Chapter 22: Test

"Senior Brother, that Fang Qingyan went to Elder Xu's place early this morning."

In Zhao Yang's Cave Abode, the lackeys who originally followed Zhao Lili now followed Zhao Yang, so Zhao Yang had them keep an eye on Fang Qingyan; thus, as soon as Fang Qingyan left, they trailed behind her until they discovered she was actually working at Elder Xu's place and seemed to be staying there, only then did they rush back.

"Elder Xu?" Zhao Yang's face turned ugly. "She has no background; how could she possibly connect with Elder Xu?"

One must know that Elder Xu is the only Alchemy Master in the Xuanyuan Sect, holding a prestigious status within the sect.

He had previously tried many ways to build a good relationship with Elder Xu, since he would need Elder Xu's help to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill later, but none of those efforts had any effect.

Elder Xu is solely focused on alchemy and does not care about worldly affairs, so everyone knows Elder Xu has a strange temper and is very difficult to deal with.

Yet why is it that what he cannot achieve, Fang Qingyan can?

"Go, go, go, I am very busy here; do not disturb me."

Fang Qingyan was about to agree, but Luo Yao frowned. "Senior, is the pill recipe you gave us one that cannot be refined even in a single day, so you are deliberately using this method to send us away?"

Although offending Elder Xu a bit, Luo Yao still spoke out directly, because if Luo Yao could not stay at Elder Xu's place, there would be a life-threatening danger.

Indeed, Elder Xu's face showed some embarrassment, and he angrily said, "Who said that? An ordinary person can succeed in half a day."

Seeing Luo Yao by her side, Fang Qingyan's nervousness decreased somewhat, and she proceeded step by step according to the alchemy procedures.

Elder Xu was choked by this remark, waved his sleeve, and said, "If she can refine it in one day, no, even if she refines a waste pill, this old man will accept her; is that fair enough?"

Elder Xu had white hair like a steamed bun, yet he called Gongsun Ming "kid," obviously his age was not merely the sixty or seventy years he appeared to be; he likely was at least over a hundred years old.

Fang Qingyan decisively nodded in agreement; she knew this was an opportunity Luo Yao had fought hard to secure for her, and she could not miss it; the rest depended on her own efforts.

Regarding the claim that Elder Xu had a strange temper, Luo Yao initially did not believe it, until...

Luo Yao did not argue further, because she knew this was the greatest concession.

Unless a huge price was paid, it could not be accomplished.

Zhao Yang dismissed his few lackeys and entered his Cave Abode; Zhao Lili lay on the bed with a vacant gaze, and only when she saw Zhao Yang enter did a trace of vitality appear, after which her face suddenly became hideous.

Luo Yao had to explain again, but Elder Xu interrupted, "It is that kid; even if I owe him a favor, so what? I do not want a person; what can he do to this old man?"

"Brother, I want you to help me kill that bitch; I want her to wish for death but be unable to die; I want to strip her tendons and skin..."

"This old man is at the Foundation Establishment Stage; how could I be tired?" Elder Xu sneered, looking at Fang Qingyan. "Wanting to stay is not impossible; I will give you a pill recipe; refine a pill within one day, and I will accept you."

Then came the precise control of the flame, adjusting the flame to the appropriate temperature.

"..."

And Fang Qingyan took out the pill recipe from her Storage Bag.

Of course, overthinking accomplished nothing; they could only try.

Moreover, neither of the two had ever formally refined a pill, so they had not a shred of experience.

Zhao Yang quickly guessed the truth; while feeling envy and jealousy, he sneered, "Making such a demand immediately after becoming a disciple; are you not afraid of offending a Foundation Establishment cultivator?"

"But my Yan Jie has never learned alchemy; she is not an ordinary person!"

"Gongsun Ming? Who is that?"

Luo Yao and the other looked at each other; they had never heard of such a pill, so they had no idea how to proceed.

Fang Qingyan took a deep breath, but Luo Yao shook her head. "Yan Jie, do not carry too much burden; just do your best."

"Senior Brother Zhao, what should we do? They all have people protecting them..."

This was also the reason why, when Luo Yao went to the Market, few cultivators treated her as a child.

After spending half an hour reading, Fang Qingyan finally began to try; to be honest, the difficulty of alchemy lies in the fact that the Divine Sense must be controlled with extreme precision to fully extract the Spirit Herbs.

Zhao Yang ground his teeth and said, "So what if they have people protecting them? I do not believe they can hide forever; as long as they dare to step out of the sect, it will be the time when they die without a place to bury their bodies."

After Elder Xu finished speaking, he left and paid no more attention to the two.

"I will succeed."

Can the term "ordinary person" be used like this?

"Hmph!"

"Senior, you said this place is very busy; surely you need manpower; with Yan Jie's help, could you not catch your breath and rest properly?"

"Rest assured, I will break her limbs, ruin her dantian, cut her flesh off piece by piece to feed to dogs, and make her wish for death but be unable to die."

"The Spirit Herbs here are only enough to refine twice." Luo Yao's expression was grave; unfortunately, she did not have these Spirit Herbs on her.

Luo Yao did not expect such a situation, but she did not want to give up; Yan Jie staying at Elder Xu's place was the best choice.

Zhao Lili roared in resentment, like a madwoman; although under the Life and Death Duel, not dying was already very fortunate, having her dantian ruined meant she could never cultivate again, which was more painful than killing her.

Seeing Fang Qingyan agree, Elder Xu tossed her a Storage Bag. "The pill recipe and the required Spirit Herbs are inside; I will come to check at this time tomorrow noon."

Luo Yao did not leave; instead, she stood in a corner, intending to watch Fang Qingyan refine the pill; although she could not help, she could at least provide mental support for Yan Jie.

And the rest were merely medicinal dregs, not even counting as pills.

However, Fang Qingyan did not want to give up, so Luo Yao took out the "True Interpretation of Alchemy" she had obtained from the man who blocked their path earlier.

Therefore, the difficult step of condensing the pill form was also a huge challenge for Fang Qingyan.

Therefore, she vowed to return this pain to Luo Yao a hundred or a thousand times over.

Many alchemy apprentices get stuck at the very first step: forming the pill, specifically the step of condensing the pill form.

"Good, I have no problem."

Although even refining a waste pill is something an ordinary person cannot do.

After breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, lifespan doubles, reaching over two hundred years.

"Alchemy Room Number One is empty and can be used; the Token is inside the Storage Bag."

"It seems it is that bitch Luo Yao, using her master's connections!"

Therefore, in the Immortal Cultivation World, judging age by appearance is unreliable.

Not only can one gain protection, but one might even learn alchemy or Puppet techniques.

After all, Elder Xu has a strange temper; in the past, other Elders had tried to have him accept disciples or force people on him, and without exception, all were rejected.

Here, the so-called waste pill refers to a pill that has already taken shape, but contains so much pill poison that it cannot be ingested—only such a pill can be called a waste pill.

"Qingling Pill?"

…………

Fortunately, although Xu Zhanglao had given them a pill formula they had never seen before, the order in which the Spirit Herbs were to be added, as well as the quantities, were all clearly marked. This saved her a great deal of effort and also raised her success rate considerably.

PS: Sad, the results are too tragic to look at……

(End of this chapter)