After returning to the Medicine Garden, Lin Yuan went straight to his room. The moment he closed his eyes, he fell asleep.
An Eighth-Grade pill was not nearly as easy to refine as one might imagine. In particular, Lin Yuan had forcibly imbued the Transformation Pill, a Seventh-Grade pill with relatively limited potential, with spirituality and raised it to the level of an Eighth-Grade, three-colored pill. The mental and soul power he had expended during the process had been tremendous.
Xiao Yixian was also well aware of Lin Yuan's exhaustion. After entering his room and taking care of a few things, she left, allowing him to sleep comfortably and get a full rest.
By the time Lin Yuan awoke from his sleep, it was already the following morning.
Getting out of bed, Lin Yuan tidied himself up before stretching lazily and walking toward the courtyard filled with the fragrance of flowers.
When he arrived, Xiao Yixian was holding a watering can and leisurely watering the flowers in the courtyard.
Her flowing snow-white hair was as fresh as morning dew, gently brushing against her waist and outlining an elegant and graceful beauty. Bathed in the sunlight, her back looked almost like a beautiful ink-wash painting, making it difficult to look away.
Sensing the movement, Xiao Yixian turned around and shifted her gaze toward him.
"You finally woke up. How was your rest? Have you recovered your energy?"
Seeing Lin Yuan walk out, Xiao Yixian smiled brightly and spoke in a gentle voice.
"Mm!" Lin Yuan nodded and chuckled. "I haven't slept this comfortably in a long time! Where's Zi Yan?"
Hearing this, Xiao Yixian smiled sweetly.
"That girl? She's currently hugging the pills you refined for her and sleeping soundly. She certainly seems very happy."
"Is that so? That's good, then!"
Hearing this, Lin Yuan couldn't help smiling as well.
"By the way…" Xiao Yixian slightly furrowed her brows and pondered for a moment. "While you were sleeping, someone came to visit. But you were sleeping so soundly at the time, so I turned them all away. There was one person in particular that you should pay attention to."
"Oh? Who?"
Lin Yuan lazily stretched his body and asked.
"Xiao Yan or rather, Venerable Yao!"
Xiao Yixian placed the watering can down, gracefully walked over to Lin Yuan, and extended her delicate hand to smooth out a few wrinkles in his clothes.
"When he left, he asked me to tell you that he has a deal he would like to discuss with you."
"Oh?"
A playful look flashed through Lin Yuan's eyes.
"Another deal? I like the sound of that…"
"There's no time to waste. I'll call him over right now."
As he spoke, he gently took Xiao Yixian's delicate hand and pulled her along to sit beside him at the stone table in the courtyard.
Then, his immense soul power surged from between his brows, flowing and spreading toward the Pan Gate.
His vast soul power swept across the Pan Gate's headquarters. In an instant, Lin Yuan grasped the basic information there.
"Quite energetic, aren't they? Are they preparing for the Strong Ranking Tournament a month from now?"
"Hu Jia and Wu Hao have also reached the five-star Dou Spirit realm. Not bad! Xiao Yan seven-star Dou Spirit. That's quite impressive. He's considerably stronger than in the original trajectory. In that case."
After locking onto his target, Lin Yuan's lips moved slightly.
A strand of profound sound, wrapped in his soul power, was accurately transmitted across the distance.
Pan Gate
On the training ground, everyone was enthusiastically watching the battle between three people.
At this moment, although Xiao Yan had not used the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Change and was fighting one against two, he was still firmly suppressing Hu Jia and Wu Hao.
Judging from his expression, he still had considerable energy to spare.
The opponents who had once been evenly matched with him had now clearly fallen behind.
"Fire Ring Explosion!"
Xiao Yan caught an attack from each of them with his hands. He suddenly shouted, and a khaki-colored ring of flames expanded from his body, surging toward the two people who were only inches away.
Hu Jia and Wu Hao wanted to dodge, but they discovered that Xiao Yan had firmly seized their hands.
And then.
"Boom!"
With a muffled explosion, the two figures were sent flying backward by the impact of the flames before crashing heavily onto the ground.
Wu Hao and Hu Jia had lost!
"This period of cultivation wasn't wasted. Although I could defeat the two of them before, I could never have done it this easily!"
A satisfied look flashed through Xiao Yan's eyes, and his heart was filled with delight.
"The combined battle style of Dou Qi and flame control really is useful!"
When he had witnessed the battle between Lin Yuan and Gu Yao, Xiao Yan had suddenly discovered something important.
The various conditions between him and Lin Yuan were actually quite similar. Although he was currently only a weakened version of Lin Yuan, Lin Yuan's battle style was extremely suitable for him.
Therefore, Xiao Yan had begun learning and imitating it.
During this period, under master's guidance, he had learned the basics of a flame-control technique taught by his teacher. His flame-control ability had increased tremendously.
After some further practice and coordination, he could finally apply Lin Yuan's battle style in actual combat.
Taking a light breath, Xiao Yan smiled.
"Wu Hao, Hu Jia, with your current strength, you're already strong enough to rank on the Strong Ranking."
"You've become stronger again."
