The First Venerable of All Paths

You've misunderstood.

Fang Xuan shook his head and said, "I'm not here to ask for pills."

"Didn't you come here to have the teacher refine pills?"

The young man's tone turned serious as he said, "Then what are you doing here? Leave now, my medicine garden doesn't receive outsiders."

"Senior Brother Chen Qing, he is my friend."

At this moment, Xiao Jinyu frowned and said, "Isn't that a bit too rude of you?"

"friend?"

Chen Qing's expression changed, and he said, "Jinyu, when did you have such a friend? How come I didn't know?"

"I don't think I need to inform Senior Brother Chen Qing beforehand about who I make friends with, do I?"

Xiao Jinyu's tone darkened slightly, seemingly indicating her extreme dissatisfaction with Chen Qing's reaction.

"Jinyu, that's not what I meant."

Sensing the displeasure in Xiao Jinyu's tone, Chen Qing quickly smiled apologetically and said, "Since she's your friend, of course we can go together."

"Come with me."

As he spoke, Chen Qing glanced at Fang Xuan again.

Although he was smiling, Fang Xuan could see the warning in the depths of Chen Qing's eyes.

Fang Xuan understood what the other person meant.

But he just smiled indifferently and didn't take it seriously at all.

"My name is Chen Qing, a second-grade alchemist. I don't even know your honorable name, young brother."

As they entered the courtyard, Chen Qing took the initiative to speak.

But anyone could hear the arrogance and smugness in his tone.

Indeed, to have reached the Qi Condensation Realm and become a second-grade alchemist at such a young age is truly deserving of the title of genius.

"Fang Xuan."

Fang Xuan smiled faintly and said, "I'm just an unknown nobody. I'm not worth mentioning in front of Master Chen."

Fang Xuan?

Have not heard.

It seems he's truly an unknown nobody.

Moreover, his cultivation level was only at the Qi Gathering Realm.

Jin Yu wouldn't even look at someone like that; he poses no threat whatsoever and is truly not worth mentioning.

Therefore, Chen Qing indeed stopped asking questions.

Xiao Jinyu, however, trembled slightly upon hearing their conversation.

"Jinyu, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Chen Qing had been observing Xiao Jinyu, and seeing her like this, he asked her with concern.

"Ahem, thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Chen Qing."

Xiao Jinyu spoke in a detached tone, appearing unwilling to speak further with Chen Qing.

But this guy was clearly clueless; he had a sly smile and hovered around Xiao Jinyu, chattering incessantly.

Xiao Jinyu, thoroughly annoyed, transmitted her voice, "His name is Chen Qing, a disciple of one of my elders. He has been in seclusion for some time, so he hasn't heard of you."

Upon hearing this, Fang Xuan rolled his eyes.

Why are you telling me this?

"If he knew that you were already a third-grade alchemist, yet you called him Grand Alchemist Chen, I wonder how embarrassed he would be."

Hearing Xiao Jinyu's teasing, Fang Xuan replied helplessly.

"Steward Xiao, there's no need to make small talk."

"you......"

Fang Xuan's words made Xiao Jinyu's voice falter.

Humph.

What an insensitive guy.

"Senior Brother Chen Qing."

"Yes, I'm here."

Hearing Xiao Jinyu call his name, Chen Qing quickly went over, his face beaming with joy.

"Can you be quiet for a moment?"

Xiao Jinyu said, "I'm not feeling well."

"what?"

Chen Qing was taken aback at first, then said with concern, "Jinyu, where do you feel unwell? Do you want me to take your pulse? Oh, by the way, go find your teacher, I'll take you to find your teacher right now."

Seeing Chen Qing's flustered and hurried pace, Xiao Jinyu shook her head helplessly.

Fang Xuan couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he watched.

Is Chen Qing truly unaware, or is he pretending not to understand?

Xiao Jinyu's disdain was clearly written on her face and etched in her words, so why couldn't she see or understand it?

This doesn't resemble the sentiment of "I offered my heart to the bright moon, but the bright moon shone on the ditch." Instead, it's extremely similar to a low-level demonic beast he saw in the Lost Soul Mountain Range.

However, this is someone else's business and has nothing to do with Fang Xuan.

Soon, Chen Qing led the two through a moon gate into the backyard.

As soon as he stepped inside, Fang Xuan stopped in his tracks.

This place... has such a strong fire element.

Besides the fire veins at the earth's core, there seems to be another, even more violent flame that can cause people's minds to become emotional.

A variety of negative emotions instantly flooded Fang Xuan's mind.

Those with weak minds, when swayed by these emotions, may suffer mental damage at best, and at worst, become possessed by demons.

Of course, the power of this flame is naturally comparable to the Undying Phoenix Flame.

The Nine-Turn Golden Elixir gently rotated, completely suppressing this strange emotion, and all the negative emotions in his mind disappeared completely.

Fang Xuan felt as if his mind had been washed by spring rain, becoming as clear as a mirror.

My state of mind actually improved slightly.

"Oh, right."

At this moment, Chen Qing seemed to remember something and turned to Fang Xuan, saying, "The fire element here is too volatile. Since this is your first time here, remember to keep your mind focused, don't... Hey, how come you're alright?"

He had just warned Fang Xuan not to be affected by the fire element here, but when he saw that Fang Xuan's expression was normal, he was slightly taken aback.

"Should I be busy?"

Fang Xuan glanced at the other person with a half-smile.

He detected a hint of hypocrisy in the other person's tone.

Xiao Jinyu didn't remind herself because she knew herself and wasn't afraid of the violent fire element in this place affecting her mind.

