Zong Ao’s cultivation had also reached the Origin Returning Realm, but he was not necessarily stronger than Ha Li Ka or Lin Mu Feng. In fact, thanks to him constantly immersing himself in Alchemy, it was quite likely he was much weaker than them, but after one hundred years of providing Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce with an unimaginably massive number of pills without taking any form of compensation had caused his status as an honoured guest to reach the highest level possible. President Ai Ou himself also paid close attention to Zong Ao and had explicitly ordered Ha Li Ka and the other branch leaders to treat Zong Ao as if he were a high-level executive of the Chamber of Commerce.
It was not an exaggeration to say that on Rainfall Star, the one with the highest status was Zong Ao!
As such, these Origin Returning Realm masters had to tread very carefully when facing Zong Ao, none of them daring to act the slightest bit careless or disrespectful.
Even knowing that Zong Ao was going to rob the Profound Yin Sunflower Water right in front of them, they didn’t dare try to stop him forcefully, their only option to beg him to show mercy.
The three branch leaders took turns wearing out their tongues in a desperate attempt to persuade Zong Ao, but all they managed to achieve was to annoy him, with Zong Ao unleashing an anger-filled scolding on them. Facing this tirade of insults and curses, Ha Li Ka and the others had no choice but to stand there and accept it with bitter faces.
After growing tired of scolding the trio, Zong Ao paused and cast a sneer onto them, “Don’t think this old master doesn’t know you don’t dare to report this matter to the Home Star. At the very least, until you can ensure that little girl is no longer in any danger, you will make every effort to conceal what’s happened here. So, even if this old master pockets the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, what do you plan to do? Bite me?”
After hearing these words, Ha Li Ka and the other executives exchanged helpless glances, the bitterness on their faces growing ever stronger, none of them daring to respond.
“Treasures of the world belong to those who have the ability to obtain them,” Zong Ao stated bluntly, “Even if this old master decides to give way here and not seize this Profound Yin Sunflower Water, can any of you collect it? Do you even know how to go about collecting it? If you don’t understand even have such a method, at most you’ll all just be able to sit there drooling over the meat near your mouth, unable to ever eat it!”
“What Grandmaster says is reasonable…” Ha Li Ka no longer argued his case and simply responded despondently.
“Does Grandmaster know how to collect the Profound Yin Sunflower Water?” The middle-aged woman on the other hand read the meaning behind Zong Ao’s words and asked expectantly.
“If this old master didn’t know how to collect it, why would I be standing here now?” Zong Ao snorted and waved, “Make way, after this old masters collects these things we can speak further.”
No longer caring about Ha Li Ka or the others in his way, Zong Ao grabbed Yang Kai and flew into the mine shaft, acting no different from a bandit.
Ha Li Ka and Lin Mu Feng glanced at each other briefly before gritting their teeth and following after him.
Inside the mine, Yang Kai followed behind Zong Ao and showed him the way.
The last time Yang Kai came in alone, he had relied on his ability to tear space to advance deep into the Ancient Ruins with ease, but this time he obviously couldn’t do so.
The hidden arrays and traps inside the ruins were both difficult to avoid and deadly; when Ha Li Ka and Xue Yue first investigated these ruins, they had lost a number of cultivators along the way.
However, Zong Ao was obviously not an ordinary man and as he led the way, he held up a five cornered prism that projected a glittering light in front of the pair, illuminating every inch of the mine tunnel.
Every now and then, the light would illuminate some nearly imperceptible energy fluctuations and Zong Ao would carefully lead Yang Kai to avoid their origins.
This five cornered prism seemed to have some sort of detection function and using it, Zong Ao was able to avoid hidden dangers. Although their pace was slow, it was without any danger so the trip was actually quite relaxed.
The temperature in the air gradually became lower and a thin layer of ice soon appeared on the stone walls of the mine.
Zong Ao’s expression grew excited as he knew that they were drawing closer to the Profound Yin Sunflower Water.
Ha Li Ka’s group was following not far behind Zong Ao and Yang Kai, communicating with one another using their Divine Senses as they walked, discussing how to handle this situation, anxiously trying to come up with some kind of feasible plan.
“Boy, where to now?” Zong Ao stopped at a fork and asked Yang Kai.
“This way!” Yang Kai pointed in a certain direction, his Divine Sense threads having long ago broken through the constraints of space to map the route to the Profound Yin Sunflower Water.
Zong Ao didn’t doubt him and walked straight into the fork.
Continuing forward for a long time, Zong Ao, who was leading the way, suddenly came to a halt, squinting his eyes as he looked up ahead, his body trembling uncontrollably as a frenzied look appeared on his face.
Where he was staring were several dozen drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water, each one strangely suspended in mid-air, still in the exact same state as when Yang Kai had left, just waiting to be collected.
“It really is Profound Yin Sunflower Water!” Zong Ao’s Divine Sense swept over the drops and immediately realized their extraordinariness. Although they were currently floating lightly, each drop was actually as heavy as a mountain and contained a terrifying amount of power.
Besides Profound Yin Sunflower Water, there was no other treasure that possessed such properties in this world.
Sprinting forward, Zong Ao quickly arrived in front of several dozen drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water, his eyes sparkling as he swept his eyes around, a big grin appearing on his face.
Being able to make someone as aloof as Zong Ao react so crassly, made it apparent just how valuable this Profound Yin Sunflower Water was.
Yang Kai remained calm and indifferent, standing to the side without moving, not having any ideas about snatching this Profound Yin Sunflower Water.
He understood the limits of his abilities; let alone Zong Ao, Ha Li Ka and others who were following them.
Footsteps sounded and Ha Li Ka’s group also emerged one after another, standing next to Yang Kai, staring forward bitterly.
The several dozen drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water before them made their eyes all go red.
This was one of the most precious cultivation treasures in existence, and as long as one could safely refine even a drop of it, it would greatly increase their strength. Even if it was an Origin Returning Realm masters such as Ha Li Ka, the improvement in strength would be noticeable.
Having reached their current cultivation, it had become increasingly difficult to make further progress, and even breaking through a Minor Realm could take hundreds, if not thousands of years, and that was only if they encountered enough opportunities.
Refining Profound Yin Sunflower Water, although risky, would return even greater benefits if successful, how could they not be tempted?
Each of the masters present had experienced countless life or death battles and had explored the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao whilst on the edge of death, growing to the current level step by step, so they were clearer than anyone that the greater the danger, the greater the reward.
But now, they were only able to watch from a distance, not daring to step forward.
“When you found the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, was it sealed inside a Space Ring?” Zong Ao asked suddenly.
Yang Kai had given him a brief description of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, but what Yang Kai knew was limited so he hadn’t explained in detail.
“Yes, Grandmaster,” Ha Li Ka shivered slightly and responded.
“Wasting the Heaven’s precious gifts, wasting the Heaven’s precious gifts…” Zong Ao cursed, “Actually trying to place these things into a Space Ring, that ancient person seems to have been quite ignorant, but thanks to his inane act, this Profound Yin Sunflower Water was preserved. If he hadn’t stored them like this, who knows where they might have sunk to by now.”
The several people listened nearby didn’t have any clue what Zong Ao was talking about.
Lin Mu Feng cupped his fists and asked, “Please enlighten us, Grandmaster.”
Zong Ao grinned, “Each drop of Profound Yin Sunflower Water is as heavy as a mountain, not something that can be held within a Space Ring. After that ancient times person loaded the Profound Yin Sunflower Water into that Space Ring, he must have died without a chance to carry it off, otherwise, it would have exploded long ago.”
Ha Li Ka quickly said, “We were also caught by surprise because the Space Ring exploded at the time, resulting in heavy casualties.”
“That is only natural,” Zong Ao nodded, “On top of that, once these droplets touch any kind of soil, they will continue to sink deeper into the ground. Do you know why Profound Yin Sunflower Water is so rare?”
Everyone shook their heads.
“It is because every drop that is formed sinks to the core of the star and is absorbed by the Star Source, making it extremely difficult to discover. En, the Star Source will absorb not just the Profound Yin Sunflower Water but many other rare treasures as well.”
Everyone was shocked by this remark.
They knew that the Star Source was the root of every Cultivation Star, literally the heart of the star, but none of them knew that Star Sources and Profound Yin Sunflower Water had such a relationship.
“Fortunately, these dozens of drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water haven’t touched the ground yet, otherwise they may have disappeared long ago,” Zong Ao took a deep breath before summoning out a strange looking container from his Space Ring.
This contained was shaped like a small vase, with a wide opening, thin neck, and large body. It was formed by a strange and colourful material that gave of faint flashes of light.
“Five Coloured Meteor Essence!” Ha Li Ka gasped, at a glance realizing what material this contained was made from.
Lin Mu Feng and the middle-aged woman also couldn’t help revealing some shock as well.
Yang Kai did not miss their reactions and immediately understood that this Five Coloured Meteor Essence should be a highly valuable ore, otherwise the three Origin Returning Realm masters wouldn’t have revealed such gaffs.
“Yes, this is made of Five Coloured Meteor Essence,” Zong Ao laughed, “Few people know that Five Coloured Meteor Essence is the nemesis of Profound Yin Sunflower Water. To receive Profound Yin Sunflower Water, you only need to use Five Coloured Meteor Essence to build an appropriate storage container!”
As he laughed, Zong Ao pointed the vessel towards a drop of Profound Yin Sunflower Water then motivated his strength to collect it.
Ha Li Ka and others watched this with ugly expressions, their faces twitching, their moods ugly.
Although Five Coloured Meteor Essence was precious, their Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce still had a supply of it, and despite the small amount, building a vessel to store a few drops of liquid would not be an issue. If they had only known this, they would have already collected the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, then how could Zong Ao have robbed it from them?
Ha Li Ka had even lost an arm just to find this precious cultivation treasure.
Recalling all this, the expressions of the three fluctuated greatly.
Zong Ao on the other hand didn’t pay Ha Li Ka and others any mind, gleefully collecting the drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water by himself and only stopping when ten drops remained, solemnly holding his special container while glancing over at Ha Li Ka, “Don’t say this old master eats meat and chews bones without leaving any soup behind. Young ones, I’ll leave these here. Find a way to collect these last drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water. Don’t tell me you can’t find Five Coloured Meteor Essence.”
Zong Ao never planned to monopolize such huge benefits all to himself.
These droplets were discovered by Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, and Rainfall Star was a Cultivation Star under Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s control. Zong Ao had relied on his aloof status to take eighty percent of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, but this was the limit, if he were to try to take it all, he couldn’t guarantee that Ha Li Ka and the others present wouldn’t disregard his face and act against him.
Zong Ao didn’t have confidence he could deal with so many masters at or above his own cultivation realm.
As such, he took the initiative to step back, leaving ten drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water for them!
Ha Li Ka and the others heard Zong Ao’s words and couldn’t contain their shock, soon feeling their blood boil with excitement as they cupped their fists, “Many thanks Grandmaster, although Five Coloured Meteor Essence is rare, we can still procure some.”
“Good, then you best move quickly, only Heaven knows when these Profound Yin Sunflower Water will suddenly fall down and sink to the star’s core,” Zong Ao waved his hand and walked out while holding his own container.
Ha Li Ka did not dare to delay, leaving only the middle-aged woman to stand guard here while he and Lin Mu Feng rushed back to the branch to search for Five Coloured Meteor Essence inside their warehouse.
Yang Kai followed silently behind Zong Ao all the way out of the Ancient Ruins.
Afterwards, the pair summoned their Star Shuttles and returned to the mountain valley palace.
Back inside the room, Xue Yue was still sleeping peacefully, just as Yang Kai had left her, and after confirming that nothing was wrong with her, Yang Kai immediately went to find Zong Ao.
It seemed that because he had acquired a precious treasure like Profound Yin Sunflower Water, Zong Ao was extremely jubilant, and when Yang Kai came over, he was crazily performing Alchemy inside his Pill Room to vent his excess energy.
Zong Ao poured his Saint Qi into the several dozen pill furnaces, causing all of them to hum. Magical and mysterious Spirit Arrays were constructed inside the pill furnaces by Zong Ao simultaneously as he scattered herbs from his Space Ring like snowflakes, rapidly condensing various different medicinal liquids all at once.
Yang Kai couldn’t help his eyes from widening as he stared at this incredible scene.
He had never thought such a frenzied type of Alchemy existed in this world where one person actually used more than two dozen pill furnaces, refining several dozen types of pills, all at the same time!
At this moment, he finally understood why Zong Ao could produce so many pills for Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce.
Judging from his fluid movements and obvious proficiency, Zong Ao had done this more than once or twice and had created a shocking yet systematic method of mass pill refining.
