170: It was obtained for free.

Jiang Donghua ambled back to the Alchemy Department, a faint, foolish smile still lingering on his face.

His fingertips unconsciously caressed his lips, as if savoring the soft touch from moments before.

In the Alchemy Department hall, many students were busy organizing medicinal ingredients and perusing Pill Formulas.

Upon seeing him enter, they all stopped what they were doing and respectfully greeted him.

"Senior Brother Jiang!"

"Hello, Senior Brother Jiang!"

Jiang Donghua finally snapped out of his daze, lightly coughed, and feigned composure with a nod, though the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curve upwards slightly.

He casually waved his hand, signaling for everyone to continue with their work, then strode towards the second floor.

The second floor was the exclusive area for the Alchemy Department's elders; ordinary students were not allowed to enter without permission.

As Mo Xuan's personal Disciple, Jiang Donghua was naturally exempt from this restriction.

He ascended the stairs, familiar with the route, mentally calculating what he needed to report to his master later.

As he reached the second-floor corridor, he heard Mo Xuan's characteristic, somewhat teasing laughter coming from a room.

"Oh, isn't this my proud Disciple? Why, you're up so soon? I thought you'd be chatting with that girl Red Silk for a while longer!"

Jiang Donghua's steps faltered, and his mouth twitched.

He cursed inwardly that this old fellow was indeed spying again.

He pushed the door open and, sure enough, saw Mo Xuan sitting cross-legged in a grand armchair, holding a cup of hot tea, smiling at him with eyes full of mischief.

"Master, can't you stop being so gossipy?"

Jiang Donghua rolled his eyes, walked over, sat opposite him, and casually picked up a spirit fruit from the table, taking a bite.

Mo Xuan stroked his beard, his smile growing more profound.

"What, is there anything wrong with me, your master, caring about my Disciple's lifelong happiness? Besides, that scene in the square just now, tsk tsk tsk!"

Jiang Donghua almost choked on the fruit, his eyes wide.

"You... you saw it all?!"

Mo Xuan chuckled, slowly sipping his tea.

"Not only did I see it, but I saw it quite clearly. Ah, youth is truly wonderful, full of fiery passion, unlike us old fellows who can only drink tea and focus on health preservation."

Jiang Donghua's face flushed.

He grabbed the teapot from the table and poured himself a cup of tea, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Master, please stop teasing me. I came up here to discuss something important with you."

Mo Xuan raised an eyebrow, deliberately drawing out his words.

"Oh—? Important? More important than lifelong happiness?"

Seeing his master finally getting serious, Jiang Donghua said no more, only a sly smile playing on his lips.

He slowly took out four slightly glowing parchment scrolls from his storage ring.

He casually tossed them onto the table, where the scrolls gently unfurled, revealing densely packed ancient characters and intricate pill pattern designs.

Mo Xuan had initially been holding his teacup, looking utterly unperturbed.

But as his gaze swept over the scrolls, his pupils suddenly constricted.

His teacup clattered onto the table with a "clack," spilling a few drops of tea, though he remained oblivious.

"This... this is?!"

He abruptly stood up, snatched one of the scrolls, his fingers trembling slightly, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The characters on the scroll were ancient and profound, each stroke containing a unique Dao of Alchemy charm.

More importantly, a faint cyan Soul Imprint was branded on the bottom right corner of the scroll.

That was clearly Yao Jidao, the Yao Family's Grand Elder's unique mark!

Mo Xuan's expression instantly turned solemn.

He looked up at Jiang Donghua, his voice low.

"Stinky Kid, where did you get these? These are genuine fifth-grade elixir formulas, and they're also core inheritances of the Yao Family!"

Jiang Donghua shrugged, looking innocent.

"Didn't I say? I got them from Yao Jidao."

"Got them?"

Mo Xuan's eye twitched.

"Do you take me for a three-year-old? Would that Old Fox Yao Jidao just casually give you such high-grade Pill Formulas?"

Jiang Donghua chuckled, leaning closer and lowering his voice.

"Master, you know the Yao Family needs my help, so they gave me these blank checks first. As for me, I just didn't want to help them, so these Pill Formulas are my reward."

Mo Xuan narrowed his eyes, staring at his Disciple's harmless-looking smiling face.

However, he didn't ask any more questions, only snorted coldly.

