Guidance from a Pill Dao Titan, Weight Beyond Measure

Old Man Shennong was not a member of the Yao Clan. As an independent cultivator, he had nevertheless reached the Six-Star Battle Saint level, with soul strength at the Heavenly Realm Grand Perfection. He was one of the few Ninth-Grade Profound-Pill Alchemy Grandmasters on the continent!

Furthermore, Old Man Shennong possessed the Living Flame, granting him an exceptionally long lifespan. His seniority was likewise extraordinarily high!

Even Yao Wangu of the Yao Clan could only call himself a junior before this giant of the Pill Dao.

Thus, upon hearing Yao Xuan's name, Old Man Shennong stroked his beard. "Yao Xuan...?"

"That is quite a good name. It seems you are from the Yao Clan. No wonder that, though you are merely a Dou Ling at such a young age, your soul strength is rather impressive..."

"But now that you have entered the depths of this mountain range, the Yao Clan actually felt at ease letting you come alone? The Yao Clan is truly rather careless..."

Hearing Old Man Shennong's words, Yao Xuan gave a helpless, bitter smile.

"Senior, you misunderstand..."

"Though my surname is Yao, I can no longer be considered a member of the Yao Clan..."

After hearing this, Old Man Shennong slightly raised his eyes and chuckled softly. "It seems you are another collateral clansman expelled from the Yao Clan..."

Surprise flashed through Yao Xuan's eyes. "Senior, how did you know?"

Old Man Shennong examined Yao Xuan once more before speaking in a deep voice.

"I have lived in seclusion within the Shennong Mountain Range for a long time. I have seen far too many Yao Clan members like you..."

"However, before you, only one person managed to leave the Shennong Mountain Range alive..."

"That person seemed to be called Yao Chen. He was about your age at the time, though his soul strength was somewhat inferior to yours..."

Only then did Yao Xuan understand. No wonder Yao Chen, who had merely been a Three-Star Battle Master when he was expelled from the Yao Clan, had been able to escape the Shennong Mountain Range alive despite Yao Wangu sending people after him.

So he had also received Old Man Shennong's protection. With that, everything made sense...

Old Man Shennong paused before speaking again. "It seems the Yao Clan has become increasingly rigid and pedantic..."

"From what I can see, kid, although you are only a Dou Ling now, your alchemy should have already reached the level of a Fifth-Grade Alchemist..."

"I know something of the Yao Clan's rules. Your collateral branch would not receive the Yao Clan's focused training, yet you have reached the realm of a Fifth-Grade Alchemist at such an age..."

"Such talent still cannot catch the Yao Clan's eye? It seems that old man Yao Dan truly has grown blind and muddleheaded..."

"If old man Yao Dan continues insisting on distinctions between the direct and collateral lines, I fear the Yao Clan will not last another hundred years under his leadership..."

Old Man Shennong could not help but sigh gravely. Over the years, he had seen far too many abandoned children cast out by the Yao Clan...

The reason he had chosen to help only Yao Chen before and Yao Xuan now was because he believed the two possessed fine talent and was unwilling to watch promising alchemy seedlings perish prematurely.

Seeing such a mighty expert as Old Man Shennong praise him, Yao Xuan hurriedly said, "Senior, you flatter me..."

Old Man Shennong slightly raised his hand. A green flame appeared in his palm, gently lifting Yao Xuan into the air.

"Junior, with your own abilities, it is impossible for you to leave the Shennong Mountain Range alive..."

"However, since I have stepped in and saved you, it means we are fated..."

"Today, I shall give you a test. If you can pass it, I will personally send you out of this mountain range..."

"If not, then you may fend for yourself..."

Once Old Man Shennong finished speaking, he nodded lightly and brought Yao Xuan into a space he had created...

The instant he entered this space, Yao Xuan could sense endless pill fragrance permeating the air...

In the next moment, Old Man Shennong lightly swept his sleeve.

Dozens of fully matured spiritual herbs instantly appeared before Yao Xuan, arranged neatly alongside a pill formula...

"Within the time it takes one incense stick to burn, refine a top-grade Fifth-Grade Azure Origin Meridian-Restoring Pill."

"The formula and ingredients are all before you. Begin..."

As Old Man Shennong's words fell, an ancient incense stick emerged from the ground and quietly ignited, giving off faint points of light.

