The Next Morning
Xiao Bai slowly opened his eyes, tilting his head to find the space beside him empty, save for a lingering trace of fragrance.
Rising, he stepped into the main hall, where two figures—one tall, one small—chatted and laughed harmoniously. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
"Zi Yan, how'd you end up here?"
"Hmph! You moved without telling me, left me all alone over there. No way I'm telling you… I sniffed my way here this morning!" Zi Yan pouted, turning her head aside, arms crossed, sneaking glances at him with a huff.
"Heh."
Xiao Bai approached, charmed by her adorable sulk. He ruffled her head gently, teasing, "With that sharp little nose, looks like you won't get lost!"
"What… you really want to ditch me?" Zi Yan's silver teeth clenched, as if ready to bite him. Spinning around, she grabbed Cai Lin's arm, shaking it plaintively. "Sister Cai Lin, Xiao Bai's bullying me!"
Cai Lin shot Xiao Bai a sidelong glance, bending to pat Zi Yan's head. "Let's ignore him."
"Right, we'll both ignore him! Bleh!" Zi Yan nodded eagerly, twisting to stick her tongue out at Xiao Bai.
Xiao Bai ignored the display, settling at the table. He poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip.
No point arguing with this little tyrant. With her growing list of backers—charming Xun Er and Xian'er, and now cozying up to Cai Lin—he was a bit outmatched.
Good thing he held her weakness: those little candy pills. Without them, his "backyard" might catch fire!
"You're refining pills today, right? When do you start?" Cai Lin asked, her eyes softening as she recalled his mention of the Three-Seven Soul Spirit Liquid last night.
Back with the Snake-People Tribe, she hadn't taken his promise to help her recover seriously. Yet here he was, already finding a way.
But thinking of last night, a blush crept up her enchanting cheeks. Her narrow eyes squinted, shooting him a glare. This jerk took advantage of my emotions!
In her moment of vulnerability, he'd pulled her into the room. If she hadn't snapped out of it at the last second, he might've succeeded!
"Heh."
Catching his Queen darling's look, Xiao Bai winked, making her eyes dart away in shy annoyance. He chuckled, "In a bit, at the back courtyard."
"The courtyard?" Cai Lin's long lashes fluttered, puzzled. Refining a pill requires picking a spot?
"A sixth-grade pill will release an energy pillar when it forms. If I did it indoors, the whole house would collapse," Xiao Bai explained, seeing her confusion.
At Jia Nan Academy, refining a Dou Ling Pill had shaved a layer off a freshman dorm. Without his protection, the entire courtyard might've been leveled!
"I see. I'll guard you then," Cai Lin said, nodding with understanding. She couldn't help with refining but didn't want to sit idly, relying solely on Xiao Bai.
"Sure thing, my dear wife!" Though he didn't need a guard, knowing her independent nature, Xiao Bai agreed with a grin.
"Shameless!" Cai Lin shot him a look, her scold light, her brows betraying a shy delight.
"Oh, right!" Zi Yan piped up, as if remembering something. She rummaged in her sleeve, her small hand flipping to reveal a dark storage ring, which she handed to Xiao Bai. "An old guy gave this to me last night—the one from the banquet. Said to pass it to you."
Xiao Bai took the ring, probing it with his soul force. He nodded slightly. Inside were all the herbs from the list he'd given Jia Xing Tian—not one missing.
"They came looking for me last night?"
"Yep! Three old guys, all noisy. The icy one seemed thrilled to see me, told me to fetch you, but you weren't there," Zi Yan said, nodding.
"…!"
Xiao Bai glanced at Cai Lin, chuckling. "How hard did you thrash him back then? He's terrified of you now!"
"Hmph. Back then, my cultivation hadn't reached peak Dou Huang. The old generation of our eight great commanders was fading, and the new ones weren't ready. Human nations around us eyed our tribe greedily, and scattered humans brazenly raided our smaller tribes, abducting our people," Cai Lin said, her eyes growing cold, a chilling killing intent radiating.
