"Young Master Xiao, after we finish refining this fire bodhi pill, I hope we can spar a bit."
Tang Huo'er looked at Xiao Li with bright eyes, a hint of anticipation in them.
Xiao Li was momentarily stunned, seeing the eagerness in her gaze.
She's quite the competitive one... Earlier, in front of Tang Zhen, Tang Huo'er had acted like a docile girl, and Xiao Li had genuinely thought she was.
"What do you want to compete in?" Xiao Li asked with a smile, quite interested in her.
Although Tang Huo'er was the Eldest Miss of Fenyang Valley, she didn't have any airs.
And she was beautiful; while her looks might be slightly less than Little Fairy Doctor and Medusa, she possessed a unique temperament.
With a touch of heroic spirit, Xiao Li's impression of her was quite good.
"Of course, we'll spar in combat! Do you think I'd compete with you in alchemy?"
"I've never met a genius like you, and I really want to test myself." Tang Huo'er was already quite eager to try.
Xiao Li smiled helplessly and said, "Let's talk about it after your injuries heal. Your internal fire poison is so deep; it's not suitable to exert yourself before it's completely removed."
"How did you know I have fire poison inside me?" Tang Huo'er was a bit surprised.
Valley Master Tang had sought someone to refine the fire bodhi pill precisely to suppress the fire poison in her body.
But Tang Zhen never spoke of this to outsiders, and not many people in Fenyang Valley even knew Tang Huo'er had been afflicted with fire poison.
How did Xiao Li figure it out?
"I'm very sensitive to Heavenly Flames. The fire poison in your body should have been left by your Fenyang Valley's inherited Heavenly Flame—the Nine Dragon Lightning Seal Fire. It's a pity you couldn't subdue the Nine Dragon Lightning Seal Fire and instead ended up poisoned."
"No wonder Valley Master Tang was willing to offer such a high price to invite me," Xiao Li said.
Tang Huo'er felt a pang of emotion and asked in a low voice, "My father... what conditions did he offer you?"
Xiao Li suddenly felt like teasing her and smirked, "Your father said that as long as I help refine the fire bodhi pill to remove the fire poison from your body, he would marry you off to me as my wife."
Tang Huo'er froze for a moment; the next instant, her pretty face instantly flushed crimson: "No, impossible! My father hasn't even asked me..."
"A parent's command, a matchmaker's words; such matters don't require asking you," Xiao Li continued to tease.
The girl's expression changed several times, showing anger, confusion, and grievance.
"I don't believe it! I'm going to find my father!"
As she spoke, she made to leave, scaring Xiao Li into quickly grabbing her.
"I was just joking, Miss Huo'er, why are you so easily teased?"
If Tang Huo'er really went to find Tang Zhen, it would be a huge misunderstanding.
"Joking?"
"Yes, I just thought Miss Huo'er was so beautiful, I wanted to tease you a bit."
"You... Hmph!"
Tang Huo'er let out a delicate hmph, shaking off Xiao Li's hand.
"Young Master Xiao, you should rest well. After the fire bodhi pill is refined, remember to stay and spar with me. You can't refuse—consider it the price for teasing me just now!"
With that, she turned and left.
Watching Tang Huo'er's retreating figure, Xiao Li found her quite interesting... He rested for one night in Fenyang Valley.
The next day, everyone gathered in the square.
"Master Huan, Young Master Xiao, are you both ready?"
The two nodded.
"The fire bodhi pill we are refining this time is a Rank 7 high-grade medicinal pill, requiring an extremely large number of ingredients, so we will need to work together."
"Therefore, you two only need to follow the contents of the prescription and perform your respective duties."
Tang Zhen handed two scrolls to Xiao Li and Master Huan.
The two took the scrolls, examined their contents with their soul power, and clearly memorized the steps.
Then, the alchemy officially began.
Tang Zhen took out a huge medicinal cauldron from his storage ring and placed it on the stone platform in the center of the square; its heavy weight surprised even Xiao Li.
"It's actually the Mountain Melting Cauldron! I didn't expect this treasure from the Heavenly Cauldron List to be collected by Valley Master Tang." Master Huan's eyes showed envy.
"Hahaha, just good luck," Tang Zhen laughed.
Subsequently, the three officially began refining the pill.
Tang Zhen used the Nine Dragon Lightning Seal Fire as the main flame, burning fiercely within the Mountain Melting Cauldron.
The unique pressure of the Heavenly Flame required Master Huan to maintain a certain level of vigilance throughout the refining process.
But for Xiao Li, who possessed multiple Heavenly Flames, the Nine Dragon Lightning Seal Fire, though powerful, was not enough to affect him.
The alchemy proceeded as planned.
However, the purification of medicinal ingredients itself was a quite time-consuming process.
With the combined efforts of the three, it took a full seven days to refine all the ingredients into their essences.
"You two, the rest is up to you now," Tang Zhen said in a deep voice.
Although he possessed the Nine Dragon Lightning Seal Fire, he was not a true Alchemist, and he couldn't help with the subsequent steps.
Hearing this, Xiao Li and Master Huan both nodded, taking on the heavy responsibility.
Next, they had to fuse all these essences together to condense them into a true medicinal pill!
During this process, Xiao Li felt fine, with not much pressure.
Although he rarely refined Rank 7 high-grade medicinal pills, with his Heavenly Realm soul, the pressure was moderate.
Master Huan, however, was quite exhausted, consuming many Qi Recovery Pills along the way to sustain himself.
The two persevered for a few more days, finally reaching the last step of fusion.
Two masses of liquid began to slowly merge within the Mountain Melting Cauldron.
But just at the moment the medicinal liquids fused, an abnormally powerful energy fluctuation suddenly erupted, slamming fiercely into Xiao Li and Master Huan.
Xiao Li was fine, deflecting the impact immediately.
But Master Huan's situation was different; already struggling to hold on, he suddenly suffered a heavy blow and was instantly shocked, spitting blood and falling to the ground.
The sudden turn of events instantly changed Tang Zhen and Tang Huo'er's expressions.
"Not good!"
If an Alchemist has an accident during the refining process, it means failure!
Tang Huo'er's pretty face instantly turned pale.
Although she appeared optimistic, she knew how bad her internal condition was. Without the fire bodhi pill, her life wouldn't last two months.
Now, the refinement of the fire bodhi pill had failed.
Was this truly her fate?
Looking at the fallen Master Huan, Xiao Li paused for a moment, then decisively unleashed his vast soul power, enveloping the two masses of medicinal liquid in the cauldron.
"Valley Master Tang, take Master Huan away. Don't disturb my final pill fusion."
Tang Zhen was stunned, his face showing surprise: "Young Master Xiao, can you refine this fire bodhi pill alone?"
"I don't know. I haven't refined a Rank 7 high-grade medicinal pill alone before, but I can try."
Because he rarely refined pills, he had the alchemy skills and a Heavenly Realm soul but was too lazy to refine pills.
However, a Rank 7 high-grade pill shouldn't be too difficult.
Tang Zhen came to his senses and immediately helped the injured Master Huan down.
Tang Huo'er looked at the figure on the platform, her slender hands involuntarily clenching in front of her chest.
"It must succeed..."
...