Chapter 46: Summon the Sect Master

Zhou Shuo's actions instantly attracted the attention of many people around them.

Although some ordinary disciples of the Pill Peak were filled with curiosity, they did not dare to step forward.

However, while they did not dare, others certainly did. Bai Qitai, the First Elder of the Pill Peak, and Hongyu, the elder in charge of the herb garden, walked over with curious expressions on their faces.

The two of them had witnessed what kind of attitude Zhou Shuo usually had when teaching alchemy to his disciples. This was the first time he was ever seen teaching a disciple hand-in-hand like this.

As the two of them approached and were about to speak, Zhou Shuo stopped them with a mere look.

Upon seeing this, they exchanged a knowing smile, thinking to themselves, "Judging by our Peak Master's posture, he must care immensely about this newly accepted disciple!"

However, the moment they caught a clear look at Wan Yi's alchemy technique, the expressions on their faces instantly turned bizarre!

Being elders of the Pill Peak, the two of them naturally knew how to refine pills. In fact, Bai Qitai's proficiency in alchemy was quite high, having already reached the realm of a sixth-grade alchemist.

At this moment, watching his own Peak Master earnestly observe his disciple fooling around, Bai Qitai could not help but twitch the corner of his eye.

Meanwhile, Zhou Shuo completely ignored the two of them, focusing with absolute concentration on Wan Yi's alchemy process. At the critical moment, he even projected his divine sense outward to inspect the internal condition of the cauldron.

Immediately after, a look of sudden realization spread across his face.

Just at that moment, Wan Yi slapped the lid of the cauldron and shouted lightly, "Open!"

The next second, ten Qi-Restoring Pills, shrouded in a purple medicinal aura, were gathered into his palm.

Zhou Shuo hurriedly stepped forward to snatch one, inspected it, smelled it, and then tossed it straight into his mouth to swallow.

After experiencing the medicinal effect, he let out a hearty laugh, "I'm starting to understand!"

With that, he took out some spiritual herbs used for refining second-grade Blood-Clotting Pills, shoved them into Wan Yi's hands, and said, "Good disciple, try refining a Blood-Clotting Pill this time and let me see."

Bai Qitai and Hongyu were utterly stunned by the scene before them!

Having practiced alchemy for so many years, it was the first time either of them had ever witnessed such a spectacle.

Especially when those ten pills carrying medicinal aura emerged, it completely shattered their worldview!

Seeing the shock on their faces, Zhou Tong giggled and stepped forward to explain.

Listening to her explanation, Bai Qitai and Hongyu once again cast incredulous looks at Wan Yi.

At this moment, Zhou Shuo was smiling from ear to ear as he coaxed Wan Yi, "Good disciple, refine one more cauldron for your master to see, alright?"

Wan Yi replied with a speechless expression, "Master, would you please let your old disciple rest for a moment? Even someone about to be hanged deserves a breather!"

While speaking, he tossed a newly refined Qi-Restoring Pill straight into his mouth.

No sooner had he swallowed the pill than he noticed two burning gazes fixed upon him.

To be precise, they were fixed on the Qi-Restoring Pills in his hand.

Finding it amusing, Wan Yi stretched out his hand, opened his palm, and said, "Elder Bai, Elder Hongyu, would the two of you like to try one and taste the flavor?"

Hearing this, Bai Qitai stood on no ceremony. He immediately reached out, pinched one between his fingers, examined it closely from all angles, and finally popped the pill into his mouth with an expression of reluctance.

Just kidding, this was a pill imbued with medicinal aura! Although it was only a first-grade Qi-Restoring Pill, the medicinal aura on it could not be faked. This was something every single alchemist dreamed of.

Elder Hongyu followed suit and accepted one as well. However, she could not bear to actually consume the pill; instead, she carefully stored it away.

Only at that moment did the two elders realize that this wasn't Zhou Shuo teaching Wan Yi how to refine pills at all—it was clearly Wan Yi teaching Zhou Shuo!

On the other side, unable to withstand Zhou Shuo's relentless badgering, Wan Yi helplessly began refining a Blood-Clotting Pill. The result was predictable: it once again emerged with a swirling medicinal aura.

Seeing this, Zhou Shuo was so anxious he scratched his ears and cheeks. He once again produced a bundle of spiritual herbs, shoved them into Wan Yi's grasp, and said, "Just a little more, just a tiny bit more, and your master will have mastered this alchemy technique of yours. Good disciple, try refining a third-grade pill this time."

