Ruan Se took out four palm-sized array flags from her sleeve. Her figure moved swiftly through the courtyard, planting the flags at the four corners of the yard.

After planting the last array flag, she pressed her right hand onto the courtyard’s bluestone floor. The Spiritual Power within her body surged rapidly along the cracks in the stone toward the four array flags.

Silently, a pale cyan curtain of light rose from the flags, converging above the courtyard to form a translucent dome.

As soon as the light curtain took shape, it locked all the anomalous phenomena leaking from the Alchemy Room within it.

A few wisps of dark clouds that had just begun to gather in the sky lost their target. They churned aimlessly for a few breaths before slowly dispersing.

Ruan Se straightened up, a fine layer of sweat breaking out on her forehead. She turned and hurried back to the Alchemy Room, only to see a sight she would never forget for the rest of her life.

The lid of the Alchemy Cauldron was slowly pushed open by an invisible force, and the light overflowing from the opening shifted from golden to a cyan-white.

The pill fragrance of the Eternal Spring Life-Prolonging Pill was finally no longer suppressed; it surged forth, filling the room with a rich aroma.

A Sixth-Grade Pill was refined… just like this?

From tossing all the medicinal ingredients into the Alchemy Cauldron at once to the finished pill emerging, the entire process took less than a two hours.

Ruan Se stood rooted to the spot, her body rigid and her eyes brimming with sheer astonishment. What she had witnessed today was enough to completely subvert her lifelong understanding of the Alchemy Dao. To have seen such Alchemy Techniques, she could die without regrets.

The moment the Pill was retrieved from the furnace, Ruan Se involuntarily held her breath.

The Eternal Spring Life-Prolonging Pill rested quietly in Lai Li’an’s palm. It was entirely emerald green, its patterns distinct as six veins slowly flowed across its surface.

Its fragrance wasn’t strong and overwhelming like ordinary pills. Instead, it was like the fresh scent of the first blades of grass breaking through the earth after the early spring’s melted snow; just a whiff of it made one’s Heart Meridians feel significantly soothed.

However, this was no time for admiration. The two hurriedly crossed the corridor and returned to Su Wan’er’s bedside.

Ruan Se supported Su Wan’er’s jaw with one hand and slipped the Pill into her mouth.

The Pill melted instantly. A streak of emerald-green medicinal efficacy slid down her throat into her abdomen. Ruan Se immediately guided it with her Spiritual Power, letting it slowly seep along the Heart Meridians to her limbs and bones.

Enveloped by the medicinal power, the severed Meridians ceased their collapse, and the shattered Dao Foundation was temporarily sealed by a flexible layer of cyan light, preventing further deterioration.

The entire process lasted for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Once the medicinal power had completely dissolved into her Meridians, Ruan Se placed her fingers back on Su Wan’er’s wrist, closed her eyes to examine her condition for a moment, and then slowly opened them.

“Rest assured, Senior. The medicinal power of the Eternal Spring Life-Prolonging Pill has secured fellow Daoist Su’s Heart Meridians and Dantian. In her current state, she should be able to hold on for over a month. As long as you can obtain the Azure Profound Root and successfully refine the Pill within a month, I believe fellow Daoist Su will surely be safe and sound.”

“Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Ruan.” He turned around and solemnly cupped his hands to Ruan Se. “If not for fellow Daoist lending a helping hand this time, I am afraid my disciple would have already…”

Ruan Se waved her hand, interrupting his words. “Senior exaggerates. My intervention was not entirely for your sake.”

Lai Li’an was slightly taken aback and looked at her. “However, this Venerable has always been curious about one thing. How did Fellow Daoist Ruan know my disciple’s name? Could it be that you have some designs on my disciple?”

Ruan Se’s veil fluttered slightly. She was not intimidated, directly meeting Lai Li’an’s gaze with no fear in her amber eyes.

“Does Senior not trust me?” Her voice was neither light nor heavy. “Never mind, I had no intention of hiding it anyway.”

She paused and said, “I heard her say it herself in a shop. When fellow Daoist Su was buying things, she encountered a dishonest merchant. I stepped in to help, and we exchanged names.”

