How About You Just Force Him into Marriage?

How About You Just Force Him into Marriage?

Han Feng strolled through several of the busiest medicinal herb trading districts in Holy Pill City.

His spiritual sense spread like an invisible net, covering every stall and shop.

"Hmm, this Evil Blood Saint Demon Leaf is old enough. It'll barely do."

Soul-Cleansing Grass—average quality, but better than nothing.

"Qi-Congealing Jade Lingzhi, Netherworld Water Lingzhi... These are unexpected gains. They're all over five thousand years old."

He stopped and went as he pleased. Whenever he spotted a medicinal herb he liked, he bought it without hesitation. The pills or magical beast cores he offered delighted every vendor, drawing gasps from those nearby, but he himself did not care. Once he paid, he simply turned and left.

He had also gathered seven or eight out of ten of the dozens of supplementary ingredients needed to refine the Heavenly Soul Saint-Melding Pill.

Yet several main ingredients were nowhere to be found.

Han Feng shook his head. He knew that legendary divine treasures such as Myriad-Year Blood Lingzhi, Soul Spirit Fruit, and Creation Profound Heaven Vine could not possibly be found among ordinary goods.

He stopped wasting time.

"Looks like I'll still have to make a trip to the Pill Tower."

He raised his head, his gaze falling upon the towering white pagoda at the center of Holy Pill City, soaring into the clouds and seeming to connect heaven and earth.

The Pill Tower.

That was the true destination of his journey.

The top floor of the Pill Tower was not open to the public.

Xuan Yi held a cup of fragrant tea as she discussed the recent situation in the Central Plains with the Pill Tower's other two giants, Xuan Kongzi and Tian Leizi.

Suddenly, the hand holding her teacup paused.

"Someone's here."

Xuan Kongzi and Tian Leizi exchanged glances, a trace of gravity appearing in both their eyes.

Then, a figure in green appeared before the three of them without warning, as though he had been there from the beginning.

"Aunt Xuan, it's been many years. You haven't changed a bit." Han Feng wore a gentle smile. Rather than a junior paying respects to an elder, he seemed more like an old friend dropping by for a visit.

"You little brat!" Xuan Yi was startled at first, then rolled her eyes at him irritably. "You didn't even think to announce yourself before coming. Were you trying to scare us old folks to death?"

Though she said that, the delight and concern in her eyes could not be concealed.

Beside her, Xuan Kongzi stared fixedly at Han Feng. His wise eyes were filled with undisguised shock. He could not discern Han Feng's depth at all. "You brat, just how did you cultivate?!"

"You stayed silent until you shocked the world!" Tian Leizi was equally moved. He looked at Han Feng as though looking at some kind of monster. "The waves behind drive on those before. If Brother Yao Chen knew in the afterlife and saw what you've achieved today, he could rest in peace."

At the mention of Yao Chen, the smile on Han Feng's face faded somewhat.

He scratched his nose, his tone a little awkward and hesitant.

"Um... Aunt Xuan."

"I found my teacher."

"What did you say—"

Bang!

The teacup in Xuan Yi's hand shattered. Scalding tea splashed across the floor, yet she did not notice at all.

She abruptly rose to her feet and grabbed Han Feng's arm. A mist quickly gathered in her beautiful eyes, and even her voice trembled with excitement.

"You... You're telling the truth?! Yao Chen... He's still alive?!"

"Where is he? How is he now?!"

"Those bastards from the Soul Hall, did they..."

Her stream of questions came out in a disordered rush.

Seeing her like this, Han Feng could not help but sigh inwardly.

He took her icy hand in his own and used gentle Dou Qi to calm her emotions. "Aunt Xuan, don't worry. Teacher is doing well. He's in my Sacred City now, and he's safe."

Then, he briefly told her how he had found Elder Yao.

Xuan Yi listened quietly, but at last, she could no longer hold back her tears. They slid down her cheeks.

"Good... It's good that he's alive. It's good that he's alive..." she murmured, as though those words had drained all her strength.

Seeing this, Han Feng suddenly felt mischievous. He lowered his voice, leaned close to Xuan Yi's ear with a grin, and said:

"Aunt Xuan, I think Teacher has been rather lonely on his own. Why don't you come with me to the Black-Corner Region right now and force him into marriage? I guarantee I'll start calling you Mistress immediately, and I won't even ask for a gift for changing how I address you!"

"You!"

Xuan Yi's pretty face instantly turned bright red. She huffily slapped Han Feng's arm and chided him:

"You little brat, you have no sense of respect! All you know is how to make fun of me!"

Though she said that, the shyness and joy in her eyes could not be hidden.

Xuan Kongzi and Tian Leizi exchanged smiles, understanding without needing words.

After some teasing, Xuan Yi finally calmed herself. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, regained the dignity of a Pill Tower giant, and said seriously, "Tell me, then. What have you come to the Pill Tower for this time? Surely you didn't come all this way just to bring me good news?"

"As expected of Aunt Xuan, you understand me." Han Feng smiled, his expression turning serious as well. "I came to find several medicinal ingredients."

"Oh? What pill are you refining that would make even a great figure like you come personally?" Xuan Kongzi became interested as well.

Han Feng looked at the three of them and slowly spoke the name of a pill.

"A ninth-tier treasure pill—the Heavenly Soul Saint-Melding Pill!"

Boom!

The air in the hall seemed to be sucked away in an instant.

Xuan Kongzi, Xuan Yi, and Tian Leizi—the three giants of the Pill Tower—were petrified on the spot the moment they heard those words!

The expressions on their faces shifted from shock and horror to fervor, changing so rapidly that it was a spectacular sight.

"A... a ninth-tier treasure pill?!" Even Xuan Kongzi's voice trembled. "Han Feng, you... you aren't joking, are you? Could it be..."

"This junior is not particularly talented, but my soul has now reached the late Heavenly Realm." Han Feng's answer was calm, yet the confidence within it was beyond doubt.

Hiss—

The three Pill Tower elders simultaneously sucked in a sharp breath.

Looking at the young man before them, they felt as though every pill they had refined in their lives had been for nothing.

Was this... even human?!

"Good! Good!" Xuan Kongzi's face flushed red with excitement as he slapped his thigh. "Tell us whatever ingredients you need! As for the ingredients, my Pill Tower will definitely find a way to gather them for you!"

"The main ingredients in the pill formula that I still lack are Myriad-Year Blood Lingzhi, Soul Spirit Fruit, Creation Profound Heaven Vine, Myriad Souls Crystal Marrow, and Ten-Thousand-Year Azure Spirit Vine. These are all far too rare, so I came to the Pill Tower to put out a reward and try my luck," Han Feng said.

Xuan Yi nodded. After pondering for a moment, she suddenly said, "Those items are indeed difficult to find, but you arrived at the right time. Tomorrow happens to be the Pill Tower's Alchemist Exchange. By then, top alchemists from all across the Central Plains will bring their treasured collections. You may find what you need there."

"Oh? Is it time for the Alchemist Exchange already?" Han Feng's eyes lit up.

"Then let's go take a look."

The next day, Han Feng followed a Pill Tower elder to a grand ancient building at the center of Holy Pill City.

He looked up at the pale green wooden plaque hanging above the entrance.

Five large characters were written across it in bold, flowing strokes.

"Alchemist Exchange."

He silently repeated the words to himself, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

This was not his first time here.

Yet whenever he saw this name, he could not help complaining inwardly.

Those old fellows of the Pill Tower truly had no creativity when it came to names. It was plain to the extreme.