The night deepened, and the royal estate in the northern part of Jiyang City stirred with activity once more. This time, seated within the grounds alongside brothers Cheng Feiliu and Cheng Feihong were three elders from the Nie family: the Ninth Elder, Nie Xingdong; the Eighth Elder, Nie Longshan; and the Sixth Elder, Nie Xingqiu.

Looking at the Spirit Alchemist who lay unconscious before the steps outside, Cheng Feiliu couldn't help but let out a wry laugh. "One 'Fire Tree Silver Flower' truly draws out every manner of ghoul and shadow demon. Even such a minor Spirit Alchemist dares to trespass and stir up trouble—utterly clueless about the consequence of death."

Nie Xingdong chuckled, his eyes glinting. "It’s only because the prestige of the 'Fire Tree Silver Flower' is so immense! Brother Feiliu, is the 'Fire Tree Silver Flower' still secured in the secret chamber below?"

"Naturally, it remains," Cheng Feiliu replied with a hearty laugh.

Nie Xingdong’s small eyes darted sideways, offering a pointed reminder. "Then you must be extra careful. If a master Earth Spirit Master were to appear, they could potentially bypass alerting us entirely and enter the chamber from underground. With only the two princes guarding the 'Fire Tree Silver Flower' then, things could become quite dire."

"That is one matter Ninth Elder need not worry about," Cheng Feihong countered, casting a cool glance at Nie Xingdong before smiling faintly. "That secret chamber, above and below, has long been inscribed with 'Spirit-Sealing Runes' by our royal Spirit Engravers. Unless a Heaven Spirit Realm Earth Spirit Master personally arrives, they won't manage to set foot underground near that chamber."

"Oh, is that so? Well, that's reassuring, most reassuring, haha…" Amidst boisterous laughter, Nie Xingdong exchanged a knowing look with Nie Longshan and Nie Xingqiu.

...

The Nie family residential quarter remained as tranquil as ever.

"Cauldron Illusion Body!"

With a soft internal command, an exquisite miniature medicine cauldron materialized in Nie Kong’s palm. Neatly arranged on the table before him lay nine different medicinal ingredients.

To refine the "Spirit-Bewitching Incense," three ingredients were available from the Nie family's Spirit Medicine Hall and Alchemy Hall. The remaining six required sourcing in haste. For the better part of the morning, Nie Kong had scoured every major and minor apothecary in Jiyang City, managing to find five of the six. The last one, however, remained elusive.

Finally, harboring a sliver of hope, Nie Kong ventured to the "Spirit Treasure Pavilion." There, in the left courtyard, he finally located the last required herb, known as the "Duoluo Umbrella."

It was a stroke of sheer coincidence. The old vendor selling the medicine was completely unaware of the "Duoluo Umbrella's" medicinal properties; he had only brought it to the 'Thousand Spirit Medicine Fair' on a whim because he thought the herb was quite beautiful. As it happened, everything he carried had sold out from yesterday until today, except for the "Duoluo Umbrella," which no one had inquired about. The old man had unceremoniously tossed it into the refuse pile outside the courtyard entrance, right where a deeply disheartened Nie Kong happened to spot it.

At that moment, Nie Kong nearly shouted out in excitement. As soon as the elder departed, Nie Kong snatched up the "Duoluo Umbrella" and sped home with all possible haste.

Now, it seemed the little companion knew that the spiritual medicine Nie Kong was about to refine was connected to the "Fire Tree Silver Flower," as it chirped excitedly with constant "Ah-ya-ya" sounds.

The refinement of this "Spirit-Bewitching Incense" was peculiar. Unlike elixirs such as the "Spring Rejuvenation Dew," where all ingredients are placed into the cauldron at once for amalgamation, this required waiting until the first eight ingredients had almost completely fused before the "Duoluo Umbrella" juice could be added.

The heat control during the initial stages demanded rigorous precision, but the timing for introducing the "Duoluo Umbrella" juice was even more critical. In the Demon Game, Nie Kong had failed over a hundred times upon first encountering this specific recipe before gradually gaining some semblance of mastery.

"Clang!"

The moment the cauldron lid was shut, the little companion couldn't wait, floating up expectantly to hover above Nie Kong’s palm, ready to receive the infusion and scorching of his spiritual energy.

This little thing...

Nie Kong let out an exasperated but fond curse before focusing his mind. He activated the "Wood Sun True Spirit Art," and a verdant spiritual power rose from his palm, igniting into a faint, ghostly green flame.

"Boom!"

With a soft explosion, the medicine cauldron began to slowly rotate.

