Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  This time, he was not as casual as before as he threw the black lily into the cauldron. Unlike the herbs needed for the Devouring Paste of the Red Orchid, the herbs needed for the Lion's Strength pill were slightly more rare and they required a specific amount of heat.

  Fortunately, the formula explained what temperature each of the herbs needed to be refined at. Thanks to the special cauldron, Hui Yue had perfect control over his flames which helped him greatly.

  Unlike last time, one could tell Hui Yue was fully focused. His forehead was drenched in sweat, but even still he dared not blink as he feared that he would mess up the refinement.

  Concocting the paste earlier was something completely different than concocting this pill. First of all, this pill needed five different herbs. One was the black lily, another white jasmine, and then he needed a divine flower. Though only one that was more than one year old. He also needed pink alyssum and finally red poppies.

  Refining the lily, the jasmine, the alyssum, and the poppy did not prove too difficult; however, the moment Hui Yue placed the divine flower in his cauldron, he instantly felt how it was no longer as easy as it had been before.

  The divine flower was a flower with sentience! It was a flower which went against the heavens themselves in its attempt to reach immortality. It was an existence that strove to fight its fate, to take human form, and walk the earth while seeking immortality.

  All flowers refined the energy of the heavens and the earth and could be said to cultivate, yet only divine flowers were the true cultivators of the plant world. Unfortunately, they needed to reach the Saint rank before they could change forms, and by doing so, they would leave behind their constant fear of being harvested.

  This sentience left behind in every single divine flower was also the reason that Hui Yue grit his teeth and attacking the flower with all he could manage.

  The already refined pastes were protected by the green flame while his red flame soared to the sky trying to break the barriers around the divine flower.

  Little by little, Hui Yue could feel that the flower put up less resistance and finally he managed to break through the shield around it, starting to refine the flower itself.

  No one amongst the many apprentice alchemists in the room knew about Hui Yue's struggles, nor had they paid any attention to his flame when it soared towards the ceiling, but the woman in charge of the exam had noticed. She nodded her head in approval seeing his actions.

  Hui Yue who had now fully refined all the materials heaved a heavy sigh. He quickly wiped his forehead with his sleeve and then once more focused on the pastes that were floating within the green flame. Picking up a vial from the table a pearl appeared in his hand. This was a common pearl, something many fishermen would find every day. However, it was a necessary item when lower tiered alchemists created pills. As they grew stronger, they would no longer need pearls to support the merging of all the materials they had refined. Only top tier achemists would use super rare pearls in the creation of those few heaven-defying pills.

  Placing the pearl within the cauldron, everything slowly started merging into the pearl. At the same time, the pearl seemed to be lit by a fire. The toughness within it vanished, and the pastes and energies had merged into the soft shell of the pearl.

  Finally, Hui Yue took a breath as he reached into the cauldron and killed the flames. He then picked up the medicinal pill he had created.

  It had taken him almost an hour and a half to create this pill, and as he had it in his hands, he was filled with excitement. The pill was perfect!

  "He must have a natural talent for this," The woman mumbled to herself, her eyes filled with shock as she could smell the dense medicinal properties of the pill from where she was.

  Chapter 410 - Perfect Pills

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  Chapter 410: Perfect Pills

  The woman who oversaw the examination was shocked to her core. She could tell that Hui Yue had never before made a medicinal pill, however, here he was, an hour and a half into the examination, and the pill he had created had such a strong aroma that it had to be perfect. The medicinal scent and the clarity of the color were what one would use to determine just how much of the medicinal herbs had survived the refinement process.

  The aroma that came from Hui Yue's pill caused some of the apprentices close by Hui Yue to become greatly shocked causing them to lose focus and fail at their refinement process. These new alchemists knew that they did not have the time to redo the pill and a sour look appeared on their faces. They were likely to have succeeded had it not been for that ridiculously strong aroma they smelled.

  By Hui Yue's side, Zhong Hei was able to concentrate fully on his herbs and their refinement. He too had reached a crucial point concocting his pill; the stage where one had to add in the small pearl.

  Hui Yue observed the rest of the alchemists to see how they were faring. Some had given up, while others were fully concentrating on their cauldrons still trying to create the pill in question. Only one other apprentice alchemist had finished his pill, and the aroma that arrived from his jade vial was not any less than the one coming from Hui Yue's. The white-haired young man was shocked to see that he was not the only one who had created a perfect pill.

  "I knew he would refine a perfect one," The woman mumbled to herself as she nodded her head. He was a known figure within the alchemy world of the Taiyang kingdom. His teacher was the absolute strongest alchemist in the entire country, and he had taught his student well. He would not allow him to take the exam before he had over a ninety percent success rate on the Lion Strength pill.

  Hui Yue was unaware of any of this, and thus deep within his heart, he felt reverence towards this other expert. He did not have the cauldron that assisted Hui Yue, nor did he have a cultivation base as strong as Hui Yue which helped him better control his flame.

