"Xiao Yan?" Xun'er's delicate brows furrowed slightly. If Ling Ying hadn't mentioned it, she would have almost forgotten about him. When she was very young, Xiao Se had once told her that Xiao Yan was not a good person. Later, because Xiao Se left and she lost her memories from ages four to six, she had been playmates with him for a few years. Later, Xiao Yan's talent disappeared, and due to inferiority, he deliberately distanced himself from her, and their relationship faded.
Now, hearing that Xiao Yan was a coward who betrayed his teacher and defected to the Hall of Souls, which had destroyed the Xiao Clan, Xun'er was completely disappointed in him.
"Alright, I understand. You may go now. The Gu Clan has a blood pact with the Xiao Clan, so we cannot take action. The Hun Clan has always been ruthless, devouring people without spitting out bones. Since Xiao Yan chooses to degenerate, let him fend for himself."
"Now that Big Brother has Advanced to Dou Zun, he certainly won't stay in that small place called the Northwest Continent. Just help me keep an eye on Big Brother's news."
As she spoke, Xun'er twisted her slender waist and suddenly shot down toward the cliff wall.
Watching Xun'er's disappearing figure, Ling Ying shook his head with a bitter smile. Gazing into the distance, he sighed, "Has Young Miss come to terms with the fact that Young Master Xiao Se has many wives and concubines? That's really hard to believe."
At the junction of the Forgotten Soul Mountain Range and the Crimson Fire Mountain Range.
"I never thought that just passing through a space transit station, we would run into someone from the Hall of Souls here." Xiao Yi Xian casually crushed the neck of a Hall of Souls Protector and tossed him toward Xiao Se.
"This place is the junction of the Forgotten Soul Mountain Range and the Crimson Fire Mountain Range. The Hall of Souls has a branch in the Forgotten Soul Mountain Range, so encountering their Protector here is not surprising. After all, if they want to go to other regions, they must also rely on space wormholes." Xiao Se controlled the Evil God Hook to pierce the chest of the not-yet-dead Hall of Souls Protector, then pulled, and the latter's Soul was instantly yanked out.
"Dad, this guy is almost dead. Why are you keeping his Soul? Are you going to refine an Earth Demon Puppet?" Xiao Xue approached Xiao Se and asked curiously.
"Yeah. I gave that Heavenly Demon Puppet to Yun'er earlier. Now this one delivers himself to me, a perfect replacement. After all, the Medicinal Pills I refine from now on will be at least Seventh Grade, and I can't waste the Pill Lightning that comes with them." Xiao Se casually stored the Hall of Souls Protector's Soul into a Medicinal Pill bottle, then put the bottle along with the corpse into his storage ring.
"By the way, your mother and Qing Lin haven't returned yet? It's been three or four days."
"They should be back soon. With Mother's strength, capturing a few snake-type Demonic Beasts for Sister Qing Lin shouldn't take long." Xiao Xue smoothed Xiao Se's slightly messy clothes and smiled. "Besides, both Mother and Sister Qing Lin have the Jade Slips you left with them. As long as the Jade Slips aren't broken, it means they are safe."
Xiao Se nodded firmly. With Bibi Dong's strength, combined with her powerful twin spirits and several innate Domains, unless a Dou Sheng personally arrived, very few could keep her there.
Bored with nothing to do, Xiao Se decided to use the Hall of Souls Protector's corpse and Soul right there to refine an Earth Demon Puppet.
Three days later, the Earth Demon Puppet was successfully refined.
At that moment, Bibi Dong returned with Qing Lin.
"Qing Lin, you've Advanced to Dou Zun?" Xiao Se's eyes widened as he looked Qing Lin up and down, finding that her cultivation had indeed reached One Star Dou Zun.
"Hehe, all thanks to Sister Dong'er. She helped me capture two eight-tier snake-type Demonic Beasts, and I used my Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils to capture several seven-tier ones. Then I somehow broke through. That's why it took so much time."
"Truly worthy of being called the number one strange pupil on the Fighting Qi Continent. Compared to you, Xian'er's Calamity Poison Body doesn't seem so impressive." Xiao Se exclaimed.
"Not impressive?" Xiao Yi Xian heard this and said coquettishly, "If you think it stinks, then don't touch me from now on."
Xiao Se twitched his mouth. When did this little girl become so dirty-minded?
After a brief commotion, Xiao Se finally explained the misunderstanding to Xiao Yi Xian through practice.
Then, Bibi Dong was also pulled in to help Xiao Se explain.
Poor Qing Lin waited outside the space barrier, not knowing what was happening inside.
Only Xiao Xue, seeing the three with flushed faces, showed a meaningful smile.
