Chapter 113: Pill Refining! Seventh-Rank Alchemist!
The Snake-People tribe watched Yao Yan's incredibly efficient pill refining process, their eyes wide in disbelief.
Those extremely precious tier-six pills, which could help a Dou King or Dou Huang break through directly, were flying out of the cauldron like cabbages, landing in jade bottles and neatly lining up beside Yao Yan. And as time passed, his pill refining speed increased even more.
What was most exaggerated was that Yao Yan hadn't failed even once. Refining the tier-six pills seemed effortless to him.
It wasn't until the sun began to set that Yao Yan stopped his pill refining. He closed his eyes to rest, recovering his spent Dou Qi and soul power, while also processing the gains from the day. Both the Dou Ling Pills and Imperial Extreme Pills were highly valuable among tier-six pills, and their refining difficulty was no small feat.
If Yao Yan's soul hadn't reached the level of the Spirit Realm, he wouldn't have been able to refine them so casually.
Soul power at the Spirit Realm level had a unique ability: it could sense the spirituality of the medicinal ingredients, making the refinement process smoother and even allowing the alchemist to imbue the pills with additional spiritual energy, increasing their efficacy. This level of soul power was also one of the prerequisites for refining eighth-tier pills.
Refining tier-six pills with soul power at this level felt like using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken.
But it was the perfect way to get familiar with his current abilities. In just a few short days, both his Dou Qi and soul power had skyrocketed.
As time passed, the Snake-People experts around him didn't leave. In fact, they lowered their voices to avoid disturbing Yao Yan, who was meditating.
Yue Mei licked her red lips, her enchanting eyes gleaming with intense interest as she watched Yao Yan. After hearing what the Queen had said last night, she had already made up her mind. Even if it wasn't for the Queen, just staying by his side was an enormous opportunity for her.
A seventeen-year-old Dou King, and a sixth-rank alchemist with a heavenly flame…
Being with him would undoubtedly be more promising than being any tribe leader.
At this point, she had already been conquered by Yao Yan. Admiring the strong was never something to be ashamed of. After all, most people didn't even get the chance to choose.
Thinking this, Yue Mei glanced at Hua She'er standing nearby.
Compared to her own soft and seductive aura, Hua She'er's elegance was more dignified. Noticing Yue Mei's gaze, Hua She'er frowned in confusion. Their eyes met, and Yue Mei smiled mischievously, glancing at the two queens not far away before whispering, "The Queen must have told you that you're to become his personal attendant~"
"She did."
Hua She'er responded calmly, her expression unchanged. It seemed like she hadn't been affected by this at all.
Yue Mei studied her expression, her eyes flashing slightly before she spoke confidently, "It seems you've agreed, then."
Hua She'er's tone remained even as she replied, "I am the Queen's personal bodyguard. I will not defy any orders from the Queen."
"I'm not asking you about that. I just want to know what kind of person he is... You've been with him these past few days, so you must know him well. I've never met him, never even interacted with him, and to avoid any mistakes in the future, shouldn't the sister take care of her little sister~?"
Yue Mei's voice softened as she inquired.
"…You don't need to worry about anything. This young master is unlike most human strongmen. He's easy to communicate with. You can approach him normally."
Hua She'er was silent for a moment before responding slowly.
Yue Mei, half-smiling, playfully eyed Hua She'er. "The Queen didn't mean for us to simply communicate with him normally. Didn't you understand what she meant?"
Hua She'er, being much older than Yue Mei, had always been with the Queen. Yue Mei didn't believe that Hua She'er didn't understand the Queen's intentions.
"Then it depends on what the young master wants. You and I are just his attendants."
Hua She'er responded coolly and plainly.
"You mean, if he wants, we just let him?" Yue Mei raised an eyebrow, teasing.
Hua She'er's expression tightened slightly at Yue Mei's provocative words. She coldly replied, "You'd better watch yourself. He is the Queen's man, and we are merely attendants. Don't forget your place!"
Yue Mei chuckled, her seductive eyes narrowing as she glanced at the still-meditating Yao Yan from afar. "Seems like you don't understand the Queen's intentions. Our role isn't just as attendants. We're here to deepen his relationship with the Snake-People. Clearly, you're not as good as me when it comes to dealing with men. Sometimes, human men prefer women to be a little more... seductive~"
She had killed plenty of snake traffickers before and knew human men's nature well.
"He's not like those others!" Hua She'er warned.
"You'll never know until you try~"
Yue Mei smirked, her voice dripping with seduction.
…
Half an hour later.
