White Tiger Blood Essence Shocks Medicine Elder

"I know." An Yi shrugged indifferently, his tone relaxed. "We'll take it one step at a time. Any extra time we can buy is a gain. Maybe as our strength improves, we'll find some other permanent solution later?"

"And what about you?"

Medicine Elder gave him a deep look. "Surely you understand what I mean. Extracting blood essence is an enormous drain on any cultivator. You're still so young and in the midst of rapid growth. Losing blood essence at a time like this won't merely affect your cultivation in the short term—it could damage your very foundation!"

"For this little girl, you're willing to pay such a steep price... Are you sure you want to try this method?"

Hearing Medicine Elder's warning, Little Fairy clenched the hem of her clothes tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force. Her eyes were red as she looked at An Yi. Just as she was about to refuse, An Yi pressed down on the back of her hand.

"Old sir, don't try to scare me with that. It's just a minor issue."

An Yi waved a hand dismissively. "I'm built sturdy, and my blood-producing ability is strong. At worst, after this is over, I'll stew a few more magical beasts every day and eat better food to nourish myself. Ten days or half a month, and I'll be back to normal."

"Since I brought up this plan today, I naturally came prepared to bear the cost."

An Yi's smile faded as he fixed his gaze on the black-robed man and spoke sincerely.

"Still... I'm an amateur who only knows how to fight and kill. I don't understand a thing about alchemy or the fine details of the human meridians. If I try something as dangerous as extracting blood essence to alter her body by force, I'm afraid I won't save her at all—I might even kill her instead."

"So... would you be willing to lend a hand and help us, old sir?"

Medicine Elder fell silent for a moment, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest of the sofa.

"I can help you."

Medicine Elder spoke slowly. "But let me make this clear first. Though I am an alchemist, this method you proposed is something I've encountered for the first time in my life. I cannot guarantee you that it will succeed with absolute certainty."

"Is it dangerous?" An Yi frowned slightly.

"There is naturally a risk. One small mistake, and if the blood essences clash, she could explode and die." Medicine Elder paused. "I must first see exactly how violent your blood essence is before I can prescribe the proper remedy."

Upon hearing this, An Yi wasted no words. With a flip of his wrist, he took a small jade bottle sealed with special Dou Qi from his Storage Ring and casually tossed it to Medicine Elder.

Medicine Elder was slightly startled and caught the jade bottle reflexively. "You... You already extracted it beforehand?"

"Yeah." An Yi's face was somewhat pale, clearly not yet fully recovered from extracting blood essence so recently. "After reading the scroll last night and thinking of this plan, I extracted a drop to test its activity. But this stuff's energy is too terrifying. I was afraid she couldn't endure it, so I didn't dare feed it to her directly."

With a hint of curiosity, Medicine Elder gently pulled out the stopper of the jade bottle.

At the same time, a thread of soul perception carefully entered the bottle.

Boom!

The instant his perception touched that drop of dark-golden blood essence—

Deep within Medicine Elder's soul, it was as though he heard an ancient tiger's roar that shook heaven and earth!

An indescribably tyrannical aura erupted like a volcano, crashing straight into Medicine Elder's mind!

What an overbearing aura! What terrifying killing intent!

Supremely forceful and sharp, its baleful aura pressed down on everything, as though it could grind every sinister thing between heaven and earth into dust!

Yet what horrified Medicine Elder beyond measure was—

Although the killing intent contained within this drop of blood essence was terrifying to the extreme, it was nothing like the usual frenzy, bloodlust, and chaotic disorder found in ordinary high-level magical beasts!

On the contrary, this ultimate aura of slaughter was perfectly ordered, like a battle-hardened army that was rigorously trained and obeyed every command!

Snap!

Medicine Elder abruptly capped the jade bottle, cutting off his perception. A fine layer of cold sweat had appeared on his forehead beneath the black robe.

"Fortunately... fortunately, you still had enough sense not to feed this drop of blood to her directly last night!"

Medicine Elder's voice carried lingering fear and astonishment. "With this little girl's frail body—she isn't even a Dou Practitioner—if she directly swallowed your drop of blood essence, forget altering her body. The instant it entered her stomach, that supremely forceful and sharp baleful aura would turn her internal organs into a mass of pulp, and she'd explode to death on the spot!"

Medicine Elder gave An Yi a deep look. "I'm truly becoming more and more curious about how you fused with such a thing back then. With something so supremely yang and tyrannical, not to mention humans, even those top-tier magical beasts with powerful bloodlines would likely not dare touch or devour it lightly."

"Ha, I don't have much going for me, except good luck. Just a blind cat stumbling onto a dead mouse."

An Yi laughed it off, then asked, "So, do you have a grasp of it now, old sir? Can you help?"

"I can." Medicine Elder nodded. "Though this blood essence's energy is terrifying, as long as we use several rare, gentle, neutral medicinal ingredients to balance its properties, and I personally protect her heart meridians while guiding the blood essence to merge, the chance of success will be at least eighty percent."

"However..."

Medicine Elder changed the subject. "I'm doing you such a great favor. What do you intend to offer as payment?"

Without another word, An Yi directly handed over Wings of the Eagle, the high Xuan-class flying Dou Technique.

Medicine Elder did not reach out to take it. He merely said two words flatly. "Not enough."

"This matter is not as simple as refining a few batches of Foundation-Building Elixir. The danger and precision involved mean that even if I act personally, it will consume a tremendous amount of my mental and soul strength. A mere Xuan-class flying Dou Technique cannot buy the price of my aid."

An Yi raised a brow and looked at him warily. "Then what else do you want, sir? Let me make this clear beforehand—you can't possibly want me to extract another drop of blood essence for you to study, right?"

"If you're willing to give it, I would naturally welcome it with open arms." Medicine Elder chuckled.

"No! Absolutely not!"

An Yi shook his head like a rattle drum. "That one drop last night nearly bled me into anemia. Another drop? Do you want me to live or not?"

Medicine Elder smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry, I don't want your blood essence. Aside from this flying Dou Technique, I only want one thing from you—you must owe me a favor."

"A favor?" An Yi froze, and alarm bells immediately rang in his heart. In this world, money was easy to repay, but debts of favor were the hardest to settle!

"What do you want me to do for you in the future?"

"I have no use for you at the moment, so I'm not sure yet." Medicine Elder said leisurely. "But perhaps one day in the future, I may need you to lend me a hand."

An Yi hesitated. "But... I don't even know who you are yet. What if you ask me to do something wicked in the future, or send me to my death? Would I still have to go?"

Medicine Elder paused slightly.

Then, he slowly raised the hand hidden beneath his broad black robe.

With a soft pfft.

A pale, bone-white flame, surging with an icy chill, silently rose from his palm like a blooming lotus!

It was clearly flame, yet the instant it appeared, the temperature throughout the VIP lounge plummeted to freezing! It was a coldness capable of freezing the soul!

Bone Spirit Cold Flame!

"Once you see this flame, you'll naturally know who I am in the future. As for sending you to your death? Heh, I can't afford to lose that much face."

"Well?"

An Yi looked at the strange pale flame. After a moment of silence, he finally nodded.

"Fine. I agree."

Medicine Elder nodded in satisfaction and withdrew the Bone Spirit Cold Flame.

Then he took the paper and pen from the table and quickly wrote down a string of rare, gentle medicinal herbs.

After finishing, he handed the list to An Yi.

"Gather these things as soon as possible. Once the materials are ready, I can begin at any time."