"Stinky Kid, you've got guts, even daring to extort the Yao Family!"

Jiang Donghua rubbed his fingers, smiling even more brightly.

"Master, can you help me deal with the Soul Imprint on these Pill Formulas? Otherwise, it won't be convenient for me to use them."

Mo Xuan glanced at him, annoyed.

"I knew you had ulterior motives, you brat! Tell me, do you want me, your master, to clean up your mess again?"

Jiang Donghua quickly waved his hands.

"How could I! It's just that I believe in keeping the good stuff within the family! Master, you pick first from these Pill Formulas, and I'll study the rest."

Upon hearing this, Mo Xuan's expression softened a bit, and he snorted.

"At least you have some conscience!"

He picked up a scroll and examined it carefully, gently brushing his finger over the Soul Imprint.

A powerful Soul Power subtly permeated it, slowly eroding the mark.

Seeing this, Jiang Donghua secretly rejoiced and quickly went over to flatter him.

"Master is truly amazing! This Soul Imprint is like paper in your hands!"

Mo Xuan didn't even lift his head, saying blandly,

"Cut the flattery! If you dare to trick anyone again, be careful, I'll throw you into the pill furnace and refine you!"

Jiang Donghua shrank his neck, gave two dry laughs, but his heart was blooming with joy.

With these few fifth-grade elixir formulas, his alchemy skills could advance another level!

Inside the dark cave, dense poisonous mist permeated, and the surrounding stone walls were covered with dark purple poisonous vines.

Occasionally, dripping venom corroded black pits into the ground, emitting hissing sounds.

In the center of the cave, on an altar made of dark green jade, the Yao Family's Grand Elder, Yao Jidao, sat cross-legged, enveloped in a faint purple poisonous mist barrier.

His aura was extremely chaotic.

His originally powerful Dou Qi was now like a flickering candle in the wind, fluctuating between strong and weak, clearly indicating severe injuries.

"Crack!"

A faint cracking sound was particularly jarring in the silent cave.

Yao Jidao suddenly opened his eyes, and terrifying cold light burst forth from his cloudy old eyes.

His facial muscles twisted in anger, making his already hideous injuries appear even more terrifying.

His left shoulder was completely rotten, with bare white bones exposed, his flesh seeming to have been completely corroded by some potent poison.

And a large chunk of his jaw was missing, revealing half of his gum line and a severed tongue root, gruesome and horrifying!

"Jiang! Dong! Hua!!!"

His hoarse voice was like the low growl of a vengeful spirit, each word seemingly squeezed from between his teeth, carrying monstrous hatred.

Just now, he had clearly felt that the Soul Imprints he had left on those four fifth-grade elixir formulas had been forcibly erased!

"That little beast dared to scheme against this old man!"

He suddenly raised his hand and slammed it onto the altar.

A violent poisonous Dou Qi instantly erupted, and the entire altar exploded with a bang, sending shattered rocks flying and poisonous mist churning!

However, this fit of anger caused his internal injuries to worsen again.

He spat out a mouthful of black blood, staggered, and almost fell.

"Grand Elder!"

Outside the cave, several Yao Family guards heard the commotion and rushed in frantically.

But when they saw Yao Jidao's distorted face and terrifying injuries, they all turned pale with fright and dared not approach.

Yao Jidao gasped for breath, his eyes filled with boundless killing intent.

How could he not hate?

Originally, the Yao Family and the Bai Family's fierce conflict had erupted solely due to information leakage.

He had personally taken action, uniting with the Yao Family's Second Elder and Third Elder, to encircle and kill the Bai Family's Grand Elder, Bai Yan.

In that battle, Bai Yan was indeed slain by them, but the cost was the Second Elder's death in battle! The Third Elder was critically wounded!

And he himself was severely burned on half of his body by Bai Yan's dying counterattack using the Serpent Spirit Secret Art!

All of this was because of that little beast, Jiang Donghua!

If it weren't for him secretly instigating, making the Yao Family and the Bai Family mistakenly believe the other had made the first move, how could the two families have fought to a mutual defeat?

"Good, very good!"

Yao Jidao gnashed his teeth, his remaining half-face contorted with rage, a guttural growl escaping his throat.

"Jiang Donghua, this old man remembers you!"

He suddenly looked up, a sinister cold light flashing in his eyes.