Seeing how much Gu Xun'er cared about Xiao Yan, Hun Changqing conceived a rather crude plan in his mind, one could even call it simple and brutal.
It could be said that if this plan went wrong, Hun Changqing would be doomed! But… if it succeeded, he would definitely reap an astonishing reward!
A glint of light flashed in Hun Changqing's eyes, but he quickly sighed.
"Sigh, the risks are just too great, there are too many uncertainties, and I'm not good at that kind of meticulous, step-by-step planning. Sigh, let's wait and see. I'll think about it carefully in this time. There's still some time before Gu Xun'er leaves the Xiao family, so I'll go back and break through to the Dou Zong realm first."
Hun Changqing shook his head, stopped thinking about it, and left with his little beast.
...
As soon as he entered the secret chamber, Hun Changqing sensed something unusual. The Dou Qi in the air became extremely dense, and it was faintly converging in one direction—the direction of the alchemy furnace. Hun Changqing had some guesses in his mind.
Suppressing his breathing, he moved to the location of Yao Chen's pill-refining operation. Yao Chen floated above the alchemy furnace, his spiritual power extending from his body, controlling the Bone Spirit Cold Fire and continuously pouring it into the ancient, rustic furnace below.
White flames rose and swirled within the furnace, enveloping a pill emitting a silvery-gray glow. The temperature in the air plummeted, and frost began to form in many places within the secret chamber.
Yao Chen's ten fingers moved rhythmically and nimbly in front of him, controlling the temperature of the Bone Spirit Cold Fire in the furnace, continuously suppressing it to its lowest possible level…
Clearly, this was the final step before the pill was formed.
Hun Changqing watched this scene with narrowed eyes, his hands, hidden in his black sleeves, clenched tightly, beads of cold sweat forming on his brow.
Even though Hun Changqing had complete confidence in Yao Chen's alchemy skills, no matter how skilled an alchemist is, mistakes can still happen.
That's why others prepare three sets of materials when requesting an alchemist to refine a pill. However, his current resources were only enough to refine this pill twice. If both attempts failed, Hun Changqing could declare bankruptcy!
Moreover, Yao Chen's spiritual power hadn't yet returned to its peak, and this pill was extremely difficult to refine even among seventh-grade alchemists, causing Hun Changqing considerable worry.
Soon, the light emanating from the pill grew increasingly intense, illuminating the entire secret chamber in a silvery-white glow. Then, the intense silver light slowly subsided, indicating the pill was nearing completion. Seeing this
, Hun Changqing was overjoyed, and his clenched fist slowly loosened.
Unfortunately, his joy was premature.
Just as the beam of light was about to converge and the pill was gradually stabilizing, it suddenly began to tremble wildly.
The stable and rhythmic transmission of spiritual power from the surrounding medicinal dust to the pill was completely disrupted, becoming frenzied.
The cauldron also trembled violently, buzzing loudly, and then, as if reaching a critical point, the pill instantly exploded. The terrifying, chilling energy within the pill immediately dispersed, freezing the entire secret chamber into an icy wasteland.
But this didn't stop there. The terrifying chill, as if finding no outlet, raged wildly, violently assaulting the array barriers within the secret chamber, causing the entire chamber to tremble violently.
Seeing this, Hun Changqing dared not think further. In a flash, he appeared beside Yao Chen, first forming a barrier of Taiyin True Qi around Yao Chen, protecting him from the terrifying chill.
Then, he appeared in the center of the chamber, sat cross-legged, and touched his brow with his finger. A gray droplet appeared between his fingers, and he opened his palm.
The droplet instantly multiplied into countless forms, creating a vortex in his palm. A tremendous suction force emerged from the vortex, frantically drawing in the terrifying Yin Qi scattered throughout the chamber.
The Yin energy was instantly drawn in by the whirlpool. Upon contact with the whirlpool, the Yin energy was broken down and assimilated into Taiyin True Qi. Once formed, Taiyin True Qi was immediately absorbed into Hun Changqing's body and refined.
...
After an unknown amount of time, the previously turbulent chamber finally calmed down. The terrifying Yin energy had vanished without a trace, and even the frost that had condensed from Yin energy had disappeared.
At this moment, Hun Changqing, who was sitting cross-legged in the chamber, slowly opened his eyes, assessed his condition, and couldn't help but sigh.
"Although I absorbed most of the medicinal power, I ultimately didn't form a pill. It didn't have the miraculous effects of a pill; it was just the medicinal power of ordinary herbs. It only slightly improved my Taiyin True Qi, but didn't allow me to successfully break through to the Dou Zong realm. Alas, what a pity." Upon seeing Hun Changqing awaken, Yao Chen rushed forward, head bowed, and said with deep shame, "I am ashamed!"
Hun Changqing forced a smile, trying to comfort Yao Chen,
"Elder Yao, there's no need for that. Such things happen frequently in alchemy. Besides, you haven't fully recovered, and I've absorbed most of the medicinal power, so the materials weren't wasted much. We're
now just one step away from reaching the Dou Zong level..." "Even without the aid of elixirs, I'll be able to break through soon, so please don't worry, Elder Yao. Don't blame yourself too much.
We still have some materials left. Just do your best, Elder Yao. I'll go find the materials in a few days, and then we won't be in such a predicament."
However, Hun Changqing's heart was bleeding. Half of his possessions were gone, and he felt he needed comforting more than ever. Unfortunately, he couldn't show it.
To cooperate with Yao Chen, he had to maintain his confidence at all times and not lose his composure. Only in this way could he maintain his dominant position in their cooperation.
"By the way, Elder Yao, I found some things on this trip. See if you can use any of these. If not, you can sell them."
After saying that, Hun Changqing took out all his spoils and placed them in front of Yao Chen.
"Huh!"
Yao Chen flew to the silver spirit-absorbing object and then looked at the purple crystal next to it.
"Beast fire?"
"Companion amethyst source?"
Yao Chen couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. "
Not bad. This time we went out and killed some fifth-tier magical beasts and an amethyst winged lion king. Amethyst winged lion kings are extremely rare magical beasts, and the things they left behind are quite valuable. I wonder if you, Elder Yao, need these? If not, we'll just have to sell them."
Hun Changqing said calmly.
"Amethyst winged lion king, huh? It is indeed rare. I didn't encounter many in my lifetime. These things are also very rare on the market and can fetch a good price."
"I don't really need these things, but I think you can keep them for now. There's never a shortage of buyers for these things, so you don't have to worry about selling them. Who knows, you might need them someday."
Hun Changqing thought about it and agreed. He then put the items away and handed another storage ring to Yao Chen.
"This is another set of materials; I'll have to trouble you again
, Yao Chen." "Don't worry, I'll definitely succeed this time! I promise you!" "
After receiving the storage ring, Yao Chen solemnly assured Hun Changqing. After all, they were starting a business together, and it wouldn't do for him to keep failing and holding them back. He then turned and went to refine pills.
After sending Yao Chen off to refine pills, Hun Changqing narrowed his eyes, a ruthless glint flashing within them, a terrifying light.
"The greater the risk, the greater the reward. There are no foolproof plans in this world, nor are there people who can calculate without error. Hesitation inevitably leads to missed opportunities.
This failure has been devastating, but it has also strengthened my resolve to execute the plan. Since I don't have the ability to scheme, I'll use simple and brutal strength to accomplish it! Gu Xun'er... Hmph!" With a cold
snort, Hun Changqing stood up and left the secret chamber.