  Having considered these two things, Hui Yue understood just how hard it was to get a perfect pill, and he acknowledged that the other man was in a realm far above him in alchemy.

  While Hui Yue was deep in thought, another strong aroma originated from the seat next to Hui Yue and he was shocked once more as he looked to the side. He saw that Zhong Hei had managed to create a perfect pill just as well as he had.

  Having created this pill, Hui Yue could feel the energy inside his body surge once more, and he smiled contended. He was more than satisfied with the increase in power he had gotten while concocting this pill.

  "The exam is over!" The woman called out and once more everyone present stood up. They formed a line and looked at each other. Of the group, only three had managed to create a pill, and the three who had succeeded had all created perfect pills.

  The woman was shocked. As the exam begun she had expected one person to succeed, the young man with the best alchemist as his teacher. Hui Yue and Zhong Hei were two dark horses, and she had not expected would be able to create such stunning results.

  "It seems our Alchemist Guild has gained three three-star Alchemists in one go." The woman said with a smile on her face.

  "All of you who did not succeed, you can come again next month and sign up for the second exam once again. The ones who have succeeded follow me." The woman said and left the room. Hui Yue, Zhong Hei, and the third young man followed behind her as they had been told to. All of them were filled with pride as they moved through the front hall of the Alchemist Guild.

  Moving through it, they were taken into another room where there were two people waiting for their arrival.

  "Here you will be gifted a robe which shows that you are part of the Alchemist Guild. While wearing it, you will be given discounts around town and will obviously enjoy some special privileges." She explained as the three of them accepted the robes.

  "You also need to get your badge. This badge is important. If you wish to get your discount here in the Alchemist Guild, then you need to show your badge. The higher rank you are, the cheaper the materials will be."

  Having explained this, the
two items had been gifted to Hui Yue, Zhong Hei, and the young man. However, none of them were eager to wear the cloak. For now, stored them within their storage treasures.

  "I will take my leave; you are welcome to experience the many things that alchemists use the alchemist guild for; Buy materials, take on quests that have been posted, or sell things you have made to the guild. Anytime you are in need of anything feel free to come to the guild, and we will do all we can to assist you." She said before she left the room.

  Hui Yue was not interested in selling his pastes because he had decided to gift them to the Ma and Rong families, and his first medicinal pill he decided to keep for now.

  Buying herbs at the Alchemist Guild was also useless for him as he could get them cheaper from the Ma family's Black Market Auction House. Therefore, he stored his badge in the Universe Box and with decisive steps started to leave the room.

  "Hui Yue!" Someone called out to him. As he turned around to look, Hui Yue found that it was Zhong Hei. "I am genuine in my gratitude. I truly wish to do something for you to show my gratitude. If you need anything don't hesitate to find me, I will be living at the Black Lion for now. You can come find me there at any time." The young man said before he turned to leave.

  Hearing his words Hui Yue's pupils shrunk and a shiver ran through his spine. This young man Zhong Hei knew far too much about Hui Yue; he even knew that he frequented the Black Lion. The more he learned about Zhong Hei, the more worried he became.

  'Don't worry about him too much. Just don't contact him again and we should not have to deal with him. I doubt he'll come looking for you at our mansion.' Lan Feng said with a smile on his face. 'Let’s rush home. It is about time you learn all the formulas you got from the Ma family and the ones in the Universe Box.'

  Hui Yue agreed and started rushing home. While moving, he thought about the alchemist's contest. He was interested in joining, but he was not certain if he should. Drawing too much attention to himself was not what he wanted to do right now. What he wanted was to train in peace and quiet. He wished to become a Saint as soon as possible and creating items and pills turned out to be a great way to train. He already had a great many attacks at his disposal, so that was not what he needed to focus on now. He had his beast form, the Nine Tribulation Thunderstorm, the Sword of the Icy Tempest, not to mention Earth Tremor. Learning more abilities would not assist him currently, what he needed was raw power; he needed his internal energies to flow stronger and stronger.

  Returning home, Hui Yue found that Huli was not waiting for him in his room but was standing in the hallway, walking back and forth as if she was incredibly impatient.

  "Huli, I'm back," He called out, and the cute fox instantly stopped and jumped into his arms. Happiness was clear over her adorable face. "Something good happen?" He asked, and the fox nodded her head. Unfortunately, it was impossible to tell what had happened as the fox could not communicate.

  "Come with me; I need to train some more," He said, and the smile on his face froze slightly as he was reminded once more that Sha Yun had not returned.

  Sitting down on the bed, he closed his eyes and found a bag filled with storage stones. Placing all these storage stones within the Universe Box, Hui Yue entered the box with his consciousness. He was instantly greeted by the white-robed spirit.

  The spirit was usually haughty, arrogant, and hard to deal with however every time Hui Yue arrived with a large stack of storage stones, the spirit would look at them greedily. If he offered the storage stones, then the spirit was much easier to work with.

