145: Chapter 145 Entering the Forbidden Zone: The Alchemy Room of a Lonely Man and Woman

Following Liu Hanyan through a deep corridor behind the Cloud Top Medicine Pavilion, an ancient stone gate shrouded in layers of formations came into view.

Above the stone gate, three large characters, "Medicine Spirit Abyss," were carved with vigorous and powerful strokes, exuding a heavy sense of accumulated time. Just standing at the entrance, one could feel the majestic spiritual energy overflowing from within, more than dozens of times denser than the outside world.

"Young Master Xu, please."

Liu Hanyan performed a complex hand seal, and the stone gate crashed open, revealing the deep and quiet space inside.

As the two stepped inside, the three-foot-thick Broken Dragon Stone slowly descended with a dull roar, instantly isolating all the noise from the outside world.

Xu Chen looked around. This so-called "Abyss" was actually a huge karst cave formed by hollowing out the heart of a mountain.

Night pearls arranged according to the stars of the heavens were embedded in the ceiling, casting a soft cold light.

The ground was paved with thick warm jade, and various rare flowers and exotic herbs that had long been extinct in the outside world grew all around, the air filled with an intoxicating medicinal fragrance.

In the very center of the cave, on a large bluestone platform, various alchemy tools were placed. Next to it was a white jade cold bed for resting, covered with soft Cloud Brocade bedding.

How did this look like an alchemy room for bitter cultivation? It was clearly a very elegantly decorated... boudoir.

"Here... besides me, no one else has ever entered."

Liu Hanyan's voice echoed in the empty cave, sounding somewhat ethereal. She had her back to Xu Chen, seemingly using the action of organizing medicinal materials to hide her current unease.

After all, a lonely man and woman sharing a room, and having to perform a so-called "deep cooperation," made her Dao heart, which had been silent for hundreds of years, truly have nowhere to settle.

"I can tell."

Xu Chen walked to the white jade cold bed, reached out to press the soft bedding, and a playful smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"If Tower Master Liu gets tired of alchemy on ordinary days, do you sleep here?"

Liu Hanyan's body stiffened slightly, and her ears instantly turned beet red.

"That is... that is a place for meditation and breath regulation! Alchemy is mentally exhausting, and one needs to keep the Spiritual Terrace clear at all times..." she explained flusteredly, but her voice grew smaller and smaller, completely lacking confidence.

Seeing this usually high-and-mighty Tower Master acting like a helpless little girl at this moment, Xu Chen's mischievous streak was greatly satisfied.

He didn't continue teasing her but stopped while he was ahead, withdrawing his gaze and walking to the alchemy platform.

"Alright, enough joking."

Xu Chen retracted his smile, and his expression became serious.

"Tower Master Liu, since we've entered this door, we're in the same boat. For the Nine Revolutions Replenishing Heaven Pill, and for your reputation, this time only success is allowed, not failure."

Seeing Xu Chen talk about serious business, Liu Hanyan finally regained some of her composure. She took a deep breath and turned around, the rigor and professionalism of an alchemist returning to her beautiful eyes.

"Young Master Xu is right."

She pointed to several main medicines on the platform, her expression solemn.

"Although we have the pill recipe and the medicinal materials, to refine the Nine Revolutions Replenishing Heaven Pill, there is one most fatal obstacle."

"Fire."

...

Meanwhile, outside the thick Broken Dragon Stone Gate of the Medicine Spirit Abyss.

*Thump!*

A small foot wearing a red embroidered shoe kicked the stone gate hard, but it only stirred a faint ripple of the formation, without even shaking off a bit of dust.

"I'm so angry! I'm so angry!"

Xiao Yu stood outside the door, stomping her feet in anger, her delicate little face flushed red, looking like a little fire turkey with its feathers ruffled.

She had originally run away in a huff, but halfway through, the more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong. Why should the two of them hide inside comfortably? What if that pretty boy had designs on her Senior Sister? What if her old-fashioned Senior Sister was cheated?

So she returned as if possessed, only to see the scene of the Broken Dragon Stone falling.

Now it was great; she was completely locked out.

"Liu Hanyan! You shameless old woman! You actually brought him into the Medicine Spirit Abyss?!"

Xiao Yu pressed her ear against the stone gate, trying to hear what was happening inside, but the soundproofing of this stone gate was outrageously good. Let alone talking, even if they were beating gongs and drums inside, not a sound would be heard outside.

"A lonely man and woman... behind closed doors... and there's a bed..."

Xiao Yu's brain instantly filled with ten thousand words of indescribable images. The more she thought, the angrier and more jealous she became.

"Ahhh! No! I can't lose!"

She suddenly turned around, her almond eyes burning with fierce fighting spirit.

"Isn't it just refining a pill? This young lady doesn't believe it. I possess the 'Three Thousand Blazing Flames,' ranked ninth on the Heavenly Fire List. Could I possibly be worse than the two of you playing house together?"

"You refine inside, and I'll refine outside! Once this young lady refines the divine pill first, I'll throw the pill right in the face of that blind pretty boy and see if he still dares to say I can't do it!"

Although she didn't have the complete pill recipe, she felt she could refine it based on the fragments.

Xiao Yu shook her fist at the stone gate through gritted teeth and then rushed towards her Saintess Hall like a whirlwind.

...

Inside the Medicine Spirit Abyss.

Liu Hanyan didn't know that the "little vinegar jar" outside was going crazy.

She was currently looking at Xu Chen with a serious face, explaining the difficulty of refining the divine pill to him.

"The main medicine of the Nine Revolutions Replenishing Heaven Pill, the 'Ten Thousand Year Dragon Blood Vine,' is as hard as divine iron and contains extremely strong dragon qi. Ordinary top-grade beast fires might not be able to melt it even if burned for seven days and seven nights."

"And the 'Nine-Leaf Ice Heart Grass' is extremely afraid of fire; a slight oversight will turn it into ashes."

"This combination of hard and soft requires extremely harsh control over the flames."

Liu Hanyan looked at Xu Chen, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes.

"Young Master Xu, forgive me for being blunt. Although your cultivation has reached the Quasi-Saint level, it doesn't mean you understand fire. Alchemy fire is completely different from killing fire. If your flame isn't strong enough, or if it's too strong and uncontrollable, this batch of pills... simply cannot be refined."

She was giving him a warning and also making a final confirmation.

After all, if it wasn't suitable, there was still time to change people now, which was better than ruining these incredibly precious medicinal materials.

Xu Chen listened to her analysis and didn't refute, just quietly looking at her.

"Tower Master Liu."

He suddenly spoke, his voice calm.

"Why do you think I rejected Xiao Yu's Three Thousand Blazing Flames and chose to cooperate with you?"

Liu Hanyan was stunned: "Isn't it because... because I agreed to your conditions?"

"That's only one of the reasons."

Xu Chen smiled slightly and slowly extended his right hand, palm upward, his fingers long and powerful.

"The second reason is... in my eyes, her so-called ninth-ranked fire on the Heavenly Fire List is nothing more than that."

"Nothing more than that?!"

Liu Hanyan's eyes widened, feeling that this Young Master's tone was a bit too arrogant. That was a Heavenly Fire of heaven and earth!

Xu Chen didn't explain further.

Facts speak louder than words.

"Tower Master Liu, watch closely."

"Today, I'll let you see what a true... ancestor of playing with fire looks like."

Before his voice fell, he moved his mind.

A terrifying aura that had been dormant in his body, originating from the ancient primordial chaos, began to gather towards his palm along his meridians.