Hongye Villa.
The once blood-stained hall had been cleaned thoroughly by the trusted aides called by Yao Liangbi.
Yet there was still a faint smell of blood lingering in the air.
"Alright, once you have complete control over the Medicine Alliance, contact me then. I'm leaving."
Mu Jinyu glanced at the text message from Wen Rou, replied that he would be back soon, looked up at Yao Liangbi, and spoke in a detached tone.
"Yes, master." Yao Liangbi hurriedly responded.
As he spoke, he hesitated, then asked, "Master, if you wish to learn alchemy, do you need our Medicine Alliance to provide convenience? We set up our headquarters at Hongye Villa because there is a geothermal fire here which can be used for alchemy."
"Oh?" Mu Jinyu upon hearing this, briefly turned to glance at Yao Liangbi then shook his head, "No need."
Mu Jinyu knew some basic knowledge about alchemy.
The best flames for alchemy are those that a cultivator has cultivated themselves—the Golden Elixir Flame; secondly, the flames formed from techniques, such as Taoist True Fire; and the least desirable is the Earth's Fire.
Ordinary people, like those from the Medicine Alliance or Dan Pavilion, naturally cannot cultivate the Golden Elixir Fire for alchemy, and not having ever stepped into the Divine Realm, how could they use techniques or Taoist True Fire for alchemy?
Thus, over the years, their attempts at alchemy using Earth's Fire—an external force—were hard to control, making the failure rate extremely high.
But Mu Jinyu, as a Divine Realm Warrior, had long been capable of using techniques to summon innate Taoist True Fire. Why would he need any Earth's Fire for alchemy?
"Alright, I understand now, master, safe travels."
Yao Liangbi, seeing Mu Jinyu's refusal, also understood that he must have mastered fire-related techniques; otherwise, he definitely would not have refused the Earth's Fire. He wanted to show his loyalty, but it was misguided.
Mu Jinyu didn't say anything else and stepped away, leaving Hongye Villa.
"Whew..."
Watching Mu Jinyu board the private car and leave Hongye Villa, disappearing from view, Yao Liangbi suddenly let out a long sigh of relief.
Only then did he belatedly realize that his undershirt had long been soaked with cold sweat.
"I guess I gambled right this time; from now on, the Medicine Alliance will be under the total control of my Yao Family, but the risk is too great. I can't do this again in the future, or the Yao Family might collapse in an instant..."
Yao Liangbi whispered fearfully to himself.
...
Half an hour later.
Mu Jinyu returned to the Secluded Valley in Yinlong Mountain.
Walking through the bamboo forest, he reached the clearing in front of the bamboo house where Wen Rou and several other women were gathered around the Shennong Cauldron he had bought, observing it.
"What are you looking at?"
Mu Jinyu walked over, smiling.
Hearing Mu Jinyu's words, Gu Xiyan and the others snapped out of their daze and looked up at him.
Gu Xiyan asked curiously, "Jinyu, are you going to perform alchemy?"
"Yes," Mu Jinyu nodded, "eating spiritual medicine raw is not only hard to assimilate, but also provides less spiritual power, nowhere near as convenient as elixirs."
"That's great..."
Upon hearing Mu Jinyu's words, Gu Xiyan and the others cheered joyfully.
During the half-month they had lived in Yinlong Mountain, they had listened to Mu Jinyu complain nearly every day that it would be so much easier if he knew alchemy. That way, it wouldn't be so troublesome.
Moreover, every time they assimilated spiritual medicine, a lot of the medicine's power was wasted.
So, they also were very much looking forward to Mu Jinyu learning the art of alchemy, so they wouldn't have to waste it any longer under Mu Jinyu's constant nagging.
"Hmph, why are you all happy? It's as though he already knows how to perform alchemy," Jian Ruyan said from the side, holding her treasured sword and dampening their spirits.
She grew up in Kunlun Ruins and although dedicated to sword training, she had not dabbled in Alchemy, Artifact Refining, Talisman, Formation or any other divergent paths. However, she certainly did not regard Alchemy as mythical, as those from outside did.
