"A pill... that lets you use magic?"
"What are you talking about?"
Even though Grandmaster Lu Qing had the title of being the previous era's number one alchemist, he still could not understand what the two were saying. In his realm of knowledge, he had never once heard of a pill with such a name or such properties before.
So it was no surprise that he looked utterly confused.
"Well, before this..."
Wu Jia scratched his head awkwardly, turning to ask for Bai Fanxian's opinion. When he saw her nod in permission, he told Lu Qing the origin of this type of pill without hiding anything.
"..."
"...So that's it. You extract magic power to use as the core, then use other materials to expand the quantity. That way, you end up with pills packed full of magic."
Worthy of being Lu Qing. From just a rough explanation, he could already work out the principles behind this type of pill. He quickly looked left and right, eyes sparkling, then asked—
"Where is it? Let me see."
His attitude was no different from a child's. But Bai Fanxian had to dampen his expectations first.
"Well... they're gone."
"...Gone?"
"Yeah... all gone."
"Before, I used magic power I got from a man named Barbatos. But now, as you know... he's escaped."
Bai Fanxian stroked her chin, pondering. She was thinking back to Fenex, who was now detained somewhere in the country. But she had to cut that thought short, remembering his near-death state under Tang Yeye's freezing qi.
She did not know if he would wake up as cooperative as Barbatos had been, back then.
"...I see. Missing the main material."
"Yeah... besides Fenex, I don't know where to find anyone else who can use magic..."
"...!"
"..."
In that instant, the entire room went silent. Both Bai Fanxian and Divine Doctor Wu Jia turned sharply to look in the same direction. Of course, the target of their gazes could be no one but Lu Qing, who stood looking left and right, not understanding the situation at all.
"Come to think of it... there's still one here."
"Huh? You already know where to find someone with magic?"
"Yeah... seems he doesn't realize it yet either." She revealed a rarely seen smile as she moved to stand before him.
*Huff!*
At that moment, he felt the pressure in the air. Even though Bai Fanxian did not release any power at all, this alone was enough to make him sweat all over.
"..."
Coming this far, how could Grandmaster Lu Qing still not realize?
Who else would have magic power in their body besides him!?
Though he had agreed to cooperate readily, his instincts had been screaming warnings nonstop this whole time!
"...Wu Jia, prepare the tools for me."
"...Uh, I think we should talk more... like methods or processes or something like that?"
"...Wu Jia?"
"Understood..."
Though he did not want to cooperate much, he also did not want to refuse the request. The Divine Doctor smiled dryly and helplessly at the man who held the title of the only Tier-4 alchemist before Bai Fanxian appeared.
"...Good luck. I really respect you."
"...!"
.
.
.
Strange sounds had been continuously emerging from the room next to Bai Fanxian's workshop, and many grew worried. But when Wu Jia, standing guard, told them Bai Fanxian was helping Grandmaster Lu Qing treat old injuries and wounds, they understood, and simply left with pitying gazes before dispersing.
"...Alright, finished."
After several rounds of refining and improving, Bai Fanxian could make pills that had never existed before appear in her hand — several at once. She waved a hand to put away her large cauldron. This was one of the few types of pills Bai Fanxian specifically refined using this cauldron.
"...F-finished already?"
Lu Qing now lay on the floor, gasping, in terrible condition. Though just now he had been stunned and fascinated by Bai Fanxian's pill refining, now that it was all over, he remembered how wretched he felt.
"..."
Bai Fanxian looked at his trembling arms, then flicked a power recovery pill to him. When he ate it, his vitality returned within two minutes.
Though it did not help recover magic power, it was enough for Lu Qing to get up and sit in a chair.
"Let... let me see."
The instant he recovered from his exhaustion, the childlike sparkle of excitement returned to Lu Qing's eyes. He reached out and took the still-warm, gleaming pill from Bai Fanxian, examining it closely and carefully, as though it were a treasure of immense value.
...But it might really have immense value, if it could increase the magic power in his body and stimulate the power of the Seventy-Two Ancient Demons to grow stronger.
His arms began to tremble helplessly again. He could feel that just inhaling its faint scent had made Bathin's power inside his body surge dramatically. It had also started to circulate wildly inside his heart — as though it might burst out at any moment if left uncontrolled.
