Chapter 10: Brother Tang!

Upon hearing Tang Yan's words, Ge Ming felt a flicker of dissatisfaction. You come to me asking to borrow a pill cauldron, and yet you won't even tell me what the payment will be? Tang Yan's vagueness made him suspect that if the pill refinement failed, Tang Yan might try to wriggle out of paying altogether.

Still, people are naturally curious — and Tang Yan's performance just now had left Ge Ming utterly astonished. Despite his dissatisfaction, anticipation won out. What kind of reward could this young man possibly have in mind, to act so mysteriously about it?

Lending out the pill cauldron for four hours was no great matter anyway. Ge Ming gave a nod and said, "Very well then, I'll wait for your good news, young friend. Follow me to the Pill Refining Chamber."

"Many thanks, Old Ge. I trust this gift will not disappoint you."

Tang Yan smiled faintly and followed Old Ge toward the Pill Refining Chamber.

Stepping inside Miaodan Pavilion, Tang Yan realized just how vast the place truly was. Behind the storefront lay the front hall; past the front hall, the Herb Garden stretched to the east, and the Pill Refining Chamber stood to the west.

They wound through several corridors inside the Pill Refining Chamber before finally stopping at a stone door. When it was pushed open, a wave of heat rolled out to greet them.

"This cauldron here is the new one I just acquired," Old Ge said with a smile as they entered.

"A fine cauldron indeed," Tang Yan remarked approvingly. "The inner walls are forged from refined Wuhai ore-iron, ensuring even heat distribution throughout. The outer shell is cast in black ancient bronze — elegant in appearance and excellent at containing the heat within. A ceramic wood core is set at the center, further reinforcing insulation and heat retention. Ingeniously designed. A cauldron like this, I imagine, couldn't be bought even with money."

Ge Ming found himself at a loss for words. This young man before him was clearly very young, yet his talent and insight in the path of Alchemy were utterly unmatched. What a pity — his cultivation core had been destroyed.

"You have a sharp eye, young friend. This pill cauldron was commissioned from a master craftsman. It didn't cost silver — but it did cost Miaodan Pavilion quite a few favors. Ha! Well then, I won't disturb you any further. After four hours, come find me in the front hall." Old Ge said no more, cast a glance at the herb pouch on Tang Yan's back, and pulled the stone door shut behind him.

Whoosh — the moment Ge Ming left, Tang Yan hurried forward and pressed his hands against the pill cauldron, feeling the roaring flames within. A long-missed sense of warmth and familiarity kindled in his heart.

He opened his pack, selected over a dozen medicinal herbs, and stepped up to the pill cauldron once more.

He tossed the herbs into the cauldron, purging the impurities and extracting the essence — his movements as practiced and natural as eating and drinking. Had Ge Ming witnessed this scene, his eyes would have nearly popped out of his head. Tang Yan sorted the herbs, trimmed them, placed them, and tempered them — a seamless, flowing sequence of actions, without a single wasted motion. Ge Ming was nowhere near his level.

But when Tang Yan channeled his True Qi to begin extracting the medicinal essence, an expression of disbelief crossed his face.

He hadn't refined any pills since arriving in this world, so he hadn't known — but now that he had cultivated the Supreme Pill Scripture, his True Qi seemed to have an additional refining effect on the herbs during Alchemy?

The effect was subtle at this stage, but as a former ninth-grade Alchemist, no change this minute could escape his notice.

"The Supreme Pill Scripture is truly extraordinary. It must be the most remarkable Cultivation Technique for Alchemy in existence. My cultivation is only at the third grade of the Primary Realm right now — but if my cultivation rises in the future and my True Qi can fully transform into flame, what kind of effect would that have on pill refinement? Now that's something to look forward to!" Tang Yan murmured to himself for a moment, then stilled his mind and continued the extraction.

Tang Yan focused intently, controlling his True Qi with precision. Beads of sweat began to form on his brow, one after another, and as time passed, they fell faster and faster, soon soaking through his robes.

It was a testament to Tang Yan's iron will. Anyone else with only a third grade of the Primary Realm cultivation attempting to refine a mid-tier first-grade pill would have given up long ago.

After a long while, Tang Yan's eyes finally opened, and he collapsed onto the floor in exhaustion, gasping for breath.

"Damn, that nearly killed me!"

He wiped the sweat from his face and, without resting long, opened the pill cauldron. There in the center sat twelve pills — vivid green, round and full, their rich fragrance drifting through the air without dispersing. Tang Yan finally broke into a wide grin.

He glanced at the timer on the wall. Only about three hours had passed. He thought to himself that the Supreme Pill Scripture's technique was indeed remarkable — even the speed of refinement had increased noticeably.

He took out two porcelain bottles, carefully stored all the pills inside, then sat on the floor to rest for a while. His robes, which had been soaked through with sweat, had already been dried by the heat of the pill cauldron. Tang Yan pushed open the stone door and made his way toward the front hall.

