Chapter 732: The Flame Valley Xuanling Cauldron

"

Hahaha,

kid! The Flame Valley Xuanling Cauldron is yours to use!"

Seeing the Pill Devil's stifled expression, the Sword Maniac set down his massive iron hammer and roared with laughter. "Kid, I like your spirit! This stinking alchemist has no real skill, yet he boasts all day about being the 'world's number one alchemist.'

Bah!

"

"You damn blacksmith! What did you say? How dare you lend out my cauldron!" The Pill Devil's demonic qi surged, his face twisting in fury.

"

Heh.

If you refuse, it just means you're scared. Tsk tsk, the great 'Pill Devil,'

huh?

I'm ashamed to share a reputation with you!" The Sword Maniac sneered at the Pill Devil. Though the two old men lived together, their daily routine involved hundreds of taunts and jabs, each reveling in the other's humiliation.

"

Hmph!

Scared?" The Pill Devil snortedldly. "Brat, use the Flame Valley Xuanling Cauldron as you wish. Let's see just how capable you really are!"

"Follow me, brat!"

The Pill Devil shot Ling Feng a sharp glare before hobbling toward the rear of the valley with his iron cane. As he walked, he muttered to himself,

where did this bratme from? So young, yet so boastful!

Though he was a peak seventh-tier alchemist, even the three most renowned masters of the Alchemist Guild paled in his eyes. The guild's president, Hong Haotian, was far beneath him.

The so-called "alchemy prodigy," Yun Danqing, had a unique style but lacked centuries of experience. As for Su Dongling, the Empire's Top Poison Master, their specialties hardlympare.

In the entire Tianbai Empire, only those three deserved a sliver of his respect. Yet this brat dared claim an eighty percent chance to refine the Divine-Will Nine-Transformations Pill?

Arrogant lies!

Even with eighty percent odds, failureuld always be blamed on bad luck!

"

Hmph!

Let's see what tricks you've got, brat!"

The Pill Devil might not call himself the world's greatest alchemist, but his pride in his craft ran deep. Howuld a whelp surpass his lifetime of mastery?

Soon, the group arrived at a natural volcano in Flame Valley's hinterlands.

Ling Feng stared, stunned.

These two are insane—using an active volcano as their backyard! Only human emperor-level experts would dare such audacity.

"What's wrong, kid? Scared?"

The Pill Devil leaned on his cane, chest puffed out smugly at Ling Feng's shock. "When I refine pills, I harness volcanic flames! My grand array draws the Cangming Earth's Core Flame from the magma's depths, forming a supreme natural alchemic fire array!"

Ling Feng rubbed his chin, impressed. Harnessing the power of creation itself through such an array—this is truly ingenious! Before long, the group ascended to the volcano's summit. Streams of molten lava visibly flowed across the ground, bubbling as they released waves of intense heat.

At the center of the mountaintop, Pill Devil and Sword Maniac had worked together to forge an array, channeling the volcano's flames tonverge beneath the Flame Valley Xuanling Cauldron. With just a surge of true qi, theyuld unleash the full power of the Cangming Earth's Core Flame to its utmost potential.

The closer one got to the Flame Valley Xuanling Cauldron, the more unbearable the surrounding temperature became. Ling Feng circled the cauldron, which stood as tall as a person, inspecting it carefully. Heuldn't help but nod in approval,

this alchemy furnace is of an exceptional grade, far superior to the Six-legged Taotie Cauldron of the Alchemist Guild.

Furthermore, with the addition of this volcanic flame array, using the Flame Valley Xuanling Cauldron for alchemy would drastically improve the success rate!

However, each time the cauldron was used, itnsumed a significant portion of the volcano's energy. The heat required long periods of dormancy before ituld be restored, which explained why Pill Devil was unwilling to waste the cauldron's power on refining low-tier medicinal pills.

Indeed, using the Flame Valley Xuanling Cauldron to refine ordinary medicinal pills would be a tremendous waste.

"Well, what do you think? Impressive, isn't it?"

Pill Devil stood beside Ling Feng, grinning smugly. "This array was designed by yours truly, and that damned blacksmith happened to find an unparalleled cauldron embryo. That's how we forged this Flame Valley Xuanling Cauldron. This alchemy furnace can rightfully bensidered a sacred artifact!"

"I've known you, you damned alchemist, for centuries, and this is the first time you've spoken some sense!" Sword Maniac chuckled. "But your array is just the icing on the cake. The real masterpiece is the cauldron I forged!"

"Bullshit!"

"Utter nonsense!"

The two old eccentrics started bickering again at the drop of a hat.

Yet, despite their endless quarrels, neither of them truly intended to fight. Having known each other for so many years, they actually had a deep bond—just neither was willing to admit it.

Ling Feng shook his head helplessly anduld only wait in silence for them to finish their argument.

Fortunately, their tempers flared and faded just as quickly. With ald snort, Pill Devil turned to Ling Feng and said impatiently, "Hand over the pill formula. I should have most of the required ingredients in my storehouse. However, you'll have to provide the main medicinal herb yourselves."

"Yes, yes!"

Feng Wuhen's lips twitched slightly, and he quickly presented the pill formula without hesitation.

Pill Devil glanced over it and nodded. "So it was missing a few key ingredients... Why didn't I think of that? I wonder which old geezermpleted it. Must be around my age, give or take a few decades."

"..."

Ling Feng awkwardly rubbed the bridge of his nose. He hadn't been the one tomplete the formula, but if his grandfather, Ling Hanyang, were still alive, he would only be in his sixties. Compared to this ancient monster who had lived for centuries, he was still a junior by many generations!

After a brief moment, Pill Devil finished reading the pill formula and nodded again. "Aside from the Poison Fruit of Ten Thousand Evil, I have all the other ingredients."

With that, he casually tossed the pill formula back to Feng Wuhen, curling his lips as he said indifferently, "The miscellaneous elemental crystals should amount to no more than a few hundred thousand... Whatever, I hate dealing with small change. Let's round it up. Just give me one million elemental crystals!"

"Yes!"

Feng Wuhen clenched his teeth tightly, his heart bleeding at the demand.

Ling Feng pursed his lips—heuld practically hear the sound of teeth cracking under the pressure.

No wonder Feng Wuhen had turned pale when Pill Devil offered to provide the materials. This was nothing short of daylight robbery!

The actual value of the materials was at most a hundred thousand elemental crystals, yet Pill Devil demanded a full million. He was treating Feng Wuhen like a walking treasure trove, squeezing every last bit out of him.

A million elemental crystals... That was equivalent to tens of billions of high-grade elemental stones!

Even though Feng Wuhen wasn't exactly short on money, losing a million elemental crystals was sure to sting for a long time.

Ling Feng secretly chuckled to himself. When it came to shamelessness, Pill Devil might just be on par with that despicable donkey!