Chapter 3: wu qing xue

The Lord's Mansion.

Yan Kun was carried back.

Yan Wanglong looked at his own son being crippled, his expression as dark as water.

Although Yan Kun's talent was not as good as Yan Qing's, he was still his son. The Ye Family dared to be so arrogant, even boasting that they should wait for them.

"Your older brother has already reached the Third Layer of Spirit Martial, and is on his way back. In three days, he will avenge you, and the Ye Family will be destroyed," Yan Wanglong said, his fists clenched with killing intent.

"I want him to suffer a fate worse than death," Yan Kun grimaced.

With his dantian crippled and no intervention from a Dantian Sovereign, there was no hope of recovery. And in the entire Xuan Tian Empire, where could a Dantian Sovereign be found?

His fate was almost sealed for life, and one could imagine his hatred for Ye Chen.

...

At this moment, in front of a grand building, Ye Chen stood below.

The Alchemy Hall, a force formed by alchemists, spanned thirty-six cities of the Xuan Tian Empire and even the entire Cang Lan Continent, making it one of the top forces on the continent.

However, the Alchemy Hall was almost entirely focused on alchemy and rarely interfered in worldly affairs, with no ambitions to dominate the continent.

Even so, the Alchemy Hall's status was unquestionable, respected by all.

With limited resources from the Ye Family, Ye Chen had no choice but to come here to purchase some herbs for body refinement.

"The Alchemy Hall."

Standing outside the door, Ye Chen couldn't help but think of the Alchemy Emperor's Pavilion in the Immortal Martial Realm.

Also formed by alchemists from the Immortal Martial Realm, but to enter the Alchemy Emperor's Pavilion, one had to be recognized as an alchemy emperor. Even if it was the outer sect, it was almost certain that one could enter the Alchemy Emperor's Pavilion.

It could be said that the Alchemy Emperor's Pavilion represented the way of alchemy in the Immortal Martial Realm.

Ye Wuji, the Alchemy Emperor in a hundred years, was appointed as a guest elder by the Alchemy Emperor's Pavilion.

Entering the Alchemy Hall, the inside was spacious, bustling with people coming and going.

Ye Chen went straight to the counter, where he saw a woman in a blue dress and long skirt, her eyebrows like willow leaves, her features delicate, exuding a hint of elegance.

Even Ye Chen, who was used to seeing fairies, couldn't help but take another look.

"I need the materials on this list, and also a refining room," Ye Chen handed over the prepared list.

It seemed that Wu Qingxue was preparing some kind of pill formula. Hearing Ye Chen's voice, her eyebrows raised slightly, and she casually glanced at the list.

She initially didn't want to pay attention, but this glance drew her in.

"Hmm?" Putting down the herbs in her hand, she picked up the list and carefully examined it, her brows furrowing slightly.

She had seen these herbs before, but this combination was new to her. It seemed like the ingredients for a certain pill, yet also resembled the materials for a certain solution. Even she couldn't be sure.

What astounded her the most was that some of these herbs were mutually exclusive and couldn't be used together.

What was the purpose of this combination?

"Are you an alchemist?" Wu Qingxue looked up at Ye Chen.

"I used to be, but not anymore. Soon, I will be," Ye Chen replied.

Wu Qingxue's brows furrowed even deeper. What did "used to be but not anymore, soon will be" mean?

She sized up Ye Chen, a mid-tier Martialist with no soul power, not even an alchemy apprentice.

"Soon will be?" Did he mean that he could achieve the status of an alchemist?

At this moment, a trace of disdain flashed in Wu Qingxue's eyes.

If this person was an alchemist, she might have been willing to exchange knowledge with him. But if he wasn't, then this list was probably just a random collection of herbs.

And she had encountered far too many of these ambitious youngsters who thought they could self-study and become alchemists. However, becoming an alchemist was not as easy as they imagined.

"If you want to study the path of alchemy, you might as well buy some common herbs to practice with. Start as an apprentice. These first-grade spiritual herbs are quite precious," Wu Qingxue pointed to the list.

First-grade spiritual herbs?

Ye Chen smiled bitterly at the suggestion. These materials could also be called spiritual herbs?

In the Immortal Martial Realm, they would be considered trash, not even worth picking up from the ground.

If it weren't for limited resources and his need to quickly temper his body, these materials would not have caught his eye.

"Just follow the materials on the list," Ye Chen said casually.

Wu Qingxue's disdain deepened. He wasn't even an apprentice, yet he wanted to study first-grade spiritual herbs. It was simply absurd.

But since business had come to her doorstep, she wouldn't refuse. She promptly prepared the materials and handed them to Ye Chen, saying, "These materials will cost you one hundred spiritual stones. Renting the refining room will be one hundred spiritual stones per day. How long will you need it for?"

"Three days."

Taking the herbs and handing over the spiritual stones, Ye Chen walked towards the refining room.

These few hundred spiritual stones were almost all of the Ye Family's assets. But to Ye Chen, they were like chicken ribs – not very useful for body tempering, but much more valuable for purchasing herbs and refining solutions.

It's just a bit troublesome, that's all.

Watching Ye Chen's figure, Wu Qingxue shook her head again before continuing with her preparations and heading towards a refining room.

Entering the refining room, Ye Chen looked at the crude instruments and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He hadn't expected that the mighty Infinite Immortal Emperor would have to use such rudimentary refining facilities.

Shaking his head, Ye Chen took out all the materials he had purchased.

"My soul power is almost nonexistent. I'll have to use manual labor for the preliminary work, and save all my soul power for the final refinement of the solution."

Ye Chen muttered to himself before starting to organize the herbs, plucking flowers and stamens, grinding wood...

In the past, Ye Chen could have ignored these steps and completed the classification, purification, and refining with precise refining techniques.

But now, with weak soul power barely maintaining the level of an apprentice, Ye Chen had to do it all himself.

Of course, Ye Chen's idea of being at the apprentice level was measured by the rules and traditions of the Immortal Martial Realm.

Ye Chen's speed was extremely fast, the process flowing like water, giving off a pleasing sensation. If other alchemists were to see it, they would surely admire his skill.

The handling of herbs in the preliminary stage was the most basic skill test for an alchemist. If the herbs were mishandled, it would directly affect the grade of the pill or artifact, determining the alchemist's strength.

Ye Chen's handling was like a work of art, almost perfect.

Soon, the preparation work was completed. Ye Chen took out a vessel and began pouring liquid into it, adding the materials while white light flickered at his fingertips.

"Boom!"

In an instant, the materials began to condense, the vessel trembling violently. Ye Chen broke out in a cold sweat, exerting all his strength to control it.

Calculating the time, Ye Chen continuously added new materials. The liquid in the vessel kept changing, sometimes shining with a purple light, sometimes a deep red, sometimes as bright as stars, all of it beautiful.

The entire refining room was filled with a strange and pleasant fragrance.

As time passed, Ye Chen's face grew paler, but his gaze remained firm.

After about an hour, he finally merged all the materials. The vessel trembled wildly, as if it would explode, but Ye Chen managed to suppress it.

Finally, the vessel began to calm down, and a bottle of liquid, sparkling like a galaxy, was successfully refined.

The enchanting fragrance filled the air, refreshing the senses with just a whiff.

Exhaling lightly, Ye Chen felt as if he had been drained of all his energy. He shook his head wryly. Even the mighty Pill Emperor, refining the most basic body-refining solution, felt like he had been through a fierce battle.

But looking at the bottle of body-refining solution, Ye Chen couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.