Chapter 1711 - Refining the Detoxification Pill
Ye Linghan didn't dare to waste even a moment. She waved her hand into the distance, and two men quickly appeared before her.
The two men cupped their fists and respectfully stepped aside. "Young Lady, what orders do you have?"
"Prepare the herbs according to this prescription. Prepare three sets as soon as possible." Ye Linghan ordered, choosing to prepare one extra set for safety.
Liu Wuxie had asked for two sets because he was worried the refinement might fail. After all, he had only just arrived in the celestial realm and still needed time to adapt.
After reincarnating, he could retain his knowledge, but fully grasping it again was another matter entirely. For example, even if someone personally watched a craftsman build a cabinet and understood every step, they still might not be able to recreate it perfectly by hand. Even if they managed to produce one, it might turn out crude and fall far short of a true master's work.
Liu Wuxie was in precisely that state now. Although his memories remained after his rebirth, he still needed to rebuild his hands-on experience. Moreover, he had sealed away many of his memories to prevent his identity from being exposed.
Ye Linghan returned to the alchemy chamber and found Liu Wuxie activating the earthly flame to burn away the dirt inside the cauldron. He didn't clean it with water but with fire, since high temperatures could incinerate every impurity inside. Fire and water couldn't coexist, and a cauldron feared water the most.
Ye Linghan didn't disturb Liu Wuxie and quietly stood to the side. For some reason, his every movement looked natural and flawless, as though he had repeated those motions countless times. Yet such mastery didn't match his age at all. On top of that, Liu Wuxie carried a mysterious aura that made him seem unfathomable.
Liu Wuxie pretended not to notice Ye Linghan. He had seen everything when she had ordered the guards to fetch the herbs. She was probably worried that he would seize the chance to flee if she left to retrieve them herself. That was only human nature, and Liu Wuxie naturally understood it.
Roughly fifteen minutes later, the flames had thoroughly cleansed the cauldron. Right then, the two guards returned with three packs of herbs. The City Lord Mansion supplied some from its storage, while guards purchased the rest outside. Since the herbs Liu Wuxie required were extremely rare, the guards had clearly gone to great lengths to gather them.
"The herbs are ready," Ye Linghan said as she took the herbs from the guards and handed them to Liu Wuxie.
Liu Wuxie opened the packs and sniffed the herbs briefly. After confirming there were no problems, he finally began preparing for the refinement.
Cultivators across the celestial realm held alchemists in extremely high regard. Although Ye Linghan had reached the Profound Immortal Realm, her alchemy skills were terrible. This naturally had to do with the ice-attribute energy she cultivated, which countered fire and made it difficult for her to refine high-quality pills. Thus, this alchemy chamber was rarely used, which explained the thick layer of dust.
Demonic flames flew out from Liu Wuxie and wrapped around the entire cauldron.
"Do I need to excuse myself?" Ye Linghan asked. Many alchemy grandmasters avoided outsiders while refining pills to prevent their techniques from being leaked. Some servants didn't even have the qualifications to come in contact with them unless the alchemist had formally accepted them as disciples.
Liu Wuxie had only taught Bi Gongyu alchemy techniques after accepting him as a disciple; otherwise, he wouldn't have passed them on.
"No need," Liu Wuxie said. He was confident no one could learn his alchemy techniques merely by watching.
Ye Linghan couldn't help feeling surprised, and she realized she understood Liu Wuxie even less now. The young man before her seemed to be around her age, but his words, experience, and bearing didn't resemble those of a young man at all.
When the refinement officially began, Liu Wuxie formed seals with both hands. The demonic flame churned continuously, occasionally transforming into a black beast and a black phoenix.
The cauldron began to rumble as Liu Wuxie tossed the herbs inside. He circled the cauldron once and began forming seals, sending them into the cauldron one after another.
With the support of those seals, the cauldron gradually stabilized, and the restlessness it gave off slowly faded. Ye Linghan was startled. Although her alchemy skills were poor, she had a keen eye for judging alchemists, having grown up as the daughter of the city lord of Fourfold City.
She had interacted with many formidable alchemists over the years. She could tell those alchemists were inferior to Liu Wuxie. Seeing Liu Wuxie possess such superb alchemy techniques at his age made Ye Linghan wonder if he was a disciple of some powerhouse.
However, Ye Linghan quickly rejected that thought. If Liu Wuxie truly had a powerful master, how could he only be in the Heavenly Immortal Realm? In the celestial realm, the Heavenly Immortal Realm was at the very bottom of the pyramid.
Liu Wuxie's clothing also didn't resemble that of a disciple of a powerhouse.
Meanwhile, everyone waited anxiously in the main hall. Nearly an hour had passed, yet no news had come from the alchemy chamber.
After about fifteen minutes, a faint medicinal fragrance swept out from the cauldron and filled the entire alchemy chamber.
Only then did Ye Linghan finally calm down. Earlier, she was worried that Liu Wuxie's refinement would fail.
As the pill rotated inside the cauldron, Ye Linghan became impatient and stepped forward to take a closer look.
The flame extinguished, and the pill formed in one seamless motion. The moment the pill took shape, Liu Wuxie collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.
"It's done!" Liu Wuxie said. With no strength left, he pointed at the cauldron, gesturing for Ye Linghan to retrieve the pill herself.
When Ye Linghan stepped forward and saw three pills inside the cauldron, she fell into deep thought.
"Second-grade immortal pills!"
Immortal pills were divided into different grades, with each grade categorized into low, intermediate, and high quality.
