Yao Lao

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Yao Chen 10 46
Alias(es)	Yao Lao (药老); Venerable Yao; Continent’s Number One Alchemist 10 46
Gender	Male 10
Occupation/Role	Alchemist; Xiao Yan’s teacher 10
Former Cultivation	Nine-Turn Peak Dou Zun 10
Alchemy Rank	Eighth-Grade Peak grandmaster alchemist before the destruction of his body 10 46
Status	Survives as a severely damaged remnant soul residing in Xiao Yan’s Ancient Flame Ring 43 46 47
First Appearance	Chapter 10, “The Truth: Xiao Yan and Yao Lao” 10

Background / History

Yao Chen was once a renowned Central Plains alchemist whose reputation earned him the title of the Continent’s Number One Alchemist. His sole personal disciple betrayed him, destroying his physical body and heavily damaging his soul. Xia Kong later identifies that rebellious disciple as Han Feng 46 50.

Surviving within Xiao Yan’s ring, Yao Lao becomes his teacher and personally refines medicinal preparations for his cultivation. His Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid complements the Spicy Jade Xiao Yan obtains from the Mittel Auction House: the liquid stimulates cultivation from outside the body, while the plant nourishes Dou Qi from within 10.

At Xiao Yan’s suggestion, Yao Lao agrees to produce spirit liquid for auction to fund further medicinal ingredients. Their sales initially compete with Xia Kong’s produce business. Even after Xiao Yan outgrows the liquid’s cultivation benefits, the pair continue selling it to purchase the auction house’s unusual fruits and vegetables 10 37.

Appearance

• Soul form: An ethereal elderly figure with white hair, a youthful face, and a beard; he can hover in midair 10.
• Concealed presence: Usually remains inside Xiao Yan’s black storage ring and communicates directly into his mind 12 43.
• Public disguise: Speaks through the black-robed Xiao Yan, presenting their combined appearance as that of a reclusive Fifth-Tier Alchemist 11 43.

Personality

Yao Lao combines pride in his expertise with a mischievous approach to mentorship. He teases Xiao Yan about borrowing money from Xun’er and reprimands him with a stick formed from soul power. Nevertheless, he indulges his disciple’s business proposal and takes satisfaction in his cultivation progress 10.

He deliberately uses Xia Kong’s superior cultivation as a lesson against complacency. Rather than wanting Xiao Yan discouraged, he is pleased when the comparison tempers his pride without destroying his confidence 12.

His professional pride makes Xia Kong’s bargaining particularly irritating, but he remains capable of compromise. Although soul-nourishing herbs could help his damaged soul, he does not let their value drive him into coercion; proof of their potency and revised payment terms persuade him to accept a trade 43 44.

Beneath his playful manner are unresolved emotional wounds. Xiao Yan’s joke about possible admirers stirs the feeling that he has forgotten someone important, though he cannot identify who. He withdraws into the ring rather than continuing their banter 47.

Abilities & Skills

Cultivation and Soul Power

Aspect	Documented Capability
Former Dou Qi cultivation	Nine-Turn Peak Dou Zun 10
Former soul realm	Heavenly Realm 44
Current combat strength	Despite his damaged soul, can still unleash Dou Emperor-tier strength, according to Xia Kong 46
Current alchemy capability	Xia Kong states that sixth- and seventh-grade pills remain within his abilities 46

• Can project subtle soul probes to examine another cultivator’s body, soul, and Dou Qi 12 40.
• Communicates mentally with Xiao Yan and can strike him while remaining within the ring 12 47.
• Forms objects from soul power, including the small stick he uses to reprimand Xiao Yan 10.
• His probing is not undetectable: Xia Kong senses his examinations and notices soul aura escaping the ring during their negotiation 12 40 43.

Alchemy

Preparation	Function / Use
Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid	Stimulates the body’s absorption and refinement of Dou Qi; also provides a profitable auction product 10 37.
Fourth-Rank Burning Blood Elixir	Used alongside a level-two potato during Xiao Yan’s rapid advancement to three-star cultivation 37.
Purple Spirit Recovery Pill	Sixth-grade pill intended to repair Hai Bodong’s lost cultivation after his seal is removed 44.

