After returning to the clan and parting ways with Xiao Xun'er, Xiao Yan hurried back to her room, then carefully shut the doors and windows.
Xiao Yan took the herbs and magic core she had purchased out of her clothes, then turned toward Apothecary, who had appeared at some point. "Teacher, I got everything. What do we do now?"
"Ah, little sister, I may be your teacher, but I still prefer you calling me big sister..." Apothecary sighed.
Xiao Yan: "..."
Honestly, even now, Xiao Yan still had no idea what this... senior's personality was really like.
One moment she was "little girl," the next "little sister," and then "you little kid." This woman really was hard to please.
Who knew how many years old this old hag was? Just because she wore the face of a thirty-year-old, did that make teasing Xiao Yan so much fun?
So Xiao Yan took a deep breath.
"...Big sister, what do we do next?"
Apothecary chuckled, thoroughly pleased with Xiao Yan's "obedience."
Younger again!
She casually glanced over the materials on the table, then suddenly said, "Aren't you going to take a look at that Black Iron Piece?"
"?"
[Suction Palm: Once cultivated to complete mastery, it can draw in boulders weighing a thousand jin. When facing an enemy, its ferocious suction can forcibly tear the blood out of their body!]
After reading the description of this Dou Technique, Xiao Yan immediately lost interest.
Its effects sounded impressive, but in practice, they were nothing special.
Against an opponent of roughly equal cultivation, if they used Dou Qi Body Protection, ripping their blood straight out was simply unrealistic. At most, it could interfere with their movements.
And if she faced someone stronger than herself, they could simply ride the pull to close the distance. She would be the one in trouble.
In other words, this Dou Technique could only deal with opponents at her level or below.
A Black-Class Dou Technique that could only be used to "stomp weaklings" was really rather... chicken ribs: hardly worth keeping, yet a pity to throw away.
So rather than calling it a combat technique, it was more of a tool for getting yourself off... ahem, a warning from the Four-Oh-Four Temple.
Still, it was a Black-Class Dou Technique, so it had some value.
Hmm, I'll practice it first so it doesn't go to waste, then sell it off at the Mittel Auction House.
Becoming an Alchemist required a great deal of practice. The five thousand gold coins on her Black Card definitely would not survive that kind of spending, and using the Purple-Gold Card was inconvenient.
Besides, she could not keep spending Xun'er's money forever.
A Profound Tier Low Grade Dou Technique, even one with somewhat underwhelming effects, was still worth tens or hundreds of thousands of gold coins, perhaps even more.
That way, whenever she needed money in the future, she would not have to swipe Xun'er's card every time.
Putting the Black Iron Piece away casually, Xiao Yan turned back toward Apothecary.
Apothecary was also somewhat surprised by Xiao Yan's reaction. From what she knew of the Xiao Clan, a Black-Class Dou Technique that she herself thought little of was a "treasure" only the clan's upper ranks could cultivate.
Xiao Yan had picked up a Black-Class Dou Technique practically for free, yet remained so composed. That temperament made Apothecary think more highly of her.
Picking up the herbs on the table, Apothecary instructed Xiao Yan, "Go fetch a large basin of water. Today, your big sister will show you what she can do."
In the quiet room, Apothecary held the purple leaf orchid grass in her left hand, her eyes slightly narrowed.
A moment later, she exhaled softly. A pale flame suddenly surged from her left palm.
The instant the flame appeared, the temperature in the room dropped rapidly. Before long, Xiao Yan felt as though her entire body would freeze stiff.
Then, as though reaching one extreme had triggered its opposite, once the flame's temperature fell to its lowest point, the temperature in the room began climbing toward the other extreme.
Apothecary simply tossed a stalk of purple leaf orchid grass straight into that white flame...
Xiao Yan stared at the eerie white flame, her face filled with shock and her eyes trembling.
Although she had never seen a real Alchemist at work before, the refining process certainly was not supposed to look like this.
At least as far as she knew, the first step definitely was not to produce a tangible flame from one's palm and immediately start scorching herbs, without so much as a Medicine Cauldron.
Xiao Yan had assumed Apothecary had not asked her to buy a Medicine Cauldron because she would not be able to find one on such short notice, and Apothecary already had a usable one herself;
She had never expected Apothecary to make pills with her bare hands!
Was this... Cauldronless Alchemy?
It was simply unheard of!
It seemed this "big sister" of hers was far stronger than she had previously imagined...
The eerie white flame flickered slightly, and Apothecary burned the purple leaf orchid grass into a small glob of green liquid almost instantly.
Xiao Yan immediately focused, trying to learn at least the basics. Although this "Cauldronless Alchemy" looked incredibly advanced, the pill Apothecary was refining this time definitely could not be very high-grade.
"Cauldronless Alchemy" actually let her observe the herbs' transformations within the flame more directly, and her soul power could sense a few things as well.
Apothecary was also quite pleased with Xiao Yan's response. She nodded slightly and deliberately slowed down the refining process.
Although Xiao Yan currently had only three-stage Dou Qi, her considerable soul power was enough to let her learn something.
Extracting the essence of the herbs and magic core took a full two hours or so, yet Apothecary still looked full of vigor, without the slightest sign of fatigue.
By now, the magic core had turned into a glob of green liquid, and all the violent energy within it had been neutralized by the medicinal liquid...
The white flame in Apothecary's palm gradually receded until it vanished completely, and the room's temperature slowly returned to normal.
Looking at the drop of jade-green liquid hovering over Apothecary's palm, Xiao Yan could not help rubbing her hands together.
Her exceptional soul perception allowed her to clearly sense just how much energy that liquid contained...
Apothecary glanced at Xiao Yan and raised an eyebrow.
"Teacher, is it finished already? How do you check a liquid pill like this for pill patterns?" Xiao Yan spared no effort in offering her "praise."
Under normal circumstances, of course she would address this woman as "Teacher." It was more proper.
She could change that once the other party started acting improper first.
"...Medicinal liquids and medicinal powders, things whose final form isn't a pill, don't have pill patterns."
Apothecary was a little speechless. Why was showing off in front of this little girl so difficult?
"Oh, oh, I see." Xiao Yan looked "enlightened."
"Then, Teacher, how do I use this stuff? I remember you can't use pills before becoming a Dou Zhe."
"Ordinarily, those at the Dou Qi stage can't use pills, but your body is far stronger than your cultivation level, so-"
With a flick of her finger, Apothecary sent the medicinal liquid into the large, water-filled tub Xiao Yan had prepared in the room, then continued, "Get in and cultivate while you soak."
Xiao Yan nodded. Without any fuss, she jumped straight into the water and began cultivating her Dou Qi.
As Xiao Yan began cultivating, a powerful suction formed a vortex inside the tub.
Not only the energy in the water, but also the natural energy in the room poured endlessly into her body.
This was one of the benefits of persisting with "Body Tempering." Although three years had passed, Xiao Yan's physical condition had largely remained at the level it had reached after she broke through to Dou Zhe.
The limited nourishment from energy meant it had not improved much, but it had not regressed either.
Now that her talent had returned, Xiao Yan's long-"starved" body began frantically absorbing the surrounding energy.
"Good thing I didn't boast beforehand. At this cultivation speed, this medicinal liquid won't last two months at all. She'll use it up in a month at most."
"Hmm... with a body this strong, taking some mild pills to assist her cultivation shouldn't be a problem either."
"Anyway, the money is her concern. I'll tell the little thing later..."
And so, the next day, after finishing her morning cultivation, Xiao Yan copied the Dou Technique [Suction Palm] with Apothecary's help, then slipped quietly out the door...
Before you continue