"Boss, I want to eat the pills right now!" Zi Yan tugged at Liu Yu's collar, pouting coquettishly.
Liu Yu rubbed Zi Yan's head and said fondly, "Okay! I'll refine it for you right away."
Then, with a wave of his hand, he summoned a fiery red cauldron, engraved with a lifelike, ferocious red dragon. The purple cauldron he had originally obtained from the Mitel family had ultimately failed to withstand the calcination of the strange fire and "honorably retired."
The Red Dragon Cauldron, a smuggled good from Yu Ge's collection, finally fell into his hands.
This Red Dragon Cauldron was made of a unique material, said to be forged from the entire skeleton of an eighth-rank dragon-like demon beast and various black irons, infused with a dragon soul. When refining the elixir, a faint dragon roar could be heard from within the cauldron, a truly impressive feat, second only to those on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking.
Zi Yan, standing by, gazed at the strange red cauldron, feeling a strange tingle in her heart, especially when she saw the red dragon engraved on its side.
"Boss, this medicine cauldron gives me such a strange feeling!" Zi Yan looked at Liu Yu curiously.
"Really? It must be the unique material it's made of," Liu Yu said casually. It seemed the rumors about the Red Dragon Cauldron were almost certainly true. Furthermore, this dragon-like magical beast very likely contained a trace of the bloodline of the ancient Taixu Dragon.
Zi Yan nodded, half-comprehending. Liu Yu waved his hand, and a stream of icy blue flame erupted from his palm. The moment Zi Yan saw the flame, she scurried behind Liu Yu, clutching tightly at his shirt, a flicker of panic in her purple eyes.
The golden ape nearby did the same, fleeing into a tree hollow in a few leaps. Only its golden head emerged, its eyes fixed intently on the icy blue flame.
Liu Yu was startled, then suddenly realized that Zi Yan and the Golden Ape must have sensed the terrifying power of the Mysterious Lotus Ice Flame.
Generally speaking, any non-fire-attributed magical beast would be quite repulsed by a divine object like Strange Fire. Fire-attributed magical beasts, while not repulsed, were also afraid of it, because Strange Fire didn't care about your attributes; if you dared to approach, it would burn you to ash.
"Ha, it's okay. My flames are harmless and very gentle," Liu Yu reassured with a smile. Zi Yan's tension gradually eased at Liu Yu's words. The boss wouldn't lie to her.
Then, Liu Yu tossed the icy blue flame into the Red Dragon Cauldron, followed by two powerful diamond fruits. With a thought, a raging flame erupted violently within the Red Dragon Cauldron.
Zi Yan watched Liu Yu drop two Vajra Fruits into the medicine cauldron and asked, "Boss, you want some pills too?"
"No, I'll give them to you." This refining process was too simple, so Liu Yu distractedly replied that the Vajra Fruits were of no use to him and would be better off giving them to Zi Yan.
"Boss, you're the best!" Zi Yan's eyes narrowed into beautiful arcs. She felt so lucky to have such a kind boss.
Liu Yu chuckled. It's so easy to win the favor of children. If there was a favorability indicator, she would have seen the "Favorability +1" message appear above Zi Yan's head.
Sensing that the Vajra Fruits in the Red Dragon Cauldron had transformed into a golden, viscous liquid, Liu Yu pulled a jade bottle of diluted Earth Core Tempering Milk from his storage ring.
Upon opening the bottle cap, a refreshing fragrance instantly emanated, causing Zi Yan, standing behind Liu Yu, to gulp deeply. However, she didn't ask for more. The boss had already given her so much, and she couldn't keep asking for more. If she upset him, it would be more trouble than good.
Liu Yu poured a drop of "Earth Core Tempering Milk" into the Red Dragon Cauldron and, using his soul power, manipulated it to merge with the golden liquid. The golden liquid then rapidly separated, disintegrating into dozens of tiny clumps.
"Congeal!"
With a soft cry, the liquid solidified, transforming in the blink of an eye into sixty golden pills, swirling above the icy blue flames.
With a wave of his hand, the sixty golden pills, radiating a golden glow, shot out of the Red Dragon Cauldron and landed in the jade bottle Liu Yu had prepared.
"Try it. It should taste quite good," Liu Yu said with a smile, handing the jade bottle to the eagerly watching Zi Yan.
"Hmm," Zi Yan nodded repeatedly, eagerly pouring out a golden pill. Ignoring the lingering warmth, she emptied it into her mouth and began chewing vigorously.
"Woo woo... delicious!" Zi Yan quickly shattered the golden pill and swallowed it. Then, she poured three more from the jade bottle, stuffed them into her mouth, and began chewing vigorously.
