Chapter 282: Inviting the Alchemist

And the development of events was just as Xiao Han and the others had expected; within the coming year, the Central Plains could be described as quite lively.

The Heavenly Mansion and the Soul Hall fought with such intensity that it was a blazing inferno; one day the Heavenly Mansion would dismantle a branch hall, and the next, the Soul Hall would destroy a city.

The back-and-forth actually allowed quite a few war profiteers to make a small fortune, and among them was Langya Pavilion.

After all, matters of war do not distinguish between the cultivation world and mortal empires; they have extremely high requirements for resources and logistics, though in the cultivation world, there exists the situation where one person can equal a million troops.

Although at the beginning, due to the Soul Hall having numerous experts, the Heavenly Mansion felt somewhat stretched thin. But as the internal integration was gradually completed and the various factions united more closely, the Soul Hall had accumulated too many grudges in the past.

The strength displayed by the Heavenly Mansion grew increasingly powerful, and furthermore, the Soul Hall's operations in the Northwest Continent were severely thwarted and suffered heavy losses, until recently, when the intensity of the war began to decrease.

Even so, local conflicts remained constant. And within this short year, the losses on both sides were not small.

However, the Heavenly Mansion had a big financier like the Pill Tower, and the Soul Hall had a doting father like the Soul Clan, so financial resources were not an issue!

What was painful was the loss of personnel and experts. Both sides had a significant number of Dou Zun-level experts fall in battle. The only stroke of luck was perhaps that the great battle of Saints had never truly begun; otherwise, the Heavenly Mansion would likely have been finished off directly.

Today, Langya Pavilion welcomed a rather rare guest.

"Medicine Saint, we have been waiting for you for a long time!" Looking at the handsome young man before him, Xiao Han said with a smile while cupping his fists.

Yao Lao returned the gesture with a beaming smile: "To be personally received by the Ice Saint, that is truly this old man's honor!"

After the two exchanged pleasantries for a while, Xiao Han went straight to the point, "To be honest, I invited Medicine Saint here today precisely in the hope that you would fulfill our original agreement."

"If there is any abruptness, I hope you will forgive me!"

Yao Lao's expression did not change; instead, he wore an air of it being only natural.

"I had already guessed this when I received the invitation from the Ice Saint; the delay until now was also due to arranging matters within the Heavenly Mansion."

Just kidding, did he really think the aid the Heavenly Mansion received back then came without a price?

If they dared to renege on the debt, Yao Lao was very certain that the Heavenly Mansion wouldn't need to wait for the Soul Hall to attack; Langya Pavilion could wipe them out directly.

And upon hearing Yao Lao's words, Xiao Han immediately patted his chest and guaranteed:

"Please rest assured, Medicine Saint. I swear by my name that during the time you are away, there will absolutely be no mishaps in the Heavenly Mansion."

Yao Lao was slightly surprised, then said with a smile: "Then this old man thanks Pavilion Master Xiao."

Although he had already made relatively complete arrangements, with this guarantee, he could finally be completely at ease.

"Then please!" Xiao Han gestured.

"Please!"

On the way, Yao Lao also attempted to converse with Xiao Han, only to hear him ask curiously:

"I wonder what kind of Medicinal Pill the Ice Saint needs this old man to help refine this time?"

"Oh?" Xiao Han turned back.

Sensing Xiao Han's confusion, Yao Lao smiled slightly: "Langya Pavilion is a large enterprise with formidable strength; it is not lacking in anything this old man has."

"The only thing this old man has that could catch the eye of Langya Pavilion is probably this alchemy skill that is barely passable."

"Barely passable?" Xiao Han shook his head in rebuttal: "You are being far too modest."

"If your level is only barely passable, then there are no Alchemists in this world worth looking at."

"Oh?" Yao Lao was surprised, "I didn't expect... that I would be held in such high regard in the eyes of the Ice Saint?"

"I am just speaking the truth." Xiao Han did not feel anything unusual and continued:

"This time, I hope that Medicine Saint can cooperate with my wife to refine a Medicinal Pill."

"Cooperate?" Yao Lao frowned.