"How could I possibly not know?" Mu Jinyu looked at Jian Ruyan discontentedly.
"Do you think you can learn it right here and now? Master alchemy within a few days?" Jian Ruyan glanced at Mu Jinyu with a sneer.
She knew the difficulties of alchemy. Without talent, one could spend a lifetime and never learn, every attempt to concoct a pill would explode the furnace!
Those with decent talent needed about a decade to barely get started.
As for those top-grade talents, they could enter the threshold in just one or two years, try their hand at alchemy, and if lucky, despite a few explosions, they might produce a batch of elixirs.
Although Mu Jinyu had great talent, and even if he was an alchemy prodigy, she didn't believe he could master alchemy in such a short time and use the various spiritual medicines from the medicine field to concoct elixirs suited for everyone.
It would take at least several years.
That's why she threw cold water on Gu Xiyan and the others, urging them not to believe Mu Jinyu's nonsense to avoid getting their hopes up.
Mu Jinyu looked at Jian Ruyan, finding the girl deserved a lesson. Wasn't it just tricking her into washing his dirty clothes? Did she need to hold this grudge for half a month?
Feeling uncomfortable from Jian Ruyan's rebuke, Mu Jinyu said calmly:
"If it were about other talents, perhaps I really couldn't learn right away, but when it comes to the art of medicine, not to boast, I really could learn it in a single day."
Jian Ruyan, hearing Mu Jinyu's words, stayed silent but gave him a beautiful eye-roll.
The message was clear, keep bragging, as if you could master it in one day.
Mu Jinyu, getting heated, said, "Don't believe me? Why don't we make a bet then, to see if I can't learn alchemy in one day?"
Jian Ruyan initially didn't want to bother with Mu Jinyu anymore, but his mention of a bet piqued her interest. She asked, "Bet on what?"
Mu Jinyu thought for a moment, initially wanting to say, if he won, she'd have to obediently listen to him from then on.
But as the words were on the tip of his tongue, he felt that wasn't quite right, especially with Gu Xiyan and the others nearby. They might think he had intentions towards Jian Ruyan, and that would lead to a difficult night.
Thinking thus, his gaze shifted as he said, "If I win, I'll wash all my clothes by myself from now on. How about that?"
"You?!"
Jian Ruyan, hearing Mu Jinyu bring up washing clothes again, instantly flared up, barely holding back the urge to hit him!
Mu Jinyu promptly said, "Aren't you confident? Don't dare to bet?"
Jian Ruyan suppressed her anger and said, "Fine, I'll take your bet, but what if you lose?"
Mu Jinyu calmly said, "You tell me what to do if I lose. As long as it's not too excessive, I'll agree."
Jian Ruyan, hearing Mu Jinyu's words, also began to ponder what he should do if he lost. Initially, she liked the idea of keeping Mu Jinyu away from Gu Xiyan and the others for a month to torture him!
But thinking that stating such a bet might lead Mu Jinyu to tease her about being jealous, she decided against it.
Have him kneel and apologize to her?
That seemed too excessive, especially since Mu Jinyu was not only her brother's close friend but also her superior.
Jian Ruyan thought it over but couldn't come up with any good punishment that would allow her to vent her frustration from being tricked by Mu Jinyu into washing his dirty clothes that day.
She hesitated and said, "I haven't thought of anything, but it won't be too excessive. Anyway, it'll be of the same magnitude as having you wash your dirty clothes."
Mu Jinyu offhandedly said, "So that's like...me washing your clothes for a month?"
"In your dreams!" Jian Ruyan glared sharply at Mu Jinyu, yet a hint of pink crept up her cheeks.
Her clothes, how could she possibly let Mu Jinyu wash them? That was hardly a punishment.
Gu Xiyan and the other women, hearing Mu Jinyu's words, also looked at him with disapproval!
Mu Jinyu gave a wry smile and quickly said, "Alright, I agree. I won't lose anyway."