bdsm-fiction 705. Substitute for refining
705. Substitute for refining
Xiao Yan instantly appeared beside Huo Zhi and snatched all the herbs away.
The soul clone, condensed from the Three Thousand Thunder Illusion Body Secret Technique, had already appeared silently in front of Huo Zhi. The clone raised its hand and gently placed its palm on Huo Zhi's wrists, where she was gathering fire energy.
Almost instantly upon contact, a surge of pure flame energy, originating from the core of the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire, gently flowed into Huo Zhi's suppressed meridians.
Huo Zhi's battle qi, which had been violently fluctuating due to forced activation, suddenly relaxed under the impact of this unexpected surge of pure battle qi from the same source! A tremendous sense of exhaustion, like a long-accumulated tidal wave, completely engulfed her the moment she least expected it. This external force not only didn't harm her, but gently soothed and calmed the last bit of power she had forcibly extracted, leaving her powerless to remain conscious.
"Ah..." After a soft moan, Huo Zhi fell into a coma. She was exhausted. She had been able to hold on, but the sudden help made her fall into a deep sleep.
Huo Zhi's beautiful figure seemed to have all its bones removed, and she slumped backward. She collapsed heavily into Xiao Yan's arms, the last vestiges of color in her pretty face quickly fading, leaving only a heartbreaking paleness, and the exhaustion between her brows could no longer be concealed.
"Kid, what do you think you're doing!"
"presumptuous!"
"Put down Sister Fire Child!"
Xiao Yan moved too fast, his actions almost instantaneous, leaving no time to stop him. The Yan Clan members were extremely indignant at Xiao Yan's actions, and several of their auras instantly locked onto Xiao Yan and his clone.
All eyes, filled with wariness and hostility, focused on Xiao Yan. They had just experienced the pain of their clan's annihilation, and like frightened birds, any unplanned changes were seen as potential threats. The air froze, and the atmosphere became tense and volatile once again.
Even Huo Zhen, seeing Xiao Yan's actions, showed dissatisfaction, and his fighting spirit began to envelop Xiao Yan.
"Kid! Who gave you the guts?"
However, Xiao Yan seemed oblivious to these questioning and wary glances. He didn't explain his motives, but simply stated very clearly...
"Huo Zhi's essence is severely depleted. Forcing her to complete the refining at this time is destroying her foundation. You are a Grandmaster of Alchemy in the Heavenly Realm, can't you see that?"
"If you want the power of the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, I have that too, and I won't let you down."
Upon hearing this, Huo Zhen's eyes still showed a hint of guilt, but he spoke as if explaining to Xiao Yan or convincing himself: "Huo Zhi is the most efficient at refining. We must hurry, or we might lose a very important member of our clan at any moment!"
"Therefore, I will extract the essence from these herbs!"
"Kid, are you sure you can do it?" Huo Zhen asked Xiao Yan seriously.
Xiao Yan didn't explain further, but simply let the flames rise in his palm. The moment the flames appeared, everyone in the courtyard, including the Yan Clan who were all skilled at manipulating fire, immediately began to mentally assess Xiao Yan's flames.
At this moment, some people with good memories pointed out: "Wait, if he really is the Xiao Yan that my sister mentioned, he seems to be the champion of the Pill Gathering."
"Look closely at his flames; I've never seen them before!"
"Could this guy be a spy from the Soul Clan?"
"No, no, Huo Zhi has always said that he is not an enemy of our clan."
As a grandmaster of alchemy, Huo Zhen didn't focus on these superficial matters; he could see a deeper level—Xiao Yan's true alchemy skills. Once Xiao Yan began refining, all his attention was focused on him.
Xiao Yan's gaze was focused and calm as he drew a nine-petaled ice flower closer. The intense heat of his strange fire relentlessly squeezed the herb dry, extracting drop by drop of its essence. The entire process was fluid and seamless.
Finally, after Xiao Yan spent the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he finished refining the Nine-Leaf Ice Flower. The medicinal liquid was completely free of any impurities; its purity was so high that even the Yan Clan disciples who had some knowledge of alchemy gasped in astonishment.
At this moment, the courtyard was completely silent, and all the previous doubts and discussions had vanished in an instant.
"Good! Good! Good lad!" Huo Zhen finally showed a smile. He could see everything best. Xiao Yan's efficiency was far superior to Huo Zhi's. After all, Huo Zhi was not a real alchemist; he was just using the strange fire to do his work.
"So you're the guy who's supposed to be the champion of the 'Donnie Yen Club'?"
Xiao Yan simply nodded slightly, his tone remaining calm: "I am Xiao Yan, and I was fortunate enough to win the Pill Gathering championship."
"Not bad, not bad. Apart from the flames being a pile of garbage, you have a good foundation, kid. You'll have no problem with this refining."
Xiao Yan nodded, and to his surprise, Huo Zhen, without even looking up, handed over half of the herbs he was in charge of to Xiao Yan. The herbs were densely packed in front of Xiao Yan, emitting an intoxicating fragrance.
"You're young, so you need to be quick. These are all for you; remember to be fast!"
Huo Zhen acted as if he were a junior member of his family, speaking to him as if he were ordering him around.
Seeing that he had more than half of the herbs in front of him, Xiao Yan did not refuse. Instead, a hint of excitement, like that of someone who had finally met their match, flashed in his eyes. He took out the Black Demon Cauldron and began to refine the herbs one by one.
Huo Zhen glanced at Xiao Yan's medicine cauldron and couldn't help but snort again.
On the other side, Xiao Yan immediately focused. With the help of the strange fire, refining was not too troublesome. Moreover, Xiao Yan's instinct told him that the pills that could be made from these herbs would not exceed his limit.
However, he didn't say anything more, immediately focusing all his attention on the small portion of key medicinal herbs in front of him. His withered fingers flew, and one herb after another began to be added to the cauldron for refining.
Within half a day, Xiao Yan had finished refining all the herbs in front of him. To Xiao Yan's surprise, Huo Zhen, who used a kind of unremarkable flame, was actually much faster than him.
Although Huo Zhen's strength was superior to Xiao Yan's, and his soul power was stronger, Xiao Yan used a flame formed by the fusion of three different flames, while Huo Zhen only used simple Dou Qi to condense the flame. His own advantages were clearly more obvious, but he still lost to Elder Huo Zhen.
Xiao Yan also became interested and wanted to figure out why this was happening.
After Huo Zhen finished everything, he absorbed all of Xiao Yan's medicinal liquid and integrated it into the Guiyuan Cauldron to begin refining medicine!