North of Sheng Long City lay Mount Bu Xiao. Among the dozen or so peaks encircling the city, Shen Xiao Peak was the tallest and grandest, long serving as the residence for the Sect Master of the Dan Xian Sect and several Grand Elders.

"Chaos Heavenly Fire?"

On the mountainside, within an ancient, elegant room, the white-robed middle-aged man with a long beard sweeping his chest drew a breath and inserted three burning incense sticks into the censer before him. When he raised his brow, the shock on his face was expertly concealed. He looked at Luan Ye Xin opposite him. "Junior Sister Luan, is your intuition truly accurate?"

This handsome, tall, white-robed middle-aged man was none other than the Dan Xian Sect Master, Tai Shu Yan. Though he appeared refined and scholarly, his cultivation was astonishing; it was rumored he had already weathered two Spiritual Tribulations.

"There cannot be a mistake."

Luan Ye Xin affirmed with absolute certainty.

Tai Shu Yan hummed softly. "What is the strength of his sister, Tai Yan?"

Luan Ye Xin replied, "She is an ordinary person. I see no trace of her having cultivated any Dharma Manifestations."

"The elder brother is a ninth-rank powerhouse, yet the sister possesses no talent for cultivation—that is quite peculiar," Tai Shu Yan mused. "The flames emanating from Tai Shuang contain the aura of the 'Chaos Heavenly Fire.' Although it is not yet a true Divine Fire, given time, it will surely evolve successfully. Junior Sister Luan, tomorrow morning, you will personally deliver the invitation to him. Also, arrange for the brother and sister to stay at the 'Zao Hua Villa.'"

"Understood!"

Luan Ye Xin hastily agreed, but then hesitated slightly. "Senior Brother Tai Shu, the backgrounds of Tai Shuang and Tai Yan are still unknown. We..."

"Naturally, we must investigate," Tai Shu Yan replied at a measured pace. "But only after I have met him in person at the 'Dan Gong Immortal Assembly.' If his background proves clean, this person is a pharmaceutical genius rarely seen in a millennium. We must recruit him into the Dan Xian Sect. We might even offer him some Divine Fire to see if he can cultivate the true 'Chaos Heavenly Fire.'"

Luan Ye Xin nodded. "And if there are problems?"

"Problems..."

Tai Shu Yan slowly closed his eyes.

Though he did not voice the rest of his words, Luan Ye Xin understood immediately, causing a subtle chill to run through her heart.

"Keep this matter confidential for now."

"I know."

Luan Ye Xin quietly retreated from the room.

Nearly an hour after the assessment concluded, Nie Kong and Tai Yan returned to the inn.

"Those groups really are willing to throw things around—'Eight Formations of the Celestial Dragon' one moment, 'Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Art' the next," Nie Kong chuckled, recalling the enthusiastic recruiters. Of course, it was understandable; which sect wouldn't want a ninth-rank Medicine King capable of flawlessly executing the 'Hundred Layer Blossom'?

"They are so annoying," Tai Yan pouted, her red lips puffed out in indignation over the spitting-match scene in the hall. "We are certainly not going to the Huang Ji Dao or the Hao Tian Sect."

After a brief pause, Tai Yan lowered her voice curiously. "Brother, that Luan Ye Xin also wanted to recruit you. Why didn't you just agree?"

Nie Kong shook his head. "Hers was merely a probing attempt. If I had agreed too quickly, it would only have made her suspicious. It’s better to keep the Dan Xian Sect dangling for now. Besides, I only need an invitation to the 'Dan Gong Immortal Assembly'; there's no immediate need to accept the Dan Xian Sect's recruitment."

Seeing Tai Yan looking confused, Nie Kong smiled. "A ninth-rank Medicine King like me, appearing suddenly with an unknown background—even if the Dan Xian Sect recruited me, they wouldn't trust me and would thoroughly investigate my history. Joining them right now would likely complicate matters unnecessarily."

"Oh."

Tai Yan suddenly understood.

