Chapter 283: Using Pills to Counter Pills

Hearing this, Xiao Yan smiled, then furrowed his brows slightly and said slowly, "Han Feng hasn't fled—he's still in the Black Horn Region, right?"

"Of course he hasn't," Su Qian replied, his eyes half-lidded, a faint cold gleam flashing through them. "He's spent years firmly controlling Feng Cheng—he'd never give it up." Two months ago, Han Feng had gathered a large force to attack the Inner Court; Su Qian still remembered it all too well.

"Heh, good." Xiao Yan interlaced his fingers and smiled.

Although Xiao Yan and Han Feng had no deep personal grudge, and Xiao Yan hadn't yet decided whether to cleanse the sect, Han Feng's earlier greed—his clear intent to hunt him down—had always left Xiao Yan uneasy.

Xiao Yan knew Han Feng had been fixated on his Burning Decree. As the saying goes: it's not the thief you fear, but the one who keeps thinking of stealing—and Han Feng was that thief.

Who knew what covert moves Han Feng might make against him? Xiao Yan had no such feminine mercy; he believed in striking first to gain advantage, and waiting meant suffering the consequences.

Before leaving Jia Nan Academy, he would definitely eliminate these threats.

Jia Nan Academy's hatred for Han Feng was no less than Xiao Yan's. Back then, Han Feng had gathered numerous Dou Wangs and Dou Huangs from the Black Horn Region to assault the academy—several Elders had perished in that battle.

Su Qian mused, "When you entered the Earth's Core to refine the Fallen Heart Flame, Han Feng never left Feng Cheng."

"But you know, although Han Feng's cultivation is only at Dou Huang Peak and Feng Cheng doesn't have many strong cultivators, he's an Alchemist nearing Seventh-Rank. You're an Alchemist too—you know what that means."

The influence of an Alchemist!

Take Xiao Yan himself: as a Sixth-Rank Alchemist who possessed a Heavenly Flame, if he were attacked, Hai Bodong, the Jia Ma Royal Family, even Mei Du Sha—all those who had once sought pills from him—would rush to protect him.

Even when Xiao Yan was merely nearing Sixth-Rank, he wielded such power; Han Feng, having built his influence over many years in the Black Horn Region and now nearing Seventh-Rank, would have far greater influence.

Frowning slightly, Xiao Yan lightly tapped his fingers on the table. After a moment, he murmured, "With my current boosted Soul Force and cultivation, perhaps I can use pills to counter those Black Horn Region factions."

Xiao Yan revealed a sly smile, raising an eyebrow at the Grand Elder. Even Su Qian couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine under that gaze.

"What are you planning?" Su Qian said warily.

"Grand Elder, don't you want to reclaim your honor?" Xiao Yan grinned.

Hearing this, Su Qian's eyes flashed with fierce light. "Of course I do! The Inner Court's reputation can't be tarnished under my watch—and Elders were killed. How will I explain this to the Dean when he returns?"

"Heh, the strongest allies Han Feng could summon would only offer up one Imperial Ultimate Pill. Though I'm only a Sixth-Rank Low-Level Alchemist and have never refined an Imperial Ultimate Pill, I once successfully refined a Sixth-Rank High-Level Earth Spirit Pill. And my current strength is far greater than back then."

The Grand Elder suddenly froze—he'd forgotten: this monster had once refined a Sixth-Rank High-Level Pill!

Although Xiao Yan's success rate for refining high-grade Sixth-Rank Pills was low, that was half a year ago—and back then he was only a Dou Ling. Now he was a Fifth-Star Dou Wang, and his Soul Force had surged dramatically!

Most importantly, the Burning Decree had reached Quasi Heavenly Rank—his Fire Control Power was no weaker than a Seventh-Rank Alchemist's, perhaps even stronger.

In short, the only thing Xiao Yan lacked now was experience in refining Sixth-Rank Pills.

"So your idea is," the Grand Elder frowned, looking at Xiao Yan, "that the Academy provides medicinal materials so you can refine Imperial Ultimate Pills to attract Black Horn Region powerhouses and oppose Han Feng?"

"You know how dangerous Han Feng is to the Inner Court—I'm sure you understand. He knows full well there's no turning back between him and Jia Nan Academy. I won't ask for materials for free: if I succeed in refining the pills, we split them fifty-fifty. The Academy won't lose out."

The Grand Elder fell into thought. Pill refining wasn't guaranteed to succeed, especially when someone of Xiao Yan's rank attempted high-grade pills.

But he had witnessed Xiao Yan's Alchemy firsthand—he'd succeeded in refining a Sixth-Rank High-Level Pill before. Even if his success rate now wasn't high, it certainly wouldn't be low.

Moreover, if medicinal materials couldn't be refined into pills, their value plummeted. Xiao Yan's proposal did hold some logic.

