Chapter 473 - 448 Soul Elixir Master

Lu Yan was livid inside.

"Sending them to their deaths without allowing them to resist, what kind of bullshit reasoning is that?"

He would certainly not sit around waiting for death.

Several divine-level body cultivating martial arts were activated simultaneously, and with a chop of his palm, he clashed with Miao Yan in one strike.

Bang!

Lu Yan staggered back, smashing several huge boulders, his face flushed red, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

His Primordial Spirit shone brilliantly, the Thunder Sword buzzed, ready for a desperate final battle.

With an Immortal Third Layer powerhouse as the opponent, he was definitely no match, but he wouldn’t sit around waiting for death.

"Huh? To actually block one of my moves, how audacious..."

Miao Yan was taken aback that he hadn’t killed Lu Yan, a mere Spiritual God of the Seventh Transformation, with one palm strike, and he felt ashamed in front of Dan Hua and Gu Zhu. His face grew uglier as the Immortal Power surged, ready to unleash a full-force blow to kill Lu Yan.

But a figure suddenly appeared in front of Miao Yan, blocking his way.

It was Dan Hua.

"Brother, what is the meaning of this?"

Miao Yan asked with a cold face.

"This young man, to actually break free from the devouring of the Blood Soul Needle, possesses an extremely strong soul force. He is indeed a rare talent. My Soul Elixir lineage has the strictest requirements, needing a strong soul force. My elixir workshop is short-handed, how about I take this young man under my wing, brother?"

Dan Hua said with a smile.

"Brother wants to take him into the elixir workshop?"

Miao Yan was astonished and begrudgingly said, "That would not only be sparing him punishment but also a tremendous opportunity. Wouldn’t that be letting this kid off too easily?"

"Brother, just do me this favor, will you?"

Dan Hua said.

"Since brother has spoken, how could I refuse?"

Miao Yan said helplessly.

Although he really wanted to kill Lu Yan, he ultimately needed something from Dan Hua and naturally didn’t dare to slight Dan Hua’s dignity.

"Aren’t you going to thank Elder Dan Hua?"

Miao Yan glanced at Lu Yan and said coldly.

"Thank you, Elder Dan Hua."

Lu Yan bowed in thanks.

Avoiding a fight to the death was the best possible outcome.

And Dan Hua’s status was obviously much higher than Miao Yan’s, and following Dan Hua, he might even have an easier time seeing Shen Yinuo.

He had no reason to refuse.

"Alright, let’s go."

Dan Hua put away the Blood Wolf, waved his hand, and soared into the sky.

Before long, everyone returned to Skull Fire Mountain.

"Zhang Wei, follow me. My elixir workshop is located above Skull Fire Mountain."

After speaking, Dan Hua flew toward the core area, a mountain shaped like a skull.

Lu Yan was overjoyed inside.

The core mountain, only the true disciples of Skull Fire Mountain could enter. Previously, he tried every possible way but could not get in.

Now, he could follow Dan Hua inside, which turned this ordeal into a blessing in disguise.

Lu Yan quickly followed.

"This kid made me lose face, how could I let it slide so easily? Hmph."

Miao Yan watched Lu Yan’s retreating figure, his eyes brimming with killing intent.

The closer one got to Skull Mountain, the more massive it appeared, extremely majestic, standing over ten thousand meters high and covering an extensive area.

It’s said that this mountain was formed after a world-shocking battle over one hundred thousand years ago.

A powerful being had its head decapitated by a sword strike, and it fell here, creating the Skull Fire Mountain.

As one approached, a terrifying breath oppressed them, like heavenly might, making it hard for those without the cultivation level of the Primordial Spirit Realm to stay standing, likely forcing them to kneel in homage.

"My elixir workshop is located at the lower jaw area."

Dan Hua said, leading Lu Yan to the lower jaw of the Skull Mountain.

There, a short peak had luxurious palaces built upon it.

Outside the palace, there were large medicine fields where various Spiritual Medicine, naturally all fire-attribute, were cultivated as other attributes wouldn’t survive here.

"Master."

The gatekeeper at the palace bowed respectfully upon seeing Dan Hua.

"Hmm."

Dan Hua nodded, continuing to lead Lu Yan into the palace.

The palace was vast, but Lu Yan noticed that there weren’t many people.

"There are two types of Elixir Masters: Qi Elixir Masters and Soul Elixir Masters. I am a Soul Elixir Master. The requirements for a Soul Elixir Master’s soul talents are extremely stringent. Only those with an innately strong soul have the potential to become a Soul Elixir Master, and not many people meet the criteria, which is why our workshop doesn’t have many people."

"However, our workshop’s people may be few in number, but they hold a very high status. Within Skull Fire Mountain, we are second only to the lineage of the Mountain Master. You will start as an apprentice and depending on your performance, if you do well, I will naturally pass on the art of elixir crafting to you."

Dan Hua said.

"Yes, disciple will surely perform well and not disappoint Master."

Lu Yan nodded eagerly, very respectfully.

"Hmm!"

Seeing Lu Yan’s attitude, Dan Hua seemed quite satisfied and nodded, then continued, "The reason I saved you, preventing Miao Yan from killing you, was mainly because I saw your soul talent. There aren’t many with a soul as strong as yours, and if you sincerely follow me, you will have a boundless future. However, if you harbor ill intentions, I will personally end your life."

At the end of his words, a chilling aura permeated from Dan Hua, and the killing intent enveloped Lu Yan, causing the temperature around to plummet sharply.

"Master rest assured, Zhang Wei’s joining of Skull Fire Mountain is genuine, never harboring other thoughts. My resistance earlier was merely self-preservation."

Lu Yan said.

"Hmm, let me first take you to meet someone."

