Chapter 111 - 106: Yun Buliu

Chapter 111: Chapter 106: Yun Buliu

Su Tan stopped paying attention to the Little White Wolf and Chen Xiaoqi. He entered the Alchemy Room, preparing to perform alchemy.

Having integrated many alchemy Secret Manuals, Su Tan actually knew a great deal about Alchemy Skill. However, aside from brewing medicinal soups for Qi and refining some body-nourishing medicinal liquid for himself, he had never formally refined Elixirs before.

"Alchemy is actually quite similar to cooking," Su Tan mused. "It’s just a bit more difficult. The temperature of the flame and the control over refining the medicinal herbs simply need to be a little more precise..."

Anything equipped into the system was equivalent to something Su Tan had already mastered and possessed. Moreover, everything equipped was a flawless, system-improved version. Therefore, even though he had never learned it before, equipping a massive amount of Elixir books had transformed him into a master of alchemy.

"A master who has never actually practiced it?" Su Tan thought.

He had wanted to try his hand at it earlier, but he lacked the necessary herbs. After he casually mentioned it, Yun Chu had sent over a large batch of ingredients over the past few days, making it highly convenient for him to perform Alchemy.

Su Tan sat in silence for a long while, adjusting his condition and raising his focus to its absolute peak. Then, he ignited the fire within the Pill Furnace.

WHOOSH!

A blue flame rose quietly. He adjusted the intensity of the fire, then tossed the medicinal herbs into the Pill Furnace one by one, forcing out their liquid essence.

HISS!

A rich medicinal fragrance wafted into the air. Su Tan’s series of movements flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and flowing water, as if he had practiced them countless times. Everything appeared methodical and completely meticulous. This was the miraculous nature of the system’s equipment function; he obtained these skills without any need for bitter training. It was as if a voice in his mind was telling him exactly what to do next, how high the flame should be, whether the liquid extraction was complete, and when to clear out the dregs.

Su Tan felt as though he was born to do this. If a master alchemist were watching from the sidelines, they would be astounded by his technique. It was beautiful. While not overly flashy, it was a feast for the eyes. It was practical—simply a textbook example of alchemy! A gold standard! Watching him was like watching a world-class dancer perform; every movement was a highlight, flowing together seamlessly.

POOF!

The medicine was complete! It wasn’t an Elixir, but a drop of medicinal liquid about the size of a fingertip. Chen Xiaoqi was just a child, so the medicinal efficacy of this tier was already more than enough for him. Refining any higher-grade medicinal liquid or Elixirs would not only be a waste but could even harm his body.

Instantly, a rich medicinal fragrance permeated the air. Su Tan took a sniff and sensed the state of the liquid.

"Not bad, it meets the standard!" he said.

The liquid had met the system’s designated standard. The quality was above average—approaching Perfect. However, due to a few minor mistakes during the Alchemy process, the final product fell short of absolute perfection. After all, he lacked vision, and he hadn’t practiced Alchemy many times. To achieve this level was already quite impressive. Su Tan was very satisfied.

"Rise!"

Activating his Overlord Body Realm, Su Tan telekinetically pulled the medicinal liquid through the air and stored it in a small jade bottle.

"Done!"

Afterward, Su Tan refined a few more Elixirs for his own body-nourishment before leaving the Alchemy Room.

Having equipped so many Alchemy Skills, Su Tan didn’t find the process difficult at all; it really was just like cooking. Of course, that was only his perspective. As for whether anyone else would find it that easy? That was another story entirely! Furthermore, Su Tan’s methods were something only he understood. If he were asked to teach someone else, it would be a bit challenging. He would probably just tell them to control the fire, toss the herbs in randomly, and casually extract the essence until it was done.

...

In the courtyard.

