Female Protagonist Assistance System

Chapter 18 : . Learning Alchemy

Finally, the two reached an agreement. The Miteer Auction House would refuse to sell any medicinal ingredients to the Jia Lie Family, while Xiao Han would provide five fourth-grade Qi Gathering Pills to the Miteer Auction House for free.

With the materials for refining Qi Gathering Pills in hand, Xiao Han bid farewell to Yafei and returned home.

Cutting off the Jia Lie Family's supply of medicinal ingredients was not a long-term solution. Only by producing a better healing medicine than the Spring Return Powder could they save the Xiao Family's market. Xiao Han thought this was perfect; since Gu Xun'er was learning alchemy anyway, why not sell the pills she refined?

Having a seventh-grade alchemist refine first-grade healing medicine was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Xiao Han felt unashamedly lazy.

System: Its host had worked so hard, what's wrong with slacking off occasionally!

The next day at Mao hour, Gu Xun'er came to the back mountain as usual, but saw her teacher whom she hadn't seen for a full six months.

Seeing her arrive, Xiao Han led her to an inconspicuous cave on the back mountain.

Gu Xun'er immediately understood that her teacher was going to teach her alchemy.

Xiao Han took out the cauldron and medicinal ingredients she had bought from the Miteer Auction House long ago and placed them in front of Gu Xun'er.

Gu Xun'er carefully examined the cauldron. The medicinal cauldron was dark red all over. At the bottom of the cauldron were carved two ferocious snake heads, their wide-open mouths forming two interconnected fire holes. The holes were curved and continuous, becoming smaller in diameter as they went deeper inside.

At the top of the cauldron, a giant snake coiled to form a dark red lid. There was a special hole in the lid, specifically for adding medicinal ingredients.

On the lid were scattered some finely made holes crafted from ice silver, serving to dissipate heat and prevent explosions due to high temperatures. In the middle of the cauldron was a transparent mirror surface made of ice essence, allowing a clear view of everything inside during the pill refining process.

The surface of the cauldron was adorned with beautiful magical beast carvings, so lifelike they seemed almost real.

"This is a two-mouthed cauldron, very suitable for beginners like you," Xiao Han said calmly.

"Two-mouthed cauldron?" Hearing this unfamiliar term, Gu Xun'er blinked in confusion.

"Medicinal cauldrons are also ranked. The more fire holes a cauldron has, the higher grade and rarer it is. Don't think these fire holes are just randomly punched holes; the intricacies inside are beyond the comprehension of laymen. The fire holes are the essence of a medicinal cauldron, requiring high-precision grinding. During the crafting process, even the slightest error will render the entire cauldron a failure. Therefore, cauldrons with more fire holes provide stronger auxiliary effects for alchemy. Of course, controlling multiple fire holes requires powerful spiritual perception. For you now, controlling two fire holes is already your limit," Xiao Han explained.

"First, familiarize yourself with this cauldron. Place one of your hands on the fire hole, then circulate your internal Dou Qi and input it into the cauldron."

As a female lead, Gu Xun'er's talent was indeed exceptional. Under Xiao Han's guidance, after ruining a few batches of medicinal ingredients, she gradually got the hang of it and successfully refined her first batch of medicinal liquid.

However, Xiao Han only glanced at it before discarding this flawed medicinal liquid. For a beginner, Gu Xun'er's first successful batch was already considered perfect, but for someone like Xiao Han who pursued perfection, Gu Xun'er still had a long way to go.

"Different materials have different temperature resistances, so you must learn to control the flame temperature at any point in the cauldron at will. Where low temperature is needed, you must suppress the flame; where high temperature is required, you must release the suppression to increase the flame temperature," Xiao Han said calmly, leaning against the wall, watching the young woman whose forehead had already begun to bead with sweat.

Gu Xun'er took a deep breath, allocating a strand of spiritual perception to control the temperature inside the medicinal cauldron.

