Sensing the several powerful and matchless auras outside the inn, Tai Lingxuan immediately circulated her spiritual energy, entering a state of high alert.
So many experts!
There were three to five in the Mahayana Realm alone.
However, Tai Lingxuan also noticed that although the newcomers were numerous, they did not emit any hostility.
While she was wondering, a rough and loud voice rang out from outside the inn.
“The Yan Family, Yan Dangmo, has come specifically to visit Sect Leader Tai to discuss important matters!”
Immediately afterward, another steady voice sounded: “The Pill Sect, Zhu Tian, hopes to have a conversation with Sect Leader Tai.”
“Martial God Gate, Zhao Kuangwu, seeks an audience with Sect Leader Tai!”
“Extreme Yang Sect, Sikong Tu…”
“The Bai Family, Bai Canghai…” One voice after another followed in quick succession.
The newcomers were all famous experts throughout the Northern Region’s cultivation world, or core high-level members of various major families and sects.
The voices of the crowd intertwined and echoed above the inn for a long time.
This scene also caused passing pedestrians and cultivators to look over, discussing it incessantly.
“What’s going on today?”
“Why have so many experts come to visit the Sect Leader of the Hehuan Sect?”
“What did the Hehuan Sect do?”
“I heard a little bit about it. It seems that the Sect Leader, Tai Lingxuan, has made consecutive breakthroughs in these past few days and is about to reach the Mahayana Realm. Are these people here to build a connection?”
“Eh, why did I hear it was because of the Pill Convention…”
Inside the inn room.
At this moment, Tai Lingxuan was completely stunned, her brows furrowed and her face full of confusion.
What… what was this all about?
These figures, who were rarely seen on ordinary days, had actually gathered outside the inn where she was staying, specifically calling to see her?
What on earth was the reason for this?
Tai Lingxuan’s mind was in a mess, and she couldn’t understand the reason at all.
Ling Xi, who was by her side, was the first to react.
She glanced at Chen Yuyang and whispered an explanation to Tai Lingxuan: “Master, these people… I’m afraid they are all here for Senior Brother.”
“For… for Yuyang?”
Tai Lingxuan turned her head sharply, looking at Chen Yuyang in disbelief: “You… what exactly did you do?”
Chen Yuyang felt a bit embarrassed being looked at by Tai Lingxuan like that.
He scratched his head and showed a slightly shy smile: “It was nothing much. I just tried furnace-less alchemy at the Pill Convention. Using the True Solar Fire, I spent three hours and refined seventeen top-grade Qi Gathering Pills.”
Tai Lingxuan: “…Furnace-less alchemy!”
Those words made Tai Lingxuan’s eyes widen instantly, and her breath hitched.
Although she was not an alchemist, she knew the difficulty of furnace-less alchemy.
Ordinary alchemy requires a furnace as a medium.
A furnace can not only gather flames and stabilize the alchemical fire, but also, by virtue of its materials and the arrays attached to it, assist the alchemist in refining impurities from medicinal herbs and guiding the fusion of various elemental medicinal powers.
One could say that the furnace is an alchemist’s most important tool and the key to whether an alchemist can complete a batch of pills.
Furnace-less alchemy means discarding this core tool, using only one’s own spiritual fire to wrap the medicinal herbs, and relying entirely on mental control to complete the extraction and fusion of the herbs, ultimately achieving pill condensation!
This has almost harsh and extremely high requirements for the alchemist’s soul power, control, understanding of medicinal properties, and the quality of the flame they can control.
Since ancient times, very few people have truly been able to achieve furnace-less alchemy, and every single one of them was a peerless genius of the alchemical path who shook the world.
Furthermore, Chen Yuyang used the True Solar Fire!
The True Solar Fire is the condensation of the sun’s fire.
Its rarity and power far exceed ordinary flames by a thousand or ten thousand times!
Used for alchemy, its effects go without saying.
However, using such a powerful flame for alchemy is an extremely difficult task in itself, and using it for furnace-less alchemy is even more equivalent to dancing on a knife’s edge.
With the slightest carelessness, the medicinal herbs would be burned to nothing in an instant, turning into fly ash.
However, all of this—the furnace-less alchemy, the True Solar Fire, the three hours, the seventeen top-grade Qi Gathering Pills—was actually secondary.
The most important thing was his age!
Chen Yuyang, who achieved all of this, was only about fifteen years old.
This could no longer be described simply as being brilliant; it was simply… world-shaking!
No wonder… no wonder the giants of power like the Yan Family, the Pill Sect, and the Martial God Gate, who were usually so arrogant, would gather here with such a great commotion!
Pills are an essential cultivation resource for almost all cultivators.
Whether it is increasing cultivation, healing injuries and detoxifying, tempering the physical body, or breaking through bottlenecks, the assistance of pills is indispensable.
The importance of an alchemist is self-evident.
Lower three-grade alchemists are not particularly rare.
Lower three-grade pill formulas are simple, the herbs are common, and the refining techniques are relatively basic.
As long as one is willing to spend time and resources and study diligently for eight to ten years, even a person with mediocre talent can be built up.
The figures of lower three-grade alchemists can be seen everywhere in major markets and small sects.
Middle three-grade alchemists begin to become rare, practically one in ten thousand.
This level has higher requirements for an alchemist’s spiritual power, fire control techniques, and understanding of medicinal properties, requiring a certain amount of talent to achieve.
Alchemists of this grade are also the main alchemical force of major sects and families.
As for upper three-grade alchemists…
This is no longer a question of rarity; they are existences that truly stand at the top of the entire alchemical pyramid.
