"I obtained this Poison Scripture in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. I thought many times about whether I should give it to you early, because it's like a spark. Once it's ignited, you'll be setting foot on a road of no return."
"But now I've figured it out. Better to channel the flood than dam it up. Since you have the Woeful Poison Body, even without this Poison Scripture, it will erupt someday, just as it did last time. In that case, we might as well let nature take its course. At least this way, you can master the power it brings and understand your own condition."
The Woeful Poison Body was a serious hidden danger, but after erupting once, it would not erupt again so easily.
Now that Xiao Yi Xian had her mother to anchor her, once she understood her condition, she certainly would not abuse her power even after mastering it. That would keep her poison body stable for longer.
And during that time, Chen Cang was confident he could turn this ticking time bomb into a genuine asset.
Thus, giving her the Poison Scripture would not make much difference.
Taking the colorful, ancient scroll, Xiao Yi Xian clutched it tightly. The tears threatening to spill from her eyes left Chen Cang baffled.
"What's wrong?"
"I thought you didn't like me, young master..."
"Didn't like" was putting it mildly. They had only been at the Xiao Clan for a few days before Chen Cang left for Tagor, leaving mother and daughter behind.
Over these past days, since Xiao Yi Xian did not cultivate, she had far more free time than Xun'er. Whenever she sat alone in a daze, her thoughts inevitably ran wild. She even felt that she and her mother were nothing but burdens to Chen Cang, unable to help him with anything, and fell into a vicious cycle of self-doubt.
But Chen Cang had returned today with a gift prepared for her, making her suddenly realize that the truth might not be what she had imagined.
"How could that be? I value you a great deal, and you'll definitely be a tremendous help to me in the future. As for now, don't worry about anything. Just grow at your own pace and spend more time with your family. After all, we'll be roaming far and wide in the future. Things won't be as peaceful as they are now."
"By the way, where's your mother? Why haven't I seen her?"
"Mother felt it wasn't right to sit idle in the Xiao Clan, so she asked Clan Leader Xiao to arrange some work for her. She usually stays over in the west courtyard now and rarely comes back here."
Chen Cang nodded slightly and did not ask any further.
At the very least, the Xiao Clan would remain a safe place to stay for another ten years. Once the plot officially began, he could simply find somewhere else to settle her. These were all minor matters.
After chatting with Xiao Yi Xian for a while, Chen Cang could feel that she was much less reserved. Only then did he leave, satisfied.
For now, Xiao Yi Xian's feelings toward him were primarily gratitude. Chen Cang did not expect to change that overnight. They had a long future ahead of them; they could slowly open their hearts to each other.
Returning to his room, Chen Cang found it even cleaner and tidier than when he had left. It was spotless, and he did not need to think to know whose handiwork this was.
There really was a difference between having someone look after him and having no one.
Chen Cang shook his head with a chuckle, then moved the table and chairs aside to clear enough space.
Then, with a sweep of his hand, medicinal ingredients fell into place one after another.
They were followed by a pitch-black pill cauldron.
"I have plenty of ingredients, and this flame will do for now, but the cauldron is a bit lacking. Looks like I'll have to find time to hunt down a better one."
He had purchased the cauldron before him in Stone Desert City while seeking guidance from Gu He.
Its easy availability meant it was a common, run-of-the-mill product, barely reaching the second rank.
For an apprentice alchemist just starting out, this cauldron was good enough. For Chen Cang, however, it fell far short of his requirements and would soon have to be replaced.
Steadying his mind, Chen Cang opened his palm, and a cluster of ice-blue flames immediately rose from it.
This was a Beast Flame produced by a Frost Land Turtle, a suitable flame Chen Cang had spent more than half a day searching for in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
After going over the precautions for refining pills once more in his mind, Chen Cang finally fed the flame into the cauldron.
Heating the cauldron, extracting the medicinal ingredients, fusing the medicinal liquids, forming the pill...
Chen Cang performed each step with utmost care. Supported by his formidable Soul Perception, he made no mistakes.
Half an hour later, the pill was finally complete.
"It's a little ugly, but at least it worked. I'm now a proud First-Rank Alchemist."
Playing with the oval lump of Qi-Replenishing Powder, which still retained some warmth, Chen Cang looked slightly embarrassed.
