Chapter 46: Entering Linlang Pavilion Again
After resolving Xiao Bai’s problems, Xiao Chen took out the Azure Dragon Medicine Cauldron and prepared to refine the medicine. Ao Jiao stayed at the side, playing with Xiao Bai. She had no intention of leaving.
Xiao Chen sighed. It seemed that he would not be able to hide any of his secrets from Ao Jiao in future. But this was something that he could not do anything about. Ao Jiao’s strength was way higher than her master’s.
Even if he wished to object, he would still have no chance of winning. However, he had a feeling that despite her unpleasant words, she did not have any schemes in her heart and would not do anything to harm him.
Under certain circumstances, she would even help him solve some problems. Just like how she solved the problem of feeding Xiao Bai. She had spent a tremendous amount of energy in order to produce those few drops of milky-white liquid.
Shaking his head, Xiao Chen cast all these nonsensical thoughts aside. He began to focus on refining medicine. He was about to refine two new pills, a healing type of pill and a burst of strength type of pill.
After his experience on Seven Horn Mountain, he realized that it was impossible to completely avoid injuries in battle. If he had a pill for healing back then, one that could heal his injuries rapidly, then he might not have ended up in such a sorry state.
As for the burst of strength type of pill, it would allow the user to increase their strength for a short period of time. At a critical moment, he could use this to make a counter-attack.
The two pills he intended to refine were called the Blood Replenishing Pill and the Cloud Swallowing Pill. The latter pill had very severe side effects. Although after consuming it, it would have very strong effects, after the effects wore off, it would cause a lot of damage to the body.
Xiao Chen refined these two pills in a bid to protect his life. As long as he did not use them frequently, they would not cause any hidden or lasting damage to his body.
Compared against similar pills of this world, their effects were much better.
First, he prepared the ingredients that he needed. The green core in his sea of consciousness immediately entered the herb together with his Spiritual Sense. He was then able to take a very clear look of the inner structures of the herb.
With a ‘Pu’ sound, the purple flame from his palm came to life. Xiao Chen was now completely focused, he did not dare to get distracted.
In the Compendium of Cultivation, these two pills were not highly ranked. Thus, it was not particularly difficult to refine them. With the assistance of his Spiritual Awareness and Spiritual Sense, it could be said that this endeavor would go smoothly.
Soon, a fragrance wafted out from the medicinal cauldron. The first pill successfully came out of the cauldron. Xiao Chen revealed a satisfied expression and took out a porcelain bottle, keeping the Blood Replenishing Pill in it.
“Dumbass Master, I didn’t think you could refine medicine too. Furthermore, your method of refining medicine is different from the usual methods of alchemists,” Ao Jiao looked at Xiao Chen in astonishment. Earlier, she was afraid of distracting Xiao Chen so she did not say anything.
Hearing Ao Jiao’s words, Xiao Chen felt some pride in his heart. He smiled, “You look down on me too much. This is not the only thing I know.”
Ao Jiao snorted, “With just a little skill and you’re already so cocky. Seems like you are not aware of the heights of heaven and the depth of the earth.”
[TL notes: not aware of the heights of heaven and the depth of the earth is a similar expression to frog in the well. Basically, it means that he is ignorant of the greatness of what is available out there]
What do you mean just a little skill? He used the alchemy methods in the Compendium of Cultivation and was able to achieve a 90 percent success rate when refining Rank 3 pills and below. This was already much better than the ordinary alchemist of this world.
Xiao Chen said in an unconvinced tone, “If you have the ability, then refine a pill that is exactly the same for me to see.”
Ao Jiao stared blankly for awhile. Her cute face had the impression of seeing something extremely funny, along with some astonishment. After a moment, she smiled coldly, “If I can refine it, what will you do? There needs to be some kind of wager.”
“Deal! If you can successfully refine it, you may request of me, anything. However, if you fail, then you are no longer allowed to call me an idiot.” Xiao Chen did not stop to think deeper before he said this.
Xiao Chen was very confident in his alchemy skills. Even if Ao Jiao could really refine medicines, she had only seen him done it once and she did not know the recipe. Under such conditions, it was impossible for her to succeed.
Ao Jiao said: “How ignorant! I shall teach you a lesson today, so that you won’t die by being beaten to death by others for being so cocky.”
After Ao Jiao said that, she flicked her fingers three times. Three white flames appeared out of nowhere, quietly floating in the air. Her hand positions kept changing until, under her manipulation, the herbs on the table all flew into the air.
It looked very dazzling. Xiao Chen thought of the flair bartenders from his previous life. This had seemed very familiar, it was gorgeous and dazzling.
[TL notes: Flair Bartenders are bartenders that entertain guests by doing tricks like tossing the bottles around.]
Xiao Chen stood at the side consoling himself. There is no need to worry. Since she is doing it in such a flashy manner, there must be some trickery to it. Alchemy is very serious business.
“Sou! Sou! Sou!”
Ao jiao’s hands moved as fast as lightning, accurately pinpointing the three herbs that were needed amongst the herbs that filled the air. She sent them into the three white flames. Each of the white flames handled one herb each, giving off a continual sizzling sound.
Before finishing, Ao Jiao changed the posture of her hands once again. The herbs that were falling floated into the air again. “Dong! Dong! Dong!” Ao Jiao had multitasked. It was unknown when she made three porcelain bottles appear, but she had accurately caught the falling medicinal liquid.
