“Elixir Monarch Chen. It’s just a misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding? Didn’t you say that the Alchemy Guild was not a place for a fraud like me?” Chen Fan said with a crooked smile.
“We have all witnessed your godly Alchemy Art. Everyone in the Beihuang Region knows that you deserve the title of Exalted Cultivator. If anyone dares to question that, the Alchemy Guild will be the first to stand up for you,” Situ Cheng said with zeal and a great measure of righteousness.
“Haha.”
Chen Fan let out a peal of laughter and decided to spare Situ Cheng.
Situ Cheng was too insignificant for him to dirty his hands. He was after the real culprits behind him, the families and sects in the Beihuang Region.
“Senior Chen, where shall we go next?” Mu Hongti asked.
“The Alchemy Guild. I need to thank the elders and the Guild Master for their trust and support.” Chen Fan grinned jeeringly.
Situ Cheng shook a little as a pang of distress flashed across his face.
In the end, he agreed to follow Chen Fan.
The Zhenhai State and the State of Ancient Medicine were tens of thousands of miles away. It took Chen Fan nearly half a month to travel from one to the other. However, on his way back to the State of Ancient Medicine, Chen Fan picked up the pace and was back in a few days.
The Medicine City sizzled with excitement when Chen Fan’s black carriage appeared at the city gate.
By then, nearly everyone had heard of Chen Fan’s battle at Linjiang City. They knew that Chen Fan had killed six great families’ heirs and defeated four Longevity Roll elites.
Why did Chen Fan come back to Medicine City? What did he want?
Boom!
Suddenly, countless ancient dharma arrays appeared inside the city, sending countless jets of energy up into the sky turning the air into colorful liquid. Rays of light beamed out from Alchemist Towers that scattered in the city.
These dharma arrays were set by the Heavenly Lord himself and were extremely powerful. They would ward off the combined attack of eight Quasi-Heavenly Lord’s attacks.
“What a sight. The Alchemy Guild has not used the Mountain Defensive Array ever since it was under siege by the alliance of Feng and the Nin Families.”
“They’re afraid of Chen Beixuan.”
“I would be afraid too. He single handedly defeated four Longevity Roll elites.”
Many people were angered by Chen Fan’s hostility.
Meanwhile, a lot other people furrowed their brows and wondered, “Did he come back to question the guild?”
“What for? The guild stood clear of trouble. If he wants the real culprit, he should go to the Hu family or the Feng Family.”
“I’ve heard otherwise. They said that Situ Cheng denounced him of not being an Elixir Monarch in front of everyone. Maybe that’s why he’s here.”
Jiang Han and Yan Wuwang were floored by the development. They stood at the top of the stone tower, looking up at the sky.
The cloudless sky was filled with cultivators who were ready to defend their city. Their enemy was only one man and he was sitting in a black carriage far away from the city.
“He is going to take on an entire city. Who would have thought that he not only possessed expert alchemy skills, but is also a deadly warrior.”
Jiang Han let out a wry smile. Envy shined in his eyes.
“Perfected Cultivator Azure Wood has taken the world by storm not only due to his alchemy art, but also because of his powerful Wood Element Dharma Spells. You underestimated him.”
Yan Wuwang shook his head.
His words scared many cultivators.
When Chen Fan left Alchemy Guild, everyone treated him politely, but no one was afraid of him. After all, the title of the Elixir Monarch meant nothing.
However, there and then, Chen Fan had returned for revenge after defeating Longevity Roll elites. Not even the most arrogant alchemist would dare to think lightly of him.
Swish!
A light darted into the sky and landed outside of the Dharma Array. Xu Yuan’s body emerged from the light and bowed deeply to the black carriage. He asked with a shocked expression, “Elixir Monarch, what are you doing here?”
No words came out of the carriage. However, Zhao Juexian cracked a cold smile and said from the driver seat, “The Alchemy Guild colluded with the Feng Family and the Hu family to harm my master. How dare you pretend that you’re innocent.”
“Nonsense. The Alchemy Guild has always treated Elixir Lord Chen amiably and respectfully. No one would want to harm him. Stop making up lies and sow discord between us,” Xu Yuan said with a taut face.
“We will know if it’s a lie once we meet Elixir Lord.”
Zhao Juexian shook his head.
Xu Yuan hesitated for a second and said, “I am sorry, but ever since Elixir Monarch Chen left, Elixir Lord entered secluded cultivation. He told us not to disturb him.”
“You mean he doesn’t want to see me?”
Chen Fan’s cold voice drifted out from the carriage.
“No no. That’s not what I meant. But you might have to wait for a while,” Xu Yuan said respectfully.
“Very well then. I will wait for him inside the tower,” Chen Fan said.