Nie Kong said no more. With a thought, a dark red aura sealed the room. He then retrieved an exquisite small medicine bottle from his pet backpack. He uncorked it, and a small gourd-shaped pill rolled out, rapidly expanding until it transformed into a chubby little figure—the little fellow, Gourd.

"I was suffocating!"

Gourd floated angrily before Nie Kong, his tiny mouth opening and closing rapidly. "Nie Kong, you're awful! You only let me out now."

Nie Kong was speechless. He had stored Gourd away back in the Continental Fragments. In the Shen Kong Realm, Nie Kong could practically stride wherever he pleased, but here, he still needed caution. Gourd was the awakened spirit of a ninth-rank 'Emperor Snow Gourd Pill.' The Shen Kong Realm was essentially the epicenter for elixirs; exposing Gourd’s aura here could cause a massive stir.

"Nie Kong, let me tell you, I'm never staying in that horrid place again. If it weren't for Xiang Xiang's vital medicinal power, I probably would have turned into a dead gourd! What is this you have?" As Gourd spoke, his attention was snagged by a red pill pinched between Nie Kong's fingers.

"Hibiscus Falling Bloom Pill," Nie Kong chuckled. "I refined this today as compensation for you."

"Wonderful!"

Gourd instantly forgot his anger, beaming as he pounced onto Nie Kong's palm and snatched the 'Hibiscus Falling Bloom Pill' into his mouth. Then, Nie Kong pinched his almost invisible neck and began shoving him back into the medicine bottle. Gourd couldn't even savor the pill, yelling desperately, "I'm not going in! Junior Sister Tai Yan, save me!"

Tai Yan winked slyly with her beautiful eyes. "Someone is coming. If you don't want to be caught and eaten..."

Before she finished speaking, Gourd's body shriveled, and he rolled with a thud back into the medicine bottle, once again stored in Nie Kong's pet backpack by him. Just as he finished, a knock sounded outside the door.

Nie Kong retracted the surrounding Dharma Manifestation aura and quickly went to pull the door open.

"Brother Tai Shuang, it was quite difficult to find your lodging. Forgive my abrupt visit, please don't take offense." Standing at the door was the plump old man. He was Elder Huang Peng of the Huang Ji Dao. Nie Kong hadn't expected him to pursue them so relentlessly, having only parted ways at the foot of Shen Xiu Peak not long ago. "What is this?" Nie Kong asked, utterly perplexed, looking at the red calling card the elder held out.

"This is an invitation from our Dao Master to Brother Tai Shuang. There will be a banquet tomorrow morning at the Jin Xiu Tower. Brother Tai Shuang must grace us with his presence, must attend!" Huang Peng shoved the invitation into Nie Kong’s chest without waiting for an answer and then smiled and took his leave.

"..."

After watching the corpulent figure depart, Nie Kong and Tai Yan exchanged bewildered glances.

"I didn't expect the Dao Master of the 'Huang Ji Dao' to be in Sheng Long City too. Brother, are you going to their banquet tomorrow?" Tai Yan closed the door.

"I have no such leisure time," Nie Kong tossed the invitation onto the table, quite exasperated.

"Knock, knock!"

Less than two minutes later, the knocking sounded again. It was the eighth-rank Medicine Master from the Qian Yuan Dao, also delivering an invitation for Nie Kong to attend a banquet tomorrow.

Then followed wave after wave of visitors.

There were powerhouses from sects Nie Kong had met at Shen Xiu Peak, like the Hao Tian Sect and the Dragon Tiger Dao, along with various other factions whose intelligence network had somehow learned the results of today's assessment. They either invited Nie Kong and Tai Yan to banquets or directly represented their sects to make recruitment offers.

It wasn't until dawn broke that Nie Kong and Tai Yan finally had some quiet. A thick stack of invitations—over twenty in total—lay scattered on the table. It was no wonder these sects were so anxious; the Dan Xian Sect had already hinted at recruiting Nie Kong, and if they didn't act quickly, they wouldn't have a chance.

However, their overwhelming enthusiasm had left Nie Kong and Tai Yan thoroughly exhausted.