Chen Xiaoqi and the Little White Wolf were both cultivating. Although Chen Xiaoqi scoffed at the Toad Skill, Su Tan valued one of his greatest strengths: hard work. As long as Su Tan assigned a task, he would practice it diligently without slacking off or cutting corners. If Chen Xiaoqi ever actually behaved like that, Su Tan wouldn’t bother teaching him. He could learn it or leave it.

One person and one wolf were holding bizarre toad stances. Chen Xiaoqi hadn’t mastered it yet, and the Little White Wolf was even further from success. Su Tan didn’t expect Chen Xiaoqi to master the Holy Body Map in just a day or two anyway. That was the Holy Body Map; it would be far more bizarre if it could be mastered so easily.

RIBBIT! RIBBIT! RIBBIT!

Hearing the terrible frog croaks, Su Tan’s face darkened with exasperation. These two guys... What the hell were they doing imitating frog calls while practicing? It was one thing for Chen Xiaoqi to genuinely believe the Holy Body Map was the Toad Skill, but what the hell was the White Wolf doing copying the frog calls? How ridiculous! This was the Holy Body Map; there was absolutely no need to croak like a frog. Why were they imitating frogs?

"No, you’re not croaking right... You need to store air in your belly, puff up your cheeks, and then... RIBBIT! RIBBIT! RIBBIT!" Holding his stance, Chen Xiaoqi instructed the Little White Wolf with a deadpan expression.

Was he... Was he actually teaching the Little White Wolf how to cultivate?!

"This is the true essence of the Toad Skill..." Chen Xiaoqi added.

"Is that so?" The Little White Wolf took his words to heart and studied earnestly, imitating Chen Xiaoqi’s croaking.

RIBBIT! RIBBIT! RIBBIT!

He figured that a Cultivation Technique meant for humans should be practiced exactly like a human would... which was why he was mimicking Chen Xiaoqi’s cultivation.

"That’s close, but your croak still doesn’t sound quite right. You need more practice."

THUD!

Su Tan stumbled, nearly face-planting into the ground. What a pair of weirdos. One who hadn’t mastered it was teaching one who couldn’t learn it. Truly, one had the nerve to teach, and the other had the nerve to learn... And they were taking it so seriously! Incredible! Their intelligence was definitely their weak point!

"Qi, come take your medicine," Su Tan called out.

"Okay!" The breathless Qi had been wanting to take a break for a while. Hearing Su Tan call him, he immediately dropped his stance and ran over excitedly.

"Go fetch some water and fill the water vat," Su Tan said.

Qi had thought he was finally going to get some rest. "Alright..."

Once the water was drawn.

Su Tan poured a single drop of the medicinal liquid he had just refined into the vat. Instantly, a faint cyan glow rippled through the crystal-clear water, making it look like Jade Dew. A thin, cyan mist swirled above the vat. The entire container of water had become extraordinary, as if it were Yaochi Water drawn straight from an Immortal Palace.

"Take off your clothes and soak in it. Do this three times a day, half an hour each time. It will enhance your body and greatly benefit your practice of the Toad Skill," Su Tan instructed.

The medicinal liquid could have been consumed directly, but since Qi was so young, his body wouldn’t be able to handle such potent medicinal properties. Su Tan had no choice but to use this method to let him absorb it safely.

"Remember, you can only soak for half an hour! Do not stay in any longer!"

"I want some too!" Hearing Su Tan say it would benefit the practice of the Holy Body Map, the Little White Wolf’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly ran over.

"Why are you joining in the fun? This is just an ordinary medicinal liquid for enhancing the Physique. With your current Physique, do you think this would even do anything for you?" Su Tan grabbed the wolf, stopping him from causing trouble.

This guy was going crazy trying to cultivate a Sacred Body.

...

Three days passed in a flash.

Over these three days, Chen Xiaoqi still hadn’t mastered the first diagram of the Holy Body Map, but he hadn’t come up completely empty-handed either. From the looks of it, he had found some clues. As for the Little White Wolf... he couldn’t grasp it at all.

In the morning.

"Sir!" Yun Chu visited once again.