Traveling was very boring, even when using space wormholes. Fortunately, with four beautiful women by his side, Xiao Se felt much better.
The group of five traveled around and took nearly a week to reach Holy Pill City, where the Pill Tower was located.
Entering Holy Pill City and looking around, Xiao Se couldn't help but sigh. No wonder it was called the Holy Land of Alchemists; it truly lived up to its reputation.
Everywhere were bustling crowds and continuous shouts. Walking along the streets, they brushed past Alchemists wearing robes of various colors.
The Pill Tower was not a single tower but composed of countless branch towers, making it very easy to identify.
Arriving at the center of Holy Pill City, they found a relatively tall black tower. Xiao Se led Bibi Dong and the others straight in.
At the front desk, a young man wearing a Sixth-Rank Alchemist badge saw Xiao Se and the women beside him. He was momentarily stunned, secretly lamenting Xiao Se's good fortune in love, then asked in a businesslike manner, "May I ask what business you have?"
"Alchemist examination." Xiao Se glanced at the young Alchemist's chest badge and couldn't help but sigh. Indeed, this was the Pill Tower. A Sixth-Rank Alchemist, who would be highly sought after outside, was just a receptionist here.
"Alchemist examination? Is it for you alone or for all of you?" the young Alchemist asked again.
Xiao Se calmly replied, "Just me."
"Then state your name, age, and teacher." The young Alchemist took out paper and pen.
"Name: Xiao Se; Age: 18; Teacher..." Xiao Se thought for a moment and answered, "Luo Hansong and Yao Chen."
"Crack." The young man's jade pen fell to the ground. He looked at Xiao Se in disbelief and exclaimed, "Are you referring to the Venerable Yao, known as the number one Alchemist on the continent?"
"He taught me alchemy for a month. Strictly speaking, he's half my teacher." Xiao Se nodded without denying it. He knew that this news would inevitably reach Xuan Yi, Venerable Yao's old flame, which was exactly what he wanted.
The young man neither fully believed nor disbelieved Xiao Se's words. After thinking for a moment, he decided to stabilize the situation: "May I ask which Rank of Alchemist you wish to test for?"
"What's the highest Rank you can test for here?" Xiao Se revealed a mysterious smile, asking back.
The young man said, "This branch tower is one of the Pill Towers managed by Xuan Yi, one of the three giants of the Pill Tower. It can certify Alchemists up to the Seventh-RankAdvanced level. If you want to certify as a Grade 8 Alchemist, you need to go to the Little Pill Tower, where it requires joint certification by the three giants. Of course, there's a condition to enter the Little Pill Tower: you must be at least a Seventh-RankAdvancedAlchemist."
"Then I'll test for Seventh-RankAdvanced." Xiao Se smiled.
"Are you joking, sir?" The young man frowned, his expression no longer as gentle as before. An eighteen-year-old testing for Seventh-RankAdvancedAlchemist? Was this a disregard for the Pill Tower's authority?
Even Cao Ying, known as the enchantress of the Cao Family, wouldn't dare make such a boast.
Xiao Se ignored the young man's attitude and said indifferently, "Do I look like I'm joking?"
"Very well. But before that, since you have never been certified at the Pill Tower, you must start from the First-Rank Alchemist examination." The young man said somewhat angrily.
"As you wish." Xiao Se shrugged slightly and followed a servant into a stone room.
At the entrance of the stone room stood a stone pillar embedded with gems. The gems were arranged in nine rows, nine gems per row.
Every time a Medicinal Pill was produced in the stone room, corresponding gems on the pillar would light up.
From bottom to top: first row for First Grade pills, second row for Second Grade, and so on.
The number of lit gems in each row represented the quality of the pill.
Under the watch of the young Alchemist and Bibi Dong's group, after one hour, the forty-two gems from the first to the sixth rows lit up almost simultaneously.
This meant that Xiao Se had refined pills from First to Sixth Grade in an extremely short time, each one nearly perfect.
Another hour passed, and Pill Lightning appeared above the tower. This time, the young Alchemist could no longer sit still.
The commotion from this tower naturally attracted the attention of many Alchemists in Holy Pill City.
"I never thought another Seventh-Rank Alchemist would be born in Holy Pill City. Judging by the force, it seems to be a Seventh-RankAdvanced pill." Many experienced Alchemists in Holy Pill City easily determined the pill's grade from the Pill Lightning.
The Pill Lightning came quickly and went quickly. Soon, Xiao Se walked out of the stone room carrying the pills he had refined.
At the same time, he was now wearing a purple robe with a Seventh-RankAdvancedAlchemist badge.
By now, the young Alchemist at the front desk was dumbfounded.
Ignoring the former, Xiao Se walked over to Bibi Dong and the others, led them leisurely out of the black tower. Next, he planned to wander around the Pill Tower, trading for some useful items for himself and his family.
