Chapter 134: Poor, Penniless & Unprepared

"Understood."

Long Feng nodded and immediately reached into his storage ring and pulled out his cauldron. But just then, his hand stopped.

Looking at the cauldron in front of him, a strange expression appeared on his face.

It was only a Profound Rank cauldron.

A fourth-rank pill could be refined in this type of cauldron, but that was its absolute limit.

Handling the terrifying energy of a fifth-rank pill would be extremely difficult for it, and there was a very high chance that it could be destroyed during the refining process.

Although his Hell Python Flame was extraordinarily powerful and gave him a huge advantage in alchemy, it was still somewhat risky.

Long Feng silently looked upward, only to find that Elder Zixuan was also staring at him.

He quickly lowered his head in embarrassment.

Thinking about it, he realized that this was not the time to worry about such things.

He decided to make do with his current cauldron and was about to take out the herbs needed to refine the pill.

But then he remembered that he didn’t even have them.

His rank had risen far too quickly recently, leaving him no time to prepare a proper stock of medicinal ingredients.

Moreover, he had only recently become a fifth-rank alchemist, so he naturally possessed almost none of the ingredients required for fifth-rank pills.

Long Feng’s expression slowly became awkward.

Without even one set of medicinal ingredients, he couldn’t even begin refining.

With no other option, Long Feng could only thicken his skin and force an awkward smile onto his face as he looked toward Elder Zixuan.

"Elder Zixuan... it seems like I lack some things."

Elder Zixuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

Upon hearing Long Feng’s words, he naturally assumed that the young man probably lacked one or two medicinal ingredients.

That was hardly a problem!

Since Long Feng had been brought here specifically to demonstrate his alchemy ability, it was only natural that Elder Zixuan would provide whatever minor materials were necessary.

"What do you lack?"

His tone remained calm as he turned to the side.

"Deacon Jun, give him whatever he lacks."

The old man who had been waiting outside immediately stepped into the courtyard and respectfully bowed toward Elder Zixuan.

Deacon Jun was an elderly man with gray hair and a calm expression. Although he was only a deacon of the sect, the fact that he served directly under Elder Zixuan meant that his position within the sect was naturally much higher than that of ordinary deacons.

He then turned toward Long Feng and asked respectfully,

"Disciple Long, please tell me what you require. I will have someone prepare it immediately."

Long Feng immediately turned toward the old man standing nearby.

"I’ll need someone to prepare them."

He no longer felt particularly embarrassed. Since Elder Zixuan had already agreed to provide what he lacked, there was no reason for him to be polite.

"Five stalks of Purple Cloud Grass."

"Three Spirit Gathering Fruits."

"Five pieces of Earth Spirit Root."

"Ten drops of Hundred-Year Spirit Dew."

Elder Zixuan’s originally relaxed expression changed slightly. His eyebrows twitched.

It wasn’t that these herbs were particularly rare for him, but he hadn’t expected Long Feng to lack so many ingredients.

He had initially thought Long Feng would ask for one or two missing ingredients, but it seemed he had underestimated him too much.

"Six Golden Leaf Flowers."

"Four Crimson Spirit Fruits."

"Three pieces of Moonlight Root."

"Eight drops of Azure Spring Essence."

When Long Feng finally stopped, the courtyard became quiet.

Deacon Jun stood there for several breaths, carefully going through the list in his mind to make sure he had remembered everything correctly.

But Elder Zixuan’s eyebrows twitched again.

Now he was beginning to realize that he had misunderstood the situation completely. Long Feng did not lack one or two things. He seemed to lack everything.

Elder Zixuan’s gaze slowly became strange.

’How poor is this disciple?’

He silently looked at Long Feng.

Perfect Grade Talent, an extremely unusual soul, and a fifth-rank alchemist.

And yet, when he came to demonstrate his alchemy skills, he apparently did not even possess enough medicinal ingredients to refine a single pill.

’At least maintain some dignity as an alchemist.’

An alchemist could make money by refining pills. As long as his alchemy ability was decent, he could gradually accumulate wealth by selling pills.

Even without powerful backing, he should at least have accumulated enough basic resources to support his own profession.

Yet Long Feng seemed to possess none of them.

Long Feng, completely unaware of the elder’s thoughts, suddenly remembered something else.

"Oh, and if possible, prepare a good cauldron as well."

He said it naturally, as though asking to borrow a cauldron was no different from asking for another herb.

Elder Zixuan’s face instantly darkened.

His fingers slowly tightened around the armrest of the wooden chair.