With a disgruntled expression, Wan Yi accepted the spiritual herbs and threw them all at once into the cauldron. As he refined the pill, he mentally ranted in a frenzy: "Old man, if you want to learn, just say so directly! Why didn't you just ask? It would have been so much more straightforward if I taught you hand-in-hand, instead of secretly learning behind my back. But since you're stealing my technique, at least try to act natural about it—did you have to make it so obvious that anyone could tell?! Damn it, if it weren't for the fact that you're the little girl's father and the Peak Master of the Pill Peak, who the hell would be willing to play along with you like this!"

He was utterly speechless now. If he had known beforehand that this would cause such a massive commotion, he would rather have bitten his tongue off than spoken a single extra word.

The whole affair began when Zhou Tong was teaching him alchemy, and he suddenly noticed that the situation inside the cauldron was somewhat abnormal.

Possessing the *Five Elements Qi Sea Technique*, he was exceptionally sensitive to the power of the Five Elements. While Zhou Tong was refining pills, the power of the Five Elements inside the cauldron was in complete disarray.

Spiritual herbs belonged to the wood element and inherently carried the attributes of earth and water, while alchemy required fire. Consequently, one element was missing from the Five Elements.

Inside a cauldron lacking metal-element spiritual Qi, the remaining four elements of spiritual Qi could only be forcibly balanced using divine sense.

Inevitably, this approach would lead to the appearance of flawed pills. Furthermore, a slight lapse in operation causing an imbalance of spiritual Qi would lead to a cauldron explosion.

Having identified the problem, he naturally pointed it out.

Who would have thought that upon hearing this, Zhou Tong simply laughed and said, "Spiritual herbs belong to the wood element, and metal restrains wood! Therefore, since ancient times, alchemists have tried to minimize the presence of metal-element spiritual Qi in the cauldron as much as possible."

Listening to her explanation, Wan Yi strongly disagreed. Although the Five Elements restrained one another, they could also generate one another; as long as the balance was properly mastered, it would work.

However, if an entire element was missing from the Five Elements, relying solely on external force for forcible suppression to achieve balance would inevitably produce drawbacks!

To prove his point, he demonstrated it on the spot.

In order to avoid exposing his cultivation of the *Five Elements Qi Sea Technique*, Wan Yi retrieved a piece of metal-element spirit stone and used its internal spiritual Qi to refine pills.

And that was how the current situation came to be.

Looking at the third-grade pills that had once again emerged from the cauldron, Wan Yi thought to himself: "My dear brothers, I truly do not want to become famous! Please spare me! Just watch the show and scatter already—wouldn't it be better to go back and mind your own business?!"

Unfortunately, he had severely underestimated the situation.

Zhou Shuo and the two Pill Peak elders stared with burning gazes at the newly finished pills. Especially that trace of purple mist, which made all three of them eager to try it themselves!

Bai Qitai was the first one who couldn't hold back; he whipped out his own pill cauldron and declared, "I'll give it a try!"

Seeing this, Zhou Shuo and Elder Hongyu hurriedly pulled out their respective pill cauldrons along with pieces of metal-element spirit stones.

Before long, a rich fragrance of medicinal herbs wafted outward.

Shortly after, the three of them successively opened their cauldron lids and inspected the pills they had refined. Bai Qitai was the first to speak:

"None of mine produced medicinal aura, but there wasn't a single flawed pill either. The success rate is one hundred percent, and the medicinal efficacy has been pushed to the absolute extreme. I believe I am only a single step away from producing medicinal aura."

Elder Hongyu nodded and said, "My situation is much the same as yours."

Having spoken, the two of them simultaneously turned their gazes toward Zhou Shuo.

They saw that their Peak Master was currently suppressing the intense excitement in his heart with great difficulty as he tremblingly opened his palm. Among the ten pills resting in his hand, a full five of them actually carried medicinal aura!

Upon seeing this, the two elders were wild with joy. Just as they were about to step forward to offer their congratulations, Zhou Shuo's expression suddenly shifted, and he solemnly said, "This matter is of the utmost importance; I must report it to the Sect Master. Until I return, the two of you must protect Wan Yi well and not allow a single soul to approach within a hundred paces of this place!"

With that, he soared into the air and vanished into the distant horizon with a sharp whistle.

Seeing this, Wan Yi was utterly dumbfounded, thinking to himself: "What the hell is this situation? All I wanted was to keep a low profile, so why on earth are you dragging the Sect Master into this?!"

To be continued...