With the Thunderclap Twin Wings aiding him, Xiao Yu flew at astonishing speed and soon left the Tagor Desert behind.
Next, he planned to head to the Imperial Capital and wait for the Three-Year Agreement, while gathering medicinal ingredients for Dou Ling Pills to prepare for his cultivation in the Dou Wang realm.
Since obtaining the many pill formulas left by Medicine Sect Fei Huang, Xiao Yu had searched the Magical Beast Mountain Range for ingredients to refine Dou Ling Pills. He had found plenty of supplementary ingredients, but only one or two of the main ingredients, nowhere near a complete set.
If one asked where the most precious medicinal ingredients could be found in the Jia Ma Empire, the answer was naturally the Alchemist Guild and the Mittel Auction House.
He had several low-grade Storage Rings packed with medicinal ingredients, along with over a million gold coins, enough to exchange for everything he needed.
He also needed a great deal of knowledge about medicinal properties. After all, he had no top-class alchemist like Yao Lao teaching him; he had to figure everything out himself.
Back in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, he had encountered many medicinal ingredients he did not recognize. Even now, he did not know the names or properties of at least half the ingredients in his Storage Rings.
He urgently needed that knowledge. It would make both pill refining and exchanging medicinal ingredients much easier.
Most importantly, after Xiao Yu broke through to the Dou Wang realm, not only had his strength increased tremendously, but his soul power had also grown considerably, allowing him ever finer control over the Myriad Transformation Flame.
In other words, he could control the Myriad Transformation Flame to take the forms of things without sentience, such as rocks, flowers, and plants. He could also conceal the aura and appearance of the space within a certain range. Anyone whose soul power did not far exceed his would be unable to detect what was happening inside.
Although he did not know exactly how powerful his soul had become, it could certainly be considered among the upper ranks of the Mortal Realm.
He had already refined Mystic Essence Pills, peak fourth-grade pills, with ease. Now that he was a Dou Wang, fifth-grade pills would be his for the taking. Even sixth-grade pills were not beyond him, though his success rate might only be fifty percent.
Although he could not achieve the nearly hundred-percent success rate he had with fourth- and fifth-grade pills, there was nothing wrong with calling himself a sixth-grade alchemist now.
According to the original novel, refining eighth-tier pills required a Spirit Realm soul. Since he could refine sixth-grade pills, it was reasonable to place his soul among the upper ranks of the Mortal Realm. After all, the gap between Spirit Realm and Mortal Realm souls was anything but small.
Within the Jia Ma Empire, only Gu He could rival his soul power now. With the Myriad Transformation Flame, even if Xiao Yu refined pills right in front of him, Gu He would not notice anything amiss.
That also meant he no longer needed to hide the Lightning-Fire Pill Refining Method in the Jia Ma Empire. If no one could see through it, why the hell should he hide it?
On this trip to the Imperial Capital, he would visit the Alchemist Guild and obtain an Alchemist Badge under his identity as the mysterious alchemist. That would make things much easier in the future.
After several days of traveling at full speed, Xiao Yu soon approached the Jia Ma Imperial Capital.
However, he did not recklessly fly straight into the city. Instead, he found a spot nearby to land and continued toward the Imperial Capital on foot.
He had no desire to draw the attention of the old fellow from the Jia Ma Imperial Family the moment he flew inside.
Outside the gates of the Jia Ma Imperial Capital.
Looking at this gathering place of the Jia Ma Empire's strongest factions, where the headquarters of the Jia Ma Imperial Family stood, Xiao Yu could not help marveling.
It truly was magnificent and imposing, lavish beyond compare. Xiao Yu had visited quite a few places, but in grandeur and size, Jia Ma Holy City ranked first.
After paying the entry tax, Xiao Yu stepped into the Holy City.
Still, Xiao Yu desperately wanted to complain. Why did he have to pay an entry tax every time he entered a city?
It was not that he refused to pay or could not afford it. The process was simply too tedious. The entry tax was not always a convenient round sum, and he had to queue and then wait for his change. It was a real nuisance.
After entering the city, Xiao Yu decided to rest for the night, then visit the Alchemist Guild the next day to take the badge examination and exchange medicinal ingredients.