Dan Hua nodded and led Lu Yan into one of the elixir crafting chambers.

In the elixir crafting room, a woman in her twenties with delicate features was staring intently at a Pill Furnace.

"Yan Xue."

Dan Hua gave a light cough.

The woman then came to her senses, and seeing Dan Hua, she ran towards him, saying with a smile, "Master, you’re back?"

"Mhm."

Dan Hua nodded and said, "This trip to capture the Blood Wolves was a complete success. Next, I will enter seclusion to refine the Dragon Flame Elixir. Let me introduce you to someone. This is my newly accepted apprentice, who will follow you from now on. You guide him and familiarize him with the basic principles of elixir refinement."

"A new apprentice?"

Yan Xue looked Lu Yan over with curiosity.

"Zhang Wei greets senior sister."

Lu Yan cupped his fists in greeting.

Yan Xue’s face turned slightly red as she muttered, "But Master, my elixir refinement skills are not that high either, I’m afraid I might not guide him well."

"Zhang Wei doesn’t know the first thing about elixir refinement, and you’ve been with me for over a hundred years—how could you not guide him well? I want to train you and help you overcome your shyness."

Dan Hua glared.

"Okay... okay then."

Yan Xue felt helpless.

"First take Zhang Wei to choose a bedroom, and then get him accustomed to the basics of elixir refinement."

After giving these instructions, Dan Hua turned and left.

"Zhang... Zhang Wei junior brother, please come with senior sister."

Yan Xue was slightly restrained, obviously not used to interacting with others.

Soon, Yan Xue led Lu Yan to settle in a small courtyard.

"Zhang Wei junior brother, these are the basic elixir refinement books. Take them and read them. If you have any questions, you can always ask me," said Yan Xue.

"Thank you, senior sister," said Lu Yan as he cupped his fists.

He had originally wanted to ask Yan Xue about Shen Yinuo’s whereabouts, but on second thought, he decided against it.

Inquiring about Shen Yinuo’s location right after his arrival would surely raise suspicions.

It would be better to wait until they were more familiar with each other and then broach the subject indirectly.

After Yan Xue had left, Lu Yan closed the door and began to peruse the books.

"Elixir Encyclopedia, Spirit Grass Compendium, Basic Principles of Elixir Refinement, Material Compendium."

There were four books in total.

"Elixir Encyclopedia."

Lu Yan’s eyes lit up as he opened it.

This book contained detailed introductions to various elixirs, including pictures, medicinal principles, and effects of the elixirs.

He had quite a few elixirs on him.

The first batch had come from a giant tortoise that had drifted in from overseas, and afterwards, from killing Zhao Zhihuan and his subordinates, as well as many masters of the Immortal Clan, he obtained a large number of elixirs.

However, Lu Yan was clueless about elixirs and couldn’t recognize them, so he kept them on hand without using them.

Now with the Elixir Encyclopedia, he could identify those elixirs.

The Elixir Encyclopedia recorded hundreds of common elixirs.

Lu Yan flipped through the pages quickly, reading ten lines with a single glance, and soon memorized the details of hundreds of elixirs.

With a wave of his hand, a series of jade vials and boxes flew out, each filled with various elixirs.

"So, this is the Soul Pill..."

Lu Yan opened a jade box, revealing red elixirs that gleamed and shimmered. They felt warm and smooth to the touch and had a faint, refreshing scent.

The Soul Pill, after ingestion, could greatly enhance the power of the soul.

Among the elixirs Lu Yan possessed, Soul Pills were the most abundant.

The majority came from Zhao Zhihuan and the masters of the Immortal Realm.

He had more than five hundred of them.

Gathering the Soul Pills together, Lu Yan then took out other elixirs to examine them one by one.

Some were for healing, others for tempering the body; there were even poison pills.

"What are these twelve elixirs?"

In the end, there were twelve elixirs that Lu Yan did not recognize.

All of them had come from Zhao Zhihuan.

The Elixir Encyclopedia did not list them.

But Lu Yan, trusting his senses, could detect a faint fluctuation of rules on the elixirs.

It was indeed odd for elixirs to contain rules.

"I’ll ask Yan Xue about them when I have the chance."

Lu Yan stored the elixirs away and resumed reading the other books. Before long, he had committed the content of several books to memory.

"Elixir refinement and being a Martial Chef share many similarities, especially with Martial Pills," Lu Yan thought to himself as he set down the books.

Though he was unfamiliar with elixir refinement, he was quite well-versed in the art of being a Martial Chef and had considerable expertise.

Martial Pills and elixirs both involved extracting the essence of various materials and using special methods to condense them together, allowing the different ingredients to fuse and bring forth unique medicinal powers.

Martial Chefs, however, were more rudimentary.

Elixir refinement, on the other hand, was much more exquisite, unpredictable, and far superior to the art of the Martial Chef.

The Martial Chef was akin to a lower-grade version of elixir refinement.

"The lay of the land dictates the profession; it is because Da Wu is home to many exotic beasts that the way of the Martial Chef was born," Lu Yan reflected internally.

Having read through the books, Lu Yan now had a general understanding of elixir refinement.

Elixir refinement was divided into Qi Elixirs and Soul Elixirs.

The elixir masters of both branches were known as Qi Elixir Masters and Soul Elixir Masters, respectively.

Qi Elixir Masters refined elixirs with vigor.

Vigor was primarily True Vigor, and advancing further, there was Immortal Power. The requirements for an elixir master weren’t high—anyone with cultivation could learn elixir refinement.

However, the elixirs produced often lacked the sophistication and preciousness of those made by Soul Elixir Masters.

Soul Elixir Masters relied on the power of the soul to refine elixirs, resulting in superior elixirs.