Logically speaking, a heavenly immortal could only refine a first-grade immortal pill at best. Yet Liu Wuxie, as an eighth-level Heavenly Immortal, had actually refined a second-grade immortal pill. No wonder Ye Linghan looked so shocked. She quickly stored the three ink-green pills.
"Can you still walk?" Ye Linghan asked. She naturally had to bring Liu Wuxie back to the main hall when her father took the pill, just in case anything went wrong.
"No!" Liu Wuxie said. He wasn't lying. The refinement had exhausted all the immortal energy inside the desolate world, and he could now feel faint soreness spreading through his entire body. This was exactly why he hadn't wanted to treat the city lord in the first place, since there were no benefits for him.
"Pardon me," Ye Linghan said, walking up to Liu Wuxie and grabbing his shoulder. Then she tucked him under her arm and rushed toward the main hall.
Unable to move, Liu Wuxie could only endure being carried by Ye Linghan in such a humiliating manner, frustration evident on his face. Still, he had to admit that the faint fragrance emanating from her was rather pleasant.
Facing Ye Linghan directly, he could clearly see her bosom swaying before him, especially as she ran. A wave of heat rose from his lower abdomen, forcing him to shut his eyes.
Ye Linghan knew nothing of this. At that moment, she only cared about saving her father. A bead of sweat happened to slide down her forehead and land on Liu Wuxie's face, forcing him to open his eyes. When he looked up, he saw Ye Linghan’s face clearly.
Her slightly disheveled hair made her look like a fairy from a painting. She also possessed an excellent figure, and Liu Wuxie could clearly feel her soft curves tucked beneath his arm. He could tell that she didn't have a single bit of excess fat on her body.
Fine beads of sweat covered her nose, looking as though they would fall at any moment. However, she had no time to wipe them away as she carried Liu Wuxie and raced forward.
In less than ten breaths, the two finally reached the main hall. Ye Linghan ignored the strange gazes from everyone around them and set Liu Wuxie down.
"How many pills?" Ye Linghan asked.
"One will be enough," Liu Wuxie said. He sat on the ground and rubbed his sore shoulders, since Ye Linghan had held him too tightly earlier.
Liu Wuxie began circulating the Desolate Devouring Art, drawing the surrounding immortal energy into the desolate world. After all, he was completely penniless now and didn't possess a single immortal stone. That was why he could only rely on such a primitive method to recover his strength.
With the nourishment of immortal energy, Liu Wuxie regained a trace of strength and managed to stand up with difficulty.
"Young Lady Ye, you should think this through. This brat's success could have merely been a coincidence, and we don't know if the pill will work. Why don't you let me examine it first?" Divine Physician Wei asked, stepping forward to inspect the pill's authenticity.
Ye Linghan glanced at Divine Physician Wei without a trace of emotion in her eyes, as if silently telling him to stay as far away from her as possible. Even a fool could tell that the city lord would've already died long ago without Liu Wuxie.
Liu Wuxie had been the one who had dragged the city lord back from the gates of death. If he wanted to harm Ye Guhai, he wouldn't have gone through the trouble of saving him.
Ye Linghan took out one pill and fed it to her father. Then she fetched a bowl of water to help him swallow it.
After that, everyone could only wait and leave the city lord's fate to the heavens. Liu Wuxie had already done everything he could. The Nine-Tailed Heptabane Serpent's venom was far from ordinary, and even if the city lord died, Liu Wuxie had already done his best.
As time passed, the city lord's breathing gradually grew heavier, and a trace of rosiness appeared on his face. Then, he spat out a large mouthful of blood that hissed when it landed on the ground. From that alone, everyone could imagine how terrifying the Nine-Tailed Heptabane Serpent's venom was.
Seeing the city lord spit blood, Liu Wuxie finally revealed a trace of relief.
After about fifteen minutes, the city lord slowly regained consciousness. The moment he woke up, his eyes flashed with rage.
"Father, you've finally awakened!" Ye Linghan cried as she rushed over to her father, but someone stopped her urgently.
A large amount of poisonous miasma still lingered around the city lord. Combined with the poison in the bucket, even a single drop could kill an ordinary person. Even a divine immortal couldn't withstand it, let alone a profound immortal like Ye Linghan.
"I'm not dead?!" the city lord asked the crowd. The anger in his eyes had faded.
Right then, a guest elder stepped forward and explained everything that had happened. He didn't exaggerate or embellish anything. As for the conflict between Divine Physician Wei and Liu Wuxie, he merely brushed over it briefly.
"Young friend, thank you for saving my life. I will remember this grace," Ye Guhai said, barely managing to rise to his feet. Although the treatment had forced the poison from his body, he was still weak, but a few hours of rest would allow him to recover.
"You're welcome," Liu Wuxie replied, cupping his hands together. He knew that his task was complete now that Ye Guhai had recovered.
As for Chen An and the other guards, the pressure weighing on them finally lifted, and they collapsed to the ground. Over the past two hours, they had brushed past death countless times.
"Men, take our honored guests to rest," Ye Linghan ordered, planning to thank them properly once her father recovered.
"No need. We still have other matters to handle, so we'll take our leave," Liu Wuxie said. Chen An wanted to stay, but Liu Wuxie stopped him. They had to leave the City Lord Mansion as quickly as possible.
After all, how could Liu Wuxie fail to notice that the Nine-Tailed Heptabane Serpent had been part of someone else's scheme? He had no intention of being dragged into a conflict that had nothing to do with him.