He picked an inn at random and settled in. He had to admit that prices in the Imperial Capital were much higher than elsewhere. Lodging at the inn cost two or three times as much as in other cities.
After a peaceful night's sleep, morning sunlight spilled into Xiao Yu's room. Before long, he woke up. The hour was equivalent to five in the morning on Earth.
When he left the inn, the streets were already bustling, with people coming and going and a ceaseless stream of carriages and horses.
"I never expected that even in another world, there would still be so many working folk doing business from dawn until dark."
Seeing the shops along the street already open and plenty of vendors setting up stalls, Xiao Yu shook his head with a sigh.
If he had not transmigrated to the Dou Qi Continent, he would still have been a corporate drone on Earth, no different from these people.
He had simply been luckier, encountering something like transmigration and possessing such monstrous talent.
He asked someone for directions to the Alchemist Guild. Seeing a middle-aged man with such an otherworldly bearing, the passerby knew he was no ordinary person and politely told him where to find it.
Since leaving the Tagor Desert, Xiao Yu had not changed his appearance. He still wore the face of the mysterious alchemist, a handsome middle-aged man.
He had to give the guards at Jia Ma Holy City's gates credit-they really were impressive. Even faced with his extraordinary bearing, their expressions had not changed, and they charged him exactly the entry tax he owed.
They had not treated him rudely, either, handling everything strictly by the book. That had left Xiao Yu with a very favorable impression of Jia Ma Holy City.
Following the passerby's directions, Xiao Yu soon found the Alchemist Guild. Its magnificent building, shaped like a Medicine Cauldron, was so conspicuous that missing it would have been difficult.
"Should I say this is only to be expected of the Alchemist Guild? The scent of medicinal ingredients and pills hits you the moment you approach."
As he made his way into the Alchemist Guild, the fragrances of medicinal ingredients and pills drifted into his nostrils, refreshing his spirit.
Upon reaching the Alchemist Guild's main entrance, Xiao Yu was stopped by a guard.
"Are you an alchemist, sir? If so, please show your badge. If not, please present a Letter of Recommendation. Or, if you have some business here, you may tell me, and I will announce your arrival."
The guard, a burly middle-aged man with the strength of a Five-Star Dou Master, spoke politely after stopping Xiao Yu.
The visitor's appearance and bearing were both outstanding, unlike those of an ordinary person. Moreover, the guard could not gauge his strength, so he naturally treated him courteously.
An ordinary person would not have received such treatment.
Xiao Yu had neither an Alchemist Badge nor a Letter of Recommendation, so he said bluntly, "I'm here to take the alchemist examination."
Hearing that he had come to obtain an alchemist rank, the burly man did not dare neglect him. "If you wish to take the alchemist examination, my lord, you must present a recommendation letter from your Alchemy Mentor before I can let you inside."
Xiao Yu had no recommendation letter from a mentor. Instead, he simply extended his hand, and a ball of yellow Dou Qi flame sprang forth.
The guards' expressions changed instantly when Xiao Yu raised his hand, thinking he meant to cause trouble. Then, upon seeing the flame he had condensed, their expressions changed again.
"F-fire given solid form? Are you a fourth-grade alchemist, my lord?!!"
Watching their expressions change one after another, almost rivaling the traditional art of face-changing, Xiao Yu smiled. "Will this do?"
The burly guard hurriedly nodded. "Of course, of course! Please come inside, my lord."
"Once inside, you will see a counter in the hall. There are attendants behind it to receive visitors. Simply tell one that you have come to take the alchemist examination, and she will take you there."
Afraid that Xiao Yu was unfamiliar with the Alchemist Guild, and judging from his appearance that this was likely his first visit to the Imperial Capital, the guard thoughtfully explained the process.
"Mm, thank you."
Xiao Yu nodded, then entered through the main doors and headed toward the reception counter in the hall.
There is a questionable point earlier concerning which era Tou She Ancient God lived in. In chapter 453 of the original novel, Yao Lao said he was from a thousand years ago, but later, the novel said he was from ten thousand years ago. So I would like to ask the readers whether I should change it.
If I change it, the readers' comments on that passage will be wiped.
So you decide.
Before you continue