I'm quitting!

Chapter 27 The senior's actions must have had a deeper meaning.

Bang-!

The thick wooden door of the alchemy room was pushed open with brute force.

Backlit, the boy stood with his hands on his hips, surrounded by a faint white mist, like an ice cream cone that had just popped out of the refrigerator.

"hiss--!"

Dan Xuanzi was concentrating on controlling the fire when he suddenly heard a loud bang and jerked his wrist. The blue flames in the furnace shot up more than ten feet high with a "boom," the flames flickered past his sleeve, and the smell of burning instantly filled the air.

"Oh, Master Dan, busy?" Lin Xiaofan strolled in with a smile, casually closing the door behind him.

"Ah... I didn't know you were coming, senior! I'm so sorry for not welcoming you properly!" Dan Xuanzi hurriedly swatted out the sparks from his sleeve.

"Hey, we're old acquaintances, why are you being so reserved?" Lin Xiaofan waved his hand, but his gaze was firmly drawn to the various wooden boxes piled up like a small mountain against the wall.

He leaned closer to examine it closely—the star-patterned gold sand flowed like a silver river in the jade box, the petals of the Hundred Snow Lotus were covered with a thousand years of frost, and the tips of the Sun-welcoming Grass still shone with the golden light of morning dew… The dazzling array of items surpassed even the last offering from Su Lang.

"Tsk, has our Qingyun Sect really struck it rich?"

"It's all thanks to the glory of our predecessors!" Dan Genko stroked his beard.

Three question marks slowly appeared on Lin Xiaofan's forehead: What good thing have I done that I don't even know I've done?

"Thanks to your guidance, senior, I was able to break through to the Nascent Soul stage and rediscover the art of alchemy before my time was up… These…" He excitedly pointed to the chests and boxes filling the room, "are all commissions from the Heavenly Zhou Royal Family and several major sects, specifically requesting that I refine them myself!"

A commission? Goodness, even the cultivation world does large-scale outsourcing. The Qingyun Sect's reputation is truly impressive. Next time I go down the mountain, can I use their name to earn a living?

Just as he was inwardly complaining, Dan Xuanzi suddenly rubbed his hands together and approached with a beaming smile: "Senior, if you don't mind... could you lend a hand? Right now, we have a mountain of requests, and our manpower is really stretched thin..."

Lin Xiaofan's gaze unconsciously drifted towards the herb shelf in the corner.

Oh no! I have no idea how to properly refine pills. What if I burn someone's materials to ashes? I'll end up being used as fish food!

Just as he was about to politely decline—

[Task: Complete the useless disciple's daily task of blowing up the cauldron]

The word "no" that was on the tip of his tongue was swallowed back down.

With a wave of his hand, he exuded an air of heroic grandeur:

"OK!"

Dan Xuanzi's face immediately lit up with joy. He presented a jade slip with both hands and said expectantly, "Senior, please take a look. These are all rare high-grade pill formulas in this world, such as Dragon Tiger Gathering Spirit Powder and Heavenly Gang Divine Transformation Pill..."

Lin Xiaofan took the jade slip, his fingertips slowly tracing the elegant names of the pills, his expression calm.

Dan Xuanzi held his breath, his heart pounding like a drum. In his mind, Senior Lin would definitely choose the most difficult to refine, "Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden's Tears"—after all, the shock of seeing through the truth of the "Black Pill" in an instant was still fresh in his mind, and this time he would definitely have an even more astonishing technique to show.

The jade slip unfolded and then closed in Lin Xiaofan's hand—damn! I can't understand it!

A confident smile played on his lips: "Those are too common. Do you have the formula for the Huiyuan Pill?"

"Senior...Senior?" Dan Xuanzi's beard stiffened. "The Huiyuan Pill is an entry-level pill; even outer disciples..."

"The greatest truths are the simplest." Lin Xiaofan stood with his hands behind his back, his tone calm. "The more basic something is, the more its true essence is revealed."

Of course... the less likely it is to explode.

Dan Xuanzi stood there, stunned, and then fell into deep thought: The senior deliberately chose the most ordinary pill formula... there must have been some consideration.

Lin Xiaofan's smile was still on his face when he received the prescription, but when he saw the densely packed small characters on it—

Simmer over low heat for three quarters of an hour, then simmer over high heat for seven minutes, turning three times and condensing nine times, then steaming seven times and drying eight times...

Is this a beginner-level elixir?!

Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as his gaze wandered around the alchemy room, suddenly settling on a white porcelain bottle in the corner. The bottle was crystal clear, faintly emitting a milky fragrance—it was spiritual milk.

"This thing..." Lin Xiaofan approached and muttered softly, "It shouldn't explode, right?"