Yang Kai possessed a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea and had mastered various ancient Spirit Arrays which gave him many unique advantages in Alchemy, but he still had no way to replicate the astonishing scene in front of him.
At most, Yang Kai figure he could handle four or five pill furnaces by himself.
There are always higher Heavens and one must always strive to improve! Yang Kai felt a deep sense of inspiration and respect for Zong Ao and simply stood in the door, carefully observing this Grandmaster’s movements.
Zong Ao showed no intention of driving him away, allowing him to watch all he wanted, the excitement on his face never once fading, instead becoming more and more flushed. The delicate Spirit Arrays which he portrayed with his Saint Qi appeared in different pill furnaces, melding together with the ones already present to create even more profound designs, providing great catalytic effects to his Alchemy.
Everything was smooth and methodical, without the slightest flaw apparent.
After half a day, inside the Pill Room, various pill aromas wafted through the air, a single whiff of which could refresh a person’s spirits and warm their body.
Yang Kai’s eyes became even more focused.
“Come!” Zong Ao shouted suddenly, and the several dozen pill furnaces all trembled as their lids flew off and coloured pills shot out, each one falling like a single raindrop into pre-prepared jade bottles.
Zong Ao tossed a restorative pill into his mouth, recovering his own Saint Qi while he strode over impatiently to the jade bottles, picked them up, and began checking through them one by one.
After a long time, he finished his inspection, and a somewhat dissatisfied look appeared on his face as he grumbled, “En, only two, pills are really hard to refine!”
Saying so, he put away two pills which had formed Pill Veins into another bottle before tossing the rest away.
This scene was somewhat familiar, as Yang Kai had once seen Zong Ao perform it when he first brought Xue Yue here, causing his brow to furrow as he asked, “Is Senior’s Alchemy method attempting to increase the chance of Pill Veins appearing?”
Zong Ao turned and sat in his chair, grinning as he nodded, “You have some good eyes boy. En, this old master created such a troublesome Alchemy method just to increase the chance of forming Pill Veins!”
After a pause, he continued, “The appearance of Pill Veins is something decided by luck, even the best Alchemists cannot guarantee that the pill they refine will surely form Pill Veins, but when a skilled Alchemist refines low-grade pills, the chances of Pill Veins forming will be much greater. This old master has been studying the production of Pill Veins for hundreds of years, and it was not until a hundred years ago that he struck upon the idea of producing them by increasing the total volume of pills. If not for this, why would this old master not charge Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce anything, essentially performing Alchemy for them for free? En, if not for this old master wanting them to provide me with an abundance of herbs, how could I have let them take advantage of me for so long?”
Refining pills like Zong Ao consumed far too many spirit grasses and spirit medicines, without the vast capital of a great force behind him, it would be impossible to continue this practice for long.
Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce was the richest force in the entire Star Field so it was naturally the best choice. Zong Ao and Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s cooperation greatly benefited each other.
“How is Senior’s progress?” Yang Kai asked with interest.
Zong Ao sighed softly, “Difficult, far too difficult! The longer you pursue this path, the more you find how difficult refining pills really are. This old master isn’t afraid of making a little boy like you laugh, but after so long, my success rate is only one or two out of every hundred pills with Pill Veins. En, this old master means pills above Saint King Grade of course.”
One or two out of every hundred, in short, he needed to refine a hundred pills to get one or two with Pill Veins.
This percentage may seem small, but considering the entire Alchemy profession, it was already a sensational number.
Many Alchemists would spend their entire lives and only refine one or two pills with Pill Veins out of sheer luck.
But every time Zong Ao performed this mass Alchemy, he would almost always produce at least one such pill.
“This old master has even managed to refine a few Saint King Grade pills that formed Pill Clouds. Would you like to take a look, little boy?” Zong Ao spoke with a very proud and playful expression.
Pill Veins were hard to come by, but Pill Clouds were even rarer!
Zong Ao had collected tens of thousands of pills with Pill Veins so far, but he only had a handful that had formed Pill Clouds, each of which he regarded as a treasure. When he was feeling down, he would often take out these Pill Cloud pills to review, immediately lifting his spirits.
He had lived here in this dull environment for nearly a hundred years, and if it weren’t for the great obsession in his heart, delving into the profound mysteries of the Alchemic Way, even with his great strength he would have gone stir crazy.
Now that he suddenly had the young Alchemist Yang Kai here to accompany him, he naturally wanted to show off a bit.
“Junior does not dare to covet Senior’s treasures!” Yang Kai didn’t give him a chance to show off though, which caused Zong Ao to grumble in disappointment, “Ignorant child, such a great opportunity is not something easy to grasp, it looks like your accomplishments in Alchemy are bound to be limited!”
Pills which formed Pill Veins were a rarity in the world. In the Alchemy world, this kind of thing, regardless of the grade, even if it was Earth Grade or Mysterious Grade, would be considered a treasure. Excellent Alchemists, by observing and emulating, may be able to gain some insights from just observing them.
Not to mention Zong Ao’s pills which had formed Pill Cloud were all Saint King Grade pills! These few pills were the ultimate culmination of his past hundred years of work.
Today, he had taken the initiative to display them, yet was actually rejected by Yang Kai. Zong Ao immediately felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on his hot face, his mood immediately dampening.
How could he have known that back on Tong Xuan Realm, Yang Kai had already seen and even eaten a pill that formed Pill Clouds, and whether it was Yang Kai himself or Xia Ning Chang, when performing Alchemy, their odds of producing Pill Veins were higher than his own by several times.
“Senior, Junior has led you to the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, and Senior has reaped great gains as a result, isn’t it time you inform this Junior how to rescue my Young Lady?” Yang Kai ignored Zong Ao’s ugly expression and took the initiative to bring up the previous transaction.
“Hmph! Blinded by a beauty!” Zong Ao muttered in dissatisfaction again, he obviously thought Yang Kai and Xue Yue had a deep sentiment between them, causing this boy to act so anxiously.
Although he was a little displeased with Yang Kai right now, a deal was a deal, and Zong Ao kept his promise, flatly saying, “To save her, you just need to feed her a Purple Heart Soul Restoring Pill!”
After saying this, he shot Yang Kai a mocking grin, clearly taking pleasure in his misfortune.
“Purple Heart Soul Restoring Pill?” Yang Kai frowned, thinking quickly.
While Zong Ao had gone looking for someone to build a container to receive the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, Yang Kai had flipped through the pile of ancient books inside Zong Ao’s study and learned many pill recipes, the Purple Heart Soul Restoring Pill was one of them.
Pondering for a moment, he soon remembered what grade of herbs was required to refine the Purple Heart Soul Restoring Pill.
“An Origin King Pill?” Yang Kai paled, calling out in alarm.
“Naturally it is an Origin King- Grade pill!” Zong Ao grinned, “Profound Yin Sunflower Water is among the rarest and most powerful cultivation treasures. Do you think the damage caused by it would be easy to restore? Only the Origin King-Grade Purple Heart Soul Restoring Pill can accomplish this. You should be more aware of the danger this little girl is facing than anyone else. Not only is her vitality frozen, even her Soul Avatar cannot form. Treating such a condition will be incredibly difficult, of course.”
Yang Kai’s face turned dark.
Zong Ao also said, “Boy, I advise you to give up. Let’s not even discuss how few Alchemists in the entire Star Field can refine Origin King Pills, simply finding the materials is not something you can accomplish. Finding a ten-thousand-year-old Soul Returning Flower alone is impossible.”
The Soul Returning Flower wasn’t an incredibly rare or precious herbs, and could be found on any Cultivation Star, but in order to refine the Purple Heart Soul Restoring Pill, one with a medicinal age of ten thousand years was essential.
Which herb could possibly grow that old? During thousands of years, natural disasters, shifts in environment, not to mention cultivators or Monster Beasts could cause any herb to die out or disappear from this world. Finding such an herb was simply impossible.
The other precious herb required, despite being quite rare and valuable, wouldn’t be too difficult to find. Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s primary focus was business, so as long he left it to Ha Li Ka, Yang Kai believed these adjuvant herbs could be soon collected.
But a ten thousand year old Soul Restoring Flower instantly made Yang Kai feel helpless!
“There is any number of women in this world. I see you’re still very young, boy, in the future there will always be other outstanding women. Sometimes you should learn to just let things go, that itself is a kind of happiness,” Zong Ao sighed as he gave some heartfelt advice.
“I must rescue her!” Yang Kai shook his head, his expression incomparably firm, “Senior, is there no other way to resolve her crisis?”
Zong Ao looked at him deeply, and his complexion gradually became dignified. After a while nodding, “There is one other kind of pill that could treat her condition, and the materials required for this pill aren’t difficult to find, its grade is also not too high.”
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened, cupping his fists and bowing deeply, “Please enlighten me, Senior!”
“Good, out of consideration for your deep infatuation, this old master will offer you his knowledge once more,” Zong Ao sighed, but followed up calmly, “However, I still advise you to not get your hopes up.”
“Senior, please.”
“The Burning Flame Pill!” Zong Ao spat out a few words.
“Burning Flame Pill?” Yang Kai frowned, thinking quickly, and after a moment, his eyes widened with surprise, “Saint King Grade Low-Rank Burning Flame Pill?”
“En, the Burning Flame Pill is indeed a Saint King Grade Low-Rank pill!” Zong Ao gently nodded.
Yang Kai looked puzzled, “Senior, Junior is a bit confused. The grade of the Burning Flame Pill is not high, so how can it cure my Young Lady’s condition?”
He really couldn’t understand how the first method Zong Ao gave him was to refine an Origin King pill, while the second method was actually to refine a Saint King Grade pill, the difference between them was like clouds and mud.
Zong Ao grinned, “Do you think an ordinary Burning Flame Pill will do? What this old master refers to is a Burning Flame Pill with Pill Clouds!”
Yang Kai trembled as he comprehended.
“Since you are also an Alchemist, you should know that a pill that forms Pill Veins or Pill Clouds has its medicinal effects increased geometrically, which is why the existence of Pill Veins and Pill Clouds dramatically increases a pill’s value. If a Saint King Grade Low-Rank Burning Flame Pill were to form Pill Veins, its medicinal effects would almost be equivalent to a Saint King Grade High-Rank pill, if it were to form Pill Clouds, even if it wasn’t as good as an Origin King Grade pill, it wouldn’t miss by far.”
“I see,” Yang Kai’s eyes shone brightly, and his spirit was instantly restored.
Zong Ao observed his expression however and sneered, “How could it be so easy to refine a Burning Flame Pill with Pill Clouds? It may be more difficult than trying to find a ten-thousand-year-old Soul Restoring Flower. This old master will repeat his words once more, boy, it’s best you give up now, don’t attempt to do the impossible.”
Him saying these words were not because he wanted to dampen Yang Kai’s enthusiasm, it was just his objective evaluation of the situation.
Even if the top Alchemists in Heng Luo Star Field were to constantly refine Burning Flame Pills, they wouldn’t necessarily be able to refine one with Pill Clouds.
Yang Kai however just grinned, “How do I know it’s impossible if I don’t even try?”
Zong Ao quickly stated, “Boy, don’t think this old master will help you refine such a Burning Flame Pill. This old master has no friendship with you, nor does he have such skill to guarantee he can refine a Saint King Grade pill with Pill Clouds.”
“I did not plan on asking Senior to refine it,” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
“Oh? You already have someone else in mind?” Zong Ao was slightly surprised, “Do tell, who do you want to make refine it for you? Since this old master has given you his advice, he would like to see what person has such ability!”
Zong Ao didn’t think there was anyone whose Alchemy skills were better than his own on Rainfall Star. When it came to Alchemy, here, he was the highest authority.
“Junior will do it himself!”
“You plan to refine it yourself?” Zong Ao’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Yang Kai gently nodded.
As if he wanted to re-examine him, Zong Ao swept his eyes over Yang Kai, asking with a strange expression a moment later, “Don’t try to play games with this old master, this is your own matter, not mine. En, if you really can refine a Burning Flame Pill which forms Pill Clouds here, this old master will call you Grandfather!”
He clearly didn’t believe that Yang Kai possessed this kind of ability.
Yang Kai was just a weak Second-Order Saint. Even if he was an Alchemist, and had some talent and aptitude in the Alchemic Way, the longest he could possibly have been immersed in this path was twenty years.
Saint Grade High-Rank pills were his limit! Zong Ao concluded.
If he couldn’t even refine Saint King Grade pills, how was he supposed to refine one with Pill Clouds?
Zong Ao only took Yang Kai’s words as the foolish boastings of youth.
