The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

The backyard medicinal bath room.

When Xiao Fan was helped inside by Fan Jian, the room was filled with the pungent smell of medicine, making it hard to open one's eyes.

In a pool three zhang square, brown medicinal soup bubbled and steamed.

A middle-aged man in a gray robe, with a goatee and triangular eyes, stood by the pond, directing two servants to throw medicinal herbs into the pond while holding a palm-leaf fan.

Xiao Fan recognized this person; he was Sun Xingzhou, a disciple of Medicine King Valley, who had been invited by the Xiao family three years ago to serve as a worshipper.

"The young master has arrived."

Sun Xingzhou cupped his hands in greeting, his tone polite, but his eyes revealed a hint of disdain.

Xiao Fan didn't respond; his eyes were fixed on the medicinal herbs displayed on a wooden tray by the pool.

Upon seeing this, he almost laughed in anger.

It was indeed dragon bone grass, but it was a ten-year-old scrap, with most of its medicinal properties gone and the roots already blackened.

The blood ginseng is even more outrageous; it's clearly just ordinary red ginseng that's been dyed, and the texture on the cut surface is completely wrong.

This stuff, you think it can rebuild your dantian? Eating too much of it will only give you diarrhea at best.

"Young Master, please get in the water."

Sun Xingzhou made a gesture, a professional smile on his face.

Xiao Fan didn't move, his eyes fixed on the other person.

"Pharmacist Sun, I heard from my grandfather that the bath water uses 300-year-old blood ginseng and dragon bone grass?"

"Exactly."

"Exactly what?"

Xiao Fan took two steps to the wooden tray and picked up the dark dragon bone grass:

"You're telling me this is dragon bone grass? It's practically rotten vegetable leaves!"

Sun Xingzhou's expression changed.

"What does this mean, young master?"

"Literal meaning."

Xiao Fan grabbed the blood ginseng again: "And this one, the dyed red ginseng, do you think I'm blind?"

The two servants by the pool looked at each other, their hands instinctively stopping.

Sun Xingzhou was embarrassed.

He stayed in the Xiao family for three years, and everyone who saw him had to greet him respectfully as Pharmacist Sun.

This kid is a good-for-nothing, yet he dares to boss him around?

"Young Master,"

Sun Xingzhou suppressed his anger. "I wrote the prescription for the medicinal bath, and I also selected the herbs. If you have any objections, you can ask the head of the family."

What he meant was, "What do you know about medicinal herbs if you're a good-for-nothing?"

An ordinary playboy would have already backed down at this point.

But Xiao Fan didn't come here to be a useless person.

"Okay, you say it's genuine."

He threw the two medicinal herbs on the ground. "Then please go find my grandfather now and have him come and take a look. Don't worry, if he says it's true, I'll kowtow to you and apologize on the spot."

Sun Xingzhou's expression changed completely; he hadn't expected this good-for-nothing to be so tough today.

He did indeed tamper with these two medicinal herbs.

Three-hundred-year-old blood ginseng and dragon bone grass are both valuable items; they could easily fetch over a thousand taels of silver if sold elsewhere.

He originally thought that Xiao Fan was a good-for-nothing who knew nothing about medicinal herbs and could easily fool him with a shoddy job.

Who knew that this good-for-nothing would see through it at a glance.

"Young Master is joking."

Sun Xingzhou forced a smile. "It seems that my subordinates took the wrong herbs. I'll have someone go and change them right away."

"Need not."

Xiao Fan had been waiting for these words. He suddenly raised his hand and put it on Sun Xingzhou's shoulder, becoming very kind and approachable.

"Do you think I don't know your character, Old Sun? The switching of the dressing was definitely done by your subordinates; it has nothing to do with you!"

"This time, I won't pursue the matter with them. Don't be angry, Lao Sun."

Sun Xingzhou got goosebumps, and suppressing his strange feeling, he said in a low voice, "Thank you for your understanding, young master."

What on earth is this guy up to?

