Xiao Tian bought six sets of spiritual ingredients for Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid at the marketplace, then furtively climbed over the wall back into the Xiao Clan. Once inside his room, he shut the door and windows, only for his body to suddenly stiffen.
As a Five-Star Dou Master, his spiritual sense was fairly strong, and his perception was naturally extraordinary.
"Xun'er, what are you doing in my bed?"
The covers lifted, and Xun'er, dressed in a snow-white fluffy outfit like an adorable winter-event-exclusive Annie, jumped down from the bed, her little face flushed. Tilting her delicate nose up, she snorted. "Brother Tian, you've been so mysterious lately. And what's this outfit you're wearing now?"
Xiao Tian secretly rejoiced that he had undone the Transformation Technique beforehand; otherwise, he would have had no way to explain his height.
He slipped off his black robe and tossed it aside, then walked over to Xun'er with a grin. Rubbing her porcelain-white, baby-fat cheeks, he said mysteriously, "Xun'er, don't tell Father I sneaked out. This is a secret between the two of us."
"Sure, but you have to tell me what you went out to do! Why didn't you take me along for anything fun?"
Xiao Tian looked embarrassed.
"Xun'er, I'm actually working toward becoming an alchemist. Once I manage to concoct a spirit liquid that whitens the skin, you'll be the first person I give it to."
"Really?" Xun'er's big eyes instantly brightened considerably.
Xiao Tian was dumbfounded. Did Xun'er already care so much about skincare at just nine years old? Why had her gaze become so ravenous at the mention of skin whitening?
"Really! Pinky promise!"
After finally going to great lengths to coax Xun'er out of his room, Xiao Tian did not immediately begin refining pills. Instead, he shut himself away in his room and cultivated until evening before starting.
Yao Lao emerged from the soul ring and said with his hands clasped behind his back, "Boy, let's begin. The first step is to condense a spiritual flame. I believe you can do it."
"All right."
Xiao Tian sat cross-legged on the floor, focused his mind, and calmed his thoughts, sensing the circulation of Dou Qi within his body. Suddenly, a faint warmth spread across his palms, and two vigorous, searing flames appeared. A breath later, the spiritual flames blazed even brighter.
Seeing this, Yao Lao could not help stroking his beard with a smile. "Excellent talent. You condensed spiritual flames on your very first attempt, and their purity is extremely high. Even among ordinary flames, these stand head and shoulders above the rest! They're even stronger than some Beast Flames."
"Boy, do you know what Beast Flames are?"
Xiao Tian replied casually, "Aren't they just flames extracted from certain fire-element magical beasts, then transplanted and refined into one's own body?"
"Uh." Yao Lao, who had been preparing to show off his knowledge, could not help choking on his words.
"Correct! Just what I'd expect from the genius I took a liking to! Next, repeat the pill-refining procedure I demonstrated earlier. I'll correct any mistakes you make."
"All right."
Twenty minutes passed, and Yao Lao felt thoroughly frustrated. This little Xiao Tian was far too monstrous. Although someone at the Dou Shi realm could just barely refine second-tier Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, he had expected at least two failures.
Yet not only had little Xiao Tian succeeded on his first attempt, but the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid was also of superior quality.
The quality improved dramatically on the second attempt!
Yao Lao felt a sense of crisis. Would he soon run out of things to teach?
A little over an hour later, Xiao Tian looked at the ten jade bottles filled with Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid before him, his eyes gleaming with money and his mouth stretched into a broad grin.
But his greatest gain was not these-it was the points.
From the 50 points he had earned for successfully refining Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid for the first time, he had now accumulated a total of 200 points!
This undoubtedly allowed Xiao Tian to discover a novel path!
So beating people up was not the only way to earn system points!
"Yao Lao, I've finished refining everything. My talent's pretty good, isn't it?"
Yao Lao really wanted to beat the brat up.