However, Yang Kai’s eyes only brightened further as he too wore a strange smile, “Senior, since you don’t believe this Junior’s words… how about we make a bet?”
“A bet?” Zong Ao’s eyes narrowed briefly before he snorted, “What bet, since you dare, this old master will play along!”
“If this Junior can refine a Burning Flame Pill that forms Pill Clouds, Junior won’t ask for much, just half of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water Senior managed to collect!” Yang Kai stared at Zong Ao daringly.
Zong Ao’s face twitched severely as he snorted once again, “Boy, this old master thought you were the honest and well-behaved type, but it seems you’ve been harbour ideas about this old master treasure all along! Aren’t you afraid your appetite will cause you to lose your teeth?”
“If Junior loses his teeth, that will be his own responsibility,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “Are you afraid you will lose?”
Zong Ao grinned fearlessly, “Don’t try to taunt this old masters, such petty tricks aren’t worth my consideration.”
Even after saying so, a second later, Zong Ao still nodded, “Fine. If you can really refine a Burning Flame Pill that forms Pill Clouds, why wouldn’t this old master grant you half his Profound Yin Sunflower Water? This old master has dedicated hundreds of years to studying the formation of Pill Veins, never once finding the correct path forward, if you have the ability to surpass this old master, this old master will be sincerely convinced! However, if you can’t refine it, what are you willing to wager, boy?”
Zong Ao directed an extremely cold and gloomy look towards Yang Kai as he asked.
The entire gambling proposal Yang Kai made had annoyed Zong Ao, making him feel that this Junior was taking Alchemy lightly while simultaneously looking down on his many years of research, causing a tinge of murderous intent to rise in his heart.
“I’ll leave that up to Senior!” Yang Kai said without any fear or hesitation. In any case, if he couldn’t refine this pill, Xue Yue would die, and when she died, he would follow.
“Good, this old master has been lacking an errand boy, if you fail, you’ll serve this old master for the rest of your life!” Zong Ao chuckled, “But this bet must have a deadline to it, or do you expect this old master to simply wait forever?”
“Naturally not,” Yang Kai seemed to have expected him to say that, “The deadline will be when my Young Lady dies, how about it?”
“That will be in just a year or so. Boy you’re certainly crazy enough, this old master is looking forward to seeing how you refine a Burning Flame Pill with Pill Clouds!” Zong Ao laughed.
“Senior should sit back and watch,” Yang Kai grinned, not showing any signs of fluster, only immense self-confidence.
This expression was not missed by Zong Ao, who suddenly couldn’t help feeling a bit hesitant, secretly wondering whether this little brat’s boldness was supported by some hidden secret.
Not feeling relieved, he decided to ask, “What grade of pill can refine with your current methods?”
“Saint King Grade Low-Rank pills!” Yang Kai said casually.
“How is that possible?” Zong Ao was stunned, “You can really refine Saint King Grade pills?”
His face showed clear disbelief as he thought Yang Kai was simply exaggerating.
Yang Kai just shrugged however and said, “I’ve truly refined some.”
“How old are you this year?” Zong Ao asked suspiciously.
“Less than thirty, twenty-seven or eight, I think?” Yang Kai wasn’t quite sure of his current age, he spent all of his time wandering outside or in secluded retreat so he had long ago lost track of the passage of time.
A twenty seven or twenty eight year old boy able to refine Saint King Grade pills was enough to shock Zong Ao speechless.
A bad premonition suddenly came over him, as if half of his Profound Yin Sunflower Water had suddenly changed surname.
Shaking his head, Zong Ao again said, “After a year, things will become clear. This old master won’t ask anything for now, but I still have to tell you boy, even if you can refine a Burning Flame Pill with Pill Clouds, it will only be able to drive away the chilling effects of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water on this little girl, you’ll still need to recomposing her Soul Avatar by yourself.”
Yang Kai frowned, and cupped his fists said, “I understand.”
“En, see yourself out,” Zong Ao waved.
Yang Kai exited and went to the sleeping Yue Xue in the next room before leaving for the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s branch.
Half a day later, Yang Kai met with Ha Li Ka and the others inside the main hall.
Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and the middle-aged woman were all gathered around a table and a container refined from Five Coloured Meteor Essence, which held a few drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water, sat before them.
Three pairs of eyes stared fixedly towards this Profound Yin Sunflower Water.
Five Coloured Meteor Essence wasn’t difficult to find in Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s vaults, so after Zong Ao left, the three executives had quickly gone to collect this treasure and were now discussing how to distribute them, and what they should report to the Home Star.
The three were a little bit overwhelmed by everything.
Noticing Yang Kai’s arrival, the three did try to cover up their discussion or hide the Profound Yin Sunflower Water; Ha Li Ka simply stood up and asked, “How is the situation with Lady Xue’er?”
“Unchanged, her life is safe for now but she still remains unconscious,” Yang Kai replied casually.
The three faces turned dark.
“However, Senior Zong Ao was able to diagnose her condition and prescribe a cure,” Yang Kai quickly added.
“Really?” Ha Li Ka’s expression brightened as Lin Mu Feng let out a sigh of relief, the middle-aged woman also patting her plump chest as the bitterness on her face noticeably decreased.
“Little brother, if you require anything from our Chamber of Commerce, please speak freely, Lady Xue’er’s accident occurred on our Rainfall Star, so we will not spare any effort to assist you,” Ha Li Ka stated upfront.
“That is why I have come here, I must ask for your help,” Yang Kai smiled faintly.
“I need you to help collect some herbs!” Yang Kai got straight to the point.
“What herbs do you need?” Ha Li Ka smiled, “Other places may not be able to procure special herbs, but my Chamber of Commerce is definitely not lacking such things.”
Lin Mu Feng and the middle-aged woman also spoke similar words, pledging to meet whatever requirements Yang Kai had.
Yang Kai immediately produced a list of herbs required to refine the Burning Flame Pill, and after Ha Li Ka gave it a quick glance, he lightly said, “The herbs on this list are not difficult to find, we have most of them on hand in this branch already. Only the Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruit is relatively rare while everything else won’t be a problem. However, Little Brother will have to wait three to five months before we can transfer some Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruits from a nearby Medicine Star, such a delay…”
“There won’t be a problem if it’s just three to five months, even a little longer won’t matter as long as you don’t drag it out for over a year,” Yang Kai shook his head.
“Good, within four months we will definitely have the Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruits transferred here,” Ha Li Ka thumped his chest and promised.
Some herbs required specific environments to grow in, and although Rainfall Star was also a large Cultivation Star, it did not have the proper environment to cultivate Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruits. However, there was a Medicine Star under Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s jurisdiction nearby which produced a large number of them.
“How many of these herbs does little brother need?” Lin Mu Feng asked.
“However many you can acquire!” Yang Kai quickly said.
“As much as we can acquire?” The three were startled by this answer and stared at Yang Kai in confusion.
They had thought that Yang Kai would only require a few sets of ingredients to refine this pill, so when Yang Kai asked them to deliver him as many ingredients as possible, they were naturally somewhat suspicious.
Yang Kai quickly explained, “The method Senior Zong Ao prescribed requires a pill which has formed Pill Clouds. You should also be aware of how difficult it is to produce a pill with Pill Clouds, it’s not something that can be done in a few attempts, success will require much trial and error.”
After hearing these words, Ha Li Ka and the others suddenly understood why Yang Kai required so many herbs and no longer suspected anything, Ha Li Ka even shouting, “I see I see, Grandmaster Zong Ao is indeed worthy of his illustrious reputation in Alchemy. He actually intends to refine a pill with Pill Clouds, such a treasure is something we would greatly wish to experience.”
“Unfortunately, this will likely result in a non-negligible loss for the branch’s business, with so many of the same type of pill being refined all at once, even if they were to be turned over to you for free, selling them may be an issue,” Yang Kai reminded.
“As long as Lady Xue’er can be awakened, such losses are not a problem,” Ha Li Ka immediately stated. He was speaking earnestly, for if Lady Xue’er were really to die, Xue Yue Third Young Master would definitely not let him off. Even if he had to use his personal fortune, he would do everything in his power to procure the required herbs.
“That would be for the best!” Yang Kai was very satisfied with their willingness to cooperate, saving him the trouble of trying to convince them to help him. These people were reasonable and easy to speak to, they were capable of seeing the bigger picture without it needing to be spelt out for them.
“Little brother…” Ha Li Ka stuttered, a hesitant look appearing on his face, like he wanted to say something but didn’t dare to, turning to glance at Lin Mu Feng in an attempt to find some support.
Yang Kai observed all of this carefully and immediately understood what they wanted to say, wearing a serious look as he said, “For me, treating Lady Xue’er’s condition is the foremost priority, I will not inquire about any other issues.”
Having received such a statement, all three of the branch executives were overjoyed and direct even kinder looks towards Yang Kai.
Although the three of them had managed to obtain some Profound Yin Sunflower Water, a harvest worth celebrating, the events that had transpired here on Rainfall Star this time left them in a difficult position, not knowing how they should report to the Home Star. In normal times, they would be fully capable of suppressing news of Xue Yue’s injuries but now was different. As Xue Yue’s guard, even if Yang Kai’s cultivation was low, unless he was also brain dead, how could he not make a report to the Home Star should something happen?
When that happened, the three of them would only face even more severe punishment!
With Yang Kai’s words as a guarantee though, the three of them felt far more relieved.
Yang Kai laughed and said, “I also don’t want to be punished by the Home Star, so the matter of Lady Xue’er being injured won’t be leaked for the time being. When Lady Xue’er recovers, she will decide how to proceed.”
“Many thanks, little brother!” Ha Li Ka cupped his fists gratefully.
“As for this Profound Yin Sunflower Water… For now, don’t make any arrangements for it. Lady Xue’er will take responsibility for it,” Yang Kai said again.
“Naturally, even if we had ten times the courage, we wouldn’t dare try to use this cultivation treasures at will, we will wait for Lady Xue’er to awake to deal with it,” Ha Li Ka and others nodded repeatedly, thanking Yang Kai for showing them the correct path to take.
Moreover, from the very beginning, none of them had any intention to use this Profound Yin Sunflower Water. Although refining this precious treasure would allow them to greatly improve their strength, none of them even knew how to go about it. Ha Li Ka had personally experienced the overbearing power of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, the price for this knowledge being his arm, if they were to carelessly try to refine this treasure, rather than increasing their strength, they may end up in a similar condition to Lady Xue’er.
None of them daring to use it, however, didn’t mean obtaining it wasn’t a great merit, hence why the three of them had been gathered around the container, discussing it before Yang Kai arrived.
“Good, my requests up until now have been about our shared business, but I also have a private matter I wish to ask for your assistance with!” Yang Kai felt that the time was right and the atmosphere had been set appropriate, so he prepared to fish for some advantages of his own.
“Please speak, Little Brother!”
“Do you have any methods to quickly improve one’s strength?” Yang Kai looked at the three with anticipation.
“Enhance one’s strength?” Ha Li Ka was surprised, sweeping his eyes over Yang Kai, but soon understood and laughed, “Does little brother wants to improve his strength?”
“Yes, this time, because my strength was too low, Lady Xue’er did not allow me to accompany her to explore the Ancient Ruins. If my strength had been higher, perhaps I could have protected Lady Xue during the Profound Yin Sunflower Water crisis. If I could exchange my life for Lady Xue’er’s safety, what would it matter if I were to die?” Yang Kai said while wearing a pained a bitter look, seemingly blaming himself deeply.
Ha Li Ka and the others in the hall were all experienced masters though, so how could they not know he was just putting on a show?
However, there did seem that Lady Xue’er thought highly of this little guard, otherwise, she would not have brought him alone to Rainfall Star with her or out of concern for his safety prevent him from entering the Ancient Ruins.
After Lady Xue’er woke up, perhaps they would need to rely on him to say a few words of praise to disperse her anger.
What’s more, he was willing to not report this matter to the Home Star and even cooperate with them to conceal the truth for now.
Regardless of whether it was to curry favour or to repay him, the three executives felt that as long as Yang Kai’s requests weren’t excessive they should try to meet them, and helping a small Second-Order Saint Realm cultivator improve his strength was something they could easily accomplish.
After exchanging a few silence glances, the three executives immediately made a decision, with Ha Li Ka saying, “If you wish to quickly improve your strength, the only proper method is to cultivate diligently, this kind of thing cannot be rushed, everyone develops their strength one drop at a time, however…”
Arriving at this point, he grinned and said, “I have a method that will allow you to increase the efficiency of your cultivation.”
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened, “What method?”
The Space Ring on Ha Li Ka’s hand flashed, and a colourful, orchid-like objected appeared in his hands. This orchid was quite strange though, its blossoming petals appearing somewhat like a baby’s face, with rather clear, yet gloomy features.
“Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid?” Nearby, Lin Mu Feng and the middle-aged woman both simultaneously exclaimed in shock, as if they hadn’t expected Ha Li Ka to bring out such a treasure, directing a somewhat thought-provoking expression towards Yang Kai, seemingly feeling like he had struck it lucky.
“What is the use of this thing?” Yang Kai asked.
Ha Li Ka proudly explained, “It is an auxiliary cultivation treasure, if you take it directly, you will realize its use.”
Lin Mu Feng also added, “This kind of thing is very rare, many years ago, in order to obtain it, Old Ha had a bloody fight with many others, I never expected that he had stored it away for nearly a hundred years, I had thought he had already made use of it.”
Ha Li Ka grinned, “There was no suitable candidate, so how was I suppose to use it? This old master is already a Third Order Origin Returning Realm master, this thing can’t help improve my own strength, so I was thinking of saving it for someone from the younger generation, but on this vast Rainfall Star, no one has been able to enter this old master’s eye so far!”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and before Ha Li Ka had even finished speaking, he had accepted the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid and shoved it into his Space Ring.
From the conversation between the two, Yang Kai could already understand the preciousness of this Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid.
He then turned to stare at Lin Mu Feng eagerly.
Lin Mu Feng was just extolling Ha Li Ka’s generosity, but when his eyes met with Yang Kai’s, he couldn’t help his face from twitching slightly, scratching his head in a slightly frustrated manner as he said, “This Lin has something here that may be of help to little brother Yang.”
Yang Kai’s meaning was incredibly obvious, he clearly wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to rob all of them, so how could Lin Mu Feng feign ignorance?
Suppressing the grief he felt in his heart while wearing a calm and aloof expression, Lin Mu Feng took out a jade bottle from his Space Ring, and before he could even explain what it was, Yang Kai had snatched it from him.
Lin Mu Feng smiled bitterly and said helplessly, “This is Snow Pond Crystal Essence, a unique treasure from Ice Snow Star’s Snow Pond Forbidden Zone. Only a cut worth of it is condensed every millennium, this is all I have.”
“What is its use?” Yang Kai asked concisely while observing the jade bottle in his hand, feeling a slight coolness coming from it. Through the bottle’s walls, he could see about a fingernail-sized drop of white liquid.
“Snow Pond Crystal Essence is most useful for stabilizing your state of mind. Taking one drop will grant great benefits. Little Brother Yang, since you want to quickly improve your strength, this thing will be essential,” Lin Mu Feng explained.
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened as he grinned.
This treasure was given to him by Lin Mu Feng and Ha Li Ka’s Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid perfectly complemented one another, one could improve the efficiency of one’s cultivation while the other could help stabilize their state of mind, thus avoiding the side effects caused by rapid increases in strength. It could be said that this Snow Pond Crystal Essence was equal in value to the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid.
Yang Kai was very satisfied as he stuffed it into his Space Ring.
Watching Yang Kai put away that small bottle of Snow Pond Crystal Essence, a clear look of pain appeared on Lin Mu Feng’s face.
Of course, Yang Kai pretended not to see it.
Before waiting for Yang Kai to speak again, the middle-aged woman smiled and took the initiative, “I don’t have as many treasures as these two, but I do have something that can help promote your cultivation speed.”
Saying so, she summoned a number of small flag-like objects into her hand; each of these seven flags was a different colour of the rainbow and exuded a strong aura.
[An artifact?] Yang Kai was slightly surprised, not knowing what function this artifact possessed that could actually improve one’s cultivation efficiency.
“These Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags together form one Origin Grade Low-Rank artifact, and when arranged in a certain configuration can gather the surrounding World Energy. I used to use this whenever I entered secluded cultivation, but after reaching my current level of strength, its effects have become negligible and I have not taken it out for nearly a hundred years now; however, it should be quite suitable for little brother Yang.”
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened once more, secretly thinking to himself that these three were worthy of their status as executives of a Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce branch, each of them was easily able to take out treasures that would ordinarily be impossible to find.
This time Yang Kai didn’t act as hurriedly as with the previous two, carefully accepting the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flag from the middle-aged beauty before thanking her politely.
In response, the middle-aged woman laughed lightly and said, “Lower your Knowledge Sea’s defences, I’ll teach you the method to arrange it!”
Yang Kai nodded, allowed the middle-aged woman to place her jade finger on his forehead, and accepted her instructions on how to set up the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags.
After carefully digesting this information, Yang Kai was very satisfied with the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags.
Although it was only an Origin Grade Low-Rank artifact, it was still a good treasure that perfectly suited the current Yang Kai, he could use it for some time to come, and when he no longer needed it, it could be given to others close to him.
It wasn’t as rare or valuable as the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid or Snow Pond Crystal Essence, but it was actually far more practical than them.
No matter which of these three it was, they had bled quite substantially here in taking these things out, so Yang Kai cupped his fists and said, “Many thanks for your assistance, Junior is very grateful.”
“Little Brother is too polite!” Ha Li Ka laughed, “As long as Lady Xue’er can be awoken, what does this little loss count for?”
Whether his loyal and righteous appearance was real or forced, Yang Kai couldn’t tell.
“En… does little brother wish to take a couple of Moon Slaves as well?” Lin Mu Feng suddenly remembered something and proposed.
“Moon Slaves?” Yang Kai’s brow rose and stared at them suspiciously.
The middle-aged woman immediately blushed and shouted, “You bastard! Little brother is so young yet you wish to lead him down such an unsavoury path? How do you plan to explain things when Lady Xue’er wakes up?”
Lin Mu Feng squirmed awkwardly, “Two Moon Slave shouldn’t be an issue right? Little brother Yang seems like an upright and firm willed young man. He shouldn’t be led astray simply because of two trivial Moon Slaves.”
“En, if it’s just two there really shouldn’t be a problem,” Ha Li Ka also echoed.
“What are Moon Slaves?” Yang Kai saw the three executives suddenly engage in a slightly heated debate and couldn’t help feeling curious.
Ha Li Ka lightly coughed and explained, “Moon Slaves are women specially cultivated by our Chamber of Commerce. They cultivate a very special Secret Art and take tailored pills so that their Primordial Yin contains a large amount of very pure energy. Any man who is then able to obtain their Primordial yin can obtain great benefits from it! If little brother wishes to rapidly improve his strength, Moon Slaves are truly the best choice. “
“Gathering Yin to supplement Yang?” Yang Kai’s complexion changed slightly.
“No no no!” Lin Mu Feng smiled and waved, “The method developed by my Chamber of Commerce is not some barbaric gathering Yin to supplement Yang. Little Brother should know that many cultivators who cultivate Demonic Secret Arts that use gathering Yin to supplement Yang are able to raise their strength quickly but always result in unstable foundations, making their combat efficiency far lower than others in the same realm. My Chamber of Commerce would never engage in such flawed practices. Moon Slaves are chosen from only those women with appropriate aptitudes and physiques then cultivated in a specific method which increased the concentration of energy in their Primordial Yin. This way, the men who obtain such Primordial Yin suffer very little ill effect. With little brother’s current cultivation, obtaining two Moon Slaves won’t cause any side effects.”
“Indeed, if there was really a problem with my Chamber of Commerce’s Moon slaves, there would not be so many people who purchase them,” Ha Li Ka also nodded.
“Do you also engage in human trafficking?” Yang Kai was incredibly shocked, never having expected a giant like Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce would actually have a hand in such a shady industry.
“This business is only conducted by mutual consent. Moon Slaves generally come from commoner or impoverished backgrounds who, without my Chamber of Commerce’s support, would only be able to live a few dozen years before dying of disease or old age. My Chamber of Commerce provides them with the opportunity to cultivate as well as a secure environment, allowing them to obtain superior ability and skill… Also, after Moon Slaves give their innocence to their masters, they will always obtain some benefit in return. Not only can they continue to cultivate and enhance their strength, but many Moon Slaves also live quite comfortable lives after leaving the Chamber of Commerce,” Lin Mu Feng explained in detail, seeing that Yang Kai was a bit repulsed by such things.
The middle-aged woman sat to the side, blushing, but not raising any objections. Obviously, she too was well informed about these Moon Slaves.
“Moon Slaves…” Yang Kai hesitated for a moment before waving his hand and saying bitterly, “After she wakes up, once she learns of this, I’m afraid Lady Xue’er would kill!”
Yang Kai had to admit that after listening to them talk about the benefits of Moon Slaves, especially the ability to quickly improve his strength, Yang Kai was a bit tempted. Right now his strongest desire was to quickly enhance his cultivation.
However, after mulling over this decision, Yang Kai still refused.
Part of it had to do with his principles, but a larger part had to do with his concerns. No matter how Ha Li Ka and the others boasted about the benefits of Moon Slaves, Yang Kai always felt that gathering Yin to supplement Yang would leave hidden problems which would hinder his future cultivation.
“Since that’s the case, we won’t press the matter,” Ha Li Ka said while shooting Yang Kai an approving nod. He hadn’t thought a young man like him could refuse such a great temptation.
Moon Slaves were capable of more than simply improving one’s strength, each of them was also a rare beauty who had been taught many ways to serve and please men while being proficient in countless forms of art and entertainment, they were akin to a status symbol for the young men in the Star Field to brag about.
Being accompanied by one or two Moon Slaves was enough to raise the level of one’s face significantly.
Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce cultivated a large number of Moon Slaves every year, but the backlog for their purchase was several years long. Moon Slaves alone brought in a huge amount of profit even considering the entire scope of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce. The price of Moon Slaves only ever increased, but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of those who wished to buy them.
Yang Kai’s refusal had surprised all three of these executives and increased their opinion of him further, making them believe that Lady Xue’er had many reasons to select him as her guard.
Ha Li Ka and others discussed some technical matters for a moment before agreeing to send the collected materials to Zong Ao’s palace once they were prepared, after which Yang Kai took his leave.
After returning to Zong Ao’s palace, Yang Kai was filled with energy and was in exceptionally high spirits.
“Oh, a Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid, Snow Pond Crystal Essence…” Zong Ao looked at these two things Yang Kai had taken out and commented, “Ha Li Ka and Lin Mu Feng really held nothing back. It seems this little girl has even higher status in Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce than I initially believed.”
Aged ginger being spicier than young ginger, Zong Ao naturally recognized these treasures and their uses at a glance.
Taking a look next at the seven coloured flags next, Zong Ao couldn’t help chuckling, “Boy, with these things, this old master estimates you can break through to the Third Order Saint Realm in short order. Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce is worthy of its title as a great force, allowing someone to rise up quickly is a simple task for them.”
“Old Zong, in a few days, Ha Li Ka will be sending some materials over required to refine the Burning Flame Pill, I hope Old Zong can receive them for me,” Yang Kai said while taking the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags back from Zong Ao.
“As long as they don’t disturb this old master’s Alchemy it matters not,” Zong Ao snorted, squatting in front of Yang Kai and directing a suspicious look towards him, “But there’s something here this old master doesn’t understand, care you explain?”
“Old Zong, please ask!”
“Aren’t you going to refine a pill to treat your woman? Why did you suddenly bring these things back with you for?”
“What else can you do with these things? Naturally I’m going to cultivate,” Yang Kai grinned.
Zong Ao was stunned, “Aren’t you getting your priorities backwards? You only have a year and a half at most. Wanting to refine a Burning Flame Pill that forms Pill Clouds within one and a half years doesn’t leave you any time to spare, yet you’re actually in the mood to cultivate?”
“Ordinary people will sharpen their knife before butchering pigs, what’s wrong with me cultivating now to sharpen myself?” Yang Kai grinned, “On top of that, according to Ha Li Ka, one of the materials required for the Burning Flame Pill will take four months to transfer here from a nearby Medicine Star, besides cultivating what else am I supposed to do while I wait?”
“I suppose that makes sense… but will it even make a difference if you break through to the Third-Order Saint Realm?” Zong Ao wondered why Yang Kai wasn’t feeling more flustered.
“Perhaps advancing a Minor Realm will allow me to successfully refine Pill Clouds,” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
Zong Ao just stared at Yang Kai as if he was looking at an idiot, stood up tall again and waved his hand, “If you say so. This old master will just wait to see the results, as long as you don’t bother this old master, you can do as you like, this old master will go see to his own Alchemy.”
Saying so, he walked out, constantly muttering about how refining pills was difficult.
Yang Kai didn’t pay him any mind and instead began arranging his newly acquired treasures.