"If I hadn't been ruthless, they'd have ganged up and devoured us whole!"
Recalling those days, her aura turned icy.
"Sorry," Xiao Bai said after a pause. He hadn't known the full story. It must've been tough for her, with her tribe teetering on the brink of extinction.
"No need to apologize. It's not your fault," Cai Lin said, her chill thawing as she shook her head earnestly. "Xiao Bai, our bond is separate from this. I don't have much fondness for other humans, but you're different—the most special, the only one in this world. I've never spoken of these things to avoid burdening you. You don't have to help with my tribe's conflicts with human nations, but I hope you won't stop me either. That's… enough."
The room fell silent.
"That's how you see me?" Xiao Bai's voice broke the quiet, leaning forward, his tone rising.
"Enough? I don't give a damn about others! I'd have to be sick to stop you. This isn't some life-or-death war for humanity—just a squabble over interests! Not help? If anyone dares wrong you, I'll scatter their ashes. Believe it?"
His voice thundered by the end, nearly slamming the table.
Cai Lin blinked, stunned by his near-jumping outburst. A smile curved her lips, her narrow eyes brimming with warmth. "You dare raise your voice at me!" she teased.
"Yeah! Why yell so loud if you're helping?" Zi Yan rubbed her ears, glaring at Xiao Bai with her big eyes.
"Hmph!"
Xiao Bai shot a look at the united duo across from him, downed his tea, and strode toward the back courtyard.
Two pairs of eyes watched his black-robed figure vanish, sparkling with amusement.
"Heh, I didn't choose the wrong man," Cai Lin murmured.
"Tch, Xiao Bai was so fierce just now. Should I tell sister Xun Er and sister Xian'er?" Zi Yan giggled.
___
At an open spot by the courtyard's small lake, Xiao Bai suddenly felt a chill down his spine. Frowning, he glanced back but saw nothing.
Must be my imagination.
With a wave, a dark cauldron appeared on the ground. Herbs materialized one by one, floating neatly beside it, their rich medicinal scent filling the air.
Xiao Bai sat cross-legged, his gaze drifting to the distant, mist-shrouded mountains on the horizon.
"Soon… Yun Lan Sect, and Yun Zhi," he murmured, eyes half-closing as he sank into focus, mentally rehearsing the pill's refining process and key precautions.
Behind him, two figures quietly arrived. Seeing his meditative state, they stayed silent, even softening their breaths, and sat at a distance.
At a certain moment, Xiao Bai's eyes snapped open. Taking a deep breath, he pointed two fingers forward.
A vivid crimson fire dragon, crackling with faint thunder, leaped from his fingertips, diving into the cauldron. It circled inside once.
Boom!
The dark cauldron shuddered, the dragon dissolving into roaring flames that blazed within.
A searing heat, laced with a numbing sting, rippled outward.
"Have you seen him refine pills?" Cai Lin asked softly, feeling the rising temperature.
"Yep! At Jia Nan Academy, he made a sixth-grade Dou Ling Pill. The alchemy department's grumpy Elder Huo, who can only do fifth-grade, was floored. Even my old man was shocked!" Zi Yan nodded, her big eyes turning to the enchanting figure beside her. "sister Cai Lin, you've never seen Xiao Bai refine?"
"Sixth-grade Dou Ling Pill, huh?" Cai Lin propped her chin, her gaze fixed on the black-robed figure, soft and unwavering. "Mm, this is my first time seeing him refine a pill."
Meanwhile, Xiao Bai's focus was absolute, oblivious to the outside world. His eyes locked on the cauldron and its roaring flames.
From discussions with Yao Lao, he knew the Dou Qi Continent prized pills are the one that directly boosted cultivation. These had been refined over generations, their steps meticulously mapped, forming a standard process that greatly boosted success rates.
