Chapter 1: When the father suffers humiliation, the son will surely avenge him

  Wang Er's eyes lit up as he saw his backer arrive, and he immediately gained confidence. He hastily added fuel to the fire, recounting what had just happened, and finally said with a pitiful expression: "Master Duan, you must take charge of this matter for me, otherwise, who among these subordinates will still listen to my orders in the future?"

  Duan Minghua's face turned solemn, his complexion darkening as he gazed at Wang Bin with a cold glint in his eye. "When working, you're careless and distracted," he said icily. "If you damage the spiritual medicine, killing you won't be enough to make up for it. From today on, get out of Lingyao Valley and pack your things to leave immediately."

  "Duan Shixiong, this person has a past with me. Today I met him and we only exchanged a few words of nostalgia. Is it necessary to inflict such severe punishment on him for just that?" Xiao Chen's face was somewhat gloomy as he spoke slowly.

  "Heh heh, Xiao Shidi, it's not that I'm not giving you face, but it's just my responsibility. Before our master went into seclusion, he entrusted me with handling all matters within the valley. If anything goes wrong, it would be troublesome. So this matter is settled, no need for you to say more, Shidi."

  Duan Huaming felt he had regained the upper hand and couldn't help but reveal a few hints of complacency in his expression.

  "What if I disagree?" Xiao Chen said with a expressionless face.

  Duan Minghua's eyes narrowed and his expression also turned cold: "Junior brother is probably not qualified for this yet."

  The two people were at odds with each other, and the atmosphere gradually became somewhat oppressive.

  Suddenly, Xiao Chen smiled faintly and turned to face Wang Bin, saying: "You go back to the outer gate first, cultivate well, I believe it won't be long before you can come back."

  Wang Bin nodded slightly with gratitude, although he didn't think he had another chance to come back. It was already extremely rare for Xiao Chen to do this much for him. After Wang Bin left, the many outer sect disciples who were watching dispersed, leaving only Xiao Chen and his three companions behind.

  Duan Huaming felt that he had won a trick, and with a smile on his face in front of Ji Yuwu, he couldn't help but feel a little proud. He chuckled and said: "Brother Xiao is not closed in the medicine garden to cultivate, how do you have time to return to Lingyao Valley today?"

  Xiao Chen's expression was calm as he glanced at Duan Minghua, if not for the fact that he couldn't reveal his true strength, he would have killed him long ago. Instead, he simply said: "Today I returned to the valley just to borrow a foundation-establishing pill from the Dan room. Since Shixiong is here, it saves me the trouble of reporting again. Please come with me to get the pill."

  Inside the Spiritual Medicine Valley, there is a Dan room where the Medicine Daozi has placed many elixirs for the disciples to practice and learn from. This time, Xiao Chen's purpose was precisely this.

  "Zhū jī dān?" Duàn Mínghuá's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise.

  Zhū jī dān, is one of the most difficult to refine among the second-grade elixirs. The spiritual medicine requires thirteen kinds, although the materials are not precious, but the success rate is extremely low. Even if it were refined by the Medicine Daozi himself, there would only be a 50% chance of success. Duàn Mínghuá, as the eldest disciple of Língyào Gǔ, had already reached the second-grade in alchemy and could refine some spiritual elixirs for cultivators in the foundation-building stage. However, he had never been able to refine this Zhū jī dān. It wasn't until recently when his cultivation broke through to the eighth layer of the Refining Qi stage, and he gained a deeper understanding of alchemy, that he decided to try refining it again. That's why he came to the Língyào Gǔ Danfang today to borrow the finished Zhū jī dān as a reference. Unexpectedly, he ran into Jī Yuè Wǔ, who was considered by the sect to be a once-in-a-century genius with exceptional talent in both cultivation and alchemy. She had reached the second-grade in alchemy in just over half a year and was preparing to start refining the Zhū jī dān.

