The red and blue flames seemed to come alive, wrapping around the herbs and hair, fusing them together. Strange radiance shone from within the furnace, bathing the entire Crystal House in dazzling colors.
Ge Duo stared intently at the medicine furnace, gently waving her staff as she guided the changing flames.
Her Soul Power was like the most precise instrument, regulating every trace of energy flowing within the furnace.
Rapunzel stood to one side, watching Ge Duo's focused profile.
She had never seen Ge Duo like this before.
In the Fairy-Tale World, Ge Duo had studied magic and herbs as well, but she had never been so invested, so... obsessed.
Back then, Ge Duo had been more like a miser, cautiously guarding her "treasure"—Rapunzel's long hair.
But now, Ge Duo's eyes burned with a thirst for power, a hunger for knowledge, and the ambition to control everything.
She had changed.
Truly changed.
The alchemy process lasted the entire morning.
When the furnace fire gradually died out and the lid opened on its own, a rich medicinal fragrance instantly filled the room. The scent was so pure that a single breath left one feeling invigorated.
Ge Duo walked up to the furnace and took out three pills the size of longans.
The pills were pale gold, with fine cloud patterns flowing across their surfaces and a faint radiance contained within. Most peculiar of all, a thin golden halo lingered around them—the residual power of Rapunzel's hair.
She carefully placed the pills into a jade bottle, then turned to Rapunzel. "Your hair worked even better than I expected. These three pills are at least thirty percent better than ordinary ones."
Rapunzel looked at the jade bottle, unable to put her feelings into words.
Her hair had become a tool for others to