The difficulty of refining the Imperial Ultimate Pill ranked among the highest of Sixth-Rank Pills. Though classified as Sixth-Rank High-Level, calling it a Sixth-Rank Peak Pill was entirely accurate.

After all, it could directly boost a Dou Huang's cultivation by one star. Unlike Dou Wang Pills, which only one can be consumed per person, the Imperial Ultimate Pill can be taken twice.

Aside from the Po-Zong Pill, which increases the chance of breaking into Dou Zong, and the Huang Tian Pill, which guarantees a Nine-Star Dou Wang's breakthrough to Dou Huang, among Sixth-Rank Pills, only the Imperial Ultimate Pill and the Small Soul Black Purple Pill were as precious for directly enhancing cultivation and Soul Force.

"Fine! Since you're interested, the Inner Court will play along with you!" Su Qian slammed his palm hard on the table and laughed heartily. With this powerhouse joining them, along with his Alchemy, Su Qian wouldn't hesitate.

He would see this Medicinal Sovereign fall!

"Then two months from now. Two months should be enough." Xiao Yan dropped his playful expression, his face turning serious.

With sufficient medicinal materials, Xiao Yan could refine several Imperial Ultimate Pills within one or two months. Even if the materials for the Imperial Ultimate Pill ran short, he possessed numerous Sixth-Rank High-Level Pill Formulas—he could refine other high-grade Sixth-Rank Pills to win hearts!

Suddenly, Xiao Yan remembered something and asked, "By the way, during that battle, I heard you mention Han Feng had a master called the Medicinal Sovereign. Could you tell me more about him?"

Xiao Yan's eyes flickered with unusual light as he stared at Su Qian. If he wasn't mistaken, the owner of the Mysterious Ring he inherited from his mother was none other than this Medicinal Sovereign.

No wonder it held so many treasures—it was the legacy of a Dou Zun! And this Dou Zun was an Alchemist of Eighth-Rank or higher!

Hearing Xiao Yan mention the legendary figure, Su Qian sighed inwardly, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes.

"Don't worry about Han Feng's master coming to seek revenge," Su Qian said slowly. "The Medicinal Sovereign passed away many years ago." He too felt deep sorrow over the fall of such a legend.

Xiao Yan frowned. "How did he die?"

Su Qian shook his head. "No one knows. When the Medicinal Sovereign died, it shook the entire Dou Qi Continent. His Qin Zi Chuan Di Zi, Han Feng, publicly claimed he perished in a cultivation mishap during pill refining—exploded by his own fire. No one believed it—not even the Medicinal Sovereign's closest friend, the Wind Sovereign Gu Ling, could uncover the truth. The case remains unsolved."

"What kind of man was he?" Xiao Yan asked softly.

"What kind of man?" Su Qian frowned, then shook his head. "I don't know his character personally. I've only heard he was kind to others, generous in guiding disciples, and devoted entirely to the path of Alchemy."

"He once refined a perfect Eighth Grade Pill as a Seventh-Rank Alchemist, defeating geniuses like Xuan Kongzi and Hou Guaicai to win the Pill Gathering Championship—and became famous across Zhong Zhou."

"A true Alchemy prodigy."

Hearing this, Xiao Yan fell into deep thought.

For two months, Xiao Yan acted like a madman, endlessly refining pills—even letting his beard grow wild and his hair unkempt, he didn't care.

Xiao Yan had already reached Sixth-Rank Low-Level. With Black Demon's power, refining Sixth-Rank Mid-Level Pills was no problem. Combined with the Burning Decree's evolution and his terrifying Soul Force, within days he no longer needed Black Demon's aid to achieve an 80% success rate refining Sixth-Rank Mid-Level Pills.

The Grand Elder spared no effort in supporting Xiao Yan—he had emptied the Inner Court's entire medicinal storage for Xiao Yan to refine pills and gain experience, even retrieving precious medicinal materials from the Cang Jing Ge.

Moreover, the Inner Court spent vast funds to sweep through countless medicinal shops in the Black Horn Region—even the largest, Qian Yao Fang, had its entire stock bought out.

Everyone assumed the Inner Court was preventing Han Feng from refining pills to oppose Jia Nan Academy—but only they knew: the Inner Court was refining pills too.

After one month, despite prolonged practice, Xiao Yan's cultivation slowly rose from Five-Star Peak Dou Wang to Six-Star.

More than a month later, Xiao Yan could reliably refine Sixth-Rank High-Level Pills without relying on Black Demon's power.

Though Black Demon's power was immense and could forcibly enhance Alchemy, it bred dependency. Xiao Yan dared not use it long-term unless absolutely necessary.

Two months later.

"Cultivation complete!"

BOOM!!!! A towering pillar of energy erupted from the Black Demon, its terrifying force making even the Grand Elder's face pale with shock.