  These two are considered to be the leaders of the younger generation in Luoyun Valley, with exceptional innate talents that make it no surprise they can attempt to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill at this time. However, Xiao Chen is just an ordinary person without a spiritual root, and all he has is an abandoned medicine garden. It's hard to say whether he has even stepped into the threshold of alchemy, yet he dares to pay attention to the Foundation Establishment Pill?

  With this thought in mind, Duan Huaming's face showed a few points of ridicule, and even Ji Yuedance on the side also revealed a hint of surprise, but quickly recovered her usual color.

  "Junior brother is indeed extraordinary, although without a spiritual root, but unexpectedly has a natural talent in alchemy, and now has the confidence to refine the foundation pill. I'm sure that at the upcoming inner sect alchemy assessment in a few months, junior brother will surely make a stunning debut. However, today's visit is somewhat untimely, as Master left three foundation pills in the medicine room for us to study, but recently Third Brother Heishi took one, and today two were taken by me and Moon Dance Junior Sister each. It seems that junior brother can only wait for a while." Duan Huaming's words were flattering on the surface, but the mocking tone was unmistakable.

  Xiao Chen's eyebrows furrowed slightly upon hearing this. Without the foundation pills, his cultivation plan would undoubtedly be completely disrupted.

  "Since that's the case, I'll take my leave first." Xiao Chen didn't drag his feet and since he couldn't obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill here, he naturally had to think of another way to resolve this matter.

  "Hold on, if Junior Brother Xiao really needs the Foundation Establishment Pill, I'll let him use this one first?" Ji Yuwu suddenly spoke up calmly, disregarding Duan Huaming's gloomy expression, and directly took out a pill from her storage bag and tossed it out.

  Xiao Chen took it in his hand, and his divine sense swept over. His face involuntarily revealed a few hints of joy. After a slight hesitation, he clasped his fists and said: "Thank you, Shifu, for thinking of me. Within three months, Xiao Chen will definitely return the Zhu Ji Dan."

  He shut his mouth and turned around, leaving with big strides in the morning dew.

  "Yue Wu Shi Mei, why did you want to give the foundation pill to him? Xiao Chen is just an ordinary person without a spiritual root, how can he possibly have the ability to refine the foundation pill?"

  "Brother Duan, I still have some things to attend to today, so I'll take my leave first. Also, please just call me Sister Ji from now on." Ji Yuwu interrupted Duan Huaming's words indifferently, disregarding his displeased expression, and left directly.

  Duan Minghua's face was stiff, and after Ji Yuedance walked away, his face completely fell into a gloomy expression. His face was unpredictable, and he let out a cold hum before leaving.

  ——————————————————————————————

  In the depths of the mountain's medicinal garden, Xiao Chen held the Tu Ji Dan in his hand, his mind fully immersed in it, analyzing the combination method of its medicinal properties. Refining the Tu Ji Dan required thirteen types of spiritual medicine, and the complexity of their interactions was more than ten times that of the Ju Ling Dan or Quan Ling Dan, which were already complex enough to make one's head ache. Only when his mind was on the verge of pain did Xiao Chen finally manage to memorize the combination method completely.

  Swallowing a few Dan pills, Xiao Chen slowly refined the medicinal power while constantly replaying in his mind to ensure there were no omissions. Only then did he enter a state of deep meditation. An hour later, Xiao Chen opened his eyes, and his spiritual energy and spirit had recovered to their peak state.

  With a satisfied nod, Xiao Chen placed the materials he had already prepared in front of the dan furnace one by one.

  With a wave of his hand, Xiao Chen poured some spiritual energy into the Dan furnace. His face was solemn as he threw in one by one the spiritual herbs, his divine sense fully entering them, carefully grasping the changes in the medicine's power.

  As time passed, the fragrance of medicine in the crucible became more and more intense, and it seemed that the elixir was about to be formed. However, at this moment, a dull sound suddenly came from the crucible without any warning, indicating the failure of this refining process.