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Xiao Fan laughed a few times and patted Sun Xingzhou's chest hard. "What kind of relationship do we have? Do we need to be so polite?"

Sun Xingzhou was caught off guard by the attack and couldn't help but groan a few times. He suppressed the urge to retaliate and even chuckled a couple of times.

"How about this?"

Xiao Fan glanced at the medicinal herbs on the shelf next to him, then pointed:

"Add that, that, and that to my collection."

Sun Xingzhou looked in the direction he was pointing and broke out in a cold sweat.

Monologue herb, golden dice, and a bottle of golden sand male essence.

All three are highly poisonous!

If he were to go down into the medicinal bath, Xiao Fan would be badly injured, if not killed, and Xiao Zhankui would definitely skin him alive.

"Young Master! These three things can't be left here!"

"Why can't I use it? This is the recipe I used at Qunfanglou last time!"

Xiao Fan patted Sun Xingzhou's chest twice more, looking like they were good buddies.

"I consider you a brother. If it were anyone else involved in this medicine matter, I would have gone to Grandpa immediately to explain things!"

Sun Xingzhou's face turned a deep purplish-red. He gritted his teeth and began to make plans in his mind.

Xiao Fan is a good-for-nothing; everyone in Donglin City knows that.

It's normal that he doesn't recognize the medicinal herbs; he's just acting like a spoiled brat and messing around.

If he offends him too badly, this kid might complain to Xiao Zhankui, and he'll be completely exposed for stealing the medicinal herbs.

By then, not only will he not be able to serve as a retainer in the Xiao family, but the Medicine King Valley will also hold him accountable for disgracing the family.

But if we actually put these medicinal herbs in...

"Young Master, it's not that I'm unwilling to obey you, but these medicinal herbs are all highly poisonous."

Sun Xingzhou suddenly sighed.

"If you insist on adding them to the medicinal bath, I cannot stop you... However, if something goes wrong, I will be in a difficult position to handle..."

Xiao Fan chuckled and said directly, "That's simple. I'm the one who put the medicine in. If I accidentally kill myself, it's none of your business!"

"In that case, I will comply."

Sun Xingzhou cursed himself for being an idiot, but still took the three items off the shelf.

Since you're asking for it, don't blame me!

He threw the monologue herb, the golden dice, and the golden sand essence into the medicine pool in turn.

The pool water churned a few times, its color changing from brown to dark red, and it emitted a pungent, spicy smell.

Xiao Fan was secretly overjoyed.

Monologue grass, golden dice, and golden sand essence—this man surnamed Sun thought he had only added three poisons.

But the pool still contained the ten-year-old dragon bone grass and the fake blood ginseng, along with several other ingredients that were already there. The six medicinal herbs were mixed together in the boiling pool water.

This perfectly completes the basic formula for Peiyuan Dan (a traditional Chinese medicine).

Toxicity counteracts each other, while medicinal properties complement each other.

That's exactly what's missing—that bit of poison.

The Qiankun Creation Cauldron vibrated slightly in his sea of ​​consciousness, and had begun to operate on its own, preparing to absorb the medicinal power.

"Alright, all of you, get out."

Xiao Fan began to take off his outer robe. "I don't like being watched while I'm taking a bath."

Sun Xingzhou was eager to leave, so he bowed and withdrew.

Fan Jian was still standing at the door, not moving.

"Young master, should I stand guard outside?"

"No need, go to the kitchen and get something to eat, I'm hungry."

"Okay!"

The door closed, leaving Xiao Fan alone.

He took a deep breath, stepped onto the steps and entered the medicinal pool. The scalding water reached his chest, and his skin instantly turned red.

The next moment, the Qiankun Creation Cauldron in his sea of ​​consciousness trembled violently.

The raging medicinal power in the pool seemed to be seized by an invisible hand, surging into the body from all directions through the pores.

"They're here!"

Xiao Fan closed his eyes and sank his mind into his sea of ​​consciousness.