Wu Hao suppressed his surging blood and slowly rose from the ground. He then challenged Xiao Yan to another match.
"Let's have another fight after some time, shall we?"
"No problem!"
Xiao Yan nodded.
"You really don't understand how to show mercy to women!"
Hu Jia struggled to get up and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth before angrily saying, "Aside from your strength and alchemy skills being somewhat acceptable, I really don't know what Xun'er likes about you."
Hearing this, Xiao Yan shrugged and gave a smug smile.
"Perhaps Xun'er likes my personal charm."
"Pfft, pfft, pfft!"
Hu Jia looked at him disdainfully.
"Personal charm? Do you have anything to do with that?"
Xiao Yan smiled faintly and was just about to say something to provoke this "love rival."
Suddenly, a rather familiar voice accurately sounded beside his ear.
"Brother Xiao, I've already awakened and have some free time now. If you and Senior Yao have something you would like to discuss with me, you can come over here now."
The sudden voice in his ear caused Xiao Yan to freeze slightly, but he quickly recovered.
"Teacher, should we go over now?"
He asked inwardly.
"Let's go, Little Yan. We'll go meet with him."
Venerable Yao's voice sounded in Xiao Yan's mind.
"If I want to revive as soon as possible, I'll need his help whether it's refining the physical body or refining the Bone-Melting Blood-Rebirth Pill."
"I understand!"
Xiao Yan nodded almost imperceptibly, but a trace of gloom flashed through his eyes.
He was still too weak at present. There was almost nothing he could do to help with his teacher's revival.
"Hu Jia, Wu Hao, I'm going out for a while…"
Before long, Xiao Yan left Pan Gate and headed toward the residence where Lin Yuan lived.
"So Senior Yao wants me to personally refine the Bone-Melting Blood-Rebirth Pill?"
Lin Yuan put down the cup in his hand and looked at Venerable Yao sitting opposite him.
"Exactly!"
Venerable Yao nodded solemnly.
"Furthermore, I hope that, just as you did with the pill you refined a few days ago, you can raise the grade of the Bone-Melting Blood-Rebirth Pill to the Eighth-Grade. With your current ability, you should be capable of accomplishing this."
Hearing this, Lin Yuan pondered for a moment.
"Sure. I agree to this. Give me the medicinal ingredients, and I'll refine the Bone-Melting Blood-Rebirth Pill before the Strong Ranking Tournament."
"Excellent!"
Seeing that the deal had been reached, a trace of delight flashed through Venerable Yao's eyes.
"As for the payment, feel free to name your price. I've traveled across the continent for many years and have collected quite a few cultivation techniques, Dou Techniques, pill formulas, and secret techniques. There should be something you need."
Lin Yuan nodded and chuckled.
"As expected of Senior Yao. You really are generous! In that case, I won't stand on ceremony. Let me think."
As he spoke, he gently tapped his fingers against the table, seemingly falling into thought.
Venerable Yao did not urge him and simply waited quietly for his answer.
After a while, Lin Yuan stopped tapping his fingers and looked at Venerable Yao seriously.
"I heard that Senior possesses a unique secret technique capable of forcibly increasing the spiritual energy within pills. I'm quite interested in it. How about using that technique as the payment for this pill refinement?"
Hearing this, Venerable Yao looked at Lin Yuan with considerable surprise.
"The Spirit-Raising Method? I didn't expect you to have even found out about this."
The Spirit-Raising Method was the creation Venerable Yao was most proud of in his life. It was a technique for nurturing and strengthening spiritual energy.
The quality of an Eighth-Grade pill depended on its spiritual energy. The Spirit-Raising Method could forcibly increase a pill's spiritual energy after the pill had been successfully refined, thereby raising its grade.
Among the many secret techniques associated with Eighth-Grade alchemy, this secret technique could be considered one of the finest.
However, its requirements for the practitioner were extremely demanding.
Not only did the practitioner need to be capable of drawing in a tremendous amount of spiritual energy, but they also had to possess an extremely high-quality flame.
Venerable Yao pondered for a while before speaking solemnly.
"Fine. I can give you the Spirit-Raising Method, but I also have one condition…"
"Oh?"
Lin Yuan raised his brows slightly.
"What condition? Senior, please speak frankly."
"Hehe!"
Venerable Yao chuckled softly, a cunning glint flashing through his eyes.
"I want you to use the Spirit-Raising Method when refining the Bone-Melting Blood-Rebirth Pill and raise it to at least the Eighth-Grade, four-colored level. How about it?"
The strength he would possess after his revival was closely related to the quality of the materials used.
If the quality of the materials used for his revival could be increased, then handing his unique secret technique over to Lin Yuan would at least be a worthwhile trade.
"Senior Yao really is shrewd."
Lin Yuan smiled playfully. "But aren't you worried that I might fail when using the technique? As far as I know, this method of nurturing a pill's spirit is not easy to master."
"Ha-ha!" Yao Lao gave Lin Yuan a deep, meaningful look. "If someone else were using this method, I might worry that they would fail. But you should be able to succeed. No, that's not right. You will definitely succeed, won't you?"
