Continued Breakthroughs in Alchemy

Yao Lao's aged face instantly flushed red when he heard that.

Then he flicked his sleeve, smacked Xiao Yan on the top of the head, and scolded him:

"You brat! What do you mean by that?"

"When I was learning alchemy, of course I succeeded on my first try!"

"All that talk about failure I kept repeating before was just to reassure you. Do you understand?!"

Xiao Yan rubbed his head, which was stinging fiercely, and protested aggrievedly in his heart:

You don't even bother drafting your bullshit. I could say I was a Dou Di in my previous life, so why doesn't anyone believe me?

Outwardly, though, he could only ask suspiciously:

"Really?"

Yao Lao snorted and said with certainty:

"Of course! Why would I lie to you?"

"I could refine Sixth-Grade Pills when I was a Dou Shi. When I was a Dou Emperor, I took part in the Pill Gathering in the Central Plains and refined an Eighth-Tier five-colored pill in one go."

"Although I've fallen on hard times now, I'm still a Grandmaster Alchemist only half a step away from refining a Ninth-Grade Treasure Pill."

The old man rattled off his claims without stopping, seemingly giving Xiao Yan no chance to argue, hoping to bluff him into submission.

Xiao Yan fell silent, his face turning red as well, and thought indignantly:

Who would believe you if you said that?

A Sixth-Grade Pill? You'd have to be a Dou Wang at the very least to even attempt it, wouldn't you? Otherwise, wouldn't you be done for if the cauldron exploded?

And an Eighth-Tier five-colored pill? Are you kidding me? What kind of Dou Emperor is so incredible that he could refine one at that level?

When I took part in the Pill Gathering in my previous life, I could barely refine an Eighth-Tier five-colored pill even as a Four-Star Dou Zong, and that took both my heart's blood and three kinds of Heavenly Flames upon me.

What... is my skill worth so little in your eyes??

Seeing the speechless look on the youth's face, Yao Lao turned his back to him and waved a hand, putting on a profoundly mysterious air.

"Forget it, we'll talk about this later. For now, I'll continue teaching you to refine second- and third-grade pills!"

With that, he snapped his fingers.

Light burst from the ancient ring once more, summoning a pile of medicinal ingredients and several prescriptions out of thin air.

Yao Lao laid everything out on the plain, pointed at the prescriptions, and said calmly:

"Since your fire control is so outstanding, I won't hide it anymore."

"Just read the pill formulas and put them into practice. I'll guide you from the side."

Hearing this, Xiao Yan felt as though his head was surrounded by exclamation marks. He's changing the subject again!

But there was nothing he could do. Who told him to be the master and Xiao Yan the disciple...?

Helpless, the youth could only do as he was told.

After trying the Flame Mantra again to restore his Dou Qi, Xiao Yan picked up the pill formulas from the ground and read them carefully.

Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, a second-grade pill, could help cultivators at the Dou Qi stage increase their cultivation speed.

The Bone-Growing Pill, a second-grade pill, possessed powerful healing properties and could allow a Dou Shi expert to rapidly recover from injuries.

The Qi Recovery Pill, a third-grade pill, could rapidly restore Dou Qi.

The Windwalk Pill, a third-grade pill, could increase speed.

Besides those, there were also the Ice Heart Pill, the Pulse-Protecting Pill, the Spirit Awakening Pill, and third-grade Qi Gathering Powder.

Qi Gathering Powder actually came in two grades, third and fourth, each corresponding to a different chance of breaking through to Dou Zhe.

The former had a fifty percent chance, while the latter had a one hundred percent chance.

Naturally, there was also a vast difference in their prices.

"Looks like I'll be busy tonight?"

Xiao Yan put down the pill formulas, stared at the medicinal ingredients covering the ground around him, and smiled bitterly.

"Still, that's fine..."

"Either way, I have to go back to the Xiao Clan for the coming-of-age ceremony. If I refine more pills, I can show off when I get back."

Remembering his original purpose for coming out to train, Xiao Yan's gaze suddenly sharpened, and he clenched his fists.

Then he closed his eyes and slowly calmed his mind.

When he opened them again, his eyes were ice-cold.

At this moment, he was no longer the good-for-nothing young master anyone could bully.

The youth beckoned with one hand, once again releasing the illusory image of the seven-colored divine dragon to coil around the Black Demon Cauldron, then began refining pills.

