Inside Spring Breeze Hall, sandalwood incense wafted gently.

Qin An and Ge Feng stood facing each other, mottled shadows cast on the four walls.

After Qin An asked the question, Ge Feng was slightly taken aback.

Although he didn't know why his teacher asked this question, he answered honestly.

"The main prefecture previously mobilized all the reserves from the Lingzhou Treasure House."

"Coupled with the recent harvests of the Evil Extermination Bureau, the existing materials are sufficient to refine nine Yang Elixirs."

Nine Yang Elixirs?

A gleam flashed in Qin An's eyes: "I will refine them."

This is the foundation of the Evil Extermination Bureau.

Behind these nine Yang Elixirs are the lives of ninety Gui Cang Realm monsters.

These were accumulated over time by the Lingzhou Evil Extermination Bureau, and if it weren't for Ge Feng refining some Yang Elixirs recently, there might have been even more materials.

Ge Feng felt a trace of doubt: "Is such a trivial matter really worth troubling the teacher?"

Qin An didn't speak, his gaze calmly resting on Ge Feng.

Only then did Ge Feng realize he had been too talkative.

Everyone has secrets, and Qin An is no different.

Ge Feng respects Qin An enough, but some things cannot be revealed to outsiders.

Qin An's tone was undeniable: "Take out the materials and keep watch outside. Once I finish the refining, you can come back and count the quantity."

Ge Feng nodded repeatedly, not daring to utter a single word.

The materials for the Yang Elixirs were extremely rare monster cores, naturally not to be touched by others.

Ge Feng personally brought over a large wooden box, placed it in front of Qin An, explained its contents, and quietly left.

It was only after Ge Feng left that Qin An opened the wooden box before him.

Inside the box, ninety monster cores emitted a red glow.

The corners of Qin An's mouth lifted slightly, as he picked up one of the monster cores, thinking to himself: "Just enough to make one."

In front of him, smoke appeared, twisting like a snake, forming a line of text.

[Pill Master lv.6 (20/1000): The success rate of your pill refining has increased, and the potency is more refined]

[Talent: Jade Bone Realm mastery in fire control has reached Great Success, and the materials for Jade Bone Realm pills are reduced]

After reaching level six in the Pill Master profession, there are a total of two talents.

The first is the Jade Bone Realm mastery in fire control, which we'll put aside for now.

The second talent is extremely formidable.

The reduction of materials for Jade Bone Realm pills means that anything made by Qin An can greatly reduce the consumption of materials.

According to Qin An's understanding, if he refined the Yang Elixirs himself, only nine monster cores would be needed to make one successful elixir.

With a total of ninety monster cores in front of him, if each Yang Elixir could be secured with one core.

Wouldn't that allow him to have an extra one?

This extra one wouldn't be accounted for in the Evil Extermination Bureau's records and would be his own.

This was Qin An's plan.

He suddenly felt that coming here was the right decision.

With no one around, Qin An opened the Pill Furnace and, without hesitation, began refining them one by one according to the method for Yang Elixirs.

...

One hour later.

When Qin An closed the Pill Furnace, ten Yang Elixirs were arranged like the Big Dipper, and the monster cores in the box were completely gone.

In front of him, smoke appeared again.

[Pill Master lv.6 (220/1000): The success rate of your pill refining has increased, and the potency is more refined]

[Talent: Jade Bone Realm mastery in fire control has reached Great Success, and the materials for Jade Bone Realm pills are reduced]

One Yang Elixir can gain 20 proficiency points, and Qin An had already refined ten, plus the previous 20 points, bringing the Pill Master profession to 220 proficiency points.

This was because Yang Elixirs were extremely difficult to refine, otherwise it might have been even less for other pills.

But that wasn't the most important thing, the most important thing was that he obtained an extra Yang Elixir.

In his palm, the Yang Elixir emanated scorching Yang energy, and Qin An absorbed it all without a word.

The Yang Elixir transformed into mist, absorbed into Qin An's body.

Instantly, his five organs felt like they were in a melting pot, and a golden light shone brightly from his lungs.

The purity of his True Qi once again increased.

Qin An touched his chest and thought: "Only one organ left."

The heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, only the kidneys hadn't been covered by Yang energy.

Now, only one more Yang Elixir was missing.

