Heavenly Flames?

"Who is Elder Ba Lu?"

Chen Mo asked.

"He is the master alchemist of our Snake-People Clan."

Yue Nu replied proudly.

"Is he in the royal palace? I'll go find him."

Chen Mo needed an Ice Heart Pill to keep his soul lucid, so he could improve his cultivation efficiency when practicing the Chaos Meditation Art at night.

"Elder Ba Lu is in the Alchemy Room of the royal palace. I'll take you there," Yue Nu said.

"Thank you, Commander Yue Nu." Chen Mo cupped his fists slightly.

Yue Nu did not reply. After speaking, she led the way ahead.

It was Chen Mo's first time moving freely through the royal palace.

The royal palace was larger than he had imagined, but it was not luxurious. Instead, it was imposing and solemn. Its passages crisscrossed in every direction, and the walls were carved with images of snake-people.

Every passage was patrolled by a heavily guarded squad of snake-people, leaving no gaps in their defenses.

Whenever these snake-people saw Chen Mo, they muttered among themselves.

"Is he the slave Her Majesty the Queen captured?"

"Even with his face swollen, he still looks so handsome."

"I heard Her Majesty the Queen beats him black and blue every day, until he passes out and has to be carried away."

"Serves him right. That's how humans should be treated."

The corner of Chen Mo's mouth twitched. He had not expected to become so famous in the royal palace already.

After walking for more than ten minutes.

Chen Mo finally arrived before the Alchemy Room.

Snake-person guards stood watch outside. After Yue Nu spoke to them, they allowed Chen Mo inside.

The moment he entered the Alchemy Room, a wave of scorching heat rushed at him, forming a sharp contrast with the cool temperature outside and making it feel like two entirely different worlds.

The room was somewhat spacious and empty, with only a medicinal cauldron in the center.

An elderly snake-person in black robes was sorting medicinal ingredients. Hearing footsteps, he raised his head. When he saw a human, his brows creased imperceptibly. Just as he was about to harshly question the guards outside about why they had let a human in—

"Six-Leaf Crimson Grass, Crimson Spirit Fruit, Azure Silver Heartstone."

A murmur reached the old snake-person's ears.

The old snake-person froze slightly, then recalled what Her Majesty the Queen had told him that night. He immediately straightened up and said, "You are Her Majesty the Queen's personal slave?"

Chen Mo's mouth twitched, but he did not argue. He nodded and smiled. "You must be Elder Ba Lu."

Ba Lu gave a soft grunt. "What do you want with me?"

"I want to refine an Ice Heart Pill, but Commander Yue Nu said only you have Ice Heart Grass," Chen Mo said.

"An Ice Heart Pill?" Hearing this, Ba Lu believed him a little more. But seeing how young Chen Mo was, he still could not believe he was a Four-Star Alchemist, so he asked, "Did you refine this Recovery Pill?"

Ba Lu took a medicinal pill from his Storage Ring and walked over to Chen Mo.

Chen Mo examined it carefully, then nodded.

Ba Lu immediately sucked in a breath of cold air and asked again, "How old are you?"

"Nineteen." Chen Mo frowned slightly, not understanding why he was asking this.

Ba Lu was even more shocked. He said in disbelief, "How is that possible? How could there be a nineteen-year-old Four-Star Alchemist in this world? Even Gu He was only a Two-Star Alchemist back then."

"Four-Star?" Chen Mo froze, then said in surprise, "I'm not a Four-Star Alchemist. I'm only a Two-Star Alchemist."

"Two-Star?" Ba Lu wore an incredulous expression, then a hint of anger appeared on his face. "You're lying to me. You didn't refine this Recovery Pill at all?"

Chen Mo was even more baffled. "The Recovery Pill is only a first-grade pill, and I'm a Two-Star Alchemist. Isn't it easy for a Two-Star Alchemist to refine a first-grade pill? What makes you say I didn't refine it?"

Ba Lu grew angry. "This Recovery Pill is nearly perfect. At minimum, only a Four-Star Alchemist could achieve this. You are merely Two-Star, so how could you possibly do it?"

"Isn't this something anyone with hands can do?" Chen Mo said.

Ba Lu was thoroughly enraged. With a fierce expression, he said, "Insolent! Don't think I won't dare touch you just because you belong to Her Majesty the Queen. Guards!"

The two snake-person guards outside immediately entered. Hearing the commotion, Yue Nu also came inside and asked in confusion, "Elder Ba Lu, what happened?"

"Throw this human out for me," Ba Lu said.

"Yes." The guards stepped forward, preparing to act.

"Wait." Yue Nu hurriedly stopped them. Her Majesty the Queen had ordered her to watch over this human. She then asked, "Elder Ba Lu, what happened?"

"Ask him yourself," Elder Ba Lu said.

"I said I refined that Recovery Pill," Chen Mo said.

Yue Nu did not understand such matters, so she asked, "Elder Ba Lu, what is wrong with that?"

"Of course there's something wrong. This Recovery Pill is nearly perfect, without a trace of impurities. In other words, after swallowing this Recovery Pill, all of its medicinal power can be absorbed."

Ba Lu paused to catch his breath before continuing, "The only people capable of refining a first-grade pill to such a degree are Four-Star Alchemists. Even I cannot do it. Yet he says he is merely a Two-Star Alchemist. Isn't he toying with me?"

Yue Nu raised her brows in surprise. In her eyes, a Two-Star Alchemist was already highly esteemed, and she looked curiously at Chen Mo.

Seeing all eyes turn toward him, Chen Mo could not be bothered to explain. "Elder Ba Lu, if I refine a perfect Recovery Pill on the spot, will you give me the Ice Heart Grass?"

Ba Lu scoffed. A perfect Recovery Pill? He immediately boasted, "Never mind perfect. If you can refine a Recovery Pill of the same quality as the one in my hand, not only will I give you the Ice Heart Grass, but if you ever lack any medicinal ingredients in the future, as long as I have them, I'll give them all to you."

Chen Mo said nothing. He walked over to the medicinal cauldron, then turned back to Ba Lu and said, "May I borrow the cauldron and the ingredients for a Recovery Pill?"

"Of course." Ba Lu was quite generous in this regard. With a sweep of his hand, the medicinal ingredients for a Recovery Pill floated before Chen Mo.

Chen Mo took a deep breath. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he rubbed his fingers together, and a tiny blood-colored flame flickering with arcs of lightning rose from his fingertips.

With a flick of his finger, Chen Mo sent the flame into the medicinal cauldron.

Boom! With a muffled blast, surging blood-colored flames suddenly erupted within the medicinal cauldron.

Elder Ba Lu's medicinal cauldron was of decent quality, and no strange sounds came from it.

At the same time, Ba Lu, Yue Nu, and the others stared at the blood-colored flames blazing within the cauldron, their faces filled with shock. Yue Nu trembled as she pointed at the cauldron. "Blood-colored flames? Heavenly Flames???"

At her words, the Alchemy Room instantly fell deathly silent. Every gaze stared at Chen Mo in shock.

"No. It doesn't quite look like it. With his strength, there's no way he could control such dense Heavenly Flames so skillfully." Ba Lu stared intently at the blood flames that continued to rise under Chen Mo's spiritual control, his voice low.

Indeed, based on the information Yue Nu had gathered about Chen Mo before, his cultivation was only at the four-star Dou Master level. There was no way he could control Heavenly Flames.