Chapter 9: Heart Fire

“First one, you, Su Xiaotang, step forward!”

Chu Fan pointed accurately at Su Xiaotang in the very last row of the crowd.

“Huh? Me?”

Su Xiaotang pointed at herself, wearing an expression identical to the one Ben Bo Er Ba had when he was ordered to kill the Tang Monk and his disciples.

“Yes, you. Is there a problem?”

“No, no problem…”

At the same time, the three girls once again wore the exact same expression.

It was a look of obvious dissatisfaction.

‘Master is really playing favorites. I’ll have to “punish” him properly later.’

‘Master, why would you rather choose Xiaotang than me? Dammit!’

‘Is Master an idiot… What low-grade pill? I’ve never even eaten one, how am I supposed to refine one for him…’

Su Xiaotang walked tremulously to Chu Fan’s side.

Chu Fan reached out and lightly patted Su Xiaotang’s shoulder, making her body tremble.

The two of them turned to look at each other, and Su Xiaotang swallowed nervously.

“Alright, let’s begin.”

Su Xiaotang didn’t move.

Instead, she gripped the corner of her clothes and stood with her head bowed, trembling all over.

“Hey, Su Xiaotang, start already.”

“Master… I… my tripod…”

“What about your tripod? Don’t you have a Mysterious Jade Tripod? Take it out.”

“I lost it…”

“What!?”

Pfft! A wave of laughter broke out from the crowd below.

“That Mysterious Jade Tripod cost me 800 taels of silver! 800 taels! It’s worth more than you! After the auction ended, the people from the Xie family even got into a fight with me to snatch that tripod, and you lost it!?”

“I’m sorry…”

Although Chu Fan was fuming, now was not the time to look into the matter.

He pointed toward Shen Yuying.

“Yuying, lend her your tripod.”

“Yes, Master.”

Shen Yuying stepped forward, took out a red and white jade tripod from her storage ring, and placed it in front of Su Xiaotang.

“Here, Junior Sister, good luck.”

“Thank you, Senior Sister…” Su Xiaotang muttered with a pout.

Shen Yuying walked back, but Su Xiaotang still didn’t move.

“Hey, what are you doing, Su Xiaotang?”

“Master… can I…”

“Can you what?”

“Can I borrow a… fire…”

“……”

Chu Fan began to lick the roof of his mouth with his tongue, his expression full of aftertaste.

He decided to take back his statement that Su Xiaotang wasn’t actually an idiot; he had been too careless in his judgment.

“You even forgot the mantra for igniting alchemy fire?”

“Yes…”

“Fine…”

Speechless, Chu Fan stretched his palm toward the tripod.

A small spark flew from his palm into the cauldron.

The moment the fire touched the tripod, a massive blaze roared to life, blooming with a dazzling brilliant gold color, suddenly resembling a sun.

“Ah! It’s the Tianyao Solar Flame!”

Lin Anlan’s startled cry rang out from the crowd.

“Oh? You recognize Heavenly Flames?”

“This student is unskilled and only recognizes a few,” Lin Anlan said, adjusting her glasses.

“Then what else do you know? Tell me the details.”

“The Tianyao Solar Flame is ranked seventh on the Heavenly Fire Ranking. It is a flame that all alchemists and blacksmiths in the world desire. Although its offensive power isn’t high, it is the most suitable flame for refining.”

“However, possessing it doesn’t mean one can use it. It is a pure yang fire that can only be controlled by someone with a pure heart, a clear conscience, and who is as upright as the sun. It has its own consciousness and will choose its own master.”

“Impressive, remarkable.”

Chu Fan didn’t hide the admiration in his eyes as he clapped his hands loudly.

“Alright, Su Xiaotang, begin.”

“Okay…”

Su Xiaotang said tremulously.

It began.

Su Xiaotang’s movements were like a young girl cooking for the first time, adding things in and picking things out randomly.

Finally…

Boom!

The furnace exploded.

Su Xiaotang’s face was blasted pitch-black.

Pfft… Su Xiaotang spat out a cloud of black smoke, looking as if she had just eaten a piece of coconut charcoal.

Realizing she had failed, Su Xiaotang scratched her head and turned around.

She bared her white teeth at Chu Fan from her soot-covered face and pulled a black, coal-like pebble from behind her back.

“Hee-hee… Master… if I said… the pill is finished… would you believe me?”

“……”

Chu Fan walked wordlessly to Su Xiaotang, pinched her by the temples, lifted her up, and then….

