At the gates of Elder Byeong’s vast palace... Ling and Ni Ni Layan arrived together before the entrance. Ling opened the gate, trying his best to smile as he did so.
Once opened, he stepped inside, allowing Ni Ni Layan to see the palace courtyard before her. It was incredibly spacious. On both sides of the path, servants and workers stood in two rows, bowing deeply to her.
She entered, looking around with skeptical eyes.
"My Lady, look around you. Everyone here is bowing to you because you’re their savior."
Ni Ni Layan didn’t show the slightest hint of interest.
"When will Morse arrive?"
Ling’s expression remained fixed, unmoving.
"Don’t worry, My Lady, Morse will be here soon. Please, step into the Elder’s wing so he can thank you personally."
Ni Ni Layan’s golden pupils pierced through Ling’s eyes. He felt an extrely uncomfortable sensation, as if soone were looking directly into his soul.
"Does My Lady need anything? We’d be happy to serve her."
Ling realized that this woman before him was more powerful than him by every asure, despite the relative closeness of their stages—since he was in the Mid-Stage of the Spirit Palace. However, he felt as if her aura... it was sothing older, deeper, and more mysterious than anything he’d ever seen in his life.
"Show the way, then."
Ling stepped forward, ascending the stairs with Ni Ni Layan. On the second floor, she watched the alchemy furnaces and the alchemists as they brewed herbs. They were all moving together in perfect harmony.
In front of each of them...
...The alchemy furnace before him was emitting a scorching heat.
"Are you interested in alchemy?"
Ling Niang stopped walking as he watched her eyes scanning the alchemists at the cauldrons.
"They’re performing the formations incorrectly."
Ling Niang’s smile was on the verge of cracking. He thought that, being a genius, she was simply showing great arrogance.
"The alchemists here are elites, My Lady. They were trained by a sky-grade alchemist. The Master spent a fortune to hire him. You can look at the badges of the Alchemist Guild; they’re professionals."
Ni Ni Layan’s eyes wandered over the arms and hands of these alchemists... the movents... the channeled energy. Suddenly, she raised her finger with utter coldness and pointed it toward one of the furnaces.
"This furnace will explode in three... two... one..."
BOOM!
In a way that neither Ling nor Elder Byeong—who was monitoring the scene with his spiritual sense—expected, the exact furnace she pointed at exploded, releasing a deep cloud of black smoke into the face of the alchemist sitting before it.
"How...?"
The two of them thought at the exact sa ti. Ni Ni moved her hands, performing a series of hand signs.
"The na of the pill he was just making is the Green Rubble Pill. The main ingredient is the Green Reaper Herb, which follows the lunar path in its life cycle. When it reaches its peak, it dies shortly after due to its lunar nature. The technique used in preparation is an unconscious style from a version of the Hang Ayian Records for dealing with lunar herbs. The twelfth strike is supposed to take three breaths, and then the Lunar Wheel stops at the True Lunar Path on the fifth strike during purification. What he did was simply ignore all of that."
When Ling Niang heard her explanation, he couldn’t believe it; he felt she was lying to him. He knew she was an expert in arrays, but possessing this level of knowledge in alchemy? Impossible.
The Elder didn’t believe what he heard either and commanded Ling via telepathy to go and verify the truth of what she was saying.
When Ling Niang headed toward the alchemist who was busy wiping his clothes...
"Co with ."
The alchemist looked at him with a look of resentnt, as if he couldn’t stand the sight of him. "I’m sorry, sir, I’ll pay for the materials..."
"Listen, just follow the instructions without a word if you don’t want to lose your job here."
The alchemist nodded quickly as he followed Ling Niang, who placed him at a new furnace. "Try again... but wait. Fix this."
Ling began to repeat exactly what Ni Ni Layan had said, word for word. The man listened and looked at the furnace; he realized what he was feeling—it was enlightennt.
"Master Ning is truly amazing, he realized my mistakes imdiately! Thank you so much."
The alchemist lit the fire under watchful eyes and began to control it, beads of sweat appearing on his face. He controlled the fire with his hand, adding the ingredients. He raised the flas, completed the strikes of the lunar cycle, and the wheel was finished. The formation beca perfect.
A mont later...
Ling Niang stared at the pill that erged from the cauldron, glowing before his eyes. The Green Rubble Pill of the Lowest Bronze Grade had beco High Bronze Grade.
The purity of the pill had increased with just a few instructions. It was beyond expectations. An average alchemist would take four years just to learn the theoretical knowledge, then two years preparing non-spiritual herbs before qualifying as a professional to forge spiritual herbs—and even then, the failure rate was over 70%.
If a Bronze Grade pill seed impossible, how could this girl—known as an array expert who had killed Nascent Soul realm experts—possess such alchemical knowledge? Who could believe this?
Ni Ni Layan approached them. She walked toward the man standing before the furnace, who was overjoyed with the pill. He saw before him the most beautiful woman his eyes had ever seen. She pointed at the pill.
"Do you want to upgrade it to the Silver Level?"
She pointed at the pill with extre coldness, as if she wasn’t even interested.
"Calm down, My Lady... upgrading pills is sothing for Masters who have spent most of their lives in alchemy. You’ve proven your ability, fine, that’s enough."
It was as if Ling’s words didn’t affect her gaze at the alchemist, who nodded in agreent and returned the pill to the furnace, his hand trembling. He was still a new professional and wasn’t confident in his ability.
Ni Ni Layan stood behind him, staring at the flas.
"Steady your hand. Deconstruct the rules; create the Black Logger’s Triangle. Direct the strike to the Storm Point... direct the strike to the Horizon Point."
Spiritual pills had divisions for strikes, like human pressure points, called Gem Points. The alchemist followed her words to the letter. The furnace began to burn higher and higher before his face.
"Control the flas well. Don’t lose focus."
His mind was racing. He began to compress spiritual energy, shaping the formations. His gaze trembled, and his body beca like a slave to her commands, obeying without a word.
"Add the Crying Baby Herb... add the Cold Death Flower."
The flas began to stir as if they were about to explode. He was truly on the verge of losing control; it was too difficult.
"Finally... add the Moist Wood Herb and the Crystal Core Herb."
Everyone watching froze. These two herbs together caused an inevitable, instant explosive effect that could destroy the place. It was an unparalleled risk.
"But My Lady... it’s dangerous!"
"Do as I say."
As if he had no right to object, he could only obey. He placed the two herbs under the gazes of those who had already fled and moved away. Everyone watched and anticipated the dazzling scene of the flas dancing with his spiritual fist, and the spiritual power they felt emanating from the furnace.
Everyone watching gasped. They hadn’t seen a sight like this in ages. It was as if alchemy had transford from a series of tasteless movents into a rhythmic symphony of fla and spiritual power that shook their long-numbed souls.
"Is this the alchemy I once knew...?"
The furnace quieted down. Under everyone’s gaze, directed toward the furnace, lay the Pure Rubble Pill—of the Silver Grade. It was created with half the ingredients and half the spiritual power an alchemist usually required, and by a freshly graduated alchemist at that.
She had perford this miracle right before their eyes.
"Am I truly alive to witness this? It’s amazing..."
The other alchemists had abandoned their work, focusing entirely on her as she stood there with the pill still in the furnace. Ling Niang stood with his jaw dropped, while Elder Byeong was laughing maniacally with joy at this unparalleled talent.
{Hooray... the Host is truly a legendary person!}
Even Ling Niang began to applaud, not even fully realizing the depth of the achievent. Her cold gaze, despite what she had done, made her seem like a celestial fairy who remained indifferent to everything.
She began to walk away from the eyes that were eager to run after her for guidance or just a single question. Ling Niang followed her imdiately, while the alchemist she had just guided ran after her.
"My Lady, My Lady... please wait! Take this.. I don’t need it."
He fell to his knees, offering the pill to her with utter respect.
"You are the one who created it; it belongs to you."
The alchemist refused categorically.
"Without My Lady, I wouldn’t have been able to do this. I cannot accept this as an alchemist... please, accept it."
She extended her hand before her; Ni Ni Layan couldn’t refuse him and took the pill. Afterward, she walked away as she and Ling Niang headed toward the room of the Elder, who was waiting.
Reviews
All reviews (0)