“The… the alchemist tower is closed off. The guild is doing a scheduled inspection of the array’s condition. The tower, as well as the entire Medicine City is closed off.”
“I see. You mean I can’t even enter the Medicine City.”
Chen Fan’s voice was icy.
Xu Yuan looked down expressionless. Then he said, “Yes…”
Suddenly, the air around them stopped flowing.
A wave of belligerent energy poured out from the black carriage and flooded the area, filling the air with its lethal intent. Even the cultivators inside the Dharma Array felt it and were petrified by its power.
After a while, the energy waned a little and a cold voice came out from the carriage.
“I understand. I will just wait for him here. I hope he won’t keep me waiting.”
The black carriage turned around and landed on top of a mountain.
Xu Yuan heaved a sigh of relief. Just a moment ago when Chen Fan filled the area with his deadly energy, Xu Yuan was at the forefront of the receiving end. He felt he was as powerless as an insect under Chen Fan’s unrelenting might.
“How could he be so powerful? Thank the gods that he was not inside the city, otherwise no one would be able to save us.”
Xu Yuan rubbed this sweaty forehead and hurried to return to the city.
Chen Fan set up a camp just outside the city.
Medicine City was a gathering place of Spirit Qi in the State of Ancient Medicine. Heavenly Lord of Ancient Medicine had diverted countless Spirit Veins to that place before he laid the foundation for the Medicine City. As a result, the land was full of precious and rare fauna.
Although the mountain looked barren from the outside, it had as much Spirit Qi as the Royal city of the Beihan Region. In other words, it was ten if not a hundred times denser than that on Earth.
After Chen Fan had set up camp, his patience returned to him. He decided to set up a cauldron and brew some elixirs. He had obtained a dozen Heavenly herbs during this journey, adding the dozen or so that he already had, he had over twenty Heavenly herbs. Those Heavenly Herbs would be enough for Chen Fan to create one batch of Heavenly Pills.
“Heavenly Pills have many levels of varieties…”
“The Heavenly Pill of Earth Essence and the Heavenly Pill of Wood Essence were inferior-grade Heavenly Pills. They can be created even by someone who is not a Heavenly Alchemist as long as their Alchemy skills are solid.
“However, the real Heavenly Pills have to be crafted using the Force of Nine Heavens and the Winds of Four Seasons. The Alchemist would need to have a solid cultivation, having already reached the Nascent Soul realm and the cauldron has to be a Heavenly Cauldron. A batch of Heavenly Pills are as powerful and rare as a Nascent Soul Cultivator. I just need one more batch to finally perfect my Azure Thearch Longevity Body,” Chen Fan thought.
He had gone to the Beihuang Region for this exact purpose: to get more Heavenly Medicines.
“Boom!”
Heavenly Lord of Ancient Medicine had chosen this location to found the city because of the powerful Earth Fire underneath. The higher the level of the pill was, the more energy was needed to temper it.
Chen Fan started an art and channeled the fiery energy through the Earth Fire Meridians, summoning a column of fire that shot up into the sky.
The fire soared into the sky and didn’t stop until it reached three thousand meters in the air. Chen Fan then set up a cauldron. The cauldron was over a hundred meters tall and its surface was covered with mystic carvings depicting all kinds of spirit beasts. It was Elixir Lord’s Quasi-Heavenly Treasure: the Treasure Cauldron of a Hundred Medicines.
“This Treasure cauldron is pretty handy. They said it was one of Heavenly Lord of Ancient Medicine’s seven Treasure cauldrons. Although it’s not as effective as the enormous Heavenly Cauldron outside the city, It will just do the trick.”
Chen Fan nodded.
Situ Cheng stood beside him, using a smile to mask his hatred.
The Treasure Cauldron of a Hundred Medicines was the Elixir Lord’s precious treasure. Worse, the Elixir Lord had promised it to him once Situ Cheng had gained enough strength to use it. However, Chen Fan came and robbed it from Elixir Lord and from him. Losing it might not mean much to Elixir Lord since he had many treasure cauldrons under his disposal, but it meant a lot to Situ Cheng.
“I am going to brew some elixir while waiting for your master. I hope he will come out soon.”
Chen Fan closed his eyes and sat in front of the cauldron.
True Fire of Earth Lung was pulled out from underground as the cauldron glowed more brightly by the second. One after another, Chen Fan fished out Heavenly Herbs and threw them into the cauldron. So focused was he on his task, he seemed to have forgotten the hostile attention he had attracted.
“Chen Beixuan, you’re too arrogant.”
Situ Cheng lowered his head and thought to himself with a smirk.
The news of Chen Fan camping outside of Medicine City was spread across the Beihuang Region. Together with his recent battle at Linjiang City, the Heavenly Lord Families finally woke up to the threat.
Dark clouds were gathering outside Medicine City. A storm was coming.