Lai Li’an did not speak. His right hand remained inside his clothes, and his mind raced.

Lightning Tribulation Phenomenon? What was that?

He recalled refining the Moonlight Spiritual Elixir in the cave to open his Acquired Spiritual Root. Although the process was a bit perilous, it went relatively smoothly overall.

Later, he did seem to hear a loud boom. A few broken stones fell from the cave ceiling, and the entire cave shook a few times.

At the time, he was entirely focused on guiding the Moonlight Power to stabilize the newly formed Spiritual Root meridian, with no mind to spare for what was happening outside.

Wait, Lai Li’an suddenly remembered a detail.

At the final juncture of opening his Spiritual Root, that newly formed meridian suddenly trembled violently, as if fiercely impacted by some external force, and then the Life-Protecting Pearl of the Great Void automatically activated.

Back then, he had wondered why merely opening an Acquired Spiritual Root would trigger the Life-Protecting Pearl.

Now he understood. It wasn’t caused by opening his Spiritual Root; it was heavenly lightning. The Life-Protecting Pearl of the Great Void had blocked that strike for him.

A sudden chill shot up Lai Li’an’s back. He had almost died.

Subsequently, he began to ponder the current situation. Among the group, this man in black had a Cultivation Base of Late Golden Core.

If the other party were to attack right now, without the Life-Protecting Pearl of the Great Void, he feared a single strike would cause his body and soul to be completely destroyed. Or should he use a talisman to kill the opponent first?

Ten thousand thoughts crossed Lai Li’an’s mind, but the expression on his face remained completely unchanged. He simply looked faintly at the four people in front of him.

Then he spoke, “Rise.”

The three of them felt as if they had been granted a general amnesty, thanking him profusely as they cautiously straightened up. The man in black didn’t speak, only slowly raising his lowered head.

Meng Qiuran swallowed hard and summoned the courage to speak again, “Senior, this junior dares to ask… That Lightning Tribulation just now, exactly what… what did you do, Senior, to actually attract a Heavenly Punishment?”

Lai Li’an remained silent for a few breaths. During those few breaths of time, Meng Qiuran’s heart almost leaped out of his throat.

He had already cursed himself a hundred times in his heart. Why ask! What business is it of yours what Senior does! What if you anger Senior!

Fortunately, Lai Li’an finally spoke.

“Alchemy.”

These words, spoken casually, made Meng Qiuran’s eyes widen drastically, while Li He and Ye Shuang gasped in unison.

It was actually alchemy! A pill that attracted Heavenly Punishment!

Ye Shuang’s voice trembled, her cheeks flushed with excitement. “Senior! Dare I ask… dare I ask what grade of pill you were refining? To attract Heavenly Punishment, could it be… could it be a Ninth-Grade?”

Li He couldn’t hold back either. “Senior! Could you let us catch a glimpse of that pill? A pill that brings down Heavenly Punishment must be a rare supreme treasure in this world!”

Although Meng Qiuran remained silent, the anticipation in his eyes practically overflowed. For an Alchemy Cultivator, witnessing such a supreme treasure firsthand would be the glory of a lifetime.

He even began to imagine the scene of returning to the Sect, recording today’s events in his travelogue for future generations to read.

Then, they saw Lai Li’an’s face darken, his gaze turning from calm to slightly cold.

In that instant, the temperature in the cave seemed to plummet a few degrees. “This junior has been impolite!” Meng Qiuran almost instinctively bowed down again. “We were overly excited for a moment and spoke out of turn! How could we possibly be qualified to observe the Pill refined by Senior! I beg Senior’s forgiveness!”

Li He and Ye Shuang also hurriedly followed suit and bowed, their foreheads almost touching the ground. Seeing the three of them trembling, Lai Li’an secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, this trick of remaining silent really worked well. Over the past three years, he had concluded an ironclad rule: when you don’t know how to answer, just pretend to be aloof, and the other party will automatically find an excuse for you, one that is even better than what you could make up yourself.

