Becoming One of Us

"Rumor has it that some people can extract a flame far stronger than Ordinary Flame from the blood of certain magical beasts and the energy of heaven and earth. The Blood Flame controlled by this human should be one of those."

Ba Lu stroked his short beard and continued, "I can sense the aura of a magical beast from this flame. It should be a Beast Flame."

"Beast Flame?" Yue Nu murmured. This was beyond the scope of her knowledge.

"Judging by the intensity of this Blood Flame, I'd say this human is around a four-star Dou Master."

Without Chen Mo exposing his Dou Qi, Ba Lu could only make a rough estimate of his strength based on this.

After all, Ba Lu was only a Dou Ling, not a Dou Wang. He could not see through Chen Mo's exact strength at a glance.

"He is indeed a four-star Dou Master." Yue Nu spoke, then frowned slightly. "Could he have used the Beast Flame to refine an almost perfect Recovery Pill?"

"That's impossible."

Ba Lu shook his head and continued, "He has indeed exceeded my expectations, but alchemy does not rely solely on flame control. Soul perception, mastery over the flame, and the proportions of the various ingredients in each medicinal herb are all extremely important. Let us continue watching."

Yue Nu nodded.

As the two fell silent, the Alchemy Room returned to quiet. Yet their eyes remained fixed tightly on Chen Mo, without blinking.

Chen Mo had refined Recovery Pills many times before, and always by the batch. Refining a single pill was as easy as turning his hand over.

Unhurriedly picking up the several medicinal herbs floating before him, he tossed them into the medicinal cauldron in an orderly fashion. Suppressed by Soul Power, the fierce Blood Flame became as docile as a lamb.

It gently enveloped the herbs thrown into the cauldron, extracting the various essential materials needed to refine the Recovery Pill.

Under Chen Mo's swift refinement, the embryonic form of a Recovery Pill slowly took shape inside the medicinal cauldron.

"What superb flame control." Ba Lu's pupils contracted slightly as he exclaimed in surprise.

Even he could not achieve such exquisite flame-control techniques.

Moreover, judging by the human's expression, he was calm and composed, completely at ease.

Soon, as time passed, a rich medicinal fragrance spread through the Alchemy Room. Everyone's spirits tensed, knowing that the pill was about to form.

Under Chen Mo's focused attention, the pill in the cauldron finally became smooth and round. Looking at its surface color, Chen Mo smiled faintly and slowly withdrew his hand from the cauldron.

As his hand withdrew, the blood-colored flames inside the medicinal cauldron gradually dissipated as well.

With a flick of his finger, the lid atop the cauldron was slightly lifted by a gust of force.

Chen Mo beckoned with his hand, and a brownish-black pill shot out of the cauldron before rapidly flying toward him.

Chen Mo caught the pill, then turned and handed it to Ba Lu. "Elder Ba Lu, please inspect it."

Ba Lu narrowed his eyes and accepted the pill.

The pill was about the size of a longan, entirely brownish-black, with a faint ring of emerald-green ripples interwoven across it. Like spreading waves, it looked rather peculiar.

"Pill patterns. It truly is a perfect-grade Recovery Pill."

Looking at the ring of emerald-green ripples, Ba Lu clicked his tongue in amazement.

Only when a pill's quality and luster both reached their peak could pill patterns possibly appear.

This Recovery Pill was even purer than the one in his hand, without the slightest impurity.

"Impressive, truly impressive. I have learned much today. I keep my word; here is the Ice Heart Grass." Ba Lu handed the Ice Heart Grass to Chen Mo and clasped his fists as he said,

"If you need any pills in the future, as long as I have them, feel free to ask."

Yue Nu was somewhat stunned by this. As the Snake-People Clan's Three-Star Alchemist—and its only alchemist—Elder Ba Lu's status was second only to Her Majesty the Queen and the Three Great Elders.

She had not expected him to be won over so easily.

"Thank you, Elder Ba Lu."

Chen Mo returned the gesture, while inwardly letting out a sigh of relief. He had been afraid of encountering the sort of person from novels who refused to honor their word. That would have been troublesome.

After all, this was Snake-People Clan territory. Chen Mo would have had no way to deal with him.

Now, it seemed that this Elder Ba Lu was not bad after all.

Ba Lu rubbed the perfect-grade Recovery Pill for a while before handing it back to Chen Mo. Smiling, he asked, "Your alchemy techniques are so skillful and exceptional. May I ask who your teacher is?"

"Well..."

Chen Mo had originally wanted to say that he had no teacher, but he feared Ba Lu would not believe him, forcing him to explain at length. He wondered whether he should just make someone up.

Seeing Chen Mo hesitate, Ba Lu immediately spread his hands and smiled. "Very well. Since you do not wish to say, I will not make things difficult for you. Everyone has their own secrets."

Chen Mo nodded without saying anything.

"All right. If you have spare time, you may come and exchange alchemy techniques with me. Her Majesty the Queen was right—you truly are different from other humans." Ba Lu said with a smile.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chen Mo took his leave.

Upon returning to his room, Chen Mo took out Tiger Soul and began refining the Ice Heart Pill.

Tiger Soul was ranked third on the Dou Qi Continent's Heavenly Cauldron Ranking.

It could even withstand Heavenly Flames, so a mere Beast Flame was nothing to it.

Meanwhile.

Queen Medusa was fully informed of everything that had happened in the Alchemy Room.

Ba Lu said, "A nineteen-year-old second-grade alchemist who controls a Beast Flame and can easily refine perfect-grade pills—Your Majesty, you absolutely must not let such a genius leave."

"Oh? If I do not let him leave, should I forcibly keep him here?"

Queen Medusa had indeed intended to drive Chen Mo away from the Snake-People Clan, only waiting for her younger sister to emerge from seclusion and forget about Chen Mo.

"Your Majesty, that is not what I mean. I mean that we can find a way to win him over and make him one of us," Ba Lu said.

"Make him one of us."

Queen Medusa murmured, then said, "Let This Queen think it over carefully."

"This old man takes his leave." Ba Lu withdrew from Queen Medusa's bedchamber.

Within the vast bedchamber.

Only Queen Medusa remained, lazily reclining on her side upon the throne, holding the now-merged Heart-Connecting Pendant in her hand.

Chen Mo truly was a genius.

Queen Medusa could clearly sense the changes in Chen Mo's strength.

Moreover, he controlled not one Beast Flame, but two.

In just two short weeks, he had broken through from a four-star Dou Master to a six-star Dou Master.

Rising two levels in such a short time, this cultivation speed could only be called monstrous.

Any force within the Jia Ma Empire would go all out to recruit such a genius.

Queen Medusa had entertained the same thought.

But those not of our kind are sure to harbor different hearts.

Not to mention that the Snake-People Clan and humans were sworn enemies.

How could it be so easy to make him one of them?

P.S. Please vote as usual!

Thanks to Joyful Journey, Zhili's Black Coffin-Carrying Package, Yu Wangyou, Youyu A, Stars in My Arms, Book Friend 20201112014034066, Book Friend 202009906003839499, Book Friend 20200920180543613, Liuyun Piaofeng Yunfenghen, and all the generous supporters for their rewards!