Lao spoke excitedly. Such alchemy was simply inconceivable.

"A world-shaking creation? An unprecedented breakthrough? An innovation?"

Xiao Yan stood there dumbfounded, frozen like a wooden chicken.

"Teacher, what is so special about this pill?" Xiao Yan asked with a face full of shock, his voice trembling.

"Apart from its novel pill formula, this pill uses the essence of medicinal ingredients to form a container, sealing the most refined medicinal power within it. This prevents the medicinal power from leaking out. Moreover, there are seventy-two strange hand seals within this pill, continuously purifying the medicinal power inside. In the end, they allow the medicinal power to exert its greatest possible effect," Yao Lao said after taking a deep breath.

"Such a method can truly be called unprecedented."

After sighing, Yao Lao continued, "The medicinal power in the pills we refine is evenly distributed 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 it loses, 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 is not the most astonishing part? Then what is the most astonishing thing about this pill?" Xiao Yan's mind was muddled. Could the second-tier pill his Third Brother had produced really be so heaven-defying?

Yao Lao took another deep breath. "Once a pill reaches the eighth tier, it will possess extremely powerful intelligence and may even battle humans. A ninth-tier pill's intelligence is comparable to that of a human, and it can even transform into human or beast form."

"What? Pills can possess intelligence and even transform into human form?" Xiao Yan was stunned. He could hardly believe his ears.

"What is there to be so surprised about?" Yao Lao rolled his eyes.

"Teacher, this is the first time I have ever heard of such things."

After recovering, Xiao Yan smiled bitterly. In the world of martial cultivation, anything really was possible. 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 a place dense with spiritual medicine for a thousand years, this pill might transform into a tiger. And that is the most astonishing aspect of this pill."

Xiao Yan was shocked stiff.

This was even more shocking to Xiao Yan than Yao Lao's claim that eighth-tier pills could possess great intelligence and ninth-tier pills could transform into human or beast form. After all, this was only a second-tier pill, a full six grades below an eighth-tier pill.

Bang!

At that moment, Xiao Meng suddenly pushed open the door and entered.

"Old man, hurry up and give me back my Soul-Nourishing Wood." Xiao Meng did not sense the unusual atmosphere in the room. He stared straight at Yao Lao and held out his hand for the Soul-Nourishing Wood.

He had originally planned to go to the basement beneath his side hall to study pills, but he could not even gather enough ingredients for a single batch. He was either missing one ingredient or two.

However, it was already getting late, so he planned to head 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 being watched. After all, two major figures were hidden within the Xiao Clan. Better safe than sorry.

With nothing to do, he had wanted to get a good night's sleep. But then he suddenly remembered that Yao Lao had not returned his Soul-Nourishing Wood, so he rushed over as though his backside were on fire.

Yet the moment he entered, Xiao Yan and Yao Lao stared at him as if he were some kind of 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 me for? I'm a real man. I'm not into men."

Xiao Yan clutched his head and sucked in a breath of cold air, rolling his eyes furiously. 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 furrowed as he said coldly, "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 forced a 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 declared a useless pill just moments ago. He had barely turned around before it somehow became a world-shocking pill?

They were not messing with him, were they?

"Why would I lie to you?" Xiao Yan said.

Ahem, ahem!

"That's right. This pill that shakes Heaven and earth, makes ghosts weep, and shocks the world and the universe was refined by me, Xiao Meng." Xiao Meng cleared his throat twice, clasped his hands behind his back, and raised his chin high, feeling utterly vindicated.

He was like a typical 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 completely unreliable.

"Hm? Fourth Brother and Old Yao, have you both gone mute?"

Xiao Meng was still waiting for their cries of amazement and admiration. Yet after waiting for so long, he heard nothing. The surroundings were utterly quiet. His brows furrowed as he turned to look at Yao Lao and Xiao Yan.

The two of them wore expressions that plainly said, If I believe you, I'm a pig.

Xiao Meng's face abruptly stiffened, and he felt as though he were about to faint. "Why are you both looking at me sideways? No, I really refined this pill."

"Third Brother, don't get worked up." Xiao Yan hurriedly comforted him, worried that Xiao Meng would get so angry that he fainted.

"Not worked up? The hell, do I look worked up? I..." Xiao Meng was nearly going mad. What kind of people had he encountered?

"Kid, even I cannot refine a pill like this..." Yao Lao curled his lips and said gloomily. Though he did not finish his sentence, the meaning was clear enough.

"I really did..." Xiao Meng was nearly at a loss, but before he could finish, Xiao Yan patted his shoulder and said firmly.

"Third Brother, I believe you..."

"If you believe me, why are you looking at me so strangely?" Xiao Meng's lips twitched. He wanted to hit someone. This bastard could not even lie properly.

"Kid, I believe you too." Yao Lao suddenly smiled kindly.

"I..." Xiao Meng was on the verge of breaking down. Those two bastards claimed to believe him, yet their eyes revealed something completely different.

They seemed to be saying that only an idiot would believe him.

In the end, Xiao Meng left in a daze.

He had had an awful day.

First, he had been driven out of the Temir Auction House. Then he learned that he had only hurt himself by lifting a stone to smash his own foot. After that, the pill he refined had been mistakenly judged as trash. Although the injustice had been cleared up, no one believed that he had refined it.

Xiao Meng felt unbearably wronged.

"Little Yan, hurry up and pack. We're leaving!"

The moment Xiao Meng left, Yao Lao urgently gave the order. He had originally wanted to ask Xiao Meng who had truly refined the pill, but judging from Xiao Meng's reaction, even if beaten to death, he would only insist that he had refined it.

So Yao Lao was preparing to run away, lest Xiao Meng come back later to demand his Soul-Nourishing Wood again.

Xiao Yan: "#@￥%..."

To be a person like his teacher really was something else.