The night quietly shed its dim colors. The rising sun appeared in the east, illuminating every corner of the plain and lake.

The youth lay fast asleep on the ground, surrounded by jade bottles filled with the pills he had refined with all his might.

At that moment, Yao Lao caught sight of Xiao Yan's sleeping face. He walked over with a gratified expression and covered him with a blanket.

Xiao Yan had progressed quickly. In almost a single night, he had already become familiar with the properties of various medicinal ingredients, as well as the techniques and heat control used in pill refinement.

At first, he could only refine one pill an hour.

But by now, he could refine ten batches an hour, with ten pills in each batch.

The same was true for both second- and third-grade pills.

Even Yao Lao couldn't help remarking:

"This brat's talent... truly surpasses all others, past and present. Only one night has passed, and he's grown from a clueless novice into a Third-Tier Alchemist."

Not only that, but under the prolonged high-pressure training, Xiao Yan had also broken through in his Dou Qi cultivation, reaching the level of a Seven-Star Dou Zhe.

"He's been through all sorts of trials during this time. It really hasn't been easy on him."

"Today, let him have a good sleep!"

Yao Lao spoke softly. His figure then gradually faded and dispersed into the air, becoming a ball of fluorescent light.

The next moment, the light abruptly gathered into a barrier around Xiao Yan, slowly nourishing his spirit and protecting him from outside disturbances.

Nothing happened for the rest of the day, until the following morning arrived.

Xiao Yan opened his eyes in a slight daze, yawned lazily, and slowly sat up.

Sensing that the youth had awakened, Yao Lao withdrew the barrier and materialized before him, smiling. "You're awake?"

Xiao Yan rubbed his eyes and asked, "Teacher, how long did I sleep?"

"A little over a day, I think!" Yao Lao replied with a faint smile.

"Oh, a day... what?!"

Xiao Yan sprang to his feet, his earlier laziness gone. He immediately straightened his chest and said loudly:

"Then hasn't Xiao Yi Xian been awake for ages? Teacher, we have to hurry back to the Amethyst Cave."

With that, he turned and ran toward the tallest peak in the distance, soon disappearing from sight.

"This brat... he really is impatient!"

Chuckling and shaking his head, Yao Lao drifted over at a leisurely pace, following the youth.

"Hey, Xiao Yan, don't you already have that girl Xun'er in your heart?"

"How come... you've fallen for someone else so quickly?"

Watching the figure racing along beside him, Yao Lao couldn't help teasing him.

"Teacher, you don't understand. They're both the wings in my heart. It's just that one is my little sister and the other is a friend."

Xiao Yan grinned, a hint of a wicked smile on his face, and answered shamelessly.

"Hehe, is that so? Then I'd like to see whether your wings end up fighting each other."

Yao Lao's expression turned peculiar, and he couldn't help rolling his eyes as he teased him.

Creatures like women were especially troublesome.

Especially when there were many of them.

They were extremely difficult to subdue.

He, Yao Chen, wanted to see how this brat would deal with things once he had three palaces and six courtyards of his own!

Just imagining the scene made Yao Lao's scalp tingle.

Fortunately, he didn't intend to find a woman, or he'd have a splitting headache too.

Tap, tap, tap...

Light footsteps rang out like a symphony of the forest, full of the signs of living creatures at work.

Over fields and through woods, Xiao Yan raced all the way to the foot of the mountain beneath the Purple-Gold Cave.

He took a deep breath, leaped onto the rock face, gripped the uneven stones, and pulled himself upward. Before long, he had climbed to a spot near the entrance to the Purple-Gold Cave.

Xiao Yan stopped, dusted off his shoulders and knees, and walked straight into the cave.

After passing through a corridor of purple crystals, he finally arrived at the center of the cave.

The youth looked up to see two lions, one large and one small, circling the young woman, their eyes full of awe and obedience.

The young woman smiled faintly and was about to greet them when she heard an unusual sound behind her.

She turned and saw Xiao Yan walking toward her, and couldn't help freezing on the spot.

"Xiao... Xiao Yan, you're back?"

The young woman's voice trembled slightly, and her gaze was somewhat evasive, as though she still didn't want to face him.

"Mm, I'm back, Xiao Yi Xian..."

Xiao Yan murmured in affirmation, stepped forward, and placed both hands on her shoulders.

He carefully studied her nervous expression and continued:

"What are your plans from here?"