For an ordinary person to succeed on their very first attempt at pill refinement was indeed worthy of praise. They would be a prodigy in alchemy.
But as for Chen Cang...
There really was nothing to be smug about.
With a whole hand full of unbeatable trump cards, failing would have been absurd beyond all bounds.
He casually tossed the pill into his mouth like a snack and continued refining.
When you became engrossed in something, time always flew.
After returning to the Xiao Clan, Chen Cang spent almost all his time refining pills, apart from occasionally taking Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Yi Xian out for a stroll.
His training of the three Xiao brothers had ended, and he no longer guided the other younger members of the Xiao Clan. Even his once-unshakable routine of walking his horse often gave way to letting the Void Pegasus Beast go off and play on its own.
As for him, he immersed himself in pill refinement, utterly entranced.
The thrill of feeling tremendous progress every day was far more satisfying than that momentary shudder so many people yearned for.
In the midst of this obsession, five months passed in the blink of an eye.
Since he had devoted all his time to pill refinement, Chen Cang's cultivation had progressed relatively slowly over these months. He had only advanced from a Two-Star Dou Ling to the peak of a Three-Star Dou Ling.
His alchemy, however, was a completely different story.
By now, he could refine Fourth-Rank Pills with ease, and his Storage Ring held a large stock of finished pills to meet his daily cultivation needs.
If word of this pace of progress got out, probably no one would dare believe it!
Even Xiao Xun'er, the only person who knew, had taken a long time to digest and accept the truth.
Early morning.
Chen Cang put his cauldron into his Storage Ring. When he opened the door, Xiao Yi Xian was waiting outside with a basin of water.
This had been going on for five months.
Long accustomed to it, Chen Cang stepped aside to let her in. As she attended to his washing with her soft, smooth hands, he asked a question.
"Xian'er, has anything interesting happened in Wutan City lately?"
Having raised his alchemy to a sufficient level, Chen Cang did not intend to remain so obsessed with it.
Ultimately, pill refinement served his cultivation. As long as it met his own needs, that was enough.
Now that he had reached that standard and prepared enough pills for his use, his focus should return to cultivation.
Besides, the person he was waiting for should be arriving soon.
"Something interesting? Hmm, let me think. Yesterday, Aoba De of the Ao Ba Family made some lewd remarks to the auctioneer Ya Fei at the Mittel Auction House. As soon as he left, a group of people covered his head and beat him up. They still haven't found the culprits. Does that count as interesting, young master?"
"That does count as a bit of amusement. When did Ya Fei come to Wutan City?"
Chen Cang's hand paused briefly as he wiped his face.
In his memory, Ya Fei should not have come to Wutan City at this point yet.
"Two months ago. I even mentioned it to you. You asked the Mittel Auction House to help find a better pill cauldron, and they put in a request to headquarters. The cauldron you're using now was brought over from headquarters by Ya Fei. When I collected it and left it by your door, you were refining pills. You said 'mm,' so I thought you'd heard me."
Seeing Xiao Yi Xian's expression, as though she wanted to complain, Chen Cang immediately felt embarrassed.
Two months ago had been the height of his obsession. His mind had been entirely on pill refinement. Sometimes he even drifted off while spending time with Xun'er, let alone when Xiao Yi Xian spoke quietly outside his door.
Ya Fei's early arrival surprised Chen Cang a little. But on further thought, everyone knew he was in Wutan City, so a small butterfly effect was nothing strange.
"Now I remember. Yes, that did happen. Never mind that. Is there anything else amusing?"
"There actually is one thing. I heard from Xiao Yu that Jia Nan Academy's annual recruitment is about to begin. This year, they've chosen neighboring Blackflame City as the recruitment site. Apparently, it'll be very lively."
Chen Cang nodded slightly. Recruitment had been held in Wutan City for the past two years, so a small change this time was perfectly normal.
"That's true. Calling it a sea of people wouldn't be an exaggeration. Last year, Xiao Ding went to join the fun and even lost a shoe in the crush. What do you think, Xian'er? Want to take a look?"
"You decide, young master. I'll do whatever you say."
That answer deserved full marks!
Chen Cang laughed heartily. "All right, then we'll go."
Before you continue