Today, she wasn’t alone. There was an unfamiliar aura with her—an aura Su Tan had never encountered before. It was likely a stranger.

Su Tan thought to himself, "Is this the Alchemist Yun Chu mentioned a couple of days ago who wanted to visit me?"

Yun Chu had brought the man up a few days prior.

"This is Master Alchemist Yun Buliu. He was the one who consistently refined Elixirs to stabilize Chu’Er’s condition before. It is truly presumptuous of us to visit so suddenly; please forgive us, sir," Yun Chu explained politely.

"I came specifically to see if Chu’Er’s condition had improved," Yun Buliu chimed in. "After arriving at Chen Family Village and hearing your great name, sir, I was filled with admiration and couldn’t hold back from visiting. Please forgive my intrusion."

"It’s fine." Su Tan waved his hand.

As long as it didn’t disturb him, it didn’t matter. Besides, Yun Chu had spoken to him in advance and had only brought the man over after receiving permission. Yun Buliu probably just wanted to see how he treated illnesses. Su Tan didn’t mind. Everyone had a sense of curiosity, after all.

"Hm... This is... the scent of Elixirs!" Upon entering the courtyard, Yun Buliu’s sharp nose caught a whiff of medicinal fragrance that made his mind ripple with excitement.

Sweeping his gaze around, Yun Buliu spotted the water vat nearby. Inside was the residual liquid that had turned slightly milky white from Chen Xiaoqi’s soaking.

"May I ask, sir, if I might examine the medicinal liquid in that vat?" As an Alchemist, and a total fanatic at that, Yun Buliu was intensely interested in anything related to medicine. Moreover, the scent of this medicine... smelt profoundly different. It was of extraordinary quality.

"Suit yourself!" It was just a vat of residual liquid... no, a vat of bathwater. Su Tan wasn’t so petty as to refuse a simple look.

He also wasn’t worried about others seeing it, because he assumed it was just the most ordinary medicinal liquid, not even reaching the level of a Grade One Elixir. Who would care about an unranked medicinal liquid like this? If he were afraid of it being seen, he would have put it inside the house long ago; why leave it in the courtyard?

Little did he know, Yun Buliu rushed over to the water vat, sniffed it, and took out a needle to extract a tiny bit of the medicinal residue. He gently tested it...

His expression changed drastically!

"S-Such pure medicinal liquid... Even though it’s already so diluted, in all my life, this Yun has never seen medicine of such perfect quality! Did you refine this, sir?" Yun Buliu’s eyes burned brightly as he stared at Su Tan in sheer excitement.

It seemed that Su Tan and the system’s standards of judgment were entirely different from the standards of this world. What was considered insignificant in Su Tan’s eyes was an absolute Top Grade treasure to Yun Buliu!

"Just some minor tricks," Su Tan replied. He genuinely felt it was nothing special.

However, to Yun Buliu’s ears, those words were mind-blowing. These were just minor tricks? Then... how terrifying would his major techniques be?!

Yun Buliu’s heart shook to the core.

"Please accept me as your disciple, sir!" THUD! Yun Buliu dropped to his knees immediately and prostrated himself on the ground.

Decisive.

So decisive that it caught Su Tan off guard.

That was it? He just kneeled? Just like that... he wanted to be taken in as a disciple? This was way too... perfunctory and sudden! Su Tan wasn’t even prepared for this.

He truly hadn’t anticipated this scene. Judging by his voice, Yun Buliu wasn’t young. In Su Tan’s estimation, that hoarse and weak voice belonged to someone in their sixties or seventies...

Su Tan was stunned!

Yun Chu also stared at Yun Buliu in shock. She wanted to become his disciple as well, but she had always been too embarrassed, afraid that Su Tan wouldn’t find her worthy. Yun Buliu’s actions... made her feel he was being rude and presumptuous, yet at the same time, it stirred her own desires. She stole a glance at Su Tan to see his reaction.