Because of such thoughts, Li Tan only paused for a moment at the sight, then calmly stepped onto the stairs, ignoring the anxious man at the stairway. However, before reaching the second floor, an unwilling voice rang out coldly again.
“Senior! Wasting resources on a commoner with no cultivation to participate in the test—if this sets a precedent, what will happen if others follow suit?”
At the second floor stairway, the elder turned his head toward the man, a glint of ferocity flashing in his eyes, and an invisible pressure pressed forward with his icy words.
“Are you questioning me?”
The man shivered all over, realizing his momentary slip of the tongue, his limbs turned icy cold, and he stammered.
“Sub, subordinate dares not!”
“Mind your own tongue. Don’t speak when you shouldn’t. Understand?”
“Understood, understood, understood!”
The elder looked impatient, while the man nodded meekly.
Li Tan glanced at the two people, then curled his lips in disdain and sarcastically remarked.
“I didn’t expect the people from the Dan Pavilion, renowned across the Nine Provinces, to resemble those from the Ten Thousand Sword Sect in some ways.”
“The Ten Thousand Sword Sect?
Never heard of it. But if they resemble me somewhat, they must have a bit of strength.”
Although the Ten Thousand Sword Sect sounded like an orthodox sect, in reality, it was an evil cult so vile that Li Tan himself had personally eradicated it.
What Li Tan meant by “resemblance” was their similarly cold and heartless attitudes.
Li Tan’s words were heavily laced with mockery. However, after Li Tan spoke, the elder arrogantly lifted his head, seemingly completely oblivious to the sarcasm.
Li Tan twitched his mouth slightly, feeling speechless as he muttered inwardly.
“Arrogant fool.”
“Stop dawdling. Begin the test.”
As Li Tan said this, he walked upward but happened to notice the man beside him, filled with resentment, and stopped again.
He chuckled lightly.
“It seems you’re quite dissatisfied with me.”
The man, masking his anger, looked up at Li Tan.
“Master Li is favored by the elder. How dare I have any opinion?”
Favored?
Li Tan said with amusement.
“I’m not worthy of such an honor. It’s better if your elder favors someone else. Look, I don’t want to make things difficult for you. If I fail the test for a one-star alchemist, I’ll swear to never enter or leave the Dan Pavilion again. How about that?”
“What if you pass?”
The man asked cautiously.
Li Tan answered easily.
“Just do a small favor for me that doesn’t matter much.”
The man looked puzzled, then hesitated, glancing around at the restless crowd. For the sake of appearances, he gritted his teeth, trembling slightly, and looked up to seek the elder’s opinion.
The elder nodded indifferently.
The man immediately exhaled in relief. Saying “Don’t regret it,” he resolutely followed Li Tan to the second floor. As he walked, he suddenly thought with confusion: Why did he suddenly say he didn’t want to make things hard for me? There must be some plot. How “small” is that small matter he mentioned?
His face instantly turned pale, while Li Tan’s expression remained calm, showing no emotion.
Thus, under the elder’s guidance, Li Tan retrieved some low-grade medicinal herbs from the warehouse and arrived outside a room with a thick stone door.
“The herbs you have are for a first-grade Blood Pill. If you can refine it within half an incense stick’s time, you pass the test.”
As the elder spoke, he took out a key the size of a forearm from his storage ring and opened the stone door. Inside, in the center, stood a half-human-high cauldron, and on the ground was an engraved sun pattern made with special methods.
“Then let’s begin.”
Responding, Li Tan took the herbs, strode inside, and forcefully pushed and locked the door tightly.
Linchang, the branch location of the Dan Pavilion, a massive stone building, first floor.
More and more idle people gathered at this “exclusive marketplace for the rich” due to Li Tan’s bet with the man.
Most people were standing, while a few lucky ones managed to sit, but regardless of who they were, they were all discussing whether the good-for-nothing Li Tan could pass the test for a first-grade alchemist.
Although the general opinion leaned towards him failing, these people still reveled in the discussion.
Outside the bustling crowd, beneath a scarcely occupied pillar, stood a stunning young girl with loose hair.
The girl wore a cyan dress, her skin resembling precious porcelain, her appearance surprisingly youthful for her age, the kind that easily evokes a man’s protective instincts and leaves an unforgettable impression.
At this moment, the girl’s face was slightly flushed, her hands resting on her chest, her breathing somewhat rapid.
“Other than Father, no other man has ever embraced me. Mother said that men who take liberties with girls deserve death, but just now, he seemed to have no ill intentions at all.”
The girl muttered, somewhat shy, somewhat flustered, and somewhat bewildered.
“He even said I resemble his wife. How similar could I be for him to mistake me like that?
Right, that uncle said his name is Li Tan, and the old man called his wife Lin Cui. So he should be a local from Linchang, but how could there be an expert here who can refine pills without inner fire?
Not even that medicine-obsessed person can do that.”
After a while, the girl lifted her head, her gaze still puzzled.
“Just who is he then? Maybe I should visit him sometime. He doesn’t seem to dislike me.”
Resolving herself, she nodded firmly, patted the dust off her clothes, tidied her slightly disheveled hair after passing through the Descending Immortal Domain, and quietly left the Dan Pavilion from the side.
“Here.”
“Let me clarify beforehand—if you try to fool us with pre-prepared items, the consequences will be severe. You’d better think carefully.”
“Talking too much. Take it.”
On the second floor of the Dan Pavilion, the stone room’s door was wide open. Li Tan stood calmly at the doorway, tossing a rough-looking, earth-yellow, round object like trash into the man’s hands.
“This—” The man’s eyes widened, staring fixedly at the pill in his hand, shock evident on his face.
He swallowed hard, sniffed the scent, then scraped some pill skin with his fingernail and tasted it, after which his hands began to tremble.
He shook his head exaggeratedly, saying in disbelief.
“This, this is a freshly made pill. Impossible! You don’t even have cultivation, let alone inner fire. How could you possibly refine a pill? There must be some trick. Wait here—I’ll go find the elder to expose your scheme!”
A teacup time later.
“Where is it? Hand it over.”
The Dan Pavilion elder, also the previous old man, returned to Li Tan’s presence, his expression somewhat puzzled.
How could that good-for-nothing Li Tan possibly refine a pill?
He should have run off after causing trouble, right?
Li Tan didn’t respond to his thoughts, casually tossing the Blood Pill again.
The elder first glanced at it indifferently, then his expression grew more serious, his brows furrowed, and finally he announced with a gloomy face.
“This Blood Pill is indeed freshly refined.”
As soon as the words were spoken, the man was stunned.
“Now that there’s no problem, quickly help me register and prepare a training room. I now qualify, right?”
Li Tan smiled teasingly, his gaze slightly shifting toward the stunned man. Just as he was about to say something, the elder, standing a little distance away, preemptively asked in a voice too low for the eavesdropping bystanders to hear.
“Did you use the inner fire sealed by experts in talismans to refine this Blood Pill?”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage