The smoke gradually dissipated, and Qin An's gaze was as calm as water.

This period of time spent lingering at Spring Breeze Hall, Qin An finally practiced the Pill Master profession to the second level of perfection.

To advance from the second level to the third, it requires meeting the conditions for refining Qi Blood Elixirs, so Qin An specially came to find Ge Feng.

Ge Feng, seeing Qin An silent, showed an expression of boredom and impatiently flung a pill recipe: "The method for refining the Qi Blood Elixir you wanted."

After these few days of interaction, Ge Feng actually already knew Qin An's temperament.

But he was just very displeased.

This child's talent is extraordinary, yet he is obsessed with such basic pills like the Heart Cleansing Pill, truly wasting one's talent.

What significance is there in refining such a basic pill?

However, now that Qin An came today asking for the Qi Blood Elixir, it gave Ge Feng a bit of comfort, proving that this boy finally came to his senses.

Qin An took the pill recipe and turned to walk towards the inner court.

Ge Feng stroked his beard in contemplation, wanting to follow Qin An to the inner court to watch the alchemy process.

But thinking of Qin An's recent demeanor, Ge Feng snorted coldly, sitting leisurely in his chair.

"Humph, why should I go to watch? Let him mess around! Anyway, he can't refine the Yang Elixir."

"Xiaoyuan."

Ge Feng's gaze swept towards Xiaoyuan.

Xiaoyuan understood, and said in a low voice, "I'll go take a look for teacher."

Ge Feng nodded, pretending to be indifferent and said, "It's not that I must go watch, just worried that his first time refining the Qi Blood Elixir might cause the furnace to explode. After all, he's the Silver Zhou Lieutenant of the Evil Extermination Bureau; it wouldn't be good if he got hurt by the pill furnace."

Xiaoyuan's mouth twitched, but he didn't point it out, quietly heading towards the inner court.

...

Inner Court.

After thoroughly inspecting the pill recipe, Qin An guided the True Qi with his fingers, sparking the furnace fire.

These actions he was already familiar with, having repeated them the past few days; he could do it with his eyes closed.

When the flames reached a certain level, Qin An followed the materials on the recipe, throwing them into the pill furnace one by one in order.

After the time of two incense sticks, Qin An covered the ashes over the fire, and when the temperature gradually cooled, he opened the pill furnace.

Three Qi Blood Elixirs as crimson as blood appeared before Qin An's eyes.

The Qi Blood Elixir was made.

At the moment the pill formed, the smoke suddenly twisted, forming floating words.

[Pill Master lv.3 (0/400): Your success rate in refining pills slightly improves]

[Talent: Proficiency in Qi Storage Realm pill tempering]

The smoke in front of his eyes gradually disappeared, a massive amount of Alchemy True Skill surged in, transmitting into Qin An's mind.

Qin An closed his eyes and concentrated, instantly comprehending it all.

After absorbing all the information, Qin An had already completely mastered the third-level Pill Master profession.

Besides the basic pharmacological knowledge, the most important aspect of alchemy is controlling the fire.

Increase by one point, it burns; decrease by one point, it is raw.

Such a subtlety, ordinary Pill Masters struggle to master their entire life.

Reaching the third-level Pill Master profession, the additional talent allows Qin An to freely control the tempering of Qi Storage Realm pills.

In other words, any Qi Storage Realm pill, Qin An can completely refine without any possibility of error.

"Far from enough." Qin An frowned, thinking to himself.

The Yang Elixir is a Jade Bone Realm pill recipe, with the current talent, Qin An simply cannot refine it.

Unless he can practice the Pill Master's profession to level six, achieving the second major transformation, only then can he refine the Yang Elixir.

"I should first shift my focus now." Qin An made up his mind.

He has already achieved Jade Bone Realm Perfection; if he stays at this realm for too long, it is also unsafe for Qin An.

Currently, there are still eight days left until the trial of the Mountain Patrol Lieutenant.

After roughly calculating for a moment, Qin An already had a plan.

"The higher the Pill Master level, the faster the proficiency enhancement."

"If I devote my entire day to enhancing proficiency, I can gain two hundred points of proficiency daily."

"Eight days means sixteen hundred points."

"It takes eighteen hundred points to go from level three to level six; the higher the profession, the faster the proficiency improvement. If I work harder at night, I should be able to reach level six Pill Master before the trial."

