“Sister Bai, are you busy?”
In the room, Yun Fei hesitated for a long time before finally using a Spirit Talisman to call Bai Yuetong.
“Um… I’m not very busy, but I’m currently in the Mortal Realm. If you need me to help with something, I might be powerless.”
In the image, Bai Yuetong wore a white shirt with a black tie hanging naturally from her chest.
Her fingers kept tapping something on the desk with a rhythmic *tap-tap-tap*.
“Sister Bai is in the Mortal Realm? This Spirit Talisman communication can cross realms?”
“Of course! Provided that I built a signal channel between the two realms, which took me quite a while. Is there something wrong? Ask quickly. If you need me to step in personally, it probably won’t work.”
“…Oh! It’s like this. A senior student I live with has been affected by Void Erosion. Sister Bai, do you know any way to solve or alleviate it?”
“…Ah, it’s Erosion Syndrome… What are the specific symptoms? Mental abnormality, indiscriminate attacks on others, or Spiritual Power decline?”
“Spiritual Power decline… Based on what you’re saying, is there a way to solve it?”
“Well, that senior of yours is quite lucky. Among those scenarios, only Spiritual Power decline offers a way to preserve one’s consciousness. In other cases, they’ll be assimilated by the Void sooner or later. But…”
Just as Yun Fei felt a bit of joy, Bai Yuetong’s tone shifted.
“As for the price… I’m not sure if your senior can bear it.”
A meaningful smile appeared on Bai Yuetong’s face.
Under Yun Fei’s nervous gaze, she spoke slowly, “Abolish her cultivation entirely and become a mortal who can never cultivate again.”
Yun Fei’s face froze.
For a cultivator, this price was undoubtedly heavy.
After seeing the world with the status and perspective of a cultivator, no one would easily give it up—the chance to become stronger, the long lifespan.
A cultivator whose cultivation was abolished would find the rest of their life to be a form of torture.
Suicide was the common end chosen by such people…
“…Is there no other way?”
“As far as I know, no. However, Yun Fei, do you remember Gleaming Silver Ore? That special mineral that can isolate the Void. I had a research project related to it before, but it was shelved because of some more important matters. If you need to find another way, perhaps you can start from there.”
“Gleaming Silver Ore? I understand! Thank you, Sister Bai!”
“Oh, there’s no need for thanks~ If you really want to thank me, cook some good food for me when you return to the Demon Palace for the New Year~ Your mother has been acting up since last year and started trying to learn how to cook. The result is completely inedible!”
“Alright, alright~ I get it~”
Yun Fei hung up the communication helplessly.
‘Gleaming Silver Ore… I’ll check the Chamber of Commerce in a few days to see if they have any in stock. If I want to actually research some results, I’m afraid it’ll be too late. I hope there’s some turn of events…’
—
In the afternoon, with a heavy heart, Yun Fei flew all the way to the top of Alchemy Peak and landed in front of Hua Li’s palace gates.
“Master, are you there? I’m here!”
At Yun Fei’s call, the gates seemed to sense her presence and opened with a *creak*, revealing a quite spacious interior.
A massive alchemy cauldron stood in the center of the hall, perhaps three times the size of a normal one. It was an awe-inspiring sight!
Hua Li was currently focused on refining some pills.
Yun Fei quietly crept to the side and began to observe.
This was the first time in her life she had watched a 9th-Tier Alchemist perform a refinement!
Hua Li’s wrists flicked as she precisely controlled the heat.
Her Spiritual Power flowed through the space in a regular pattern, picking up the required medicinal ingredients from the shelves on both sides of the hall.
Coordinating with the flames, she dropped the ingredients into the cauldron at the perfect moments.
‘Hmm… That’s an 8th-Tier Ice Qi Flower, and a 7th-Tier Magic Flame Python core! Aren’t those two conflicting? Without a dual-attribute medium as a base, won’t it really explode?’
Yun Fei’s heart was screaming.
Her legs moved toward the door uncontrollably.
If these two high-tier ingredients reacted violently, the resulting aftershock would likely blow her, a mere Shattering Void Realm cultivator, dozens of miles away!
But as she retreated to the door, a hand pressed down on her shoulder.
Yun Fei looked up; it was her Eldest Senior Sister.
“Ugh… Senior Sister, let me go, let me run!”
Yun Fei pleaded with a bitter face toward Huai Li, looking like a cat that was afraid of death.
“Oh my~ Junior Sister, don’t worry. Master is a peerless alchemy genius known for never having a furnace explosion! Relax~”
“Never had an explosion? Really? How come I’ve never heard of such a person?”
“Uh… Is that so? Well, to be honest, that’s actually something the Vice Principal said to flatter Master. I’m just telling you to put your mind at ease~ Besides, I’m here, so you’ll be fine.”
Hearing Huai Li’s guarantee, Yun Fei felt half-relieved.
She finally turned her attention back to Hua Li.
However, she couldn’t watch for long.
Because Hua Li’s realm was so much higher than hers, the flow of Spiritual Power that filled almost the entire hall made her eyes sting after staring for too long.
Yun Fei closed her eyes and rubbed them gently, while simultaneously flooding her eyes with her own Demonic Power to alleviate the pain.
