A slight stirring in Nie Kong’s heart at the sound of those familiar footsteps.

“Brother Nie Kong!” Jing Liang’s shout followed instantly, and in a flash, Zhan Tianlun’s imposing figure appeared at the courtyard entrance. Nie Kong couldn’t help but smile, just as he rose to his feet, he saw Zhan Tianlun shift aside, and four more figures successively emerged from behind, their movements utterly silent.

Nie Kong was somewhat surprised. The leading figure was none other than Zhan Feihong, and the three behind him appeared considerably older—two men and one woman—but their origins were unknown.

“Brother Fei Hong, Third Uncle.”

The thought flashed through his mind as Nie Kong stepped forward to meet them.

“Little fellow, are you refining medicine?” Seeing the medicine cauldron Nie Kong hadn't yet put away, Zhan Feihong smiled affably.

“Failed?”

The white-robed elder among the three sniffed repeatedly, and his gaze immediately fell upon the medicine cauldron materialized by the little fellow, causing him to look astonished.

Upon hearing this, the other two also began sniffing the air.

“It should be a low-rank Nether Pill!” After a short while, the heavily wrinkled elder spoke softly.

“Yan Xi Wang Gui Long Hua Mo Yu Cao… hmm? Isn't this recipe the one he newly created yesterday, the White Snow Pill?” It was the woman who spoke; she was clad in a green robe, and her head was completely bare, not a single strand of hair visible.

“…”

As they spoke, the three of them turned their gazes toward Zhan Feihong, a barely perceptible hint of doubt flickering in their eyes.

Seeing this, Nie Kong was inwardly startled. These three were exceptionally powerful; they had discerned the situation of his recent alchemy with near accuracy based only on the faintest lingering medicinal scent in the air! It was clear that their skill in alchemy was certainly no less than Zhan Feihong’s!

Could they be the other three High-Rank Nether Alchemists of the Zhan Clan?

Nie Kong subconsciously considered this possibility. Only High-Rank Nether Alchemists could possess such a level of mastery.

Composing himself, Nie Kong smiled broadly: “Ashamed, ashamed, to have failed twice consecutively.” Yet, no trace of shame marred his face.

“Little fellow, don’t be ashamed; judging by your expression, you haven't taken those two failures to heart at all.” Zhan Feihong mercilessly exposed Nie Kong’s “false” facade. “Come, let me introduce you. This old fellow is called Zhan Baige…”

In truth, upon learning of Nie Kong’s two consecutive failures, Zhan Feihong felt a measure of relief. In his view, having both success and failure was normal. Even the Pill King of the Dun Tian Sect couldn't guarantee success every time he refined medicine, let alone Nie Kong, who had only just started alchemy less than a day ago. If Nie Kong, under these circumstances, could succeed every time, he would undeniably be regarded as an anomaly.

Conversely, Zhan Baige, Zhan Feixing, and Zhan Tianhe, after hearing Zhan Feihong’s description, had arrived full of anticipation to see Nie Kong today. To learn immediately upon entering that Nie Kong had failed in alchemy made them harbor slight hopes, leading them to become somewhat doubtful of Zhan Feihong’s previous assertions.

“…Their alchemy levels? They are all just a tiny bit worse than this old man’s,” Zhan Feihong concluded his introductions with a full, beaming smile.

“…”

Zhan Baige and the other two shook their heads silently.

Ignoring Zhan Feihong’s boasting, Nie Kong bowed respectfully to Zhan Baige and the others before smiling, “Third Uncle, what brings you here today…?” As he spoke, Nie Kong glanced toward Zhan Tianlun, hoping to discern some clue from his expression. But to Nie Kong’s disappointment, Zhan Tianlun had remained expressionless since entering, standing motionless by the door, his eyes focused on his nose and his nose on his heart, like an unmoving puppet devoid of any life aura. He completely ignored Nie Kong’s querying glance.

Zhan Feihong also did not pick up on Nie Kong’s question. Instead, he looked toward the medicine bottle beside the cauldron. If he remembered correctly, that bottle held the twenty Mid-Rank Nether Pills he had gifted Nie Kong last night. Could this little fellow have sampled them before refining medicine?

Zhan Feihong’s eyes lit up suddenly, and he pointed at the bottle: “Little fellow, how were the taste of these Nether Pills I gave you?”

“Not bad.”

Nie Kong followed his gaze, turned back, and replied casually with a smile.

Hearing this answer made Zhan Feihong even happier, and he beamed: “Have you pondered any new prescriptions?”

“No.”

Nie Kong felt utterly speechless. Did he think that just by consuming a few Nether Pills, one could instantly devise a new prescription? Did he take me for an immortal?

Zhan Feihong paused, then realized he had indeed been too hasty. He quickly laughed, “That’s right. Tianlun told me you were cultivating all night, and after returning at dawn, you refined the ‘White Snow Pill’ twice. You truly didn't have much time to sample the Nether Pills.”

His eyes darting around, Zhan Feihong then said, “How about this, little fellow, you tell this old man which Nether Pills you tasted. I will have someone send you all the herbs required to refine them. Then you can try the taste of the herbs yourself—that should surely help you ponder new prescriptions even more.”

“…”

Nie Kong was even more speechless. Back and forth, he kept circling back to the new prescription. I am really not an immortal!

However, one couldn't entirely blame Zhan Feihong for constantly dwelling on this matter. Nie Kong’s process of creating the Nether Pill prescription in the ‘Pill King Tower’ yesterday had appeared too effortless and natural, as if the task posed no challenge to him whatsoever.