  Hui Yue asking the spirit to find something for him was not simple, however, asking to find something and then giving storage stones for trade was the best option. The spirit was always willing to exert a bit of effort to find the items Hui Yue was in need of.

  "What can I do for you today?" The spirit asked curiously as he saw the large stack of storage stones in front of Hui Yue. It was clear that he wanted them as soon as possible.

  "I am in need of all the formulas for an alchemist which the old man left behind," Hui Yue said but the words just caused the spirit to snort.

  "You want all the formulas, but you only brought that many stones? What we can do is one formula for one stone. I won't go any cheaper." The spirit said stubbornly, and Hui Yue was shocked when he heard that there were so many formulas within the vast space of the Universe Box.

  "That is fine with me." Hui Yue hurriedly said with a nod. Although he could not get all the formulas, he would be able to get quite a few. That would make it easier for him to increase the number of pills he could create. The more challenging the pill, the better it was for his internal energy cultivation. Therefore he was willing to study and perfect his alchemy.

  The spirit worked quickly and soon a large portion of scrolls appeared in front of Hui Yue. His eyes glistened with excitement as he bowed deeply and left the Universe Box, returning to his body.

  Without wasting any time, Hui Yue looked through one formula after another; the more he read, the more excited he became.

  'I won’t be joining the alchemist's contest." Hui Yue finally sighed. 'Although I could win by relying on these formulas from another world, it would cause too much commotion if I do it." Hui Yue sighed deeply while picking up the memory stone containing all the formulas belonging to the Ma family.

  Just as he had put the memory stone to his forehead and the information had been transmitted into his mind, he suddenly heard someone running towards him.

  "Yue! Yue!" Wang Ju Long called out. Her voice was hurried, and her eyes shone intensely. "There is news about Sha Yun!"

  Chapter 411 - Sha Yun's Whereabouts

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  Chapter 411: Sha Yun's Whereabouts

  Hearing Wang Ju Long's voice, Hui Yue instantly stopped everything he was doing and turned to the door. He ripped it open and looked at his lover with blazing eyes and high hopes.

  "Sha Yun?" He asked shocked, his voice trembling. He was not sure if it was good news or bad news, but looking at Wang Ju Long’s excitement, Hui Yue quickly determined that it was good news, and his heart skipped a beat. Excitement flooded his entire body making every muscle taut and his eyes blaze with hope.

  "Here," She said as she handed him a piece of paper rolled into a scroll. "Paper scroll?" Hui Yue questioned curiously. Usually, no one would use paper scrolls as they had memory stones which were much better than scrolls. The stones were a lot safer and a lot more practical, yet this person decided to send a paper scroll. This made Hui Yue curious about who would send such a thing.

  Opening the scrolls, Hui Yue read out loud. "Dear Hui Yue, I am writing to you because a friend of yours is in my care. She is behaving nicely like a real lady, and we are greatly pleased to have her company. That being said, it is obvious that she wishes to return to your side, though, sadly, I cannot allow her to do so easily. I mean, I went through quite some trouble getting her here in the first place, letting her leave would be such a waste." Frowning Hui Yue wondered why this person had even kidnapped her, but instead of pondering on it for too long, Hui Yue returned to reading out loud what was written in the letter.

  "Although Sha Yun is our dear guest, we feel that we should give you a chance to have her returned to you. I do not ask for much. Just win the alchemist's contest and present the rewards to me. If you accept the arrangement, make sure to contact Zhong Wei and inform him. He will be my eyes and ears during the competition, and you are not allowed to cheat. I’ve already heard about your outstanding results in the alchemy exam; I have high expectations for you."

  Hui Yue was quiet for some time as his insides twisted in anger and guilt. It was now clear that Sha Yun had survived the ordeal in the grave. However, she had been kidnapped and even worse, kidnapped because this person wanted something from him.

  Although he was guilt ridden, he was also relieved to know that Sha Yun was alive.

  "It seems that Zhong Wei has something to do with this." He mumbled to himself as his kil
ling intent started to surge. In spite of this, he quickly forced himself to suppress his hate. Killing Zhong Wei would not accomplish anything other than ensuring that Sha Yun would die.

  Sighing deeply, he was uncertain what to do for some time; however, after considering the issue, he left Wang Ju Long behind. He left the mansion and summoned his sword. Pushing Wu Wei into it, he soared into the sky above. Unlike the last many times he flew on the sword, he no longer wasting any time. He turned into a beam of light; a beam so swift that no one noticed him passing by, all they felt was a comfortable breeze on their face.

  It took him less than a moment to reach the Black Lion Inn. Although his face was grim and he was struggling with his killing intent, he quickly entered the inn and went towards the counter.

  The innkeeper was surprised. Hui Yue had arrived many times before, but every time he would head to the rooms above belonging to Gao Yan. This time, however, he came to ask for assistance.

  "I need to know which room belongs to Zhong Wei." He said casually, but he was fully aware that everyone within the inn was listening to his words, eager to be the first to inform Gao Yan that Hui Yue had arrived to speak with someone else.