Chapter 74: The Supreme Pill Master (Part Two)

Alchemy?
The old man is actually an alchemist?
Su Chen was quite surprised.
Alchemists held an extremely high status in this world, and it was the wealthiest profession, bar none.
However, to avoid revealing his identity, Su Chen pretended to be clueless and asked.
“Alchemists…it’s the most prestigious profession in the world.”
“Once you become an alchemist, power, status, beauty—everything is within reach.”
Speaking of alchemists, Su Weichang was full of pride.
Su Chen was curious: “Old man, since you’re an alchemist, why are you staying in this corner?”
Faced with this question, Su Weichang’s expression darkened.
“This matter…you will naturally know in the future if there’s an opportunity.”
And so, Su Chen began to learn alchemy from Su Weichang.
His physique in this life was a kind of intelligent physique called the Seven Apertures Exquisite Physique, which made learning anything twice as effective with half the effort.
"Chen'er, alchemy is an extremely difficult task. Even the most ordinary first-grade alchemist cannot achieve it overnight."
After Su Chen broke through to the Spirit Gathering Realm, Su Weichang led him to a mountain peak and retrieved a treasured alchemy furnace from the ground. It was black and rusty.
Su Chen asked curiously, "Old man, can this black pot really be used for alchemy?"
Although Su Chen wasn't an alchemist himself, he had seen quite a few alchemists throughout his several lifetimes.
The alchemy furnace was an alchemist's lifeblood, of paramount importance.
He had never seen an alchemist use...such a 'dilapidated' furnace.
Su Weichang smiled and said, "As the saying goes, the strong never complain about their environment. A true alchemist can use anything in the world as their furnace."
Su Chen nodded.
*I don't believe you!*
*That old rascal is wicked, spouting nonsense with a straight face!*
Su Chen figured the old man had most likely taken the alchemy furnace to use as wine when he retired, and its whereabouts were probably unknown now, so he had to make do with this.
Su Weichang smiled faintly, flames swirling around him, encircling the furnace like fiery dragons. He then sprinkled in some medicinal herbs, which instantly liquefied and solidified within the furnace, transforming into perfectly round, high-quality first-grade pills in no time.
Su Chen was astonished. Judging by this alchemy technique alone, he was at least a fourth-grade alchemist.
"This is my signature technique, the Eight Desolations Alchemy Method. I originally thought it would be lost forever, taken to the grave."
"It's a good deal for you, kid."
Su Weichang sighed.
At the end of his lifespan, he had originally wanted to spend this ordinary life with Su Chen.
As Su Chen embarked on the path of cultivation, his life was destined to be extraordinary. No one who sets out on this path would willingly abandon everything and return to a life of ordinariness.
Su Chen carefully reviewed Su Weichang's pill-refining technique in his mind.
Wisps of eerie blue flame appeared in his hand, spreading out in all directions, as he placed the prepared medicinal herbs inside.
A day later, Su Chen looked at the pills that had appeared in the furnace.
Su Weichang also looked at the pills in the furnace.
Su Chen sighed, "Refining pills doesn't seem so difficult after all."
His first attempt at pill refining was a success.
Su Weichang remained silent, disappearing from Su Chen's sight, his whereabouts unknown.
Su Chen hadn't seen the old man for several days.
During these days, Su Chen had been refining pills, successfully producing a second-grade pill in just three days.
With the pills, his cultivation speed increased even further.
A week passed, and Su Chen, while refining pills, simultaneously refined more, reaching the fourth level of the Spirit Gathering Realm.
The medicinal herbs left by the old man had run out, forcing Su Chen to descend the mountain to search for more.
Down the mountain, Su Chen suddenly frowned.
"There's a bloody smell!"
Su Chen was extremely sensitive to the smell of blood.
"Something must have happened in the village!"
In this life, the villagers had often helped Su Weichang and Su Chen, and Su Chen still held a good impression of these simple and honest villagers.
Sensing a potential crisis in the village, Su Chen didn't waste any words and headed directly towards the village.
Inside the village
Just as Su Chen had predicted.
A band of bandits had wandered here and discovered the village.
The bandit leader was a burly, ruthless man with a bald head and a centipede-like scar on his face, utterly terrifying. He wielded a nine-ringed broadsword, half a man's height, from which blood dripped.
The villagers trembled in fear.
These bandits were all martial artists; the villagers were no match for them and could only be slaughtered.
“Boss, there’s a pretty little girl here,”
one of the bandits, a man with a horse-like face, said, lewdly pulling on the hair of a delicate-looking girl.
“Xiao Fang!”
Niu Da Sha’s son, seeing A Fang captured, rushed forward, wanting to fight the horse-faced man to the death.
But the horse-faced man kicked him, sending him flying into a nearby haystack, unconscious.
"Bah! A hero saving a damsel in distress? He should know his own limitations!"
The horse-faced henchman laughed loudly.
Afang was in despair.
Captured by these vicious bandits, she knew she would face unimaginable torture.
The horse-faced henchman's laughter abruptly ceased.
He clutched his neck tightly, blood gushing out and splattering onto Afang.
The blood was scalding hot.
The horse-faced man was dead.
The horrifying scene left Afang bewildered.
It also put the other bandits on high alert. Their leader looked at a leaf, stained with blood.
"This leaf killed Horse-faced?"
The others asked in astonishment.
The burly man raised his nine-ringed broadsword, brandished it a few times, and shouted into the air, "Who are you? Why are you helping some villagers kill my brothers from Horse Head Village?"
Without a reply, a young man leaped from the sky and landed on the ground in a few swift movements.
The villagers, seeing the young man, looked on incredulously.
Afang stared wide-eyed at the young man standing before her.
"Brother Chen?"
Su Chen nodded, saying calmly, "It's me."
He casually snatched a large sword from the dead horse-faced man's hand and looked at the remaining bandits.
That look sent chills down the spine of the ruthless bandit leader.
He remembered years ago, when he was still in the army, before he deserted, he had seen a powerful figure appear.
That powerful figure's eyes... were exactly the same as the young man's eyes.
Indifference!
It seemed as if they were beings from completely different dimensions!
"Run...we must run..."
The ruthless bandit leader, in a split second, was terrified. He mounted his horse and fled without looking back.
Seeing their leader escape, the other bandits tried to run as well.
However, they were far too weak against Su Chen and were easily killed by the ghostly Su Chen.
Su Chen casually mounted a horse and followed behind the bandit leader.
Cut the weeds...eliminate them completely!