Back on the floating continent, he had worked hard to refine Saint King Grade pills in order to lift the seal Lu Gui Chen had planted on him. At that time, Yang Kai discovered that he was unable to further promote his Alchemy techniques because of the constraints of his own cultivation.
His cultivation was too low, and if he wanted to refine higher grades of pills, he first needed to improve in that aspect.
The four months Ha Li Ka needed to acquire the Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruits gave Yang Kai a very good buffer period. With the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid, Snow Pond Crystal Essence, and Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags, Yang Kai planed to promote his cultivation during this time.
With four months, Yang Kai had great confidence he would be able to break through to the Third Order Saint Realm, allowing him to more easily refine the required Burning Flame Pill.
Inside one of the rooms in Zong Ao’s palace, Yang Kai sat cross-legged.
Taking out the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid, Yang Kai swallowed it without hesitation.
A cool sensation ran straight from the throat to his abdomen, and as he began to refine the medicinal effects, which cool sensation rapidly spread out to every part of his body, dilating his pores and rapidly affecting his physique.
In order to refine a Burning Flame Pill that formed Pill Clouds, and in order to rapidly improve his cultivation realm, Yang Kai spared no effort.
Moreover, he no longer regarded this time’s incident as a disaster but instead an opportunity.
Currently, he was all alone in the Star Field, without any friends or family, no one to rely on, only by increasing his own strength would he be able to survive. Xue Yue falling unconscious and not awakening gave him the opportunity to concentrate on cultivation.
When viewed from another angle, misdemeanours could often become advantages.
Yang Kai could safely use these next few months to break through then afterwards improve his Alchemy skills to complement his cultivation realm and achieve greater growth.
The cool sensation made him tremble but also more clear headed than ever before.
He suddenly felt as if he had a good plan for the foreseeable future, causing his heart to pound harder.
Xue Yue’s uniform breathing came from the next room over. Zong Ao’s methods could only maintain her vitality for at most a year and a half, once that time was up, she would die if there was no appropriate pill to treat her.
However, Yang Kai wasn’t as worried at all about this right now, his mind in a state of pure tranquility.
The Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid’s medicinal effects continued to permeate through Yang Kai’s body. Ha Li Ka hadn’t clearly explained how this precious treasure would improve the efficiency of his cultivation, but Yang Kai could clearly feel some changes occurring in his physique.
Suddenly, the coolness which had flooded his whole body began to gather towards Yang Kai’s chest, and the medicinal efficacies of the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid were rapidly consumed.
Suspicious, Yang Kai removed his shirt, exposing his sturdy body, and looked down towards his chest.
The Golden Dragon Tattoo, the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance, quickly swam across his skin.
The Golden Dragon Tattoo moved deftly, just like a living creature, sometimes swimming in front of him, sometimes swimming behind him, while the Ice Phoenix Tattoo remained on his back, never moving. The Phoenix Empress inheritance which belonged to Su Yan was simply using Yang Kai’s body as a temporary residence, waiting for him to hand it over to her.
At this moment, there was a faint trace of Black Qi gathering on his chest, like some kind of ghost or demon. Yang Kai inspected this Black Qi carefully, but not discovering anything out of the ordinary, he decided to quietly wait and observe.
After a while, the Black Qi on his chest condensed and began to take on a vague pattern.
Yang Kai stared closely, but did not understand what was happening.
Only after waiting half a day did the chilly feeling in his chest suddenly disappeared, and at the same time, the blurry pattern quickly became clear.
It was actually a baby’s face with clear features, as if Yang Kai now had an extra head in his chest, a disturbing and terrifying sight to behold.
Yang Kai was stunned, never having imagined that such a situation would happen after he took the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid.
To his further amazement though, the mouth of this baby face suddenly opened and then like a great vortex began madly drawing in the surrounding World Energy.
*Hu Chi Chi…*
A great gust of wind blew through the room at that moment and an unimaginable amount of World Energy poured into Yang Kai’s body as the baby’s mouth continued sucking it in.
Suddenly, Yang Kai felt his mind and body relax as a sense of replenishment filled him. His meridians pulsed, accepting this vast stream of World Energy and transforming it into his own capital under the circulation of his Secret Art.
[So mysterious!]
Yang Kai was overjoyed, closing his eyes tightly while feeling the benefits of the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid.
Although the design of this Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid on his chest looked eerie, its effects were truly spectacular.
In this way, even if Yang Kai didn’t actively circulate his Secret Art, under the suction of the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid, he could continuously draw in the surrounding World Energy, improving the speed and efficiency of his cultivation greatly.
The baby face’s breathing cycle lasted about thirty breaths of time, actively inhaling for that period before resting for an equal amount of time, each cycle bringing in an astonishing amount of World Energy for Yang Kai.
Ha Li Ka’s gift was truly a Heaven sent for Yang Kai.
Yang Kai often spent most of his time traveling, and while moving from one place to another, he rarely had the opportunity to cultivate. If this Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid’s effects could continue on indefinitely, it would be difficult for Yang Kai’s strength to not improve.
In the future, he could maintain a state of cultivation when traveling or even during battle.
Unfortunately, according to Ha Li Ka, this Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid’s effects would gradually diminish as time passes, disappearing entirely after two or three years.
Additionally, this treasure was extremely difficult to find. Occasionally one or two plants were discovered, but as soon as they were, they would be snatched up. In order to obtain this treasure, Ha Li Ka had fought a long bloody battle with many other masters.
However, two or three years was enough for Yang Kai!
After taking the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid, Yang Kai next brought out the Snow Pond Crystal Essence and placed a drop into his mouth.
A new and different cool sensation filled his body. The Snow Pond Crystal Essence was a product from the Snow Pond Forbidden Zone, naturally its primary attribute was cold.
Yang Kai’s spirit shook and he couldn’t help feeing a cleansing sensation wash over him, as if his very soul was being purified.
A peculiar power rippled from Yang Kai mouth, flowing into his abdomen then vaporising and rising like a cloud of smoke towards his Knowledge Sea.
Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, which was originally somewhat turbulent because of his excitement and joy, immediately settled down, all ripples disappearing in an instant.
Yang Kai’s Soul seemed to undergo an instantaneous sublimation, his mood becoming as tranquil like an ancient well.
As the Snow Pond Crystal Essence’s medicinal properties took effect, Yang Kai suddenly developed a wondrous feeling, as if he had become detached from his own body and become an outside observer.
All the memories contained inside his Knowledge Sea became scenes flashed before his eyes.
In this way, Yang Kai was able to review all the roads he had traveled throughout his life, as well as the people he met and the events he had experienced. His setbacks and achievements, happiness and frustration all put on display.
It was as if he traversed his thirty year life all over again.
Yang Kai saw many details he had previously ignored, as well as the many regrets he had accumulated, allowing his mood to change subtly.
He became more mature and more experienced.
As his state of mind changed, Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea also underwent some unusual changes. The level of seawater gradually rose, which was a sign of his Spiritual Energy increasing and the colour of the seawater become deeper and thicker. The intensity of his Soul was becoming stronger at a visible rate.
Atop the six-coloured island which sat at the centre of his Knowledge Sea, the six coloured light became even more lustrous and dazzling. Even the Soul Devouring Insects, who had been living on this island, began to buzz with joy, rapidly swallowing the six coloured light which the Soul Warming Lotus emitted.
Soon, the number of Soul Devouring Insects reached a critical limit and they began to attack their nearby companions, eliminating the weaker existences, allowing the swarm as a whole to become more powerful.
Yang Kai was aware of all these changes, but instead of trying to stop it, he simply observed it with indifference.
The Soul Devouring Insects used to be one of his sharpest weapons, able to cause trouble for Saint Realm cultivators and easily kill those below the Transcendent Realm.
However, after arriving in the Star Field, the Soul Devouring Insects were no longer of much use. In the Star Field, there were an endless number of cultivators, and Saint King Realm cultivators were common, the current Soul Devouring Insects posed no threat to these masters.
Yang Kai was looking forward to how these tiny Exotic Ancient Insects, which only fed upon Spiritual Energy, would evolve after this time and whether they would become useful again.
He desperately needed more strength.
The battle between the Soul Devouring Insects was incredibly fierce as each tiny insect battled to devour its neighbours, allowing on the most elite to survive. These few survivors though were far stronger than before.
Finally, the battle atop the six coloured island came to an end, and the number of Soul Devouring Insects had dropped by several thousand times!
The few remaining insects then fell into a type of deep sleep. Sweeping them with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai discovered that each individual had wrapped itself in a cocoon-like shell, with only faint traces of life pulsing inside.
Yang Kai stopped paying attention to them after determining there was no issue.
Taking back his consciousness, Yang Kai left the palace and took out the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags, followed the method given to him by the middle-aged beauty, poured his strength into the flags, and threw them out.
The seven small flags suddenly became much larger and arranged themselves into a peculiar pattern around Yang Kai, each one waving in the wind.
There was some kind of imperceptible connected between these seven flags, transforming the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags into a Spirit Array.
The wind blew and the trees in the distance began to sway as a large amount of World Energy began being pulled towards the location of the seven flags. Even the sky up above underwent some changes.
Yang Kai sat down cross-legged, took out a few cultivation pills, stuffed them into his mouth, held a good piece of Saint Crystal in his hand.
Inside the palace, Zong Ao, who is performing his frenzied Alchemy as usual, noticed something going on outside, stopped his hands for a moment, and released his Divine Sense, soon understanding what was happening.
“There’s no justice in this world…” He couldn’t help muttering, “Why when this old master was young and weak did no one provide me with such good cultivation environment, how unreasonable.”
He felt a little jealous.
Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid, Snow Pond Crystal Essence, Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flag…
What’s more, his three thousand kilometre territory had many Spirit Arrays already set up to gather the surrounding World Energy?
All kinds of effects concentrated in one spot would help the cultivation speed of the little brat outside to increase by several folds.
The speed at which Yang Kai would be able to gathering World Energy through all these means would be comparable to that of an Origin Returning Realm master in secluded cultivation.
Zong Ao estimated that in just a few months, Yang Kai would be able to break through and rise another Minor Realm.
Of course, only if this little brat’s body was able to eat up this extravagant feast.
Such a rich World Energy aura was not something a little Saint Realm cultivator could absorb, and if the gathering rate of this aura was too fast for him to digest and accept, it would only cause a huge burden on Yang Kai’s body, bursting his meridians and damaging his foundation. If that were to happen, instead of helping him, all of these blessings would instead harm his progress.
Zong Ao’s concerns weren’t unwarranted. Even if a great force wanted to train their young disciples, they would carefully control the maximum amount of load placed on them, otherwise, it would only hinder their development rather than help it.
And currently, Yang Kai was clearly trying to take on far more than what an ordinary cultivator in his realm would be capable of.
Even if he was a First or Second Order Saint King, absorbing such thick World Energy was not possible.
Yang Kai dying was no concern of Zong Ao’s, the old man only cared about the boastful bet this young boy had made with him about refining a Burning Flame Pill with Pill Clouds!
Even if Zong Ao was absolutely certain this was impossible, for some reason he couldn’t help holding out a faint hope that Yang Kai really could make him suffer a convincing loss!
The production of Pill Veins had been his lifelong pursuit, for this he had given up lofty status and immense wealth, secluding himself in Alchemy here in this place for a hundred years just to find hope of a more reliable method to produce the illusive Pill Veins and Pill Clouds.
So despite how small this hope was, and even if this boy was just ranting wildly, Zong Ao wanted to see it through to the end, thus he didn’t want Yang Kai to have any accidents.
If Yang Kai were to die, all his worries would have been wasted.
For one month after Yang Kai set up the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags and started cultivating, Zong Ao did not perform any Alchemy, instead just observing him silently from inside his palace. But to Zong Ao’s astonishment, this little brat’s physique and vitality were incomprehensibly stronger than he had anticipated, and the massive amount of World Energy that could easily cause a Saint King Realm cultivator’s body to explode was actually easily accepted by Yang Kai. All of this occurred without any signs of discomfort or distress. Day by day, Zong Ao simply saw how the energy fluctuations coming from Yang Kai grew noticeably stronger.
Not only did this little boy’s face not show the slightest bit of tension, it was instead filled with comfort and joy, making Zong Ao unable to believe his eyes.
As time passed, a pale light halo appeared around Yang Kai’s body. At first this halo wasn’t very obvious, but as more and more aura was injected into it, it became brighter and more vibrant.
The thick World Energy in the surrounding area began to condense into a kind of fog that lingered around him.
Zong Ao’s extensive Medicine Garden was soon submerged in a faint layer of mist and the herbs that were planted began to grow even faster than before.
With such rich World Energy for them to absorb, it would actually be stranger if these herbs didn’t gain some benefits.
