Today, seeing the chickens and fish here were similar to those on Earth, she tried making a dish of sour chicken and diving fish. These two dishes were her favorites in the past, just that she wasn't sure how they would taste with incomplete seasonings and ingredients.
Mo Feng picked up a piece of chicken, the sour and spicy flavor almost made him swallow his tongue. It was delicious, and even though the spiciness made him drink water continuously, he couldn't stop eating.
Dugu Qianye watched Mo Feng's adorable behavior and laughed. That's more like a child!
After dinner, they each returned to their rooms.
Dugu Qianye sat on the bed and meditated for a while. Dandan had woken up, and now she didn't need to absorb Phantom Power by herself. Wasn't this like having a super cheat? If she continued to cultivate, it would be equivalent to two people doing it at the same time, which was several times more than others. Moreover, her meridians had been widened and thickened by Xiaohuo's flames, which made her cultivation speed much faster.
Today's incident where Mo Feng got injured once again sparked her interest in learning alchemy. Now that she had Dandan, she could devote some energy to other areas.
Thinking of alchemy, she summoned the book on alchemy her father left her with a thought and started to study it. The more she read, the more amazed she became. Elixirs were truly magical items, somewhat similar to modern medicine pills but with diverse effects such as healing external wounds, internal injuries, advancing levels, transformation...
For three consecutive days, Dugu Qianye stayed in her room learning the basics of alchemy. With the ability to remember everything at a glance and her strong understanding ability from her previous life, she quickly grasped the essentials of alchemy.
After mastering the theoretical knowledge, Dugu Qianye thought of practicing actual operations. She took out the recipe for a First Grade Recovery Pill, pondered over it thoroughly, practiced the process in her mind a few times, and then took out her father's Pill Furnace and ingredients. Without a flame, Dugu Qianye went to the courtyard and set up kindling under the Pill Furnace.
Taking several deep breaths, Dugu Qianye lit the fire and then put the ingredients into the Pill Furnace in order. The main steps of alchemy included melting, extracting essence, fusion, infusing Phantom Power, and finally forming the pills.
The first attempt failed as expected, but she wasn't disappointed because alchemy wasn't something that could be mastered in one or two tries. After failing more than a dozen times and pulling an all-nighter, she finally succeeded in forming pills at dawn.
Opening the lid of the furnace, there lay two round elixirs inside. Upon examination, she found they were First Grade Intermediate Level! Each grade of elixirs is divided into Lower, Intermediate, and Advance levels; although all are First Grade elixirs, the higher the level, the better the effects. To succeed in making First Grade Intermediate Level on her first attempt made even someone as calm as her exclaim in amazement.
She took out a Jade Bottle and placed the elixirs inside, and looking at the bottle, Dugu Qianye couldn't help but sigh that alchemy was indeed not something that the poor could afford to engage in. If not for the ingredients and Gold Coins left by her father, she wouldn't have been able to afford playing with elixirs.
In the following month, Dugu Qianye spent her time practicing alchemy. After producing elixirs, she had Mo Feng sell them at the Elixir Pharmacy, and then she exchanged them for ingredients to continue with alchemy. Two months later, she was able to skillfully produce Second Grade elixirs, all of which were of the Advance Level.
And now Mo Feng had also begun learning to make elixirs. Knowing that learning alchemy had always been his wish, Dugu Qianye gave him the book on the second day of her alchemy practice. After a month of dedicated study and under Dugu Qianye's guidance, he was able to produce First Grade elixirs.
Xiaohuo played in the yard every day, and occasionally Xiaoyin would come out and play with it. Qingluan usually cultivated in the Phantom Beast Space and only came out to eat when Dugu Qianye was cooking. Since Xiaohuo, Xiaoyin, and Qingluan always appeared in mimetic forms, Mo Feng still thought they were just Phantom Pets that Dugu Qianye raised for fun.
At night, Dugu Qianye sat cross-legged on the bed. By day, she felt that her Phantom Power was nearly saturated, on the verge of advancement. Now, as both she and Dandan absorbed Phantom Power, they successfully advanced a level before dawn, reaching the rank of a Four-Star Great Phantom Master.
Xiaohuo, Xiaoyin, and Qingluan appeared in the room, each surrounded by their own Promotion Light. Each beast advanced a level: Xiaohuo, a Seven-Star Holy Beast; Xiaoyin, a Seven-Star Holy Beast; Qingluan, a Five-Star Divine Beast!
"Master," ...
The three Beasts excitedly jumped into Dugu Qianye's arms or onto her shoulder. Being with their master was the best; advancing in rank was like riding a roller coaster, zooming upwards rapidly.
Dugu Qianye was also very happy. After playing with the Beasts for a while, she began to practice again, consolidating her newly advanced strength, until Mo Feng came to call her for lunch at noon.
"Sister, I heard that the competition between the four big families is in one month," Mo Feng said while eating, sharing the news he had heard.
"The competition between the four big families?" Dugu Qianye appeared quite puzzled.
"I knew you wouldn't know. Qifeng City's economy is controlled by the four great families, but there are also rankings within them. Every ten years, the younger generation of the four families, those aged between 15 and 25, compete, and the family standings are determined by the results of the competition. There is a preliminary round, which is a free-for-all fight, and then the last 20 people standing on each stage proceed to the next round of the competition. Our free-for-all fight this year is against the Ji Family, so I'm worried that when the time comes, people from the Ji Family will..." Mo Feng looked at Dugu Qianye with some concern.
Dugu Qianye tapped his head with her chopsticks: "Little kid, don't frown."
"Stop calling me a little kid! You're only two years older than me," Mo Feng protested.
"A day older is still older," Dugu Qianye said dismissively to his protest, "You don't have to worry about me. Just focus on your training, focus on your alchemy. Got it?"
"Oh. I inquired a bit, and the highest Phantom Power in the Ji Family is with Ji Anping, 24 years old, a Level One Great Phantom Master. The one we encountered before, Ji Anyang, 20 years old, a Level Five Phantom Master; Ji Lingling, 16 years old, a Level One Phantom Master. You can't use Phantom Beasts during the free-for-all fight. How about you talk to fifth master, see if you can avoid going?"
"Mhm, I got it. Let's eat," Dugu Qianye didn't say anything and began to think about her next move. In the end, she decided to go see her fifth uncle first, then make a plan.
But before she went to see her uncle, her uncle had already sent someone to find her.
In the afternoon, Dugu Qianye arrived at her fifth uncle Mo Jian's study. After being announced, the guard let her in.
Upon entering the room, Dugu Qianye saw the person behind the desk, his rugged face, white robe. At the age of forty, he managed the Mo Family's affairs in Qifeng City with color and noise. He was her uncle, yet in the ten years that passed, the number of times they had met could be counted on one hand.
"What is it?" Dugu Qianye looked at Mo Jian and said coldly.
Mo Jian raised his head to look at the delicate figure before him and said, "You sit first."
Dugu Qianye sat on the chair opposite him: "Just get to the point."
Ignoring her impatient tone, Mo Jian stroked his chin and said, "I heard you won against Mo Ju in a second?"