In the silent chamber, after a long while, Xiao Yan finally came to his senses from the shocking news that Zi Yan had delivered. He rubbed his face hard and let out a wry smile. He never expected that the top-ranked “Strong List” figure praised by Lin Yan would be such a little girl, or rather, a powerful magical beast with the appearance of a human.
“This little girl is quite cute, I wonder why Lin Yan fears her so much. But with her strength, she truly deserves the top position. From her terrifying power, even an average Dou Wang might not dare to fight her head-on,” Xiao Yan murmured in a low voice.
“Her power is indeed excessively terrifying. From her previous attack, it was entirely based on physical strength, without any energy being used,” the Elder Pharmacist’s voice slowly echoed in his mind.
“Can Teacher tell what kind of magical beast Zi Yan is?” Xiao Yan asked.
“I can’t tell… She has eaten the Transformation Grass. Unless she reveals her true form, it’s hard for ordinary people to identify what kind of magical beast she is,” the Elder Pharmacist pondered for a moment and continued, “However, from her intelligence and the terrifying power she displayed, her true form should be a very rare ancient beast. After all, it’s almost impossible for a common magical beast to reach the Dou Wang level without a great deal of time and opportunity. Looking at the little girl’s aura, she doesn’t seem to be a century-old magical beast, so her origin must be extraordinary.”
“Oh…” Xiao Yan nodded slightly. Although Zi Yan’s strength was formidable, her mentality seemed to be like that of a twelve or thirteen-year-old human girl, of course, excluding the occasional display of aloofness.
Putting aside his curiosity about Zi Yan, Xiao Yan focused his attention on the medicinal herbs in front of him. Even he wasn’t confident about refining the Dragon Strength Pill in one go, so he had asked for two sets of materials.
“Sigh, refining this thing is quite tiring, but for the Dragon Mustache Ice Fire Fruit, I have no choice but to give it my all…” With a wry smile, Xiao Yan summoned a thread of azure flame and threw it into the medicine cauldron. Moments later, he gradually focused his mind and began to refine once again.
The complexity of refining the Dragon Strength Pill was nearly a hundred times more intricate than refining the Vajra Bodhi for Zi Yan. However, since Xiao Yan’s strength had advanced to the Dou Ling level, both his dou qi and fire control had improved significantly. This time, the refinement process was much easier compared to when he competed with Han Xian.
But this was only relative. From the dense sweat on Xiao Yan’s forehead, it was clear that refining the Dragon Strength Pill still required his utmost effort.
In the quiet chamber, the azure flame through the medicine cauldron reflected on the walls, rising and dancing like a demon. As the flames rose, the medicinal herbs in front of Xiao Yan were rapidly decreasing.
…
Time flew by during the refinement process. After spending nearly eight hours, the complex refinement finally neared its end.
“Condense!” Xiao Yan’s low shout echoed in the chamber. Instantly, a dark red light shot out from the medicine cauldron and was firmly grasped in Xiao Yan’s hand. After examining it, he nodded in satisfaction and placed it in a jade bottle within his storage ring.
This time, although he successfully refined a Dragon Strength Pill, one set of medicinal herbs was also destroyed. But Xiao Yan wasn’t too bothered; he knew that a fifty percent success rate was already quite good.
After finishing everything, Xiao Yan collapsed in exhaustion. He took a Recovery Pill from his storage ring and put it in his mouth. Ignoring the fatigue, he quickly sat down to meditate. Cultivating when one’s dou qi was completely exhausted always yielded better results.
Cultivation required persistence, and there could be no slack. This session lasted over an hour before the empty feeling in Xiao Yan’s body dissipated. Feeling the robust dou qi flowing through his meridians, he was slightly pleased to find that his strength had improved slightly. It seemed that although the pill refinement was exhausting, it wasn’t without its rewards.
“Now that I have the Dragon Mustache Ice Fire Fruit, the Earth Spirit Pill only needs a sixth-grade water-attribute magic core,” Xiao Yan gently stroked his storage ring, and the alluring fruit appeared in his hand.
“Sixth-grade… Sigh, that’s a magical beast equivalent to a Battle Emperor. Where am I supposed to get it?” Frustrated, Xiao Yan massaged his head.