Xiao Han hurriedly explained: "This is not a lack of trust in your alchemy skills, but rather that the difficulty of refining this pill is truly too high, and it is a measure taken out of necessity!"

"I wonder what grade it is?" Yao Lao said confidently, "For ordinary Ninth Grade Medicinal Pills, this old man still has some..."

"Ninth-Grade Profound Pill, Yuanhun Pill." Xiao Han's words directly blocked Yao Lao's words in his throat, and he had to swallow them back down by force.

Although Yao Lao had never heard of the name of this Yuanhun Pill, the grade alone was enough to make countless Alchemists shrink back.

As for a Ninth-Grade Profound Pill, he really didn't have the confidence. Even though his Soul Power had now slightly touched that level, he still dared not guarantee the success rate of refining this pill.

"This, this old man really must see for himself!" Yao Lao said in turn.

His heart was burning with fervor; a Ninth-Grade Profound Pill, something that not many experts on the entire continent could enjoy, and Profound Pill masters were even rarer than phoenix feathers and qilin horns. If he could really refine a Ninth-Grade Profound Pill, this life could be considered fulfilled!

Finally...

Xiao Han led Yao Lao through a Space Wormhole, and the full view of the alchemy site finally appeared in Yao Lao's eyes.

This was an empty space, its desolate appearance as if it had just been opened up, but the rich energy within that made one feel refreshed with every breath indicated the extraordinary nature of this space.

The most eye-catching thing was the Pill Cauldron in the center of the space, emitting a soft light and filled with a holy aura. The moment he saw it, Yao Lao's pupils shrank, and he exclaimed:

"Saint Radiance Cauldron!?"

"Yes, it is indeed Saint Radiance!" At this moment, a gentle voice sounded from the side. Yao Lao turned around and saw the owner of the Pill Cauldron: "Greetings, Pavilion Master Yi Huang!"

"This concubine greets Medicine Saint!" Yi Huang bowed gracefully, her tone mixed with the slight excitement of a young girl seeing her idol.

"I wonder..." Yao Lao looked at the Saint Radiance and opened his mouth, saying somewhat hesitantly: "This Pill Cauldron..."

If he remembered correctly, this Saint Radiance Cauldron shouldn't be here, right?

Yi Huang glanced at the Saint Radiance Cauldron and said naturally: "This Saint Radiance was something I obtained by chance; is there a problem?"

"Nothing at all!" Yao Lao waved his hands repeatedly, knowing that this was not something he should ask about, and immediately changed the subject.

"I wonder how we will divide the work for this alchemy?" Every step of refining high-grade Medicinal Pills, starting from the extraction of Medicinal Herbs, requires a huge amount of energy.

If one's cultivation is too low, one simply cannot withstand the consumption. Therefore, the practice of cooperative alchemy came into being.

Since it is cooperative alchemy, one must naturally clarify the steps each person is responsible for in advance, and then begin to coordinate. Only then can the strength of the two Alchemists be utilized to the greatest extent.

Although such things are usually done by people who are familiar with each other or even from the same sect.

But now, it was already good enough to find an Alchemist of a matching level; what more could one ask for?

Originally, Yao Lao intended to take over the most difficult steps of fusing the pill and forming the pill; his powerful Soul Power gave him great confidence in the former.

Alas...

"This time, Venerable Yao shall be responsible for the preliminary work of refining the Medicinal Herb and merging the pill!" Yi Huang began to make arrangements directly.

A guest follows the host's lead, so naturally, Yao Lao could not object; it was better to have an easier task anyway.

"Since that is the case, you two continue; I still have some other preparations to make."

Xiao Han said this, then walked to the side, busy with something unknown, his Dou Qi diffusing from his hands as complex runes appeared from time to time.

"This is..." Yao Lao felt quite puzzled by Xiao Han's actions.

Yi Huang cast a gentle glance at Xiao Han, leaving Yao Lao feeling stuffed with a bellyful of dog food, then she said without looking back:

"That guy's work is the most important task of all!"

Yao Lao was even more confused; what could Ice Saint possibly have to do with alchemy? This person did not even possess fire-attribute Dou Qi, yet could still perform alchemy?

However, two days later, all confusion vanished along with the massive array that rose from Xiao Han's hands.