Unfortunately, there were no more monster cores here for him to refine.

However, getting an extra Yang Elixir so easily was certainly a significant gain for Qin An.

"It's time to increase proficiency."

This return trip was mainly for two reasons.

First, to use the Pill Master profession to refine Yang Elixirs, and second, to level up a profession to six, acquiring a second talent.

Once he acquired the talent, he planned to take on a new task.

As for why he prioritized the Blacksmith, Qin An naturally had his reasons.

The black knife at his waist was drawn, its cracks spread like a spider web.

Qin An examined the cracks on it, thinking to himself: "It's time for a makeover."

After the last battle, Qin An's black knife was already damaged.

If this black knife wasn't reforged, it might not withstand the upcoming battles.

Fortunately, he had rare metals from the Casting Valley, which could be used to alter the black knife.

Moreover, he needed to change the appearance of the black knife.

After all, even Hongxuan could recognize it, and other monstrous Pseudo-Gods could as well.

He certainly didn't want to lose his life due to negligence one day.

Thinking of this, Qin An sheathed the black knife, holding nine Yang Elixirs, and walked out of the courtyard.

In the house ahead, there was only Ge Feng.

When Ge Feng saw Qin An, he quickly took the Yang Elixirs from Qin An's hand, visibly relieved.

He knew his mentor's temperament well and was afraid that his mentor might consume one, making it difficult to explain later.

Now it seemed his mentor hadn't done so.

"Teacher, where are you going?" Ge Feng asked.

Qin An walked to the door: "To forge."

Ge Feng was left stunned in place, only reacting after Qin An had walked far away, and couldn't help but stamp his feet in frustration.

"Teacher's talent in Alchemy Dao is so high, why would he go wield a hammer? It's simply a waste of resources."

"Could it be that geniuses are all this wayward?"

"What a pity... what a pity!"

In the house, Ge Feng's lament echoed, resonating through the beams and walls, lingering for a long time.

...

Qin An left the Spring Breeze Hall and headed straight to the blacksmith shop.

After becoming a patrolling officer, the Evil Extermination Bureau would provide rooms, but no tasks would be forcibly arranged.

All tasks are self-picked, allowing for more freedom.

Hence, Qin An could allocate sufficient time to practice his blacksmithing skill to level six.

The blacksmith shop owner was already acquainted with Qin An, so he didn't need to use many words. After a brief exchange, he paid some silver coins and began hammering in the inner courtyard.

He intended to elevate his blacksmithing to level six, acquire the second talent, and then forge the black knife anew.

Qin An raised his hammer.

In the blacksmith shop, the clashing of metal resounded day and night.

It wasn't until nightfall that Qin An left the blacksmith shop and headed towards the Evil Extermination Bureau.

Today, he gained 100 points of blacksmithing proficiency.

The higher the level, the faster proficiency is acquired. Coupled with Qin An's relentless effort without even pausing to eat, acquiring 100 points of proficiency was indeed normal.

At night, some night snack stalls were still set up on the streets.

Aside from eating a little in the morning, Qin An hadn't consumed much, feeling somewhat hungry, and walked up to one of the stalls.

The stall owner noticed the black knife at Qin An's waist, feeling apprehensive and dared not speak.

It wasn't until Qin An signaled for a bowl of wontons that the stall owner wiped sweat from his forehead and nervously presented a large ceramic bowl.

The wontons were ordinary, but Qin An was quite hungry and ate quickly.

After finishing the bowl of wontons, Qin An paid and headed to the Evil Extermination Bureau, planning to rest well and continue practicing his blacksmithing proficiency the next day.

At this moment, a figure suddenly appeared, attracting Qin An's attention.

Ahead in the darkness, an old man with white hair and beard was leading a wild bull, cursing as he walked.

"Beast! If it weren't for bringing you into the city, I wouldn't be sleeping on the streets, and now you're complaining?"

The wild bull mooed: "Moo, you have the nerve to blame me? Clearly, you always dine and sleep in the open, yet insist on entering the city. What inn wouldn't be afraid of a talking bull?"

The old man continued to curse: "Can't you just keep quiet?"

The wild bull retorted: "Can't you stop drinking?"

The old man immediately fell silent, then pulled out a wine pot from his waist and took a swig: "Forget it, let's find some shabby place to get through the day."

