The three of them ultimately chose the library as their base.
The lower three floors of the library were open to them. Most of the books contained various cultivators' understandings of the Alchemy Dao, along with some travel journals.
The core secrets, naturally, were not accessible to them.
Song Wanníng did not mind this and focused on reading seriously. She was not really interested in the Dan Sect's inheritance—it was just an excuse to hide her real intentions from Baili Shang.
As she flipped through the pages, she overheard Xiao Heyun talking with the system, revealing that he intended to steal the Dan Sect's inheritance.
The system did not stop him and even agreed with his plan enthusiastically.
Song Wanníng was somewhat surprised. Stealing from the Dan Sect's territory was incredibly risky, and Xiao Heyun's cultivation level clearly wasn't up to the task.
Anyone who didn't know better might think the system was trying to send Xiao Heyun to his death. A smirk played on her lips. It would actually be better if Xiao Heyun got himself killed.
...
Three days passed in a flash before Huo Jinchuan finally appeared again.
His expression was even colder than before, and he looked deeply displeased.
"Come with me."
He led them toward a secret chamber in the Dan Sect. After half an hour, they stopped deep underground.
It was a tightly sealed stone chamber, designed to ensure the three could not escape.
Inside, a pile of medicinal herbs lay scattered carelessly on the floor. This showed that Huo Jinchuan did not care much about this so-called pill formula.
"These are the herbs. Once you have refined the pills, you may leave."
His cold gaze swept over them, showing no patience.
There was a fierce hostility in his eyes, as if he had suffered some recent grievance.
Song Wanníng and the others all grew serious. Although they already suspected ill intent, such blatant threats were unacceptable.
"What do you mean? We are here to observe, not to be your slaves!"
Xiao Heyun had already lost his temper. If his strength were enough, he would have attacked Huo Jinchuan immediately. His face was dark, his anger rising.
Huo Jinchuan looked at him as if he were a fool.
"You came with a purpose. You should have expected this outcome, right?"
His cold presence felt like it could pierce through to the soul.
Xiao Heyun was stunned, then his face darkened further.
So Huo Jinchuan had known all along about their hidden motives!
"Don't play tricks with me. If you complete the task, I will let you leave and even help you achieve your goals. But if you try to deceive me—"
Huo Jinchuan glanced at the three coldly, a flash of killing intent in his eyes. The surrounding air froze.
Xiao Heyun's body hairs stood on end. A chilling sensation spread from his head to his toes. His pupils constricted as he struggled to believe this dangerous feeling came from the man before him.
Without another word, Huo Jinchuan turned and strode away.
The stone chamber door was shut, leaving only the three inside.
Song Wanníng looked down at the scattered herbs. Each was precious, many unfamiliar to her, yet they were tossed about carelessly by Huo Jinchuan.
For some reason, this gave her a strange, conflicting feeling.
With so many valuable herbs lying here—if they were wasted, it would be a great loss.
Song Wanníng and Baili Shang naturally each took out their refining furnaces and began pill refining leisurely.
They could not use the incomplete pill formula, but they knew how to refine life-saving pills.
At least those should not be wasted.
Xiao Heyun, believing the other two had given in, snorted coldly.
"Cowards."
He muttered disdainfully, looking down on them.
Now they were not trying to escape but instead thinking about refining pills for Huo Jinchuan?
They must be idiots.
Song Wanníng, who normally appeared clever, turned out to be a fool as well.
However, Song Wanníng and Baili Shang did not even want to acknowledge Xiao Heyun. They didn't spare him a glance.
This made Xiao Heyun angrier, full of frustration with no outlet. He angrily started searching for escape mechanisms, trying to open the main door.
Song Wanníng and Baili Shang watched him search around with disbelief and a twitch of their lips. If Huo Jinchuan dared to leave them here, it meant the place was extremely secure—they could not escape.
With that time, it was better to refine more pills. If a conflict really broke out, they would have more lifesaving pills on hand.
After a while, Xiao Heyun finally realized this and stopped wasting time. He joined them in refining pills.
Three days passed again. By then, Song Wanníng and the others had refined many good pills, storing them carefully.
Opportunities like this were rare, so they all made the most of every second.
When Huo Jinchuan entered the stone chamber with others, the three stopped their work.
Song Wanníng glanced at the man beside Huo Jinchuan. His face was similar to Huo Jinchuan's, and he wore splendid brocade robes. His presence was commanding without anger—clearly a man of high rank.
This must be the Huo family patriarch.
"Are these the people you found?"
The patriarch's deep voice filled the chamber, instantly raising the tension.
"Yes. The three are all Alchemist prodigies. Maybe they can repair the pill formula."
Huo Jinchuan nodded and led him into the chamber.
When the patriarch saw that many herbs were missing, his eyes flickered briefly, but he said nothing. He scrutinized the three carefully, a cold gleam in his eyes.
"I assume Jinchuan has explained everything clearly. If you can repair the Resurrection Pill formula, you will be allowed to leave. If you cannot, then you will remain here for life."
They had entered Huo's territory and would have to obey, but there was still a glimmer of hope.
Hearing the words Resurrection Pill, all three felt their hearts tighten simultaneously.
The Resurrection Pill was entirely different from the Soul Nourishing Pill.
The Soul Nourishing Pill mainly nourished the Primordial Soul and repaired its injuries.
The Resurrection Pill, however, gathered a soul that had already dispersed.
Usually, when a person's soul disperses, they have completely fallen, but some possess special methods to bind the fading Primordial Soul. With the help of the Resurrection Pill, the soul could be awakened again. But this awakening only created an ordinary body. All past cultivation was lost.
Still, this was a defiant act against the natural order, and awakening a soul might bring Heavenly punishment.
These were all ancient records, and the Resurrection Pill formula had long been lost. Now the Huo patriarch actually wanted them to repair the Resurrection Pill formula?
Song Wanníng and Baili Shang exchanged a glance, their hearts sinking deeply.