Chapter 348 In times without heroes, even a nobody can rise to fame.

After Yao Ling left, Old Man Shennong arrived.

The old man walked into the Flower Hall leaning on his cane and got straight to the point: "Did that girl come looking for you?"

Shen Wen nodded: "We chatted for half a day."

Old Man Shennong leaned back in his chair, his tone full of emotion: "That girl Yao Ling's talent is indeed excellent. Born with a Heaven State soul—the Medicine Clan hasn't produced such a talent in many years."

He paused, his tone shifting: "This Pill Gathering is likely to be more lively than any previous one."

Shen Wen raised an eyebrow.

Old Man Shennong counted on his fingers: "Yao Ling is here, and her elder brother Yao Tian is coming too."

The Yan Clan has sent people. Then there are those reclusive Alchemists—eighth-tier, Peak eighth-tier, and those old fellows who have touched the threshold of the ninth-tier—they've all come."

He looked at Shen Wen: "They are all coming for you."

Shen Wen was startled.

"The zong ji pill has long since spread through the circles. Add to that my reputation."

Old Man Shennong snorted, "When those old fellows heard that a young man in his early twenties refined something they couldn't refine in their entire lives, could they sit still?"

He leaned back in his chair, his tone teasing: "The Pill Tower's Pill Gathering was originally intended to give young people a chance to show themselves."

Now, because of your meddling, it has become a grand assembly of heroes for the Central Plains' Alchemy world.

The minimum is eighth-tier; have you ever seen a Pill Gathering with such a lineup?"

Shen Wen was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "That's just as well. It saves me from meeting them one by one; I can deal with them all at once and save some trouble."

Old Man Shennong was stunned for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter, making the jade bottle on his cane clink.

"Good!" He stood up and walked toward the door. Reaching the entrance, he stopped, turned back, and said, "You should keep an eye on Yao Ling's elder brother, Yao Tian."

Shen Wen looked at him.

"The strongest in Alchemy among the Medicine Clan's younger generation isn't Yao Ling, but her elder brother," Old Man Shennong said seriously. "That boy is someone who has truly touched the threshold of the ninth-tier. If you want to take first place, he should be your greatest opponent."

Shen Wen nodded: "This Disciple understands."

Old Man Shennong said nothing more and turned to leave.

The Flower Hall fell silent. Shen Wen leaned back in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest.

A person who has touched the threshold of the ninth-tier.

Interesting.

...

Pill City's East District, the Medicine Clan's base.

The courtyard was not large, but the layout was extremely refined. Several Danxia Spirit Trees had been transplanted into the courtyard, their leaves glowing with a faint red light in the twilight, and the air was filled with a crisp medicinal fragrance.

After Yao Ling returned from the Shen Residence, she locked herself in her room.

Several blank Jade Slips were spread out on the table. She picked up a brush and wrote a few lines, then crossed them out; wrote again, and crossed them out again.

Several crumpled balls of paper were scattered on the floor, all containing fragmented Alchemy insights—'Melting medicinal ingredients with the rhythm of the four seasons,' 'Using the power of heaven and earth to feed back into the pill cauldron'...

She rested her chin in her hands, her gaze falling outside the window, as the words Shen Wen had spoken replayed repeatedly in her mind.

Simulating the changing of the four seasons with flames, allowing the medicinal ingredients to naturally release their properties within the rhythm of 'spring birth and summer growth'.

She had never heard such a theory, but upon careful thought, she felt it had its own logic.

medicinal ingredients are born of heaven and earth; refining them with the laws of heaven and earth seems to be the true path.

She couldn't help but pick up her brush to write a few more lines when she suddenly heard footsteps outside the door.

With a 'creak,' the door was pushed open.

Yao Tian stood at the door, dressed in a brocade robe, his face handsome to the point of being effeminate.

His lips were very thin, and when slightly pursed, they carried a hint of a mean-spirited flavor.

His gaze swept over the paper balls on the floor and then fell on the messy Jade Slips on the table, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Since you returned, you've locked yourself in your room, neglecting food and drink just to ponder these things?"

Yao Ling looked up, called out "Brother," and was about to continue writing.

Yao Tian walked over, casually picked up a crumpled paper ball, smoothed it out, and glanced at it.

"'Using the power of heaven and earth to feed back into the Medicinal Pill'?"

He read it aloud, the corners of his mouth curling into a slight mocking arc. "Is this what that Shen Wen taught you?"

Yao Ling put down her brush and said seriously: "What he said indeed makes sense. I've thought about it repeatedly since I came back."

If one could channel the stray energy between heaven and earth into the pill cauldron, naturally absorbing it during the Formation of the Medicinal Pill..."

"Pure fantasy," Yao Tian interrupted her, throwing the paper ball back onto the table, his tone indifferent.

"The energy of heaven and earth is mixed and impure; introducing it into the pill cauldron will only destroy the balance of the medicinal properties. Does such a principle even require thought?"

Yao Ling pursed her lips, not arguing, but not nodding either.

Yao Tian sat down in a chair, his gaze falling on her face, his tone steady: "I heard he also knows some 'Void Control Technique,' and can multitask during Alchemy, refining medicinal power while simultaneously constructing a Formation inside the Medicinal Pill?"

Yao Ling nodded.

"I have already mastered it." Yao Tian leaned back in his chair, his tone as casual as if he were speaking of a trivial matter. "It's just multitasking; it's not some profound method."

As for that method of merging Formations with pills—"

He paused, the mocking arc at the corner of his lips deepening: "It's merely taking an unorthodox path."

Yao Ling looked at him and suddenly asked: "Then why didn't Brother propose such a method before?"

Yao Tian glanced at her.

"Because there are better Medicinal Pills," he said indifferently. "The zong ji pill can allow a Dou Zong to advance by one star; it sounds impressive."

But before the true heritage of the Medicine Clan, it is nothing more than that.

Why should I take a deviant path that someone else has already walked?"

"In an age without heroes, a nobody makes a name for himself."

Yao Ling looked up.

Yao Tian stood up, walked to the window, and stood with his hands behind his back.

The twilight outlined a cold, hard line on his profile.

"At the Pill Gathering, I will personally take action and defeat him."

His voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable certainty.

"At that time, the world will naturally understand that those so-called 'new methods' are nothing more than grandstanding, trivial tricks."

Yao Ling looked at her brother's back, opened her mouth to say something, but ultimately swallowed it back down.

She lowered her head, her gaze falling on the paper filled with writing on the table.

"Using the power of heaven and earth to feed back into the Medicinal Pill"—those words had been traced by her several times, the ink thick and heavy.

She stared at it for a moment, then folded the paper gently and tucked it into her sleeve.

...

Pill City's South District, the Yan Clan's base.

Unlike the tranquility of the Medicine Clan's base, the Yan Clan's courtyard was filled with a blazing aura everywhere.

A pool had been dug in the center of the courtyard, but it did not contain water; instead, it was filled with churning lava, steam rising and causing the surrounding air to distort slightly from the heat.

Huo Zhi sat on a stone bench by the pool, a cluster of deep red flame resting in her palm. The flame danced at her fingertips, sometimes transforming into a bird, sometimes condensing into a swimming fish, as agile as a living creature.

Huo Xuan walked out of the house, carrying two cups of tea, and handed one to her.

"Still thinking about that Shen Wen?"

Huo Zhi took the tea, took a sip, and her gaze fell on the flame in her palm: "I heard that in his residence, there are several types of Heavenly Flames alone."

Huo Xuan sat down opposite her and raised an eyebrow: "Several types?"