"You're just in time, pour those herbs into the pot."
Noah did as he was told and poured the herbs from the basket directly into the giant pot.
"Now get inside."
Noah nodded and removed his clothes, leaving only his underwear before stepping into the boiling medicinal bath.
Without the need to be reminded, he began to circulate the secret art passed to him by Master Xiao.
A stabbing pain coursed through his body as every pore of his skin opened to absorb the medicinal water but Noah didn't even frown.
This level of pain was nothing to him.
The medicinal water seeped through his pores and fed his meridians, strengthening and adding to them.
Because of their intrinsic connection, his mana veins were also nourished by the medicinal water.
Noah felt renewed and emerged from the water, which had now lost all its luster and fragrance as its medicinal properties were sucked out of his body.
An invisible shackle was broken as he passed from the eighth to the ninth stage of the true element.
The next day, as Noah practiced a sword skill he had stolen, he noticed a large crowd lining up to head to the other peaks.
"Looks like the alchemist summit is coming up."
Noah put away his sword and sat down to read a book that contained a secret skill.
"Looks like today my hidden cloud peak is quiet again."
Noah put the book down in his hand and bowed.
"Master!"
Old Xiao stroked his beard and nodded with satisfaction, he seemed in a very good mood.
"Haha! Old Xiao, won't you come to greet your visitors!?"
Two people suddenly landed near Old Xiao.
"Brother Meng! It's been a while."
"Haha! Old friend, how have you...Kof! Kof! Kof!"
"M..master?"
Xia Ning Chang was startled and started patting his back in an attempt to stifle his cough.
"You damn brat! You almost made me have a heart attack! What the hell are you doing here?"
"Me? Shouldn't I be asking you the same thing? Old Meng, are you following me?"
"As if I have nothing else to do but follow an insolent kid like you!"
Noah simply wiped his ear and ignored Old Meng's shouts.
"Ning Chang! Let go of me! Let me teach that stinking brat a good lesson!"
"Haha! Brother Meng, looks like you already know my new disciple."
"Eh? Disciple? That brat?"
"That very one."
...
Old Meng looked at Old Xiao for a while, confused before he thought of something.
"Brat, come with me for a moment, we need to talk alone."
"Sure! I trust that generous Mr. Meng wouldn't do anything to me given his friendship with my master."
Old man Meng glared daggers at Noah and wanted nothing more than to stamp his fist on that irritating face.
"Haha! You two seem to be getting along very well!"
Old Meng turned a deaf ear to Old Xiao's taunts and took Noah to a secluded place before asking him seriously.
"Brat, the inheritance you told me about wouldn't be Old Xiao's wouldn't it?"
Old Meng waited for Noah's answer. If his answer was a yes he wouldn't hesitate to kill him on the spot.
"Of course not, I wouldn't be so mean.
It's another one."
"Fine."
Old man Meng withdrew his aura and returned with Xia Ning Chang and together they entered old man Xiao's chambers.
Xia Ning Chang waited at the entrance as the two elders discussed.
"Old Xiao, the purpose of this old master coming this time, you should already know, correct?"
"Of course I know. Regarding giving guidance on alchemy, this old man has no objections.
But your other request..."
"Huh? Is it an inconvenience?"
"It's not a drawback, however, it will depend on whether she has the qualifications.
If she is not qualified, even if I allow her to visit the myriad of medicinal pond, it will simply be a waste."
"How can my apprentice not be qualified? If she cannot qualify. then no one under the heavens can."
"Are you so sure of yourself?"
"It's not my confidence in myself, it's simply my confidence in her, if you don't believe me, you can try it yourself."
"Good! This old master is also interested now."
"Chang'er!"
"I'm here!"
Xia Ning Chang walked through the door.
"Old Xiao here wants to test your alchemy skills, give him a demonstration, make sure you don't disappoint him."
"Yes!"
Half an hour later, Old Xiao was impressed by the young girl's theoretical knowledge.
"Her theoretical knowledge is very solid, and she has clearly gained a lot of knowledge that even this old man doesn't have."
"That's natural!"
"Theory is one thing, but sometimes knowing theory is not as good as moving one's own hands."
"Old Xiao! If my disciple can't let you be convinced, this old man will change his surname and call you father!"
Old Xiao only smiled awkwardly before turning his focus back to Xia Ning Chang.
"So far, what is the highest grade of pill that you have successfully refined?
"Low-ranked mysterious grade..."
"Hm? Low-ranked mysterious grade...?!
"This year, the top disciple of the medicine king's valley will be thirty-five years old, but he's only a high-ranked heavenly grade alchemist!
"How can there be such a terrifying genius?"
"What is your success rate in refining low rank mysterious pills?"
"I only succeeded once... and at that time it was still quite difficult."
"Oh...that's reasonable.
What about the sky grade?"
"I never fail."