Yao Yan opened his eyes. The materials and methods needed to make the Breaking Sect Pills surfaced clearly in his mind. After a brief moment of silence, he reignited the black cauldron. This time, the temperature of the Green Lotus Core Flame was higher than ever before, causing the cauldron's markings to glow dark red.
Once the cauldron reached the right temperature, Yao Yan began taking large amounts of medicinal ingredients from his storage ring, one by one tossing them into the Green Lotus Core Flame.
Under the intense heat, the ingredients wilted and turned into pure medicinal liquid. Controlled by Yao Yan's soul power, the liquid floated within the cauldron like countless stars, following a unique pattern, and their spiritual properties began to awaken, causing them to become brighter and more transparent.
About two hours later, over three hundred droplets of different-colored medicinal essence floated within the Green Lotus Core Flame.
Under Yao Yan's control, they began to merge, one drop at a time. With each fusion, a small burst of energy would ripple through, until they finally formed a pill-sized essence, shimmering in multicolored hues. The colors were so beautiful it was indescribable—perfectly blended with no imperfections.
Yao Yan smiled as he observed the perfectly formed pill essence. He made a subtle motion with his mind, and the temperature of the Green Lotus Core Flame instantly increased. The intense heat caused the essence to shrink by half.
If an alchemist had been present, they would have been horrified by Yao Yan's brutal pill refining technique. No other alchemist would dare condense pills this way—did he not fear an explosion?
If he failed to refine the tier-six pills, the resulting explosion would be incredibly powerful. Even a Dou Huang would be injured if they weren't careful.
It seemed almost too easy?
Yao Yan hadn't expected refining the Breaking Sect Pill to be so simple. Everything that Soul Void had taught him in the past seemed to click into place, allowing him to refine the pills with ease. Many techniques he had once been hesitant to use were now at his fingertips, and he was refining more comfortably than ever.
What once required meticulous care was now solved effortlessly with a sweep of his soul power. Under his soul's gaze, the pill essence had almost no flaws.
"It's done!"
He mentally judged.
As Yao Yan had expected, the Breaking Sect Pill was successfully formed without any problems. It flew out of the cauldron wrapped in the Green Lotus Core Flame, landing steadily into a jade bottle in Yao Yan's hand.
He tossed the Breaking Sect Pill to Cai Lin and continued making more. With the materials in his storage ring, he could make up to five pills without failure. These pills would serve as the foundation for the power he would use to build his force.
After he finished refining these, he planned to attempt some tier-seven pills.
Making tier-six pills felt like it lacked something. Perhaps refining some tier-seven pills would give him a sense of fulfillment. He had received many precious tier-seven and tier-eight pill formulas from Yao Lao's Bone Flame Ring. Though he lacked some of the rare ingredients, he had enough materials for several tier-seven Instant Qi Pills.
The Instant Qi Pills were a consumable type of pill that could restore a large amount of Dou Qi in a short time. Even a Dou Zong expert would find them useful, restoring two to three times their Dou Qi.
They were an upgraded version of the Qi Recovery Pills.
However, even a Dou Zong wouldn't use them regularly. Only alchemists could afford to make them part of their daily consumption.
Cai Lin looked at the Breaking Sect Pill in her hand, her deep purple eyes staring at Yao Yan. She hadn't expected that the pill she had dreamed of would end up in her hands like this. Watching Yao Yan throw himself back into refining pills, she suddenly felt as if these pills were no longer so difficult to make.
She knew this was an illusion. After all, no one in the entire Jia Ma Empire could compare to a sixth-rank alchemist. Even in the neighboring countries, such alchemists were rare. And whenever these alchemists made pills, they were always cautious, requiring five to ten times the ingredients to make even a single pill, with extra costs as well.
But Yao Yan—he made it seem like he was throwing dumplings into the cauldron, without a single failure.
This scene made Cai Lin question life.
She took a deep breath, watching Yao Yan refine pills without slowing down, and continued to accompany him.
At this moment—
The Third Elder stepped forward, his old face smiling awkwardly. "Your Majesty, this young master seems to still be refining the Breaking Sect Pill. Perhaps we old fellows..."
"Get lost!"
Cai Lin cut him off with a single word, shutting him down completely.
The Third Elder's face immediately darkened, but he didn't dare argue. Facing the now-esteemed Cai Lin, who had Yao Yan's support and the Breaking Sect Pills, he knew his position had shrunk. After all, once she became a Dou Zong, he would have no authority in her presence.
After a moment of hesitation, the Third Elder closed his mouth and turned to walk back to the graveyard, planning to consult the other three Elders.
Perhaps it was time to stop guarding the graves.
Cai Lin's cold gaze lingered on the Third Elder's retreating figure before turning to say indifferently, "Don't mind these shameless old men."