Inside the cauldron, tiny black particles finally burst open under the continuously rising temperature. Wisps of black powder slowly floated into the pale red liquid in the center of the cauldron, deepening its color.

When the last wisp of black powder floated into the liquid, Gu Xun'er let out a long sigh of relief. Her hand slowly left the fire hole, and as she withdrew her hand, the flames in the cauldron gradually extinguished.

Looking at Gu Xun'er's heaving chest, Xiao Han was silent for a moment. With a wave of her hand, the cauldron's lid flew off. Her right hand beckoned, and a large glob of deep red, translucent liquid leaped out of the cauldron, hovering in mid-air of the cave.

Glancing at the liquid emitting a strong medicinal scent, Xiao Han nodded, quite satisfied.

Her hand sliced through the air, and following her hand's movement, the flowing deep red liquid was divided into at least a hundred small droplets.

With a thought from Xiao Han, over a hundred small jade bottles suddenly filled the narrow cave.

After arranging the jade bottles, she casually waved her hand, and the liquid in mid-air accurately fell into the jade bottles.

"Not bad," Xiao Han nodded. "Congratulations, you've refined a fairly perfect batch of medicinal liquid."

Gu Xun'er, exhausted from overusing her spiritual perception, couldn't speak. She couldn't help but smile bitterly; her teacher was definitely a demon teacher, showing no mercy even to her disciple.

This couldn't just be called strict; it was downright harsh!

However, Gu Xun'er didn't complain. After all, her teacher's strictness was also good for her.

"How do you plan to handle these medicinal liquids?" Xiao Han tossed this question to Gu Xun'er. Although she had prepared the materials and cauldron, these medicinal liquids were indeed refined by Gu Xun'er. Though she was her teacher, she had no right to decide the fate of these medicinal liquids.

Gu Xun'er thought for a moment and said, "I don't have much use for so many medicinal liquids. Since the Jia Lie Family has taken a large share of the Xiao Family's market with their Spring Return Powder, why not give these medicines to the Xiao Family?"

Xiao Han was surprised: "Are you that close to the Xiao Family?"

Gu Xun'er smiled sweetly: "What does the Xiao Family matter to me? But who made Senior Sister a member of the Xiao Family?"

Xiao Han was stunned for a moment and said no more.

Over the next few days, Gu Xun'er spent almost all her time by the medicinal cauldron. Although the days were extremely tiring, the storage ring full of healing medicine made her feel quite gratified during her rest periods.

Her control over temperature also became more and more proficient with so many pill refining sessions.

Later, Xiao Han, under the guise of a mysterious merchant, established contact with the Xiao Family, selling them the healing medicinal liquid refined by Gu Xun'er at a low price, and signed a long-term cooperation agreement with the Xiao Family.

When asked about the name of this medicinal liquid, she casually made up the name "Yu Ling Powder".

She gave all the money earned to Gu Xun'er. After all, it was Gu Xun'er who refined the medicine.

Time passed quickly, and soon, the Xiao Family disciples welcomed the day to select cultivation methods at the Dou Qi Tower.

On the plaque of the huge tower were inscribed three characters in an ancient style: "Dou Qi Tower". The plaque was slightly yellowed, its grooves showing the vicissitudes of time.

This tower was the most important place in the Xiao Family—the Dou Qi Tower. All the Dou Qi cultivation methods collected by the family over hundreds of years were stored here, and these methods were the guarantee of the Xiao Family's current status.

Standing in the queue, Xiao Han's cold expression formed a stark contrast with the excited clansmen around her. As someone who possessed a world-class cultivation method, she truly couldn't muster any interest in these yellow-rank methods of the Xiao Family.

Gu Xun'er shared the same attitude, so the two who already had cultivation methods stood together in silence, completely out of place with their surroundings.