Lai Li’an did not speak, just looking at her.

Ruan Se did not explain further, saying indifferently, “As for why I helped her, it was probably because I saw someone getting ripped off out of 5000 Spirit Stones by a black-hearted shopkeeper, felt it was unjust, and casually lent a hand.”

“Later, I noticed she possessed a Heaven-Grade Water Spiritual Root and indeed felt an appreciation for her talent. Having cultivated the Alchemy Dao for many years, I know deeply that such a Spiritual Root is a naturally good seedling for Alchemy. I wanted to draw her into my Sect.”

“If Senior feels I have ulterior motives because of this, then that is the truth. I admit it.”

She paused for a moment, looked into Lai Li’an’s eyes, and said earnestly, “But I don’t think there is anything wrong with that.”

Lai Li’an looked into her open and honest eyes and suddenly found it a bit interesting.

He glanced at Ruan Se’s Fantasy Points on the System Panel; it had steadily stopped at 100.

However, no reward popped up, and his Cultivation Base didn’t change at all. After a brief moment of thought, he understood: Ruan Se only had an Early Foundation Establishment Cultivation Base. Although her Alchemy Dao attainments were good, her combat power was weak, and she had no clear understanding of the power of higher realms.

No matter how powerful she fantasized him to be, it was limited by her own horizons, making her unable to provide him with Golden Core-level Cultivation Base bonuses.

To put it bluntly, she wasn’t a qualified EXP pack.

Lai Li’an silently sighed in his heart, feeling somewhat disappointed.

Ruan Se acutely caught that very faint sigh. Her brows twitched slightly, but she wasn’t nervous, merely shifting her gaze away indifferently.

She thought the Senior was weighing the truth of her previous words. As for whether he believed her or not, that was the Senior’s business; she had already said what she needed to say.

“No matter.” Lai Li’an waved his hand, not dwelling on this issue any further. Instead, he asked a question that Ruan Se didn’t expect, “Earlier you said you could enter the top three at the Alchemy Conference. How confident are you?”

Ruan Se was taken aback for a moment, but quickly regained her aloof expression. She pondered seriously for a bit and gave a cautious answer, “This Alchemy Conference gathers the Alchemy Dao Geniuses from the major Sects of the Cangwu Realm, but this junior believes she has few rivals among her peers. Barring any accidents, reaching the top three should not be a problem.”

“I don’t want ‘should’.” Lai Li’an raised his hand to interrupt her, his gaze falling on her face. “I want an absolute victory.”

Ruan Se’s expression froze slightly.

Absolute victory? The Alchemy Conference gathered the very best young Alchemists in the entire Cangwu Realm, including no shortage of monstrous talents.

Daring to claim she would steadily reach the top three was already based on full confidence in her own strength, but as for an absolute victory, she truly didn’t have a hundred percent certainty.

She was just about to speak up and admit this when Lai Li’an beat her to it.

“What if this Venerable teaches you the refinement methods for some Pills? Would you be certain then?”

Ruan Se’s pupils dilated slightly for a moment.

Just earlier, by merely standing in the corner and observing for an hour, she had already comprehended many things she had never even dared to imagine before.

“If Senior is willing to provide guidance…” She took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in her heart. “In the final round of free refinement, Ruan Se will inevitably secure the first place.”

She had originally thought that her slight appreciation for talent might incur Senior’s displeasure. Unexpectedly, not only did he not hold it against her, but she even obtained an opportunity she had never dared to hope for.

Ruan Se lowered her eyelashes, suppressing the emotions that surged up in that instant. When she raised her head again, her gaze had returned to its usual aloofness.

“Senior,” she said, “does this count as a deal between us?”

Lai Li’an glanced at her, the corners of his lips curling up. “What do you think?”

The two smiled at each other, everything understood without words. There was no need to say anything more, as a tacit understanding had already formed between them.

Ruan Se turned and headed outside. Reaching the door, her footsteps paused for a moment. “By the way, Senior, I will check on your disciple’s injuries every day. This is my duty; there is no need to thank me.”

With that, the door curtain was lifted, and her aloof silhouette disappeared around the corner of the corridor.