Chapter 172: Chapter 172: Elder Song of the Pill Hall

A thunderous shout jolted Shen Haoran. He looked up to see an old man sprinting toward him from outside the Alchemy Room!

This elder was none other than the administrator of the Pill Hall and the chief Alchemist of the Five Elements Sect—Elder Song.

At that moment, Elder Song was sprinting over, clutching a pile of Spirit Medicine, his eyes fixed on Shen Haoran and blazing with fury.

"Which hall are you from? Don’t you know the Pill Hall is a restricted area in the Sect? Disciples are forbidden from entering as they please!" Elder Song barked furiously as he arrived.

Hearing this, Shen Haoran quickly stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Elder Song, I am Shen Haoran, a new disciple of the Red Flame Hall. Elder Huo sent me. He said..."

Before Shen Haoran could finish, Elder Song cut him off. "I don’t care who sent you! Even if it were the Sect Leader, Chen Yu, no one is allowed in my Pill Hall without my permission. Now, get out of here, or I’ll send you to the Sect’s Law Enforcement Hall!"

Looking at the furious Elder Song, Shen Haoran felt a bit awkward. He had, after all, been wandering around the man’s Pill Hall without permission. But remembering that he needed a favor, Shen Haoran had no choice but to press on. "Elder Song, I truly have a matter to request. Could we perhaps discuss it?"

At his words, Elder Song refused without a second thought. "No! Are you leaving or not? Fine, you won’t leave! Xiaohu, drag him out of here for me!" Elder Song yelled to the Cloud Flood Dragon Tiger lying beneath a medicine cabinet. However, the Cloud Flood Dragon Tiger only whimpered softly a few times before going still. It was no joke—Changmao was currently underneath it, tugging on its whiskers, and the Cloud Flood Dragon Tiger didn’t dare to offend Changmao.

Seeing his normally obedient Cloud Flood Dragon Tiger ignore him, Elder Song glared. "You brat, what in the world have you done to my Pill Hall? You..."

Before Elder Song could finish, his gaze inadvertently fell upon his Pill Furnace. The raging flames that had been burning within it were now extinguished!

Elder Song had no time to scold Shen Haoran. He lunged toward the furnace. Feeling its icy exterior, he spun around and stared coldly at Shen Haoran. "Did you touch my Pill Furnace?"

"Uh... I suppose I did," Shen Haoran said, sensing a dangerous aura emanating from Elder Song.

"Do you have any idea how important what was in that furnace is to me? Do you know how much effort I poured into refining that elixir? You dared to touch my Pill Furnace! I... I’ll kill you!" Elder Song roared, his voice hoarse with rage.

The Purifying Soul Pill inside that furnace was a life-saving elixir Elder Song had been refining for his Cloud Flood Dragon Tiger! A month ago, while gathering herbs in the mountains, Elder Song was attacked by a Fierce Beast. The Cloud Flood Dragon Tiger had desperately saved him, but it had been grievously injured in the fight, its Spirit Core on the verge of collapsing. Fortunately, Elder Song had managed to prolong its life with Spirit Medicine. He had then scoured ancient texts until he found a recipe for the Purifying Soul Pill, which offered a chance to save the Cloud Flood Dragon Tiger!

However, the refining process for the Purifying Soul Pill was peculiar. Even with his abilities as a Sixth Grade Alchemist, Elder Song had failed repeatedly, wasting a tremendous amount of Spirit Medicine. This time, he had painstakingly reached the final step, the Solidifying Pill stage, only for this brat to ruin everything. How could he not be furious?

Seeing this, Shen Haoran quickly tried to explain, "Elder Song, please calm down! I was just lending a little hand!"

"A little hand? Look inside my Pill Furnace! That was half a month of my effort, and now... now..." As Elder Song spoke, his voice grew quieter and quieter, his jaw dropping, for he had just seen the Purifying Soul Pill spinning smoothly inside the furnace!

"This... this..." Elder Song was too stunned to speak.

’This is impossible! I clearly remember it was just the Essence of Spiritual Medicine when I left. How did it form into a Finished Pill?!’

’Could this stinking brat have really done it?’ Elder Song stole a glance back at Shen Haoran and noticed his pale face and fluctuating Spiritual Power—the classic signs of overexertion.

"This... you refined it?" Elder Song asked, his anger completely gone.

"Yes. I saw it was only the final step, so I lent a hand," Shen Haoran replied with a nod, as if it were the most trivial thing in the world.

Hearing this, the corner of Elder Song’s mouth twitched. A task that he, a Sixth Grade Alchemist, couldn’t accomplish in half a month had been casually handled by a new disciple. Elder Song suddenly felt he had completely lost face.

With the Purifying Soul Pill successfully refined, Elder Song’s anger completely dissipated. He looked at Shen Haoran curiously. "You said that old fellow Huo sent you. Are you an Alchemist?"

"Mhm, that’s right. I’m a Third Grade Alchemist," Shen Haoran replied.

"A Third Grade Alchemist!" Hearing this, Elder Song took a deep breath. ’Impossible. How could a Third Grade Alchemist possibly complete the final step for the Purifying Soul Pill?’

"Then that final step for the Purifying Soul Pill... how did you...?" Elder Song asked, confused.

In response, Shen Haoran described the pill solidification process he had used and, along the way, pointed out the problems in Elder Song’s previous attempts.

At first, Elder Song was only listening casually. However, as Shen Haoran’s explanation grew more profound, the shock on Elder Song’s face intensified. Many of the terms Shen Haoran used were completely new to him, yet after a moment of thought, he realized that everything Shen Haoran said was perfectly correct!

Gradually, Elder Song became completely engrossed in the knowledge Shen Haoran imparted, feeling as if an entirely new door had been opened for him.

...

"And that’s basically it," Shen Haoran concluded, finally stopping after speaking at length.

But Elder Song was far from satisfied. He had been listening with rapt attention. Shen Haoran’s system of knowledge had brought him so much enlightenment; mysteries that had plagued his past alchemy attempts were now crystal clear. He even felt like he was on the verge of another breakthrough.

"Hey, kid, don’t stop! I still have a few more questions for you!" Elder Song exclaimed. He was a complete alchemy fanatic who poured his entire heart and soul into the craft. In that moment, he completely disregarded his own status and humbly sought guidance from Shen Haoran. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Looking at the humble Elder Song, Shen Haoran gave a wry smile. "Elder Song, I came here today to ask for a favor. As for discussing Alchemy Skills, could we perhaps do that another day?"

"Whatever it is, just say it! I’ll agree! Just help me with this one question first!" Elder Song said with a dismissive wave of his hand, immediately launching into his next query.

Shen Haoran could only answer him with a resigned sigh. The Alchemy Skills he possessed all came from the Alchemy Inheritance. It was Elder Song’s great fortune to be able to learn them.

The two conversed for a long time, until the sun had set, before Elder Song, still unsatisfied, finally let Shen Haoran go.

"Haha, Shen the kid, your Alchemy Dao certainly is unique! Impressive, very impressive!" Elder Song praised him generously.

At his words, Shen Haoran could only smile and nod.

"Right, what was that favor you needed my help with?" Elder Song asked, recalling Shen Haoran’s original purpose for coming.

"I just wanted to get some medicinal ingredients from you, Elder Song," Shen Haoran replied.

"Haha, of course, of course! Spirit Medicine is nothing, I have plenty in my backyard! Whatever you need, this old man will go pick it for you right now!" Elder Song boomed with laughter.

Hearing this, Shen Haoran coughed awkwardly and said, "Blood Flame Reishi. One thousand stalks."

"What?! One thousand stalks?!"