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

"Just accept it as I tell you to!" The old fox slowly rose from his chair and said to Gou An, "Next, the Demon King will summon me. Wait here for me for a moment."

After saying this, he turned around and walked into the spatial portal, his figure instantly disappearing from the room.

Gou An tried to look through the spatial gate, but could only see green mountains and clear waters, as if some kind of formation was blocking his view.

Just as Gou An put away his storage bag and sat down in a chair to wait, the old fox came out from inside the door.

The entire process took Gou An only a few breaths.

"Shall we go?" The old fox stroked his beard, his expression calm, and with a wave of his hand, the spatial portal on the wall behind him vanished instantly.

"So fast?" Gou An hurriedly followed the old fox out of the main hall.

"Time passes faster outside than inside!" the old fox casually explained. "To me, it was only a short while before you went in."

"I see!" Gou An nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

"Furthermore!" the old fox said to Gou An as they walked, "I have advised the Demon King and received his approval. Starting tomorrow, you will be the head of the General Pill Hall. I will also personally give instructions to the three elders."

"Thank you for protecting the country!" Gou An pretended not to know that the Demon King had this intention and quickly thanked the old fox.

The old fox smiled, seemingly in a good mood, as if the Demon King had rewarded him with something for his visit.

"Even though you will be the head of the Pill Hall from now on, you will still need to obey me!" The old fox walked to the center of the square, waved his hand, and once again conjured a wind tunnel leading directly to the Pill Hall. His tone became more serious: "I can help you become the head of the Pill Hall, but if you are disobedient, I can naturally replace you with someone else."

"Don't worry, I will remember this!" Gou An quickly cupped his hands in greeting.

"In that case, let's go back!" The old fox leaped into the wind tunnel and flew towards the Pill Hall.

Gou An followed closely behind, and together they used the power of the wind to successfully return to the General Pill Hall.

Once back in his own courtyard, Gou An finally relaxed completely.

Whether facing the old fox or the demon king, Gou An was always cautious, afraid that any word or deed might anger them.

This kept him on edge all the time, and he could only truly relax when he returned to his doghouse.

Although he didn't like the feeling of being suppressed like this, it gave Gou An an idea.

You have to take it one step at a time to reach the top.

From now on, I won't have to worry about what others think.

Becoming the head of the Dan Hall is just the first step; next, one must become a protector of the nation, and perhaps even rise to a higher position in the future.

the next day.

As expected, the old fox delivered an exquisite black gold token, which served as proof of the identity of the head of the Pill Hall, and held a simple ceremony in the main hall of the Pill Hall.

All the alchemists in the General Alchemy Hall gathered here. Although there were more senior alchemists in the crowd, no one dared to raise any objections.

After all, Gou An's alchemy skills were clearly the strongest among everyone, and he was personally appointed by the Demon King, so no one could question it.

Because of his promotion, Gou An moved out of the courtyard in the corner of the Dan Hall and into the main courtyard left by the old fox, which was adjacent to the main hall and was grand and luxurious.

Furthermore, he left Gou An with more than thirty demon slaves to serve him, most of whom were beautiful female demons who had transformed quite well.

With the Hall Master's order, Gou An no longer needed anyone's introduction to meet the Demon King and receive orders directly.

Although nominally still under the old fox's command, there are not as many restrictions.

After the ceremony ended, Gou An sat alone in the main chair in the middle of the hall, playing with the token in his hand, quite satisfied.

In any case, I can now be considered an official in the City of Ten Thousand Demons.

At this time, the Dan Hall had dozens of alchemists and hundreds of demon slaves. Although they were not very powerful, they were very important to the City of Ten Thousand Demons.

After all, all the pills in the City of Ten Thousand Demons originate from here, which is equivalent to a kind of monopoly capital.

Moreover, the affairs of the Dan Hall are usually handled by the three elders. As the hall master, Gou An doesn't have many miscellaneous matters to deal with. He only needs to control the overall situation and focus on researching a treatment for Princess Yun Yao's headache.

Another point is that after being promoted, his salary also increased significantly.

Besides the demon gold, the monthly spirit stones have also increased from three thousand to ten thousand.

Although we don't lack spirit stones now, who would complain about having too much money?

Furthermore, after Gou An was promoted, he did not forget Long Youzi and had him deliver pills to the mine in his place.

This job isn't hard work, the hours are flexible, and there's extra income—it's a lucrative position, perfect for Long Youzi.

Besides delivering pills every ten days, Long Youzi would also come to Gou An to inquire about his experience and knowledge in alchemy.

At this point, Gou An was even more amazed by the boy's talent in alchemy.

This guy could rationalize my casual explanations and incorporate them into his alchemy techniques.

For example, when Long Youzi saw that Gou An's control over the furnace fire during alchemy was extremely precise, he asked curiously how one could control the furnace fire so obediently.

Faced with this problem, Gou An actually didn't know how to describe it.

Because he possessed the Fiery Sacred Body, the fire in the furnace was like a part of his own body, and he could naturally control it at will.

However, for alchemists without the Fiery Sacred Body, achieving this is almost impossible.

So Gou An could only casually explain, "There's an old saying that goes, 'Weapons are an extension of the hands and feet,' which means the unity of man and weapon."

"In fact, the same is true of the fire in the furnace. To achieve the same level of proficiency as me, in addition to controlling and observing the fire day after day and understanding the nature of each wisp of fire, the most important thing is not to treat it as an inanimate object."

"Treat it as if it were a part of your body, just as you would perceive your own fingertips or your own breath."

Gou An was actually quite nervous when he said this.

He couldn't explain why he could control the fire like a finger; his explanation was half experience and half pure fabrication.

If an alchemist without a special fire vein were to achieve such proficiency, in addition to practicing day after day, they would also need precise control over spiritual energy.

It is almost impossible for an alchemist who has not condensed the golden core to do this.

He thought that after hearing these words, Long Youzi would at least go back and practice diligently for a year or two, and then give up after realizing that he couldn't do it.

What Gou An didn't expect was that this guy, after only half a month back, could actually manage to achieve about 20% of Gou An's strength.

Considering the kid's previous behavior, Gou An couldn't help but sigh:

"Could this kid really be a genius?"