"Tch, I don't even know who Xiao Yan is."
"You can wait. He should be here before long."
Han Chen estimated the timing. Though only a few months had passed, the plot was definitely moving much faster than in the original story. Both the speed of the Jia Lie Family's destruction and Xiao Yan's cultivation clearly hinted at that acceleration.
So Xiao Yan would definitely reach Qingshan Town earlier than in the original story, but not too early. After all, although his cultivation had risen, he had yet to properly hone it, and his alchemy skills were still below the required standard.
Besides, Jia Nan Academy was recruiting students, so Yao Lao would not let him venture out too soon.
"Really? How do you know?"
"Never mind that for now. Go get me the map first."
Han Chen said nothing more. He simply pushed Xiao Yi Xian out of the room, then resumed refining pills.
With his aptitude, the only way to raise his cultivation quickly was to gulp down pills. As long as medicinal ingredients were not in short supply, the more pills he had, the better.
"Yellow Dragon Pills are almost useless now. Looks like I need to get my hands on some pill formulas next."
Outside the door, Xiao Yi Xian stared at the door Han Chen had shut in her face. She stamped her foot, then turned and ran out into the street to find the map he wanted.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. In the Pill Refining Chamber in the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's rear courtyard, the glowing red pill furnace before Han Chen suddenly gave a muffled bang. Several streaks of light flew out, and he caught them firmly in his hand.
A smile appeared on Han Chen's face as he looked at the five smooth, rounded pills in his palm.
"Not bad. A fifty-percent success rate."
After Han Chen placed the pills in a jade bottle, two figures rushed in through the doorway and began circling his legs.
Looking at the Blood Jade Spiders at his feet, which had more than doubled in size, Han Chen showed a trace of disdain and nudged them with his foot.
"Shoo, shoo! This batch succeeded, so you're not getting any. Just look at how fat you've gotten over the last half month!"
After leaving Wutan City, Han Chen had found time for another lottery draw, which had yielded a Spirit Beast Bag among other things. He had then put them inside it.
When he began trying to refine the more difficult Spirit Gathering Pills, his failures produced a large number of scrap pills.
To avoid wasting them, he had fed all the scrap pills to the spiders. Unexpectedly, they had developed a habit: whenever they heard the furnace open, they came scurrying over eagerly.
"Little White~ Little Jade~ Where did you go?"
Just then, Xiao Yi Xian's clear, lilting voice came from outside.
"Oh! Brother Li, did you finish refining your pills?"
Xiao Yi Xian had followed the trail to Han Chen's Pill Refining Chamber. Seeing him standing there, she sniffed the air and found no burnt smell, prompting her delighted question.
Han Chen nodded, nudged Little White and Little Jade at his feet, then leisurely put away the jade bottle.
"Yes, they're done. The quality's pretty good."
Xiao Yi Xian happily gathered Little White and Little Jade into her arms, stroking them gently as she spoke.
"You're amazing, Brother Li. You succeeded in just half a month."
Han Chen's lips twitched at her words. He had burned through nearly a million gold coins in half a month. If he still hadn't succeeded, even heaven would have found it intolerable.
"All right, that's not important. I'm planning to enter the Magic Beast Mountain Range."
As he spoke, Han Chen looked at Xiao Yi Xian.
"Well? Do you want to come with me?"
Xiao Yi Xian lowered her head and thought for a moment, then nodded.
"I do."
"Then let's go together."
After dark, Han Chen and his companions slipped quietly into the Magic Beast Mountain Range. Looking at the gloomy surroundings, Xiao Yi Xian could not help shrinking her neck.
"Why didn't we come during daylight? It's so scary here at night."
Walking ahead, Han Chen glanced back at her when he heard her question.
"How could we do something like this in broad daylight? Haven't you noticed more and more people gathering outside lately? They're like magical beasts that have caught the scent of blood, pressing closer at every turn. If they found out I came to the Magic Beast Mountain Range to hunt for treasure, do you think they'd let it go?"
Ever since Han Chen arrived at the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, people had constantly tried to approach him. After all, an alchemist was far too valuable.
As a result, the entrance to the Myriad Medicine Pavilion was now full of lookouts. The people from the Wolf Head Mercenary Group in particular stared at him as though he owed them a fortune.
In response, Boss Yao had stationed quite a few more guards at the entrance. They were ostensibly there to protect him, but in truth, they were watching him.
"Then can we shake them off this way?"
Hearing Han Chen's words, Xiao Yi Xian naturally knew whom he meant. There were only a handful of major factions in Qingshan Town. The Blood Battle Mercenary Group and the Mad Lion Mercenary Group had shown some restraint, but the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had been constantly testing the waters over the past few days.
"What are you thinking? This will only delay them for a little while. They've surely noticed by now. They might already be searching everywhere for us."
While the two chatted intermittently, a huge dark shape suddenly flew across the sky, then plummeted down beside them.
"Hm? Careful."
Hearing the disturbance, Han Chen gripped the Golden Aphid Mother-and-Son Blades and shielded Xiao Yi Xian behind him, staring at the bushes with a frown.
"We can't be this unlucky, can we? We've only just come in, and we've already run into a magical beast?"
Xiao Yi Xian also shrank back in fear.
When nothing happened for a long while, Han Chen brushed his hand across his waist, and two Blood Jade Spiders landed on the ground.
"Little White, Little Jade, go take a look."
The two Blood Jade Spiders quickly crawled behind the bushes after landing, then fell silent.
After the two waited a while, Little White and Little Jade finally crawled out from behind the bushes and shook their heads at Han Chen.
"A corpse? Interesting. We'll go around."
Upon learning that a magical beast's corpse lay behind the bushes, Han Chen did not relax. Instead, his vigilance rose to its peak.
Why would a magical beast capable of killing its prey simply abandon its catch?
With that, Han Chen began retreating. But he had barely taken two steps when a massive Wind Blade descended toward them.
Han Chen immediately raised his hand and released two streaks of Sword Light, then pulled Xiao Yi Xian aside.
With a boom, the attacks collided in midair, unleashing a ring of shock waves that sent the surrounding trees swaying wildly.
Looking up, they saw a huge figure circling high overhead. A deep birdcall echoed in their ears, and with every beat of its wings, lines of green light shone across its feathers.
At the sight of that figure, the color instantly drained from Xiao Yi Xian's lovely face.
"A Tier 2 Magical Beast, a Swift Rain Swallow! How did we run into one here?"
Hearing Xiao Yi Xian say it was a Tier 2 Magical Beast, Han Chen released the Dou Shi Puppet without hesitation and spoke to the two Blood Jade Spiders.
"Quick, finish it off!"
The Magic Beast Mountain Range was extremely dangerous. If this Tier 2 Magical Beast tied them down, it could very well attract other high-tier magical beasts. Although this Swift Rain Swallow was only at early Tier 2, its ability to fly made it incredibly troublesome.
Watching the Dou Shi Puppet charge forward, Han Chen felt a pang of reluctance, but at a time like this, trading a battered Dou Shi Puppet for his life was clearly worthwhile.
Watching the Swift Rain Swallow still circling overhead, Han Chen gritted his teeth and reached toward his Ring of Holding.
"If I lose the puppet, I can build another. If I lose my life, it's gone for good."
Before you continue