Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

Ye Xuan put down his pen and closed the increasingly thick notebook.

The sunlight outside the window was turning from bluish-white to golden-red, and the morning bell on the main peak had just rung three times, its long, lingering sound echoing through the mountains.

He got up and walked to the stone steps in front of the mansion, gazing at the surging sea of ​​clouds in the distance.

The outlines of the nine peaks of the inner gate appeared and disappeared in the morning glow, with the ever-present glow of the sky lingering around Tianxuan Peak being particularly striking. Standing on the stone steps in front of the mansion, one could gaze at the surging sea of ​​clouds in the distance.

"Why don't we go and take a look at the alchemy room?"

Ye Xuan recalled the Soul Pill priced at 666 merit points, which was refined in the Pill Room, and the raw materials came from the back mountain of the outer sect.

Now that I've taken on the task of guarding and capturing souls, I should at least go and see the source.

Moreover, the Blood Pill that had kept him busy all this time also came from there.

Turning back to his residence, Ye Xuan changed into a simple blue robe, wearing it as an outer layer, and hung the Dao Zi Token in the most conspicuous place at his waist before pushing open the door and going out.

The road from the main peak to Danfang is winding and requires one to first descend to the mountainside and then detour to the northern side peak.

Due to the time constraints, there were more inner disciples along the way than yesterday. Most of them were in a hurry, and occasionally a few would stop and bow when their eyes fell on the token at his waist.

As the saying goes, "The early bird catches the worm," Ye Xuan nodded in response without stopping.

About fifteen minutes later, a crimson palace appeared on the horizon.

The palace was built against the mountain, resembling a giant beast lying on the ground. Dozens of copper bells hung from the upturned eaves, but they made no sound when the mountain wind blew through them.

In addition, there are two stone beasts standing in front of the hall. They are neither lions nor tigers, and both of them are in a roaring state with their mouths open. What they hold in their mouths are not beads, but two balls of eerie green flames that never go out.

Ye Xuan stopped in front of the stone beast, his senses quietly probing out.

The surface of the palace was also covered with layers of array patterns, which were even more complex than those seen outside the Scripture Pavilion. There was a faint smell of blood and resentment in the air, but it was not easily detected because it was covered by the smell of medicine.

"Who goes there?"

A middle-aged man dressed as a steward of the alchemy room emerged from the side of the hall, carrying a jade plate containing seven or eight dark red pills, but they were not actual finished products.

"Disciple Zhao Wu, newly promoted Daoist, has come to the alchemy room to pay a visit."

Ye Xuan handed over the Dao Child Token, which the steward took. He ran his fingertip across the token, and as purple light swirled around it, a hint of surprise flashed in his deep-set eyes.

"So it's the Daozi who's been making headlines lately."

He handed the token back and stepped aside to make way. "The alchemy room is a sacred place, and ordinary disciples are not allowed to enter without permission. Since you are a Daoist disciple, please follow me."

Ye Xuan followed in his footsteps, stepped into the palace gate, and asked at the same time:

"What rumors have you heard about me, Deacon?"

"Oh, Liu Yao from Tianxuan Peak, I heard she's been in seclusion at her residence cultivating since yesterday..."

He paused for a moment, then cast a meaningful glance, a look that seemed to be searching for the truth.

"But Michiko did it?"

Ye Xuan neither denied nor admitted it, but instead asked:

"By the way, I heard that Senior Brother Zhou Xian is also a frequent visitor to the alchemy room. I wonder where he is now?"

The steward was clearly disappointed, but since the other party was a Daoist, and he had already gotten involved in the gossip, he couldn't press the matter further.

"Zhou Xian? He didn't come today. He usually comes to help out quite often..."

As the two chatted and walked through a long corridor, the scene inside was completely different from that outside.

A wave of medicinal fragrance mixed with some indescribable strange smell hit them, followed by a deafening hum, the sound of dozens of alchemy furnaces operating simultaneously.

The main hall was extremely spacious, over ten zhang high, and its depth was unfathomable.

There were more than twenty alchemy furnaces of varying sizes arranged on the left and right sides, but each furnace was engraved with dense runes that constantly shimmered with light.

Each alchemy furnace was guarded by a disciple, who either added firewood or used hand seals to control the temperature, their expressions so focused that they were almost numb.

"This is the main hall area, where most of the pills being refined are basic ones."