• Does not possess a formula capable of breaking Hai Bodong’s Dou Emperor-level seal; this prevents him from immediately fulfilling Xia Kong’s entire request 44.
• Lacks a complete set of Purple Spirit Recovery Pill ingredients in his ring, making the six-month delivery deadline difficult within the Jia Ma Empire 44.
• Initially knows nothing of Spicy Jade, openly acknowledging that his knowledge covers only a fraction of the continent 10.

Assessment and Instruction

• Recognizes Xia Kong’s unusually strong physique, soul, and cultivation foundation at the Xiao Clan’s coming-of-age ceremony 12.
• Identifies Ya Fei’s physical strength, exceptional Dou Qi control, and spiritual foundation as evidence contradicting her reputation for poor cultivation aptitude 39.
• Determines that Xia Kong’s wood-aligned Dou Qi is poorly suited to alchemy, while suggesting that a wood-based Heavenly Flame could overcome that disadvantage 40.
• Approves of Xia Kong’s skilled technique combinations and ruthless decisiveness after his victory over Carl 41.

Poison Pill Knowledge

• Xia Kong recalls Yao Lao’s Poison Pill Method from the original story as a means of stabilizing the Woeful Poison Body 15.
• The method requires three Heavenly Flames, a rank-seven Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast core, and Bodhi Body-Transforming Saliva 15.
• This knowledge informs Xia Kong’s comparison with his own alternative treatment; Yao Lao is not shown administering it to Xiao Yi Xian 15 28.

Equipment / Items

• Ancient Flame Ring — Xiao Yan’s black storage ring, which shelters Yao Lao’s remnant soul and contains medicinal supplies 43 44 47.
• Level-three strawberries — Twenty supplied by Xia Kong as advance payment for the Purple Spirit Recovery Pill trade; their soul-nourishing properties are particularly valuable to Yao Lao 43 44.

Relationships

• Xiao Yan — Disciple and traveling companion. Yao Lao supplies cultivation medicines, corrects his arrogance, and shares a familiar, teasing rapport with him 10 12 47.
• Xia Kong — Trading partner whose produce offers a possible means of repairing Yao Lao’s soul. Their relationship develops from distant scrutiny into an argumentative but mutually beneficial bargain 12 43 44.
• Han Feng — Former disciple identified by Xia Kong as the traitor responsible for Yao Lao’s downfall; a possible encounter with him is raised when the pair head toward the Black-Corner Region 46 50.
• Xiao Xun’er — Recognizes her affection for Xiao Yan and warns that pursuing a future with her will involve serious hardships because of her background 47.
• Ya Fei — Auction-house intermediary. Yao Lao recognizes her unusual cultivation foundation but fails to realize she has already seen through Xiao Yan’s disguise 11 39.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Spiritual Produce Trade

After the auction-house conflict, Xia Kong offers soul-enhancing produce in exchange for pills to restore Hai Bodong. Yao Lao’s interest intensifies when Xia Kong suggests that he can cultivate increasingly potent grades of these herbs 43.

Term	Agreement
Pill	Yao Lao will refine a Purple Spirit Recovery Pill 44.
Deadline	Six months 44.
Ingredients and formula	Yao Lao must supply them because the arrangement is a barter, not a conventional alchemy commission 44.
Payment quality	Xia Kong’s strawberries must be at least level three 44.
Advance payment	Twenty level-three strawberries 44.
Additional obligation	If Xia Kong obtains the seal-breaking formula and ingredients, Yao Lao will refine that pill without additional compensation 44.

Journey to the Black-Corner Region

The missing ingredients lead Yao Lao to choose the Black-Corner Region as their next destination. He explains its violent, plunder-driven conditions to Xiao Yan and instructs him to bid farewell to his family before departure. The resulting journey changes Xiao Yan’s original growth trajectory; a week later, master and disciple are still traveling there 47 51.

Notable Quotes

“But the Dou Qi Continent is vast and boundless, and what I know amounts to no more than a tenth or two of it. What is so strange about encountering a few wondrous medicinal ingredients I have never heard of?” 10

“You've advanced too quickly, so some impatience and arrogance are inevitable. Taking a few blows isn't necessarily a bad thing.” 12