Whoosh!
A beam of spiritual light shot out violently.
Just as Xu Yang's eye caught the flash, the light was already before him, piercing straight through his brow!
Boom!
Waves upon waves of vast information poured in.
Xu Yang's head felt like it was about to split open. He clutched his skull and squatted down in pain.
Dozens of breaths passed.
Xu Yang collapsed on the ground, his face blank and dazed.
Countless streams of information filled his mind.
All of it was about alchemy.
Rich and exquisite alchemy experience, plus countless methods to identify spirit elixirs, pill recipes, and more.
Dense and pure, as if these were the complete memories of a powerful alchemist.
The most astonishing among them: a unique alchemy technique called the 'Six Heavenly Skills'!
Once mastered, the success rate and quality of pills would be dozens of times higher than usual.
Xu Yang didn't know how much time had passed; he shook himself out of the daze, unable to hold back a gasp.
"Is this even real?"
He'd never dabbled in the Alchemy Dao, so he couldn't tell.
But the details in the info felt more real than reality itself.
But what if it was fake?
Suddenly looking up, Gu Jun was still there.
Xu Yang spoke instinctively, "Senior, you..."
Gu Jun raised his hand, interrupting: "It's good for young people to be cautious. I don't care what you think; what I gave you is what I've learned over half my life, especially the Six Heavenly Skills—that's the culmination of my lifetime spent in Alchemy Dao."
"Later, you can follow those pill recipes and try refining some pills yourself."
Hearing this, Xu Yang perked right up.
With how mysterious and scary this guy was, there really wasn't any reason for him to harm Xu Yang, right?
As for coveting the Divine Tripod?
It's already recognized Xu Yang as its master; and Gu Jun is just a wisp of Remnant Soul, what use could he have for it?
If he tried anything, a flicker of divine sense could instantly reduce him to ashes.
If it's real, then becoming an alchemist...
Even among the Barbarian Race, with an alchemist's status, he'd receive insane treatment and respect.
Getting strong and flipping the Prince's Estate on its head—half the time needed, easy.
Thinking this, Xu Yang swallowed, feeling his heart burn with excitement.
"Spirit Elixirs, I've actually got tons."
Inside the storage ring Su Yun gave him last, there were at least fifty-thousand gold leaf's worth of resources, most of which were spirit elixirs.
Without delay, he started rummaging through it.
Soon, following the info from the recipes, he fished out several batches.
Second-tier pills: True Essence Elixir, Innate Elixir.
Three recipes for the former, five for the latter.
Xu Yang's expression turned awkward: "Seems like there's no first-tier..."
Alchemy should obviously start from the most basic first-tier pills.
But these were all at least second-tier materials.
Was he really about to start with second-tier pills?
Even Xu Yang was scared by his own thought.
Is he nuts?
If any pill master saw this, they'd curse him out; who does things like this, as if alchemy was as easy as street brawling?
Gu Jun looked at the spirit elixirs Xu Yang picked out—he was dumbfounded, too.
"No problem, I'll have Liou Yunfeng send you some."
"Senior, based on alchemy experience, you usually need Innate Realm cultivation to refine second-tier pills."
Xu Yang licked his lips, itching to try: "My cultivation's enough, plus your experience—you've taught me so much, I think I can try refining second-tier pills right away."
Gu Jun froze, thinking he misheard: "You want to start with second-tier pills?"
Even back in his own beginner days, he took it step by step, starting with basics.
This kid has guts.
But, well… it might actually be doable.
"How about… you give it a shot?"
Why not. Just try it.
No harm done.
"I'll try."
Xu Yang was practically itching.
He sat cross-legged and chose the True Essence Elixir first, since it was a bit easier than the Innate Elixir.
He ran through the process and experience in his head a few times; after confirming everything, he licked his lips, forcefully calmed his nerves, and his expression grew stern.
With a thought, he summoned the Celestial Refining Divine Tripod.
The Divine Tripod, ancient and pitch-black, looked plain and ordinary.
With his control, black flames quickly blazed inside the tripod.
The flames soared; Gu Jun's eyes flashed with unease.
This tripod and these flames—he couldn't see through them at all.
Yet it filled him with terror.
Xu Yang focused, and followed the procedure, tossing in the spirit elixirs one by one.
Instantly melted!
Didn't even have to try. The fire in the tripod was simply way too strong.
Next, with a twist of spiritual control, all the impurities were already burned to dust—no need to filter them out at all. Nurturing the pill, condensing the pill…
The whole process was done in one go!
Xu Yang was nervous, but with Gu Jun's shrewd experience guiding him, not a single accident occurred.
In just a moment.
A wave of pill fragrance drifted over.
After several breaths.
The flames faded, and five perfectly round True Essence Elixirs floated out from inside the tripod.
"Did it actually work?"
Xu Yang blinked, having trouble believing it himself.
Five pills—this is basically the top yield for a batch. Some high-grade rare pills, one batch might only produce three, or even just one!
And there was a faint pill-pattern on the surface, marking it as a top-grade pill.
For the same kind of pill, an ordinary versus a top-grade one—the difference in effects and price is like night and day.
First time refining pills!
And it's second-tier pills!
Xu Yang's face flushed with excitement, nearly wanting to howl to let it out.
So damn easy!
Pill Master—I'm a pill master now.
A sixteen-year-old second-tier alchemist. In the Prince's Estate, the treatment and position he'd get is basically even higher than the princes themselves.
And it meant massive potential.
If word got out, countless powers would try to recruit him.
Every word Gu Jun had said, every bit of info, was true.
Xu Yang clenched his fists; it took a good while to force himself to calm down.
"The real foundation is the Celestial Refining Divine Tripod!"
"The tripod's effect is far more than just making things easier. As long as my spiritual power is strong enough to control it, alchemy is absolutely effortless!"
"Senior."
Xu Yang hurriedly looked to Gu Jun, only to see him wide-eyed like he'd seen a ghost.
At this moment, Gu Jun was totally dumbstruck.
Even with his Alchemy Emperor composure, he couldn't keep it together.
Just what kind of monster is this?
If this got out, every alchemist would go berserk.
For alchemy, talent, experience, technique, fundamentals, control—you need to be top-notch in all of them to successfully refine pills.
Yet for Xu Yang, his first time was as easy as eating or drinking.
Sure, a lot was thanks to that Divine Tripod, but damn… this is just nuts!
"Kid, again—do it again!" Gu Jun was so shocked he babbled, eyes brimming with anticipation.
"Okay!"
Xu Yang felt full of energy, didn't hesitate, and began refining again.
After the first try, he was totally unflustered for the second.
Spirit elixir in, refine, nurture.
The most important parts were handled almost entirely by the Divine Tripod itself—he just needed to lightly guide it. So easy, so relaxing.
Dozens of breaths later.
The second batch of True Essence Elixir succeeded without a hitch!
"Fuck!"
Gu Jun lost his composure, letting out a curse.
His face flushed, body shaking with excitement, eyes shining with joy.
After a thousand years, he'd nearly given up; when he first saw Xu Yang, he was just giving it a try, but now, he'd received an earth-shattering surprise!
With this kind of talent, meeting his requirements would be a breeze.
"Oh shit!"
Gu Jun's color changed sharply, figure trembling on the verge of collapse, his expression twisted in pain.
"Senior, what's wrong?" Xu Yang's face changed—and he was so startled by this sudden crisis, he froze in shock.