Hearing this, Lin Yuan nodded slightly and said confidently, "Since Senior Yao thinks so highly of me, I won't be modest. I agree to your condition. However…"
His tone suddenly changed. He looked deeply at Yao Lao and said seriously, "In exchange, I also have something I need Senior to help me with. I hope you can take a look at this method of Gathering Flame and Condensing a Pill and see whether there are any areas that can still be improved."
As he spoke, his expression became more serious. He took a gray scroll from his Storage Ring and handed it to Yao Lao.
Beside Lin Yuan, Xiao Yixian also showed a trace of nervousness in her eyes.
"The Gathering Flame and Condensing a Pill method? Little fellow Lin, is this the method you mentioned before, the one that uses the Netherworld Poison Flame to replace the Heavenly Scorpion Poison Dragon Beast's core?" Yao Lao asked.
"Exactly." Lin Yuan nodded.
"Interesting. Let this old man have a look." Yao Lao's voice carried a little more interest.
He took the scroll and carefully read through it.
After a while, Yao Lao closed the scroll and said seriously, "This Gathering Flame and Condensing a Pill method can indeed be used, but there are still a few minor details that can be improved. I can help you with that."
"Thank you, Senior." Lin Yuan cupped his hands.
"No need to thank me." Yao Lao waved his hand and said indifferently, "This method is already quite complete. I'm merely adding a little refinement to it, so it is nothing major. Besides, we will have many opportunities to cooperate in the future, won't we?"
"That's true." Lin Yuan nodded with a smile. "As for Senior's resurrection, if there is anything you need me to help with later, feel free to come to me."
"I'll remember those words."
Yao Lao smiled with satisfaction. "I'll take this Gathering Flame and Condensing a Pill method back and refine it. I'll return it to you in a few days. As for this Spirit-Nurturing Method, it's yours. If there is anything you don't understand, you can come and ask me at any time."
As he spoke, he placed the gray scroll into the Bone Flame Ring, then took out a silver scroll and handed it to Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan accepted the scroll and briefly examined it. His eyes immediately flashed with brilliance.
"The Spirit-Nurturing Method is indeed profound. Senior Yao truly deserves to be called the number-one Alchemist on the continent."
"Those were merely the glories of the past. Now, I'm nothing more than a wisp of a soul." Yao Lao shook his head and said solemnly, "However, if I can successfully revive, you and Jia Nan Academy will be my friends from now on. There will naturally be even greater rewards in the future."
"Senior makes it sound as though we aren't already friends."
"That's true. I was overthinking it."
The two exchanged smiles.
This meeting had gone perfectly. Both sides had obtained what they wanted.
Not long afterward, Yao Lao left with Xiao Yan.
Watching the direction in which the two disappeared, a profound look appeared in Lin Yuan's eyes.
"Yao Lao's soul has recovered quite well. It is already comparable to that of a Five-Star Dou Ancestor. It seems that quite a few of the medicinal materials he exchanged with me were used for this."
"You plan to help Venerable Yao revive?" Xiao Yixian asked from the side.
"I do have such plans." Lin Yuan spun the scroll around his fingertips and smiled lightly. "I'm quite familiar with Elder Yao. Compared with other unfamiliar experts, he's much easier to deal with."
For Lin Yuan, his greatest wealth was precisely the foresight in his mind, as well as his understanding of the behavioral patterns of certain people.
Compared with some strangers whose backgrounds and personalities he knew nothing about, someone like Yao Lao was much easier to work with.
Moreover, personally helping him revive would allow Lin Yuan to earn his favor while also ensuring that Yao Lao's strength after resurrection remained within a controllable range.
For Lin Yuan right now, the best possible outcome would be for Yao Lao to successfully revive while remaining one step weaker than Mang Tianchi.
That way, the two sides could cooperate on a more equal footing, allowing Lin Yuan to use this opportunity to enter some of the circles in the Central Plains.
"Is it better for him to revive at the peak of the Dou Venerable realm a few years earlier, or to revive in a Half-Saint state a few years later?"
"Yao Lao, if you knew the truth, would you thank me or resent me? Heh."
Shaking his head, Lin Yuan pulled his wandering thoughts back and unfolded the silver scroll once again.
Not long afterward, Zi Yan walked out of the room with sleepy eyes.
The moment she saw Lin Yuan, her eyes lit up. She hurried over to him and asked eagerly, "Brother, you're awake! When can I eat this Transformation Pill?"
As she spoke, Zi Yan took the Transformation Pill out of her Storage Ring and gazed at Lin Yuan expectantly.
Although she was quite mischievous, whenever Lin Yuan seriously instructed her to do something, she would remember it firmly.
Since Lin Yuan had told her not to take it yet, she could force herself to wait.
However, the enormous energy contained within the Transformation Pill was simply too tempting for her.
Seeing this, Lin Yuan rubbed Zi Yan's little head. After probing her condition with his soul power, he said gently, "There is too much energy accumulated in your body, and it is too mixed. I'll use medicinal cuisine to regulate your body. After one week, you can take the Transformation Pill."
"Medicinal cuisine, one week!"
Zi Yan's eyes immediately lit up.
Suddenly, she felt that there was no need to be in such a hurry to eat the Transformation Pill.
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