Three Thousand Li Away

"A drop of Essence Blood!"

In the water palace of Gaoyou, Zhang Xuezhou officially ended his duel with Ao Li and reached out to Ao Li to demand the bet.

When Ao Li gets serious, he is indeed very difficult to deal with.

Without using the Technique Within the Clouds, even with ample Law Power, Zhang Xuezhou would find it difficult to win by relying on the Sky Shuttle and the Cloud Soaring Technique.

"I actually lost?"

Ao Li didn't renege on his debt, but he seemed somewhat lost in thought.

If he had previously suffered from the rules of the flying battle, which made him inferior in short-distance flying battles, then he was helpless in long-distance flying battles.

Zhang Xuezhou was flying too fast, far too fast. His opponent was flying desperately ahead, and Ao Li was also desperately trying to catch up behind.

After traveling three thousand miles, we have already arrived at Gaoyou Water Mansion in Jiangdu.

Looking at his bewildered son who could only spit out water, Ao Li could only sigh.

In the past, he would have slapped Ao Qing to teach him a lesson from Zhang Xuezhou, but he himself had lost, so how could he possibly lecture him? As a father, he was lucky if he wasn't used as a negative example.

"Let me tell you a secret, after drinking that 'saliva wine' last time, my genitals hurt terribly. I don't know why that kind of wine doesn't hurt my upper body but my lower body. It made it inconvenient for me to wear pants for a year afterward. Mr. Dong always suspected that I was putting a stick in my pocket..."

Watching his son happily recount his little secrets to his old friend after their reunion, Ao Li sighed deeply, feeling that the difference in the growth rate between humans and demons was too great.

The only thing that made Ao Li feel fortunate was that demons had long lifespans. As long as they persevered, they would eventually become powerful, whereas humans, with their short lifespans, were just fleeting beauties.

Even if it were only twenty years, let alone decades, Zhang Xuezhou's physical abilities would decline.

This was perhaps the most glorious age of Zhang Xuezhou's life. Ao Li pondered it over and over, and finally convinced himself that he didn't need to care about the outcome of this flying contest.

"Could I give up an extra drop of my Essence Blood in exchange for a purple Ganoderma lucidum the size of your head?"

Ao Li thought for a long time.

With cultivation and physical development reaching Ao Li's level, the availability of powerful medicines, pills, and other auxiliary drugs that can have an effect on him is extremely limited.

He could even use things like ambergris to make medicine, which shows how resistant he was to drugs.

Ordinary large medicinal herbs wouldn't even need to be looked at by Ao Li, but he was very interested in the giant medicinal herb that Zhang Xuezhou mentioned.

Any medicine that exceeds the normal size has incredible medicinal effects. Although Zhang Xuezhou called it Purple Lingzhi, Ao Li prefers to call it Giant Lingzhi. It has already transformed into a different species and is likely to have an effect on his body. Otherwise, how could he have listened to Zhang Xuezhou's words and fought back and forth for two rounds?

Having failed in both attempts to obtain the Purple Lingzhi, Ao Li had no other choice but to ask Zhang Xuezhou if he needed an extra drop of Essence Blood Essence Blood, hoping to exchange it for the Purple Lingzhi.

"A drop of Essence Blood is enough for me," Zhang Xuezhou refused, then added, "I'm currently looking for Pill Furnace to refine medicine. Once I get the purple Ganoderma lucidum and refine some good medicine, I'll give you two more!"

Zhang Xuezhou also avoided offending Ao Li, mentioning that he wouldn't hoard the purple lingzhi mushroom, but would instead use it to refine elixirs.

If he can successfully refine them, it won't be a problem for him to give Ao Li two.

"You also know how to refine pills?" Ao Li asked curiously.

"My Yin-Yang School is extremely skilled in alchemy and medicine making. Pills like the Origin-Nurturing Pill- Spirit-Forging Pill are nothing compared to what I can do," Zhang Xuezhou patted his chest and said. "I'm currently preparing to refine high-grade pills; all I need is a good Pill Furnace to test the process!"

"Aren't you from Lei Ming's lineage?" Ao Li asked.

