Chapter 4754 — The Conditions for Alchemy

Having slipped successfully into the courtyard where Huo Yudie lived and evaded the eyes and ears of a few servants, Ren Zhongyuan soon found Huo Yudie's room. This place was no stranger to him; he had come once before under the pretext of paying his respects to Liu Ziqi. Huo Yudie's room had long been the goal of his dreams, and in those dreams he had visited it more than a few times.

After briefly reining in his excitement, Ren Zhongyuan pushed the door open without a second thought. On the surface he meant to give Huo Yudie a surprise, but what he truly hoped for was the chance to glimpse some marvelous scene ordinarily hidden from view—a bath, perhaps, or a change of clothes...

The moment the door swung open, Ren Zhongyuan poked his head in, eyes darting everywhere in search, his mind full of tantalizing fantasies of Huo Yudie in scanty silk. Yet the person before him gave him a violent start: seated in the room was not Huo Yudie at all, but Liu Ziqi!

Liu Ziqi was at that moment studying the Thunder Mystic Vine—not out of greed for her disciple's possession, for to a being of her caliber the vine was of little use anymore.

She was examining it purely for Huo Yudie's sake. After all, the Thunder Mystic Vine was the principal ingredient in refining the Thunder Mystic Pill; its quality mattered enormously, and whether it was ripe directly determined the choice of the other ingredients. Huo Yudie herself was muddled and uncomprehending about such things, so it fell to her master—teacher and mother both—to worry over them on her behalf.

Huo Yudie had been staying with Ning Xuefei and the others these past few days. Liu Ziqi had never imagined anyone would suddenly push the door open, still less that the intruder would not be Huo Yudie. Taken aback, she had no time to put away the Thunder Mystic Vine on the table, and Ren Zhongyuan saw it as plain as day.

With Liu Ziqi's strength, Ren Zhongyuan could never have escaped her perception—except that this was the island master's palace. The tightness of its defenses need hardly be described; no sane person would imagine anyone could sneak in here. Moreover, out of the most basic respect for those elders of West Island, Liu Ziqi would not lightly spread her divine sense in this place.

And servants passed through the courtyard corridors from time to time; the sound of footsteps and the like was perfectly normal, which only made Liu Ziqi more relaxed in her vigilance. Who would have thought anyone would dare enter without knocking?!

"Ah!" Ren Zhongyuan was equally startled. He had come sneaking in to give Huo Yudie a surprise—how could he have known he would come face to face with Liu Ziqi in this very room!

It felt like creeping into his sweetheart's room in secret, only to flick on the light and find her mother there. In an instant his heart turned to ice, and his whole being was utterly undone...

Yet at this moment Ren Zhongyuan felt little embarrassment, for he had seen the Thunder Mystic Vine on the table. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected Liu Ziqi to possess Thunder Mystic Vine as well!!!

When he had seen Wei Zhao produce the Thunder Mystic Vine earlier, Ren Zhongyuan had been so consumed with envy that his eyeballs nearly fell out. He was a peak Nascent Soul cultivator—one of those in all the world most desperate to obtain Thunder Mystic Vine!

Had Wei Zhao not shot to the heavens and become the West Island's consort, Ren Zhongyuan and his companions would never have let such a prize slip. They would have schemed by every means to get the Thunder Mystic Vine from his hands. But now it was impossible; to rob the West Island's consort on West Island soil—even with ten thousand times the courage, they would never dare.

And yet Huo Yudie actually had Thunder Mystic Vine too. Could Wei Zhao have given her a share?!

Though it was Liu Ziqi holding it, this was Huo Yudie's room, and the Thunder Mystic Vine was useless to Liu Ziqi. Ren Zhongyuan instantly guessed the truth. A towering jealousy surged in his heart, and he began to suspect faintly that there was something fishy about that photograph of Li Yuzhou and Sun Baolu.

But now was not the time to probe that. The two stood locked for a moment. Then Ren Zhongyuan's eyes flickered; far from retreating, he slipped inside and even shut the door behind him with his back hand!

"You're not leaving? Trespassing into another's room—and in the island master's palace, no less—are you truly not afraid to die?" Liu Ziqi's eyes narrowed at once. Had it been Huo Yudie who witnessed this move of Ren Zhongyuan's, her heart would truly have quivered, and she might have thought the man had unleashed his beastly nature. But Liu Ziqi was Liu Ziqi; in her eyes, this peak Nascent Soul Ren Zhongyuan was nothing but a somewhat stronger ant.

"Ha ha, Vice Principal Liu, don't be angry yet. If I'm not mistaken, this should be Thunder Mystic Vine, shouldn't it?" Ren Zhongyuan asked, knowing full well what it was.

"You know, and still you ask?!" Liu Ziqi gave him a cold glance. She had heard something of the relations between Li Yuzhou and Sun Baolu and Ren Zhongyuan, and so her impression of this fellow was now exceedingly poor. Expressionless, she said, "Do you have business here?"

"The Thunder Mystic Pill is a seventh-grade pill; only a seventh-grade alchemist has the ability to refine it. But looking across our Eastern Continent's Yellow-Rank academies, there are only a handful of seventh-grade alchemists..." Ren Zhongyuan paused on purpose, watching her shifting expression. "I think Vice Principal Liu must now understand my meaning?"

Liu Ziqi frowned at his words. This was precisely her greatest worry these past days. Fine as the Thunder Mystic Vine was, if it could not be refined into a Thunder Mystic Pill, it was of no use whatsoever.

Originally their Morning Pride Academy had a seventh-grade alchemist in residence, but unfortunately two years ago an alchemy accident occurred, and this seventh-grade alchemist suffered a severe backlash. Ever since, he had been in seclusion recuperating. The highest-ranking alchemist now presiding over Morning Pride Academy was only sixth-grade, so refining the Thunder Mystic Pill was no small trouble!

But Ren Zhongyuan's father was the chief alchemist of Soaring Cloud Academy, a seventh-grade cultivator! That was the pinnacle of Yellow-Rank alchemy, a single step from the legendary Mystic-Rank alchemist!

"You mean to say you can help me refine the pill?" Liu Ziqi glanced at Ren Zhongyuan. A seventh-grade alchemist was not so easily summoned; without sufficient ties, even with her status it would be hard to engage one—yet Ren Zhongyuan plainly had that ability.

"Seventh-grade pills are very difficult to refine; the slightest carelessness brings backlash—Vice Principal Liu should be well aware of this!" Ren Zhongyuan smiled and continued in the tone of a connoisseur. "And from what I know, among seventh-grade pills, refining the Thunder Mystic Pill carries the greatest risk of all. The Thunder Mystic Vine naturally bears lightning; one misstep and the furnace explodes, with consequences beyond imagining. Ordinary seventh-grade alchemists are unwilling to take on such a deadly job, heh heh."