Following behind Elder Chihuo, Xiao Yan also smoothly passed through the tightly guarded entrance of the great hall. Then, he gently pushed open the door. Creak… As the hall door opened, the grand and imposing interior was revealed to Xiao Yan’s sight. At the same time, as the door opened, Elder Chihuo hastened inside and bowed respectfully to the head seat, saying, “Master Valley, Chihuo has come to report. The alchemist recommended by Tianhuang City has arrived.”
At this moment, nearly ten figures were seated in the grand hall. Most of them wore the robes of alchemists, and their faces suggested that they were of advanced age. Their expressions were calm, showing no sign of being constrained by the fact that this was the headquarters of the Burning Flame Valley.
At the head seat, there was a small, wiry old man with red hair, dressed simply in plain clothing. His face was always full of smiles, but everyone in the room knew full well the weight of his authority in the Central Region.
Beside the red-haired elder stood a girl in red clothes, her slender waist wrapped in a long, dark red whip, which made her figure even more captivating. She had a remarkable appearance, but between those fine willow eyebrows, a faint heroism could be seen. Coupled with her fiery outfit, she looked quite spirited with a unique charm.
When the sound of the hall door opening was heard, everyone in the grand hall turned their gaze. And when Elder Chihuo mentioned another alchemy master arriving, many people cast intrigued glances over.
“Haha, Chihuo, you’re the one who’s taken the longest to finish,” the red-haired elder said with a smile to Elder Chihuo, then added, “Are you not going to invite the master in? Do you want others to say we don’t treat our guests well at Burning Flame Valley?”
Hearing the words of the red-haired elder, Elder Chihuo hurriedly nodded, then turned and called out to outside the hall, “Young friend Yanxiao, please come in.”
“Yanxiao?” Hearing Elder Chihuo’s address, the ten or so alchemists in the great hall, who had some fame in the Central Region, all frowned slightly. They had never heard of an alchemy master named Yanxiao appearing in the Central Region.
As the group wondered, a slender figure slowly walked in from outside the hall. Immediately, a surprisingly youthful face caught everyone’s eyes, and a brief, unexpected silence followed.
“Greetings, Master Valley,” Xiao Yan said, seemingly unmoved by the strange looks, and immediately fixed his gaze on the red-haired elder at the top. From the moment he entered the hall, he had vaguely felt a faint sense of pressure, originating from this unremarkable, wiry old man.
When the red-haired elder saw Xiao Yan, he was momentarily surprised, though he concealed it well. His gaze slowly swept over Xiao Yan, and as he did, his shock deepened.
“Haha, young friend, no need to be so polite. I am Tang Zhen. I didn’t expect you to have reached the Battle Sect level at such a young age. Such talent is truly rare,” the red-haired elder said with a smile.
As Tang Zhen spoke, the hall erupted in exclamations. The alchemist masters seated looked at Xiao Yan with surprise. To reach Battle Sect at such a young age, this kind of talent, even in the Central Plains, could be considered outstanding.
Beside Tang Zhen, the girl in red clothes looked at Xiao Yan with a peculiar light in her eyes, somewhat suspicious. As the most outstanding young generation of the Burning Flame Valley, she clearly knew how difficult it was to reach Battle Sect at such an age. Moreover, what was even more hard to believe for her was that Xiao Yan seemed to be even younger than her.
“Master Valley Tang, you flatter me. It’s just that I’ve been a bit luckier,” Xiao Yan said expressionlessly, but inwardly, he was quite shocked. As expected of the Burning Flame Valley’s Master; he could see through his strength at a glance. As his thoughts raced, his gaze surreptitiously swept over Tang Zhen and found, to his amazement, that he couldn’t detect Tang Zhen’s aura at all.
“To completely conceal your aura like this, Tang Zhen’s strength must be much stronger than Lord Lei of the Wind and Thunder Pavilion.”
“Having such luck can be considered a bit of skill, but what we need here today are not Battle Sects, but true alchemy masters. Elder Chihuo, are you sure you haven’t brought the wrong person?” asked an elderly man in alchemist robes, casting a glance at Xiao Yan as he spoke indifferently. This elder had very thin lips and looked like someone who spoke without hesitation. Of course, as an alchemist, especially one with some skills, being treated as a VIP everywhere, having such achievements after nearly half a lifetime of arduous training, and now Elder Chihuo leading a greenhorn into the hall and claiming him to be an alchemy master, it was no wonder they felt a bit disgruntled.
