"Master Yan, I came to Qingxuanju this time to seek something from you."
Jiang Chen cut straight to the point, his calmness in stark contrast to Yan Qingxuan's lingering shock.
"Master? What master?" Yan Qingxuan waved his hand with a hearty laugh. "Little brother, you and I are peers in the Dao of Alchemy. I'm older—just call me Brother Yan. Whatever you need, speak freely."
This youth… was no ordinary alchemist.
In Yan Qingxuan's heart, Jiang Chen was no longer just a "talent." He was a once-in-millennia prodigy—one who might even hold the key to breaking his own bottleneck and stepping into the seventh rank.
"Then thank you, Brother Yan."
Jiang Chen smiled lightly. "I heard that Brother Yan once led an expedition to besiege the Chiyan Fire Phoenix. I've come for a portion of its essence blood."
Yan Qingxuan blinked. "Chiyan Fire Phoenix blood?"
The blood of such a creature… that was a material used only in the refinement of fifth-rank or higher pills.
Was this little brother already capable of refining such a thing?
Jiang Chen gestured toward the silent girl behind him. "My maid has… a unique condition. She needs the blood of the Chiyan Fire Phoenix to refine a pill."
Yan Qingxuan and Su Lingxiang froze.
Maid?
Both turned to Meng Qingxue, who, shockingly, did not deny it.
This was Meng Qingxue—a girl whose name shook all of Lingyun Wufu. A cold, untouchable genius. And she stood there, silent, docile—accepting the title of maid.
For a moment, even Yan Qingxuan, a sixth-rank alchemy master, felt his worldview crack.
"…Brother Jiang Chen," Yan Qingxuan spoke again after steadying his breath. "Are you saying you can actually cure Qingxue's condition?"
Jiang Chen nodded. "Her constitution is a Taiyin Desperate Body. Only the ancient Xuanyang Pill can resolve it. And to refine that pill, one must have the blood of a sixth-rank fire-attribute beast."
"Taiyin… Desperate Body? Ancient Xuanyang Pill?"
Yan Qingxuan murmured the words as if tasting them for the first time.
He had lived a lifetime steeped in alchemy and yet—he had never even heard of these things.
For the first time in decades, Yan Qingxuan felt like an ignorant student, listening to a true master. Could this youth truly be… a soul from the ancient alchemical era, reborn into this age?
Two hours later, after a deep exchange of alchemical insights that left Yan Qingxuan's heart ablaze with newfound understanding, Jiang Chen departed Qingxuanju with the Chiyan Fire Phoenix essence blood in hand.
When Jiang Chen returned to his courtyard, he immediately noticed someone waiting at the gate.
"Brother Jiang Chen, you're finally back!"
It was Tang Sheng, his face pale and full of urgency.
Jiang Chen's brows furrowed. "What happened? Did something happen at Baodan Pavilion?"
Tang Sheng shook his head grimly. "This morning, a man named Jiang Kui came to Baodan Pavilion looking for you. He was already gravely injured when he arrived."
Jiang Chen's expression hardened instantly.
Jiang Kui…
Uncle Kui.
He was one of the Jiang family's most loyal retainers.
"If I'm right…" Tang Sheng's voice grew heavy. "…something has happened to your Jiang family."
The courtyard fell silent, the weight of those words pressing down like iron.
Jiang Chen's eyes turned sharp, a chilling light flashing within.
Something happened… at home.