Sure enough, Meng Qiuran had already come up with a reason for Lai Li’an in his mind. A Divine Pill that could attract Heavenly Punishment must contain the ultimate truths of heaven and earth, so how could it be easily shown to others? It was indeed abrupt for them to rashly ask to view it. The fact that Senior only darkened his face and didn’t directly punish them was already a tremendous act of leniency.

Lai Li’an’s expression softened a little, and he gave a slight nod, considering the matter passed.

Meng Qiuran breathed a sigh of relief and repeatedly voiced his thanks. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as a thought suddenly sprang to his mind.

This Senior’s attainments in the Alchemy Dao were unfathomable. Pills capable of drawing down Heavenly Punishment were likely only something those few Supreme Elders of the Alchemy Sect Main Branch could refine.

Yet the gray-robed figure before him had already reached such a realm. If a figure of this caliber could be invited to the Alchemy Conference…

He took a deep breath and respectfully spoke up again, “Senior, this junior has one more presumptuous request.”

Lai Li’an slightly raised an eyebrow.

“In three months, the Cangwu Realm will hold its once-in-a-century Alchemy Conference, co-hosted by my Alchemy Sect Branch and several major factions. At that time, Alchemy Dao geniuses from the major Sects of the Cangwu Realm will gather under one roof to exchange and compare their skills.” Meng Qiuran explained, his tone growing increasingly solemn. “This junior is bold enough to invite Senior to grace the conference with your presence—”

Lai Li’an frowned slightly. Attend the Alchemy Conference? Asking him to compete in alchemy against a bunch of Alchemy Dao geniuses? What would he use to compete? That stone pot?

He instinctively wanted to refuse, but Meng Qiuran’s next words made him swallow back the refusal that had reached the tip of his tongue.

“To serve as a special guest judge.”

Lai Li’an froze. A judge? He wasn’t being asked to compete?

Seeing him remain silent, Meng Qiuran assumed he found it troublesome and hastily added, “Please rest assured, Senior, the duties of a judge are not tedious. You only need to evaluate the pills of a few contestants during the finals.

“During the conference, all expenses will be covered by our Alchemy Sect Branch, and a modest gift will be offered to thank Senior for taking the time to attend.”

He paused, then added cautiously, “Of course, this junior also knows that with Senior’s realm, you might not think much of such worldly items…”

A judge… Being a judge was great! No need for alchemy; he could just sit there and pretend to offer a few critiques. He was an expert at this. Over the past three years, he had honed his act of playing a peerless master to perfection. Critiquing was all about being ambiguous and unfathomably profound.

“Slightly lacking in heat control,” “the intent is too shallow,” “comprehend for another three years,” he knew how to say such phrases, and he could spout 100 variations without repeating himself.

The most crucial part, however, was Meng Qiuran’s latter statement.

All expenses covered by the Alchemy Sect, and a modest gift offered.

Lai Li’an’s expression remained as placid as still water, but in his mind, he was already rapidly doing the math.

His current possessions were quite shabby to speak of. Su Wan’er had never said anything about it, but Lai Li’an himself knew very well that if things continued like this, the two of them would soon be living on air.

The Alchemy Sect Branch should be considered one of the top major powers in the Cangwu Realm. How “modest” could the “modest gift” they spoke of really be?

If his luck was good, he might even be able to snag a few bottles of pills or some spiritual herbs. Having just opened his Acquired Spiritual Root, he was in dire need of a massive amount of resources to consolidate his foundation and was just worrying about where to get them.

As for whether he would be exposed…

The alchemists who could make it to the finals wouldn’t refine pills that were too terrible. He just needed to nitpick and find fault where there was none. The difficulty level of this kind of thing was even lower than pretending to be an expert.

The other judges couldn’t be vegetarians either; he just needed to pretend a bit, but he couldn’t appear too eager.

“This Venerable is used to being a wild crane in the idle clouds1 and originally had no intention of participating in such a grand event.”

Was this a rejection? Meng Qiuran’s heart sank, but he didn’t dare to persuade him further, only saying respectfully, “It was presumptuous of this junior.”

Right at this moment, Su Wan’er, who had been sitting quietly to the side, suddenly raised her head, her eyes shining brightly.

