Chapter 3

After working as a server at the Alchemist Guild for a few years, not only had Lu Yao met more upper-class people, but her discernment had also been honed to be extremely sharp. She immediately gave Li Yunxiao a high evaluation, but was still taken aback by the help he needed next.

"Do you know where Yang Di is?" Li Yunxiao's gaze still wandered around the hall as he asked casually.

"Yang, Yang Di, the Great One?!"

Lu Yao almost bit her tongue. She stared at the young man for a moment, feeling it was absurd, but Li Yunxiao's calm demeanor made her believe he was sincere.

This left her somewhat at a loss, and she cautiously asked, "You mean the former President Yang Di?"

Li Yunxiao's brows furrowed slightly, and he said with disappointment, "The former President? So he's not here anymore?"

Lu Yao's eyes immediately filled with reverence. She clasped her hands in front of her chest, her cheeks slightly flushed, and looked full of admiration. "Twenty years ago, Yang Di, the Great One, broke through to the Fourth Rank Lord Alchemist and was transferred to the headquarters of the Alchemist Guild."

"Twenty years ago?"

Li Yunxiao quickly calculated. It was five years before his incident, so he must have been gone for a long time. Without Yang Di's help, it would be more difficult to unblock the dried and hidden meridians in his body.

His current body was fifteen years old, and he had already missed the best time for cultivation. He couldn't afford any more delays. Otherwise, even if he caught up later, it would be impossible to restore the peak strength of Gu Feiyang. Not to mention advancing further.

In his previous life, Gu Feiyang was revered as a genius in both the "Martial Path" and the "Alchemical Path" on the Heavenly Martial Continent. He was not only a Ninth Rank Imperial Alchemist and one of the seven elders of the Alchemist Guild, but his martial achievements also stood at the peak of the Ninth Heaven Realm, earning him the title of "Pole Star" from the Holy Domain, and ranking him among the top ten experts in the Heavenly Martial World.

"I have a list of herbs. Can you help me find them? I need ten of each item."

Li Yunxiao quickly fetched paper and pen and wrote down a list of materials. Since Yang Di was not here, he had to find a way to heal his internal injuries on his own. The path of martial cultivation could not be delayed for a moment!

Lu Yao took the list and read it, then suddenly laughed. "Young Master, did you write the wrong things? I've been at the Alchemist Guild for three or four years, and I've never heard of any of the items on your list."

Lu Yao's words immediately made Li Yunxiao worried. He needed to prepare a potion to cleanse his meridians and use it to flush them. Considering that this was just a small branch, many materials might not be available, so he had used substitutes for some rare items. But the result might still be disappointing.

"Lu Yao, what are you doing?"

A man in a black robe walked over. His robe was typical of an alchemist, with a crescent-shaped badge on his shoulder, marked with a blood-red streak, bright and eye-catching.

Everyone who saw the man in the black robe stopped to bow, showing respect. The man in the black robe, however, remained calm and walked with composure.

A closer look revealed that most people's gazes were focused on the badge on his shoulder, a look of admiration and envy. As for the man in the black robe himself, no one was particularly interested.

Li Yunxiao squinted and smiled slightly. This was the badge of a First Rank Scholar Alchemist, a symbol of an alchemist's status. With this badge, he could receive high treatment wherever he went on the Heavenly Martial Continent.

The ranking of alchemists was also similar to that of martial artists. There were nine ranks of alchemists, corresponding to the nine ranks of martial artists. Jia Rong was a First Rank Scholar Alchemist.

In his previous life, Gu Feiyang was a peerless strongman who had reached the Imperial level in both the martial and alchemical paths!

Lu Yao turned around, her gaze falling on the red alchemist badge, and she immediately became solemn. She respectfully said, "Great Jia Rong, this gentleman has listed a material list and asked me to help him collect the materials."

Jia Rong took the list and glanced at it, his brows furrowing slightly. He crumpled it up and threw it behind him, saying to Lu Yao, "What nonsense. Lord Liang needs you."

Lu Yao was startled to hear that Liang Wenyu was looking for her. She didn't dare to delay and hurriedly said, "I'll go right away!"

She ran off without a word, and suddenly felt a strange sense of relief. Even Great Jia Rong didn't recognize the materials on the list, so this young man must have been bluffing. It was laughable that she had spent so much time with him.

Li Yunxiao's face darkened. The formula he had written was invaluable in his previous life, and any single one could be sold for a fortune. It was infuriating that a mere First Rank Alchemist had casually thrown it away like waste paper. He said coldly, "Your name is Jia Rong?"

Jia Rong's body paused slightly, and a look of anger flashed across his face. A mere child dared to call him by his name! Even the high-ranking officials in the capital would address him as "Great One."

"Have you been promoted to a Scholar Alchemist for less than seven days?" Li Yunxiao lightly crossed his left arm over his chest and touched his nose with his right hand.

