Falling Star Pavilion.
Coming back here after all these years, everything looked exactly as Yao Chen remembered. Nothing had changed.
The familiar sight stirred old memories, and a nostalgic expression crossed his weathered face.
"Yao Chen? Is that really you?"
A voice from behind interrupted his thoughts, familiar, yet aged by time.
Turning around, Yao Chen saw the face he'd been expecting. That old friend looked exactly the same as in his memories, if a bit more worn by the years.
"Feng Xian. It's been too long."
Master Feng, Feng Xian, was the current pavilion master of Falling Star Pavilion. Many years ago, he and Yao Chen had founded this place together.
Feng Xian strode forward with open arms and pulled Yao Chen into a crushing bear hug.
"Too long is right! Where the hell have you been all these years? I searched everywhere for you. When I couldn't find a trace..." His voice cracked slightly. "I thought you were already gone."
"You weren't wrong," Yao Chen said quietly. "I was dead."
"What?" Feng Xian pulled back, shock written across his features. "What happened?"
Yao Chen sat down with a heavy sigh. "It's a long story. One that starts with my traitorous disciple, Han Feng..."
Over the next hour, Yao Chen recounted everything, every painful detail of how Han Feng and the Soul Palace had ambushed him, how they'd killed his physical body, and how he'd barely escaped as a remnant soul. He spoke of the years trapped in that ring, and finally, of meeting Victor and being given a second chance at life.
When the story ended, Feng Xian's face had turned scarlet with rage. He slammed his fist on the table with such force that the expensive blackwood surface exploded into splinters.
"That bastard Han Feng! How could he do this?" Feng Xian's voice shook with fury. "If you hadn't taken him in as a disciple, he would've starved to death in some gutter!"
"I know." Yao Chen's voice was hollow. "I misjudged him completely. I was blind to take such a snake as my student."
"No!" Feng Xian shot to his feet, already moving toward the door. "I can't let this stand. I'm going to hunt that beast down right now and skin him alive!"
Yao Chen shook his head. "Wait. There's no rush for that. I'll deal with Han Feng myself when the time comes. But first, I have something more important to handle."
Feng Xian reluctantly sat back down, though his hands still trembled with barely-contained fury. "What is it?"
"The senior I mentioned, Victor, didn't resurrect me out of charity," Yao Chen explained. "I owe him compensation. Part of that debt includes half of the medicinal herbs from Falling Star Pavilion's treasury."
"Done!" Feng Xian didn't hesitate for even a second. "I'll have someone gather them immediately."
When it came to collecting the herbs from Falling Star Pavilion's vast stores, his old friend showed no hesitation whatsoever.
Compared to having Yao Chen alive again, half their medicinal supplies meant nothing.
"Thank you, old friend." Warmth flooded through Yao Chen's chest.
Ever since Han Feng's betrayal, when the disciple he'd raised like his own son had stabbed him in the back, his heart had frozen over. But Feng Xian's unwavering trust and support thawed that cold emptiness, if only a little.
Feng Xian clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't thank me. But I do want to meet this senior who brought you back. I need to express my gratitude in person."
Yao Chen nodded. "Of course. Victor is currently in the Tagor Desert of the Gama Empire, in the northwest part of the continent."
"Then we leave as soon as the herbs are ready."
Half an hour later, the two departed from Zhongzhou with most of the medicinal materials from Falling Star Pavilion's treasury, heading toward the Tagor Desert in the northwestern Gama Empire.
Why more than half instead of exactly half?
The extra herbs were Feng Xian's personal gift to Victor, a thank you for saving his best friend's life.
After several spatial teleportations, they finally arrived at the snake tribe's territory in the Tagor Desert.
However, they didn't get to see Victor right away.
"Miss Medusa," Yao Chen asked carefully, "where is Senior Victor?"
Medusa gestured toward her private training room. "He's in seclusion, refining pills. If you need something, you can tell me and I'll pass it along later."
After obtaining Yao Chen's collection, Victor hadn't wasted a moment before diving into pill refinement.
That was why Yao Chen had returned to Falling Star Pavilion alone.
Besides, Victor wasn't worried about Yao Chen breaking their agreement, the old alchemist knew better than that.
"I see. Then it looks like we'll be staying here for a few days."
"That's fine. I'll have someone prepare accommodations for you both."
And so, Yao Chen and Feng Xian settled into the snake tribe's territory.
That evening, after finishing a carefully prepared dinner courtesy of their snake tribe hosts, the two old friends grabbed a pot of wine and climbed up to the roof to catch up under the stars.
"By the way, Yao Chen," Feng Xian said between sips, "what exactly is this Senior Victor's strength? From the way you talk about him, it sounds like you respect him quite a bit."
How many years had it been?
Feng Xian couldn't remember the last time his old friend had spoken of someone with such clear admiration.
Yao Chen was quiet for a moment. "I don't know his exact cultivation level, but I suspect he's at least at the peak of Nine-Star Dou Sheng. He might even be a half-step Dou Emperor."
"And the most important thing, he's not old at all. I'd guess he's only in his twenties."
"What?" Feng Xian's eyes went wide with disbelief. "That young, but that powerful?"
If anyone else had said such a thing, he would've laughed it off as a joke.
But coming from Yao Chen? This wasn't something to take lightly.
"Could he be from one of the eight ancient clans?"
"I doubt it."
Yao Chen had initially considered that possibility too.
But certain things he'd witnessed made him discard that theory entirely.
Even the eight ancient clans couldn't produce such a terrifying genius.
This person's identity was probably even more mysterious than any of the ancient families.
"Speaking of which, Feng Xian..."
Yao Chen suddenly changed the subject.
"Have you ever heard of something called the Innate Yellow-Haired Holy Body?"
Feng Xian frowned in thought. "Innate Yellow-Haired Holy Body? What kind of constitution is that? I've never heard of it. Why do you ask?"
"Senior Victor claims to possess this Innate Yellow-Haired Holy Body," Yao Chen explained. "I suspect his incredible power might be related to this special constitution."
If Victor could hear this conversation, he'd probably be laughing himself silly.
What did his made-up "holy body" have to do with strength? That was just his ridiculous excuse for being a shameless flirt!
Feng Xian stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Hmm... it seems I'll need to research this Innate Yellow-Haired Holy Body when I return. There might be ancient records somewhere."
Meanwhile, in the training room...
As the lid of the alchemy cauldron lifted, five pills radiating an intense fragrance fell into Victor's waiting hand.
"The Enlightenment Pill... finally!" Victor's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
As the name suggested, the Enlightenment Pill was a top-tier medicinal treasure that could induce a state of enlightenment in the user, multiplying their cultivation speed several times, sometimes even dozens of times faster than normal.
"With the Enlightenment Pill, breaking through to the next realm will be much easier."
"It's just a shame I only got five successful pills this time. I need more practice."
Only five pills from ten sets of materials, for Victor, this success rate was unacceptably low.
But fortunately, he still had plenty of medicinal herbs left to continue refining.
After carefully storing the Enlightenment Pills in a jade bottle, Victor tossed another ten sets of materials into the cauldron.
Time slipped by, and two days passed in what felt like the blink of an eye.
As the last batch of materials was consumed, Victor finally ended his seclusion.
This extended pill-refining session had yielded quite the harvest.