They had previously been stuck, always adhering to the clan rules, hiding in the graveyard, and even forcing her to part with her sister. Now that they saw a benefit, they were all coming out, losing all sense of shame. She hadn't taken action against them, but it was only out of respect for their role in guarding the Snake-People Tribe.
If they still didn't understand, she would show them who the true queen of the Snake-People was.
Cai Die clapped her hands and laughed. "Sister, you're so domineering. I've wanted to say that for so long!"
She gave her sister a playful look.
Then, her gaze shifted back to Yao Yan, still refining pills in the distance. She couldn't help but feel that he was truly handsome—no matter how much she looked at him, it never seemed enough. Memories of their time together flooded her mind, and a sweet expression appeared in her eyes. If she hadn't escaped from the clan back then, she probably wouldn't have met him, let alone have everything she had now.
Everything seemed to be perfectly arranged.
…
The next day at noon.
Yao Yan, who hadn't slept all night, didn't feel tired. Instead, he was energized. His eyes locked onto the black clouds above the black cauldron. Inside, silver lightning rumbled, radiating an invisible pressure, locking down on the cauldron as if something was about to emerge from it.
"The lightning power is a bit weak~"
Yao Yan muttered to himself as he observed the heavenly anomaly forming above him.
As expected, the Instant Qi Pill wasn't a particularly rare seventh-tier pill. If the energy level hadn't reached tier-seven, it might not even have qualified to be struck by lightning.
Cai Lin and Cai Die appeared beside him.
The former positioned herself above the cauldron, gazing at the dark clouds. After a while, her eyes grew complicated as she turned to Yao Yan and said in a low voice, "You continue refining pills. I'll handle the rest."
She had heard that alchemists refining seventh-tier pills could provoke such anomalies in the heavens. Some even caused the heavens to get angry, striking them with lightning. But hearing about it was one thing—witnessing it was another.
A seventeen-year-old seventh-tier alchemist!
"Okay."
Yao Yan responded quietly and turned back to the cauldron. The Instant Qi Pills inside were already almost complete, and with his control over the Green Lotus Core Flame, he began the final phase of refinement. As the temperature rose, the dark clouds above him couldn't hold back anymore. A lightning bolt, as thick as an adult's arm, struck from the sky.
At this moment, the entire Snake-People city was illuminated by the lightning, turning into a silver world. Countless Snake-People looked up in shock, never imagining such a phenomenon would occur in the Tagor Desert!
At the same time—
Cai Lin's Dou Qi wings fluttered behind her as she flew up, drawing her sword. A rainbow of sword light shot into the sky, instantly annihilating the lightning. The residual force continued upward, directly tearing through the clouds.
As the clouds parted, the sunlight returned.
At the same time, the seventh-tier Instant Qi Pill flew out of the cauldron and into Yao Yan's hand. It had a slight spirituality to it and attempted to fly out of his palm but couldn't break free. He placed it into a jade bottle.
Cai Die, holding Ling Er, stood by his side, watching the scene with curiosity. She asked, "Young Master, is this the seventh-tier pill?"
"Instant Qi Pill. Below Dou Zong, it can quickly restore a large amount of Dou Qi, even completely refilling it. Even Dou Zong strongmen can restore about two to three percent."
Yao Yan nodded and smiled as he explained.
Cai Lin landed just then. Hearing Yao Yan's explanation, her lips twitched slightly. It wasn't that her attitude was bad, but remembering that just half a year ago, Yao Yan was a fifth-rank alchemist—now, suddenly, he was a seventh-rank. It was hard to accept, as though the rules of alchemy had been rewritten.
"Too bad I can only refine easier seventh-tier pills for now~"
Yao Yan said with a bit of regret. After refining the Instant Qi Pill, he roughly understood his alchemy skill level. If he had to grade it, he was around the mid-level of seventh-tier. As for those higher-level seventh-tier pills, his failure rate was extremely high, so he'd have to rely on quantity.
But he was only seventeen, with plenty of time to refine his skills. He set a small goal—by twenty, he'd break into the eighth-tier!
"If you say that outside, I'm sure countless alchemists will give up refining pills!"
Cai Lin scoffed. Yao Yan was a bit smug, but given his talent, he had the right to be.
"The Breaking Sect Pills are in your hands. When do you plan to break through to Dou Zong?"
Yao Yan smiled and asked as he looked at Cai Lin. He planned to head to the Black Corner Domain once Cai Lin reached Dou Zong. That place was a strong-man's world, and with someone like Cai Lin as a helper, he could avoid unnecessary troubles.
There were some things that were better left unspoken for now~
(END CHAPTER)
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