“Think of a way. I have a hunch that the Fallen Heart Flame in the Sky Fire Pagoda has been growing stronger recently. The turmoil I mentioned might be coming soon,” the Elder Pharmacist said slowly.
“When the Fallen Heart Flame erupts, it will be our best chance to seize it. We mustn’t miss it, or it will be ten times more difficult to do so in the future. So, the Earth Spirit Pill must be refined as soon as possible.”
With a wry smile, Xiao Yan sighed, “I’ll try my best.”
“Don’t worry. If we can’t find one, we can always go into the mountains to look for a sixth-grade magical beast. Such a large mountain range can’t be devoid of them,” the Elder Pharmacist consoled.
Hearing the Elder Pharmacist’s words, Xiao Yan smiled but remained worried. While there might be a sixth-grade magical beast in the mountains, killing one was no easy task. And if they did manage to kill it, it would undoubtedly cause a huge commotion. If the Inner Academy’s Dean was alerted, even the Elder Pharmacist might be exposed, which would be troublesome.
Sighing again, Xiao Yan put his worries aside for now. He slowly put away the medicine cauldron, patted his hands, stood up, and walked out of the chamber.
In the room, Elder Hao saw Xiao Yan come out and hurriedly stood up, nervously asking, “How did the refinement go? Did it succeed?”
He knew something about alchemy and understood the high failure rate of refining a fifth-grade pill.
“Hehe, I failed once, but fortunately, I didn’t disappoint Elder,” Xiao Yan smiled and nodded. He stepped forward and took out the jade bottle containing the Dragon Strength Pill from his storage ring, placing it gently on the table.
Seeing the jade bottle, Elder Hao quickly grabbed it, carefully pouring out a round, dark red pill, sniffing it deeply. Delighted, he exclaimed, “It really succeeded! You’re quite capable, no wonder you could subdue a different flame.”
Xiao Yan modestly laughed at the praise.
“Since you’ve refined a Dragon Strength Pill, the Dragon Mustache Ice Fire Fruit is yours. Your eyesight is sharp; this item is among the top ten most precious in the entire medicine storage.”
Stowing the Dragon Strength Pill, Elder Hao waved his hand generously, joking, “If you need any more herbs in the future, just come to me. But remember our deal, haha.”
“Again? Refining a single Dragon Strength Pill nearly drained me…” Xiao Yan thanked him with a smile, but inwardly groaned. Bowing, he was about to take his leave when a thought occurred to him. “Elder Hao, I urgently need something. Can you get it for me? If you can, I’ll do my best to refine any pill you want!”
“Oh? What do you need?” Elder Hao’s eyes lit up, intrigued.
“A sixth-grade water-attribute magic core,” Xiao Yan said, staring intently at Elder Hao’s face. He could see the elder’s face twitch when he spoke.
“Sixth-grade… Why do you need such a high-level magic core? A sixth-grade magical beast is equivalent to a Battle Emperor. I don’t have the guts to go after their cores. It seems our deal is off,” Elder Hao shook his head, wiping cold sweat from his back. This guy had some appetite, asking for a sixth-grade core as if it were a pebble on the roadside.
Hearing Elder Hao’s response, Xiao Yan sighed in disappointment. “If Elder doesn’t have it, then it’s fine.”
As he turned to leave, Elder Hao, after a moment of contemplation, suddenly said, “I don’t have a sixth-grade water-attribute magic core, but I can introduce you to another elder. He happens to have one, obtained by luck years ago.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yan was stunned, then his face lit up with joy. “Really? If Elder Hao can introduce me, I won’t forget your kindness if I get the sixth-grade core.”
“Don’t get too excited. That guy is stingy. He risked his life to kill an already injured sixth-grade magical beast by sheer luck, so he treats that core like a treasure, always showing it off. To get the core from him, you’ll need to offer something he likes, or be prepared to pay a steep price. Follow me.”
Elder Hao waved his hand and led the way out. Xiao Yan nodded eagerly, following quickly. The news of a sixth-grade core was a great relief, and he was determined to get it, no matter the cost.
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