But there are few rare pills that were notoriously difficult—uncommon ones, like those extending lifespan or, like this one, tied to the soul.
Their materials were scarce, and allowing only a few attempted on them. Only basic formulas existed, with no soul-specific versions. Alchemists had to experiment blindly, and with just one set of herbs, success on the first try was a tall order.
His gaze flicked to a jade pot beside the cauldron. With a gesture, the Seven Illusion Green Spirit Saliva, glowing with dreamy light, uprooted itself, hovering in the air.
A sword-like finger sliced, splitting the herb at the stem's base.
The root was key for soul restoration, but for the Soul Spirit Liquid's full effect, the upper plant was essential too. Once separated, the enhancement effect faded quickly, so both had to be refined simultaneously, spiking the difficulty.
His eyes flickered, soul force surging. The cauldron's flames split, reforming into two fire dragons.
This was a technique he'd honed after Yao Lao's guidance, inspired by Tang Zhen of the Burning Flame Valley in the original story. The Nine Dragon Lightning Flame could split into nine dragons, each refining materials independently.
With dragon qi in his body, Xiao Bai could shape thunder into dragons. His strong soul and flame control made dragon-shaped flames a natural fit after a bit of practice.
Two dragons were merely dual-tasking—not as flashy as nine, but sufficient for now.
He tossed the split Seven Illusion Green Spirit Saliva into the cauldron. Under his soul force, the two dragons leaped, one swallowing the flower end, the other the root.
His soul force tracked the changes within the dragons' bellies, where flames roared and thunder arced. Strands of crystalline powder and dreamily glowing liquid slowly emerged.
Half an hour later, the dragons spat out a small pile of white powder and a glob of radiant, seven-colored liquid into the cauldron.
Xiao Bai exhaled, his taut body relaxing. With a wave of his sleeve, the two refined essences flew into prepared jade bottles.
For the remaining herbs, he shed his earlier caution.
Herbs arced through the air, flung into the cauldron in a dazzling flurry. The two dragons spewed searing flames, extracting various essences with ease.
"Is he refining pills or steaming buns?" Cai Lin muttered, baffled by the cauldron's constant influx and outflow of herbs and essences.
For the first half-hour, his solemn focus had kept her on edge, afraid to breathe too loudly. But after the first herb, he'd let loose, tossing materials in like he was window-shopping!
She'd seen little of alchemy, but she knew other alchemists handled herbs with painstaking care—not this cavalier flair.
"Xiao Bai's amazing! When he made my candy pills, it was like this—swish, swish, and done. They're super tasty, crispy and tingly, like popping candy!" Zi Yan said, popping a candy pill from her ring into her mouth, her eyes squinting happily.
Noticing Cai Lin's glance, she pulled out a red pill, offering it like a treasure. "Sister Cai Lin, try one!"
Cai Lin smiled, patting her head. Scanning the pill in Zi Yan's tiny palm, she sensed its potent energy and her eye twitched.
"No thanks, you keep it," she said. This kid's spoiled. Sixth-tier herbs as candy? Who can afford her without deep pockets?
As the time flowed, the sky darkening.
Zi Yan, dozing with her cheek propped up, stirred as a strange fragrance tickled her nose, refreshing her soul.
Her big eyes snapped open, locking on the flickering firelight ahead, where the scent grew richer. She swallowed hard.
"Did it work?"
"Don't know."
Cai Lin shook her head, watching Xiao Bai's increasingly grave expression, his hands blurring into afterimages as he formed seals. Her own heart tightened.
Xiao Bai fought to contain his excitement, his vast soul force pouring out, fixated on the writhing seven-colored liquid in the cauldron, not daring to slack.
Success was near. A single slip could ruin it, leaving Yao Lao unrestored and Cai Lin weakened. Then what's the point of making?
Might as well grab Little Yan and run. Send Nalan Yanran a message: let's push the three-year agreement back another three years!
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