You're just a single demon beast? I have a whole army of beast tamers!

"Two lines?"

Shui Qingli said softly, her tone tinged with surprise.

A hint of smugness appeared on the old man's face. He picked up two pills and waved them in front of Qin Beast: "See? These are elixirs."

"It took me no more than seven days to refine this batch, and if I managed to produce two pills with a single pattern, that would be considered quite good. And you, a mere junior, dare to claim you've understood it?"

Qin Shou stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Senior's alchemy skills are superb; this junior has indeed broadened my horizons. However, this junior would still like to give it a try."

"You?" The old man was taken aback, then burst into laughter, his beard trembling with laughter. "You're quite an interesting person."

After observing for seven days, is it time to start the furnace?

Do you know how many years it took me to learn how to refine the Qi Condensation Pill?

Dozens of batches were ruined in the process, and hundreds of plants of the Immortal Herb alone were wasted.

"You're just a junior who ascended from the lower realm and hasn't even touched immortal fire. What makes you think you can challenge me?"

"Back in the Spirit Realm, I also refined pills from low-grade to ninth grade."

Qin Shou remained calm, "Furthermore, thanks to my observation just now, I have already memorized most of your techniques."

"Oh?" The old man's face darkened. "Fine, if you're not convinced, then go and try."

I want to see if you're truly capable or just good with words.

"But let me make this clear beforehand: if the oven explodes and the medicine is ruined, don't try to renege on your promise."

"I will bear the cost of the materials myself," Qin Shou said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Seeing that the atmosphere had reached this point, Shui Qingli stopped trying to persuade her and simply took two steps back.

The old man snorted coldly, stood aside with his arms crossed, his eyes full of mockery.

Qin Shou said no more, bowed to the old man, and walked straight to the stone platform.

He closed his eyes and regulated his breathing for a moment to calm his internal energy. Then, he raised his hand and took out several materials for the Condensing Yuan Pill that he had borrowed from Shui Qingli.

The herb, along with several other ingredients, were neatly arranged beside the stone platform.

"You really want to refine it?" the old man scoffed.

The Qin beasts turned a deaf ear.

He took a deep breath, raised his hand, and cast a spell to ignite the furnace fire.

He had mastered the fire element within him, and although it was a lower realm spiritual fire, he was exceptionally adept at wielding this golden-red flame.

However, the flames contained a touch of celestial energy, and he was still somewhat clumsy in manipulating them.

As the furnace roared to life, the Qin beast tossed one immortal herb after another into it.

His movements were not as slow as the old man's; instead, they were clean and efficient.

Each ingredient was placed in the furnace and enveloped by flames he activated with varying degrees of intensity, causing the medicinal liquid to separate extremely quickly.

The colorful sphere in his mind kept replaying every detail of the old man's alchemy process, while also corroborating the elixir inheritance in Zhenyuan Immortal Mansion.

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.

By evening on the seventh day, the medicinal liquid in the furnace had solidified into a clump.

Suddenly, Qin Shou slammed his palm on the furnace, causing it to tremble violently, and a beam of silver light shot into the sky.

In an instant, dark clouds gathered, more than 30% thicker than the old man's previous cloud.

Three bright white bolts of lightning struck in succession, each one faster than the last.

"What!" The old man's expression changed drastically, and he stood up abruptly.

Three bolts of lightning entered the alchemy furnace, followed by a muffled "boom".

Qin Shou reacted quickly, grabbing the furnace lid and taking out five pills from it.

Two of them had just landed in his palm when he subtly shook them, shattering them into dust.

Only three coins remained, spinning endlessly in my palm, each with three clear golden lines.

The courtyard was quiet for a few breaths.

The old man stepped forward, grabbed the three pills, and examined them closely, his hands trembling slightly.

"Three...three runes? How could a lower-realm cultivator who has never even seen immortal fire possibly refine three runes!"

He suddenly looked up and scrutinized Qin Shou from head to toe, as if trying to see right through him.

Qin Shou remained calm and simply handed three pills to the old man:

"I have refined three pills. Please take a look, senior. It's a pity that two of them exploded, leaving only three pills."

"Only three pills were formed?"

The old man's eyes widened in disbelief. "Do you think this is some kind of clay ball?"

Shui Qingli stared blankly at the three pills, speechless for a long time.

Although she was not an expert in alchemy, she knew what a three-patterned first-grade immortal pill meant.

Of the two alchemists in the Shui family, it's already quite an achievement to be able to consistently refine one pattern; refining two patterns depends on luck.

She had only heard of the three lines, but had never seen them in person.

Qin Shou felt a little uneasy under their gazes and coughed lightly:

"Thanks to the senior for lending me the furnace, I am also very lucky."

The old man's face turned pale and then flushed, his chest heaving several times, but he ultimately refrained from uttering another sarcastic remark.

He clutched the three pills, stared at Qin Beast for a long while, and then said in a hoarse voice, "You...who taught you the art of alchemy?"

"I received a fragmented inheritance that had been lost in the lower realm. I only know the general outline and have no master."

Qin Beast spoke in a half-truthful tone.

The old man's lips moved, as if he wanted to ask more questions, but in the end he didn't speak again.

Shui Qingli gave Qin Shou a deep look, then turned and quickly left the alchemy hall without lingering.

Qin Shou gazed in the direction she had left, knowing full well that it wouldn't be long before the Shui family's higher-ups heard about what had happened today.

He didn't want to cause such a commotion, but he owed a thousand immortal crystals, and if he didn't show off his skills, he would have no way to move forward.

At night, deep within the Shui family's inner quarters, in a small building built by the water, a refined-looking man in a blue robe sat behind a desk, sipping a cup of fine tea, listening to his subordinates give a detailed report on the day's events.

"Three-patterned Qi Condensation Pill, can it produce three pills at once?"

He put down his teacup, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. "Still a non-Buddhist cultivator who ascended from the lower realm a little over a year ago?"

"Yes. According to Steward Shui Qingli's report, this person used the Immortal Spirit Power Pool a month ago and still owes more than a thousand Immortal Crystals."

To learn how to make immortal pills, he specially paid one hundred immortal crystals to observe. After watching Master Xun refine one batch, he requested to open the furnace himself.

Xun Lao originally took it as a joke, never expecting it to actually work.

"Interesting." The man in the blue robe stood up, walked to the window, and tapped the windowsill twice with his finger. "Which two Daoist partners did he choose?"

"The Hui chieftain is a collateral branch of Shui Yingyue and Shui Rou."

"A side branch..." The man in the blue robe pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Two might not be enough."

In this way, a message was sent to Qingli, instructing her to select two more qualified individuals from her direct lineage and send them to this person.

If he refuses, say it's out of kindness from the clan; she'll only be his concubine, and won't force him to take her as a wife.

"Chief, isn't this going too far..." the servant beside him hesitated.

"In the art of alchemy, among the five families, only the Mu family has ever had a say."

"Our Shui family has suddenly produced a first-grade immortal alchemist capable of refining three types of pills; how can we treat him as an ordinary guest?"

The man in the blue robe said calmly, "Right now is the time when we need talent. If such a genius is targeted by other families, it will be too late."

What are a few mere Daoist partners anyway?

As he spoke, he added, "Check his past performance again, what he did from Baiyan Immortal City to Wucang Immortal City. I need to know."

"Yes," the servant replied softly and left through the door.

A breeze stirred outside the window, and wisps of mist drifted past the lamplight, casting flickering light on the man in the blue robe's profile.