The rest was just waiting for Xuan Yi to come looking for him.
"How much is this Earth RankAdvanced dark-attribute Cultivation Technique?"
Xiao Se led Bibi Dong and the others into a trading hall, approached a counter, and pointed at a black scroll inside.
Behind the counter was a young woman who appeared to be around twenty years old.
She had a tall and slender figure, dressed in black, exuding a cool and proud temperament. Her skin was like snow, and her long black hair casually draped over her fragrant shoulders. Her face was slightly thin but exquisitely delicate, like porcelain, making one want to hold it.
She sat behind the counter, her jade hand supporting her cheek, her narrow and somewhat lazy eyes showing a hint of allure, extremely charming.
Hearing the words, the girl lifted her eyelids and looked over Xiao Se and his companions. Her narrow beautiful eyes flashed with an imperceptible solemnity, then narrowed.
One man and four women, all very young, the oldest seemingly no more than twenty, yet not one of them had a cultivation level she could see through.
This aroused her curiosity, because anyone who could evade her Soul perception must either be practicing a special technique to conceal their aura or be a Dou Zun.
In other words, these five people were likely Dou Zun.
Glancing at the Seventh-Rank Alchemist badge on Xiao Se's chest, a faint curve slowly lifted the corners of her slender lips... At the moment that curve rose, her thin but charming face instantly became filled with Demonic Qi.
She said indifferently, "An Eighth Grade Pill with two-colored Pill Lightning."
"Can you make it cheaper?" Xiao Se twitched his mouth. It wasn't that he thought it was expensive, but he still hadn't gathered a complete set of Materials for an Eighth Grade Pill.
"You can choose not to buy. Dark-attribute Cultivation Techniques are rare, especially Earth RankAdvanced ones. If it weren't incompatible with my attribute, do you think I would trade it?" The woman glared at Xiao Se.
"How about this?" Xiao Se thought for a moment, took out a Seventh Grade Pill and a scroll from his storage ring: "I see you are also an Alchemist. I have an Earth RankIntermediateDou Technique, the Flame Control Art, which can condense a type of fake strange fire comparable to ordinary strange fire. I'll trade this plus a Seventh Grade Pill for your technique, how about that?"
"Flame Control Art? Fake strange fire?" Upon hearing this, the girl's beautiful eyes lit up instantly. Clearly, she was interested in the Flame Control Art, as no Alchemist would not want to have a strange fire. She then said, "Alright, but you must let me see it first."
"Feel free." Xiao Se handed over the scroll. This was the largest trading venue in the Pill Tower, so he wasn't worried about her reneging. Moreover, she was only a Dou Zong. If she tried to cheat him, Xiao Se wouldn't hesitate to destroy a beauty.
The woman took the scroll, looked it over, and her beautiful eyes lit up. She put away the Flame Control Art and then handed over the dark-attribute Cultivation Technique scroll, saying with a smile, "Deal."
"Pleasure doing business." Xiao Se took the scroll, verified its authenticity, casually tossed the Seventh Grade Pill to her, then handed the scroll to Bibi Dong: "Dong'er, you've been practicing an Earth Rank Low-level technique. This scroll will be a good upgrade for you."
"Mm." Bibi Dong took the technique with a smile, cherishing it. She was indeed interested in it. On one hand, her current technique was somewhat outdated and couldn't keep up with her cultivation progress. On the other hand, it was a gift from Xiao Se, and she treasured everything he gave her.
"Dad, I want that one." Xiao Xue took Xiao Se's arm and pointed to a crystal counter, inside which was an Earth RankAdvanced fire-attribute Cultivation Technique.
Fire-attribute techniques were standard for Alchemists.
By now, many people had gathered around, including some Seventh-Rank Alchemists.
"Let's go take a look." Xiao Se patted Xiao Xue's back and walked over. Bibi Dong, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin smiled at each other and followed.
Watching the five leave, the woman who sold the dark-attribute Earth RankAdvanced technique covered her red lips, the corners of her mouth slightly lifted, forming a faint curve. She murmured in her heart, "He's an interesting fellow, but... is that blonde girl really his daughter?"
The woman shook her head. Xiao Xue looked about the same age as Xiao Se, perhaps even older.
While it wasn't impossible that he had preserved his youth, the youthful look in Xiao Se's brows couldn't be concealed.
For example, Bibi Dong appeared to be eighteen or nineteen, but the naturally noble and mature aura she exuded was not something a young girl could possess.
Therefore, she was certain that Bibi Dong, with her perfect beauty that even she envied, was definitely over thirty, perhaps older.
As for the other three, their ages likely matched their appearances.
(End of Chapter)
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