Chapter 17

"Master Lin, please."

Upon hearing these words, Anyan Nan fell silent. She could clearly hear the anger in Zhang Haitian's voice and feared that if she spoke up again, she would be asked to leave by the president of the Longcheng Chamber of Commerce.

"Alright, Anyan." Ling Xuefei first stopped Anyan Nan, genuinely worried that her straightforward friend might say something inappropriate. She then glanced at Qiqi and said softly, "Qiqi, would you like to go upstairs and play with Aunt Anyan?"

"Huh?" Qiqi was taken aback, lifting her little head to look at Ling Xuefei and asked in confusion, "Mommy, why do we have to go upstairs? Qiqi is having a good time here."

"In a while, it might get smelly downstairs. Qiqi, be a good girl and go upstairs with Aunt Anyan. Mommy will come up to find you later," Ling Xuefei said gently.

Qiqi looked at Ling Xuefei, then turned to look at Lin Fan. Seeing Lin Fan smile at her, she pouted and reluctantly agreed, "Okay. Although Qiqi really wants to stay with mommy and daddy, Qiqi is a good girl who listens."

Seeing her daughter finally convinced, Ling Xuefei looked at Anyan Nan, who nodded and led Qiqi upstairs. Lin Fan then took the herbs from Zhang Haitian and walked into the kitchen.

Zhang Haitian, Gu Meijuan, and Ling Xuefei all followed him in.

Zhang Haitian and Gu Meijuan were deeply concerned, so they followed to watch. Ling Xuefei, on the other hand, didn't believe in Lin Fan's so-called alchemy and followed to see for herself. She wasn't there to mock Lin Fan but to have a legitimate reason to take Qiqi away if he failed.

In the kitchen, Lin Fan placed the herbs on the stove, bent down to take out a stainless steel pot from the cabinet below, filled it with half a pot of water, and placed it on the gas stove, turning on the flame.

"Master Lin..." Zhang Haitian couldn't help but speak up.

"Brother Zhang, just call me Brother Lin," Lin Fan said casually while fiddling with the pot.

"Uh... Okay, Brother Lin, are you about to start the alchemy process?" Zhang Haitian asked. Not only was Zhang Haitian curious, but Gu Meijuan and Ling Xuefei also looked at Lin Fan's actions with strange expressions.

Although Zhang Haitian and the others were ordinary people who had never been exposed to alchemy, they had seen it in movies and TV shows. Those alchemists were always dazzling, with a divine and ethereal aura, and with a casual wave of their hand, the herbs would automatically enter the alchemy furnace... Now, Lin Fan was just using a large pot with half a pot of water. If someone didn't know the situation, they might think Lin Fan was about to start cooking.

This was too low-level...

Actually, there was no choice. First, Lin Fan had just advanced to the Qi Condensation stage, and his realm was unstable, with his true qi not yet condensed, making it insufficient to support the true qi required for alchemy. Second, he didn't have a proper alchemy furnace, and ordinary pots and pans couldn't withstand the burning of true qi, which would cause them to explode in seconds. Lastly, the detoxifying pill for Gu Meijuan was not difficult to make, and even without an alchemy furnace, it was easy to accomplish.

"Um-hum." Lin Fan nodded. The ice moon purple violet pollen toxin that Gu Meijuan had been poisoned with was not a product of the secular world and could not be detoxified with ordinary medicine. Only a pill made by a cultivator could be effective.

Seeing that Lin Fan didn't want to explain further, Zhang Haitian closed his mouth and watched obediently.

"Fire Lingzhi."

Soon, the water boiled, and Lin Fan stretched out his hand.

Hearing this, Zhang Haitian quickly opened the box containing the Fire Lingzhi, carefully took it out, and handed it to Lin Fan.

This Fire Lingzhi was about 20x10 centimeters in size, making it a large one among lingzhi mushrooms. With over a hundred years of age, this Fire Lingzhi was undoubtedly very expensive! Only someone with Zhang Haitian's status and wealth could obtain it within a day. For a regular businessman, it would be much harder.

Lin Fan lifted the pot lid with his left hand, took the Fire Lingzhi with his right hand, and with the flow of true qi, the Fire Lingzhi instantly turned into powder and fell into the pot.

As the Fire Lingzhi powder fell into the boiling water, the water's color visibly turned red, and a faint fragrance wafted out.

"Dragon Blood Tree."

Less than ten seconds later, Lin Fan took two dark red Dragon Blood Tree leaves from Zhang Haitian's hand, turned them into powder, and dropped them into the pot. The water's color changed from bright red to dark red.

Next, Lin Fan turned the Fire Pomegranate and Phoenix Tree into powder and dropped them into the pot.

"Boil!"

The water in the pot began to boil vigorously. The potion gradually became viscous, and the color turned purplish-red.

After three minutes, Lin Fan held two petals of the Red Sun Seed above the pot and gently rubbed them. The already dried petals instantly turned into small fragments and fell into the pot, and the potion in the pot immediately calmed down. Lin Fan then threw the remaining petal fragments into the trash.

"Amazing..." Zhang Haitian couldn't help but murmur at the scene.

Ling Xuefei's red lips parted slightly, and she stared in amazement. Could it be that Lin Fan really knew alchemy?

After all the herbs were in the pot, Lin Fan picked up the pot lid and covered the small pot.

Alchemy was a profound art. In the cultivation world, any alchemy master was a highly sought-after talent by major sects and forces, as the high-level pills they refined could greatly enhance cultivators! In his previous life, Lin Fan was a genuine alchemy master!

Pills were classified by grade. Generally, the higher the grade, the more significant the effect. The pill Lin Fan was refining now was of a low grade, without even a name, but it was more than enough to detoxify Gu Meijuan.

The gas stove burned for a full twenty minutes. Lin Fan stood in front of it with his arms crossed, eyes closed, while Zhang Haitian, Gu Meijuan, and Ling Xuefei watched the small pot on the stove, the steam almost lifting the pot lid.

"Swish!"

Lin Fan suddenly opened his eyes and, to the shock of the three, placed his hands on the outside of the small pot.

"Be careful!"

Ling Xuefei instinctively cried out, then immediately realized she shouldn't care about that guy's well-being!

Zhang Haitian and Gu Meijuan also looked at Lin Fan with concern, but Lin Fan seemed completely unaffected, his hands tightly pressed against the scorching pot without any change in expression.

This pot had been on the fire for over twenty minutes, with a temperature well over 100 degrees Celsius, yet Lin Fan was touching it without any signs of discomfort!

He must be tough-skinned.

Ling Xuefei thought to herself.

Zhang Haitian, however, was different. As the president of the Longcheng Chamber of Commerce, he had a wide range of contacts and knew some secrets that ordinary people couldn't access. The so-called martial arts experts that people thought only existed in literature or movies were actually real. He had personally seen a bodyguard of a corporate CEO break large rocks with his hands and kick through steel bars. Even his own bodyguards could punch through sandbags. Lin Fan's ability to touch the pot without getting burned must mean he had practiced external martial arts like Iron Palm. It was impressive that someone so young had such cultivation.

Thinking of this, Zhang Haitian looked at Lin Fan with more admiration.

Lin Fan didn't know what the three were thinking. He was fully focused on the alchemy, his hands tightly pressed against the pot, eyes closed, and true qi continuously flowing from his dantian through his palms into the pot, refining the herbs inside.

Although the pot lid blocked the view, Lin Fan could feel the changes happening inside. The herbs were slowly turning into a potion, which became more concentrated over time, forming a small vortex that converged in the center.

They say a man is most handsome when he's focused. At this moment, Lin Fan, who was fully concentrated on alchemy, looked a bit handsome to Ling Xuefei. This made her cheeks turn slightly red, and she secretly spat, looking around to make sure no one had noticed her unusual behavior, before feeling slightly relieved.

Half an hour later.

Lin Fan suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze shining.

The pill was complete!