36: Guni

The air in the Mittel Auction House, a mixture of expensive incense and various medicinal herbs, metals, and even magical beast materials, had gradually become familiar to Mo Yuhan.

Ever since he frequently came to the auction house to bid for medicinal herbs useful to Little Fairy Doctor or beneficial to his aunt's injuries, he had become a regular customer there.

Ya Fei had noticed this child, whose demeanor was remarkably different from ordinary people, ever since the battle in the market.

The astonishing feat of an eight-year-old Dou Zhe had already spread throughout Wutan City, and coupled with the mysterious woman always shrouded in a cloak and the delicate Alchemist maiden who always followed him, he was inherently a topic of much discussion.

Ya Fei's attitude towards Mo Yuhan gradually shifted from pure business interest and an investigation into his background to a more deliberate closeness.

She deeply understood the value of connections, especially with a child whose potential was almost monstrous.

This deliberate closeness naturally extended to one of the core figures of the auction house—Great Master Gu Ni, a Second-Rank Alchemist.

Great Master Gu Ni was a gaunt-faced old man with sharp eyes, usually engrossed in his alchemy room and not particularly keen on auction house affairs, but he greatly admired Ya Fei, this shrewd and capable junior.

Under Ya Fei's intentional or unintentional arrangements, Mo Yuhan's interactions with Gu Ni also increased.

Sometimes, Ya Fei would 'happen' to take Mo Yuhan to view newly arrived medicinal herbs in the storeroom, passing by Gu Ni's alchemy room; other times, when Mo Yuhan inquired about the properties of a certain herb, Ya Fei would 'casually' suggest he consult Great Master Gu Ni.

Initially, Gu Ni maintained only a natural, slightly detached curiosity—a typical Alchemist's response—towards Mo Yuhan, this monstrously talented cultivator.

However, he would not refuse Mo Yuhan observing him while he was refining medicine, simply treating it as a way to curry favor with Mo Yuhan on behalf of his junior, Ya Fei.

Until one time, while Mo Yuhan was waiting outside the alchemy room for Ya Fei to handle an urgent batch of auction items, Gu Ni was refining a rather crucial 'Qi-Restoring Pill'.

Flames surged within the pill cauldron, and a rich medicinal aroma permeated the air.

Gu Ni was fully focused, beads of sweat seeping from his temples as he carefully controlled the temperature of the flames and the output of his Soul Power.

However, just at the critical moment when the medicinal liquid was about to fuse into a pill, the energy inside the cauldron seemed to generate a subtle conflict due to a slightly inferior-aged auxiliary herb, and the balance was instantly broken.

A violent energy fluctuation suddenly overflowed from the cauldron's mouth, the pill cauldron trembled violently, and the runes on its wall flickered erratically, indicating that a cauldron of painstakingly collected medicinal materials was about to turn into charcoal.

It was at this critical juncture.

Mo Yuhan, who had been quietly observing from the corner, didn't even think; his body's instincts had already reacted.

His small figure stepped forward like a Gui Mei, his right index and middle fingers pressed together, and a flame, swift as lightning, pointed through the air at the restless pill cauldron.

"Chi—!"

The faint yellow flame, like a living spirit snake, shot out from his fingertip in an instant, accurately and precisely entering the violently fluctuating flame beneath the pill cauldron.

The appearance of this wisp of flame caused the temperature of the entire alchemy room to suddenly rise by a level, and the air seemed like water into which a stone had been thrown, rippling with invisible waves.

Great Master Gu Ni turned his head in shock, his slightly cloudy old eyes filled with disbelief.

That wisp of faint yellow flame, like a Sea God's calming needle, did not attempt to extinguish Gu Ni's flame, but rather, with an indescribable dominance and subtlety, instantly took over the core control of the furnace fire.

The originally violent and conflicting flame energy, under the 'pacification' and 'regulation' of this wisp of faint yellow flame, became docile and orderly like a tamed wild horse.

