Starting as a supporting character in Doupo

Page 133

"I wonder when I'll be able to get a medicine cauldron that's ranked on the Heavenly Cauldron List!"

Seeing Xiao Yan's envious look, Yao Lao shook his head with a wry smile and said to Xiao Yan, "You little rascal."

“The medicine cauldrons listed on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking all possess their own spirituality. Moreover, I have imprinted a soul mark on this Black Demon, so even if you wanted to use it, you wouldn't be able to. Once I have a body that can accommodate a soul, I can erase the soul mark, and then you will be able to use it.”

"hey-hey."

Xiao Yan chuckled, then looked at the Black Demon with even more covetous eyes.

"Alright, now we can officially begin the refining process."

Yao Lao waved his hand, gesturing for Xiao Yan to step back a few paces. He then placed the Black Demon in its place and with a wave of his hand, cold white flames instantly surged into the medicine cauldron.

Xiao Yan understood that since Yao Lao was going to use a medicine cauldron that was listed on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking for this refining, it must be a very rare learning opportunity. He watched Yao Lao refine the medicine without saying a word.

The old herbalist took out a red herb that resembled a lingzhi mushroom.

This is the Earth Core Fire Mushroom they encountered at an auction in the Black Corner Region, an extremely rare fire-attribute medicinal herb.

The old doctor put the Earth Core Fire Mushroom into the medicine cauldron, and the Bone Spirit Cold Fire continuously roasted the Earth Core Fire Mushroom.

Under Xiao Yan's watchful gaze, even with Yao Lao's refining efforts, the Earth Core Fire Mushroom melted very slowly.

Drops of blood-red liquid seeped from the Earth Core Fire Mushroom as the old medicine master refined it, and then dripped into the medicine cauldron.

After more than ten minutes of refining, no more liquid seeped out from the Earth Core Fire Mushroom.

With a wave of his hand, the old doctor retrieved the dried-up Earth Core Fire Mushroom from the medicine cauldron and tossed it to the ground. As a gentle breeze swept by, it turned to ashes.

Seeing Yao Lao's technique, Xiao Yan's eyes lit up, and he stared intently at Yao Lao's movements.

"As expected of a master alchemist, his skills are simply incomparable to mine."

The old apothecary's movements seemed casual, but inside the medicine cauldron, the medicinal liquid seeping from the Earth Core Fire Mushroom was still being refined.

Normally, when he and Xiao Fan were refining medicinal herbs, they would simply burn the refined herbs slightly and then store the ashes in the medicine cauldron.

Although it won't affect the alchemy process, the final quality of the pill will definitely not be as good as the pills refined by Master Yao using his method.

Inside the medicine cauldron, drops of red liquid were spinning rapidly, occasionally striking the cauldron and producing a crisp metallic clanging sound.

Xiao Yan watched as the energy inside the medicine cauldron gradually transformed from droplets into strands of blood, the energy contained within being terrifying.

"This essence, once extracted, is not as calm as other medicinal herbs; it is so violent. It truly lives up to its reputation as a sixth-grade medicinal herb."

Under the powerful isolation of the old master's soul, these droplets underwent a three-hour refining process before transforming into wisps of blood-red energy.

Watching Yao Lao draw out the energy and seal it in a jade bottle, and even apply a thin film formed by a strange fire at the bottle mouth to preserve the temperature and effects of the medicinal materials, Xiao Yan learned another trick.

Xiao Yan checked the time it took for Yao Lao to refine the Earth Core Fire Mushroom. It took about half an hour to condense the blood-colored droplets at the beginning, and it took more than three hours to refine it into the required blood-colored energy.

In other words, even with Yao Lao's strength, it would take him about four hours just to refine the Earth Core Fire Mushroom.

Xiao Yan calculated that if he continued refining, he could only last for three hours before he had to stop. Looking at Yao Lao's calm expression, Xiao Yan was filled with admiration.

With the successful extraction of the Earth Core Fire Mushroom, the old herbalist rested briefly before continuing the extraction process.

Ice and Fire Dragon Beard Fruit, Green Wood Immortal Vine, Sixth-Order Water-Type Magic Core...

By the time the old apothecary finished refining all the medicinal herbs, it was already the afternoon of the next day.

Even though Xiao Yan was just watching from the sidelines, he felt that the whole day had been awe-inspiring.

Every step Yao Lao took in processing each medicinal herb allowed Xiao Yan to gain new insights.

"It's a pity that my senior brother isn't here. Otherwise, I'm sure he would have been able to gain a lot of insights as well."

The old doctor, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, opened them at that moment. Hearing Xiao Yan talking to himself, he smiled and said, "Don't worry. I already noticed during your last competition that your alchemy techniques are different from your senior brother's. I guided you step by step, so you will gain something from watching me refine medicine."

“But I’ve noticed that your senior brother has already moved beyond his own alchemy techniques. Now is a crucial time, and if he were to come and observe my alchemy process, it would actually affect his future foundation. That’s why I didn’t let you call him senior brother.”

"So that's it."

Upon hearing Yao Lao's explanation, Xiao Yan was happy for his senior brother, but secretly reminded himself that he needed to work even harder.

"Alright, stop overthinking it. Next, we'll start condensing the core. It'll be quite a commotion soon, so step back a bit."

Xiao Yan nodded upon hearing this and then stepped back several meters.