He threw her forcefully against the wall.

“Get out of here!!!!!”

With a boom, a deep crater was smashed into the wall.

The observers glanced back and forth at each other, but without exception, they were all focused on Su Xiaotang on the wall.

Eventually, Su Xiaotang pried herself out.

After landing, Su Xiaotang patted her body to shake off the debris.

She pouted her pink lips in complaint, puffing out her cheeks like a pufferfish.

“Why, Master? Even I’ll get sad, you know. Hmph.”

Chu Fan ignored her and pointed at Lin Anlan in the middle of the crowd.

“Next one, you! Step forward!”

“…Yes…!”

Once she stepped out of the crowd, Chu Fan asked seriously, “Do you need a tripod and fire?”

“No… no need…”

“Oh?”

Chu Fan began to observe quietly with great interest.

In the next moment, Lin Anlan produced a small, entirely black tripod from her storage ring, about the size of a washbasin.

‘Hmm, although it’s just an ordinary obsidian tripod, being able to control it at will is no easy feat. After all, Yuying and Qianchi’s talents are one in ten thousand; it’s unfair to compare them to these outer disciples who haven’t even heard of alchemy.’

Chu Fan inwardly praised this disciple, who was the only one in the outer sect who seemed like a normal human being.

When the fire ignited, his eyes suddenly lit up.

“This is… Heart Fire?”

The flame burning in the tripod looked no different from an ordinary flame, but Chu Fan could clearly feel the difference in quality and density.

Especially when the flame appeared, even though the wind was blowing toward the north, the fire only burned toward the south where Lin Anlan was standing.

“Teacher, you really are amazing. This is indeed Heart Fire, but it’s still small, and I can’t control it very well yet.”

“No matter. Being able to refine Heart Fire at your age means you are exceptionally talented.”

While Lin Anlan began her refining, Chu Fan walked to the front of the crowd and said loudly, “Now, let me ask you all. Does anyone know what Heart Fire is?”

Surprisingly, this time even Shen Yuying and the other two remained silent.

They hadn’t encountered this before, and since Chu Fan didn’t have it either, they naturally wouldn’t know.

What was unexpected was that Chu Lingshuang, in the corner, slowly raised her hand.

“Good, speak.”

“Heart Fire, simply put, is evolved from mortal fire and nourished by the owner’s heart blood. Over time, it can move according to one’s will. Aside from Heavenly Flames, it is the most suitable fire for refining.”

“A very good answer. Now then…”

Before Chu Fan could finish his sentence, he smelled a scent of fragrance from behind him.

Even his goosebumps stood up.

What the hell was going on?

Where would the fragrance of a pill come from in a normal low-grade pill!?

He whipped his head around and saw a dazzling golden light blooming from the tripod in front of Lin Anlan.

“Te… Teacher… it’s done…”

Lin Anlan handed the pill to Chu Fan.

When Chu Fan took a look at it, he was completely stunned.

“A… a Three-Pattern Bone-Cleansing Pill?”

“Yes. Teacher, you really are amazing.”

As she spoke, Lin Anlan wiped the sweat from her forehead, looking as if she had exhausted all her strength.

Chu Fan was numb.

This Three-Pattern Bone-Cleansing Pill, which was considered top-tier even among Grade 3 pills and could even rival a low-tier Grade 4 pill, had actually been refined by this child?

Is this for real???

If a cultivator had taken the wrong path and hit a bottleneck, the only way they could progress further was by using a Bone-Cleansing Pill, and low-level cultivators could only use pills with fewer patterns.

This Three-Pattern Bone-Cleansing Pill was specifically refined for cultivators below the Golden Core Realm; it was absolutely one of the best of the best.

But this wasn’t right.

Chu Fan had already checked when he arrived.

Aside from himself, the strongest alchemist in this sect was only a Grade 6 alchemist.

How could there be a Grade 3 alchemist among the outer disciples?

Does that make sense!?

Chu Fan could only think of one possibility.

“Who is your master?”

“Eh?”

“What is your master’s realm? What grade of alchemist are they?”

“I… I don’t have a master…”

“Then your alchemy skills are…?”

“Self-taught… What is it, Teacher? Is there… something wrong with this pill…?”

‘Is there a problem? There’s a massive problem!’

What was going on!?

Chu Fan’s head was full of questions.

Are you saying that Jun Lin put a disciple with such alchemy talent into this pile of rotten trash to be an outer disciple?

Damn you, Jun Lin!