Her right hand moved again, causing the three while flames to start refining the three different medicinal liquids. After a moment, the six herbs that were required for the Blood Replenishing Pill had been completely refined.
Xiao Chen was astonished to see all these. At this moment, he saw what Ao Jiao had meant. This was a pinnacle alchemy method that pursued speed.
Just by using one flame to refined the medicinal liquid, Xiao Chen already found it taxing. However, Ao Jiao was able to use three flames at once. This was something that Xiao Chen did not dare to think of. The degree of control she had over the flames had reached a terrifying level.
Xiao Chen knew that he would be losing this bet today. However, he did not feel that it was a pity. To be able to observe Ao Jiao’s exquisite techniques was a beneficial learning opportunity for him.
As he had expected, Ao Jiao was able to carry out the last few steps smoothly. There was no careless mistakes or hesitation.
However, at the last step, while she was nourishing the pill, a look of extreme weakness appeared on her face. A soft exploding sound came from the inside of the Azure Dragon Medicine Cauldron.
The refining of this pill actually failed. It actually failed at the stage where it was impossible to fail. Xiao Chen thought that he was lucky. However, very soon, he figured out the reason for Ao Jiao’s failure.
When Ao Jiao made the milky-white liquid to feed Xiao Bai, she had exhausted too much of her energy. Without resting much, she then used a high difficulty technique to refine medicine. At the final step, she was not able to supply the required Essence.
“How is this… possible.” Ao Jiao looked in disbelief as she saw a pile of waste material come out from the dragon mouth. She had actually failed to succeed.
Xiao Chen coughed, “Erm… Sister Ao Jiao. The words you said earlier still counts right?”
Ao Jiao blushed, “Asshole, I won’t call you idiot anymore in future.” After she said that, she went back into the Universe Ring.
Xiao Bai saw Ao Jiao suddenly disappear. It seemed to not understand what happened as he skipped around, looking for Ao Jiao. However, it was not able to find her after a long period of time. It then looked at Xiao Chen anxiously.
Xiao Chen saw Xiao Bai’s looks and smiled, “Stop looking, your mother is hiding.”
...
The following two days, Xiao Chen did not go out at all. He stayed in his room continuously refining medicine. Aside from the two pills mentioned earlier, he refined a third pill type. Altogether, he had refined quite a lot of pills. After all, he was not lacking in ingredients and did not have to go out purchasing herbs anymore.
Aside from refining medicine, Xiao Chen spent the rest of his time investigating the methods of using the Purple Thunder True Fire. He experimented on increasing the penetrating ability of the Purple Thunder True Fire and had obtained remarkable results.
His Purple Thunder True Fire was already able to penetrate through two inches of fine iron without exploding.
In the early morning, two days later, Xiao Chen donned that black cloak once again and placed all the Moonstone he normally left home in the past, into the ring. Then, he left the Xiao Residence and headed for Mohe City.
The city was as bustling as it was before. Although Xiao Chen’s get up was a little strange, it still had not attracted too much attention.
He took his time as he made his way to Linlang Pavilion. His purpose in coming out today, aside from claiming his earnings from the Linlang Pavilion’s auction, was to forge a Spirit Weapon.
When his figure appeared at the doors of Linlang Pavilion, the guard at the front of the door wanted to stop him when he saw his get up. At this point of time, a person quickly shouted out, stopping his colleague from doing so.
“Senior, you are finally here. The Pavilion Master has been waiting for you for a long time already.”
Xiao Chen was surprised. There was actually someone who could recognize him at the front door. He carefully observed the person before realizing that he was the person he had beaten up before—Gao Long.
“It's you. Since you recognized me, then help me send a message,” Xiao Chen said indifferently.
“Quickly! Go! Bring this distinguished guest to the inner pavilion,” Gao Long hurriedly nodded his head. Because of the matter last time, he had been demoted to being the front door guard.
Now that he saw Xiao Chen again, he did not dare be negligent. Before he left, he even left careful instructions for his colleagues, to bring Xiao Chen to the inner pavilion.
Although the person beside Gao Long did not recognize Xiao Chen, when he saw Gao Long’s serious attitude, he did not dare to be careless either as he ushered Xiao Chen in.
Entering the great hall, Xiao Chen noticed that the number of people he saw this time was at least double the previous time. It was very crowded with little space to move.
Secretly circulating his Essence, Xiao Chen avoided them, But there were a few people who purposely came near to bump into him.
When Xiao Chen saw this, he had already guessed the identity of those people. They must have been thieves that had pretty good skills. Because they were confident in their skills, they came to Linlang Pavilion give it a try.
When those thieves tried to get near Xiao Chen, they did not succeed. They knew that they had kicked an iron board and wisely decided to stay away.
Soon, Xiao Chen was drinking tea in the inner pavilion, quietly waiting for Nangong Yan to arrive. He felt very puzzled, there seemed to be a lot of people here today but there was no auction going on at the moment.
Xiao Chen placed put his cup and asked the attendant beside him: “What’s the occasion today? Why are there so many people in Linlang Pavilion?”
Knowing that Xiao Chen was the honored guest of the Pavilion Master, he did not dare to be negligent and replied: “Today…”
Before he could finish his sentence, there was a candid laugh coming from outside the inner pavilion. The attendant quickly stopped and left the inner pavilion.
This was because Nangong Yan had arrived. The words that would be spoken later would definitely be something that he had no right to hear.
“My little friend, you finally came. I had been looking forward to seeing you these days.”