The medicinal liquid energy, which was on the verge of collapsing inside the cauldron, was also forcibly stabilized and harmonized by a powerful and scorching force, and the violent conflict was suppressed outright.

In just a few breaths, the trembling of the pill cauldron stopped, the violent energy fluctuations disappeared, replaced by an unprecedented, stable, and pure medicinal power fluctuation.

The flames inside the cauldron resumed their gentle pulsation, even more condensed than when Gu Ni had controlled them previously, and a richer, purer pill aroma wafted out in wisps from the gaps in the cauldron lid.

Great Master Gu Ni was dumbfounded, even forgetting to continue controlling the alchemy cauldron and flames.

He stared intently at the wisp of faint yellow flame slowly retracting into Mo Yuhan's fingertip, feeling the terrifying power and exquisite control contained within it, which made his Soul Power tremble, rendering him utterly speechless.

Just then, Ya Fei, who had just finished handling the auction items, happened to push open the door to the alchemy room.

She had her usual warm, spring-like smile, ready to greet Mo Yuhan, but the sight before her left her somewhat startled.

Because she just happened to see Great Master Gu Ni's ghost-like expression of shock.

Mo Yuhan slowly retracted his fingers, and the faint yellow sparks lingering on his fingertips flashed and disappeared.

Following this, Ya Fei smelled a pill aroma that was even richer than what Great Master Gu Ni usually produced when refining pills.

"This... Great Master Gu Ni, what's going on?"

Ya Fei's rosy cherry lips parted slightly, and her narrow phoenix eyes, for the first time, lost their usual graceful ease.

Great Master Gu Ni suddenly snapped back to his senses, not bothering to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, and rushed to Mo Yuhan's front, his old face flushed with excitement, his eyes burning as if to ignite Mo Yuhan: "Little fellow, you... what kind of fire was that?! And your control over flames... You... have you studied alchemy before?!"

His voice was slightly distorted by excitement.

Mo Yuhan calmly withdrew his hand, as if he had just done something insignificant, and shook his head: "Great Master Gu Ni, I have never studied alchemy; I just have a natural affinity for flames."

He avoided the crucial point, not mentioning that he possessed the Xuan Huang Flame, a unique fire.

"Natural affinity?!"

Gu Ni's voice rose even higher, as if he had heard a fantastical tale, "Absolutely impossible! I've been refining medicine for most of my life, and I've never seen anyone with such an affinity for flames as you, able to... able to..."

He couldn't find the right words to describe the miraculous scene he had just witnessed, "able to so exquisitely regulate violent medicinal power and stabilize the pill cauldron! This is simply... simply miraculous!"

He excitedly rubbed his hands, pacing back and forth in the alchemy room, his gaze sweeping over Mo Yuhan as if appraising a rare treasure.

Ya Fei also recovered, suppressing the shock in her heart, and her captivating smile returned to her face as she gracefully stepped closer, smiling sweetly:

"Great Master Gu Ni, it seems your batch of pills was saved thanks to little brother Mo. Such talent is truly unheard of."

Her eyes sparkled as they fell on Mo Yuhan, filled with undisguised admiration and deeper curiosity.

Gu Ni chuckled, "Little fellow, would you allow me to test your alchemy talent?"

Mo Yuhan didn't think much of it; he was actually curious if he had alchemy talent, and his relationship with Gu Ni was good, so a test wouldn't hurt.

After the test, Gu Ni's expression suddenly became much more fervent, and then he paced back and forth in the alchemy room.

A moment later, he abruptly stopped, his gaze fixed on Mo Yuhan with a burning intensity, as if he had made a certain decision: "Little fellow! Are you willing... to take me as your Great Master and learn the art of alchemy?"

His voice carried a hint of nervousness, and an unprecedented solemnity, "Although I am only a Second-Rank Alchemist, I believe I have some insights into fire control and basic medicinal property fusion. With your talent, in time, your achievements will surely surpass mine!"

"You must be aware of the status and position of an Alchemist; anywhere on this continent, you will be revered. Wealth, resources, women—you can have them all at your fingertips!"