Brother Tang!

Ge Ming felt somewhat displeased at Tang Yan's words. You asked to borrow my pill furnace, yet you won't even tell me what the payment is? He could not help suspecting that Tang Yan intended to wriggle out of paying if he ruined the pills.

Still, everyone had a curious streak, especially after Tang Yan's astonishing display earlier. Though displeased, Ge Ming felt even more anticipation. Just what reward did this young man intend to give him that warranted such mystery?

Lending him the pill cauldron for four hours was no great matter anyway. Ge Ming nodded. "Very well. I'll await your good news, young friend. Follow me to the Pill Room."

"Thank you, Elder Ge. I believe this gift won't disappoint you."

Tang Yan smiled faintly and followed Elder Ge toward the Pill Room.

Only after entering the Wonderful Elixir Workshop's inner grounds did he realize how much land it occupied. Behind the shop stood the front hall; beyond that, the herb garden lay to the east and the Pill Room to the west.

After entering the Pill Room and turning down several corridors, they finally stopped before a room. A wave of heat greeted them as the stone door opened.

"This is the new cauldron I recently acquired," Elder Ge introduced with a smile as they entered the Pill Room.

"A fine Pill Cauldron. Refined crow sea ore-iron was used to forge the inner wall, ensuring an even temperature throughout. Black ancient copper forms the outer wall—elegant in appearance, while also keeping the heat contained. A porcelain wood core is embedded between them, further improving heat retention and insulation. Ingenious craftsmanship. I imagine money alone couldn't buy this cauldron," Tang Yan praised.

Ge Ming could no longer describe how he felt. The young man before him was clearly so young, yet possessed unparalleled talent and knowledge in the art of alchemy. What a pity that his dantian had been destroyed.

"You have a sharp eye, young brother. This pill cauldron was custom-made by a master craftsman. It cost no silver, but used up quite a few favors owed to the Wonderful Elixir Workshop. Haha, I won't disturb you any longer. Come find me in the front hall in four hours." Elder Ge said no more. After glancing at the herb bag on Tang Yan's back, he closed the stone door.

"Whew-" Once Ge Ming had left, Tang Yan hurried forward and stroked the pill cauldron. Feeling the roaring flames within the furnace, a long-absent sense of familiarity kindled in his heart.

He opened his bag, selected more than a dozen medicinal ingredients, and stood before the pill cauldron again.

He tossed the ingredients into the Pill Cauldron, removing their dross and refining their essence with movements as practiced as eating and drinking. Had Ge Ming witnessed this, his eyes would probably have popped out. Tang Yan's sequence of selecting, plucking, adding, and refining the herbs flowed like drifting clouds and running water, without the slightest hesitation. Ge Ming was nowhere near his level.

Once all the ingredients were in the Pill Cauldron, Tang Yan directed a stream of true qi toward extracting their essences, only for disbelief to appear on his face again.

He had not realized it before, since he had yet to refine pills here. After coming to this other world and cultivating the Supreme Pill Canon, his true qi actually provided an additional refining effect on the ingredients during alchemy?

Though the effect was slight at present, as a ninth-tier alchemist in his previous life, he would never overlook such a subtle change.

"The Supreme Pill Canon is actually this miraculous. This must be the most wondrous cultivation method for alchemy. My cultivation is only at origin tier third grade now. Once it rises, my true qi will be able to transform entirely into flames. What effect will it have on refining medicines then? Now that's something to look forward to!" After muttering to himself for a while, Tang Yan calmed his mind and continued extracting the essences.

Tang Yan focused all his attention on controlling his true qi. Beads of sweat emerged on his forehead, falling faster and faster as time passed, until they soon soaked his clothes.

Fortunately, Tang Yan possessed tremendous willpower. Anyone else attempting to refine first-tier mid-grade pills with only origin tier third grade strength would likely have given up long ago.

A long while later, Tang Yan opened his eyes and finally sank onto the floor in exhaustion, panting heavily.

"Damn it, that wore me out!"

Wiping away his sweat, Tang Yan barely paused to rest before opening the Pill Cauldron. At its center lay twelve emerald-green pills, round and plump, their rich fragrance lingering in the air. At last, he broke into a broad grin.

He glanced at the timer on the wall. Only three hours had passed. The Supreme Pill Canon's cultivation method really is miraculous. Even refining medicines is somewhat faster.

Taking out two porcelain bottles, he carefully put away every pill, then sat on the floor to rest for a while. The heat from the furnace had already dried his sweat-soaked clothes by the time he pushed open the stone door and headed toward the front hall.