Seeing Zi Yan's frantic eating, Liu Yu couldn't help but wonder if these sixty pills wouldn't last even half a minute.
Fortunately, Zi Yan knew how to savor them slowly. After swallowing ten golden pills, she looked at the medicine in her hand with a lingering feeling and stored it in her storage ring.
"By the way, Boss, my name is Zi Yan. Old Man Su got it for me. Sounds nice, doesn't it?" Zi Yan suddenly slapped her head, realizing that Boss didn't even know her name. She said to Liu Yu with a naive look.
"Zi Yan, um, sounds nice," Liu Yu smiled.
"Boss, let me tell you another secret. I actually have a special sensitivity to spiritual objects. I'll take you to find those treasures later, hehe." Zi Yan grinned, as if she already foresaw the situation where she and her boss would "run rampant."
"Yeah, that's impressive," Liu Yu laughed.
"Of course, I'm super impressive. There's no treasure in this world that I can't find." Zi Yan puffed out her chest, quite pleased with herself. To Liu Yu, it was just adorable and silly.
...
"Boss, what kind of elixir are you going to refine?"
In a clearing deep in the forest, Zi Yan looked at Liu Yu coquettishly. The past two weeks had been the most comfortable she had ever lived. With her natural talent for treasure hunting, she had taken her boss on a thorough scouting tour of the inner courtyard and the back mountain. All sorts of rare treasures, under her boss's unyielding tactics, fell into her mouth.
Her most vivid memory was a sixth-level wolf-shaped demon beast crushed to death by her boss's finger. This sixth-level demon beast was comparable to a human Dou Huang!
This instantly refreshed her perception of her boss's strength. She'd assumed he was just slightly stronger than her, but she hadn't expected him to be stronger by not just a little, but two points. She felt like even Old Man Su might not be her boss's match.
"A kind of elixir that restores Dou Qi, mostly used by Dou Zong masters."
Liu Yu pulled a large amount of medicinal herbs from his storage ring. These herbs were all obtained in the back mountains. Zi Yan's treasure hunting talent was truly impressive. For the past two weeks, he'd either been collecting herbs or on his way to collect them. He'd also collected the magic cores of fifth and sixth-tier monsters.
"The elixirs used by Dou Zongs are so powerful!" Zi Yan looked at Liu Yu with admiration. Dou Zongs are truly powerful. An elixir that's useful even for them must be delicious...
Liu Yu chuckled. Here we go again. For the past half month, Zi Yan has been constantly saying, "Boss, you're so powerful!" "Boss, you're so handsome!" While it sounds enjoyable, hearing it too much can really make you feel inflated...
"Zi Yan, stand by and watch for me. If any foolish monsters get too close, attack them!" Liu Yu instructed her.
Hearing the boss's words, a serious look crossed Zi Yan's face. Her childish voice tinged with earnestness, "Boss, I will definitely protect you!"
With that, Zi Yan flapped her purple wings and flew off to the side, circling the clearing, surveying the surroundings.
Looking at Zi Yan, who had completely given herself over to the role of guardian, Liu Yu shook his head and immediately focused on refining the low-level seventh-grade elixir—the Instant Qi Pill!
The Instant Qi Pill, as the name suggests, can restore your Dou Qi in a fraction of a second. It's highly effective for Dou Zong masters, and it's considered a premium version of the fifth-grade Qi Xiu Dan.
As Liu Yu's strength continues to rise, the Qi Xiu Dan becomes less effective for him. Just like last time in the Tianfen Refining Qi Tower, he grabbed a handful of Qi Xiu Dan and stuffed them into his mouth, barely recovering some of his lost Dou Qi.
This isn't to say the Qi Xiu Dan is trash. As a fifth-grade pill, it's quite effective for Dou Wang and Dou Huang masters. It's just that Liu Yu is special. He's so powerful that only a seventh-grade pill is worthy of his status...
Of course, that's one reason. Another reason is that he wants to catch fish! As for which fish, it's naturally the great fish, Great Elder Su Qian.
Now that he'd become Zi Yan's boss, he could abandon his original plan to "outsmart" the Fallen Heart Flame's essence. With Zi Yan's connection, and the ability to use his "personal charm" to persuade Great Elder Su Qian, the Great Elder would undoubtedly willingly allow him to "teach" Fallen Heart Flame a lesson. (Fallen Heart Flame: ...)
While Liu Yu pondered this, his hand moved. The Red Dragon Cauldron appeared out of thin air, crashing to the ground.
He extended his slender hand slightly, and a ball of ice-blue flame quietly emerged from his palm.
