Ninth-Grade Medicinal Ingredients

This was called a Fire Ant Crystal, an energy crystal secreted within a Fire Ant Queen's body. It contained exceptionally pure fire-element energy.

A Fire Ant Crystal this large represented at least ten years of accumulation. If it were placed outside, countless alchemists would fight over it.

When a Fire Ant Queen reached the end of her lifespan, swallowing the Fire Ant Crystal again gave her a certain chance of evolving into a higher-level Blazing Fire Ant Queen, thereby extending her lifespan.

To put it bluntly, this was what the Fire Ant Queen used to prolong her life.

Hu Jiujiu, on the other hand, had simply stolen this opportunity. If they were not hunted down for it, that would be a crime against heaven.

"Little Demon, this Fire Ant Crystal is good stuff. Why not let me use it to refine some pills?" Lin Yu sidled up to Hu Jiujiu, his gaze falling on the fiery-red crystal as he spoke with a cheeky grin.

Hu Jiujiu glanced sideways at Lin Yu and tossed the Fire Ant Crystal around in her hand again. She gave a rather haughty snort. "Then let's see what grade of pill you can refine."

The meaning behind her words was clear enough: she had agreed.

"Hehe, Little Demon, just leave it to me!" Lin Yu grinned. Without standing on ceremony, he snatched the Fire Ant Crystal from Hu Jiujiu's hand.

It felt warm in his hand, like he was holding a solidified flame. Energy pulsed faintly against his palm.

He found a patch of flat ground and sat down cross-legged. Yao Chen and Hu Jiujiu both gathered around him—one out of an alchemist's instinctive curiosity, the other wanting to see what the thing she had risked her life to steal could become.

Lin Yu took a deep breath and pulled a medicinal cauldron from his Storage Ring.

The cauldron was dark all over, its surface engraved with intricate patterns. At a glance, it was clearly no ordinary item.

With a thought, he spread open his palm, and a cluster of Beastfire suddenly surged up from it. The orange-red flames danced as they plunged beneath the medicinal cauldron, and the surrounding temperature instantly rose.

He first took several auxiliary herbs from his robes and tossed them into the cauldron with practiced movements, carefully controlling the heat as he slowly refined them.

Standing to one side, Yao Chen's initially casual expression gradually turned serious. His eyes remained fixed on every movement Lin Yu made.

This person's technique appeared casual, but every detail was perfectly executed. His control over the heat was frighteningly precise.

After the auxiliary herbs had been processed, Lin Yu tossed the Fire Ant Crystal into the cauldron.

The moment it entered, the Fire Ant Crystal erupted with a dazzling red light. Its violent fire-element energy surged wildly as though it were about to burst through the cauldron walls.

Lin Yu's expression did not change. He formed seals with both hands, and the Beastfire abruptly flared, firmly suppressing the rampaging energy as he began refining it bit by bit.

This display of fire control made Yao Chen's pupils contract slightly.

Once the extraction was complete, several clusters of pure medicinal liquid in different hues floated inside the cauldron, giving off a rich medicinal fragrance.

A thin layer of sweat had formed on Lin Yu's forehead, but his eyes remained bright.

The final step was also the most crucial one—pill fusion.

He suddenly brought his hands together and murmured inwardly, Fusion.

The Fusion Panel immediately activated, and an invisible force poured into the medicinal cauldron.

The medicinal liquids that had been floating separately within the cauldron seemed to receive some kind of summons. They suddenly rushed toward the center, intertwining, merging, and compressing, before swiftly condensing into a round pill that spun rapidly within the cauldron.

A crimson beam shot into the sky from the medicinal cauldron, accompanied by a scorching yet crisp fragrance that spread through the air.

Fusion successful. Fifth-grade pill obtained. Received fifty fusion points.

Seeing the notification appear on the panel, the corners of Lin Yu's lips curled upward.

With a beckoning motion, he called the pill out of the cauldron, and it landed steadily in his palm.

The pill was crimson throughout, with faint flame patterns appearing across its surface. The aura it gave off alone made the battle qi within one's body circulate a little faster.

"A fifth-grade pill, the Blazing Fire Pill." Lin Yu held the pill out before Hu Jiujiu, his tone carrying a trace of pride. "It can temper the fire-element energy in the body after consumption. It works wonders for fire-element magical beasts and those who cultivate fire-element techniques alike. Well? I didn't disappoint you, did I?"

Hu Jiujiu took the pill and brought it to her nose for a sniff. Her fox eyes brightened somewhat, but she still refused to soften her words. "It's all right. I suppose you have some skill after all."

Her fox ears twitched twice, and her golden eyes narrowed into slits, as if she had suddenly remembered something important.

Then she turned around, and a smile bloomed across her fox-like face, which was three parts enchanting and seven parts innocent.

"Here." Hu Jiujiu took out a handful of items from her Storage Ring, all glinting with strange colors beneath the sunset. "Your alchemy is pretty good. I still have some things here. See if any of them are useful to you."

She spread open her paw.

Lin Yu lowered his head to look, and his pupils abruptly shrank.

First were three stalks of Jade Soul Grass, emerald-green like the finest jade. The veins on their leaves seemed to have been traced in gold thread, flowing with a faint radiance beneath the light—seventh-grade medicinal ingredients, and top-tier even among seventh-grade ingredients.

Then there were two Crimson Flame Flowers, their petals dancing like flames in her palm as they radiated blistering heat. These were genuine eighth-grade spirit materials.

There was also a vine as black as ink, covered in fine scale-like patterns. It was an Ink-Scale Vine, likewise an eighth-grade ingredient.

But none of these were what shocked Lin Yu the most.

At the very center of those medicinal ingredients lay a heart the size of a fist.

It was dark red, its surface covered in cracked patterns. A lava-like glow faintly flowed through the cracks.

Even as it lay quietly in Hu Jiujiu's palm, Lin Yu could feel the violent, searing energy contained within it. It was like a slumbering ancient beast that could awaken at any moment.

The Flame Demon Heart.

A genuine ninth-grade medicinal ingredient.

"This..." Lin Yu opened his mouth, his throat feeling somewhat dry. "Sister Little Demon, these things of yours..."

Hu Jiujiu giggled and extended her paw toward him, looking as though she were merely handing out a bunch of wild fruit freshly picked from the mountains. "Take them. They're only taking up space with me."

Lin Yu took a deep breath and accepted the medicinal ingredients with hands that were almost trembling.

The Jade Soul Grass felt icy cold, the Crimson Flame Flowers were scorching hot, the Ink-Scale Vine was hard as iron, while the Flame Demon Heart pulsed faintly, as though it truly possessed life.

He carefully wrapped the medicinal ingredients in cloth and tucked them into his robes before raising his head to look at Hu Jiujiu.

That fox-like face still wore a carefree smile. The sunset reflected in her golden eyes, making them sparkle.

Lin Yu could not help reaching out and tugging on Hu Jiujiu's cheek.

Her fox face felt wonderful to the touch—furry, soft, and faintly warm.

Hu Jiujiu squinted from the tug, letting out an indistinct grumbling sound, but she did not dodge away.

"Little Demon, you trust me that much?" Lin Yu released her cheek and shook his head. "Not to mention that I don't even have the strength to handle these medicinal ingredients."