Artifact Casting Peak.

Inside the Management Elder’s residence.

"Elder Xiong, I have some good news for you," Bai Heyan said to Xiong Xingfeng, taking a seat after appearing in the residence.

Xiong Xingfeng looked at the smile on Bai Heyan’s face.

"What good news could you possibly have? Speaking of good news, I have some of my own."

"Oh? Then you go first."

Xiong Xingfeng organized his thoughts before speaking. "The Upper-grade Magical Artifact my disciple refined can unleash the power of a Supreme-grade Magical Artifact against Demons, and it has no other drawbacks."

"That’s decent, I suppose. Now, listen to my news." Bai Heyan shared his good news as well. "On his first attempt at refining the Spirit Ascension Pill, Fang Yun nearly produced five Lower-grade Spirit Ascension Pills. And you know, Fang Yun is only at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining."

"My disciple refined a Spiritual Artifact long ago."

Both of them felt the other’s news was nothing special. Their own news was the *real* good news.

One believed Fang Yun had once again showcased his talent in the field of Artifact Refining, while the other believed it was in the field of Alchemy.

"Do you know? Before I reached Foundation Establishment, I refined five batches of Spirit Ascension Pills, and then another six batches after, just to reach Fang Yun’s current level."

"What’s that supposed to mean? Even I can’t refine the Upper-grade Magical Artifact my disciple made."

Xiong Xingfeng decided to go all out, admitting his own attempts to refine the Upper-grade Magical Artifact. After Fang Yun left that day, he had been studying it constantly, but he still hadn’t managed to craft a corresponding Upper-grade Magical Artifact.

Looking at all the materials he had wasted, Xiong Xingfeng didn’t dwell on it for long. ’The task of refining this type of Magical Artifact is best left to my good disciple,’ he thought.

The two continued to bicker, and in the process, Bai Heyan revealed his true reason for seeking out Xiong Xingfeng.

"I think from now on, Fang Yun should devote more of his time to Alchemy."

"No! He should be devoting more time to Artifact Refining. He’s my disciple, so he’ll definitely listen to me."

"Do you have any idea how many Second Tier pills Fang Yun could bring to our Celestial Cloud Sect?"

"He’s my disciple."

"If Fang Yun spends enough time on Alchemy, the Celestial Cloud Sect will surely see a decrease in Lower-grade Foundation Establishment Pills and an increase in Middle-grade and Top-grade ones. That way, the sect can produce more Foundation Establishment Cultivators."

"He’s my disciple."

Hearing Xiong Xingfeng’s three-word retort, Bai Heyan felt the urge to punch him for the first time.

’Better not,’ he thought. Xiong Xingfeng was stronger than him. If they really fought, he would be the one getting beaten up.

Bai Heyan realized that ever since Fang Yun became Xiong Xingfeng’s disciple, Xiong’s debating tactics against him had become simple yet effective.

Before, Xiong Xingfeng could never win an argument against him.

"I say, Old Ghost Xiong, can’t you say something else?"

"Something else... fine. I bet you still haven’t convinced those guys yet."

Xiong Xingfeng was referring to the Elders of Alchemy on Dan Cloud Peak.

When it came to complexity, the situation on Dan Cloud Peak was undoubtedly the most troublesome of the five major peaks. Too many Elders wanted a piece of the Alchemy pie, and behind every Elder of Alchemy were the entangled interests of countless other Elders.

Compared to Dan Cloud Peak, their Artifact Casting Peak was much better off.

Even if the Artifact Refining Elders had something to say, he could just use the Upper-grade Magical Artifact Fang Yun refined to shut them up. ’If you want to criticize my disciple’s Artifact Refining, first go refine an Upper-grade Magical Artifact that specifically targets Demons and has no flaws. Then we can talk.’

"You can rest assured about that. It’s just a matter of time. Elder Zhong Taishang’s great-granddaughter is on my side, you know."

"She’s clearly on my disciple’s side," Xiong Xingfeng corrected.

"Same thing, same thing."

The two continued to talk about Fang Yun, but in the end, neither could convince the other.

