Connecting Tantai Chan's identity as a second-grade mid-tier alchemist with the information Su Qingshan had accidentally revealed, everything pointed toward "pills" as the central mystery.
Steward Xu was also a second-grade mid-tier alchemist. If Su Qingshan wanted a Foundation Establishment Pill, his first stop would logically be his future father-in-law.
Furthermore, Su Qingshan had only recently reached the late Qi Refining stage. Wasn't it too early to be preparing for Foundation Establishment?
Another point: A second-grade high-tier Foundation Establishment Pill couldn't be refined by a mid-tier alchemist. Unless Tantai Chan had made a breakthrough in her art.
The situation was full of inconsistencies.
However, Wang Yu leaned toward the idea that Tantai Chan had indeed refined a high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill. Otherwise, why would this small herb garden be visited by so many first-generation Foundation Establishment cultivators? The place was nearly worn out!
Currently only at the fourth layer of Qi Refining, Wang Yu wasn't in a hurry to scheme for it.
With his aptitude, relying solely on the Placement Rack and grinding through time might work. Relying on himself, even one high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill might not be enough.
His Waste Spiritual Root was like a great mountain pressing down on him.
Looking through history, he had never heard of anyone with a Waste Spiritual Root successfully building a foundation. Of course, it was possible his knowledge was simply limited.
In the evening, after completing his field inspection,
Wang Yu continued refining the high-grade Coldblood Pill inside his body. Although the pill's effect was strong, refining it was truly difficult. He began considering switching to a top-grade Coldblood Pill.
While it also had a one-year refinement cycle, its astonishing effect of increasing one hundred strands of spiritual power put it far ahead of the high-grade version.
The price of top-grade pills was on a completely different level from high, mid, and low-grade ones—the difference was vast. This also proved that top-grade pill efficacy was outstanding enough for people to pursue them.
Using alchemy to refine his own cultivation pills was still worth the investment, as it could save him significant time.
After long consideration,
and repeatedly observing the three placement slots, Wang Yu finally placed the "Coldblood Pill" formula. Its progress was almost complete, needing only about two more months.
The time lost was far less than the improvement a top-grade pill would bring.
—Worth it!
The difference between placing it or not was that he needed his alchemy skill to also reach perfection before he felt confident enough to refine a top-grade pill.
**The next day.**
A strange pill fragrance roused Wang Yu from sleep. Pushing the door open, he saw a little white-haired girl standing on a small stool in the pathway between the herb fields.
In front of her was a large iron pot, which she stirred constantly with a jade rod.
The pill fragrance came from the pot.
Wang Yu was startled. Not just anyone could enter this herb garden; he relied on the imprint in his task scroll.
This little girl either had special privileges or was a regular visitor to Tantai Chan's herb garden.
Raising his guard, Wang Yu stepped forward to ask.
He gently tapped the large iron pot, keeping his tone soft: "Little sister, what are you..."
"Eek—
"You scared Tangtang!"
The girl, who looked about five or six, nearly poked Wang Yu's forehead with the jade rod. Seeing his flustered look, she burst out laughing.
"You have white hair, just like Tangtang!"
"Yes—
"Can you tell your big brother what's in this pot?"
"You mean this? Moonlight Fruit."
Wang Yu was shocked and hurried to check the backyard herb fields. Finding only four fruits left on the two second-grade Moonlight Trees, he sucked in a sharp breath.
Oh my dear mother—
This is deadly!
It was too late to get them back; the deed was done. Wang Yu turned and ran for the gate.
Just then, the girl spoke again.
"Why are you in such a hurry? The Beauty Preservation Pill is almost done. Call me Sister Tang, and I'll give you one."
Wang Yu stopped. Using a pot for alchemy? His sudden anxiety calmed. Looking at her smiling face, he realized the problem.
*She's not worried, so why should I be?*
"Tangtang, what's your relationship with Tantai Chan?"
"Chan'er? Chan'er is my human slave. Are you her human slave too?" The innocent, childish voice said words that could shatter his worldview.
Wang Yu was stunned: !(◎_◎;)
His mind began to spin; he felt dizzy.
"Then, Sis... Sister Tang, may I ask who you are—"
"The daughter of the Reverse Blood Sect's Guardian Fierce Beast, the Blood-Eyed Demonic Python—the future Demonic Immortal, Yu Tangtang, that's me!"
She dragged out the word "daughter," her voice rising and falling with impressive force. One foot on the stool, the other on the pot lid, jade rod pointing skyward, she radiated dominance.
A second-generation!
Wang Yu quietly sighed in relief and understood why Tantai Chan had spoken so deliberately before leaving. With backing like this, how could those first-generation cultivators compete?
Just by revealing Yu Tangtang's identity, the Foundation Establishment cultivators chasing her to Heavenly Treasure City would surely pay heavily. She was using herself as bait to gain benefits.
Yu Tangtang was Tantai Chan's greatest backing and opportunity. Understanding this, Wang Yu's smile became much more genuine.
"Sister Tang, how old are you? Do you need someone to look after you?"
Yu Tangtang looked at him curiously.
"This Demonic Immortal is five years old, at the late Qi Refining stage. Do you want to be my nanny?"
Nanny...
Was that Tantai Chan's role? He hadn't noticed those two soft lumps being particularly large. Were they bound?
But five years old, late Qi Refining stage... Wang Yu broke into a cold sweat. Demonic beasts cultivated similarly to humans, with roughly comparable lifespans.
But they were born with powerful bodies. After reaching one year old, when their meridians were fully developed, they could start cultivating. Humans naturally had to wait until around sixteen to withstand spiritual energy impact.
In cases where parents were powerful cultivators,
they often sought rare treasures to allow their children to meet the standards and start cultivating around eight, or even six in extreme cases.
They often achieved Foundation Establishment before twenty, with promising futures.
Much of their early time was spent learning basic cultivation knowledge: meridian charts, cultivation basics, literacy, comprehension, etc. After three years of foundation building, once they started cultivating, their speed was on a completely different level from ordinary cultivators.
Wang Yu had spent sixteen years learning broadly and deeply. Known as a child prodigy, he was immersed in astronomy, geography, Confucian classics, and even strange crafts—the Placement Rack was effective, and idle time was idle time.
But now, contacting Yu Tangtang, he immediately felt the waste of time. How could worldly matters compare to the allure of the path to immortality!
"A nanny might not be necessary, but don't you need a playmate?"
Yu Tangtang's delicate brows furrowed slightly.
"You're too weak; you might die easily, and you can't be a nanny either." She poked Wang Yu's chest muscle with a small hand, her little mouth puckering.
This sentence made Wang Yu realize Yu Tangtang wasn't easy to deal with. A child's malice is pure; she might not even know it's malice. Combined with having a demonic python for a father,
it instantly cooled Wang Yu's excited fervor.
"Sister Tang, please carry on.
"I'm just a farmer here. Feel free to pick anything."
"Wait—
"Your Beauty Preservation Pill."
It's done already? Watching the unidentified black pill tossed his way, Wang Yu's mouth twitched as he caught it.
What a waste!
**(End of Chapter)**