The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

This was exactly what Han Fei wanted, so he immediately took Xiao Fan to the backyard.

Han Ziying's bedroom was located at the deepest part of the mansion, guarded by two high-level Spirit Realm guards at the entrance.

When the two men saw that Han Fei had brought a stranger with him, they immediately blocked his way.

"Young master, who is he?"

Han Fei said, "My friend Xiao Fan is a master alchemist. Send him to see my father."

The guard hesitated, then said, "The master is not feeling well, outsiders..."

"Don't you understand what I mean?" Han Fei said irritably.

The guards dared not stop them and made way for them.

Xiao Fan followed Han Fei into the bedroom.

The room was filled with a strong smell of medicine, the curtains were drawn tightly, and the light was dim.

A middle-aged man lay on the bed, his face thin, his cheeks sunken, his lips bluish-purple, and his breath weak; he was clearly seriously ill.

Han Fei stepped forward and gently called out, "Father, I've returned, and I've brought a friend with me."

Han Ziying slowly opened her eyes, glanced at Xiao Fan with her cloudy eyes, and then closed them again.

"Fei'er, I'm fine, don't worry."

The voice was intermittent and weak, like a candle flame in the wind.

Xiao Fan didn't say much. He walked to the bedside, placed his hand on Han Ziying's wrist, and let a wisp of true energy penetrate into her body.

A moment later, he frowned.

The cold poison penetrated deep into the bone marrow, clearly indicating that it was caused by a special treatment.

This poison is very difficult to deal with. Over time, it will corrode the meridians, eventually freezing the person into an ice block and causing death.

What's even more troublesome is that the poisoner's cold poison also contained a special substance: the eggs of the Soul-Devouring Gu.

The Gu egg is tiny, invisible to the naked eye, but it can burrow into a person's soul and slowly devour their consciousness. Once the Gu egg hatches, Han Ziying becomes a living dead without self-awareness.

This was a murder.

"Brother Xiao, how are you feeling?" Han Fei's heart tightened.

Xiao Fan breathed a sigh of relief and said in a deep voice, "The cold poison can be cured, but there's a problem."

"What?"

"There is a Soul-Devouring Gu in your father's soul. The egg of this worm must be removed first in order to cure the poison. Otherwise, even if the cold poison is cured and the egg hatches, your father will become an idiot."

Han Fei was shocked: "Soul-Devouring Gu? Isn't that the sorcery of our Southern Frontier?"

"Yes." Xiao Fan nodded. "Who has your Han family offended recently?"

Han Fei gritted his teeth and thought for a long time, then suddenly his eyes lit up: "Could it be the Zhao family?"

"The Zhao family?"

"The four major families in the capital have always been mortal enemies of the Han family. For the past six months, the Han family has been constantly suppressed and beaten by the Zhao family, and since my father's accident, they have become even more aggressive..."

The waters of the capital are much deeper than those of Donglin City.

"We'll talk about this later. No one is allowed to come in for the next three days."

Han Fei spoke up, "Hmm! It's your decision!"

Xiao Fan moved into the Green Bamboo Courtyard, where he spent his days in seclusion refining elixirs and his nights studying the "Dan Jing" (elixir classic).

The spiritual energy in the capital far surpasses that of Donglin City, and the Han family has prepared a large quantity of top-grade medicinal herbs for him, so his cultivation progresses rapidly.

It only took ten days to go from the first rank of the Yin Realm to the third rank of the Yin Realm.

However, he is still far from reaching the Yang Realm.

One evening, he was refining an insect repellent pill when he heard a commotion outside.

"Open the door! Patriarch Han, the Zhao family has arrived!"

Xiao Fan put down the alchemy furnace and went to the courtyard gate, where he saw a young man in brocade robes leading more than a dozen guards who had blocked the gate of the Han family mansion. The young man looked arrogant and haughty.

Han Fei blocked the doorway, his face dark, and said, "Zhao Wuji, what brings you here?"

Zhao Wuji, the third young master of the Zhao family, is a notorious playboy in the capital city, with a cultivation level of the Spirit Realm.

"Having heard that Patriarch Han is seriously ill, I have come to pay my respects," Zhao Wuji said with a half-smile.

"My father doesn't need you anymore, you can leave."

"Han Fei, aren't you being incredibly disrespectful?" Zhao Wuji said coldly. "Although our two families have had some disagreements, we can't be so impolite. If you stop me outside today, people will think your Han family is ill-mannered."

Han Fei was so angry that he trembled, but he couldn't say a word.

Zhao Wuji was being polite; if he tried to stop him, he would only be humiliating himself.

At this moment, Xiao Fan walked out of the courtyard.

"Is Young Master Zhao here to visit Patriarch Han? Patriarch Han is currently recuperating from his injuries, and unauthorized personnel are not permitted to disturb him."

"Who are you?" Zhao Wuji asked, looking at him.

"Young Master Han's friend, Xiao Fan, has some medical knowledge."

"You think you can compete?" Zhao Wuji sneered. "Medical skills?"

Xiao Fan wasn't angry. He simply took out a pill and played with it between his fingers.

"If Young Master Zhao doesn't believe me, you are welcome to try it. These are pills to dispel cold, specifically for treating cold poisoning. Young Master Zhao's face is pale and his fingers are icy cold; he must have suffered from this ailment since childhood."

Zhao Wuji's expression changed drastically.

He had been suffering from a cold poison since childhood, and although he recovered early, his constitution remained predominantly cold. Only a handful of people in the Zhao family knew this, yet Xiao Fan saw through it at a glance?

"How...how did you figure that out?"

"Didn't I say I have some medical knowledge?" Xiao Fan tossed the pill to Young Master Zhao as compensation.

"But Patriarch Han is really unavailable today. Perhaps Young Master Zhao could come another day?"

Zhao Wuji looked at the pill in his hand, a hint of hesitation appearing on his face.

His intuition told him that this young man was no ordinary person. The ability to see his hidden ailment at a glance was a level of insight that few could match.

"Alright." Zhao Wuji put away the pills, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Since Patriarch Han is recuperating, I'll take my leave now. Young Master Xiao, we'll meet again someday."

After saying that, he left with his guards.

Han Fei finally breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes filled with gratitude as he looked at Xiao Fan: "Brother Xiao, I am so grateful for your help this time."

Xiao Fan waved his hand and said, "It's a small matter. But this Zhao Wuji is quite a shrewd fellow. He knows when to stop while he's ahead, making him far more troublesome than those ignorant villains."

Han Fei smiled wryly and said, "The Zhao family has produced many geniuses in this generation. Zhao Wuji is one thing, but his elder brother Zhao Wutian is quite remarkable. It is said that he has already reached the seventh rank of the Yang Realm."

A strange light flashed in Xiao Fan's eyes.

A cultivation level of the seventh rank of the Yang Realm is indeed extraordinary.

However, he did not intend to stay in the capital for long. After passing the Dan Tower assessment and curing Han Ziying's poison, he would return to Donglin City.

He didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble before that.

He just didn't expect that trouble would still sometimes come knocking on his door.

Three days later, Xiao Fan refined the detoxification pills and antidote pills, which helped Han Ziying remove the eggs of the Soul-Devouring Gu and also neutralized the cold poison in his body, giving him a glimmer of hope.

When Han Ziying woke up, she was noticeably thinner, but her complexion was much better, and her eyes had regained their sparkle.

"Young Master Xiao, I have no way to repay your life-saving grace!" Han Ziying wanted to get up and perform a grand salute, but Xiao Fan grabbed him.