Inside the Alchemy Furnace, the colorless, transparent Fallen Heart Flame surged wildly. At the instant the pill's embryonic form took shape, Xiao Yan clearly felt the Heavenly Energy around him violently ripple—like a massive boulder cast into a still lake, sending towering waves crashing outward.

Had the Grand Elder not already set up a Barrier, this terrifying Medicinal Mist pillar would have drawn the attention of the Black Horn Region—and Han Feng's.

"Too exaggerated." Elder Huo stared in stunned silence at the astonishing scene before him; he had once been the Inner Court's top Alchemist, a Six-Grade Intermediate Alchemist.

But in just a year, not only had he lost his title as the strongest Alchemist, he had been left far behind—not by a little, but by a great deal.

In two months, Xiao Yan had already mastered the ability to reliably produce Six-Grade High-Level Elixirs, and even the Imperial Ultimate Pill had an extremely high success rate. Today, Xiao Yan planned to challenge Six-Grade Peak—the pinnacle among Six-Grade Elixirs, the Imperial Heaven Pill, rivaling the Break-Through Pill!

Everyone stared at the emerald-colored Pill floating in the light column; even all the Dou Wang Elders, including Zi Yan, swallowed hard.

"My god, Xiao Yan's a monster. That's the Imperial Heaven Pill—the Pill that drives Star-Nine Dou Wangs insane!"

"Damn it. If I remember right, a single Imperial Heaven Pill is already worth more than an ordinary Earth-Rank Low-Level Dou Technique."

"Mm."

At the very moment the emerald-colored Pill took shape, the sky above the Inner Court suddenly darkened. Heavy black clouds rapidly gathered overhead, and within them, silver lightning flickered like silver snakes slithering everywhere.

This sudden phenomenon in the sky sent everyone into a panic.

"Kuang?!! Pill Lightning?!!" Even the Grand Elder couldn't help shouting, completely losing his composure.

"No. The Imperial Heaven Pill is a Six-Grade Peak Elixir, infinitely close to Seven-Grade, but still not a Seven-Grade Elixir—it cannot summon Pill Lightning." Elder Huo, no doubt the former top Alchemist, quickly spotted the truth.

As expected, the dark clouds soon dispersed—only gathered, never unleashed Pill Lightning.

"His Pill's quality is extremely high—it surpasses ordinary Imperial Heaven Pills, nearing Seven-Grade, which is why this phenomenon occurred," Elder Huo stroked his beard and said.

Xiao Yan's powerful Soul Force surged outward; with a wave of his hand, the emerald-colored Pill wobbled gently into the Jade Box he had prepared in advance.

Seeing the Pill successfully refined, Xiao Yan couldn't help exhale deeply. Crafting the Imperial Heaven Pill was no simple task—even now, he needed the aid of Black Demon's power, and a fair bit of luck.

Originally, Xiao Yan hadn't planned to refine the Imperial Heaven Pill; after all, he already had enough Elixirs to win people's loyalty and was preparing to counterattack Feng Cheng. But two days ago, someone from the Black Horn Region came seeking him, requesting a Six-Grade special healing Elixir—and offered the main Medicinal Material for the Imperial Heaven Pill as payment. He had somehow managed to gather a full set.

"Perfect."

Xiao Yan couldn't help smiling with excitement. Though he was only a Star-Six Dou Wang, far from Dou Huang, don't forget—he was an Alchemist.

Once Xiao Yan reached Star-Eight Dou Wang, he could use a Dou Wang Pill to ascend to Star-Nine, then immediately break through to Dou Huang using the Imperial Heaven Pill!

In other words, Xiao Yan was now only two Stars away from Dou Huang!

Xiao Yan had only just advanced one Star not long ago—yet he had already refined the Origin Flame Seed of the Fallen Heart Flame and possessed a quasi-Heavenly Rank Cultivation Method.

Within three or four months, Xiao Yan would break through to Star-Eight Dou Wang, then surge straight to Dou Huang!

"Stop pouting. Here, take these," Xiao Yan said, seeing Zi Yan's drooling, greedy expression. He pulled several round Pills from the Alchemy Furnace.

These weren't Elixirs—they were the leftover Medicinal Powder from refining the Imperial Heaven Pill, which Xiao Yan had mixed with sugar to make candy Pills.

Though merely scraps, these were scraps from the Imperial Heaven Pill—energy so potent even a Sixth Rank Demon Beast might not withstand it.

Zi Yan snatched the Pill Bottle Xiao Yan tossed her and immediately beamed, giggling: "That's more like it, hehehe."

"You'd better give it your all tomorrow," Xiao Yan chuckled.

Zi Yan waved her fists, grinning with a fierce yet childish expression: "Of course! Tomorrow I'll knock all those bastards flying!"

Where there's a fight, there's Zi Yan!

(End of Chapter)