Why did you provoke that old man? He's a reincarnation of a deity!

The next morning, as soon as Xiao Nian opened the door, Chen Daoxuan was already standing outside waiting.

He changed into a clean and neat Taoist robe from the Leyu Dan Sect, and held a wooden box and some illustrations of magical artifacts in his hands. When he saw Xiao Nian come out, he bowed and paid his respects.

"Master, all the items from today's magic artifact auction are here. Take a look, are there any you need?"

Xiao Nian glanced at the illustrated guide. Calling these things garbage would be an understatement. He shook his head.

Chen Daoxuan had long anticipated that Xiao Nian wouldn't even look at him, so he continued:

"Our Leyu Dan Sect has a temporary alchemy room in the suburbs. I instructed my men to prepare some things yesterday. If you are interested, Master, why don't you go and take a look?"

His meaning was clear: he wanted to refine the elixir today.

Xiao Nian glanced at him.

That old man gets things done very quickly.

"Lead the way."

The carriage bumped along for half an hour before stopping in front of an inconspicuous little courtyard made of blue bricks on the outskirts of the city.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, one is greeted by a hidden world inside: a spacious alchemy room facing south, with ventilation on all sides, and in the center stands a bright red alchemy furnace.

Xiao Nian's gaze fell on the alchemy furnace.

The furnace has three legs and two handles, and its outer wall is engraved with dense cloud and animal patterns. The bronze is mottled and looks like it has been aged for thousands of years.

For Xiao Nian, a thousand years of cultivation was but a blink of an eye.

He reached out and touched the furnace wall, feeling a slight warmth in his palm. This furnace had been forged by countless fires and had developed a spiritual quality.

"This is a three-legged cloud-patterned cauldron passed down from the Qin and Han dynasties. It is said to be an old artifact used by alchemists to refine elixirs of immortality for the First Emperor."

Chen Daoxuan stood aside, his tone tinged with pride: "This is a treasure of our Dan Sect. I had my men bring it here overnight."

Xiao Nian nodded.

"This thing could be considered a tool for alchemy."

Chen Daoxuan opened the wooden box again, inside which was a fist-sized mass of crimson animal bone, from which one could feel a scorching heat.

Qian Yukun leaned closer for a look, his eyes widening in astonishment: "This is the spine of a fire lizard? The fire bone of a level three demonic beast!"

"A level three fire lizard, from the volcanic region of southern Xinjiang. I spent a fortune to transport it from there," Chen Daoxuan said with a smug smile.

"This beast bone can burn continuously for seven hours after being ignited, with a stable temperature, hundreds of times stronger than any silver frost charcoal. If the master were to use this fire to refine..."

Xiao Nian waved his hand.

"Put the fire away yourself. The stove is nice; you can use it."

Chen Daoxuan's smile froze for a moment: "Master, you said you don't need fire... then how do you refine it?"

Xiao Nian didn't answer him. Instead, she walked to the center of the alchemy room and laid out the box of materials in front of her.

He stretched out his right hand, palm up, fingers spread. The midday sun slanted in through the skylight, falling on his withered hand.

Qian Yukun was used to this.

The sunlight converged into a single point in Xiao Nian's palm, growing brighter and hotter. The air began to distort, and the light condensed into a fiery red sphere in his palm.

"The sun is truly fiery."

Xiao Nian said calmly, and with a gentle flip of his hand, the ball of light and fire hovered in mid-air, slowly rotating around the arranged medicinal herbs.

He slowed down the whole process simply for the sake of teaching.

One by one, the medicinal herbs were lifted up by spiritual energy and thrown into the ball of light and fire.

The Jade Returning Grass melted instantly upon contact with the True Fire of the Sun, its impurities burned to ashes and scattered, leaving only a drop of crystal-clear emerald green liquid suspended in the air.

"Drink!" Xiao Nian placed it into the cauldron, and as the medicinal herbs entered, the three-legged cloud-patterned cauldron lit up.

"I put it in the cauldron to prevent the medicinal properties from dissipating in the air," Xiao Nian explained.

The Qi-Gathering Fruit followed closely behind, its peel bursting open, and the golden juice was evaporated by the flames, condensing into a warm, golden bead of light.

Xiao Nian put the medicine in again and then melted it one by one.

Once all the medicinal liquids were in the cauldron, Xiao Nian used his spiritual power to control them, causing them to move closer together, merge, and contract under the influence of the liquids.

Xiao Nian deliberately slowed down each step of the process so that Chen Daoxuan could see it clearly.

Chen Daoxuan stood three steps away, his eyes wide open. He had never seen anything like it before; it was the first time he had ever witnessed such alchemy.

"There are pills refined like this? Even the sect leader in seclusion doesn't have this ability!"

His mouth was slightly open, and his breathing slowed down, as if he was afraid that if he took a deep breath, he would miss some detail.

He stared intently at Xiao Nian's every move; those seemingly withered hands were surprisingly agile.

"Fusion... The timing of fusion is actually based on the change in the luster of the medicinal liquid..." Chen Daoxuan muttered to himself, his voice trembling.

"I've spent my whole life refining pills, always adding the ingredients only when the furnace reaches the right temperature. I've never thought of purifying the herbs before blending them..."

Qian Yukun stood to the side, arms crossed, his expression calm; he had seen this kind of scene before.

He calmly patted Chen Daoxuan on the shoulder: "Master Chen, don't get excited, you'll get used to it. When I first saw it, I was even more agitated than you."

Chen Daoxuan didn't hear him at all; he was completely absorbed by the scene before him.

He saw Xiao Nian flip his left hand the instant the medicinal liquid was being fused, and a ball of spiritual energy enveloped the medicinal energy that was about to dissipate, pressing it back into the pill that was forming. He never even imagined such a move.

"The medicinal vapors are returning... You can do that?" Chen Daoxuan's voice was hoarse, almost trembling.

Xiao Nian did not answer him. With a flick of her fingers, the ball of light slowly extinguished, and two rows of round Jade Rejuvenating Pills fell from mid-air. Each pill had a warm, cyan luster, was full and round, with clear pill patterns, and was of identical quality.

He took out two empty porcelain bottles from his pocket, divided the pills into them, and then threw them into his storage bag.

"One box of materials, two bottles of pills. Got it?"

Xiao Nian took out one and gave it to Chen Daoxuan.

Chen Daoxuan held the pill in both hands, his hands trembling with excitement.

He placed the pill in his palm, examined it closely, and smelled it repeatedly. Finally, he managed to utter, "Master, I've never seen such a technique before in my entire life."

"You'll naturally learn after seeing it a few times." Xiao Nian put away the pills, leaned on her cane, and walked outside.

That's all for today. We can talk about it tomorrow.

Chen Daoxuan stood there, holding the pill, watching him leave. Qian Yukun followed behind, turning back to grin at Chen Daoxuan as he walked away, and whispered something:

"Master Chen, you'll get used to it. That's how His Majesty was."

Xiao Nian returned to her residence, closed the door, and sat down cross-legged.

Although the alchemy process was slower today, the consumption of soul power was no less. He closed his eyes, and the [Taiyi Lotus Soul-Generating Technique] slowly circulated, gradually easing the fatigue in his sea of ​​consciousness.

The sky changed from dusk to night.

Just after midnight, Xiao Nian suddenly opened her eyes.

Someone on the roof was watching him.