Lin Xuan had no idea what happened after he left the arena.
At that moment, he was heading straight for the Alchemy Hall.
It didn’t take long to arrive.
As one of the key halls of the inner sect—and indeed the entire sect—the Alchemy Hall was responsible not only for refining pills but also for selling them.
It occupied a vast area, far beyond what the outer sect halls could compare to.
Its decorations were also far more lavish.
A constant stream of people flowed in and out, further highlighting the hall’s bustling activity.
After sweeping his gaze around, Lin Xuan strode inside.
What greeted him was a spacious hall, with several wide passageways leading to different rooms.
Some were alchemy chambers, others sold pills, or spiritual herbs and cauldrons—each clearly marked.
After a brief stroll, Lin Xuan picked up on the surrounding commotion and entered one of the passageways.
Before long, he arrived at a room spanning over a thousand square meters.
The room was extremely noisy.
Circles of inner sect disciples crowded around, buzzing with chatter and excitement.
At the center stood a tall young man in black robes, with a large cauldron before him, refining some kind of pill.
“Zhang Chen really lives up to his reputation as the twenty-third on the Qingyang Ranking and the sect’s top alchemy prodigy. Even at the Condensation Whirl realm, he’s already a Spirit-rank alchemist, refining a top-grade fifth-rank Spirit Gathering Pill with such ease!”
“Exactly. The Spirit Gathering Pill is the most valuable and hardest among top-grade fifth-rank pills. Zhang Chen’s only twenty-two, yet he handles it so effortlessly. There’s no young alchemist in Flowing Cloud Sect who can match him.”
“With Senior Brother Zhang’s alchemy talent, breaking through to the Spirit Opening realm and becoming a true disciple shouldn’t be hard. The question is whether he can become an Earth-rank alchemy master.”
“That’s very possible!”
“...”
Standing among the crowd, Lin Xuan listened to the discussions, a flicker of interest in his eyes.
To earn such high praise, this Zhang Chen was no ordinary person.
He wondered if Zhang Chen possessed the alchemy talent he sought.
With that thought, Lin Xuan’s gaze settled on Zhang Chen.
Swish!
“Name: Zhang Chen.”
“Cultivation: Condensation Whirl Peak.”
“Talents: Supreme-grade cultivation talent, Supreme-grade alchemy talent, High-grade strength talent, Peak-grade speed talent, High-grade sword talent, Peak-grade crimson fire attribute talent, Peak-grade green wood attribute talent, High-grade gale attribute talent, Mid-grade thick earth attribute talent.”
“Martial Arts: Golden Flame Art (Sixth-rank, Lower-grade, Minor Mastery), Flame Manipulation Art (Sixth-rank, Lower-grade, Minor Mastery), Fire Cloud Sword Technique (Fifth-rank, Upper-grade, Grand Mastery), Crimson Flame Green Palm (Fifth-rank, Upper-grade, Grand Mastery), Explosive Flame Fission Fist (Fifth-rank, Upper-grade, Grand Mastery)...”
“Intent: One and a half tenths Fire Intent, One tenth Wood Intent, Half tenth Sword Intent.”
“Carried Treasures: Green Flame Cauldron (Sixth-rank, Lower-grade Spirit Artifact).”
Looking at Zhang Chen’s attribute panel, Lin Xuan’s eyes flickered, and his heart stirred.
“He really does have alchemy talent. And with so many related to artifact forging, formations, and the like, there must be relevant talents too!”
Lin Xuan murmured inwardly, shaken.
Then, a surge of joy washed over him.
He had come here precisely for this alchemy talent—there was no way he would let it slip.
With a thought—
“Ding, consumed 30,000 energy points. Copy successful. Obtained [Supreme-grade Alchemy Talent].”
“Ding, consumed 30,000 energy points. Copy successful. Obtained [Flame Manipulation Art (Sixth-rank, Lower-grade, Minor Mastery)].”
“Ding, consumed 10,000 energy points. Copy successful. Obtained [One tenth Wood Intent].”
“...”
In an instant, he copied all the treasures from Zhang Chen that caught his interest.
At that moment, the room was filled with many disciples, their auras mingling.
And since his own attribute panel was already among the top in the sect, adding a few more things wouldn’t cause any major shift in his aura.
So Lin Xuan chose to use them immediately.
A faint warmth flowed through him.
“Ding, congratulations, host, on advancing to Supreme-grade Alchemy Talent!”
“Ding, congratulations, host, on advancing to One and a half tenths Fire Intent!”
“...”
In just a few breaths, the fusion and absorption were complete.
Lin Xuan looked at Zhang Chen again—no, at the cauldron before Zhang Chen.
His eyes brightened noticeably.
He had never dabbled in alchemy before, not even touched the basics.
But now, watching Zhang Chen’s refining process, he felt an uncanny familiarity.
A sense of proficiency welled up inside him.
As if he could refine it himself.
“This is Supreme-grade Alchemy Talent? So powerful!”
Lin Xuan felt a thrill of excitement.
Only now did he grasp the strength of alchemy talent.
Earlier, watching Zhang Chen refine pills, he had been completely clueless and found it boring.
But now, it was entirely different—he seemed to perceive many of its mysteries, finding it endlessly enlightening. He could even learn Zhang Chen’s techniques, experience, and other nuances from it.
That said, the feeling that he could refine it himself was certainly false.
It was just the blind overconfidence from his alchemy talent suddenly skyrocketing to Supreme-grade after the fusion.
But if he copied a few more alchemy talents, fused and absorbed them, and improved further, it might not be impossible.
Suddenly, Lin Xuan couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.
Since he now had alchemy talent, the path of alchemy was no longer a challenge for him.
Likewise, mastering the alchemy path meant he would never lack cultivation resources again.
Lin Xuan was naturally delighted.
Just then, Zhang Chen’s refining process was nearing its end.
A burst of yellow flame shot up from the cauldron, flinging out a round, glossy pill that landed on a jade plate on a nearby table with a crisp sound.
Zhang Chen smiled, placed the pill into a jade bottle, and held it up, announcing loudly:
“Top-grade fifth-rank pill, Spirit Gathering Pill, quality: one cloud pattern.
Freshly made, going to the highest bidder!”
The disciples in the room immediately erupted into commotion.
“Senior Brother Zhang truly is the sect’s top alchemy prodigy—he even managed to produce cloud patterns on a Spirit Gathering Pill!”
“The Spirit Gathering Pill can condense qi and gather spirit energy, greatly aiding cultivation in the late Condensation Whirl realm. With cloud patterns, its effects are even better. I’ll take it—eight thousand contribution points!”
“Who are you kidding? Eight thousand contribution points for a one-cloud-pattern Spirit Gathering Pill? I’ll bid ten thousand!”
“I’ll bid fifteen thousand!”
“...”
The disciples eagerly shouted their bids.
Standing among the crowd, Lin Xuan’s eyes flickered.
From this, he could clearly see the immense profitability of the alchemy profession.
Just then, a sharp shout rang out, accompanied by an aura far surpassing the average Condensation Whirl Peak cultivator.
“Fifteen thousand! Who dares to compete with me, Wu Mengna?”
The shout carried a powerful presence, instantly silencing the room.
Everyone turned to look, and saw a woman in red robes, slightly plump and even a bit stout, walking in.
At the sight of the red-robed woman, the disciples exchanged uneasy glances, dared not bid further, and even stepped back.
Clearly, they held some fear of her.
“Wu Mengna, it’s you again!”
Zhang Chen’s face showed anger, but he was helpless.