Finally, Bai Heyan was out of options and could only resort to arguing for respecting Fang Yun’s choice, saying that as Fang Yun’s master, Xiong Xingfeng should respect his disciple’s decisions even more.

Neither of them should interfere with Fang Yun. If he loved Alchemy, he should do Alchemy. If he loved Artifact Refining, he should do Artifact Refining. The allocation of his time should be his own decision.

This was Bai Heyan’s last resort.

As Fang Yun’s master, Xiong Xingfeng had far more influence over him than Bai Heyan did.

"As your disciple, Old Ghost Xiong, is he not allowed to have his own hobbies?"

"Am I that kind of master? I respect my disciple the most, alright?"

"That’s more like it."

Xiong Xingfeng stared at Bai Heyan. ’It seems I’ve been talked into a corner,’ he thought.

However, he didn’t really feel like backing out. As the Management Elder, he was happy to see his disciple pursuing both paths and making greater contributions to the sect.

Besides, he trusted his disciple to manage his own time well.

...

「Mid-November.」

On Dan Cloud Peak, inside Song Qiaoqiao’s residence.

At this moment, Fang Yun had arrived.

Ever since Song Qiaoqiao became an Elder, he had basically been the one to visit her. It was rare for her to come to his residence to find him.

Coming to Song Qiaoqiao’s residence, he even got to enjoy the same treatment as a Supreme Elder.

"Junior Brother, we’ve reached a decision regarding your Second Tier Alchemy tasks." After brewing some Spirit Tea and pouring a cup for Fang Yun while standing, Song Qiaoqiao shared the news he hadn’t yet heard.

"Senior Sister, please tell me the details."

"Mhm." Song Qiaoqiao sat down before beginning to explain in detail. "Currently, the only Second Tier pill refining task we can assign you is for the Spirit Ascension Pill. Out of every ten sets of Spirit Medicine for refining Spirit Ascension Pills, you can claim about thirty percent."

Fang Yun couldn’t help but nod at her words. That was already very good.

Every Alchemy Master wanted to improve their alchemy skills.

For every extra batch of Spirit Ascension Pills he refined, another Elder of Alchemy would refine one less.

"When a batch of Spirit Ascension Pills has no Wasted Pills, you may take any one pill of your choice."

"Oh, what a pleasant surprise!" Fang Yun said directly.

He really hadn’t expected to enjoy this kind of treatment while still in the Qi Refining Stage. ’Elder Bai Heyan and Senior Sister must have put in a lot of effort to achieve this,’ he thought.

He originally thought he would only be qualified to negotiate refining Spirit Ascension Pills and taking a share after he reached Foundation Establishment.

Now that he could vie for one pill, he could negotiate for more in the future after reaching Foundation Establishment.

Seeing Fang Yun’s beaming smile, Song Qiaoqiao was also very happy. After he reached Foundation Establishment, if her Junior Brother wanted to advance further, the support of medicinal pills would be indispensable. Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects that could cleanse one’s Spirit Root were far too rare; since the founding of the Celestial Cloud Sect, it seemed they had only obtained such a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Object once.

"The rewards for refining Second Tier pills are the same as for Tier One pills, divided into five levels. The lowest-level reward is thirty Contribution Points. The other reward tiers require you to produce, respectively: three Lower-grade pills; six Lower-grade pills; three Middle-grade pills; and one Upper-grade and one Middle-grade pill."

A batch of Spirit Ascension Pills yields seven pills, so for the highest-tier reward, you only need to refine one Middle-grade and one Upper-grade Spirit Ascension Pill.

This is a huge difference from the requirements for refining Tier One pills.

For the highest-tier reward for refining Tier One pills, with seven pills in a batch, you need to produce at least four Upper-grade pills.

"Senior Sister, are any of the current Elders of Alchemy able to get this highest-tier reward?"

Song Qiaoqiao thought for a moment, then quickly replied, "Only Elder Bai has a chance."

Right now on Dan Cloud Peak, including Song Qiaoqiao, there were a total of five who could be called Elders of Alchemy.

"What about the skill level of the other three Elders of Alchemy?"

