Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

Early the next morning.

Gou An then returned to the General Alchemy Hall.

Having just returned, Gou An was preparing to refine another batch of the Dispelling Miasma and Nourishing True Essence Pill to try out a new approach.

Before the furnace could even reach a certain temperature, people arrived outside the courtyard gate.

"Is Fellow Daoist Gou here?"

Gou An looked towards the courtyard gate and saw Xuanjiao Zhenren.

He was originally the head of the Demon Pill Hall, one of the three major Pill Halls, an old yellow ox spirit.

"So it's Elder Xuanjiao!" Gou An immediately stepped forward to greet him, cupping his hands in greeting, and said, "May I ask what brings you here?"

Xuanjiao walked into the courtyard and chuckled, "I was just passing by when I suddenly remembered the spirit smoke you made before. I wanted to buy some more to try. Do you have any left now?"

Upon hearing this, Gou An laughed and said, "It will be ready soon, tomorrow."

"Excellent!" Master Xuanjiao beamed upon hearing this. "This is quite interesting; everyone who's tried it still longs for it. You'd better hurry!"

"Don't worry, Elder, once the new ones are made, we will definitely reserve more for you," Gou An immediately agreed.

"Furthermore..." Suddenly, Master Xuanjiao changed the subject, "There is another matter I would like to discuss with you, fellow Daoist."

"What is it?" Gou An frowned slightly.

"As you know, I'm in charge of inspecting and distributing the pills in our main alchemy hall!" Master Xuanjiao stroked his beard like a human cultivator and chuckled, "Now I need a reliable alchemist to help me deliver pills to the mines!"

"Looking at our entire General Alchemy Hall, I think the most reliable person is you, fellow Daoist."

"Send pills?" Gou An was puzzled upon hearing this.

Logically speaking, all the alchemists in Master Xuanjiao's original alchemy hall should have joined the main alchemy hall.

There must have been people in the Pill Hall who were responsible for delivering pills before, so how did they find me?

"That's right!" Xuanjiao nodded. "If you are in charge of delivering pills in the future, you won't need to refine those ordinary pills, and you will naturally have more free time to cultivate."

"Send it but don't inspect it?" Gou An asked again.

"That's right!" Xuanjiao nodded again. "The pill testing has already been done; you only need to deliver the pills, fellow Daoist!"

Gou An has done the task of delivering pills before; it's not difficult at all. You only need to do it once every ten days, and there's plenty of free time.

It just so happens that Lord Jinyang is also the main person in charge of the mine, so delivering the pills would be a good way to get closer to him.

"Do Master Xu and Protector of the Nation know about this?" Gou An didn't rush to answer, but instead asked a question in return.

"I know!" Xuanjiao nodded. "It was a decision we made after discussing it together."

"Since that's the case, then I agree!" Gou An saw this and didn't continue to refuse.

"That's great!" Xuanjiao laughed. "The first pill delivery mission of the General Pill Hall will begin in two days. I'll come to find you in advance."

"No problem!" Gou An nodded.

"In that case, I shall take my leave!" Xuan Jiao said, then stood up and was eventually seen out of the courtyard by Gou An.

Watching Xuanjiao's departing figure, Gou An knew that there was definitely something fishy about the sudden request to deliver the pills.

Judging from what Hongyue said, Jin Yangshanjun's test last night was not the last one. Although it temporarily dispelled many of his doubts, he still wanted to find other ways to test him.

Therefore, finding connections to deliver pills to the mine was very likely another test he had arranged.

However, if I don't agree, it would make me seem guilty.

If you agree, and after another test, they should be able to dispel your doubts.

Then, by building closer relationships, you may find a breakthrough.

Last night, I agreed to help Hongyue kill that blind tiger not on a whim, but out of a sense of complacency.

Even if Lord Jinyang no longer doubts him, he will still be a potential threat to him.

Since it is a threat to oneself, one must find a way to eliminate it.

And you might even win the heart of a beautiful woman along the way—why not?

However, achieving this goal without attracting the attention of the Demon King is quite difficult and requires careful planning.

Two days later, early in the morning, Master Xuanjiao delivered the inspected and sorted pills to Gou'an Courtyard.

There were three storage bags in total, which were sent to three different mines.

Since Gou An had only been to one of the mines, Xuan Jiao would take him there first to familiarize himself with the route.

The two demons left the city, boarded a flying boat, and delivered pills to the mines one by one, from far to near.

The first two spirit stone mines sent were relatively small, and the last mine sent was the one that Gou An had sent earlier.

The leader of the mine was that rhinoceros horn, known as Black Horn, whom Gou An had met before.

It only takes half a day to deliver all three mines.

When Gou An arrived at the mine under Hei Jiao's jurisdiction, Hei Jiao immediately recognized him.

"Fellow Daoist Gou!" Black Horn and his underlings stepped forward to greet the pill-delivering flying boat: "I didn't expect it to be you delivering the pills this time!"

Blackhorn was very enthusiastic, as if they were old friends reuniting.

"Do you know him?" Xuanjiao asked from the side.

"Of course I know him!" Black Horn nodded. "Fellow Daoist Gou used to be in charge of delivering pills to Wan Dan Hall and came here several times."

"If that's the case, then it's even simpler!" Xuanjiao smiled. "Now that our three major alchemy halls have merged, all three mines are supplied with pills by Fellow Daoist Gou."

"Furthermore, I have personally inspected the quality of each pill, so you will not need to inspect them again once you receive them."

Black Horn nodded repeatedly, "That's right, that's right, we definitely trust Elder Xuanjiao's work!"

After the pills were delivered, Gou An followed Xuan Jiao back to the City of Ten Thousand Demons by flying boat.

The mission to deliver the pills went very smoothly this time, without any unexpected incidents.

The only unusual thing was that the rhinoceros demon in Black Horn was a bit too enthusiastic, and Gou An's relationship with him wasn't that good.

It seems he was a pawn sent by Lord Jinyang to test him.

Since that was the case, Gou An cooperated and let him test the waters.

According to Hongyue, Blind Tiger and Old Fox were not on good terms, and since she was now Old Fox's man and had performed exceptionally well in the alchemy competition, she was highly regarded by Old Fox, so he dared not easily make a move against her.

He sent someone to probe first, to find evidence that he had really killed his brother.

Once he has the evidence, it will be much easier for him to ask the old fox for the person.

However, finding evidence from Gou An will not be so easy.

After delivering the pill, Gou An found the old fox the next day and presented him with the True Pill of Dispelling Miasma that he had refined himself.

Although this newly refined pill only has 60% of its medicinal power, it is already quite good. After all, other alchemists have not even been able to refine a pill with 30% medicinal power.

After examining the Miasma-Dispelling and True Essence Pill closely, the old fox revealed a gratified smile: "Fellow Daoist Gou, you truly are a genius at alchemy. I never imagined that you could refine such an ancient pill with such efficacy in such a short time."

After the praise, the promised reward will naturally be substantial.

Gou An did this to further solidify his position in the old fox's eyes.

The higher one's status, the harder it is for others to take action against them.

This is one of the key principles of the art of survival: find a powerful backer!