Chapter 23: Senior Brother, You Gave Me All the Elixirs—What Will You Do?

Yang Fan truly meant well; there was nothing else behind his words.

“The status of a Medicine Refining Disciple is enough for you to come to the Alchemy Hall and craft any pills you need at your leisure,” he explained. “With your talent in alchemy and cultivation, as long as you lack no resources, you should be able to advance to the inner sect fairly quickly. By then, it won’t seem abrupt for you to become an alchemist.”

In Yang Fan’s eyes, Cao Xuan possessed impressive talent, could refine pills, and lacked no resources. He couldn’t help but feel envious—if he had such abilities back then, he’d likely have reached the Foundation Establishment stage already, piled high with resources.

Still, cultivation takes time, and resources aren’t accumulated overnight. Even if Cao Xuan could make pills, amassing wealth would take several years before he could break through to the seventh layer of Qi Refinement. By then, it would all seem quite natural.

At the moment, Cao Xuan had already caused quite a stir in the Alchemy Hall. No doubt, many were waiting to see him make a fool of himself—someone who couldn’t even pass the Medicine Refining Disciple’s assessment, leaving the hall with his tail between his legs.

If he were to take the alchemist’s assessment now, everyone would suspect foul play behind the scenes. Many veteran inner sect disciples, even those at the seventh or eighth layer of Qi Refinement, remained stuck as Medicine Refining Disciples, unable to successfully craft a pill. The number who failed at the forming stage was not small.

For someone at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement like Cao Xuan to become an alchemist—Yang Fan could imagine the jealousy and hidden attacks he’d face. He himself had been envied by many when he became an alchemist; that wasn’t a pleasant experience. Only after years of accumulating resources as an alchemist and breaking through to the eighth layer did the gossip finally die down.

Cao Xuan was unaware of the myriad thoughts running through Yang Fan’s mind. He simply took out a superior-grade Qi Gathering Pill and began cultivating while restoring his spiritual energy.

“The first time I drained my spiritual energy dry, I feel utterly spent,” he mused.

Yang Fan did not hurry to leave. Instead, he stood there, replaying and analyzing Cao Xuan’s pill refining process. It was as if Cao Xuan were the real alchemist, and he was the mere Medicine Refining Disciple.

A series of notifications flashed before Cao Xuan’s eyes, but none shook his cultivation state.

He felt as though he was soaring; compared to the past two and a half years, the effects were night and day.

“What a pity—my talent is still lacking. Even with all these buffs stacked, I’m only about equal to an average genius’s normal cultivation speed.”

An hour later, Cao Xuan opened his eyes. His spiritual energy was fully restored, and his cultivation at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement had improved yet again.

“If I cultivate exclusively with superior-grade Qi Gathering Pills, at my current efficiency, I could break through to the fifth layer in about two months.”

He was stunned by his own calculations. The further one goes in cultivation, the harder it becomes. Normally, past the third layer, each increase should take years. To gain a layer in just two months—what kind of genius would dare dream of that?

The pill furnace in the Earthfire Pill Chamber had been extinguished for some time, and the temperature had dropped considerably. Yang Fan finished his deliberations.

After reviewing Cao Xuan’s method of using fierce flames to refine pills, he had to admit it was an extreme approach. Though Cao Xuan made it look easy, Yang Fan knew himself well. Without slow, gentle flames, he doubted he could even manage the preparation of three different herbs, let alone the entire process. Toss ginseng straight in, and it’d burn to ash—how could a pill form?

After all, Yang Fan was an eighth-layer Qi Refinement alchemist, not one of those who think they’ve mastered something at a glance only to find their hands fail them.

His gaze grew complicated as he casually tossed out a talisman.

“Junior Brother Cao, this is my Spirit Communication Talisman. If you need anything in the future, you can contact me.”

“Now, give me one of your talismans. In the future, if I need pills, I’ll seek you out!”

Cao Xuan scratched his head; it was the first time someone had asked him for a communication talisman.

Seeing his awkwardness, Yang Fan smacked his own forehead, guessing the situation. He produced a talisman and a stack of talisman papers from his storage pouch.

“This is the main Spirit Communication Talisman. Drip your blood to recognize it as yours, and you can leave messages on it. There are ten pieces of talisman paper here—when you need to, overlay one onto the main talisman, imprint the pattern, and give it to someone. That way, they can contact you.”

Cao Xuan quickly accepted them. “Senior Brother, how many spirit stones for these?”

Yang Fan waved his hand. “It’s not much. As an alchemist, I hardly lack for a few spirit stones.”

Cao Xuan understood. Even when buying two sets of herbs, Senior Brother Yang Fan had charged him four spirit stones, but this stack of communication talismans, though not worth much, was given freely. It was clear Yang Fan valued his talent.

In essence, this was a gesture to build goodwill. If he insisted on paying, their relationship would become distant. So Cao Xuan offered his thanks, recognized the main talisman with a drop of blood, imprinted a sub-talisman, and handed it to Yang Fan.

By the time he left Earthfire Pill Chamber One, night had fallen.

The Alchemy Hall was still bustling, though a bit quieter than during the day. Not many had waited all day just to see a spectacle; most had moved on. Still, a few people caught sight of Cao Xuan emerging with Yang Fan, chatting and laughing, and were momentarily taken aback—had the boy really succeeded?

Such were the small episodes along the path of cultivation—most would be forgotten in a few days. Yet, inside the Alchemy Hall, there was now one more Medicine Refining Disciple.

……

Time slipped by, and two months passed. During this period, Cao Xuan joined some senior alchemists in refining medicinal ingredients.

Compared to other Medicine Refining Disciples, he was requested the least—he was a newcomer, had no regulars, wasn’t familiar with their methods, and might even need instruction on handling ingredients. As such, he was generally chosen only when there was truly no one else available.

However, every senior who worked with Cao Xuan sang his praises. With the “Compendium of a Thousand Spiritual Herbs and Woods,” Cao Xuan’s ability to process ingredients far surpassed all his peers. Whenever an alchemist made a request, even a slight one, he could fulfill it expertly.

……

In a pavilion, Lin Miaoxuan lay nestled on Cao Xuan’s chest, idly playing with a porcelain bottle.

“Senior brother, I really can’t accept this. For the past two months, you’ve brought me a bottle of pills every week—how will you have anything left for your own cultivation?”