"What?! You never fail?!
That's impossible! Even if this old master were to personally perform alchemy, I can't guarantee a 100% success rate."
"There is nothing impossible, Brother Xiao, if you have any doubts, try it and you will understand."
"..."
"What? Don't you dare?
"Come with me!"
Old Xiao led the two of them to his refining room, where there was a large amount of alchemy cauldrons neatly arranged in a row.
"You have a lot of good stuff here."
"Everyone who had come to me to perform alchemy always brought many precious treasures to make up for it, most of which remain stored here over the years.
This is all this old master's income from a lifetime of hard work.
Little niece, you can use anything here, pick out some ingredients and refine the best pill you can, let this old master take a look at your skills."
"Yes."
Xia Ning Chang moved through the various ingredients and picked out the ones she was interested in before putting them in a basket.
These materials are all for refining the sky grade pill, middle rank.
Are you sure little niece?"
"Yes."
"very good, then start, use whatever pill furnace you want, this old master has many after all."
"No need..."
"No need for a pill furnace...?"
Old Xiao was confused but the confusion on his face was quickly replaced by shock as he watched the scene unfold in front of him.
The pile of herbs turned into medicinal liquid that gathered in Xia Ning Chang's hand, condensing into a golden pill with red veins on its surface.
"How is this possible..."
Old Xiao is in disbelief and grabbed the small pill with utter astonishment on his face.
"Pill veins... This pill has pill veins!"
Old Xiao quickly recovered from his excitement and asked.
"Little niece, when you refine the heaven grade pills, in what proportion of them do the pill veins appear?"
Xia Ning Chang hesitated for a moment before looking at her master.
"Just tell him."
"About 50 to 60%."
"This..."
"And the pill cloud? You have made the legendary pill cloud that is even above the pill veins appear?"
Xia Ning Chang just shook her head.
"Eh, it should be that your cultivation is not high enough, if you can break through the immortal ascension boundary, you should be able to refine the legendary pill pill.
Ahem. You may retire for now, I have something to discuss with your master."
"Alright."
...
"Not in your wildest dreams! Having designs on this old man's apprentice, how dare you!
If I had known you were such an ungrateful wolf I would never have saved your damned
life that day!"
"You don't understand alchemy, what can you teach him?
She's a fine piece of unpolished jade.
Her running alongside you is simply a waste of heavenly gifts, worshipping this old man as a teacher is a much better idea!"
"Even if I can't teach her alchemy, what else can you teach her?"
"I can teach him all the experiences of my life!
I can let him become a high-grade alchemist in the shortest possible time!"
"A high grade alchemist equals bullshit to me!
You're looking down my bottom!"
"Then what are you going to do?"
"I just want you to take her to that place..."
"Brother Meng, you mean the...myriad medicinal ponds."
The forbidden ground of the holy pill was the most important sacred place in the medicine king's valley, which housed the myriad medicinal ponds.
Opening the myriad medicinal ponds was quite costly because each time it was opened, many pills would have to be used as an offering.
The higher the quality, the longer the holy pill statue would remain active.
"Brother Meng may not know it, but it is very costly to open the myriad medicinal pond.
The number of pills needed each time was not less than a hundred, and the more that were offered in the higher the best quality."
"No wonder it is called myriad medicinal pond!"
"Because of this material cost, even the medicine king's valley could not necessarily open it more than a few times a year, and at the time it did, it was either for an elder in need of relief or for an elite disciple as a supreme reward for his achievements,
The only way external alchemists could see the statue of the pill saint was for them to participate in the alchemist summit held every five years.
"But it's not impossible to open it now, is it?"
"That..."
"Well, it's fine if you can't help this old man, after all, you can't be bothered by my disciple."
"Wait! This won't be easy, but I'll open it for the niece!
She can go there in two days!"
Old Meng smiled slyly, knowing that he had gotten his way.
Two days later, Xia Ning Chang accompanied old Xiao toward the myriad of medicinal pond.
"He's finally gone."
With a sly smile, Noah told the two female guards that he would enter closed-door cultivation.
He asked them to pass a letter to Old Meng before locking the door.
When night came, he transformed himself into a small mole and drilled into the wall before going outside and into the ground.
With his spiritual sense deployed, he knew exactly where he had to go.
Half an hour later, he pierced the wall in front of him and water began to flood the small tunnel.
He quickly transformed into a small fish before diving to the bottom of the pond.
Upon reaching the bottom, it returned to its original form before summoning the black book and opening directly to the fifth page, where a mysterious matrix was drawn.
The book's matrix resonated with the matrix at the bottom of the lake, causing it to turn an illusory hue.
Noah stepped through the matrix and appeared in an all-white pocket space with a small stone well in the center.
"Haha! I wonder what face the people from the Medicine King's Valley would make if they knew that all the essence of their pills was going into this little well."