"Hmph, whose brat are you?" Jia Rong said condescendingly. "I was promoted to a Scholar Alchemist five days ago, as everyone knows."

Li Yunxiao said meaningfully, "Are you really a Scholar Alchemist?"

Jia Rong's body trembled slightly, and a look of shock flashed in his eyes. He said in a deep voice, "What do you mean by that?"

Li Yunxiao glanced at his right hand exposed from the black robe, a smile appearing in his eyes, and began to explain.

"Your fingers are dark gray and starting to peel, clearly from recent contact with Yin Wind Stone. You also have a faint scent of Blood Flame Orchid, which you used to counteract the side effects of the Yin Wind Stone. Although the Yin Wind Stone has strong fusion properties, its side effects cannot be ignored, and ordinary alchemists dare not use it."

"From the extent of damage to your fingers and the presence of Blood Flame Orchid, it must have happened within the last seven days. You also have a faint, fishy smell, which is characteristic of Tiger Sulfur Stone. So you have been in contact with a large amount of Tiger Sulfur Stone recently. Clearly, your alchemist examination involved forging a mystic weapon primarily made of Tiger Sulfur Stone."

Jia Rong was completely stunned, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. He suddenly burst into anger and shouted, "Nonsense!" before turning and storming off.

Li Yunxiao smiled lightly and sighed, "If the Yin Wind Stone were so easy to use, everyone would be an alchemist. And the side effects of Blood Flame Orchid are no less severe than those of the Yin Wind Stone. You must be feeling very uncomfortable in your Meichong, Tianzhu, and Dashu acupoints every noon, right?"

Jia Rong's body twitched as if electrocuted, his feet feeling as if they were filled with tons of cement, unable to move.

Li Yunxiao shook his head, looking pained, "What a pity for a talented alchemist. To save your life, you'll have to cut off your right hand and destroy your dantian."

Jia Rong's body shook violently, "You... don't scare me!"

Li Yunxiao shrugged helplessly and turned to leave, "Then forget it. I was going to teach you a way to resolve it."

"You have a way to resolve it?!"

Jia Rong jumped up as if electrocuted, rushing over and grabbing Li Yunxiao, shouting, "Tell me quickly!"

For the past few days, he had been suffering from the pain Li Yunxiao described. To advance to the rank of alchemist, he had used the forbidden Yin Wind Stone. The side effects began that night, with his right hand gradually losing sensation, terrifying him. He had read many books but found no solution. Only an ancient book mentioned using Blood Flame Orchid to neutralize the toxicity of the Yin Wind Stone.

However, after using the Blood Flame Orchid, the toxicity of the Yin Wind Stone was only slightly alleviated, and his right hand continued to lose vitality. The toxicity of the Blood Flame Orchid also began to take effect, causing his Meichong, Tianzhu, and Dashu acupoints to feel as if they were burning with intense pain every noon. If this continued, his dantian would be destroyed, and his cultivation would be ruined!

Losing his dantian would only ruin his martial cultivation, which he could somewhat accept. But losing his right hand would also ruin his alchemical path, which he could not accept. Especially after advancing to the rank of Scholar Alchemist, the respect and admiration from others made him even more attached to his current status as an alchemist!

"Please tell me the way to resolve it, I beg you!" Jia Rong grabbed Li Yunxiao's shoulders with his left hand, trembling and almost crying.

At this time, the first-floor hall was still bustling with people, who looked at the two of them in surprise. Although they couldn't hear what they were saying from a distance, Jia Rong's exaggerated actions and tearful face drew many curious glances, and they all speculated about the identity of the young man.

Li Yunxiao spread his hands and said in surprise, "Eh, where is my material list? Did you see it?"

Jia Rong was taken aback and immediately turned to see the crumpled paper he had thrown away. He understood Li Yunxiao's meaning and said hurriedly, "Where is it? Please wait, I'll pick it up for you!"

Ignoring the surprised looks from the crowd, he ran over and bent down to pick up the paper. Various surprised comments immediately filled his ears, making his face turn red with shame, wishing he could find a hole to hide in.

"I'll get the resolution first, and I'll definitely take revenge for this humiliation!"

Jia Rong gritted his teeth in hatred, his eyes flashing with resentment, but he still maintained a calm expression, carefully unfolding the list and handing it back to Li Yunxiao.

Li Yunxiao casually pressed the list to his face, blew his nose a few times, then crumpled it up and threw it away. "I need ten of each item on the list. When you have them all, come find me at Jialan Academy. My name is Li Yunxiao."

"You!..." Jia Rong looked at the crumpled list on the ground, covered in snot, and felt his stomach churn with anger, his body trembling.

Li Yunxiao's gaze narrowed, and he stared at him coldly, "Face isn't given by others; it's lost by oneself."