Chapter 93: Meeting Gift

Xu Xiaoshou obediently shut his mouth.

Are people these days all so irritable?

Sang Lao glared fiercely at him, picked up the overturned dan bottle, and along with it, packaged the freshly refined dan pills into bottles before pushing them over all at once.

"Meeting gift."

Xu Xiaoshou widened his eyes in surprise. "For me?"

"Who else but you?" Sang Lao rolled his eyes. "Exactly thirty-six Yuan Ting Dan, the number of Tian Gang — a good omen."

"Yuan Ting Dan?"

"You don't recognize it?"

Sang Lao saw his dazed expression and explained, "You know about Lian Ling Dan, right? Every major realm has dan pills that accelerate cultivation; these are basically the most precious ones in that realm. Lian Ling Dan is for disciples in the ten realms of the Lian Ling period."

"Oh, and by the way, dan pills are divided into two grades per major level; Lian Ling Dan is at the Houtian level, ranking ninth grade."

Xu Xiaoshou pointed to the bottles and jars on the ground. "So this..."

"Xian Tian Dan, seventh grade."

Xu Xiaoshou's jaw almost dropped.

Sang Lao chuckled. "Don't be shy; this old man is just..."

Before he could finish, he saw the young man bow, the necklace appear, and the dan pills on the ground vanish instantly. "Thank you!"

Sang Lao was stunned. This kid...

Indeed...

He had naively thought the boy would be embarrassed...

What a joke!

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't polite at all; he had just been shocked earlier. The legendary seventh-grade dan pill, made in baskets like this — was it free? He felt like he was in a dream. Probably, all the Lian Ling Dan in his ring weren't worth as much as one Yuan Ting Dan!

Seventh-grade dan pill...

The "Feng Yun Zheng Ba" champion reward was an eighth-grade Xian Tian Dan, and only one...

Sang Lao didn't mind; for him, as long as there were materials, it was just a few incense sticks' worth of time.

"These should last you a while, but remember not to use them until you're at Xian Tian, or you might not handle it..."

"Well, but you have a Xian Tian physical body, so whatever — do as you see fit."

He waved his hand. "If it's not enough, come get more."

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked again.

Not enough? Come get more?

So generous!

I like it!

Sang Lao saw his underwhelmed look and sighed. "Don't be surprised; alchemists might lack other things, but not dan pills. In the future, you'll be the same; get used to it early."

Xu Xiaoshou nodded woodenly.

Honestly, at first, he hadn't taken alchemy seriously, but Sang Lao's words made him rethink his resolve. This was a path to wealth! Earning passive values was important, but material enjoyment couldn't be neglected! Moreover, the two didn't conflict.

Imagine, one day in the future, he could casually push out dozens of bottles of dan pills; how much admiration would that bring?

Tsk tsk!

Xu Xiaoshou was almost drooling.

But he quickly thought of a key issue. "My talent isn't very good; can I learn alchemy?"

Sang Lao said indifferently, "This thing basically doesn't need learning; with your aptitude, you'll get it after some practice."

A guy who comprehended Xian Tian Jian Yi, and his talent wasn't good?

Sang Lao chuckled. Hypocritical!

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

He didn't know why the other was so confident in him, but Sang Lao was experienced; if he believed in him so much, he must have seen some shining points that even he hadn't discovered.

Yes!

Definitely!

Xu Xiaoshou clenched his fist. "Let's start; I'm eager!"

Sang Lao looked at his high spirits and nodded in satisfaction, then said, "Before we begin, there are a few other things to mention."

"Our 'Jin Zhao Yi Mai' alchemy technique is different from other alchemists; you should know that. Because of the domineering nature of Jin Zhao Tian Yan, our alchemy is also very rough, basically no techniques; the only thing to note is to finely control the flame."

Xu Xiaoshou indicated he understood.

He thought of how Sang Lao had refined pills earlier, throwing in herbs in big bundles, even fruits by the handful; if someone didn't know better, they'd think he was making soup... If it were another alchemist, the furnace would probably explode. But Sang Lao's flame control was very precise; in an instant, he could separate all the materials and refine them simultaneously. This greatly reduced the time to extract the essence, and the quantity of successful pills was extremely impressive!

Sang Lao walked to the window with his hands behind his back and said earnestly, "Alchemy is just a side job; it can bring you a lot of resources, but don't get obsessed with it. Cultivation in Lian Ling is the main path you need to take in the future; this must never change."

He turned back, his dark circles staring straight at Xu Xiaoshou. "If your strength doesn't keep up, the stronger your alchemy, the more miserable you'll live; remember that!"

Xu Xiaoshou couldn't help but think of the first lesson when he became a disciple. "Another cage?"

"Yes."

Sang Lao nodded. "If that happens, unless you stay in a remote corner, you'll inevitably become a tool for some major forces, completely losing your freedom."

"Understood!"

Xu Xiaoshou felt a chill in his heart; what exactly had this old man experienced to have such a cruel and realistic view of the world...

"So, are you staying in a remote corner now?" he asked.

Sang Lao was choked and glared at him unhappily, but didn't retort. "I travel around, trying not to get caught."

Xu Xiaoshou was just asking casually, but he didn't expect that major forces were really after this straw-hatted old man; he panicked a bit.

"Then, if I take you as my master, isn't that very dangerous?"

Sang Lao: "..."

"Disdained, passive value +1."

"You're at this level now; you don't even qualify as a pawn; what's there to fear!" Sang Lao found that talking to this kid really required a strong heart.

"Mocked, passive value +1."

Xu Xiaoshou patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good, that's good..."

Sang Lao touched the large bathtub and said, "You can use this for now. As I said, the 'Jin Zhao Yi Mai' alchemy technique is extremely powerful; other alchemists might not be able to fight, but we're different. Alchemy is secondary; the main purpose is through this process, you can perfectly master Jin Zhao Tian Yan; when you encounter a strong enemy in the future, just refine them like dan pills."

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned and could only say after a long time, "Awesome."

Sang Lao threw a ring to him. "When you extract the essence later, put all your mind on controlling the flame; don't worry about anything else. The next goal is to use up all the materials in this ring and successfully extract a drop of essence. There's a jade slip inside with basic knowledge about alchemy; remember to read it first."

"Okay, this old man is leaving; you take your time to refine."

Xu Xiaoshou wanted to say something, but Sang Lao had already disappeared; he looked at the large bathtub speechlessly.

Free-range teaching?

I just watched you refine once, and you think I can do it?

Am I really that talented?

He picked up the ring and looked inside; instantly, he slumped to the ground. Mountains of herbs inside, green enough to make one dizzy; this could probably fill the entire first floor of Ling Cang Ge?

He suddenly understood why Sang Lao was using the free-range method. After refining all this in the ring, he'd probably master everything!

Xu Xiaoshou lacked everything except perseverance; he gritted his teeth and looked at the large bathtub.

"Let's get to work!"