Chapter 42

"Come, let's go inside and talk." Grandfather Xiao pulled Xiao Yun into a living room.

Inside the living room, grandfather and grandson sat together, the atmosphere quite festive.

"Tell me, how did you manage to reach the Xiantian realm?" Grandfather Xiao asked, his face full of joy as he stared at the young man beside him.

"Ever since I recovered my talent, my cultivation has progressed rapidly. I smoothly entered the Xiantian realm in the Ziyun Mountains," Xiao Yun said with a smile, feeling quite happy to see his grandfather's delighted expression.

"Good, it's good that you've reached the Xiantian realm." Grandfather Xiao repeatedly said, but a trace of worry still lingered in his brows.

"Grandfather, what's wrong?" Xiao Yun asked, sensing that his grandfather seemed to have something on his mind.

"I heard that Fang Hao has also reached the Xiantian realm long ago!" Grandfather Xiao's tone was somewhat solemn.

"Fang Hao has reached the Xiantian realm?" Xiao Yun's lips curled into a faint smile. "Don't worry, Grandfather. Even if Fang Hao has reached the Xiantian realm, I will still defeat him. The Fang family won't be arrogant for long."

"Oh." Grandfather Xiao was slightly taken aback by Xiao Yun's confident expression and said, "He has the Ice Martial Soul!"

"It's fine, it's just a Martial Soul, right?" Xiao Yun smiled faintly. After all, he now had a Martial Soul too!

"It's good that you have confidence." Grandfather Xiao said, "But don't let it be known that you've reached the Xiantian realm. I'm afraid the Fang family might do something to harm you. Recently, they've been getting close to the Liu family, and it seems they're planning something."

"Are they going to join forces against our Xiao family?" Xiao Yun's eyes narrowed.

"Most likely." Grandfather Xiao's mood was somewhat heavy. "Unfortunately, I'm old and can hardly make any breakthroughs. Otherwise, even if they joined forces, what could they do? Whoever dares to offend our Xiao family will be eliminated. Sigh, if only your father were here!"

At the end of his words, the old man's eyes were filled with regret.

"Make a breakthrough?" Xiao Yun's eyes suddenly lit up. He thought to himself, "If I can refine a pill, can it help Grandfather break through?"

The thought excited him greatly.

"Don't worry too much. Even if the two families join forces, they might not be able to destroy our Xiao family. You just need to focus on your cultivation," Grandfather Xiao stood up and said, "Besides, in this Ziyun County City, the Fang family can't rule everything."

"As long as you defeat Fang Hao in the clan competition, everything will be resolved."

If Xiao Yun were stronger than Fang Hao, the other families in Ziyun County City would naturally be cautious.

After Grandfather Xiao left, Xiao Yun began to plan the refinement of the pills.

"Condensing Essence Pill, this pill can help a True Essence realm cultivator reach the Essence Pill realm." On the Purple Flame Alchemy Path, various pill formulas and their effects were recorded. When Xiao Yun saw the effect of the Condensing Essence Pill, his blood seemed to boil.

A first-grade Condensing Essence Pill has a ten percent chance of helping someone break through.

A second-grade Condensing Essence Pill has a twenty percent chance of helping someone break through.

Xiao Yun continued reading, gaining a better understanding of the quality of the pills.

"It seems there are many intricacies to these pills."

Xiao Yun muttered, "I wonder what grade of pill I can refine?"

A Xiantian Pill can help someone reach the Xiantian realm!

A Pure Essence Pill can help someone reach the True Essence realm!

A Condensing Essence Pill can help someone reach the Essence Pill realm!

...

Looking at the effects of these pills, Xiao Yun felt his blood boil. If he became an alchemist, the strength of the Xiao family would surely rise. At that time, why would they fear the Fang family?

"The most urgent task now is to gather the ingredients for refining the pills." Xiao Yun pondered for a moment and then began to prepare for the refinement.

With that thought, he left the room and found his second uncle, Xiao Hai.

"Yun'er, I heard you've reached the Xiantian realm. Let me see." Xiao Hai, in his prime, had a somewhat heroic demeanor. He was delighted to see Xiao Yun and immediately focused his attention on his nephew.

"I've just entered the Xiantian realm." Xiao Yun scratched his head and smiled.

"Good, good. As long as you've recovered your talent, what does it matter if your Martial Soul can't assist in battle? You can still become a great powerhouse. Cultivation speed is the key. Once your realm is high enough, you can crush those with Martial Souls. Keep working hard," Xiao Hai encouraged.

"I will." Seeing his second uncle's enthusiasm, Xiao Yun felt a warm feeling in his heart.

Over the years, his second uncle had taken good care of him.

Back then, when Fang Hao and others were compared, it was his second uncle who called out the meditating grandfather!

If not for that, his eldest uncle might have already handed him over.

Thinking of this, Xiao Yun felt even closer to his second uncle.

"Why did you come to see me today?" Xiao Hai asked.

"Hehe, Second Uncle, Yun'er needs your help," Xiao Yun scratched his head and smiled.

"Help?" Xiao Hai was taken aback and then said seriously, "Tell me, as long as I can do it, I'll try my best to help you."