He did not know what would happen if he ate it...
"...I think it's because it used your power as the base. So it probably won't have side effects on your body."
Bai Fanxian explained.
"Ugh..."
"What'll happen if I eat it?"
"Who knows?... Power increases dramatically. Achieve the next level immediately. Or maybe it'll make your body unable to handle it and you'll explode into pieces?"
Somehow, Grandmaster Lu Qing felt that Bai Fanxian's earlier words had been teasing him. Even though she had said such frightening things, her tone carried no worry at all.
"There've been ordinary people who ate many pills so far and he's still fine. Want to meet him first?"
Bai Fanxian was talking about Chunfeng, who was still doing fine. Too bad no matter how many pills he ate, he still could not get the results he had hoped for, not even once.
But she had to thank him. Otherwise, Bai Fanxian thought she would still be groping in the dark, even now, about how to help increase Grandmaster Lu Qing's power.
"It's fine... I'll eat it now."
Lu Qing shook his head. With no more hesitation, he tossed it into his mouth and swallowed it straight down.
"..."
"...Nothing's happening."
Wu Jia, who had appeared at some point, murmured. Or had Bai Fanxian's pill not been refined successfully?
But at that moment, Grandmaster Lu Qing's attitude changed. He turned to Bai Fanxian in panic.
"Quickly deploy the Border...!"
Whoosh...
Before he could finish speaking, blue magic flooded out from his body with his heart at its center. As its quantity grew more massive, Bai Fanxian had to move aside and throw his body into an open area. She pressed both hands together, and they glowed brilliantly, her personal power reinforcing the house's Border by another level.
What she did was not because she feared his power would cause destruction outside. But his panicked attitude just now had made Bai Fanxian understand that Lu Qing was worried this surging magic power would draw more attention from Night Shadow.
*BOOM!*
Before long, massive bursts of power exploded nonstop from Lu Qing's body, shooting up above him and hanging in midair. He gritted his teeth. The pill Bai Fanxian had refined had effects far exceeding his own expectations.
Luckily she understood what he meant to convey and handled it in time.
"What is that...?"
Tang Yeye and Hui'er rushed to the scene the moment they sensed the strange power. But when they saw their lady still standing calmly, they did not panic, and instead crept over to peek from behind.
"...Meow."
Kuro, clinging to the children, trembled uncontrollably. It looked at the mass of magic power in midair with frightened eyes. Having lived in the Myriad Demon World since birth, it could sense better than anyone what kind of being the power before them belonged to.
"...Ancient Demon, meow... Ancient Demon is here, meow."
Dragon Queen flew over and stopped beside the little one without saying anything. She spread her small wings to cover Kuro's trembling form, all the while silently assessing the power ahead.
*Whoosh...*
The masses of magic power slowly circulated in the air, before gathering into a single form above his body, just as his eyes began to glow a faint blue.
"...Meow!"
Kuro covered its eyes with both paws, then cried out loudly the same moment Grandmaster Lu Qing roared at the top of his lungs.
*BOOM!*
The final, violent explosion blew away the wind and smoke clouds that had completely obscured their view. Bai Fanxian narrowed her eyes slightly, sensing that the being behind that smoke screen was about to move.
"...Whew."
When it was all over, the gathered group heard the elderly man let out a long breath. Grandmaster Lu Qing himself was still exactly the same in every way, except that a pair of bat-like black wings made of magic power had appeared behind him. In addition, a black serpent with gleaming scales coiled around his body in midair.
On closer look, the serpent was connected to Grandmaster Lu Qing's body, growing from above his tailbone like a large tail.
But the important thing was that, the entire time he moved, the shadow of another figure seemed to overlap with his own — a man whose features were not clear, except for those wings and the serpent tail, which could still be seen faintly.
"So that's it..."
Wu Jia, who had been in the situation from the start, could not help gulping. Sweat trickled down his forehead as he forced a strained smile — the power level he sensed was many steps above his own, completely out of reach.
If Night Shadow succeeded and had twenty of these beings emerge—
The world would truly collapse!
"...One of the Seventy-Two Ancient Demons. Bathin."