Soon, Qin An made the decision to ignite the furnace once again.

He wanted to fully elevate his Pill Master profession.

Thinking of this, Qin An once again put the medicinal materials into the pill furnace, starting to refine the Heart Cleansing Pill.

The reason for continuing to practice the Heart Cleansing Pill is entirely because it is simple enough to refine quickly.

Under the reflection of the furnace fire, Qin An tossed in the ingredients with mechanical precision, his expression unwavering.

...

Evil Extermination Bureau.

Liu Qingzhou sat holding his sword, a look of pain flashed in his eyes.

Recently, he had already successfully cultivated this sinister sword technique.

According to Nie Ruhai, it is indeed a method for quick success but also a method that shortens one's lifespan.

Currently, his cultivation is at Jade Bone Realm Perfection.

If he sacrifices half of his lifespan, he might be able to recreate the formidable blade presence of Qin An on that day.

If he expends everything, he can certainly deliver a fatal blow to Qin An.

The cost is high, which is why Liu Qingzhou is in pain.

The sound of a knock on the door echoed.

Liu Qingzhou snapped back to reality, then placed the long sword in a concealed spot, walked to the door, and opened it.

At the door, Nie Ruhai leaned against the frame with a smile.

"Seems like you've already mastered it."

Liu Qingzhou's eyes grew cold: "Lately, you've been coming here often just to confirm if I've mastered it?"

He knew why Nie Ruhai helped him, but Nie Ruhai's plan incurred almost no loss.

In this scheme, only he himself had to pay the brutal price.

So Liu Qingzhou's attitude towards Nie Ruhai grew colder.

Nie Ruhai did not mind Liu Qingzhou's attitude, and after entering the room, he poured himself a cup of tea: "Do you know that Qin An has been obsessed with alchemy recently?"

Liu Qingzhou was astonished: "Alchemy? What's he learning that for?"

Nie Ruhai shook his head after setting down the cup: "Someone under my command saw it, but the specific reason, I do not know either. However, one thing is certain, he hasn't been cultivating during this period."

Liu Qingzhou regained his composure: "Then that's perfect, his neglect will surely lead to his complete demise at the time."

Nie Ruhai set down the teacup: "Indeed, it's a good thing."

The room fell silent, a pin drop could be heard.

After a few breaths, Nie Ruhai shifted the topic.

"Learn this as well."

From Nie Ruhai's sleeve, a tome of ancient writings slipped out.

Liu Qingzhou received it, glanced at it, and his eyes widened, his expression changed drastically: "Another such sinister Cultivation Technique, where exactly did you get this?"

The book had no cover, but after Liu Qingzhou read it, he discovered it was a Cultivation Technique that absorbs the lifespan of others.

However, absorbing lifespan comes with a price.

The light consequence is becoming bloodthirsty demons, the severe one is total destruction of cultivation, dying on the spot.

Anyone in their right mind would never learn this Cultivation Technique.

Nie Ruhai smiled slightly: "You don't need to worry about the rest, nor the side effects, because you only absorb part of it to keep in reserve for later, not using it if unnecessary."

"In order to kill Qin An, we must be careful. By absorbing some lifespan, you can burst forth with more energy. As for how to absorb, you can undertake some tasks recently."

Liu Qingzhou placed the book on the table: "I won't learn."

It sounds simple, but Liu Qingzhou knows very well that it's like an alluring door.

Perhaps there are no problems before pushing it open, but once opened, one would fall into an endless abyss.

Self-control?

These days, self-control is a very rare thing.

Nie Ruhai stood up and walked to the door: "Whether you learn it or not is up to you, but I've brought the item to you. As for why I have these Cultivation Techniques, everyone has their own secrets, don't they?"

With that, Nie Ruhai disappeared from the room, even thoughtfully closing the door for Liu Qingzhou.

Liu Qingzhou's face revealed a complex, conflicted expression as he picked up the book on the table.

After a long time, Liu Qingzhou clenched the tome, gritted his teeth, and flipped the pages.

"I've practiced swordsmanship that damages lifespan, one more won't hurt. At worst, I'll stop after killing Qin An."

The candle flickered, Liu Qingzhou began to carefully study the contents.

…

Nie Ruhai's abode.

After returning to the room, Nie Ruhai closed the door with a reverse hand, then took out a blood-red jade stone from his arms.