"I've only met Venerable Lei a few times. He took a liking to me and taught me a technique called Technique Within the Clouds," Zhang Xuezhou said. "But I belong to the Yin-Yang School, and I've been refining pills and making medicine all these years!"

"So that's how it is!"

Only now did Ao Li realize Zhang Xuezhou's background.

Ao Li had met Zhang Xuezhou many times, and he had never seen Zhang Xuezhou display any other impressive skills. This was a common problem among the cultivators of the Yin Yang Nine Heavens Sect; they knew nothing except alchemy, medicine making, and formations.

Without refining elixirs, it would be too difficult to distinguish cultivators from those of the Yin-Yang School and the Nine Heavens Sect, especially cultivators like Zhang Xuezhou who practiced external techniques.

Ao Li never expected that he would meet the successor of a prestigious alchemy school.

Those skilled in alchemy are hard to find. On the one hand, there are not many schools with profound alchemy techniques, and on the other hand, alchemy cultivators face a difficult path to advancement, with most having to rely on powerful forces and sell themselves for life in order to become a Grand Alchemist.

Someone as free-spirited as Zhang Xuezhou, who also possesses the lineage of a renowned alchemy family, is definitely a rare find.

Ao Li had previously regarded Zhang Xuezhou as a fellow practitioner skilled in flying and leaping. However, after Zhang Xuezhou said a few words, he felt that it was not enough for Ao Qing and Zhang Xuezhou to become friends. He was also quite willing to become friends with a high-level Alchemist.

Ao Li did not doubt Zhang Xuezhou's alchemy skills, after all, the speed at which humans grow is too fast.

For dragons, decades of laying the foundation is almost enough time for humans to go through the three stages of childhood, youth, and old age.

Zhang Xuezhou might not have been up to par a few years ago, and he might be slightly less so now, but Zhang Xuezhou will be a completely different person a few years from now.

Perhaps it was only during the short time that Ao Li closed his eyes to recuperate his body and mind that Zhang Xuezhou had already refined the Great Pill.

If there were good elixirs to eat, no one would want to eat raw herbs.

Ao Li was no exception; his eyes were filled with enthusiasm.

"What kind of Pill Furnace do you want?" Ao Li rubbed his hands together excitedly and said, "I've picked up a few Pill Furnace before, but I've never used them. If you like one, take it and try it out!"

"Oh?"

Zhang Xuezhou was slightly surprised.

Once he has gathered all the necessary materials, Zhang Xuezhou will travel to Nanyang to rent a Pill Furnace for a period of time.

The Pill Furnace and the temperature of the fire are difficult for Zhang Xuezhou to control perfectly, and even though he is good at repeating things, it is difficult to replicate them.

Whether one can refine a good elixir depends 30% on skill and 70% on luck.

Zhang Xuezhou himself wasn't very confident in refining pills, and he didn't expect Ao Li to be so enthusiastic, even wanting to get involved.

"What kind of Pill Furnace do you have?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"I don't know either," Ao Li shook his head repeatedly. "The few Pill Furnace Pill Furnace picked up were thrown into the river by the Qin people when Xianyang fell. They looked fairly intact, and it was a shame to leave them soaking in the water, so I took a few back to my Water Palace."

"Haven't you tried it?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"I hate starting fires the most!"

Ao Li muttered a resentful complaint.

Of course, it wasn't just Ao Li who disliked fire; none of the water dragon kings from Five Lakes liked fire, nor did they enjoy alchemy, medicine making, or blacksmithing.

In short, all crafts that require fire have nothing to do with dragons.

"I'll try it out after I get back to Jinghe," Zhang Xuezhou said. "If it suits my needs, I'll give you a few more pills when I refine them, so you won't lose out!"

"This is great!" Ao Li exclaimed happily.

Rather than leaving the Pill Furnace piled up in the water mansion for display, Ao Li was clearly more willing to take it out and exchange it for something usable.

After exchanging ideas with Zhang Xuezhou, his initial resentment quickly subsided.

As a dragon king with no great ambitions and a carefree attitude, Ao Li felt he couldn't rely too much on himself.

If it weren't for the competition and trouble caused by Ao Sheng, he would still be looking for a dragon woman to give birth to a tenth son with wings.