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In the Snake-People Race Holy City, within Medusa's former bedchamber, Xiao Yan lay on the bed, his brows tightly furrowed, an expression of pain on his face.
Amidst the clattering of chains, a black-clad girl, whose abdomen had been pierced, had blood at the corner of her mouth and her left hand was a bloody mess.
"Young Master Xiao Yan, take care..."
"Young Master Xiao Yan, take care..."
"..."
The girl's smiling face grew fainter and more distant, dragged into the sky by chains, and a dense black mist, like a monstrous, terrifying beast about to devour someone, swallowed her.
The chilling laughter of "Kekeke" echoed in the darkness.
Immediately after, Yun Shan's face appeared; he looked amiable, with a smile on his lips, like a kind Elder.
But he himself held a knife and stabbed it into his chest.
Yun Yun's figure appeared behind him; she looked at him coldly, her eyes filled with an unresolvable hatred.
"Xiao Meng! Yun Zhi!" Xiao Yan suddenly sat up from the bed, gasping for breath.
He clutched his forehead in pain, realizing it was a dream.
Xiao Yan took deep breaths, trying to calm his heart, but he couldn't; the previous scenes resurfaced in his mind again and again, his teeth clenched, lips pale, hands clenched into fists, fingernails digging into his flesh.
Yao Chen remained silent within the bone flame ring, only letting out another long sigh.
Xiao Yan sat stiffly on the bed for a long time before slowly getting up, pushing open the door, and walking out.
The sunlight that greeted him was somewhat dazzling; his steps were light as he walked forward, his gaze unfocused and wandering.
He didn't know where he was going, just walked aimlessly, on and on.
The people of the Black-Corner Region watched from afar.
Su Mei spoke, "What's gotten into him now?"
"I don't know," Tie Wu shook his head.
Fan Lao looked somewhat worried, "If this continues, when will he be able to refine pills for us?"
Jin Lao glanced at him, "Wait patiently. In his current state, forcibly refining pills won't yield a high success rate and will only waste medicinal ingredients for nothing."
Unknowingly, Xiao Yan walked to the place where Cai Lin had evolved. He sat dejectedly by the lake, lay on the grass, his eyes vacant.
"Young Master Xiao Yan, let's go shopping..."
"Xiao Meng will carry things for you."
"Get lost! Young Master Xiao Yan will definitely rise again, you will regret it."
"It makes Xiao Meng very happy that you considered me, but there's no need to decline. Let it accompany you in my place..."
Sea Heart Flame ignited in Xiao Yan's hand; he gazed at the flame, which resembled flowing water, his mind filled with countless thoughts.
After a long while, he put away the flame, and a hint of determination appeared in his eyes.
"I will save you, definitely."
He walked towards the city, came to where the people from the Black-Corner Region and others had gathered, and said loudly, "For your help, Xiao Yan thanks you all here. After I rest for two days, I will begin refining pills for everyone."
Gold and Silver Elders looked at him for a moment and asked with concern, "Master Xiao Yan, are you really alright? If your condition is not good, perhaps you should rest for a longer period."
He was worried that if Xiao Yan's state of mind was not good, he would ruin the medicinal ingredients. They had collected the materials for the Broken Sect Pill for so long, and only managed to gather five sets.
Xiao Yan seemed to see through their worries and smiled, "Please rest assured, everyone. If I still haven't refined the pills after three sets of ingredients, I will make up for the cost myself and deliver the promised pills to you."
The rule for Alchemists refining pills for others is that the client needs to provide three sets of ingredients. Regardless of how many attempts it takes to succeed, only one pill needs to be given to the client, and any extra ingredients belong to the Alchemist.
Even if all three attempts fail, the Alchemist cannot be blamed; the client must bear the losses of failure and accept the result of losing everything.
However, this time, it was Xiao Yan who invited them for help, so he promised that only three sets of ingredients were needed, and he would definitely deliver one pill to them. If the refinement failed, Xiao Yan would bear the loss.
Tie Wu's eyes flickered, and he laughed heartily, "In that case, Master Xiao Yan, please refine for me first. Here, these are my medicinal ingredients."
He handed a low-tier space ring to Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan's soul power swept through the space ring, and he said with a smile, "Wait for my good news... The task of guarding is entrusted to you."
With that, he took the medicinal ingredients, found a soundproof room, and walked in.
Tie Wu crossed his arms, standing in front of the house like a door god. The others moved stools over and sat to the side, looking with eager anticipation at the tightly closed door behind him.
Time passed minute by minute, but no sound came from inside the house.
The sun set, the moon hung high, and stars twinkled in the sky.
A faint blue light suddenly broke through the roof, sending tiles flying, and the light beam ascended into the sky, spreading out like ripples.
Tie Wu, who had been standing at the doorway with his eyes closed in repose, suddenly opened his eyes, feeling the dispersed energy fluctuations, and a hint of joy flashed in his eyes.
"Is the pill about to be formed?" Fan Lao also said excitedly.
"Generally, refining a Sixth-Rank Alchemist pill, if things go smoothly, takes about this much time," Su Mei inferred from the time Xiao Yan started refining until the phenomenon appeared, that he likely succeeded on the first attempt.
As she said this, the others also thought of the same thing.
"Everyone, please exercise some restraint and remain calm," Tie Wu said with sharp eyes.
"Heh, I'm not fighting you for it, what's the rush?" Yin Gu Lao muttered.
Tie Wu laughed, "Isn't it because I'm worried someone might get too excited and disturb Master Xiao Yan?"