The Qiankun Creation Cauldron floated in the center of the sea of ​​consciousness, its patterns emitting a dark golden light.

The medicinal power of the six herbs is absorbed into the cauldron, where they collide, fuse, and refine each other.

The toxicity of the herb *Calvatia scabra* is neutralized by the golden dice, the dryness of the male essence of *Gynostemma pentaphyllum* is suppressed by the medicinal properties of *Gynostemma pentaphyllum*, and the supplementary power of the false blood ginseng is added.

The six elements interacted and countered each other, eventually condensing into a pale golden liquid within the cauldron.

The Qi-Nourishing Pill! It's a success!

Although no pill was formed, the medicinal liquid was effective enough to repair the body's dantian and meridians.

Xiao Fan guided the medicinal liquid from his sea of ​​consciousness to his dantian.

The blocked meridians were cleared layer by layer, and the shattered dantian began to gradually reassemble under the nourishment of the medicinal liquid.

The pool water changed from dark red to light brown, and finally became crystal clear, as he absorbed all the medicinal power.

After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Fan opened his eyes.

Seventy percent of the meridians in my body have been opened up, and although my dantian has not been fully repaired, it has already laid a foundation.

Most importantly, a trace of spiritual energy was generated within his body. Although it was weak, it was enough for him to refine a true Qi-Nourishing Pill.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the door.

Xiao Fan quickly got out of the pool and put on his outer robe.

The door opened, and Sun Xingzhou walked in, carrying a bowl of ginseng soup.

He glanced into the pool and froze on the spot. The water was crystal clear, and there was no trace of medicine.

Even the dregs of medicine that had settled at the bottom of the pool had disappeared without a trace.

"How is this possible?"

Sun Xingzhou almost dropped the ginseng soup in his hand.

He had practiced medicine for fifteen years and had never seen anything like it.

It's true that the medicinal properties of the bath are absorbed, but it's impossible for them to be absorbed so completely!

Even a martial artist who has achieved mastery of martial arts can only absorb 30% of the medicinal power from a single medicinal bath, with the remaining 70% being wasted in the pool water.

But now this pool of water is cleaner than the boiled water he boiled this morning!

Sun Xingzhou turned to look at Xiao Fan.

Xiao Fan's hair was still dripping wet, but his complexion had become much rosier. He was wiping his face with a cloth, humming a little tune, looking carefree.

"Young Master, are you... are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

Sun Xingzhou asked tentatively.

"It feels so comfortable!"

Xiao Fan stretched, and his joints cracked a series of sounds.

"This medicinal bath is great, I'll try it again tomorrow!"

Sun Xingzhou opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

He now suspected that he might have picked up the wrong herbs, but no, he had personally placed all six items there, three of which were poisons.

A useless person with a shattered dantian soaked in a poison bath, but not only was he not poisoned, he also absorbed all the medicinal power.

Is this guy a piece of trash?

…………

East Courtyard, Study.

Uncle Yu stood in front of Xiao Zhankui and bowed in response.

"Young Master has finished his medicinal bath."

Xiao Zhankui put down the account book in his hand: "How is it?"

"Pharmacist Sun said... the young master's meridians have recovered quite a bit, and the effect is unexpectedly good."

"Oh?"

Xiao Zhankui raised an eyebrow and a smile appeared on his face. "It seems the medicinal bath is effective. Have Sun Xingzhou continue preparing tomorrow."

"Yes."

Uncle Yu responded and was about to leave.

Just then, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

A security guard scrambled in and knelt on one knee.

"Master! People from the Yun family have arrived!"

The smile on Xiao Zhankui's face vanished instantly.

How many people came?

"Two...two carriages. The Second Master of the Yun family came in person, along with more than a dozen guards. They're heading to the main hall now!"

Xiao Zhankui suddenly stood up, his face ashen.

Yun Tianfang, the second master of the Yun family, is known in Donglin City for his fiery temper.

The matter of harassing the Yun family's daughter had just subsided when he personally led a group to their door, clearly intending to demand an explanation.