The steward led Ye Xuan along the central passage, his voice muffled by the hum of the furnace.

But Ye Xuan glanced around and realized that every single pill produced here would cost no less than two hundred merit points at Fengtang.

"I wonder... where are the Soul Pill and Blood Pill refined?"

"Those two are about to head to the core area. Daozi, please come with me."

The two passed through an archway, and the scene before them changed once again.

The number of alchemy furnaces here has been drastically reduced to only nine, but each one is exceptionally large. The furnace body is no longer a single crimson red, but instead displays strange patterns interwoven with blue, purple, and black colors.

The one in the very center is about five zhang tall. Its body is dark red and covered with crack-like patterns. Deep within each crack, there is a faint flow of blood, as if a living creature is sealed inside.

"That's the Blood Pill Furnace, but it needs repairs soon, so it's best to stay away."

Noticing that the steward hadn't finished speaking, Ye Xuan pressed him for details and learned that Zhou Xian had taken on the task of repairing and reinforcing the alchemy furnace at the beginning of the month, but it had been delayed until now.

"..."

He projected his perception outwards and crawled into the Blood Pill Furnace. The essence blood from the short-lived species only reached the bottom of the furnace, and judging from the output alone, it could produce less than a thousand pills.

"I once heard an outer disciple mention that there are other Blood Pill Furnaces elsewhere in the sect?"

"That's right. Previously, the raw materials for Blood Pills were plentiful, and since the sect's status was not high, there were several side furnaces scattered in various places."

However, now all those auxiliary furnaces have been shut down, leaving only this main furnace.

Ye Xuan remained silent, and the two then moved to the main furnace for refining Soul Pills.

Their appearance, size, and style are basically the same, only the colors are slightly different. Ye Xuan used his senses to explore and found that the formations inside were indeed different.

The two stopped to look at the silver-white alchemy furnace. They saw an old woman with white hair sitting in front of the furnace, the same one who had been dozing in the scripture pavilion earlier.

At this moment, she showed no signs of languor; her eyes were bright, and her fingers flew as she sent wisps of grayish-white mist into the furnace.

Facing the shrieks of those remnant souls, the old woman remained expressionless and poured out a drop of dark golden liquid from the jade bottle beside her.

As the liquid dripped into the furnace, the shrieking sound abruptly ceased, and the mist quickly condensed, eventually transforming into pills of uniform size, their surfaces shimmering with a pearly luster.

"That is the newly formed Soul Pill."

Ye Xuan watched as the old woman took out the pill and put it into the jade box. The whole process was smooth and skillful, which made people feel uncomfortable.

"How many can you refine this per month?"

"Now, we'll have to see what Daozi's supernatural powers are like."

The two returned along the same route, chatting briefly along the way. Before leaving, the steward took a small wooden box from his pocket.

"This is?"

"Ah, insider pricing, isn't that what Daozi came here for today?"

Ye Xuan took the wooden box, inside which were three Soul Pills and a crude Blood Pill.

"What's the internal price?"

"Not much, not much, just a thousand points in total. Consider that Blood Pill a gift from me to Daozi. Daozi can simply go to Fengtang to pay."

"..."

So this was what they were waiting for. Ye Xuan was speechless, but he still spent a fortune to buy the three Soul Pills.

There's no other reason; if I had to say, it's simply because I have merit points!

After bidding farewell to the steward of the alchemy room, Ye Xuan returned to his residence.

He twirled the blood pill between his fingertips. It wasn't a freshly made one at all; it was just a replica from the one on the steward's jade plate.

However, Ye Xuan didn't care. These blood pills reminded him of the Short-Lived Realm.

"I wonder how the people of Shuitian Village are doing now?"

Unfortunately, he couldn't use his perception to connect the two worlds. After all, the location of Shuitian Village corresponds to Liuxian's Dongting Lake, and he was in the inner sect of the Holy Sect, which had even more restrictions. Even if he wanted to peek into the outside world, he had to be careful.

If I could go out for a while...

Just as Ye Xuan's thoughts were racing, the Soul-Detecting Mirror in his arms reacted; it was the old man from Fengtang who had sent a message.

"I heard that Daoist spent most of his merit points in the alchemy room?"

"There's nothing we can do; we've fallen for that steward's trick."

"Perfect timing! I have a private job that can solve your urgent problem."