Chapter 296: Fan Tian

"It can be consumed, but the quality of this Water Cloud Pill is top-grade. At the very least, one must have a top-grade Water Spirit Root for it not to be a waste. If it is anything below top-grade, I fear you wouldn't even be able to absorb one or two tenths of its medicinal power," the middle-aged man explained calmly.

"Many thanks, Uncle-Master. This disciple understands and will not rashly consume it myself." Wang Yu felt greatly disappointed, yet he still thanked him.

"I have heard that Nephew Wang displayed great prowess in the Jialan Secret Realm this time, and your strength is such that you could be called the number one person among Qi Refinement disciples. It is a pity, however, that you are only at the late stage of Qi Refinement and possess a four-element spirit root. Even if you manage to become a true disciple of our sect in the future, I fear your demand for pills will still be quite significant," the middle-aged man said, suddenly smiling at Wang Yu.

"Uncle-Master knows of these matters, but I wonder, who are you..." Wang Yu vaguely sensed something and asked, puzzled.

"I am Fan Tian, one of the only two second-rank alchemists in the sect," the middle-aged man said to Wang Yu with an ambiguous smile.

"A second-rank alchemist?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Yu was truly startled and could not help but carefully size up the "Uncle-Master" before him a few more times.

Although he knew the other party was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he never expected him to also be an alchemist. Yet, given his status, why would he be at the Spirit Object Pavilion? Even if he were on duty, he should be at the Alchemy Hall.

Fan Tian seemed to see what Wang Yu was thinking and said calmly, "I am here temporarily, just filling in for a Junior Brother on duty for a day or two. I won't be here in a couple of days."

"So it is Uncle-Master Fan. This disciple was rude." Knowing the high status of a second-rank alchemist within the sect, Wang Yu immediately bowed respectfully to the man.

"Nephew Wang, this top-grade pill is extremely important to me. After studying it extensively, it might allow my alchemy to advance another step. If you could sell this pill to me, you can come directly to me to purchase any pills you need in the future. Consider it me owing you a favor," Fan Tian said with a smile.

Wang Yu fell silent for a moment. After a good while, his gaze flickered as he bowed slightly to Fan Tian and said:

"Uncle-Master Fan, this top-grade pill does not require spirit stones. I can gift it to you, provided that you agree to one thing."

"What thing?"

Upon hearing this, Fan Tian did not smile; instead, he frowned slightly.

"I will not hide it from you, Uncle-Master. I have long yearned for the art of alchemy and hope you can teach me a thing or two," Wang Yu said solemnly.

"You want me to teach you alchemy? If I recall correctly, Nephew Wang is already a formal artifact refiner, is he not?" Fan Tian was stunned upon hearing this.

"Yes, this disciple is indeed a first-rank artifact refiner, but that should not hinder me from learning alchemy, should it?" Wang Yu replied as such.

This time, it was Fan Tian's turn to be speechless. After pondering for a good while, he said to Wang Yu: "Are you certain you want to use this top-grade pill to trade for learning alchemy from me?

Let me make this clear first: if this top-grade pill were sold, it could fetch at least tens of thousands of spirit stones. As for learning alchemy from me, I will only point out the basic techniques; whether you can learn it depends entirely on your own comprehension. After all, alchemy is famously difficult to learn among the hundred arts of cultivation, and it requires even more talent than artifact refining," Fan Tian said, staring at Wang Yu.

"That is fine. As long as Uncle-Master Fan is willing to teach, that is enough. If I cannot enter the gate, then it can only be said that this disciple truly lacks talent in this area, and I will know to retreat when faced with difficulty," Wang Yu said without the slightest hesitation.

"Very well. Since Nephew Wang insists, then it is settled. Three days from now, bring this pill to my cave dwelling, and I will take you on as an alchemy apprentice," Fan Tian said, looking at the snow-white pill on the table one last time before finally making up his mind.

Wang Yu was overjoyed upon hearing this.

Following this, Fan Tian gave Wang Yu a guidance talisman and settled the account for the items sold earlier, which amounted to nearly twenty thousand spirit stones, giving him a large pile of mid-grade spirit stones.

As for the two gourds of Green-Backed Scorpion venom, Wang Yu kept them for himself and did not sell them to the Spirit Object Pavilion. With that, he took his leave and departed the Spirit Object Pavilion.

