Charging into the White Light

"The pill is entirely orange-yellow; I wonder how long this Grain Avoidance Pill will last!"

Perhaps they moderated the fire, or controlled the pace, or perhaps they simply had good luck.

Zhang Xuezhou produced ninety-two pills from his Grain Avoidance Pill.

Once he succeeds, refining the same pills will be much simpler in the future. Although he cannot guarantee 100% success, the success rate will certainly be high.

However, Zhang Xuezhou found it difficult to judge the quality of these Grain Avoidance Pill.

He had always refined low-grade products in the past, and had never used a Solomon's Seal as thick as a thigh as the main ingredient.

When the quality of the main ingredient is exceptional, the finished elixir has already deviated from the norm.

The purpose of alchemy and medicine making is either to remove the toxicity of medicinal materials or to pursue combinations that produce better quality.

Herbs like Polygonatum, which have few toxic side effects, are likely to be of higher quality than the original herbs once they are processed into pills.

"Shouldn't it be more effective than the Grain Avoidance Powder extracted from the Purple Gold Gourd?"

Zhang Xuezhou had previously refined Grain Avoidance Powder for three days, five days, seven days, and half a month. After Grain Avoidance Instruction, he stopped taking medicine and eventually fed the Grain Avoidance Powder to the Purple Gold Gourd, obtaining a three-month Grain Avoidance Powder with extremely refined ingredients.

After comparing them back and forth, he felt that the level of his Grain Avoidance Pill was at least three months, but Zhang Xuezhou found it difficult to judge whether the upper limit was four or five months.

If it's hard to judge, it's hard to exchange. Zhang Xuezhou stroked the Grain Avoidance Pill in his hand, feeling that it's really no good if the pill doesn't have a standard.

If he judges the quality of the elixir poorly, he will suffer a loss; if he judges it too well, he will lose credibility and easily end up with no friends.

"Ta-da!"

When the rapid, piercing sound of the gong rang out, Zhang Xuezhou's heart skipped a beat.

He cast aside all his thoughts and strode out of the Alchemy Chamber towards the side hall. At that moment, Zhang Xuezhou saw a white light appear in the distant sky.

The new emperor arranged a room for Zhang Xuezhou in Shanglin Garden with an excellent orientation; one could see the distant Zhongnan Mountains as soon as one opened the door.

The Imperial Guards who took turns observing Zhongnan Mountain relied on a large bronze gong to transmit messages, the sound of which was so piercing that it could wake even those who were asleep.

Even if Zhang Xuezhou had made a mistake, he would still have been able to keep up with the pace.

He leaped into the air, only to feel an extra burden pulling him down from mid-air.

You said you'd take me flying when you go out!

Perhaps it was because he longed to fly too much, or perhaps there was nothing fun to do in Shanglin Garden, Huo Qubing moved a chair and sat quietly outside the hall to pass the time.

As soon as Zhang Xuezhou leaped up, he swiftly grabbed Zhang Xuezhou's clothes.

"I'm going to do something big for your godfather, and you can't involve children in big things!"

"I love doing big things, and you'll lead me to do big things!"

When Zhang Xuezhou reached out to push Huo Qubing, Zhang Xuezhou nimbly dodged the push and then grabbed Zhang Xuezhou's other side of his clothes from a different position.

"You're so clumsy, you can't possibly catch me!"

Huo Qubing leaped twice to dodge Zhang Xuezhou's push, and he was overjoyed. He felt that Zhang Xuezhou and his ilk were indeed inferior sorcerers, far less agile than martial artists, and even though he was young, he couldn't catch them.

"Then you'd better hold on tight in the airship!"

Zhang Xuezhou originally intended to leap into the sky, then switch to Technique Within the Clouds and speed towards Zhongnan Mountain.

But he found that he really couldn't deal with a nimble little brat like Huo Qubing. If he had to use intimidation and suppression, Zhang Xuezhou wouldn't be able to beat Huo Qubing as an opponent.

Without hesitation, he tucked the Grain Avoidance Pill between his fingers and reached for his waist again, where the two-inch-long Imperial Shuttle was already in his palm.

