Self-Taught Alchemy

Walking beside Xiao Yan, Ya Fei had completely lost the admiration she had felt when they first met. She was even rather nervous.

Her memory was excellent. She remembered everyone she saw and every scent she smelled. Xiao Yan carried the same medicinal fragrance as that mysterious person, and he was also the person in Wutan City who most needed Qi-Gathering Powder and a Profound Tier fire-attribute cultivation technique. The answer could hardly be wrong.

Biting her red lip lightly with her pearly teeth, Ya Fei secretly glanced at the youth beside her. His immature yet sharply defined face made him look like nothing more than a high-spirited young genius.

She found it difficult to believe that such a youth had remained utterly unfazed on the spot and deceived both her and Gu Ni.

"If you want to look, then look. Why sneak around?" After walking for a while, Xiao Yan stopped.

Ya Fei halted as well. "Should I call you sir, or Little Brother Xiao Yan?"

"Rather than worrying about how to address me, I think you should be more concerned about whether you'll live or die!" Xiao Yan grabbed Ya Fei and pulled her into a dense grove beside the road.

The sun hung high in the sky. Filtered through layer upon layer of leaves, its rays cast tiny specks of light across the ground carpeted in fallen leaves, scattered like stars.

Inside the small grove, Ya Fei did not resist, but wearing high heels, she could not keep up with Xiao Yan's pace for a moment. As she struggled to catch up, she could not help panting lightly, her proud curves rising and falling with each breath.

Leaning against a thick tree trunk, Ya Fei's pretty face flushed as she asked, "What do you want?"

Xiao Yan snorted. He had gone through so much trouble to disguise himself, yet Ya Fei had still seen through him so easily. He wondered what special training the Mite'er Family had that made them so skilled at recognizing people.

Wanting to vent his frustration, Xiao Yan said viciously, "Since you discovered my secret, death is the only path! But you're so beautiful that killing you outright would be a waste. I should take advantage of you first, then kill you."

With a teasing finger, Xiao Yan lifted Ya Fei's delicate chin and looked up at her. It was easy to see her chest rising and falling unevenly. Her emotions were in violent turmoil, no less than his surprise at having his identity exposed.

Though a much younger boy was taking liberties with her, Ya Fei could not bring herself to feel any disgust toward his handsome face.

Ya Fei shot him a seductive glare and said coquettishly, "You're still the young master of the Xiao Family. Where did you learn all those improper things?"

"Haven't you heard of spoiled young masters?" Xiao Yan smiled and scratched Ya Fei's chin with his finger before turning serious. "I'm done teasing you."

Suppressing her laughter, Ya Fei looked at him with a trace of resentment.

Xiao Yan pondered for a moment. "You recognized me, yet you remained calm in this situation. That proves you're a capable and intelligent woman who understands how to maximize benefits. I won't kill you. I'll even help you. It would be such a pity if a face as beautiful as yours had to grow old someday."

"What do you want me to do?" Hearing the terms Xiao Yan offered, Ya Fei did not think she could receive anything for free. Her eyes flickered as she asked nervously.

Xiao Yan took out a sheet of paper from his robes. "Relying on your Mitre connections, gather as many of the items on it as possible."

Ya Fei accepted the paper and gave it a quick glance, then sucked in a cold breath. "One hundred First-Rank Wood-Attribute Magic Cores, twenty second-rank wood-attribute Magic Cores, ten second-rank ice-attribute Magic Cores, a weapon embedded with at least a third-rank fire-attribute Magic Core, and a portion of Beast Flame..."

"Do you think I have the final say in the Mite'er Family?" Ya Fei rolled her eyes and smiled. "If you joined our Mite'er Family, doubling every item on this list would not be a problem."

Xiao Yan said, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Never underestimate a poor youth! Ya Fei, I entrusted this to you because I do not look down on you, so do not belittle yourself either. A new generation replaces the old. Perhaps one day, you will become the new head of the Mite'er Family."

Ya Fei stood there blankly for a while before reminding him, "The Jialie Family is looking for an alchemist. They may be planning to harm your Xiao Family. If you join the Mite'er Family, we can eliminate these unnecessary little troubles for you."

