Raise a sword!

Inside the alchemy room of the Qin residence.

Jiang Peng was activating the improved fire control technique.

Under his stable spiritual power, the spiritual materials in the furnace were slowly and evenly condensing into medicinal liquid, while the impurities in the materials were continuously dissolved in the furnace fire.

"Hey, the alchemy technique you've figured out is actually quite clever."

Elder Qin, standing nearby, watched in amazement.

It wasn't that Qin Yuan was making a fuss, but rather that the art of alchemy had been passed down to this day, and each school's tradition was already quite perfect, leaving little room for improvement.

Moreover, it is truly remarkable that Jiang Peng, who is only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, has such an understanding of fire control techniques.

Although the improved fire control technique still has many drawbacks, such as requiring extremely strong spiritual sense and being extremely difficult for beginners to master, the fact that the fire control technique was improved and successfully completed is already remarkable.

At least Elder Qin believed that he would never have been able to do that when he was Jiang Peng's age.

This should be the secret weapon that every experienced alchemist keeps hidden away.

And Jiang Peng now already possesses this unique skill.

Half an hour later, the pill was ready; it was the Purple Jade Nourishing Essence Pill.

"Not bad, you've improved even more than last month, and the quality of the pills is slightly better," Elder Qin praised. "This is only your second month refining this pill for me, and your progress is truly remarkable."

Ever since Jiang Peng showed Elder Qin that she had mastered the Purple Jade Nourishing Pill, Elder Qin would invite Jiang Peng to stay at the Qin residence for three days every month in the middle of the month, so that she could refine the pill.

Apart from three portions that were for Jiang Peng's own use, the rest were all made for the Cangshan Sect.

Elder Qin flattered him by saying that a disciple should serve his master when he needs help, and also said that Jiang Peng's skills were not yet proficient, so this was an opportunity for him to practice.

Jiang Peng knew the answer perfectly well.

While the training was indeed part of the reason, it was probably also to deepen his relationship with the Cangshan Sect.

Otherwise, there would be no need for disciples of the Cangshan Sect to come and collect the pills after each alchemy session, and then for Jiang Peng to hand them over.

After completing the alchemy, the old man and the young man began to discuss alchemy techniques.

Most of the time, Elder Qin did the talking, discussing common problems faced by mid-grade first-level alchemists, the connection between ancient and modern alchemy formulas, the properties of spiritual materials, and his experience in preparing and researching new elixirs.

Many of these were things Jiang Peng knew. The alchemy techniques he inherited from Dan Laomo were quite good, and there were also many annotations from his predecessors.

Therefore, Jiang Peng not only fully understood what Elder Qin said, but also occasionally interjected with a well-timed comment, or offered suggestions that surprised Elder Qin based on the alchemy scenes she had seen in her mind.

Through these exchanges, Jiang Peng's knowledge and experience broadened considerably.

It wasn't until late at night that Elder Qin finally showed signs of exhaustion.

"Let's stop here for now... I originally intended to mentor you, but I didn't expect to receive so much guidance from you. It's true that there's no order of learning; those who are accomplished are teachers."

"I will always remember Master Qin's kindness in teaching me," Jiang Peng said, bowing deeply.

Although the two had only known each other for a few months, Jiang Peng already regarded Elder Qin as her mentor.

Elder Qin waved his hand with a smile.

"Go back now, come back next month."

"This junior takes his leave."

...

When they left the Qin family home, the moon and stars were already shining brightly outside.

As Jiang Peng walked towards Chonglefang, she pondered the issues they had just discussed.

Elder Qin benefited greatly from this, and he naturally had many feelings as well.

Even if it weren't for the fact that he had spent most of the last three days refining pills and was now physically and mentally exhausted, Jiang Peng would have wanted to go back and start refining pills as soon as possible to test the results of their discussion.

Just as Jiang Peng was deep in thought, a sudden noise came from his sleeve.

"Squeak—"

Jiang Peng suddenly came to her senses.

"Ah Huang?"

Just as Jiang Peng was wondering what was going on, he suddenly sensed danger coming from behind him.

Almost instinctively, he turned to the side, and then a cold light landed where he had just been, just millimeters away from his arm.

"Who goes there?!" Jiang Peng shouted.

His divine sense spread out and just happened to detect a hint of danger behind him.

Jiang Peng instantly realized that there was more than one attacker, and that there was another sneak attack coming from behind.

Meanwhile, the masked man in black who had initially attacked with a long sword but was dodged by Jiang Peng saw that his companion was about to succeed.

His face was covered with a cloth, but his eyes, which were visible, were full of smugness and mockery.

"Ha, you blind fool, someone's going to teach you a lesson!"

clang--

A sharp clang of metal clashing, accompanied by bursts of sparks, instantly froze the expression on the face of the mocking man.

A man in black, wielding a short dagger, accurately stabbed Jiang Peng in the lower back.

However, the imagined scene of Jiang Peng collapsing to the ground with severe injuries after his dantian and qi sea were destroyed did not appear.

Instead, beneath Jiang Peng's plain-colored long robe, an inner armor completely blocked the blade of the short dagger.

"A magical inner armor? And of a high grade!" the masked man with the short dagger exclaimed in surprise.

At the very moment he opened his mouth, he suddenly saw a dark shadow flash before his eyes, and in that instant, he vaguely saw that it seemed to be a hand.

The next moment, that hand gripped his face firmly, and the force from the fingertips was so great that one could almost hear the sound of his skull cracking.

Seeing this, the man in black who had just made the sarcastic remarks finally realized what was happening.

He rushed forward to rescue his companion, but saw that the veins on the back of Jiang Peng's hand were bulging, clearly indicating that he had suddenly increased the force.

click-

The sound of the skull shattering completely was exceptionally loud and jarring in the silent night.

At this moment, the man in black had rushed to within a foot of Jiang Peng, but could only watch helplessly as his companion collapsed to the ground like a limp rag after Jiang Peng released his grip.

While the man in black was terrified, Jiang Peng turned around and looked at him with a frown.

Even in the dead of night, the men in black could see that Jiang Peng's face suddenly flushed red.

next moment.

"roll--!"

With a loud shout, divine sense mixed in with the almost visible sound waves, the black-clad man's eyes immediately rolled back.

Such close proximity, and a sudden, unexpected roar.

Jiang Peng had cultivated the Dragon Roar and Tiger Howl for a long time, and now, in his first encounter with an enemy, he completely rendered the enemy incapable of resistance in a short period of time.

The man in black collapsed to the ground, bleeding from all seven orifices. It took him three to five breaths before his unfocused eyes finally came back to life.

But at that moment, Jiang Peng had already snatched his longsword and pressed the blade against his neck.

Around the once-dark market, many houses have now lit up, and many people are secretly observing.

Clearly, Jiang Peng's shout just now not only intimidated the enemy but also disturbed the surrounding neighbors.

Seeing this, the man in black clearly panicked and hurriedly said, "Let me go, or else..."

Swah——

Before he could finish speaking, the longsword accurately pierced the black-clad man's abdomen, breaking his cultivation.

The excruciating pain rendered the man in black speechless; he simply clutched his wound and curled up on the ground.

Cold sweat soaked his forehead and his despairing eyes. It was hard to tell whether the despair came from being captured alive or from knowing that his dantian had been destroyed and he had no future.