The Zhan family manor was filled with joy, as if some happy event had occurred.
Qin Xin followed behind Zhan Qingqi, and before they even reached the council hall, they heard many people talking.
"grandfather!"
As soon as Zhan Qingqi stepped into the council hall, she saw the kind-looking old man sitting in the main seat. After a gasp, she quickly ran over.
"Oh, my dear granddaughter, I've missed you so much."
The old man pulled Zhan Qingqi into his arms and spoke to her with a touch of affection.
"Qingqi, you're not a child anymore. Be mindful of your behavior."
Seeing her sister's state, Zhan Qingyue whispered something to her.
Upon hearing this, Zhan Qingqi realized her lapse in composure, quickly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and cautiously asked, "Grandpa, have you recovered?"
"The sixth-grade high-level pill, Fuling Qingdan, that Qingyue brought back only temporarily suppressed the injuries."
The old man shook his head as he spoke, then his gaze lingered on Qin Xin standing to the side.
Feeling the old man's gaze fall upon him, Qin Xin looked back. The old man was wearing a blue robe, and there seemed to be a burn mark on his right hand.
Unexpectedly, the old man's brows furrowed slightly, and Qin Xin felt as if he were bound by a force composed of Yuan energy, rendering him unable to move for a moment. The powerful aura that followed made it difficult for him to breathe.
Zhan Sheng, the patriarch of the Zhan clan, is a fifth-grade advanced alchemist and a Void Core Realm cultivator among the three realms of Core Formation.
After just a brief test, the Yuan Power Chains vanished instantly.
"You're going to be my future grandson-in-law, aren't you? That's great!"
Zhan Sheng frowned slightly, then quickly looked up, sizing Qin Xin up and down with satisfaction.
"My name is Qin Xin. As for marrying into the Zhan family, it is merely a temporary measure for the two young ladies."
Qin Xin bowed slightly and quickly explained that he didn't want to get himself into trouble by trying to help.
Upon hearing this, all the elders in the council hall nodded slightly. Currently, there are no capable alchemists among the young members of the Zhan clan, and the royal family, as well as the Jiang and Yan clans, who are willing to provide assistance to the Zhan clan, all have their own agendas and cannot be trusted. Therefore, they can only place their hopes on Qin Xin.
"Alas! If I hadn't forced myself to break through to the sixth-grade alchemist level, my Zhan clan wouldn't be facing this crisis."
Zhan Sheng sighed softly, seemingly impulsively causing trouble for his two granddaughters. Although becoming Qin Xin's fiancée was a temporary measure, the women's reputations would inevitably be affected.
"Chief, there's no need for that. Those jackals have always been eyeing my Zhan clan with hostility, and it's only a matter of time before they attack."
"Both ladies did this for the greater good."
"Moreover, Qin Xin is a classmate that Miss Qingqi met at the Eastern Wilderness Academy, or at least someone she knows well."
The elder of the Zhan clan, who was standing nearby, spoke up to comfort them.
"Eastern Wilderness Academy? Qin Xin, are you confident you can get into the top four?" Zhan Sheng felt a little excited when he heard about the Eastern Wilderness Academy. After all, it was the number one academy in the Eastern Wilderness. Anyone who could get into it must be someone extraordinary. So he stared at Qin Xin and asked.
Of course, Zhan Sheng also learned from Zhan Qingqi that Qin Xin had won first place in the test. However, Qin Xin was only a third-grade alchemist, and his main competitors were fourth-grade alchemists, so he was inevitably a little worried.
"I'm about 60% sure," Qin Xin replied, his answer being quite conservative.
When he was at the Pill Tower in Dading City, he also noticed the strength of other alchemists. Now he is also able to refine fourth-grade pills, but inevitably some people will deliberately hide their talents and wait to shine during the Pill Refining Conference.
"Sixty percent?" A glint flashed in Zhan Sheng's eyes. He was somewhat surprised by the answer. He then said, "If you can help my Zhan clan enter the top four and retain our position as elders of the Pill Tower in Dading City, you will naturally receive what Qingyue promised."
"If you fail, the same will be true. However, whether you can take it or not depends on your own ability. Since I became the clan leader, I have been researching this thing and I still cannot control it. I was even accidentally injured by it."
After Zhan Sheng finished speaking, there was some fear in his eyes, and his right hand trembled slightly. The scars on it seemed to be left by the Yang Fire.