For a time, this mountain valley became the place with the densest World Energy aura on all of Rainfall Star; even the great palaces in the mountain range where the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce branch was located couldn’t compare.
Changing the flow of the world’s World Energy to create a rare cultivation paradise with one’s own strength; despite his long life, Zong Ao had never encountered such a strange phenomenon.
“Just who is this boy?” Zong Ao was puzzled and slowly shook his head, knowing his previous worries were completely unnecessary. After one month of observation, he didn’t bother himself with Yang Kai anymore, returning his attention to his Pill Room where he fired up his several dozen pill furnaces again and began his own Alchemy!
He finally understood that Yang Kai’s was nothing short of a monster, and it was impossible for this level of cultivation to cause him any trouble.
Zong Ao clearly saw that Yang Kai was constantly throwing auxiliary cultivation pills into his mouth while exchanging High-Rank Saint Crystals in his hands…
No matter how low his current strength was, Zong Ao concluded that, in the future, this boy would surely become a bright star in the Star Field!
…..
At the same time they were scheduled to deliver herbs to Zong Ao, Lin Mu Feng personally brought along a few special Space Rings.
Inside these Space Rings were all the herbs that Yang Kai had requested in order to save Xue Yue who remained in a coma. Lin Mu Feng and the other executives had used their private fortunes in order to collect these herbs as the situation could not be reported to Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s headquarters.
After purchasing these various herbs, the personal property of the three executives had almost been halved.
Zong Ao accepted the Space Ring and closed the doors of the palace without even inviting Lin Mu Feng inside to sit for a while.
Lin Mu Feng didn’t dare make any complaints, simply standing outside with an awkward look upon his face, his attention soon attracted to the incredibly thick World Energy aura that pervaded the surrounding Medicine Gardens, his eyes brightening when they landed on a certain spot.
Through the World Energy fog, he surprising discovered Yang Kai’s figure.
Which Saint Realm cultivator could engage in such crazy cultivation? Looking at Yang Kai’s posture, it was clear he had been cultivating like this for quite some time, yet he showed no signs of distress. Regardless of anything else, it was apparent that this boy’s physique was extraordinary.
After watching for a while, Lin Mu Feng quietly left without disturbing Yang Kai.
The days passed by as Yang Kai sat in the Medicine Garden, the baby’s face on his chest which had appeared after he consumed the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid greedily devouring World Energy as the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flag drew more of it in.
The role of the Snow Pond Crystal Essence had also continued until this day, not weakening in the slightest and always allowing Yang Kai to maintain a tranquil mental state without any fluctuations.
Yang Kai was still taking supplementary pills one after another and the remains of a few hundred pieces of High-Rank Saint Crystal were piled up beside him!
There had never been a time when Yang Kai and entered such an intense period of cultivation.
His Second-Order Saint Realm cultivation rapidly rose as the amount of power inside his body grew larger and larger, gradually touching the threshold of the Third Order Saint Realm.
One day, a dark Demonic Flame suddenly emerged from his body, swelling up rapidly, as if it wished to burn down the entire world.
Inside the palace, Zong Ao’s expression was solemn as he observed the changes in Yang Kai from far away.
The Demonic Flames grew in size and intensity, gradually bursting out from Yang Kai’s body as if they had a life of their own, condensing into the form of a dragon. At the same time, the Golden Dragon Tattoo swam faster and faster across the surface of Yang Kai’s body.
A loud dragon roar rang out as the Golden Dragon leapt out from Yang Kai’s body and merged with the mass of Demonic Flame.
The jet black dragon, which from time to time emitted a golden halo, soared into the sky and swam through the clouds.
The dragon opened its mouth wide and swallowed massive amounts of World Energy. With each mouthful, the dense mist shrouding the mountain valley became thinner, and after a dozen breaths the scenery had been restored to its original state, all the excess World Energy having been absorbed and assimilated by the black dragon.
Another great dragon roar echoed and the flaming dragon dived down, rushing straight into Yang Kai’s body.
Yang Kai shuddered and an invisible wave of energy centred on him suddenly spread out, kicking up a storm that flung rocks and even trees nearby him into the distance.
Slowly, Yang Kai opened his eyes, a profound light flashing within their depths as the light halo which had been surrounding his body quickly converging and soon disappearing altogether.
Third-Order Saint Realm!
After this intense round of cultivation, Yang Kai had finally stepped into the Third-Order Saint Realm.
Back on Tong Xuan Realm, this level of cultivation would already make him a peak existence, whether it was Demon Commander Zhang Yuan, his four Demon General subordinates, Meng Wu Ya, Chu Ling Xiao, Thunder Dragon, or Old Ox, all of them were Third Order Saints.
Having reached such a realm, there were only slight gaps between each of them.
Today, Yang Kai had finally reached the same height as these masters.
However, in the Star Field, such cultivation was nothing worth speaking of, not even enough to hire oneself to a great force.
The number of cultivators with such cultivations in the Star Field was the same as the number of hairs on an ox, and although they weren’t the lowest and weakest existences, they also didn’t possess any special status.
“Boy, congratulations,” Zong Ao strode over, “Being able to break through to the Third Order Saint Realm in only three months, although you heavily relied on powerful treasures to do so, it is still an accomplishment that greatly surprised this old master. I had originally thought it would take you at least five or six months to reach this point, seems your natural aptitude is quite outstanding.”
“Many thanks, Old Zong,” Yang Kai didn’t get up, simply nodding lightly, not showing much excitement or emotion of any kind, as if everything was as it should be.
Zong Ao was surprised as he realized that Yang Kai’s state of mind did not develop any flaws as a result of his rapid increase in strength. The Snow Pond Crystal Essence had performed its function perfectly.
“Old Zong, is there any word from Ha Li Ka,” Yang Kai asked.
“Lin Mu Feng sent a few rings of herbs over a while ago, but the Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruits are still missing. He said that Ha Li Ka had already had them transferred from the nearby Medicine Star and it would only be a month or two before they arrived,” Zong Ao said indifferently.
Yang Kai nodded gently, although he did not have a deep relationship with Ha Li Ka and the other executives, he also knew that they did not dare act perfunctorily with regards to this matter. The arrival of the Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruits was only a matter of time.
“I’ll go and check up on my Young Lady,” Yang Kai said, standing up without even putting away the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flag.
Inside the room, Xue Yue was still sleeping peacefully, but perhaps because no one had come to attend to her for a long time, a layer of fine dust had covered her enchanting face. Yang Kai found some clean water and washed it off for her.
Perhaps because of the influence of the Snow Pond Crystal Essence, Yang Kai was able to remain indifferent as he performed this action, as if he was treating a stranger.
He had already decided that if he could rescue Xue Yue this time, he would immediately sever their relationship. Regardless of whether she would seek to exact revenge upon him, Yang Kai didn’t want to have anything to do with her.
His intimacy towards Xue Yue was forced, unlike with Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang.
He believed that Xue Yue was the same. With this woman’s demeanour and temperament, once she was freed from the restraints of the Soul Chains, she would likely try to immediately kill him in order to safeguard her many secrets.
Regardless of what reason it was for, she could not allow Yang Kai to continue living in this world, the two of them were destined to be enemies after this brief ceasefire.
After he finished tidying up, Yang Kai went back outside the palace again, sat back down in his previous position, and continued to circulate his Secret Art.
He had just broken through to the Third Order Saint Realm, and even if the Snow Pond Crystal Essence was able to maintain his mental state, allowing him to not worry about flaws in his state of mind, Yang Kai still had to consolidate his foundation as quickly as possible and stride towards the next Great Realm.
He didn’t have high expectations, knowing that within a few years he would have no chance of breaking through to the Saint King Realm. Yang Kai only hoped to advance his cultivation as far as possible so as not to waste the limited time the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid’s effects would last.
Half a month later, the Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruits were delivered by Ha Li Ka as scheduled. After handing them over to Zong Ao, Ha Li Ka only took a glance over at Yang Kai in the distance before quickly departing.
They had done everything they promised, now whether Lady Xue’er could be awoken safely had nothing to do with them.
They could only wait and pray that Zong Ao really had the ability to refine Pill Clouds!
They didn’t know that it was Yang Kai who would be performing this Alchemy and Zong Ao didn’t bother to explain it to them.
Time passed by and another month later, Yang Kai slowly got up, put away the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags, and reluctantly walked back to Zong Ao’s palace.
The cultivation environment he had enjoyed these past few months was no worse than the one on the floating continent and his current Third Order Saint Realm cultivation had been completely consolidated. Now all he needed was a steady accumulation over time and he could attempt to break through to the Saint King Realm.
Yang Kai didn’t know if he would be able to obtain such a good opportunity in the future, so he was naturally reluctant to interrupt his cultivation, but with his life on the line, he had no choice.
Zong Ao seemed to be waiting for him to show his hand, and after Yang Kai entered the palace, the old man tossed over a few Space Rings with a smile on his face and said, “The herbs for the Burning Flame Pill are all here. Ha Li Ka and his bunch really went all out to prepare two thousand sets of materials, all of them Saint King Grade. Now, this old master is eager to see how you can refine a Burning Flame Pill with Pill Clouds.”
“Senior, don’t forget about our bet!” Yang Kai glanced at him lightly, his voice completely calm.
“Good, this old master always means what he says,” Zong Ao coldly snorted, “Are you ready to prepared to spend your life as this old master’s errand boy?”
He was still reluctant to believe that Yang Kai could do what he had said.
“Wait and see!” Yang Kai grinned before putting away the Space Rings and walking inside.
Xue Yue was still the same, breathing smoothly, her vitality strong, so there would be no problem for the time being, but since Zong Ao said that in her current state, she could only live for at most a year and a half, Yang Kai knew this wouldn’t last forever.
Calculating the current time, she only had about a year left.
Yang Kai wasn’t anxious though, his life now depended on refining an appropriate Burning Flame Pill, which meant he had to succeed no matter what.
“Old Zong, I’ll need to borrow your Pill Room,” Yang Kai said as he walked into Zong Ao’s usual Alchemy space.
“As long as you can sincerely convince this old master of your words, you’re free to borrow this place,” Zong Ao followed Yang Kai inside, not showing the slightest trace of politeness, obviously intending to observe and emulate Yang Kai’s methods.
If Yang Kai really possessed a method to refine Pill Clouds, he could study and replicate it. Even if he lost half of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, he would be willing.
Conversely, if Yang Kai was just shamelessly boasting, Zong Ao was happy to watch this joke play out while obtaining a servant he could order around for a lifetime.
Zong Ao was ready for a protracted campaign, and as soon as he entered the Pill Room, he dragged the only chair over and sat down silently, concealing even the sound of his breathing, seemingly unwilling to disturb Yang Kai’s concentration in the slightest, lest it give the young boy an excuse later on.
Yang Kai noticed all this but made no attempt to stop Zong Ao, walking over to the examine the several dozen pill furnaces, reaching out and patting them from time to time, nodding continually, a look of envy appearing in his eyes.
Zong Ao was at least an Origin Grade High-Rank Alchemist, most likely even an Origin King Grade Alchemist. How could his pill furnaces be anything but extraordinary?
There were several dozen pill furnaces here of various sizes, each one of extremely high grade, the lowest still a Saint King Grade High-Rank artifact.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, was still using the small pill furnace left behind by Great Demon God. On Tong Xuan Realm, this small pill furnace was considered quite good, but compared to the ones owned by Zong Ao, it is a person on the ground gazing up at the Heavens, several grades worse at least.
A good pill furnace could greatly improve the stability and fit of an Alchemist’s Spirit Arrays as well as increase the success rate and quality of the refine pills.
Therefore, in addition to their lifetime pursuit of Alchemy, Alchemists would also expend great effort to obtain or refine an excellent pill furnace.
Seeing Zong Ao’s collection of outstanding pill furnaces here, how could Yang Kai not be jealous? He even secretly regretted that he didn’t add these furnaces into their previous bet, wondering if he asked now whether Zong Ao would refuse or not.
After looking around, Yang Kai’s eyes fixed on the highest quality pill furnace, patting it gently and nodding, choosing to use it for the time being.
“Your eyes aren’t bad, little brat,” Zong Ao, who had been watching silently, couldn’t help commenting with a snort upon seeing Yang Kai select his own favourite pill furnace.
Alchemists had special feelings regarding their pill furnaces, many of them even regarding their pill furnaces with the same level of importance as their wife or daughter, something that belonged only to them and who no other was worthy to touch. Whoever dared to covet it, they would be willing to fight all out with.
Probably because he owned so many pill furnaces, Zong Ao didn’t have such an overbearing mentality, but this scene still brought some bitterness to his heart.