When he injected True Qi into the jade stone, the blood-red jade lit up with a specter light in his palm, black mist consolidated into a featureless figure, exuding an eerie dominance.

"Master, he presumably started learning." Nie Ruhai stood respectfully, slightly bent over, not daring to look the black figure in the eye.

A moment later, the black figure quivered, speaking in a sinister tone.

"This time, you did well. If you can kill Qin An, it would be even better."

Nie Ruhai was silent for a moment, as if he had something to say, but did not know how to start.

The black figure slowly spoke: "Speak your mind."

Nie Ruhai lifted his head: "Is killing Qin An that important?"

The black figure sneered coldly: "For this Tiger Race secret treasury, Tree Lord and Fox Mother Monkey Lie, among others, died because of Qin An."

"Now the remaining demon forces all hate Qin An to the core. If the Demonic Hall can kill Qin An, it will wield unmatched prestige."

"It will greatly benefit subsequent incorporations of these demon forces."

Nie Ruhai showed an enlightened expression, thinking no wonder the master was so eager to exterminate Qin An.

The black figure paused, then continued: "Also, remember that you are an important pawn of the Demonic Hall, embedded as an ace in the Mountain Patrol Guard."

"The Mountain Patrol Guard is too strict, the Demonic Hall has been seeking many opportunities, and finally managed to insert you. When the time comes, you will be the greatest hero."

Nie Ruhai solemnly clasped his hands: "Willing to shed blood for the Demonic Hall!"

The black figure nodded, then disappeared.

After the black figure disappeared, Nie Ruhai carefully stored away the blood-red jade.

The candle still flickered, Nie Ruhai poured a cup of tea, systematically analyzing the steps to kill Qin An.

…

Time passed, six days went by in the blink of an eye.

Within Spring Breeze Hall, the scent of medicine permeated the inner courtyard.

Ge Feng saw Qin An taking out the pill from the Pill Furnace and quickly stepped forward to carefully examine the elixir Qin An had crafted.

After a long time, Ge Feng's gaze toward Qin An was filled with complexity.

"Indeed, it's the Profound Qi Elixir, truly crafted…"

Lately, Qin An seemed obsessed with refining Heart Cleansing Pills, frustrating Ge Feng to no end.

He originally thought Qin An was talented, but never expected Qin An would become fixated on refining Heart Cleansing Pills once more.

Subsequently, Ge Feng felt very disappointed in Qin An.

Yet unexpectedly, Qin An periodically came to him seeking pill formulas, each request escalating in level.

Today's Profound Qi Elixir, Ge Feng had spent over ten years immersed in the Alchemy Dao to refine it.

But Qin An, having been here less than half a month, had already successfully refined it.

Ge Feng suddenly felt as if he was genuinely getting old.

Before him, this young man had an unparalleled talent for elixirs, the likes of which Ge Feng had rarely seen in his life.

Yet he happened to wield a knife, which was quite dramatic.

Qin An remained silent, focused on staring into the void before him.

In his vision, the smoke twisted like a serpent, transforming into rows of text.

[Pill Master lv.6 (0/1000): Your pill crafting success rate increases, and the potency is purer]

[Talent: Jade Bone Realm mastery in fire control at Great Success, Jade Bone Realm pill material reduction]

[Upgrade Condition: Refine Profound Qi Elixir (1/1)]

[Upgrade Complete]

Lately, spanning nearly half a month, Qin An was nearly inseparable from Spring Breeze Hall.

As he envisioned, the higher the level, the faster proficiency improved, surpassing his calculated timetable and reaching level six.

Post-level six, Qin An's pill refining success rate would rise, and the effects would be stronger.

The talent evolved into Jade Bone Realm mastery in fire control at Great Success, and included an added ability to reduce Jade Bone Realm pill material consumption.

Take Yang Elixir for example, now Qin An needs only nine demon essences to craft one Yang Elixir.

This may seem minor, but over time it accumulates into a terrifying figure.

The smoke dissipated, Qin An pulled out the Yang Elixir recipe from his arms.

This was exchanged from the Confidential Library not long ago, since it wasn't considered a secret, it didn't consume much achievement.

Ge Feng saw Qin An retrieve a recipe, curiously leaning closer.

Upon seeing clearly, he gasped with astonishment: "You're going to refine the Yang Elixir?"

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