An alchemy master, this was a term of great weight in the Central Plains, and the criteria to obtain it were strict. The first requirement was to be able to independently refine sixth or even seventh-grade pills. Of course, if one could refine eighth-grade pills, they would already be considered a Grand Alchemist.
Elder Chihuo’s brow furrowed slightly at the elder’s words, then smiled, “Master Mo, rest assured. I do have some discernment, and this young friend Yanxiao is more than capable of meeting Master Valley’s requirements.”
Upon hearing this, the elder known as Master Mo could only hum and glance sideways at Xiao Yan, saying nothing more.
“Haha, if what Elder Chihuo says is true, then this young friend Yanxiao’s talent must be much greater than my daughter’s. Being a Battle Sect and achieving some accomplishments in alchemy, this is no simple matter,” Tang Zhen said with a smile, ignoring the elder’s doubts about Xiao Yan.
“Don’t make a judgment based on someone’s words, Father, I think you’re getting senile,” the red-robed girl beside him muttered, her sharp eyes looking at Xiao Yan, her snow-white chin tilting slightly, her eyes showing a hint of challenge. In these years, she had never met anyone in her generation who could match her, and Xiao Yan’s appearance piqued her interest, as she loved to vie for superiority.
Xiao Yan merely smiled at the challenge in the red-robed girl’s eyes, sensing no malice, just dissatisfaction with Tang Zhen’s earlier words.
“Young friend Yanxiao, please take a seat,” Tang Zhen said to Xiao Yan with a smile.
Xiao Yan nodded with a smile and, led by Elder Chihuo, found a seat in the grand hall.
“The elder you just met, Master Mo, is a sixth-grade alchemist, capable of refining pills of the peak sixth grade. With a few more years, he might reach the seventh grade. That man’s mouth is quite annoying, best to ignore him,” Elder Chihuo said in a low voice as Xiao Yan took his seat.
Hearing this, Xiao Yan subtly nodded. The alchemists invited here, excluding himself, were surely not unknowns.
“But with your skills, you wouldn’t put that old man in your eyes. Among the people here, you only need to pay attention to two, those sitting on either side of Master Valley.”
Upon hearing Elder Chihuo’s words, Xiao Yan’s heart stirred, and his gaze shifted.
On either side of Tang Zhen sat two elders with their eyes closed throughout. Their auras were deeply concealed, but Xiao Yan could still faintly sense the powerful spirit force emanating from them.
“Seventh-grade alchemists?” Xiao Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly as he tapped his knee gently with his fingers. This was probably the first time he had seen a seventh-grade alchemist in recent years.
“These two have a very high reputation in the Central Region, both for their alchemy skills and because they are guest elders of the Pill Tower. Even Master Valley treats them with respect,” Elder Chihuo said softly.
Xiao Yan was slightly shocked. Guest elders of the Pill Tower? That title was indeed fearsome.
“Haha, since everyone is here, I’ll explain the matter at hand,” Tang Zhen, sitting at the head seat, cleared his throat and surveyed the crowd, then continued, “I’m sure everyone here knows; I need to refine a pill of the seventh-grade, high-tier.”
At these words, the faces of the alchemist masters in the grand hall changed slightly. A seventh-grade pill was an extremely high-level accomplishment, even for the people present.
Under Tang Zhen’s words, the two Pill Tower guest elders, who had kept their eyes closed, slowly opened their eyes, glanced at Tang Zhen, and said, “A high-tier seventh-grade pill, even the two of us cannot refine…”
Though these two were seventh-grade alchemists, they could only refine lower-grade seventh-grade pills. The success rate for mid-tier pills was somewhat lower, but for high-tier pills, the success rate was abysmally low.
“Haha, leave it to me. Though I’m not an alchemist, I have certain abilities that you lack,” Tang Zhen smiled, then said, “What I need are two alchemists who can withstand my Nine Dragon Thunderflame!”
With that, Tang Zhen lightly clenched his hand, and with a whoosh, a silver flame slowly rose from his palm. As the flame ascended, nine silver fire dragons could be faintly seen moving within it.
“This is the Nine Dragon Thunderflame?” Looking at the silver flame, Xiao Yan’s pupils contracted slightly.
“Everyone, summon your spirit power. If you can withstand the scorching of my Nine Dragon Thunderflame, then you qualify,” Tang Zhen said with a smile.
At his words, the faces of the alchemists in the grand hall twitched…
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage