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During the time spent waiting for Du Jiao's breakthrough, Wei Yang, Xian'er, and Qing Lin finally enjoyed a rare period of leisure.
In this quiet and secluded valley, the three of them began living a relaxed, carefree life.
Cough, of course, aside from the leisure, there were still some serious matters that needed attention.
After Xian'er broke through to Dou Zun and fully gained control over her Woeful Poison Body, her charm had grown even more captivating.
What surprised Wei Yang even more was that, perhaps because the knot in her heart had finally been completely untied, Xian'er's mentality had gradually changed as well, becoming even more feminine and alluring.
At least during the nights, when the two were together, she was now much more proactive than before.
She would even occasionally bring up the topic they'd discussed back in their teenage years about having a baby.
The implication behind those words was obvious — she wanted to be a mother. And for a request like that, Wei Yang naturally had no reason to refuse.
After all, he wasn't getting any younger himself; it was about time to have children. Besides, he still remembered the promise he made with Xiao Yan.
If he didn't put in some effort and produce a son soon, how would he face Xiao Yan's earnest expectations of becoming in-laws?
By calculation, Medusa should already be pregnant by now.
Little Xiao Xiao was on the way.
Yet Wei Yang still didn't even have a son lined up.
How could that be acceptable? The daughter-in-law was secured, but there was no son yet.
Little Xiao Xiao was someone Wei Yang had long ago reserved as his future daughter-in-law.
Time was running out.
Thus, Wei Yang steeled himself and began working hard on it.
And with Qing Lin, this little seductress with Snake-People blood, also around…well, let's just say it was a bit taxing on his waist.
Half a month later.
Wei Yang finally buried himself in researching pill recipes and practicing to improve his alchemy skills.
He had already reached the mid-stage Spirit Realm with his soul power, meaning the biggest barrier to refining Tier 8 Pills had long since been overcome.
He had the theory down.
He had attempted Spirit Infusion several times.
Now, what he lacked was simply real hands-on practice and experience. Facing this stage, Wei Yang took it very seriously and cautiously, devoting his entire focus and mind to it.
After all, alchemy was different from battle. It wasn't about brute force or recklessly charging ahead; instead, it required a calm heart, meticulous care, and boundless patience. Every subtle change inside the cauldron had to be grasped with extreme precision.
Of course, none of that was enough on its own.
If one wanted to improve their alchemy quickly, to put it bluntly, it came down to one thing — burning money. Or, more accurately, burning medicinal ingredients.
No matter how outstanding an alchemist's talent might be, only through large amounts of repeated practice could one truly progress. And to practice alchemy, one naturally needed a vast supply of ingredients.
At Wei Yang's current level, even the ingredients he used just for practice were extraordinary treasures.
Every single failure meant losses so massive they were beyond what ordinary people could even imagine.
Losses so great, in fact, that most factions simply couldn't afford them. This was also a clear reflection of the fundamental reason why Tier 8 Alchemists were so rare.
Simply put, nurturing a Tier 8 Alchemist was unimaginably difficult.
Take Ice River Valley, for instance. Even if the entire valley pooled all its resources together, just how many sets of Tier 8 ingredients could they even provide?
Fortunately, this wasn't much of a problem for Wei Yang.
Because he possessed the Fifth-ranked Heavenly Flame: Life Spirit Flame!
Of course, the Death Life Flame would also work.
As long as he had the seed of an ingredient and enough energy to fuel it, he could rapidly accelerate its growth into a fully matured medicinal plant of sufficient age.
Combined with his previous stockpiles, he could barely manage to sustain his training needs.
This also spared Wei Yang the trouble and wasted time of personally scouring the continent for ingredients. The only thing he needed to do now was refine pills.
Whether successful or not, he would at least gain valuable experience. And this experience was the true treasure of every alchemist.
As such experience accumulated, it would eventually become a foundation — and one day, that foundation would erupt in a complete transformation.
Looking across the continent at those true master-class alchemists, not a single one of them had reached their level through mere book learning.