"I want you to help me gather some medicinal ingredients." Xiao Yun said, "Here are the types and quantities of the ingredients." He then handed over a piece of parchment listing the ingredients.

"Medicinal ingredients?" Xiao Hai was surprised. When he took the list, his brows furrowed. "These ingredients are quite precious, and many are rare even in Ziyun County City. Yun'er, are you sure you want to gather these ingredients?"

"Um-hum." Xiao Yun nodded.

"I'll try my best to help you gather them, but you have to tell me why you need these ingredients," Xiao Hai said after a moment of thought. These ingredients were too precious, and he couldn't make the decision alone.

"I plan to use them to learn how to refine pills." Xiao Yun smiled.

"What! Refine pills?" Xiao Hai was stunned, as if he had heard something unbelievable. He stared at the young man, "Are you sure you want to learn how to refine pills, not to enhance your cultivation?"

"Um-hum." Xiao Yun nodded.

"Refining pills requires the assistance of Earth Pulse Fire, and our Xiao family doesn't have such a fire!" Xiao Hai was skeptical. In the entire Ziyun County City, only one person controlled the Earth Pulse Fire, the only alchemist in the city, Yuan Xu.

"Second Uncle, don't worry, I have a way." Xiao Yun smiled.

Hearing this, Xiao Hai became even more skeptical.

Seeing his second uncle's skeptical look, Xiao Yun smiled faintly and extended his palm, where a purple flame flickered.

The purple flame, like a midnight sprite, danced in the young man's palm, beautiful and captivating. However, the temperature it emitted told Xiao Hai that it was indeed a flame.

"How is this possible? How can you control a flame?" Xiao Hai was astonished. "Did you fuse with a strange fire? But that's not right. You're only at the Xiantian realm and don't have a high-level cultivation technique, so you can't subdue a strange fire. Yun'er, what's going on?"

Apart from those who are born with a Fire Martial Soul, only a few people who are naturally close to fire energy can control flames.

Otherwise, it's extremely difficult for anyone to control flames.

Only some powerful cultivators can subdue strange fires with their supreme cultivation techniques and turn them into their own energy.

Some can also fuse with Fire Martial Souls and make them their own.

But such people are one in ten thousand. Xiao Yun was only sixteen, how could he control a flame?

"I accidentally obtained a strange fire," Xiao Yun smiled, not explaining in detail how he got the Purple Flame Martial Soul.

"You obtained a strange fire, that's great! Ha, this way, you really have a chance to become an alchemist. In time, our Xiao family will surely be revitalized. Good, I'll go gather the ingredients for you right away. Even if our family goes bankrupt, I'll make sure you learn alchemy," Xiao Hai was excited.

After all, controlling a strange fire to refine pills has a much higher success rate than using Earth Pulse Fire, and the quality of the pills is far superior. This means Xiao Yun's future prospects are even better than Master Yuan in Ziyun County City!

"Thank you, Second Uncle." Xiao Yun smiled.

Xiao Hai waved his hand and suddenly had a thought. "Are these ingredients part of a pill formula?"

Xiao Yun nodded with a smile.

"No wonder these ingredients can enhance cultivation." Xiao Hai muttered, looking at the young man with a strange expression. It seemed this boy had many secrets. How could an ordinary person know a pill formula?

However, Xiao Hai quickly shook his head and didn't ask more.

"Second Uncle, can you help me keep this a secret for now?" Xiao Yun said.

"Why?" Xiao Hai asked, "If Father knew you could control a flame, he would be overjoyed."

"I want to surprise Grandfather." Xiao Yun shrugged.

"Alright." Xiao Hai nodded. "You can count on me to keep this secret. I'll go gather the ingredients right away."

With that, Xiao Hai enthusiastically went to gather the ingredients.

If this young man could really learn alchemy, would they still need to fear the Fang family?

An alchemist who controls a strange fire is more valuable than someone with a Martial Soul!

Seeing his second uncle go to gather the ingredients, Xiao Yun left with peace of mind.

The next day, Xiao Hai brought some of the ingredients.

These were the simplest ingredients, suitable for refining medicinal powders.

To learn how to refine pills, one must start with medicinal powders.

Refining medicinal powders is relatively inexpensive in terms of ingredients.

Medicinal powders are also easier to refine.

Therefore, many alchemists start by practicing with medicinal powders.

Only through thousands of practices, gaining a good understanding of the properties of flames and ingredients, can one progress further.

In a secret room of Xiao Yun's, a purple treasure tripod was placed on a table.

Xiao Yun was currently controlling the purple flame to refine a medicinal powder.

The purple flame inside the tripod rose, almost as if it were an extension of his will.

He could even control the subtle fluctuations of the flame.

This flame was not just any strange fire.

It was part of Xiao Yun's Martial Soul, connected to his mind. When refining pills, he had almost perfect control over the temperature and the flame, and he quickly became proficient. Now, he just needed to understand the properties of the ingredients.

The ingredients inside the tripod turned into a paste, gradually solidifying under the flame and becoming a powder.

A faint fragrance wafted from the powder.

"Finally, I succeeded." Smelling the fragrance, a smile appeared on Xiao Yun's face.

He then carefully stored the medicinal powder in a jade box.

This was a blood-stopping powder called Blood-Condensing Powder, which was highly effective.