After bidding farewell to Situ Yan, Feng Shaojie led Gu Yuan out of the Alchemy Room.

"Junior Brother, follow me. Your living quarters are ready, not far from here."

Feng Shaojie led the way, aware that his master held Gu Yuan in high regard, and put away his previous underestimation of Gu Yuan.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Feng."

Noticing the complicated look in Feng Shaojie's eyes, Gu Yuan wasn't too concerned.

"Wait!"

As the two descended the stairs and passed through a corridor, someone called out to them.

They stopped and turned towards the voice, seeing a slender, middle-aged Taoist wearing a blue-gray robe.

Unlike True Monarch Withered Wood, although this person was thin, he had a broad frame with billowing sleeves and a long beard, with a demeanor that seemed somewhat immortal.

"Greetings, Uncle Master Cyan Wood!"

Feng Shaojie bowed respectfully.

Cyan Wood True Master nodded slightly and glanced at Gu Yuan with a puzzled expression. "Nephew Feng, where are you going? And who is this?"

Feng Shaojie respectfully replied, "Reporting to Uncle Master, this is Junior Brother Gu Yuan, the disciple of Uncle Master He Ling. Master has already met Junior Brother Gu and instructed me to lead him to his arranged quarters."

"Oh?"

Cyan Wood True Master seemed somewhat surprised and looked at Gu Yuan. "So you are Junior Brother He Ling's disciple."

"Disciple greets Uncle Master!"

Gu Yuan saluted, but he inwardly chuckled coldly.

Although he hadn't met this person, he had heard his master, He Ling True Master, mention him.

Cyan Wood True Master was the Vice Tower Master here and belonged to a family faction.

Unlike Situ Yan, who was immersed in the Alchemy Dao and ignored mundane affairs, Cyan Wood True Master was keen on power and controlled nearly half of the authority in the Jade Cauldron Tower at Qiongming Market.

With Situ Yan absent, he was the one who called the shots here.

The key point was that this person harbored significant hostility towards the sect lineage and had some friction with He Ling True Master, although not as openly antagonistic as Purple Cloud True Master.

Moreover, when they first met just now, Gu Yuan keenly noticed a hint of astonishment in his eyes, completely lacking unfamiliarity, clearly indicating he already knew him.

"Indeed, extraordinary talent. Junior Brother He Ling has a good eye!"

Cyan Wood True Master stroked his beard and nodded slightly, smiling. Someone unaware might have thought he was showing goodwill.

But Gu Yuan's Sword Heart was incredibly sharp, faintly sensing a cold malice hidden beneath his amicable exterior.

"This old fox definitely harbors ill intent! I must be cautious of him."

Gu Yuan silently decided.

On the surface, Gu Yuan exchanged a few polite words with him and then departed with Feng Shaojie.

Watching the backs of Gu Yuan and Feng Shaojie as they left, the smile on Cyan Wood True Master's face gradually vanished, turning indifferent, with a touch of coldness in his gaze.

"Gu Yuan... hmph!"

...

In the following days, Gu Yuan began studying the "Essentials of the Golden Core."

To be fair, this alchemy method was indeed profound.

Fortunately, Gu Yuan had tamed the spirit pet Cai Yun and obtained its talent "Thousand Transformations," which gave him a special sensitivity to changes in the properties of spirit medicine.

This endowed Gu Yuan with a high talent for alchemy, allowing him to learn "Essentials of the Golden Core" with ease, without being misled by its various implications and alchemical terminology.

During this time, Niu Youde, Xia Xiuxue, and others visited Gu Yuan's residence.

The two knew very well that the three of them had entered Medicine King Mountain together and were all part of the sect lineage, so they were naturally allies.

Especially with Gu Yuan at the forefront.

For no other reason than Gu Yuan's talent, cultivation, strength, and status, all of which were enough to fulfill this role.

The sect lineage was already in decline, and only by banding together could the three protect each other from being bullied.

The two didn't disturb Gu Yuan for long, saying a few words before quickly taking their leave.

After seeing them off, Gu Yuan headed straight to the Jade Cauldron Tower.

After days of comprehending alchemy, he planned to try his hand personally.

No matter how much or how deeply one studied alchemical principles, it was useless without hands-on practice.

"Brother Gu!"

"Greetings, Brother!"

"Junior Brother…"

"..."

When Gu Yuan arrived at the Jade Cauldron Tower, many people recognized him this time and greeted him.

However, Gu Yuan could see that while they seemed polite, their politeness carried a hint of aloofness and scrutiny.

Among them, many even harbored hidden vigilance and hostility.

Gu Yuan didn't mind, casually responding as he approached the counter.

Ignoring the inquisitive stares from some people around, Gu Yuan straightforwardly took out a Jade Scroll and said to the person at the counter:

"Give me ten sets of each of these materials."

"Yes!"

The middle-aged steward at the counter didn't dare delay and quickly checked the information within the Jade Scroll.

"Jade Essence Pill... Qi Replenishing Pill... Spirit Storage Pill..."

Seeing the first two types of elixirs, he remained calm, but after seeing the Spirit Storage Pill and its required materials, his face showed a trace of peculiarity, and his gaze towards Gu Yuan changed. However, he didn't say much more.

He just said, "Please wait a moment, Junior Brother," and called someone over, giving a few instructions before the attendant hurried off.

Before long, the attendant returned hastily, now holding a Storage Pouch.

"Junior Brother Gu, here are the materials you requested. As you are an Inner Sect Disciple and Tower Master Situ has given instructions, I can offer you a discount. You only need to pay forty percent in Spirit Stones, which comes to 1,600 Spirit Stones."

The middle-aged steward handed the Storage Pouch filled with spirit medicine to Gu Yuan.

"You can check it, Junior Brother."

"Thank you."

Gu Yuan accepted it without hesitation, sending his Divine Thought inside to confirm, then paid the Spirit Stones and turned to leave.

After Gu Yuan left, someone inquired about the situation, and after learning what transpired, laughed mockingly: "Spirit Storage Pill?"

"I'm not surprised that this kid wants to learn alchemy, but how many days has he been studying?"

"The Spirit Storage Pill can nourish Divine Thought and even the Divine Soul; it's not comparable to some Jade Essence Pill or Qi Replenishing Pill. He's actually dreaming of crafting a Spirit Storage Pill. It's utterly laughable! Ridiculous to the extreme!"

"In my opinion, that kid has ambitions but acts arrogantly... I've studied alchemy for over thirty years, and even among alchemists, I am an old hand, yet I don't dare claim I can craft a Spirit Storage Pill. Who does he think he is..."

"Exactly... That Gu fellow is completely delusional!"

"Let's not say it like that. I heard that Tower Master Situ holds this kid in high regard."

"I rather think it's due to the face of the Ninth Elder."

"Makes sense..."

"I want to see, after a few months of struggle, when he achieves nothing and fails to produce a single elixir, what the scene will be like..."

"Haha, now that you mention it, I'm quite looking forward to it."

Many others chimed in, not optimistic about Gu Yuan's alchemy endeavors.

Among those present, over seventy percent were family faction disciples.

They were quite dismissive of Gu Yuan, a sect lineage disciple who had recently risen to fame, finding him disagreeable no matter how they looked at it.

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