Back in the front hall, Ge Ming had been sitting for over two hours, his mind full of speculation about Tang Yan — where he lived, who his master was, and so on. Then it suddenly struck him that Tang Yan had brought a maidservant along. He smacked his forehead and cursed himself for a fool — why hadn't he simply gone and asked her?

"Old Ge, many thanks." Just as Ge Ming was about to go inquire about Tang Yan's background, a clear, bright voice rang out.

He looked up — sure enough, it was Tang Yan. He smiled and asked, "Young Brother Tang, how did it go?"

"Managed it by luck. It's all thanks to Old Ge's pill cauldron." Tang Yan expressed his gratitude, then smiled and said, "My business is done, so it's time to make good on my promise. Old Ge, do you have paper and brush?"

"I do. What, young friend — are you planning to write me an IOU?" Ge Ming chuckled as he produced paper and brush, tossing in a lighthearted jab.

"If Old Ge doesn't mind, neither do I." Tang Yan laughed as well, took the brush, and began to write.

As bold, vigorous cursive script flowed onto the paper, Ge Ming's eyes lit up at once.

For an Alchemist, fine calligraphy was not uncommon — but Tang Yan's characters were powerful and forceful, yet graceful and lively, carrying with them a rare sense of character and spirit.

"Thousand-Layer Ice Crystal, Coral Grass, Moonlight Juice, Red Crab Claw Foam, Fire Ox Bone Powder, Seven-Wonder Dream Lotus…" Tang Yan wrote out fifty-one medicinal ingredients in one flowing sweep, along with the full refinement process, then finally set down the brush.

He blew the ink dry and slid the completed pill formula forward. Old Ge reached out and took it.

The moment he read through it, Ge Ming's hand gave a violent tremor. As an Alchemist, he was intimately familiar with the properties of all manner of herbs. The Coral Grass, Red Crab Claw Foam, and Fire Ox Bone Powder on this formula all appeared to be ingredients for a pill that nourished the Meridians — and judging by the refinement difficulty, it seemed to be a second-grade high-tier formula, though its authenticity had yet to be confirmed.

But with Old Ge's discerning eye, he estimated a nine-in-ten chance this formula was genuine.

"Is this a pill formula? What pill is it?" Old Ge asked, puzzled.

"Earlier, I noticed that Old Ge's eyes had a reddish tinge in the whites. That would be from pushing too hard along the path of Alchemy in your youth — a slight error in your cultivation method, and then forcing a Breakthrough while your foundation was still unstable. This left a considerable buildup of Fire Poison in your Meridians. This formula is for the Ice and Snow Flame-Cleansing Pill. It can effectively suppress the Fire Poison within Old Ge's body, and after seven doses, it will be completely eliminated."

"This pill is a third-grade lower-tier medicine. Old Ge may not be able to refine it himself, but I trust Miaodan Pavilion has someone who can. If it's inconvenient, once my master returns, I will ask him to refine a batch for you. The payment may be modest, but it comes with Tang's sincerest regards. Farewell." Tang Yan smiled, cupped his fists toward Ge Ming, and turned to leave.

Ge Ming stood there in a daze after Tang Yan's words. The Fire Poison in his body was exactly as Tang Yan had described — the result of improper cultivation in his youth. By now, it flared up once every three months without fail. Each time it did, his Meridians felt as though they were being scorched by fire — an agony that made him wish he were dead.

As for a pill to cure Fire Poison, he had scoured every resource he could find, only to learn that the lowest grade capable of treating it was sixth-grade. He had resigned himself to suffering under the Fire Poison for the rest of his life — and yet today, by sheer chance, he had stumbled upon a formula for the cure?

As long as he passed this news to headquarters, they would surely not leave him to his fate. The day his Fire Poison was cured was now within sight.

"This is wonderful!" Ge Ming couldn't remember the last time he had felt so moved. He clapped his hands together, and tears nearly sprang to his eyes.

"Brother Tang! Brother Tang!" He called out twice, then suddenly remembered Tang Yan had already left. He tucked the formula away and sprinted out after him.

Little Cui, relieved to see Tang Yan emerge safely, finally let out a breath. The master and servant were just about to step outside when — bang — the inner door of the shop was flung open, and Ge Ming came charging out in a frenzy of excitement.

The shop assistants and the customers nearby all stared in astonishment. Grandmaster Ge was always composed and refined, a man of great dignity — how could he be so beside himself today?

"Brother Tang, wait! Wait a moment!" Ge Ming called out at the top of his voice.

What — Brother Tang? Everyone in the shop was struck dumb at once, as if their jaws had hit the floor.

Ge Ming, the Grand Elder of Miaodan Pavilion in Yun City, a man whom even the City Lord would respectfully address as Grandmaster Ge — was calling a young, wet-behind-the-ears boy his brother? Just who was this young man?

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Edited by Fat Goose