“Fellow Daoist Meng,” her voice trembled slightly, filled with irrepressible excitement. “Are you talking about… the once-in-a-century Cangwu Alchemy Conference?”

Meng Qiuran nodded. “Exactly. Has Fellow Daoist heard of it too?”

Of course Su Wan’er had heard of it. The once-in-a-century Cangwu Alchemy Conference was the pinnacle Alchemy Dao event in the entire Cangwu Realm.

The conference gathered the most outstanding Alchemy Dao geniuses from across the Cangwu Realm. The final victor of each conference would receive an “Alchemy Order” bestowed by the Alchemy Sect Main Branch, allowing the holder to enter the Alchemy Sect Main Branch’s Library Pavilion to read for three days.

The Alchemy Sect Main Branch’s Library Pavilion was a place every Alchemy Cultivator in the world dreamed of, but this was not the reason for Su Wan’er’s excitement.

She was excited because the final victor of the Cangwu Alchemy Conference would also receive a chance to “Ask the Dao.”

Asking the Dao meant consulting the Alchemy Sect Magic Treasure, the Heaven-Peering Mirror, about future opportunities, cultivation methods, and more, it could even peer into the past.

And Su Wan’er had always wanted an answer to a question regarding the Blood Lotus Sect that had previously invaded the Heavenly Veil Sect. Logically speaking, even if she was alone at the Cliff of Reflection, it was still the Sect’s territory, yet the Blood Lotus Sect had somehow been able to attack her.

She believed that someone was definitely trying to frame her. Although her fellow disciples in the Sect didn’t treat her very well, they wouldn’t go as far as colluding with foreign enemies to do such a thing; there had to be more to the story.

As long as she could get the opportunity to “Ask the Dao”…

But she didn’t know Alchemy. Thinking of this, the light in Su Wan’er’s eyes dimmed.

“Could it be that fellow Daoist is interested in the Alchemy Conference?” Meng Qiuran keenly caught the change in her expression and hurriedly asked. “May I ask which sect fellow Daoist belongs to, and what your attainments in the Alchemy Dao are? If fellow Daoist intends to participate, I can make an exception and apply for an entry quota for you.”

Su Wan’er opened her mouth, just about to shake her head and deny it.

“She will participate.”

These words floated out faintly from Lai Li’an’s mouth.

Su Wan’er snapped her head around, staring wide-eyed at Lai Li’an. What was Senior saying, she would participate? What did she have to participate with? She hadn’t even touched an Alchemy Cauldron before!

“Senior…” Su Wan’er’s voice carried a trace of panic.

Lai Li’an shot her a glance, a glance that made Su Wan’er swallow the rest of her words back down.

“This disciple of this Venerable has only been cultivating with me for a short time and still needs tempering in the Alchemy Dao. I shall let her attend this conference to broaden her horizons.”

“Disciple?” Su Wan’er’s heart skipped a beat. Senior said “disciple,” Senior called her his “disciple” in front of others!

Her eyes suddenly turned red. She lowered her head, not daring to let anyone see her expression. It turned out that everything before had really been Senior’s trial. Now that Senior had acknowledged her, she absolutely could not let him down.

Meng Qiuran was overjoyed. “So fellow Daoist is also an Alchemy Cultivator! Pardon my disrespect. Rest assured, Senior, leave fellow Daoist’s participation spot to this junior. I will apply to the Sect as soon as I return; there absolutely won’t be any problems!”

He took a Jade Slip from his robes, held it with both hands, and respectfully offered it to Lai Li’an: “Senior, this Jade Slip records the time, location, and related matters of the Alchemy Conference. In three months, this junior will respectfully await the arrival of Senior and fellow Daoist in Cangwu City.”

Lai Li’an accepted the Jade Slip, tucked it into his robes, and nodded slightly.

“Oh right, may I ask for Senior and fellow Daoist’s names?”

“My name is Su Wan’er. Senior’s surname is Lai, you can just call him Senior Lai.”

Meng Qiuran knew it was time to take his leave. He gave another deep bow, and the group slowly backed out of the cave.