Divine Transcendence

Chapter 341: Unexpectedly, she's an alchemist

"Master." The white-robed scholar respectfully bowed to the yellow-robed girl.

"Tell me in detail about the behavior and conversation of those two after they entered the Hundred Elixir Workshop," the yellow-robed girl said, hoping it would help her deduce the origins of Yuan Ming and his companion.

The white-robed scholar agreed and recounted every word and action he had observed from Yuan Ming and his companion. Naturally, he omitted the part where he was so frightened by Yuan Ming's gaze that he lost control of his bladder, instead claiming that Yuan Ming had controlled his actions with a mere look.

After all, that incident was too humiliating. If anyone found out, he wouldn't be able to stay at the Hundred Elixir Workshop.

"Controlled your actions with a single look? It must be an illusion technique," the yellow-robed girl muttered to herself, then fell into deep thought as she walked downstairs.

The white-robed scholar followed two steps behind her.

In the elegant room on the third floor, Yuan Ming sat with his eyes closed. Suddenly, he opened them, a hint of surprise on his face.

His spiritual consciousness had already detected the yellow-robed girl coming downstairs, followed respectfully by the white-robed scholar. Could this girl be the master of the Hundred Elixir Workshop?

Before long, the door creaked open, and the yellow-robed girl walked in. The white-robed scholar did not enter but turned to go back downstairs to attend to business.

"Thank you for waiting, Daoists. I am Yan Sijing, the master of the Hundred Elixir Workshop. May I know your esteemed names?" The yellow-robed girl looked at Yuan Ming and bowed.

"Yuan Ming," Yuan Ming replied, scrutinizing the person before him.

This girl was indeed the master of the Hundred Elixir Workshop. Now that he had seen her true face, things would be easier.

Yan Sijing was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage. If he used Black Incense to possess her later, he could easily plant a soul imprint on her and control her actions. With the help of Hua Zhi and the soul crow, obtaining a bottle of Elixir Cleansing Liquid shouldn't be too difficult.

Yan Sijing was also sizing up Yuan Ming, secretly pondering where in Zhao Country or even Qin Country there might be a Yuan family of cultivators. Unable to figure it out, she decided not to waste any more effort, as someone in the workshop would analyze it for her.

"So, Daoist Yuan, are you here to purchase Elixir Cleansing Liquid?" She kept a smile on her face as she asked.

"Indeed," Yuan Ming replied concisely.

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"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Our workshop..." Yan Sijing shook her head, but suddenly stopped, a look of surprise on her face.

Yuan Ming had planned to brush her off with a few words and then leave, but seeing her reaction, he paused slightly.

"Ahem! Thank you, Daoist Yuan, for gracing us with your presence. The Elixir Cleansing Liquid is a secret treasure of our workshop, produced in very limited quantities and usually pre-ordered by esteemed guests. Normally, it would be impossible to purchase it on short notice. However, Daoist Yuan, you are in luck. I just received news that a guest had to return a portion of the liquid due to unforeseen circumstances. If you agree to do a favor for our workshop, I can sell this portion to you at half price," Yan Sijing said, changing her tone.

Yuan Ming frowned. Yan Sijing's words were contradictory. What was she playing at?

However, this turn of events was favorable. If he could obtain the liquid through normal means, he had no intention of resorting to force. With the Wulei Sect overseeing Purple Thunder City, it was best not to stir up trouble.

"What does Daoist Yan need me to do?" Yuan Ming asked unhurriedly.

"Rest assured, Daoist Yuan, it's nothing complicated. Our workshop needs to transport a batch of goods to Black Moon City in three days. Recently, bandits have been rampant in the Black Wind Desert. A convoy of ours was attacked a few days ago, suffering heavy losses. We are short of manpower, so we would like to ask Daoist Yuan to accompany the convoy. What do you think?" Yan Sijing said with a smile.

Yuan Ming raised an eyebrow. If it was just escorting goods, it shouldn't be too difficult.

However, if it were just a simple escort mission, Yan Sijing wouldn't need to offer the precious Elixir Cleansing Liquid as a reward.

"Alright," Yuan Ming agreed after a brief hesitation.

Given his current strength, along with Vajra, Hua Zhi, and Lei Yu, he could easily retreat or even kill one or two Nascent Soul stage cultivators. There was no need to worry too much. Even if things went south, he had ways to escape.

"Thank you, Daoist Yuan," Yan Sijing said, beaming with joy.

They discussed the details of the task, and Yuan Ming soon took his leave.

After seeing Yuan Ming and his companion down the stairs, Yan Sijing turned and walked back upstairs, quickly arriving at the door of a side hall on the fourth floor of the Hundred Elixir Workshop. She pushed the door open and entered.

A white-robed woman sat quietly inside, fiddling with a white jade slip.

This woman, in her early twenties, had delicate eyebrows, a straight nose, fair skin, and a face quite similar to Yan Sijing's, though Yan Sijing's expression was more innocent and naive. The white-robed woman, on the other hand, exuded a mature and alluring aura.

However, the white-robed woman's eyes were vacant and lifeless; she was blind.

Beside the woman stood a tall yellow wooden bookshelf, almost reaching the ceiling, with ten layers. Each layer was marked with a year, the topmost being this year.