The appearance of the ice-blue flame instantly polarized the surrounding temperature, half cold, half hot. The swaying flames were beautiful, yet deadly!
With a wave of his hand, the ice-blue flames instantly surged into the Red Dragon Cauldron. Instantly, a raging fire erupted from the cauldron.
The refining of the seventh-grade Instant Qi Pill had begun at this moment!
Liu Yu controlled the icy blue flames, first warming the cauldron. After the flames had been surging for half a minute, he placed the herbs around him one by one into the Red Dragon Cauldron, where they began to be refined.
Within a few breaths of contact with the Mysterious Lotus Ice Flame, the numerous herbs rapidly withered, their bodies reduced to dust. Droplets of pure medicinal liquid remained, gradually merging into a single mass under the delicate control of Liu Yu's soul power.
This cycle continued endlessly: adding herbs, refining, and fusing...
Refining became a complex undertaking starting with the seventh-grade elixir. Even a low-level seventh-grade Instant Qi Pill was far superior to a sixth-grade elixir.
Time passed slowly as Liu Yu controlled the heat and the fusion of the various medicinal properties...
In a trance, two days had already passed.
Zi Yan, guarding Liu Yu, though bored, diligently patrolled the area, preventing any beasts from disturbing him. Meanwhile, she held a jade bottle in her hand, occasionally pulling out a pill and popping it into her mouth. For
the past two weeks, Liu Yu had refined over a hundred bottles of colorful pills for Zi Yan, enough for her to consume for a long time. He also stipulated that Zi Yan consume one bottle a day, which would help her fully digest the medicinal properties. By the time she had finished these hundred bottles, she would likely be ready for advancement.
While Zi Yan was patrolling, Liu Yu began the final step: congealing the pill!
"Om!"
A crisp sound echoed from the Red Dragon Cauldron, and the once bumpy pill inside was transformed into a round, turquoise-colored pill, only the size of a thumb.
The moment the pill took shape, the sky above Liu Yu's clearing suddenly darkened. Heavy dark clouds quickly gathered above, and within them, faint silver lightning could be seen slithering like snakes.
This sudden sight in the sky stopped Zi Yan, who was still surveying the sky. She rubbed her eyes, her mouth slightly open, in disbelief. "The boss's alchemy had attracted heavenly thunder?"
Liu Yu stood with his hands behind his back, calmly observing the sudden change in the sky.
He had faced mere pill thunder before. He hadn't even been afraid of the seventh-grade high-level pill, the Transformation Pill. Moreover, things were different now. He was no longer the young man he once was. He could destroy the pill thunder drawn by the low-level seventh-grade Instant Qi Pill with a single sword strike!
Thick dark clouds spread, enveloping a vast expanse of forest. Silver lightning flashed within the clouds, occasionally colliding with each other, erupting with a resounding thunderclap. The sheer might of the sky terrified Zi Yan, who was standing at the edge of the clearing. She wanted to fly to the boss, but was afraid of disturbing him.
Meanwhile, from the distant dense forest, the roars of beasts could be heard intermittently, their roars thick with fear of the might of the heavens.
With a swish!
Suddenly, a silver light as thick as an arm flashed through the dense dark clouds, its dazzling brilliance illuminating the gloomy sky.
"Boom!"
The silver lightning clashed with increasing intensity within the dark clouds, filling the entire sky with a pent-up atmosphere. Suddenly, a fissure appeared in the clouds, and a streak of silver lightning, about half a foot wide, erupted from the clouds with a resounding roar, like a giant silver python.
The target it sought to destroy was none other than Liu Yu... the cyan elixir within the Red Dragon Cauldron before him!
Seeing the silver thunder crash down, Zi Yan's face at the edge of the clearing couldn't help but show worry. "
The boss will definitely be able to withstand this small thunderbolt," Zi Yan thought to herself, as if to cheer herself up, as well as Liu Yu.
Deep within the inner courtyard, in a quiet window-side room of a pavilion, an elderly man in a loose black robe, his hair and beard white, stood by the window with his hands behind his back. His face, as calm as that of an old monk, showed no trace of emotion.
Suddenly, a look of astonishment crossed the black-robed elder's expression, his previously calm expression. He gazed past the greenery outside the window, towards a distant mountain.
"How is it possible! There's elixir thunder appearing in the mountains behind this inner courtyard!" The black-robed elder's expression changed. Back in his youth, while training on the Central Plains, he had the good fortune to witness a seventh-grade alchemist refining an elixir. When the elixir was finally completed, thunder roared through the sky!
And the terrifying phenomenon of heaven and earth deep in the back mountain is exactly the elixir thunder that can only be attracted by the emergence of a seventh-grade elixir!