Yang Kai pretended he hadn’t heard anything and simply began sorting out the herbs inside the various Space Rings to avoid having to search for them later on when he needed them.
Sitting down cross-legged in front of the pill furnace, Yang Kai’s expression instantly became solemn.
Zong Ao’s eyes brightened and he couldn’t help nodded silently.
This rapid change in temperament and expression alone allowed Zong Ao to understand that Yang Kai was not a novice; this young man had extensive experience in the Alchemic Way. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to assume such a state, completely focused, nothing else existing in the world other than the herbs and furnace in front of him.
Zong Ao himself also entered this state when he was performing Alchemy, so he naturally knew of its rarity and mystery.
However… two thousand sets of materials, repeating the same refinement over and over again. Doing this for an extended period of time would cause anyone to become irritated, breaking their concentration. Once such a situation occurred, it would become impossible to refine a proper pill.
Zong Ao’s thoughts turned over quickly and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, preparing to watch a good show.
A scorching force suddenly spread from Yang Kai, but this force wasn’t Saint Qi or any other kind of physical force, but instead came from his Spiritual Energy from his Knowledge Sea.
“Conflagrated Knowledge Sea?” Zong Ao’s face changed suddenly, his eyes bulging as he couldn’t help calling out in alarm.
His body, which had been reclining in his chair, suddenly sat up and even leaned forward, his neck stretching out as if doing so would allow him to see more clearly.
The expression on Zong Ao’s face changed dramatically, as if he was excited and panic-stricken at the same time, a look of disbelief and even some jealousy appearing in his expression. He even crushed the armrest of his chair, inadvertently.
It was actually a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea!
Zong Ao’s heart flooded with complicated emotions.
As a skilled Alchemist, how could he not know how valuable a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was? Even he didn’t possess such special Spiritual Energy. Conflagrated Knowledge Seas were a rarity, some were innate while others were acquired, but as long as one could obtain a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, it would dramatically improve their Alchemy ability.
With a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, performing Alchemy would become more efficient and effective. In his life, Zong Ao had met one or two Alchemists who possessed Conflagrated Knowledge Seas, each of whom used their special Spiritual Energy to refine pills at a monstrous level of efficiency, making Zong Ao candidly admit his inferiority.
More than two hundred years ago, after witnessing the astonishing methods of a colleague with a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, Zong Ao had devoted himself to finding a way to transform his own Knowledge Sea, seeking out various flame essences and attempting to refine them into his own Soul.
At that time, he barely managed to survive and severely damaged his Knowledge Sea.
Only after several dozen years, taking many elixirs and precious treasures, was he gradually able to recover.
Although he had not been able to mutate his Knowledge Sea, during those few decades of cultivation and recovery, he was able to come up with the idea of mass Alchemy in order to increase the appearance of Pill Veins.
But now, a young man less than thirty years of age actually owned a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea. How could Zong Ao not be envious?
As this envy surged, Zong Ao suddenly recalled all the suffering he had experienced in the past, causing him to shiver in fear as well as eliminate any covetous feelings he might have had.
His eyes shining brightly, Zong Ao watched Yang Kai begin condensing the medical liquids, thinking to himself that Conflagrated Knowledge Seas were indeed worthy of their reputation. This boy’s cultivation wasn’t high, just a recently promoted Third Order Saint; however, under the effects of his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, these Saint Kings Grade herbs were rapidly condensed into pure drops of medical liquid.
Exquisite Spirit Arrays were formed in the air and then inserted into the pill furnace, followed by the condensed medicinal liquids. Although there were some slight flaws in the timing, for someone refining the Burning Flame Pill for the first time it was pretty good.
No Alchemist was immediately proficient in refining pills they had never created before, that required time and experience! Zong Ao was certain this was Yang Kai’s first attempt to refine the Burning Flame Pill, so being able to show this much skill was already beyond his expectations.
Another Spirit Array was depicted and then inserted into the pill furnace, replacing the previous one. The various Spirit Arrays fit perfectly inside the pill furnace and merged with one another, causing the medicinal liquids to undergo subtle and wondrous changes.
“How is that possible?” Zong Ao exclaimed again, unable to understand what he had just witnessed. How could so completely changing the configuration of the Spirit Arrays in the middle of Alchemy not affect the production of a pill?
Although he would sometimes change the Spirit Arrays while in the process of Alchemy, he would do so with extreme care and only chose to do so during moments when the tolerance for error was relatively large.
However, Yang Kai was able to change Spirit Arrays in an unbridled, nearly careless manner, doing so more than a dozen times in quick succession.
Zong Ao wanted to grab Yang Kai immediately and ask him what was happening, but he was also too embarrassed to do so, only able to choke down his doubts and wait while trying to calm his anxious heart.
Inside the Pill Room, Yang Kai waved his hands constantly, portraying one Spirit Array after another, continuing to destroy and replace the ones already inside the Pill Furnace.
When portraying these Spirit Arrays, his Spiritual Energy fluctuations seemed both strong yet delicate all at once.
The longer Zong Ao looked, the more anxious he became, and it wasn’t long before his indifferent facade collapsed. He even recklessly approached Yang Kai in order to get a better view of the Spirit Arrays he was using.
These Spirit Arrays were all familiar to Zong Ao, some of them even his own original creations. It was abundantly clear that this little brat had stolen these Alchemy skills from him and was now using them for his own purposes.
However, these Spirit Arrays which were so familiar to Zong Ao were actually undergoing some profound and mysterious changes after being inserted by Yang Kai into the pill furnace, allowing the medicinal liquids to churn and condense in subtly different ways. Soon, a rich pill fragrance began to diffuse.
Zong Ao showed a thoughtful expression, faintly feeling like a crack had opened up in the barriers which barred his own advancement; he wanted to peer through this crack more clearly but was unable to immediately force it open, nearly causing him to stamp his foot in annoyance.
He was a true Alchemy Grandmaster, and in terms of true Alchemy skills and techniques, was far beyond Yang Kai.
But now, observing Yang Kai’s completely different methods, Zong Ao’s eyes brightened up. Sometimes, even an inadvertent action by others could bring about unexpected gains to another, allowing them to fall into a state of epiphany.
Therefore, as each new era developed, new Alchemy methods also appeared and developed, and over the countless years, countless Alchemists had created countless branches of Alchemy, each with their own unique Spirit Arrays.
Even someone as knowledgeable as Zong Ao didn’t dare claim to have mastered all Alchemy skills in existence; he still continued to explore his own path in an attempt to pursue his goals.
After a hundred years of near secluded Alchemy, his thinking had become somewhat rigid, so seeing Yang Kai’s actions now had brought him many inspirations related to all aspects of Alchemy, even ones that Yang Kai’s current process had nothing to do with.
“Keep refining, what are you stopping for?” In his agitated state, feeling like he was on the cusp of multiple new discoveries, Zong Ao suddenly found that Yang Kai had actually stopped his movements and couldn’t help speaking up.
“Old Zong, can you be quiet? With you acting like this… I can’t focus on Alchemy,” Yang Kai frowned at him.
Zong Ao’s face blushed bright red, unable and unwilling to say anything.
He then noticed that from inside the pill furnace in front of Yang Kai, a burnt smell was wafting out, and the medicinal liquids which had been tumbling about had all become useless. Apparently, this Alchemy attempt had failed, wasting the batch of herbs.
“Such a result is inevitable for a first attempt,” Trying to cover up his embarrassment for disturbing Yang Kai’s Alchemy, Zong Ao actually took the initiative to speak a few words of comfort before waving his hand, “Good, this old master will sit back down and promises to not disturb you anymore. Go ahead and continue!”
Saying so, he walked back to his chair and sat down, concealing his aura again.
If he didn’t look back now, Yang Kai wouldn’t even be able to notice Zong Ao’s existence, it was clear this old man’s cultivation was far above his own.
Yang Kai shook his head. Through these days of contact, he had discovered that although Zong Ao had a strange temperament, his obsession with the Alchemic Way was incredibly strong. Anything to do with Alchemy could arouse his interest. If this weren’t the case, he wouldn’t have remained in isolation here for a hundred years just to further his pursuit of Alchemy.
As long as he could refine one or two pills that formed Pill Veins, he would be extremely excited.
Such people seem unfriendly and indifferent, but they weren’t difficult to deal with. As long as one could win their favour, they would be easier to get along with than anyone else.
Yang Kai had encountered many such people before so he knew how to cope with them.
Yang Kai wasn’t worried about Zong Ao stealing his Alchemy skills because, in front of Zong Ao, he couldn’t stop him no matter how he tried.
To Yang Kai, he also did not care much about keeping his Alchemy skills secret. However much Zong Ao could learn from observing and emulating was fine with him.
What Yang Kai was concerned about was the Profound Yin Sunflower Water!
After clearing the burnt dregs from the pill furnace, Yang Kai started refining a Burning Flame Pill again.
The first refining failing just now was not because of Zong Ao’s interruption. Even if Zong Ao was shouting loudly, he wouldn’t have been able to break Yang Kai’s concentration. When he was in Nine Heavens Holy Land, every time Yang Kai performed Alchemy, several people would be around him studying his methods and conversing endlessly. Yang Kai would even join these conversations at times and answer questions he was asked. He had long ago gotten used to this.
In truth, Yang Kai failed to refine the Burning Flame Pill just now because it was his first attempt and he had yet to master the necessary control and timing.
During the second refining, Yang Kai had learned a lot, and although it still failed in the end, it did not dampen his enthusiasm.
After the third refining failed at the last moment, Yang Kai’s expression became more confident. He felt that he had understood the full process required to complete the Burning Flame Pill.
Finally, on the fourth attempt, a rich pill scent filled the air and Yang Kai successfully extracted a Burning Flame Pill from the furnace.
Yang Kai placed the warm pill in a prepared jade bottle. Before Yang Kai had enough time to even catch his breath before it was taken away by Zong Ao. After only one glance, Zong Ao threw the jade bottle back, snorting as he commented, “You succeeding after only four attempts isn’t bad little boy, but you couldn’t even form Pill Veins, so how do you expect to refine Clouds?”
“What’s the hurry? This is just the beginning,” Yang Kai smiled, ignored him, and continued onto the next refinement without even a break.
The disdain on Zong Ao’s face gradually converged and was replaced with solemnity as he grumbled in his heart.
When it came to speed, a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was truly a terrifying tool for Alchemy.
Even if he had taken action personally, Zong Ao estimated it would take him a stick of incense worth of time to refine a Burning Flame Pill, but this little brat’s first success actually only required an hour.
By comparison, an hour seemed quite long, but Zong Ao knew better than anyone that if it only took this long for this little brat on his first time, as he became more adept at refining the Burning Flame Pill, that time would rapidly shrink and may even become indistinguishable from his own.
In terms of cultivation Alchemy level, or even time spent studying the Alchemic Way, Zong Ao far, far exceeded Yang Kai, but very soon it was possible he could refine the same pill in the same amount of time.
What kind of concept was that?
Zong Ao was immediately envious of Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Knowledge Sea again, anxious to take it for his own use, but when he remembered the pain he had experienced all those years ago, he managed to bear it.
Days passed by.
Every day, Yang Kai would refine ten Burning Flame Pills, no more, no less. After refining these ten pills, he would sit in cross-legged meditation immediately and, while restoring his Spiritual Energy, would reflect upon his Alchemy process, improve his understanding.
During this time, Zong Ao didn’t bother Yang Kai and was also often lost in his own contemplations.
Since Yang Kai began, Zong Ao had not performed Alchemy even once, spending each day watching Yang Kai repeat the process of refining the same type of pill over and over and over again, seemingly without end.
But not only did Zong Ao not feel bored, he rather enjoyed watching.
The frequent replacement of Spirit Arrays inside the pill furnace Yang Kai performed had seemingly opened up a new avenue in Alchemy for Zong Ao. He had never before thought of replacing the composite Spirit Array while refining a pill over a dozen times.
Yang Kai’s bizarre and seemingly eccentric methods gave Zong Ao a sense of excitement and he felt as if the clouds obscuring his view were clearing, allowing the bright rays of the moon to shine in.
As a top-level Alchemy Grandmaster, Zong Ao’s thoughts and ideas expanded far beyond what Yang Kai had demonstrated to him and he faintly felt the mental block that had bound him for many years show signs breaking.
This discovery made Zong Ao’s blood boil.
One month passed by, and Yang Kai had now successfully refined three hundred Burning Flame Pills. When each pill was refined, Zong Ao would grab it and inspect it, but to his surprise, all three hundred Burning Flame Pills Yang Kai had produced were just ordinary pills.