But Chen Qing didn't remind him because he wanted to see him make a fool of himself.

"It's alright, it's alright."

Chen Qing's eyes were somewhat gloomy as he said in a calm tone, "From now on, you'd better stick close to me and don't release your divine soul recklessly, otherwise I won't be responsible if anything happens."

"A magic array has been set up here to collect and gather fire veins, resulting in an extremely dense concentration of fire element."

Xiao Jinyu transmitted his voice, "In addition to Master Jiang's own flames, the fire element becomes more and more volatile the further inside you go."

Fang Xuan nodded.

Flames that can evoke emotional resonance are rare.

Fang Xuan was also somewhat curious about what kind of flame those Master Jiangs possessed.

After crossing a covered bridge, the three stopped in front of a stone house.

The words "Danlu" are engraved on the stone house.

A raging, scorching flame emanated from it, far more terrifying than anywhere else.

"No, no!"

Not only that, Fang Xuan could also hear impatient roars and the sound of porcelain shattering from inside.

"Bang!"

Soon, a dull sound came.

Black smoke billowed from the cracks in the stone house, pungent and acrid.

Fang Xuan twitched his nose and frowned slightly.

This means the alchemy attempt failed.

"Boom!"

The stone door opened, and a disheveled figure rushed out from the smoke.

He coughed violently while patting the soot off his body.

When the smoke cleared, a thin, old man appeared before them.

His hair was like dry straw, his clothes were slightly rolled up, and his hands had several large blisters from the burns.

The more miserable the appearance, the more miserable it is.

"Teacher, you......."

Chen Qing was also stunned and quickly went to greet him.

"Oh, it's nothing, it's nothing."

The old man waved his hands repeatedly.

"That's good."

Chen Qing breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Teacher, Jinyu seems to be feeling a little unwell."

"uncomfortable?"

The old man first glanced at Xiao Jinyu, then rolled his eyes at Chen Qing, and said irritably, "Silly apprentice, it's not that I'm uncomfortable, it's that I don't want to see you."

"what?"

Chen Qing's expression changed, and she said incredulously, "Teacher, what are you saying? Jin Yu and I are..."

"Alright, now you can shut up."

The old man said irritably, "You good-for-nothing, you've made me lose all face."

These words made Chen Qing blush with embarrassment.

At this moment, the old man coughed lightly, adopting the air of a reclusive sage.

"Little Koi, what brings you here today?"

Hearing the old man call him that, Xiao Jinyu felt quite helpless.

She first bowed, then said in a clear voice, "Jinyu has come to bother you today to ask Elder Jiang to refine some pills for me."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Old Man Jiang immediately said, "Don't you have several alchemists in your Tianbao Pavilion? Could it be...?"

Old Jiang seemed to remember something and exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be that you're going to refine the Three Fire Mystic Pill?"

"Exactly."

Xiao Jinyu said, "If it weren't for refining this pill, I wouldn't have come to disturb Elder Jiang's cultivation."

"Little Koi, I've already told you."

Upon hearing this, Old Man Jiang sighed helplessly, "To refine the Three-Fire Profound Pill, in addition to the cooperation of two or more alchemists, three different flames are also required. If any one of them is missing, the pill cannot be formed."

"You should go back."

Old Jiang said, "I am powerless to help you with this pill."

"Elder Jiang, since Jin Yu has come to visit today to ask you to refine pills, it is only natural that we have made preparations beforehand."

Xiao Jinyu smiled slightly, her tone filled with certainty and confidence.

"Prepare? What are you preparing for?"

Old Jiang stared at Xiao Jinyu for a moment and said, "You're not trying to say that you've found the flame you need, are you?"

Xiao Jinyu nodded.

"Stop teasing this old man."

Old Jiang waved his hand and said, "Although the Three-Fire Profound Pill isn't of a high grade, the flames it requires are extremely special, needing to gather three types of flames: Heaven, Earth, and Man. I do have Earth and Man flames here, but where did you find the Heavenly Flame?"

"Earth fire is easy to obtain, but heavenly fire is hard to find."

As he spoke, Old Man Jiang sighed, his tone filled with regret: "Heavenly Fire is such a precious creation of heaven and earth. If one could see even one or two of it, one would have no regrets in this life."

For an alchemist, being able to subdue a celestial fire is the highest honor and pursuit.

However, to this day, Old Man Jiang has never heard of a heavenly fire appearing in the world.

"Just because Mr. Jiang didn't have it doesn't mean others didn't."

Xiao Jinyu chuckled softly.

"Jinyu, I know you're anxious to refine the Three Fire Mystic Pill."

Chen Qing said, "But the teacher is right, heavenly fire is hard to find, you... don't be so persistent."

"Boy, you've also come here to ask me to refine pills?"

Old Man Jiang looked at Fang Xuan and said, "I haven't had time these past few days. If you can wait, please come back in seven days, considering your status as Little Koi."

"Teacher, they didn't come here to ask you for elixirs."

Seeing that Xiao Jinyu was ignoring him, Chen Qing, feeling displeased, finally spoke up in a sarcastic tone: "Moreover, even the fire-gathering array set up by the teacher had no effect on him whatsoever."

"Oh?"

Old Man Jiang glanced at Fang Xuan with surprise and said, "I'm not here to ask for a pill, nor am I affected by the Heart Fire. Boy, what brings you here?"

"Old Jiang!"

Xiao Jinyu said, "I invited him to help me refine pills."

"What, alchemy?"

Before Old Man Jiang could speak, Chen Qing said with an incredulous look, "Could he be an alchemist?"