Seeing the look of urging in Zhan Feihong’s eyes, Nie Kong could only cough dryly: “It seems Third Uncle will have to send over a set of the herbs used to refine those Nether Pills.”

“What do you mean?”

Zhan Feihong was momentarily stunned, then his expression shifted slightly, “Little fellow, you ate all twenty of those Nether Pills?” The moment the words left his mouth, Zhan Feihong flashed over to the low table and snatched up the medicine bottle.

“What a waste! What a terrible waste!” Looking at the empty bottle, Zhan Feihong’s right palm trembled uncontrollably as if having a spasm, the muscles in his cheeks twitching as well. He glared with bloodshot eyes, crying out in agonizing grief, “My twenty Mid-Rank Nether Pills! Those were twenty Mid-Rank Nether Pills! You—you… how could you finish them so quickly?” Zhan Baige, Zhan Feixing, and Zhan Tianhe beside him all showed subtle changes in expression. Before arriving, they had heard Zhan Feihong mention this, but they never expected Nie Kong to have consumed all the Mid-Rank Nether Pills overnight!

Nether Pills cannot be consumed excessively, especially not too many in a short span of time. This applies whether they are the same type of Nether Pill or different ones. Consuming twenty Nether Pills consecutively in one night—aside from the first few, the later ones would yield almost no effect. To expect to discern the mysteries of the Nether Pills this way was tantamount to dreaming!

This was exactly what Zhan Feihong had described: a terrible waste!

“Third Uncle, don’t get agitated.”

Seeing Zhan Feihong red with anger, his gaze fixed on Nie Kong as if he were staring at the ultimate spendthrift, Nie Kong couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, saying in a nonchalant tone, “If I recall correctly, starting from last night, those Nether Pills were no longer yours, but mine.”

“Uh?”

Zhan Feihong was dumbfounded, then his eyes widened, and he said angrily, “Don’t forget, you are a disciple of the Zhan Clan, and I am a High-Rank Nether Alchemist of the Zhan Clan! I possess the authority to supervise and guide disciples taking Nether Pills! You dare waste them like this? Thinking about my twenty cherished Mid-Rank Nether Pills being gone—Zhan Feihong felt as if his heart was bleeding! If he had known this would happen, giving two yesterday would have been enough.”

Seeing Zhan Feihong beginning to argue unreasonably, Zhan Baige interrupted him before he could finish speaking with a heavy cough, looking at Nie Kong with a beaming smile, “I’ve been thinking of several low and mid-rank formulas over the last two years. Though I can successfully refine the medicine, the efficacy is not as satisfactory as I’d hoped. Little fellow, are you perhaps interested in helping me examine them?” Zhan Feixing chimed in with a smile, “I also found several new medicines some time ago, but after multiple trials, I still don’t fully understand their properties. Nie Kong, if you’re interested, come taste them for me, how about it?” “Little fellow,” the voice that sounded somewhat aged belonged to Zhan Tianhe, “I’ve encountered some difficulties while refining medicine these past few days. Fei Hong mentioned you have a great talent in this area, why don’t you discuss it with me?”

“Not interested!”

Nie Kong shook his head without the slightest hesitation.

What Zhan Baige, Zhan Feixing, and Zhan Tianhe termed as ‘examining,’ ‘tasting,’ and ‘discussing’ was actually their intention to test Nie Kong’s abilities in alchemy through these questions.

OtherMaster apprentices would be overjoyed to have such an opportunity, but Nie Kong genuinely held little interest. His outstanding performance in the ‘Pill King Tower’ was only to quickly grasp the mysteries of the Nether Pills.

Now, Nie Kong knew what he needed to know. The next step was simply to focus on cultivation while taking time to practice. There was no need to perform for the sake of showing off, as he had done in the Pill King Tower yesterday.

Furthermore, he dared not draw any immediate conclusions regarding Zhan Tianhe’s problem. However, the issues raised by Zhan Baige and Zhan Feixing did not seem particularly difficult to him. In the Tian Ling Continent, he had done plenty of work perfecting prescriptions. As for discerning the properties of unfamiliar herbs, he had done even more—he even earned the moniker of ‘Trial Medicine Maniac’ in Ling Yu City.

Although he was now in the Nether Realm, the fundamental nature of these tasks wouldn’t differ greatly, so Nie Kong naturally felt little interest.

“You said, not interested?”

Zhan Feihong subconsciously scratched his ear, thinking he must have misheard. Zhan Baige, Zhan Feixing, and Zhan Tianhe exchanged glances. Nie Kong’s outright refusal was far beyond their expectations.

“Ahem!” At this moment, Zhan Tianlun, standing by the door, could no longer restrain himself. He coughed heavily and cast a sidelong glance at Nie Kong, repeatedly signaling him with his eyes to quickly agree. Unfortunately, Nie Kong’s recent experience had replayed itself in his mind. He pretended not to notice Zhan Tianlun’s signals.

Zhan Feihong finally snapped back to reality, his face darkening: “Little fellow, don’t you want to know why these three are asking you such questions?”

“No, I don’t.”

Nie Kong shook his head decisively again.

“…Nether Sea Fire Source!”

Zhan Feihong stared fiercely at Nie Kong, spitting out these four words without context, almost syllable by syllable, his face a picture of someone frustrated by poor performance.