Watching Wang Yu's retreating figure, Fan Tian rubbed the few short whiskers on his chin and muttered:

"I never expected this famous Nephew Wang to be a person with ambitions higher than the heavens. Having already mastered artifact refining, he still wants to learn alchemy. Could it be that he is too conceited and truly believes he can dual-cultivate in both alchemy and artifacts?"

"However, I wonder which alchemy master refined this top-grade pill. With this pill as a reference, I can at least solve several difficult problems in the Dao of Alchemy. Trading a mere apprentice spot for it is a great bargain indeed." A look of anticipation appeared on Fan Tian's face again.

After leaving the Spirit Object Pavilion, Wang Yu made a trip to the General Affairs Hall.

When the Deacon Elder on duty at the main hall of the General Affairs Hall heard Wang Yu's request to apply for the true disciple assessment, his expression immediately turned strange, but he did not say much and registered him on the spot.

After Wang Yu thanked him, he returned to his cave dwelling with peace of mind and dove straight into his secret chamber.

He sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion in the middle of the secret chamber, the purple medicine bottle placed on the ground before him. He looked at the bottle, lost in thought.

I do not know how much time passed before a soft sigh emanated from the secret chamber.

"What a pity, it is a second-rank top-grade pill, not a first-rank top-grade pill, and certainly not a fire-attribute spirit pill."

Although this pill is good, only a Foundation Establishment cultivator can consume it. With my Water Spirit Root grade, I cannot unleash its medicinal power.

"A spirit pill that can significantly increase Foundation Establishment cultivation, falling into the hands of a Qi Refinement disciple, is still a bit too eye-catching. For now, securing the status of a true disciple is the priority; it is best not to create extra complications. Exchanging this pill for an opportunity to learn alchemy is not unacceptable."

With my aptitude, the number of pills I will need to consume in the future will definitely not be small. If I can truly learn alchemy, I won't have to worry about this anymore. I just don't know if the overclocking synchronization mode can also have an auxiliary effect on alchemy.

"Now that the Essence-Increasing Pill is ineffective, I can only take some more special and rare pills."

Wang Yu muttered a few words to himself, shook his sleeve, and the purple medicine bottle before him vanished.

In its place, a jade box and a pale yellow medicine bottle appeared on the ground.

Wang Yu first picked up the yellow medicine bottle and poured them gently into his palm. Three emerald-green pills rolled out, each the size of a peanut, with a faint silver pill pattern on the surface of each.

"This is the Green Water Pill."

Wang Yu focused his gaze on the object in his hand.

According to what the Tianchan Ancestor said, one Green Water Pill can increase several years of cultivation, but does this "several years" mean three or four years, or five or six years?

Let's tentatively count the three Green Water Pills as saving ten years of bitter cultivation.

Wang Yu pondered as he placed the Green Water Pills back into the medicine bottle. He then opened the jade box and took out a fruit with a crystalline surface that emitted a red halo.

It was precisely the Jade Flame Fruit he had obtained in the Jialan Secret Realm.

According to what the spirit plant disciple who secretly transmitted his voice from the medicine garden said back then, this is the main material for refining "Jade Flame Pills," and one Jade Flame Fruit can refine three to five Jade Flame Pills. One low-grade Jade Flame Pill can save five years of cultivation, while a mid-grade saves eight years, and a top-grade saves twelve years. Looking at the effects, it seems even stronger than the Green Water Pill.

However, after he came out of the Jialan Secret Realm, he did not find that spirit plant disciple who transmitted his voice among the disciples who emerged. It seems he must have perished in the Jialan Secret Realm.

As such, he did not know why this person secretly transmitted his voice to him—was it purely to build a friendship, or did he also want a share of these Jade Flame Pills?

Now that the person is gone, there is naturally no need to dwell on these things.

Originally, he was worried about where to find an alchemist to refine the Jade Flame Pills, but he happened to meet a second-rank alchemist today. This was another reason why he did not think much and gifted that top-grade Water Cloud Pill to Fan Tian.

No matter how good a second-rank top-grade pill is, it can only be useful after Foundation Establishment. The Jade Flame Pills that can increase cultivation right now are more important. ===== CHAPTER 297 =====