For the initial heating of the "Spirit-Bewitching Incense," the fire could not be too intense; excessive heat would likely reduce the herbs to nothing but ash. Fortunately, Nie Kong had significant experience with this specific elixir. His spiritual energy consistently pressed against the bottom of the cauldron without haste, only surging with explosive power during the few crucial moments when the medicinal properties needed to merge. During these peaks, the emerald glow almost completely enveloped the small cauldron.

Seconds later, the spiritual energy would return to a gentle, subdued rhythm. Nie Kong cycled through this process eight times, his eyes unblinking, his expression suddenly growing grave.

"The final step!"

Nie Kong's right hand never paused its flow of spiritual energy, and the cauldron continued its steady spin, but his left hand was already reaching for a jade vial on the table. That vial contained the liquid Nie Kong had prepared beforehand by grinding the leaves of the "Duoluo Umbrella"—a viscous, emerald green substance emitting a strange, subtle fragrance.

"Now!"

A thought flashed through Nie Kong's mind, and a swift mental command was conveyed to the little companion. The cauldron lid instantly opened a minute gap.

"Whoosh!"

A thread of spiritual energy was channeled into the jade vial. The emerald juice shot out instantly from the small spout, tracing a crescent arc through the air before entering the cauldron through the crack.

"Hiss!"

The "Duoluo Umbrella" juice splashed onto the small green spiritual ingredient. Instantly, it was as if a glowing hot iron had been plunged into ice-cold water. A thick plume of vapor seeped out from the gap, and rising alongside the swirling mist was an exotic aroma. The scent rapidly diffused in front of Nie Kong, intensely concentrated—as if the fragrance of the "Duoluo Umbrella" had suddenly been magnified by dozens of times!

Abruptly, Nie Kong's consciousness wavered briefly.

"Bad!"

Nie Kong cursed inwardly. This world truly wasn't the Demon Game! In the game, the fragrance produced by the "Duoluo Umbrella" juice during refinement had no physiological effect on the body. Here, in the real world, it was the complete opposite. Nie Kong had been careless, failing to anticipate this, and thus had not held his breath when the scent escaped. Although the confusion lasted less than a second, this single second in alchemy could very well determine ultimate success or failure.

"Crack!"

Indeed, Nie Kong felt a faint sound from within the cauldron; the spiritual ingredient had developed a long, thin fissure. In such a moment, Nie Kong remained steady despite the shock. With a thought, he held his breath, sealed the lid, and flicked his left index finger against the cauldron body. A strand of spiritual energy, sharp as an arrow, pierced into the cauldron, only to soften abruptly upon nearing the ingredient, gently pressing itself into the crack.

"Ah-ya-ya!"

The little companion was not to be outdone. A thick wave of green essence separated from the inner wall of the cauldron, covering the cracked ingredient. For the sake of the "Fire Tree Silver Flower," the companion was even utilizing its own life-essence power. Immediately following this, Nie Kong again flicked his finger against the cauldron body.

Thanks to the efforts of Nie Kong and the little companion, after about a minute, the fissure on the surface of the "Spirit-Bewitching Incense" finally showed signs of closing.

"Hoo!"

A moment later, the spiritual energy was withdrawn, and the medicine cauldron settled slowly back into his palm. Nie Kong wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead and let out a breath of relief.

This "Spirit-Bewitching Incense" was different from other spiritual medicines. If an elixir like the Purple Li Pill developed a crack, the little companion could quickly fuse it using its innate power. However, the crack in the "Spirit-Bewitching Incense" had occurred at the most critical juncture of its formation. A lapse at that stage demanded far greater effort to rectify.

Opening the lid, Nie Kong took out the "Spirit-Bewitching Incense." The finished product was roughly the thickness and length of a little finger, rounded at both ends, resembling a small sausage. Moreover, after refinement, the "Spirit-Bewitching Incense" possessed no scent at all; it required lighting to unleash its effect.

"A pity, the fusion rate is probably only around eighty percent now…" Nie Kong felt a slight regret. When refining drugs in the Demon Game, the little companion instinctively grew excited, which helped boost the medicine's fusion rate. Nie Kong had confirmed this during the 'Myriad Transformations Pill' refinement in the Medicine Fair Competition, and it was even more pronounced when employing the "Cauldron Illusion Body." Had the mistake not occurred just now, the fusion rate could very likely have reached a perfect ten-tenths, and the effect of the "Spirit-Bewitching Incense" would have been truly miraculous.

Still, all things considered, it was quite fortunate the "Spirit-Bewitching Incense" hadn't simply exploded into dust under those circumstances. Pondering this, Nie Kong sprang up, tiptoed out of the room, glanced at the still-lit bedroom belonging to Huamei, and then moved like a phantom toward the exit...