Song Qiaoqiao didn’t give Fang Yun a concrete answer. She wasn’t entirely sure herself, so her response was rather vague.

Fang Yun was satisfied with this answer.

Fang Yun also wanted to know about the negotiation process among the five Elders of Alchemy, including Song Qiaoqiao, so she gave him a rough explanation.

Among the five Elders of Alchemy on Dan Cloud Peak, Management Elder Bai Heyan undoubtedly held the most power. As a newly promoted Elder of Alchemy, Song Qiaoqiao held the least.

The distribution of power on Dan Cloud Peak was primarily based on one’s Alchemy skill level. The next most important factor was one’s background—who was standing behind them.

When Bai Heyan first made his proposal, Song Qiaoqiao supported it directly, two Elders of Alchemy opposed it, and one abstained.

The two opposing Elders of Alchemy were surnamed Wan and Meng. In terms of power on Dan Cloud Peak, the former was second, and the latter was fourth.

"...Oh, right, Junior Brother, Elder Wan has the support of Supreme Elder Wang..."

When mentioning the Elder surnamed Wan, Song Qiaoqiao recalled something her great-grandfather had said and added this piece of information for Fang Yun.

Fang Yun wasn’t surprised. For the discussion to have taken so long after Elder Bai Heyan made his proposal, it was only natural that one of the opposing Elders of Alchemy would be backed by a Supreme Elder.

About half a month ago, when Fang Yun went to see his master, Xiong Xingfeng, his master had told him that the situation on Dan Cloud Peak was the most complex. He had also mentioned some of the details of Bai Heyan’s visit.

Without Song Qiaoqiao’s staunch support from the very beginning, he, still in the Qi Refining Stage, would have been lucky to be assigned even one-tenth of the Spirit Ascension Pill refining tasks.

"...Their reason for opposing was mostly about your energy, Junior Brother. They said that if you focused solely on Alchemy, they wouldn’t object... In the end, it was Elder He, who was initially neutral, who sided with us. That’s why Elder Bai’s proposal was passed as it was originally written."

"So that’s how it went. Thank you for telling me, Senior Sister," Fang Yun said gratefully. ’Both Artifact Refining and Alchemy are essential for me. In the future, when I have more energy, I plan to take up planting as well,’ he thought.

Elder He was Jiang Yan’s master. Fang Yun guessed that Jiang Yan was likely a reason why Elder He, the third most powerful Elder, ended up siding with them.

Perhaps he felt his own disciple wasn’t living up to his potential—despite having good Alchemy Talent, his refining was getting more and more off-track. Or perhaps it was because Jiang Yan had a decent relationship with him. Or maybe it was both.

"You’re too kind, Junior Brother," Song Qiaoqiao replied with a smile.

Fang Yun looked at Song Qiaoqiao.

She had a smile on her face, but compared to before, it held much less of its former innocence.

One could imagine that after she reached Foundation Establishment, her great-grandfather, Zhong Yankun, must have told her a great deal, especially about the various rules and customs within the sect.

The Qi Refining Stage had been the period of Song Qiaoqiao’s most carefree growth.

As a sect Elder, she had to understand many things. More importantly, she had to realize she could no longer be as naive as before. She had to adopt the proper attitude and gravitas of an Elder when dealing with ordinary disciples.

"Senior Sister, how is your Spirit Ascension Pill refining going?" Having learned what he wanted to know, Fang Yun changed the topic to Alchemy.

Song Qiaoqiao’s Alchemy Talent was quite good. She had managed to produce a Lower-grade Spirit Ascension Pill on only her second batch.

"Right now, the most I can produce is three Lower-grade Spirit Ascension Pills. I’m not as good as you, Junior Brother."

"That’s very good!" Fang Yun praised her first, then said, "Senior Sister, you don’t need to compare yourself to me."

In front of Song Qiaoqiao, Fang Yun spoke a lot of what was on his mind.

For example, he spoke about the standards he set for himself on the path of Alchemy.

Song Qiaoqiao’s success in refining a pill from her second batch of Spirit Ascension Pills already surpassed at least half of the Alchemy Masters in the Foundation Establishment Stage.