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The icy words of Thousand Poisons Qian made the man shiver. He was merely a Cultivator at the early stage of Golden Elixir , a mere Rogue Cultivator. How could he dare to defy an expert at the Elemental Infant stage? With a long sigh, he sat up but truly didn't dare to stand and leave.
Then the man saw Yong Ji and Yang Shan, bitterness filling his heart. Both were at the Golden Elixir Stage, stronger than him and not weaker in any way. It was his own foolishness that had led him here, lured by the Red Radiance with thoughts of Alchemy, hoping to gain some advantage.
More people entered the manor, some forcibly kept by Thousand Poisons Qian because they were too close. The smarter ones turned and ran from afar.
There were five Cultivators at the Golden Elixir Stage on the ground, all left behind after being warned by Thousand Poisons Qian. Four were Rogue Cultivators, and one had a cold sneer on his face but did not resist. His eyes darted around, his thoughts unknown.
At that moment, a person walked in slowly. Yang Shan ran over joyfully and bowed, saying, "Master, you've finally arrived!"
Yong Ji also stepped forward to bow, "Greetings, Martial Uncle!"
Mu Hengyuan nodded, then his expression suddenly changed dramatically as he exclaimed, "Thousand Poisons Qian!"
An Elemental Infant stage expert could briefly fly within the barrier. Thousand Poisons Qian floated down from the rooftop, glanced at Mu Hengyuan, and said indifferently, "A defeated subordinate, step aside! And you lot, stay put. Without my permission, anyone who dares to leave can try!" With that, he walked into the room.
Mu Hengyuan's face flushed with varying colors. Not only had he been defeated by Thousand Poisons Qian, but he had also nearly been killed. If it weren't for Mi Xiaojing neutralizing the Poisonous Thread, he would have been forced into self-destruct.
"How is he here?"
Yong Ji spoke up, "Let me explain, Martial Uncle. Here's what happened." He recounted everything from renting the small Flying Boat in the market to the appearance of Thousand Poisons Qian, and then the inexplicable decision of Thousand Poisons Qian to become Mi Xiaojing's guard, concluding with Mi Xiaojing currently engaged in Alchemy, detailing every part of the story.
Mu Hengyuan listened with increasing astonishment, "What? Thousand Poisons Qian voluntarily becoming a guard? What kind of joke is that? How is that possible!"
Yang Shan said, "He's been following for a while now, and no one can do anything about it."
Yong Ji added, "Xiao Mi is still refining pills. This batch should be about ready. Let's go in and check."
Mu Hengyuan pointed at the Cultivators sitting not far away and asked, "And who might they be?"
Yong Ji replied, "They came for the Red Radiance of the Pill Cauldron, probably hoping to take advantage of the chaos or maybe they have other intentions. Let's not worry about them for now and see if the pills are ready."
The three of them walked in cautiously, tiptoeing to a corner, trying their best not to disturb Mi Xiaojing.
The Pill Furnace had swollen considerably, resembling a water tank, still hovering in front of Mi Xiaojing. Mu Hengyuan recognized it at a glance as the Kui Dragon Cauldron given by the sect. He nodded inwardly, knowing only Mi Xiaojing could use such a Pill Cauldron. A lesser Pill Master probably wouldn't even have the skill to activate the Kui Dragon Cauldron.
Mi Xiaojing skillfully proceeded with the Alchemy. The Kui Dragon Cauldron was peculiar in its pill refining, often resulting in pill explosions, which had two meanings: literally exploding into waste pills or producing an abundance of pills.
Ordinary Pill Cauldrons yielded single-digit pills per batch, while the Kui Dragon Cauldron often produced double digits. Of course, the higher the level of the Spirit Pill, the more likely it was to explode, which was what Mi Xiaojing most anticipated.
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The Pill Furnace opened, signaling the pills were about to emerge.
Everyone tensed up, understanding the process. Seeing Mi Xiaojing casting Magical Techniques and Incantations, they knew the pills were about to come out, each person staring intently at the Kui Dragon Cauldron, faces filled with expectation, especially Yong Ji and Yang Shan.
The lid of the cauldron vanished, and the Spirit Pills burst forth.
Five Spirit Pills shot out, and Mi Xiaojing, prepared, quickly caught them. A hint of disappointment crossed his face; this time, there was no explosion of pills.
One waste pill, three lower-grade Ancient Recovery Pills, and one upper-grade Ancient Recovery Pill!
The haul was decent, but Mi Xiaojing was disappointed because when he previously refined lower-grade Spirit Pills, nearly every batch would explode, which gave him the illusion that using the Kui Dragon Cauldron would always result in an explosion of pills.
Mi Xiaojing packed away the Kui Dragon Cauldron and then noticed Mu Hengyuan, asking, "Senior, when did you arrive?"
Mu Hengyuan smiled, "I arrived just in time to see you finish the pills. Not bad, this batch was Ancient Recovery Pills?"
He glanced at Thousand Poisons Qian, who was still meditating in the corner, ignoring everyone. Mu Hengyuan breathed a sigh of relief. Although he didn't know why Thousand Poisons Qian wanted to be Mi Xiaojing's guard, he sensed no hostility from him, feeling as if he was being ignored by everyone.
He didn't want to provoke Thousand Poisons Qian, knowing how formidable he was. Since everyone was ignoring Thousand Poisons Qian, he decided to do the same.
Since Yong Ji provided the materials, Mi Xiaojing gave all five Ancient Recovery Pills to him, keeping nothing for himself.
Yong Ji knew the rules. He kept one upper-grade Ancient Recovery Pill and returned the other four, including the waste pill, to Mi Xiaojing.
"With one upper-grade Ancient Recovery Pill, I can break through to the Great Perfection realm."
Mi Xiaojing accepted the Ancient Recovery Pills and turned to ask, "Uncle Yang Shan, would you like one?"
Yang Shan replied with surprise, "Do I get a share?"
His collected materials were for refining Cultivating Essence Pills. The materials for Ancient Recovery Pills were harder to gather, and he wasn't aiming for a breakthrough, just cultivation. Cultivating Essence Pills were sufficient for him.
Mi Xiaojing said, "Yes, if you want, I can give you one."
Of course, Yang Shan wanted it. He said, "I'll trade it for Spirit Stones."
Mi Xiaojing casually tossed him a Jade Bottle, saying, "The Alchemy just now used up eight hundred lower-grade Spirit Stones, so just give me eight hundred lower-grade Spirit Stones."
Mu Hengyuan laughed, "Yang Shan, you've made a fortune! That Ancient Recovery Pill could fetch no less than eight thousand lower-grade Spirit Stones out there, and you're only paying eight hundred. What a steal."
Even with more Spirit Stones, Yang Shan wouldn't sell it; such items were not easily exchanged for Spirit Stones normally.
Suddenly, Thousand Poisons Qian looked up and said, "I'll buy that waste pill for eight hundred Spirit Stones."
Mi Xiaojing was still wary of Thousand Poisons Qian and asked, "You want the waste pill?"
Thousand Poisons Qian nodded, "Yes!" He threw over a cloth bag and added, "Eight hundred Spirit Stones."
Mi Xiaojing didn't care and tossed the waste pill to him.
Exchanging a waste pill for eight hundred Spirit Stones was a good deal for Mi Xiaojing. He said, "I have more waste pills here, do you want them?"
Thousand Poisons Qian replied, "I don't want low-level waste pills, only those that reach the level of Ancient Recovery Pills. I'll give you a fair price."
Mi Xiaojing threw another Jade Bottle and asked, "How about this kind?"