"Huh? You're here too?"

Upon seeing Qin An, the old man stopped and his eyes shone brightly.

Qin An held onto the black knife: "Greetings, elder."

Knowing the old man's identity, Qin An naturally did not draw the black knife like before.

"Quite polite today."

The old man's eyes lit up, quite conspicuous under the moonlight, and quickly walked towards Qin An, wanting to grab his arm.

Qin An sidestepped and did not let the old man succeed.

The old man regained his senses: "Your body technique has reached Great Success in the Jade Bone Realm. Are you specialized in body technique?"

Qin An said nothing, cupping his fists: "I have other matters, so I must take my leave."

Unlike in the valley, Qin An had no interaction with this old man.

The earlier conversation was entirely out of courtesy.

He simply wanted to return to the Evil Extermination Bureau to rest.

The old man hurried to block the way, saying: "Young man, walk slowly. Could you arrange a place for me? As an official, the inn wouldn't dare refuse."

Qin An shook his head: "No need, I have other matters."

The old man's mouth twitched slightly: "Do you know who I am?"

Qin An pondered: "I don't know, and I'm not interested either."

Not wanting to linger, he bypassed the old man and walked into the darkness.

The old man widened his eyes, looking incredulous.

The wild bull mocked: "Hahaha, it kills me! Old Sang Yang, even a junior isn't impressed by your reputation."

Sang Yang Elder's nose twisted in anger, he hurriedly blocked Qin An's path again, loudly proclaiming: "I am Sang Yang, an elder from Hundred Medicine Valley. Young man, if you arrange a room for me, I shall reward you."

Qin An stopped and asked: "What reward?"

Sang Yang Elder raised his head, looking proud: "I have considerable achievements in medical skills. If you encounter hidden ailments in the future, you may visit Hundred Medicine Valley, and I will..."

"Hey? Don't leave!"

"Stop!"

Qin An did not look back, leaving only one sentence.

"Not interested."

He seems to know some medicine himself.

Besides, why invite trouble?

Seeing Qin An ignoring him, Sang Yang Elder stamped his feet in anger but did not continue to block him.

Until Qin An's figure disappeared, the wild bull mooed in inquiry.

"What to do?"

Sang Yang Elder gnashed his teeth: "Having come here, surely sleeping on the streets is not an option?"

"I have some connections with the Cheng Family in Lingzhou. I'll go find them!"

The wild bull was speechless: "Why not go to them earlier?"

Sang Yang Elder glared back: "Searching for them would mean constantly discussing medicine, so annoying."

Upon saying this, Sang Yang Elder continued.

"I've heard the Cheng Family is on good terms with the Evil Extermination Bureau. They have a son named Cheng Sufeng, unlike other family heirs, sent to the Evil Extermination Bureau as a hostage, becoming instead a Jinzhou officer."

"This time, some benefits can be casually offered."

The wild bull raised his head: "I want to eat the best grass."

Sang Yang Elder angrily cursed: "You rascal, you're a Pseudo-God, why eat grass!"

One man and one bull walked towards the darkness, cursing incessantly.

...

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, seven days had slipped by.

During this time, Qin An remained engrossed in smithing.

Apart from the Evil Extermination Bureau, he was always in the blacksmith shop.

During this period, Qin An did have several exchanges with Yang Quanfeng and Wan Ziqing.

The two asked about his situation as a patrolling officer, and he responded routinely.

Though both were Jinzhou officers, they treated him quite well, so Qin An naturally had no thoughts of neglecting them.

Today, inside the blacksmith shop, the sound of hammering echoed continuously.

The blacksmith shop owner looked at the silhouette in front of the furnace and sighed: "Mr. Qin, your casting skills have become increasingly refined. Probably, it would be hard to find someone more skilled than Mr. Qin in Lingzhou."

Qin An seemed not to hear, continuing to hammer at the iron before him.

In front of him, the blacksmithing proficiency kept jumping.

Soon, a line of smoke appeared before Qin An.

[Blacksmith lv.5 (800/800): The quality of the items you cast has increased]

[Upgrade Condition: Use demon essence as a guide, forge a weapon (0/1)]

Looking at the words before him, Qin An furrowed his brows slightly.

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