As he chanted the incantation in a low voice, he tossed the Sky Shuttle into the air, which then transformed into a small boat several feet long.

Zhang Xuezhou stepped onto the flying boat, while Huo Qubing, overjoyed, leaped to the back and obediently sat down, firmly holding onto Zhang Xuezhou's shoulder.

It's clear that the new emperor wasn't just joking when he had Huo Qubing experience the Imperial Shuttle; he had clearly explained all the lessons learned from his experience riding it.

Zhang Xuezhou felt much more at ease. He unleashed his Law Power, and as the purple mist enveloped the Imperial Shuttle, the Law Treasure soared into the sky like a streak of light.

"That's... that's amazing!"

Just seconds before, Huo Qubing thought Zhang Xuezhou was incredibly stiff and lame, but after sitting in the Imperial Shuttle for a few seconds, he completely changed his mind.

This is a speed he couldn't catch up to even on a swift horse.

The dark, imposing mountains loomed towards him, and this overwhelming sense of impact almost suffocated Huo Qubing.

He even wondered if he would shatter like an egg hitting a rock, but the next moment, he found that the mountain that was coming towards him was somehow located below the Sky Shuttle.

The visual illusions amazed him, and the dizziness and vomiting symptoms the new emperor had described were replaced by a surge of excitement in his mind.

"My godfather said that the master from the East is very powerful; if he weren't ill, he would be a rare expert in the Great Han Dynasty. He was absolutely right!"

Lying down, Zhang Xuezhou resembled a cow or sheep awaiting slaughter; standing, however, Zhang Xuezhou undoubtedly possessed the power to Tongtian.

Besides the new emperor's recommendation, Huo Qubing was also able to sense the hidden power within Zhang Xuezhou.

He used to see halos on many living beings, some large, some small, some faint, some deep, ranging from spiders and snakes to cattle, horses, and humans.

As he grew older, the brilliance in his eyes gradually faded, but Huo Qubing still remembered the brilliance he had once witnessed.

Among all living beings, Zhang Xuezhou's brilliance was extremely strong. There were only a handful of people within his sight who could compare to him. These people were either too old or aloof and ignored him. Only Zhang Xuezhou was somewhat easygoing.

"Master from the East, where are we headed?"

Huo Qubing was excited and couldn't help but ask Zhang Xuezhou where this flight was going and how long it would take.

"I'll be there soon!"

Zhang Xuezhou was piloting the Sky Shuttle, responded calmly.

Huo Qubing's eyes were clearly not used to high-speed flight; traces of the white, soaring light from Zhongnan Mountain still lingered in front of them.

This light was not a dense, blinding white light, but rather a color similar to the white clouds seen during the day. Perhaps the light was also present during the day, but the sunlight was enough to cover it up, so he did not notice it at all. Only at night could he see the light clearly.

This light has no discernible pattern; it can last for a long time, or for a short time, or it can fill the sky, or it can simply appear a dozen feet high in the mountains.

Zhang Xuezhou was relatively lucky this time; his brilliance didn't fade upon arrival like it did the first time.

The vast, gloomy, and eerie forest came into view once again. Zhang Xuezhou pondered his first experience entering it. He was wary, but not as suspicious as the first time.

He even brought along Huo Qubing, a child laborer, deciding to have Huo Qubing dig up some purple lingzhi and polygonatum while he was exploring.

"We've reached our destination. Hold on tight!"

Even though they were still quite far apart, Zhang Xuezhou had already spoken up to remind them.

The moment he finished speaking, the Sky Shuttle was already plummeting downwards.

"Oh?"

Huo Qubing cried out, and the excitement in his mind turned into weightlessness, as if his body and soul were somehow detached.

In his hazy vision, he felt as if he were seeing a painting, in which someone seemed to be drifting like the wind, as if drifting along with him, yet also as if being thrown out of the painting because of the discomfort brought on by this drifting.

He felt as if something had entered his body, but he couldn't quite place what it was.

The sudden landing made his body shudder and fall backward; Huo Qubing felt as if he had lost control of his body.

Just as Zhang Xuezhou was unconscious when he fell ill, Huo Qubing felt that he was also sick.