In the entire Northern Region’s cultivation world, spanning a million miles with hundreds of millions of cultivators, there are only twelve upper three-grade alchemists in total.
Among them, nine are seventh-grade, two are eighth-grade, and one is ninth-grade.
This sole ninth-grade alchemist is the current Sect Leader of the Pill Sect, Zhu Tian.
Among the younger generation, looking across the entire Northern Region, the geniuses considered to have the potential to reach the upper three-grade realm can be counted on two hands.
Many factors influence people’s judgment on this point, such as talent, comprehension, soul power strength, and control.
But among them, the factor with the greatest influence and the most importance is age.
A twenty-eight-year-old third-grade alchemist and an eighteen-year-old third-grade alchemist represent the difference between mediocrity and genius.
Not to mention a boy who was barely fifteen and had mastered furnace-less alchemy, possessed the True Solar Fire, and had control and soul power that were rare in the world.
In their eyes, as long as such a youth was cultivated carefully with enough resources invested, there was an extremely high probability he could reach the realm of an upper three-grade alchemist.
At that time, the help such an alchemist could bring to a family or sect would be immeasurable.
Investing in Chen Yuyang was equivalent to investing in the future of the family or sect.
Tai Lingxuan recovered her senses, understanding why they were so eager and impatient.
Turning her gaze back, she stared at the youth behind her for a long time.
To be honest, she knew Chen Yuyang was outstanding.
She just had never imagined he was outstanding to this extent.
Thinking for a moment, Tai Lingxuan looked seriously into the youth’s eyes and asked, “Yuyang, tell your master truthfully, what are your thoughts?”
Chen Yuyang smiled and shook his head: “I have no intention of joining any of their sects or factions.”
“I am the Hehuan Sect’s Chen Yuyang.”
Tai Lingxuan’s fingers couldn’t help but tighten around the corner of her clothes, and ripples surged in her eyes.
“Yuyang, do you know that by refusing them—not even mentioning the matter of offending them—it is the same as refusing your own future path to success.”
“The smallest of the powers out there right now can give you resources and help that your master could never possibly give you.”
“And I also believe that with your talent, you will surely achieve something. In the future, you could become a pillar within these powers, under one person and above ten thousand.”
“But in the Hehuan Sect, even if I pass the position of Sect Leader to you, you would still only be considered a small figure in the cultivation world.”
Tai Lingxuan continued.
Chen Yuyang’s expression did not change at all.
“Master, my mind is made up.”
Tai Lingxuan pursed her lips and fell silent.
Taking a deep breath, Tai Lingxuan’s expression suddenly became stern.
“This matter is not up to you!”
Saying this, Tai Lingxuan turned around, stood with her hands behind her back, and said in a slightly cold voice: “I intend to rely on you to build good relations with other powers. No matter which thigh our Hehuan Sect clings to, the benefits will be significant.”
“You must choose one of them. Do not let your master down!”
Hearing this, Chen Yuyang was stunned.
Ling Xi was also stunned.
“Master, what… what are you doing? Senior Brother doesn’t want to leave!”
Ling Xi hurriedly grabbed Tai Lingxuan’s sleeve and spoke anxiously.
Tai Lingxuan waved her hand, lightly shaking Ling Xi off, and scolded sternly: “Be quiet, Ling Xi. This is not your place to speak.”
Ling Xi opened her mouth, staring blankly at Tai Lingxuan, then looked at Chen Yuyang, not knowing what to do.
Chen Yuyang smiled slightly and patted the girl’s shoulder: “Alright, Ling Xi, let me talk to Master about this. You go out first.”
Ling Xi blinked several times and bit her lip, looking at the youth reluctantly before she could only turn and retreat.
After Ling Xi left the room, Chen Yuyang quickly checked the isolation arrays set up in the room.
After confirming that the divine senses outside could not detect the specific situation inside the room, Chen Yuyang spoke.
“Master, let me be clear with you. I will not leave the Hehuan Sect.”
“Master, perhaps you feel that your disciple joining one of them would mean a boundless future.”
“But that is not my wish. If you force it, I’m afraid this matter will become a heart demon for me.”
“On the other hand, if I join them, the only things they can provide me are some heavenly treasures and the guidance of seniors.”
“But these things… to be honest with you, Master, I actually don’t lack them.”
“My father has already given me a considerable amount of resources, and I also have over a hundred volumes of top-tier alchemists’ handwritten notes for study and reference.”
“By joining them, I won’t necessarily grow more quickly. Not only would I be constrained everywhere, but my mood would certainly not be pleasant.”
Chen Yuyang understood Tai Lingxuan’s thoughts, so he did not blame her.
He simply stated the facts and discussed it with her seriously.
“But…”
Tai Lingxuan was stunned and wanted to say more.
Chen Yuyang continued: “I know Master is doing this for my own good, hoping I won’t be buried in a small place like the Hehuan Sect.”
“But, Master, do you know why I wanted to make a name for myself at the Pill Convention?”
“Why?”
“On one hand, it’s to make those old fellows from the Qian Sect have some reservations and not dare to easily act against us. On the other hand, I want people to know of our Hehuan Sect, to know that our Hehuan Sect has produced a talent like me, and to know that our Hehuan Sect’s future potential is limitless!”
“If Master insists on making me leave the Hehuan Sect to join one of them, all of my efforts will have been in vain.”
Speaking to this point, Chen Yuyang sighed softly, his expression also somewhat complex as he looked at Tai Lingxuan.