The elders were puzzled upon hearing this. Although they knew the clan possessed treasures, they didn't understand what the clan leader was referring to. The matter of "Yang Fire" was known only to successive clan leaders within the Zhan clan, a secret kept from being leaked.
Therefore, the elders simply felt that the clan leader had made a deal with Qin Xin, and said nothing.
"Thank you, Clan Chief Zhan. I will do my best," Qin Xin replied, bowing as Zhan Sheng had already made his promise.
"Qingyue, Qingqi, the Alchemy Competition is in a few days. I need to make some adjustments. In the next few days, please help Qin Xin finalize the pills to be refined for the competition."
After Zhan Sheng finished speaking, he dismissed everyone. Now that the Zhan clan had begun to burn their bridges, Zhan Sheng, as the clan leader, had no choice but to prepare a way out.
Once the Zhan Clan loses its elder seat in the Pill Tower of Dading City, it means that the Zhan Clan has lost the protection of the Pill Tower, and those families that have been eyeing the Zhan Clan will inevitably take action directly.
After leaving the council hall, Zhan Qingyue and Zhan Qingqi led Qin Xin to the Zhan clan's alchemy room.
The alchemy rooms of the Zhan clan are set up with arrays to prevent outsiders from entering.
Zhan Qingyue took out a jade tablet from her bosom and placed it on the door outside the alchemy room. A burst of spiritual energy flashed, and it transformed into a door of light.
As the two women stepped into the alchemy room, they found it to be a hidden world, filled with neatly arranged spiritual herbs, each labeled with text.
Inside the alchemy room, various spiritual herbs continuously emitted their fragrance, and the beast crystals of some extremely powerful demonic beasts also emitted violent fluctuations of spiritual energy.
"This is the formula for the Five Elements Condensing True Essence Pill, a fourth-grade primary pill."
With a flick of her wrist, Zhan Qingyue imprinted a page of pill formula radiating multicolored light onto the paper, then tossed it to Qin Xin behind her.
"This is the formula for the Yellow Dragon Profound Truth Pill, a mid-grade fourth-rank pill."
With another light grasp, Zhan Qingyue imprinted a page of pill formula radiating yellow light onto Qin Xin behind her amidst ripples of energy. She then tossed it to him and continued, "Third-grade pills are simply not enough for the Alchemy Competition. I'm afraid my Zhan clan won't be able to gather enough ingredients for some fourth-grade pills. Besides, the Alchemy Competition lasts for four days, so I've selected two fourth-grade pills from my Zhan clan for you. We have a considerable stock of ingredients for both. You can choose one and try refining it in the next few days. If you can complete it during the Alchemy Competition, getting into the top four shouldn't be too difficult."
Qin Xin glanced briefly at the information in the two pill formulas. The Five Elements Condensing True Pill was only the most basic of the fourth-grade pills, which was very helpful for the cultivation of Qi Sea Realm martial artists. The Yellow Dragon Profound True Pill, although it was a mid-grade fourth-grade pill, could reach a high grade if it could be perfectly refined, and could even enter the fifth grade. The Yellow Dragon Profound Qi in the pill could also help martial artists cleanse their bones and marrow. Even martial artists who had reached the Yuanfu Realm would still benefit from taking it.
However, the refining process of the Yellow Dragon Profound True Pill is several times more complicated than that of the Five Elements Condensing True Pill. Even a fifth-grade alchemist is not entirely confident in completing the refining process. In order to ensure the success rate, most martial artists simply condense the pill, which will contain Yellow Dragon Profound Qi, but only in a very thin amount. However, the effect will still be there.
Qin Xin originally intended to return the formula for the Five Elements Condensing True Pill to Zhan Qingyue, but she did not accept it. Although she was only a second-grade alchemist, she knew the difference between the Yellow Dragon Profound True Pill and the Five Elements Condensing True Pill.
Afterwards, Zhan Qingyue led Qin Xin to the alchemy room to retrieve a considerable amount of medicinal materials for refining the two types of pills.
Of course, upon seeing the beast crystal of a level-five demon beast, the Azure Scaled Water Dragon, Qin Xin shamelessly begged for it in order to obtain the Fire-Repelling Pill. He then carefully put it into his Qiankun Bag. At this point, the materials for refining the Fire-Repelling Pill were almost complete, and he only needed to wait until the refining was finished so that he could collect the Yang Fire.
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