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One week later, in a tranquil mountain range, Qian Renhan stood with black Dou Qi swirling around both hands. Encased within that Dou Qi was the raw material for a fourth-grade pill, and surrounding it hovered a pill furnace solidified from ice-attribute Dou Qi.
Since the Black Sovereign Pavilion auction ended, Qian Renhan had retooled his cultivation by studying the quasi-Earth–level technique he acquired from Canaan Academy. He practiced the combat skills he'd looted from Yi Chen, then decided to attempt a new alchemical method inspired by his observations of Gu He's refinement process.
His plan was simple: use Dark-attribute Dou Qi to extract a herb's medicinal essence, collect the resulting potion, and—once the liquid had formed via chemical reaction—freeze it solid with Ice-attribute Dou Qi so it bonded into a single pill.
After countless trials, it worked. Before him lay a scattered heap of imperfect pills: not perfectly round, lacking aroma, and their potency only reached the seventh layer that conventional fire-based refinement achieved.
No matter how much effort he poured in, he could not improve further. Even if he consulted Han Feng—the Pill Emperor—there was no explanation. His first batch had been ugly and only three layers strong.
Frustrated, Qian Renhan decided that seven layers were better than nothing. On the Dou Qi Continent, only two alchemists—Han Feng and Xiao Yan—could match his martial prowess in pill refinement, and both relied on Ember Techniques plus Conflagration Flames.
Armed with the Eight-Grade Alchemist's Handbook, Qian Renhan had stormed through first- to third-grade pills and then hit a wall at fourth-grade Peiyuan Dan, burning through mountains of herbs.
As he resumed refining another Peiyuan Dan, the space behind him rippled. A young girl in white drifted into view, just reaching his waist. She looked no older than twelve or thirteen, her long pale-purple hair cascading to her waist. Her cheeks were as smooth as carved jade, and her large, dark eyes fixed on the pile of pills beside Qian Renhan. She blinked once, as though ensnared by their fragrance.
Watching Qian Renhan's focused back, the girl giggled softly. She licked her lips and reached out with her delicate, milky-white hand toward the pills.
When her fingertip was still an inch away, Qian Renhan casually tapped her forehead with one finger. Dou Qi surged in an instant, sending the girl flying into a boulder ten meters away.
He glanced at her without a hint of emotion, feeling a flicker of surprise at the strange fondness that had made him use almost no force. Adorable? Hardly. His own sister, Qian Renxue, had been chubby-cheeked and clingy enough to call out "Brother, brother" every day—and he barely tolerated her. As for that voluptuous temptress Hu Liena, he would've kicked her away without hesitation. Why should this unknown girl earn his indulgence?
The girl rose, brushed dust from her clothes, and glared at him with childish defiance. "You hit me! Just wait—when I grow up, I'll eat you alive!"
Unfazed, Qian Renhan returned to his furnace. Although he possessed the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda Sect's split-focus technique, pill refinement relied on soul-force perception. A single lapse in concentration—especially on a fourth-grade pill—could ruin the entire batch.
The girl straightened, preparing to fan out through her innate spatial ability, when her nose twitched. She inhaled deeply, detecting a fragrance even richer than the nearby pills. Her mouth watered, and she brought her hand to her lips, unable to restrain her longing.
She'd rarely tasted refined pills—those elders hoarded them, never allowing her to "take," or rather, steal them.
"Fourth-grade Peiyuan Dan. A pill to fortify one's foundation and boost cultivation. Finally succeeded, though only a single dose of raw materials remains," Qian Renhan murmured, sealing the last herb in a jade vial. The sub–fourth-grade pills lay strewn nearby, tossed aside in casual display. Later he'd organize them in jars.
Just as he prepared to refine the final Peiyuan Dan, the girl tiptoed to within a meter and asked softly, "Senior, may I taste these pills? I'll pay you."
Qian Renhan produced the last vial of fourth-grade herbs and said evenly, "I don't need money. Don't get in my way."
Her eyes lit up. "Senior, you're an alchemist—could I trade you raw materials for pills?"
He nodded once. "Yes."
The light on Qian Renhan's storage ring flared, revealing pill recipes for enhancing cultivation—from third to sixth grade—limited to what he knew.
Adhering to the "every bit counts" principle, Qian Renhan actually wanted recipes for second-grade pills too, but, regrettably, he had none.
"Fetch these ingredients for me," he said, "and I'll trade pills of equivalent value."
"All right, Senior. Consider it done."
The girl accepted the recipes with delight. Her space ability rippled, and she vanished.
Qian Renhan frowned. Her mastery of spatial techniques even surpassed what he'd learned from Emperor Tian and the Silver Dragon King. Could this girl possibly be…?
From then on, the girl brought him piles of herbs every day, and Qian Renhan handed over corresponding pills in exchange.
A few days later, Ziyan sat nearby, propping her head in her hand as she watched Qian Renhan refine pills. She chewed on one and said, "Senior, your pills are icy-cool, with a layer of frost outside—nothing like the ones those old alchemists make. But I think yours taste better and have more chew."
"Quiet," he replied.
Her lips puckered. This senior's temper was stranger than any of the Refinement Elders—like a block of ice. Beyond trading ingredients, he wouldn't speak another word. After all these days, he'd never even asked her name. Her name was Ziyan, a pretty name, but he never inquired.
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Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. It had been a month since Qian Renhan slew the Gu Clan pursuers.
In that time, he'd learned to refine fifth-grade pills. After all, his soul force and Dou Qi control were exceptional, and he had the Eight-Grade Alchemist's Handbook—pill mastery only required practice and time.
Besides trading with Ziyan, he asked her to auction off his misfired pills at the Blackhorn Pavilion to swap for needed herbs. Herb-to-pill prices were in entirely different tiers, and Ziyan's herb deliveries were almost all ones he could successfully refine—so his profits were substantial. It explained why alchemists grew so wealthy.
Of course, Qian Renhan wasn't greedy for petty gains. Having Ziyan fetch herbs at Blackhorn also served another purpose: if anyone dared harass her and try to cheat her, he'd strike them down and consume their cultivation. After what happened with Yi Chen at the auction, the entire Blackhorn Region feared him too much to cause trouble.
Another week would pass. If no major prey appeared, he would begin cultivating the Heavenly Underworld Fiend Arts.
(End of Chapter)