At this moment, dozens of jade bottles of various sizes were placed around the old medicine master, all containing medicinal materials that he had been refining all day.

With a wave of his hand, the old apothecary sent all the medicinal liquid into the cauldron, and the rudimentary form of a pill slowly appeared.

At the same time, ripples of energy spread out from the medicine cauldron, causing the energy to tremble within a few meters of the old medicine master.

Seeing the commotion, Xiao Yan, who was not far away, finally understood why Yao Lao had asked him to retreat. After pondering for a moment, the Thunder Bat Wings appeared behind him, and Xiao Yan flew into the air, retreating a little further.

As the old apothecary watched the pale blue pill slowly taking shape inside the cauldron, he gave a soft shout, and the Ancient Spirit Fire suddenly surged, instantly filling the space inside the cauldron. Then, a rich fragrance of pills faintly appeared.

Along with this, even more powerful energy ripples spread outwards from the medicine cauldron, even snapping the surrounding trees in half.

Seeing the terrifying destructive power below, Xiao Yan was shocked, and his throat involuntarily bobbed.

This commotion lasted for a full half hour, and then, accompanied by a deafening explosion, a blue beam of light, two zhang wide, shot out from the cauldron and soared into the sky.

"This... no wonder the teacher said he would refine it deep in the mountains. Hopefully, it won't attract the people from the inner courtyard!"

Looking at the towering blue pillar of light radiating energy, Xiao Yan couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Chapter 209 Dan Cheng, Han Feng, the competition begins!

Inside the inner courtyard, the Grand Elder, who had just finished sealing the Black Tower and was meditating in a secret room, suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes. A sharp glint flashed in his cloudy eyes as he turned to look at a certain spot in the inner courtyard.

That direction was right in front of Difang, where Xiao Yan and his group were refining pills.

"This energy fluctuation... could it be the formation of a sixth-grade pill?"

The First Elder's face instantly darkened. There was actually a sixth-grade alchemist lurking within the inner courtyard.

Could it be Han Feng?

The elder flashed and rapidly approached the center. In any case, he had to check these restless factors at this time.

Meanwhile, in the Black Corner Region on the other side of the mountain range, in a secluded pavilion, a middle-aged man dressed in a blue robe embroidered with a maple leaf looked up at the inner courtyard, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

He walked to the window with his hands behind his back, looked at the place emitting energy, and muttered to himself.

"The fluctuations from the formation of a sixth-grade pill... On the other side of the mountain range, that should be the location of the inner courtyard of Canaan Academy."

The man had a handsome face, with long black hair casually draped over his back, and his gaze was fixed on the place where the energy was erupting.

"Old Man Huo in the inner courtyard is only so-so at alchemy. He seems to be quite a distance from the level of a sixth-grade alchemist. With his strength, he shouldn't be able to refine a sixth-grade pill. Could it be that his alchemy skills have improved a lot in the years we haven't seen him?"

After a moment's hesitation, the man in the blue robe shook his head and decided not to go and check.

"This fluctuation is happening inside Canaan Academy, so it's not a good idea to go and investigate. Although we're not afraid of Canaan Academy, if those old guys find out, we'll definitely run into some trouble."

The man in the blue robe paid no more attention to the fluctuations in the inner courtyard. He turned around, and six golden, shimmering ripples spread around the medicine cauldron embroidered on his chest, catching the eye.

This signifies his status as a sixth-grade alchemist.

The man looked to be only in his thirties, yet he was already a sixth-grade alchemist. In the Black Corner Region, there was only one person with such strength.

The Medicine King, Han Feng.

......

Inside the Pan Gate, Xiao Fan, who was lying on a chair in the courtyard, naturally sensed this aura as well.

His eyes, which had been slightly closed, opened a little, and he glanced into the distance as if he had realized something, before lying down again.

"The fluctuations of a sixth-grade pill... it seems that the teachers are refining the Earth Spirit Pill."

Xiao Fan had no intention of going over there. After all, someone in the inner courtyard would definitely notice such fluctuations, and he might even run into them if he went over.

Besides, why would I go there? I should just stay here and enjoy this rare peace and quiet.

In the mountains outside the inner courtyard.

The enormous pillar of energy in front of Xiao Yan had gradually dissipated.

The energy ripples emanating from the surrounding area have gradually ceased.

At the central alchemy location, Xiao Yan could see a pill emitting a blue light, quietly resting inside the cauldron.

"Teacher, did it work?"

"of course."

The old medicine master's voice sounded tired. Even with his strength, refining a sixth-grade pill was not difficult, but it was still somewhat troublesome.

The main reason is that I am currently just a soul, and the energy expenditure is too great.

"Get out of here quickly."

The old man put away the pills and returned to his storage ring, giving Xiao Yan some instructions.

"This commotion is too big. They'll definitely send someone from the inner courtyard to investigate. Let's leave now while we can."

Upon hearing Yao Lao's words, Xiao Yan did not linger and immediately left the spot.

To avoid running into the investigators if he went directly to the inner courtyard, Xiao Yan took a long detour and returned to the inner courtyard from another direction.

After returning to Panmen, Xiao Yan did not go out again.

After all, there are only two days left before the start of the top ranking competition.

Inside the inner courtyard, everyone's attention was focused on the Strong Ranking Competition.