When Dan Xuanzi saw him walk straight toward the Spirit Milk, his heart trembled: The formula for the Huiyuan Pill never mentioned the Spirit Milk... Could it be that Senior intends to improve the formula?!

He quickly took out the jade slip, held the brush and ink in the air, and held his breath, ready to record this alchemy technique that had established a new school of thought.

Lin Xiaofan moved swiftly—three qian of snow lotus petals, five drops of spiritual milk, a pinch of rock sugar powder, and then casually grabbed a handful of dried red dates.

Dan Xuanzi watched intently, nodding as he took notes: "Snow lotus is cold in nature, spiritual milk is warm and moistening, rock sugar neutralizes it, and red dates replenish qi... Senior has managed to combine the medicinal properties so exquisitely!"

"And this too!" Lin Xiaofan pulled out a small jar of wildflower honey, dipped his fingertip in it, and put it in his mouth, squinting his eyes in satisfaction. "Sweetness on top of sweetness, happiness doubled!"

Dan Xuanzi paused, and the ink on the jade slip spread: Honey can harmonize all flavors. Senior, you have incorporated the principle of harmony into alchemy! Ordinary alchemists only know about the mutual generation and restraint of medicinal properties. How could they understand such delicate human flavors?

As the water in the cauldron began to boil, Lin Xiaofan poured in the ingredients one by one and stirred them gently with a long spoon.

Dan Xuanzi nervously approached and saw the liquid inside the cauldron slowly turn amber, with fine milky bubbles floating on the surface. The fragrance was delicate and ethereal, even more captivating than the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir.

"Done!" Lin Xiaofan scooped up a spoonful, held it to her nose, and sniffed lightly. "Mmm~ Delicious!"

Dan Xuanzi gazed at it excitedly: "Senior! This thing has a rich fragrance and mild medicinal properties; it's definitely not an ordinary product! I wonder what its name is..."

Lin Xiaofan chuckled and poured himself a cup: "Milk tea, want to try some?"

"Milk...tea?" Dan Xuanzi took the cup with a puzzled look. The liquid inside was warm and smooth like jade, with red dates floating like stars. He carefully took a sip...and instantly, his pupils contracted.

The taste—a sweet and refreshing flavor with the coolness of snow lotus, a milky aroma with the warmth of red dates, ice and fire mingling on the tongue, bitterness and sweetness swirling in the throat. A warm current flows straight to the dantian, slowly soothing the heat accumulated from years of alchemy.

"This..." Dan Xuanzi's voice trembled slightly, his eyes glistening with tears, "This substance can actually harmonize Yin and Yang, and soothe the dantian! It's easier to take than ordinary pills, and its efficacy is no less. More importantly, its production volume is more than enough to handle large-scale orders!"

He tilted his head back and downed the drink in one gulp, then eagerly stretched out his hand: "Senior, another cup! This milk tea... will surely revolutionize the Dao of Alchemy and go down in history!"

Lin Xiaofan stared in disbelief as Dan Xuanzi drank three cups in a row: Was he... addicted to drinking?

[Rebelliousness Value +56]

Dan Xuanzi drank cup after cup, but Lin Xiaofan's brows furrowed more and more.

He scooped up a spoonful, disbelieving, and suspiciously put it in his mouth.

The warm liquid slid down my throat, and a warm feeling instantly spread through my lower abdomen, smooth and comfortable.

It actually works?! What's the underlying principle...?

"Senior's recipe is truly miraculous! Tomorrow, have the disciples set up a stall at the mountain gate and invite cultivators from all sects to try this... milk tea!"

Upon hearing Dan Xuanzi's idea, an absurd scene instantly flashed before Lin Xiaofan's eyes:

A stern swordsman sat cross-legged on the edge of a precipice, holding a bamboo cup, the sword energy mingling with the aroma of milk; a talisman master sipped milk tea while drawing incantations, the cinnabar on the talisman paper stained with milk; even the Supreme Elder, who had been in seclusion for a hundred years, emerged and the first thing he did was shakily pull out a thermos, with a "Qingyun Sect Special Supply" label on it...

The cultivation world is doomed.

"Elder Dan! Something terrible has happened!"

The door to the alchemy room was flung open with a bang, and a young disciple stumbled in, his hair disheveled and his face pale.

He staggered a few steps and almost fell in front of the alchemy furnace.

Dan Xuanzi slowly put down his cup, his brows slightly furrowed: "What are you saying? This elder is perfectly fine."

"No...it wasn't you!" the disciple gasped, struggling to find the words. "It was...it was Zhao Xiao! Zhao Xiao from the dungeon...he's gone!"