The bookshelf held no books but was filled with jade slips, stacked one upon another, with each layer containing hundreds, if not thousands, of slips.

The white-robed woman gestured, and a jade slip flew from the second-to-last layer into her hand.

"Sister, why did you agree to sell Yuan Ming a portion of the Elixir Cleansing Liquid? We've already recruited enough experts for this mission. The Elixir Cleansing Liquid is difficult to produce and in high demand. We might not have enough to spare," Yan Sijing said coquettishly as she sat beside the white-robed woman, holding her arm.

"This Yuan Ming is not simple. Look at this information," the white-robed woman said, handing over the jade slip she had just taken.

Yan Sijing took the slip and used her spiritual consciousness to examine it. "Information about the raid on the Yanlin Mine of the Returning to Origin Sect a year ago? The Dark Moon God? Probably some cultivator pretending to be someone they're not. Sister, do you think this has something to do with Yuan Ming?"

"Yes. Yanlin Mine is a rare resource. I sent Uncle Qian to investigate and, after much effort, recently obtained the appearance of the cultivator claiming to be the Dark Moon God. Take a look," the white-robed woman said, handing over another jade slip from the top layer of the bookshelf.

"This appearance is very similar to that of Yuan Ming," Yan Sijing said, her eyes lighting up.

"According to the previous investigation, the Dark Moon God who raided the Yanlin Mine is skilled in soul attacks. From Manager Huo's description, Yuan Ming also excels in this area. With this overlapping information, it's highly likely they're the same person," the white-robed woman said slowly.

"It seems very likely. If Yuan Ming could raid a mine of the Returning to Origin Sect and single-handedly kill a Nascent Soul stage elder, his strength is formidable. With him on board, this mission should be no problem," Yan Sijing said thoughtfully.

"Yes, my intuition also tells me that his involvement will have a positive impact," the white-robed woman said, tapping her forehead with her finger.

"Really? That's great," Yan Sijing said happily.

"With his inclusion, we'll need to make some adjustments to our previous plans. Follow the instructions on this slip," the white-robed woman said, handing over another jade slip.

"Alright," Yan Sijing said, taking the slip without looking at it.

The white-robed woman was her sister, Yan Siyun. Born blind, she had an extraordinary mind, never forgetting anything she heard and was extremely adept at analyzing situations and predicting the future.

The jade slips on the yellow wooden bookshelf contained information collected by the Hundred Elixir Workshop, including personal details of key figures from various factions in the Black Wind Desert, events, and bounty orders.

Based on the collected information, Yan Siyun could deduce many things.

She also had a unique ability: an extremely sharp intuition, almost to the point of vaguely predicting good and bad outcomes.

Using her analytical skills and her ability to foresee outcomes, Yan Siyun's predictions were highly accurate.

Although Yan Sijing was the master of the Hundred Elixir Workshop, she mainly focused on refining elixirs. The actual handling of affairs and major decisions were made by her sister.

Yan Sijing refined elixirs, while Yan Siyun predicted the future. The two sisters worked together seamlessly, allowing the Hundred Elixir Workshop to grow rapidly over the years.

...

Yuan Ming found an inn near the Hundred Elixir Workshop to stay in, while Xu Che returned to the teahouse to bring Zuo Qinghui and the others.

In his room at the inn, Yuan Ming set up a barrier, took out Black Incense, inserted it into the Stealing Heaven Cauldron, lit it, and closed his eyes, beginning to attempt possession of Yan Sijing.

At this moment, Yan Sijing was alone in the elixir room.

She opened her mouth and spat out a white flame, enveloping the bottom of a green elixir furnace, her hands constantly forming seals as she refined elixirs.

"Unexpectedly, she's an alchemist. But wait, she's only at the late Foundation Establishment stage. How can she spit out elixir fire?" Yuan Ming was surprised.

Although he hadn't focused on alchemy, he was quite familiar with it. Foundation Establishment stage alchemists usually relied on spirit fire provided by formations or earth fire for refining.

Only those who reached the Nascent Soul stage and nurtured elixir fire could refine elixirs without external fire sources.

"Could Yan Sijing have a special physique with innate spirit fire in her dantian?" Yuan Ming suddenly thought of a possibility.

In the cultivation world, some prodigies had special physiques with innate abilities. There were various types of special physiques, some could control the five elements, some could communicate with spirit beasts, and others could control ghosts.

Some fire-attribute special physiques had innate spirit fire, which, even before reaching the Nascent Soul stage, was as powerful as the elixir fire of Nascent Soul stage cultivators, giving them a significant advantage in alchemy and artifact refining.

As Yuan Ming pondered, Yan Sijing's hands moved skillfully, continuously adding materials to the elixir furnace. Her alchemy skills were clearly not low.

Yuan Ming hesitated. He had intended to possess Yan Sijing to investigate the true nature of the escort mission, but now she was refining elixirs.

Despite being busy with cultivation over the years, Yuan Ming had always been interested in alchemy. He just hadn't found the right person to learn from and had been too preoccupied with other matters.

Yan Sijing's alchemy skills were not weak, making this a rare opportunity.

"Never mind, I'll send my first split soul to infiltrate the Hundred Elixir Workshop later to investigate the escort mission," Yuan Ming quickly decided, calming his mind to carefully observe the alchemy process through Yan Sijing's perspective.