’His own cauldron isn’t suitable? Then why did you come here without preparing one?’

But something else depressed him even more.

"You have the pill formula, correct?"

Long Feng’s expression froze.

"..."

Elder Zixuan’s eyes narrowed. He suddenly had a very bad feeling.

"You do have the formula, don’t you?"

Long Feng coughed lightly and replied in a low voice that would have been difficult to hear if one did not possess Saint cultivation.

"I know the formula."

"Which pill?"

"Energy Gathering Pill."

Silence!

A particularly long silence descended over the courtyard.

Elder Zixuan slowly raised one hand and pressed it against his forehead. At this moment, he finally understood the entire situation.

’He doesn’t have ingredients.’

’He doesn’t have a suitable cauldron.’

’And now... he doesn’t even have the pill formula written down.’

He slowly lowered his hand.

For the first time since Long Feng had arrived, Elder Zixuan genuinely wondered whether bringing this disciple here had been a mistake.

He was supposedly a fifth-rank alchemist, yet he had arrived in front of an eighth-rank alchemist to demonstrate his ability while carrying almost nothing related to alchemy.

’What kind of alchemist lives like this?’

Long Feng felt his gaze and could not help feeling slightly embarrassed.

He suddenly remembered Yueyue’s expression inside the Heavenly Judgment Mirror—the same helpless, speechless look she had given him.

Only now did he understand how she had felt.

Being on the receiving end of such a gaze was surprisingly uncomfortable.

However, he quickly explained, "The Energy Gathering Pill is relatively simple. I know the formula by heart, so I didn’t bring it."

Elder Zixuan stared at him.

"Naturally."

His voice was completely flat.

Long Feng could not tell whether that was approval or sarcasm, but judging from the situation, it was probably closer to an insult.

The Energy Gathering Pill was one of the most basic cultivation pills, with versions suitable for cultivators of every major realm.

It temporarily increased the speed at which spiritual energy could be absorbed and circulated, making it one of the most commonly used cultivation pills.

A first-rank pill was suitable for Qi Refining cultivators, a second-rank pill for Spirit Condensing cultivators, and so on.

The rank of the medicinal ingredients determined the potential rank of the pill, while the refining process determined whether that potential could actually be realized.

The ingredients Long Feng had requested were at least fifth-grade, which meant that the pill he intended to refine would naturally be a fifth-rank Energy Gathering Pill.

There was nothing particularly profound about the pill recipe. It was a formula known to almost every alchemist.

This also meant that Long Feng had never bothered to collect many other pill formulas either.

A few minutes later, Deacon Jun returned and took out all the medicinal ingredients Long Feng had requested, along with a large cauldron.

BOOM!

The heavy cauldron landed on the ground, causing the surrounding spiritual energy to ripple slightly.

A thick and ancient aura immediately spread outward.

Long Feng’s eyes lit up. He could tell at a glance that this was an Earth Rank cauldron. And judging from the aura it emitted, it was not an ordinary Earth Rank cauldron.

Compared with his own Profound Rank cauldron, the difference was enormous.

"Everything you requested is here."

"Thank you, Deacon Jun."

Long Feng nodded.

Deacon Jun bowed toward Elder Zixuan before leaving the courtyard. Once he was gone, Long Feng’s gaze returned to the cauldron.

He inspected it briefly before looking over the medicinal ingredients.

Everything was prepared. There was nothing else he needed.

Long Feng slowly walked forward and placed one hand against the surface of the cauldron.

The awkwardness from earlier had completely disappeared. His expression gradually became calm. The moment he entered the state of an alchemist, his entire temperament seemed to change.

The lazy and awkward young man from earlier seemed to have disappeared completely.

There was no nervousness, no hesitation, and no trace of embarrassment left on his face. Only calm focus remained in his eyes.

Elder Zixuan noticed this subtle change in his attitude. His eyes narrowed slightly.

Only a seasoned alchemist could enter such a state so naturally.

Long Feng’s fingers lightly brushed across the surface of the cauldron. He could already sense the faint spiritual fluctuations hidden within it.

Compared with his old Profound Rank cauldron, this one was on an entirely different level.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips. This should be enough.

Long Feng took a slow breath.

"I’ll begin."

Elder Zixuan leaned back against the wooden chair. His expression once again became cold and unreadable.

"Go ahead."

However, inwardly, another thought appeared.

’If this little genius causes another problem...’

Elder Zixuan’s eyes remained fixed on Long Feng. ’I’ll really have to ask my teacher whether he saw something wrong.’