Then, following a dull thud and the sound of billowing steam, Huai Li’s voice drifted over.
“Ah! Master finished! That was fast! Have 8th-Tier pills become this easy for Master? A 9th-Tier Alchemist is truly formidable!”
The vast flow of Spiritual Power in the hall gradually settled, flowing back into Hua Li’s body.
Yun Fei opened her tired eyes and saw Huai Li excitedly pulling two bags of 8th-Tier Ice-Fire Tempering Pills from the large cauldron.
“Eh? Senior Sister, this is…?”
“Ah, Junior Sister! These are 8th-Tier Ice-Fire Tempering Pills. Next week, the largest auction house across the two realms — the Capital of All Under Heaven — will hold a grand auction that happens once every five years. This time it’s being held in Jiuli City. It’s just outside these mountains, the most prosperous city in the southern region of the Profane Realm. The person in charge of this Capital of All Under Heaven auction sent an invitation to Master. Master said she would refine a batch of pills for them as an auction item to show her gratitude — uh… though this does look like quite a lot.”
Huai Li took out white jade bottles to store the pills.
She packed them all away, and there were enough to fill twenty-five bottles!
“Ahem… Well… if I’d known I could produce this many 8th-Tier pills in one batch, I would have refined 9th-Tier ones instead. For the auction, one bottle will be enough. As for the rest… Huai Li, Yun Fei, take them and split them. These Ice-Fire Tempering Pills are body-tempering pills. As girls, you can’t let your physical strength fall behind.”
“Especially you, Huai Li. You’re about to confess to that little girl over at Qiu Ying’s place, right? Eat more of these pills to improve your physique. In the future, you must stand tall during *that matter*, or I’ll lose face as your master!”
Hua Li instructed Huai Li with a serious expression.
Huai Li’s face turned beet red as she quickly replied, “Yes! I won’t disappoint Master!”
Yun Fei listened to the two of them with confusion.
Vaguely, she seemed to understand what they were talking about, yet she also didn’t seem to understand at all.
The feeling left her a bit restless, but she still joined the two of them in distributing the bottles of pills.
‘Improving physical strength… This is good stuff! Mu Lingxi’s hits hurt so much; I’ve had enough of it. With the tempering from these pills, I feel like I could just stand there and let her hit me without making a single sound! The days of being oppressed by Mu Lingxi are almost over. Next comes the time for me to take the initiative!’
Yun Fei took ten bottles.
Huai Li took thirteen bottles under Master’s insistent command.
Master took one for herself, and one was for the auction.
“Um… Master, Xiao Yue is about to attempt a breakthrough to the Heaven Burning Realm soon. I promised to protect her. You and Junior Sister still have things to do, right? This disciple will take her leave now!”
“Mhm, go ahead. Yun Fei, follow me to the inner room and let me see your 4th-Tier level.”
After Huai Li left, Hua Li ushered Yun Fei into a room that also contained an alchemy cauldron, though this one was of normal size.
Looking at the cauldron’s material, it seemed to be made of high-grade crimson gold mixed with other heat-resistant materials.
It looked much safer than the large cauldron outside.
“Let me think. Let’s refine the 4th-Tier Spirit Breath Pill. It requires many varied ingredients, and the melting temperature and timing for each must be controlled. It’s the perfect test for your proficiency.”
Yun Fei took a deep breath.
She knew Hua Li would have her refine this pill.
Refining it tested various abilities of an alchemist and was highly comprehensive.
In the examination for a 5th-Tier Alchemist, the 4th-Tier Spirit Breath Pill and any random 5th-Tier pill were necessary conditions for advancement.
Being able to refine this was equivalent to having one foot in the 5th-Tier already.
She had done some research on this Spiritual Power pill, so the recipe was no problem.
She had been at the 4th-Tier for some time.
Although she hadn’t had the chance to actually refine it yet, she figured it shouldn’t be a major issue.
Yun Fei sorted the pre-placed ingredients in the room according to the required ratios.
Then, she sat cross-legged as purple flames surged under her control.
She split her Spiritual Power into several strands to focus on controlling the fire, monitoring the temperature, placing the ingredients, and observing the changes in the materials.
Strong Spiritual Power was a mandatory condition for a good alchemist, and the Mental Partitioning Method was a technique used by alchemists to improve efficiency and success rates.
Of course, there were many other ways to improve efficiency and success rates.
For example, if one possessed an Exotic Fire, then skillfully controlling it was another method.
And Yun Fei had both.
In this situation, if the refinement was successful, even if it was her first time refining the Spirit Breath Pill, the result might directly reach over ten pills per batch, or even produce high-grade or top-grade 4th-Tier pills!
This was also the reason why Hua Li, upon learning that Yun Fei was the inheritor of the Nether Realm Purple Fire, couldn’t wait to take her in.
If taught well, she might one day be able to refine immortal-tier pills that hadn’t appeared in a thousand years.
Unfortunately, fewer and fewer Exotic Fires had appeared in the world.
Even when someone finally obtained and mastered one, they were usually obsessed with its powerful destructive capabilities.
Few people used it for alchemy.