Without exception, they all possessed extremely rich experience, a deep understanding of the properties and interactions of countless rare ingredients, and highly unique insights into every aspect of alchemy — from medicinal properties to flame control.
In the world of alchemy, talent was important, yes, but…but experience… was also an indispensable part of the process.
Wei Yang understood this deeply. That was why, over all these years, he had never once stopped researching alchemy and accumulating knowledge.
Talent in alchemy? He didn't lack it.
His soul power? That was his advantage.
On top of that, he once had the guidance of Yao Lao, and in his hands, he possessed a vast collection of pill recipes, a complete inheritance of alchemical knowledge, advanced fire-controlling techniques, and even Heavenly Flames.
All of these factors had paved a smoother road for him along the path of alchemy, allowing him to progress much faster and with far less resistance than ordinary alchemists.
With so many advantages combined, Wei Yang was able to advance further, faster, and more effortlessly than others within the same period of time.
Thus, in the following months…
Wei Yang devoted all of his focus and energy to refining pills.
This was the first time in his life that he had ever invested so much effort and dedication into alchemy.
Deep within the secluded valley, amid a chaotic cluster of stone formations.
Black flames roared fiercely, their scorching heat spreading in all directions, casting the surroundings into a dim, shimmering haze.
The environment here was like an enormous steam furnace, with waves of hot air rolling endlessly. Anyone without sufficient strength wouldn't be able to stay here for long.
Even the stone pillars around had developed fine cracks across their surfaces from prolonged exposure to the intense heat.
On an open clearing nearby, piles of items were scattered around. Jade bottles, jade boxes, scrolls, ancient texts — all sorts of materials lay everywhere.
A rich medicinal fragrance faintly drifted out from within, and under the influence of the surrounding heat, that fragrance became even denser.
At the very center of the clearing stood a flat stone platform.
Upon the platform sat a lone black-robed figure, cross-legged. In front of him rested a crimson medicinal cauldron.
Inside the cauldron, black flames burned wildly.
Within the blaze, a faintly visible pill embryo was slowly rotating, releasing strands of multicolored medicinal fragrance that seeped into the surrounding air.
The one refining pills at this moment was naturally Wei Yang.
Right now, his expression was solemn and focused. His fingers rapidly formed a sequence of hand seals, leaving behind blurry afterimages in the air.
Off to the side, Xian'er and Qing Lin sat quietly, their gazes locked on Wei Yang, watching his every move with utmost seriousness.
Especially Xian'er, who occasionally mimicked Wei Yang's hand gestures, her beautiful eyes carrying a thoughtful glimmer.
As time passed…
The medicinal fragrance in the air grew even richer.
Strands of multicolored medicinal essence spiraled upward like ribbons, lingering and swirling within the surrounding space.
Inside the cauldron, under the relentless roasting of the black flames, the pill embryo gradually became fuller and more refined.
Seeing this, the two women's eyes lit up slightly.
Even the stern look on Wei Yang's face eased a little. Inside, he couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.
Three months!
A full three months had passed!
And he had failed four times. But this time… this time, it was finally about to succeed.
Four failures…
Just thinking about it made Wei Yang's heart ache.
After all, this was a Tier 8 Pill.
The medicinal ingredients wasted in those four failed attempts… their value was beyond imagination.
Every time he failed, Wei Yang couldn't help but think — if only Yao Lao were still here to guide him, even just a little.
Some small mistakes could have been entirely avoided if he had an experienced mentor pointing them out.
Unfortunately, there was no one. Wei Yang could only use precious ingredients to repeatedly make mistakes and learn from them.
Truly, as the old saying goes — "Having an elder in the family is like having a priceless treasure."
Ancient wisdom never lies.
Every time this thought crossed his mind, Wei Yang's resentment toward the Hall of Souls deepened even further.
Of course, part of the reason for these difficulties was that the alchemical inheritance Wei Yang had obtained only reached the peak of Tier 7 and didn't cover the realm of Tier 8 Pills.
Knowledge, techniques, and experience related to the Tier 8…all of it had to be painstakingly explored and learned by himself, step by step.
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