Yang Kai’s tone had been so confident before, that Zong Ao had believed he possessed some kind of extraordinary ability that would at least occasionally allow him to refine Burning Flame Pills with Pill Veins.
But among the three hundred pills, not even one was formed with Pill Veins.
Zong Ao couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed and finally asked, “Little brat, can you even refine Pill Veins? If you just want to rely on luck to form Pill Clouds, this old master advises you to give up. During this old master’s lifetime of Alchemy, even if he hasn’t produced a million pills, he has at least produced several hundred thousand, but out of all those, only a handful formed Pill Clouds, and their grades were not high. Do you want to produce Pill Clouds within just two thousand attempts? Wishful thinking!”
“I don’t intend to rely on luck,” Yang Kai smiled, “The first three hundred pills were just for me to familiarize myself with the process.”
“Become familiar with the process?” Zong Ao looked at him suspiciously.
“Now I know how to refine the Burning Flame Pill at the fastest speed and with the optimal Spirit Arrays, so the important part comes next.”
Zong Ao frowned, wondering what Yang Kai was planning.
Over the past month, the speed at which he refined Burning Flame Pills had indeed grown faster and faster. In the beginning, it had taken Yang Kai an hour to make a single pill, now he didn’t even need half an hour, and Zong Ao believed that as long as Yang Kai continued, this time would eventually be shortened to an amazing degree.
What surprised Zong Ao the most however was not Yang Kai’s Alchemy speed, but his success rate.
After the first three pills failed to be refined by him, Yang Kai suddenly seemed to have reached completely mastery, never again failing to successfully refine a pill.
Zong Ao was nearly shocked to death by Yang Kai!
Even if it was him, some unexpected conditions would inevitably occur during Alchemy, causing him to fail and burn the medicinal liquids. Such a situation basically could not be avoided by any Alchemist.
However, this kind of common sense seemed to not apply to Yang Kai. Every batch of herbs become a pill, and although the quality of those pills differed slightly due to adjustments in temperature and timing, as time passed, the quality of the Burning Flame Pills refined was on average improving, nearly fully utilizing the medicinal efficacies of the herbs.
[Is this the true terrifying merit of possessing a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea?] Zong Ao thought to himself absentmindedly.
Inside the Pill Room, Yang Kai was sweating profusely as one pill after another was refined from his hands. Zong Ao’s eyes widened and he stared at Yang Kai fixedly.
As the sun set over the mountain valley, today’s Alchemy came to an end and Yang Kai put away the last pill without so much as a glance, placed the jade bottle on the ground, and kept a cross-legged sitting posture, popping a pill into his mouth to restore the Spiritual Energy he had consumed.
Zong Ao flew over in a flurry and unceremoniously grabbed the jade bottle, opening it and pouring out the ten pills refined today to carefully inspect them.
“How can this be? How can this be?” After a while, Zong Ao muttered to himself in a daze, his face filled with disbelief. It seemed that these ten pills had given him a great shock, even threatening to crumble his hundred years of unshaken conviction.
His face suddenly became a little pale as he stared over towards Yang Kai, a bitter smile creeping onto his face as he sank to the ground, as if he had lost all his strength.
Of these ten pills, three had formed Pill Veins!
This kind of success rate was something beyond Zong Ao’s wildest imagination.
He was a supreme Alchemy Grandmaster, and after several dozen years of dedicated contemplation, he had finally come up with an Alchemy method to achieve success in this field through sheer quantity. He had come to Rainfall Star to take advantage of the herbs provided by Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, then consumed enormous amounts of effort for nearly a hundred years in continuous Alchemy, refining dozens of pills at the same time.
And even with all that, only when his luck was extremely good would he be able to refine three pills which formed Pill Veins at once. Sometimes, when his luck was bad, not even one such pill would appear.
But this little brat, through the method Zong Ao had once discarded, refining only one pill at a time, had actually managed to form Pill Veins with a thirty percent success rate.
This situation had not just occurred once or twice though, it had been happening consistently for nearly a month!
Every day Yang Kai refined ten pills, no more, no less, and among these ten, two or three pills would invariably form Pill Veins!
This gave Zong Ao an enormous shock as well as attack.
It had been two months since Yang Kai started to refine Burning Flame Pills. At first, when Yang Kai refined three hundred ordinary Burning Flame Pills, Zong Ao had mocked him fiercely, thinking he couldn’t even form Pill Veins, let alone Pill Clouds.
However, ever since the second month, this little brat’s actions had thoroughly shredded Zong Ao’s pride.
On the first day of the second month, Yang Kai refined two Burning Flame Pills which formed Pill Veins. Zong Ao praised him slightly, but still held onto his mentality of disdain, thinking he had just gotten lucky.
On the second day of the second month, when Yang Kai replicated these results, Zong Ao’s disdain disappeared.
On the third day, it was still the same, and Zong Ao could no longer sit still.
Finally today, Zong Ao felt as if he was on the verge of going insane.
A hundred years of persistence in his own philosophy felt as if were being struck by thunder and lightning every day Yang Kai refined these ten pills, all traces of confidence and pride evaporating from his body.
If Pill Veins were so easy to form, just what had he been doing for the past century?
Zong Ao’s efforts to develop a unique mass production Alchemy method seemed like a childish waste of time in the face of these Burning Flame Pills formed with Pill Veins.
Holding the slightly warm jade bottle, Zong Ao’s hand trembled and disregarding Yang Kai’s meditation to restore himself, he stroke over in front of him and anxiously said, “Boy, tell this old master what it is he is missing. Why are you able to refine so many pills which form Pill Veins?”
Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of Zong Ao’s bloodshot gaze, as if the latter had not had a good night’s rest in years.
Zong Ao had been contemplating this very issue for some time now, but no matter how he thought about it, he was unable to understand what Yang Kai had done which allowed him to so easily refine Pill Veins, causing his eyes to literally go red with jealousy.
“No idea, just luck I guess.”
Hearing Yang Kai’s blatantly perfunctory words, Zong Ao snorted, “Don’t think this old master is a fool, how could I not see that this has nothing to do with luck? Boy, don’t try to feign ignorance, explain clearly, this old master will compensate you.”
Right now, Zong Ao wished he could barge into Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea and spy on his consciousness.
Yang Kai shook his head, “Old Zong, you also know that each school treats its Alchemy skills as treasures and will not divulge them to outsiders…”
“Smelly brat, didn’t you snoop around this old master’s Medicine Garden Spirit Arrays? Didn’t you read many of the ancient books in this old master’s study? When did this old master ever raise any objections while you pilfered those secrets?”
“Old Zong’s words are misplaced, as an illustrious Grandmaster, it is Old Zong’s duty to guide and instruct the younger generation, and besides, what I was able to learn was nothing more than some general knowledge and peripheral techniques, nothing even worth concealing. On the other hand, my method for producing Pill Veins is different, it is the very core inheritance of my school, how could it be compared with those Spirit Arrays? “
“This old master doesn’t care, if you don’t explain clearly today, this old master will open your skull and search your Soul!”
Such shamelessness, totally disregarding face!
Hearing this threat, Yang Kai felt great disdain in his heart.
However, he also knew that Zong Ao was just blowing hot air. With Zong Ao’s identity and strength, if he really wanted to force Yang Kai to explain his methods, there was no need for him to get so worked up or make such a force, he could simply take action.
Zong Ao acting in such a fluster now was because, despite being at his wit’s end, he had determined he could not resort to violence. He was simply extremely jealous of this method of refining Pill Veins, to the extent that he was willing to disregard his face as a Senior.
“At worst… this old master can worship you as his teacher!” Zong Ao snorted, his face completely solemn as if he saw nothing wrong with this statement at all.
Yang Kai gawked at him in shock, never having expected him to utter such shameless words, even feeling a hint of admiration.
Still, he shook his head, “Old Zong, it’s not that Junior can’t make an exception and enlighten you, it’s just that this method can’t be used by others.”
Back in Nine Heavens Holy Land, Yang Kai had freely taught the Alchemy Grandmasters of Tong Xuan Realm his method to refine Pill Veins, and although they had some gains, none of them could even approach Yang Kai’s level of skill. Only when Xia Ning Chang arrived did Yang Kai find a partner he could discuss this method with as an equal.
In the end, this was related to the magical properties of his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea.
“Whether others can learn your methods or not is up to them, this old master will figure something out on his own, you need not worry about my success or failure!” Zong Ao said with great determination, compared to learning this secret, his face was worthless.
Yang Kai felt helpless as he knew such a situation would occur, hesitating for a moment before saying, “Old Zong, how about we do an exchange?”
“What kind of exchange? What else do you want to take from this old master?”
“Your method of mass Alchemy, I want it,” Yang Kai said bluntly.
Yang Kai had never met anyone who could use several dozen pill furnaces all at once. Zong Ao’s Alchemy technique was both skilful and refined, enough so for him to open up his own school of Alchemy, Yang Kai very much wished to learn this method.
Using just his Saint Qi, Zong Ao was able to perform several dozen different Alchemy refinements at the same time.
Yang Kai could use both Saint Qi and Spiritual Energy to perform Alchemy, once he studied Zong Ao’s method, using it shouldn’t be an issue.
“See for yourself!” In a flash of light, Zong Ao extracted a plain-looking book from his Space Ring and tossed it over to Yang Kai without any hesitation.
Yang Kai caught it and flipped through a few pages, quickly determining that this was indeed the Alchemy method that Zong Ao pioneered. There was a detailed introduction to it as well as many explanations, presumably Zong Ao had written this book with the intention to one day pass it on to his disciples.
Now it had fallen into Yang Kai’s hands.
Yang Kai nodded lightly before storing the book into his own Space Ring, scratching his nose as he said, “These pill furnaces…”
“I’ll give you ten!” Zong Ao waved his hand, and although he spoke boldly, his face was still twitching.
It was obvious to anyone he was extremely distressed.
In order to collect these dozens of pill furnaces, Zong Ao had travelled far and wide to collect appropriate materials in order to refine them, nearly dying several times. After he had collected the materials, he had personally found a Grandmaster Artifact Refiner he was acquainted with to create them.
It could be said that each pill furnace was the crystallization of Zong Ao’s blood and sweat, a testimony to years of his hard work!
Now though he actually had to offer up ten of them to this brat, making him feel as if his heart was bleeding.
“Half!” Yang Kai raised a finger and swung it.
Zong Ao stared at him with even redder eyes, his face growing pale, seemingly on the verge of biting his head off, but after a long pause, he nodded, “Fine, half!”
In any case, when this little brat failed to refine a Burning Flame Pill with Pill Clouds, he would become his lifetime servant. When that happened, wouldn’t Zong Ao still own these things? Zong Ao had never been optimistic about Yang Kai’s chances, even if he had received tremendous shock this past month.
Only if Yang Kai’s luck was truly Heaven defying could he somehow manage to refine Pill Clouds, and if that were to happen, Zong Ao wouldn’t have anything to say.
However, such a chance was too slim.
Yang Kai smiled widely, not having expected these negotiations to go so smoothly. He had thought that after living in isolation for so long, and with his pride as a Grandmaster Alchemist, Zong Ao’s personal and negotiation skills wouldn’t be good, but how could Yang Kai have known they would actually be so terrible?
“Old Zong, have you never thought about engraving a Spirit Array into a pill just as it was about to form? To put it plainly, Pill Veins are simply a type of profound Spirit Array, if they weren’t, how would they be able to maintain a pill’s efficacy over vast stretches of time?” Yang Kai said to him with a smile.
“Engraving a Spirit Array into a pill?” Zong Ao’s eyes widened, parroting these words back as a look of shock filled his face. At that moment, the shackles and barriers which had fettered him for so many years were torn asunder, allowing him to gaze upon a wider world he could swim and soar through freely.
Alchemist needed Spirit Arrays to perform Alchemy, Artifact Refiners also needed to use Spirit Arrays in Artifact Refining. Many of the basic Spirit Arrays were even the same, but since ancient times, Alchemists and Artifact Refiners had thought of Spirit Arrays as auxiliaries to the refinement process. During a refinement, various materials were perfectly integrated through the power of various Spirit Arrays to allow them to achieve their peak effect.
No one had ever told Zong Ao that a Spirit Array which was designed to aid in Alchemy could be inscribed into a pill.
“Old Zong, perhaps you consider Pill Veins to be something generated naturally, but when I engage in Alchemy, I try to deliberately form Pill Veins. However, this process requires the use of a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, only a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea can rapidly and perfectly portray an appropriate Spirit Array at the moment a pill is formed. I don’t know if Saint Qi can be substituted for Spiritual Energy in this process, but with this method, the probability of you refining Pill Veins should be higher than your current method.”