Looking for an alchemist? With Liu Xi's talent, he had not even reached the Dou Zhe level yet, so he could not possibly refine medicine. Were they looking for his master? Thoughts raced through Xiao Yan's mind. After quickly considering it, he said, "Even if it's a major problem, the Xiao Family can handle it. Go back and gather the materials for me."

Watching Xiao Yan leave so cleanly and decisively without a shred of hesitation, Ya Fei shook her head with a bitter smile. "What a little monster. That girl from the Nalan Family wants to break off her engagement with him. The Nalan Family and the Misty Cloud Sect will have plenty of headaches in the future."

Xiao Yan returned to the Xiao Family and headed straight for the cave in the back mountain. He took out the medicine cauldron and prescription from his Storage Ring. Holding the Rejuvenation Powder formula, he read it with his soul force.

The prescriptions used by alchemists on the Dou Qi Continent differed greatly from those written by ordinary physicians. They had to be written by at least a Fourth-Rank Alchemist using soul force and clearly stated the required flame temperature, the concentration to which ingredients needed to be refined, and the reactions that occurred when they were fused.

As long as the recipient scanned it once with soul force, the entire refining process recorded in the prescription would be deeply imprinted in their mind.

After scanning the scroll once, Xiao Yan quickly received a vast amount of information. He thoughtfully rubbed his Storage Ring, took out the medicinal ingredients within, and arranged them before the medicine cauldron.

He sat cross-legged before the cauldron, took out the booklet Gu Ni had given him, and carefully read through it.

After a long while, Xiao Yan finished reading the concise and useful contents. He slowly closed his eyes and began searching for the power of wood.

About fifteen minutes later, having successfully found it, he placed both hands over the fire ports on either side of the medicine cauldron.

As his Dou Qi circulated, pale golden Dou Qi transformed into flames that were nearly tangible. Immediately afterward, an extremely thin stream of green energy flowed from the other fire port.

The two fused inside the medicine cauldron. The violent elements within the pale golden flames seemed to undergo a chemical reaction and were neutralized. The flames now possessed greater endurance and controllability than before. This was true alchemical fire.

According to Gu Ni's notes, an ordinary alchemist generally needed more than a month to reach this step. Yet Xiao Yan possessed exceptional talent in alchemy, and everything came as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

Once the flames appeared, Xiao Yan tossed a Blood-Stanching Herb beside him into the medicine cauldron. The instant his attention wavered, the temperature of the flames fluctuated. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and immediately brought the suddenly surging flames under control.

The Blood-Stanching Herb had been burned somewhat black, but it still retained value for refinement.

Xiao Yan focused completely on controlling the flames. The Blood-Stanching Herb tumbled continuously in the pale golden fire, gradually shedding its outer layer as the liquid essence within was roasted out bit by bit, becoming pale green powder.

After such a good start, Xiao Yan's confidence soared. He took out a second herb and continued refining it.

The movements of the Jialie Family that Ya Fei had mentioned gave him a sense of urgency. They had indeed found an alchemist, and after being crushed for a time, they had even found Liu Xi's master.

If Liu Xi's master appeared now, he would be far more troublesome than Liu Xi. Xiao Yan had to master the Alchemy Art as soon as possible to gain the ability to deal with him.

As he refined one medicinal ingredient after another, there were occasional failures, but Xiao Yan's overall success rate remained around ninety percent.

Cultivating an Advanced Profound Rank technique, Xiao Yan possessed an abundance of Dou Qi. Even after several hours, he still had energy to spare.

Inside the cave, flames churned endlessly within the medicine cauldron. What was being refined was no longer a single medicinal ingredient, but the extracts of the three ingredients required for Rejuvenation Powder.

The three medicines had different temperature requirements, forcing Xiao Yan to constantly adjust the flame temperature. The difficulty increased greatly.

However, Xiao Yan had practiced First Sun Scorching Sky, a Dou Technique as well as a fire-control method, and had gained considerable insight into controlling flames.

When the three ingredients had completely fused together, a mass of pale green liquid appeared in the medicine cauldron. Xiao Yan widened his eyes, surprised even himself. "It worked?"

Looking at the liquid giving off a rich medicinal fragrance, Xiao Yan felt intensely excited and proud.

The absence of Yao Lao did not mean he could not master the Alchemy Art, just as the absence of an imperial chef did not mean people would starve to death without food.