After a while, the energy fluctuations began to weaken, and a rich medicinal fragrance wafted from the broken roof. Just by smelling the scent, several people who had been stuck at a bottleneck felt their Dou Qi flow speed up slightly.
With a "creak," Xiao Yan pushed open the door and walked out, throwing a jade bottle to Tie Wu, "I have lived up to my promise."
Tie Wu quickly caught it, a look of immense sincerity on his face, "Thank you, Master Xiao Yan."
Xiao Yan looked at the others, "Gentlemen, who's next? Strike while the iron is hot, my touch is quite good today."
The error-free version is being read! 6=9+Book_Bar first published this novel.
"Me."
"Me."
The rest of the people spoke up one after another.
Xiao Yan smiled as he accepted their medicinal ingredients. He said to Gold and Silver Elders, "The refinement of the Broken Sect Pill is more difficult. I trouble the two of you to wait a few days. I will first refine their Royal Extremity Pills."
Gold and Silver Elders said with kind smiles, "No trouble, no trouble, Master Xiao Yan, you can decide."
Xiao Yan then said, "I previously promised to double the initial conditions for everyone, so you can also think about what kind of pill you want for your additional refining opportunity."
Tie Wu said with a slight awkwardness, "I only prepared the medicinal ingredients for this one Royal Extremity Pill. Can I save the other opportunity for now and ask Master Xiao Yan to refine it when I have prepared the items?"
Of course, he also wanted to get the pill as soon as possible, after all, unexpected things happen, and given Xiao Yan's nature, he wasn't someone who would settle down, so it wouldn't be surprising if he disappeared at any time, but he really couldn't produce three sets of medicinal ingredients for the second refinement.
"Of course you can," Xiao Yan's smile was evident.
Xiao Yan spent nearly half a month refining the required pills for them.
Among them, except for Fan Lao, who used up his second opportunity, the others still kept theirs.
Gold and Silver Elders planned to use the Broken Sect Pill to attempt to break through to the Dou Ancestor realm, and would decide what pill they needed for the second refinement based on the situation. Moreover, they didn't have extra Broken Sect Pill ingredients; the two of them only gave Xiao Yan five sets in total.
Xiao Yan did not quibble over this one set of ingredients, which made the two of them even more respectful towards him.
The others also, for various reasons, either lacked medicinal ingredients or couldn't make a decision at the moment.
Tie Wu, Fan Lao, Su Mei, Ban Lao, and Yin Gu Lao all broke through one star with the help of the Royal Extremity Pill. Gold and Silver Elders's pills were refined last, so they hadn't used them yet.
Refining so many high-grade pills consecutively was also a huge burden for Xiao Yan. If Qing Meng hadn't been constantly helping him circulate his cultivation technique and replenish his consumption, Xiao Yan would not have been so smooth.
Visible fatigue was revealed between Xiao Yan's brows, but his eyes were unusually bright. This long period of refining also brought him considerable benefits.
He gathered the several people from the Black-Corner Region and asked with a smile, "Everyone, what are your plans for the future?"
Fan Lao's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, and he said, "Master Xiao Yan, please speak freely."
Xiao Yan smiled and said, "Then I will be frank. In the previous events, we have already offended Soul Hall, and I believe everyone is aware of this mysterious force. In the future, we must guard against their retaliation."
"How about we form an alliance? This alliance organization doesn't need to be too strict, and the alliance will not interfere with the internal affairs of your forces. We only need to reach a simple agreement of unified offense and defense, and that the forces within the alliance will not be hostile to each other."
No one gave an immediate answer; instead, they remained silent.
Xiao Yan continued, "As you all know, Jia Nan Academy was also attacked by Soul Hall before. I am from Jia Nan Academy and have some acquaintance with the Great Elder of the Academy. After returning to the Black-Corner Region, I will try to persuade the Great Elder to establish a strategic cooperation between our alliance and Jia Nan Academy."
"I believe the Great Elder would be willing. Although they need the chaotic environment of the Black-Corner Region for students to gain experience, too much chaos would bring unnecessary casualties to the students, so they also hope to control the danger to a certain extent."
"The Academy's manpower is not very abundant, and they cannot provide sufficient protection for every student undergoing training. I think the alliance can offer some help."
"Of course, whether these students will feel that the alliance, or a certain force within the alliance, is a good place to go after their training, that's up to you all."
Su Mei was the first to respond to Xiao Yan's call, saying with a charming smile, "Then in the future, we'll have to ask Alliance Leader Xiao for much guidance."
Tie Wu thought for a moment and also agreed.
Subsequently, Yin Gu Lao, Ban Lao, and Fan Lao all nodded.
Finally, Gold and Silver Elders deliberated for a moment and slowly spoke, "The two of us do not have our own forces, so we will directly hold positions in the alliance... Alliance Leader Xiao, the alliance itself should also establish its direct forces, right? You must give us good treatment."
Xiao Yan smiled, "I will certainly not disappoint the two of you."
In terms of strength, Xiao Yan defeated Yun Shan, who was a Dou Ancestor, and in terms of identity, he was also a Sixth-Rank Alchemist. Therefore, Gold and Silver Elders directly acknowledged his position as the Alliance Leader.
"Since it's an alliance, it should have a name, right? Has Alliance Leader Xiao thought of one?"
Xiao Yan thought for a moment and said, "I don't have too many plans for this alliance, only a simple idea, but as for the name... let's call it 'Xiao Alliance'."
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