Yao Xuan's pupils abruptly contracted as he hurriedly began studying the pill formula.

The Azure Origin Meridian-Restoring Pill was among the finest of Fifth-Grade pills. Its medicinal properties were complex, and merging its meridian-restoring effects was exceptionally difficult. Even ordinary Fifth-Grade Alchemists needed half an hour of steady refinement before they could form the pill.

One incense stick!

Such a brief span was barely enough even to purify the herbs, much less control the flame, merge the ingredients, condense the pill, and seal its patterns!

Yet Yao Xuan did not give up. He understood that this was both a test and an opportunity!

After briefly familiarizing himself with the pill formula, Yao Xuan's Storage Ring flashed, and an ordinary black pill cauldron appeared before him!

Yao Xuan focused his mind and calmed his breath. Raising a hand, he drew upon the battle qi within his body and poured it into the cauldron.

A pale red pill flame surged up, enveloping the cauldron...

Relying on his past alchemy experience, Yao Xuan tossed the herbs recorded in the formula into the cauldron one by one.

It was his first time refining the Azure Origin Meridian-Restoring Pill, and Yao Xuan had no real grasp of the method. His movements appeared somewhat stiff and flustered...

Even though Yao Xuan was currently using his soul strength to sense and control the various herbs within the pill cauldron,

the medicinal properties of the different spiritual herbs conflicted and complemented one another, making them exceedingly complicated...

Yao Xuan's soul strength was only at the Mid-Level Mortal Realm. Added to the fact that this was his first time refining this pill, although he made no mistakes in the refinement process, he was unable to increase his speed...

As time rapidly slipped away and the incense had already burned through nearly half...

Yao Xuan was still stuck at the stage of merging the medicinal properties...

Watching silently from the side, Old Man Shennong saw that Yao Xuan had only glanced at the pill formula once yet had already reached this stage. His appreciation for talent immediately stirred, and he could not help speaking slowly.

"Do not rush. Abandon the Yao Clan's rigid, brute-force method of pill refinement... Your battle qi flame control is too fierce. Forcibly tearing apart the medicinal properties will only have the opposite effect."

"The Azure Origin Meridian-Restoring Pill focuses on harmonizing the meridians and strengthening the foundation. Its medicinal properties are gentle and lingering. You must nurture them slowly with a soft flame, purifying them according to their natural course rather than forcefully refining them with fierce fire."

Old Man Shennong's casual guidance immediately exposed the root of Yao Xuan's problem.

"Restrain your battle qi. Use your soul strength to attune yourself to the medicinal properties within the cauldron. Follow the natural pathways of the spiritual herbs to strip away impurities and preserve their source medicinal power. The countless plants of the world each possess their own vitality. Only by understanding medicinal properties can one command the Pill Dao."

Yao Xuan's mind shook, and he immediately followed those instructions.

He promptly reined in his violent battle qi, slowed his flame control, and sent his pure soul strength into the pill cauldron, carefully sensing every fluctuation in the medicinal properties.

The chaotic fire energy within the cauldron gradually settled. The dispersing medicinal power was firmly contained, while the mutually conflicting spiritual herbs slowly adjusted and merged beneath the nurturing of the gentle pill flame.

Seeing Yao Xuan promptly correct his technique, Old Man Shennong nodded faintly and offered further guidance in a soft voice.

"Balance the heat, unite the medicinal qi, and borrow the vitality of heaven and earth to aid the pill. There is no need to cling to fixed steps. Follow your heart and the natural course—this is the Great Dao."

Yao Xuan was suddenly enlightened. Casting aside the alchemy techniques that had been ingrained in him for years, he immersed his mind in the refinement process...

In the path of alchemy, talent and comprehension mattered most!

When Yao Chen had traveled the continent in those days, he had merely given Fa Ma a little guidance, yet it had allowed the latter to attain enlightenment and become a peak Fifth-Grade Alchemist, securely holding the position of president of the Jia Ma Empire Alchemists' Guild...

Now, Old Man Shennong might have spoken only two sentences to Yao Xuan, but only alchemists could understand just how profound the mysteries within that guidance were, and how immense their weight truly was...

Thus, after Old Man Shennong's guidance, Yao Xuan's integration of the herbs' medicinal power visibly accelerated. Seeing that Yao Xuan had grasped his words, Old Man Shennong nodded in approval...