In the front hall, Ge Ming's mind had been filled with guesses about Tang Yan-where he lived, who his master was, and so on. After sitting there for more than two hours, he suddenly remembered that Tang Yan had brought a maid with him. He slapped his forehead and cursed himself for a fool. Why hadn't he gone to ask her?

"Elder Ge, thank you." Just as Ge Ming was about to inquire into Tang Yan's background, a clear voice suddenly rang out.

He looked up and, sure enough, saw Tang Yan. Smiling, he asked, "Young Brother Tang, how did it go?"

"Luckily, I succeeded, thanks to your pill cauldron." Tang Yan offered his thanks, then smiled. "My business is finished, so it's time I honored my promise. Elder Ge, do you have paper and a brush?"

"I do. What, are you planning to write me an IOU?" Ge Ming joked as he fetched paper and a brush.

"If you don't mind, Elder Ge, neither do I." Tang Yan chuckled too, took the brush, and began writing.

As the bold, powerful running script appeared on the paper, Ge Ming's eyes immediately lit up!

Fine handwriting was hardly rare among alchemists, but Tang Yan's script was vigorous and strong, graceful and lively, displaying an even greater strength of character.

"Thousand-layer ice crystals, coral grass, bright moon juice, red crab pincer foam, fire bull bone powder, sevenfold dream lotus..." Tang Yan smoothly wrote down fifty-one ingredients, followed by the refining process, before finally setting down the brush.

He blew the ink dry and pushed the finished Pill Formula forward. Elder Ge reached out and took it.

Once he saw the Pill Formula clearly, Ge Ming's hands shook violently. As an alchemist, he knew the medicinal effects of various ingredients intimately. The coral grass, red crab pincer foam, and fire bull bone powder listed here all seemed to be ingredients for pills that nourished the meridians. Judging by the difficulty of the refining process, this even appeared to be a second-tier high-grade Pill Formula, though its authenticity remained uncertain.

Yet with Elder Ge's discerning eye, there was a ninety percent chance that this recipe was genuine.

"This is a Pill Formula? What pill is it for?" Elder Ge asked in bewilderment.

"Earlier, I noticed a red gleam in the whites of your eyes. You likely rushed a little too much along the path of alchemy in your youth, made some mistakes in your cultivation method, and forced a breakthrough while your strength was still unstable. That caused considerable fire poison to accumulate in your meridians. This recipe is for the Ice-Snow Clear-Flame Pill. It can effectively suppress the fire poison in your body, and seven doses will remove it completely."

"This is a third-tier low-grade pill. Though you cannot refine it yourself, Elder Ge, I believe someone in the Wonderful Elixir Workshop surely can. If arranging that is inconvenient, once my master returns, I will certainly ask him to refine a batch for you. This payment may be simple, but it carries my utmost sincerity. Farewell." Smiling, Tang Yan cupped his fist toward Ge Ming, then turned to leave.

Ge Ming fell into a daze at Tang Yan's words. His fire poisoning had indeed resulted from improper cultivation in his youth, just as Tang Yan had said. Even now, it flared up every three months without fail. Each time, his meridians felt as though they were being roasted by fire, an agony that made death seem preferable to life.

He had searched through every source he could find for pills that removed fire poison, only to learn that even the lowest-grade ones were sixth grade. He had thought the poison would torment him for the rest of his life. Who would have imagined that a chance encounter today would bring him a Pill Formula for its cure?

So long as he sent this news to headquarters, they certainly would not leave him unaided. The day his fire poison was removed was finally within sight.

"This is wonderful!" Ge Ming could not remember how many years it had been since he had felt so excited. He clapped his hands, tears nearly spilling from his eyes.

"Brother Tang, Brother Tang!" After calling twice, he suddenly remembered that Tang Yan had already left. He put away the Pill Formula and hurried outside.

Seeing Tang Yan emerge safely, Xiao Cui finally relaxed. Master and servant were just about to leave when a loud crash rang out. The shop's inner door was suddenly flung open, and Ge Ming rushed out in excitement.

The shop assistant and the surrounding customers stared at Ge Ming in astonishment. Master Ge was normally so refined and composed. Why had he lost his composure today?

"Brother Tang, wait! Wait!" Ge Ming called loudly.

What? Brother Tang? Everyone in the shop was dumbstruck at once, their jaws all but dropping to the floor!

Ge Ming, the grand elder of Cloud City's Wonderful Elixir Workshop, whom even the city lord respectfully addressed as Master Ge, was actually calling a mere wet-behind-the-ears boy his brother. Who was this young man?