"I've explained the rules for entering the Dou Qi Tower many times, so I won't repeat them in detail now. In short, after entering the Dou Qi Tower, everyone must come out within two hours! Also, each person can only take one Dou Qi cultivation method that matches their attribute, no more. If anyone tries to secretly keep extra methods, they will be disqualified from obtaining a Dou Qi cultivation method. So, you'd better be careful!" Standing on the high steps, Xiao Zhan swept his stern gaze over the large group of young men and women below, his face serious.

"Yes!" The numerous youths responded excitedly in loud voices, their gazes burning as they looked at the huge tower. Being able to obtain a good Dou Qi cultivation method would allow them to take the lead from the start, which had always been the most anticipated thing in the hearts of all clan members.

"Since everyone knows the rules, let's begin."

Xiao Zhan nodded with satisfaction and stepped back, revealing the stone pillar standing in front of the tower's main door. The pillar was about one meter tall, with a transparent crystal ball placed on its top.

With a wave of his hand, two guards behind him slowly pushed open the black giant doors with a muffled creaking sound.

"After testing your own attribute, you can enter. Remember, once inside, walk the path according to your attribute, don't take the wrong path!" Xiao Zhan nodded, gesturing to the crowd below that they could start.

Hearing they could begin, everyone was extremely excited, but they still obediently lined up, moving forward step by step.

Xiao Han didn't want to compete with these kids, so she consciously stood at the end of the queue. Gu Xun'er naturally wanted to follow her, so when she saw Xiao Han standing at the end of the queue, she also left her place in line and came to Xiao Han's side.

Xiao Han felt a bit of a headache. Why was this female lead so clingy to her? She didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

Time passed slowly, and finally, after everyone else had gone in, Xiao Han and Gu Xun'er came before Xiao Zhan.

Seeing Xiao Han, a trace of guilt flashed through Xiao Zhan's eyes.

With her keen senses, Xiao Han naturally caught that flash of guilt in Xiao Zhan's eyes. Recalling what the system had told her not long ago, Xiao Han slightly lowered her eyelids and raised her hand towards the crystal ball.

Some things, once wrong, are wrong, no matter how justified the reasons may seem.

The crystal ball emitted a dazzling silver light, representing Xiao Han's extremely pure lightning energy.

Xiao Zhan knew his daughter's attribute. He was silent for a moment, then sighed and said in a low voice, "Lightning path, third route, last room."

Xiao Han was stunned, her gaze immediately becoming intriguing.

Was Xiao Zhan giving her special treatment? Wasn't this the treatment that Xiao Yan received in the original story? But she clearly hadn't seen Xiao Zhan give Xiao Yan any special treatment just now.

It seems Xiao Yan truly had a talent for causing trouble.

A cold smile flashed in Xiao Han's eyes. Without the support of the Xiao Family, she wondered how Xiao Yan would manage to learn about and obtain the Tuo She Ancient Emperor Jade that Xiao Zhan possessed.

After Xiao Han finished her test, she stood aside to watch Gu Xun'er's test.

Gu Xun'er looked at the smooth crystal ball, hesitated slightly, then shook her head somewhat helplessly and gently touched it with her slender finger.

As Gu Xun'er's finger touched it, after a brief moment of stillness, the crystal ball suddenly turned fiery red, instantly becoming as hot and dazzling as a fireball. Xiao Han's sharp eyes caught a glimpse of green hidden deep within.

Looking at the crystal ball that had turned into a fireball with some shock, Xiao Zhan's mouth was slightly open, his heart skipping a beat.

The fireball persisted for a moment, only slowly fading after Gu Xun'er withdrew her finger. By then, fine cracks had spread all over the crystal ball.

Looking at the about-to-shatter crystal ball with a wry smile, Xiao Zhan sighed helplessly and waved his hand, saying, "Quick, go in."

Xiao Han looked at Gu Xun'er thoughtfully.

Such a pure fire constitution, plus that hint of wood attribute, she was simply born to be an alchemist.

It seems she had also stumbled upon a treasure.