Chapter 00259: I’ll Teach You Alchemy
# I’ll Teach You Alchemy
Chapter 259
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 259: I’ll Teach You Alchemy
Bai Duanqi's hands trembled slightly as he gazed at the ancient Daoist scripture before him.
This scripture was one of the most supreme treasures in the vast immortal realm, rumored to have once belonged to the Demon Ancestor.
If the entire Bai Duan family were to switch to cultivating the *Second Dao Scripture*, the Mo Xuan Immortal Domain would one day become their private domain.
The family head, Bai Duanhuang, spoke up, "Elder Qi, you are the most knowledgeable and accomplished cultivator in our Bai Duan family. Please, you should be the one to open the scripture. Starting today, the three of us will begin cultivating the *Second Dao Scripture*. In a hundred years, the rest of the family will follow suit."
Bai Duanqi waved his hand, and a sphere of water appeared in the air, cascading down to cleanse his hands.
Washing one's hands before opening such a sacred text was a sign of respect.
From this day forward, the *Second Dao Scripture* would become the core cultivation method of the Bai Duan family.
After carefully washing his hands, Bai Duanqi cautiously opened the first page of the scripture.
He paused for a moment, then flipped to the second page.
By the time he reached the third and fourth pages, his movements became quicker, but his expression grew increasingly grim.
Finally, he placed the scripture back on the table.
"Grand Elder, is this scripture... fake?" Bai Duanfu asked, his voice filled with confusion.
He had glanced at the first few pages before, as switching cultivation methods was no trivial matter, especially for someone of his level.
The higher one's cultivation, the more difficult it was to change methods.
As a Great Luo Golden Immortal, switching cultivation techniques would be an immense challenge.
"Fu, are you saying you didn't realize the scripture you obtained was a fake?" Bai Duanqi frowned slightly, his gaze fixed on Bai Duanfu.
Bai Duanfu shook his head.
"It didn't seem fake to me. Although I didn't cultivate it, I did glance through the first few pages. The Daoist principles were profound and intricate, definitely the work of a top-tier immortal scripture. How could it be fake?"
"You've seen it?" Bai Duanqi was genuinely surprised.
He hadn't expected Bai Duanfu to have actually looked through the scripture.
If Bai Duanfu had indeed seen it, why was the scripture now completely blank?
Bai Duanhuang, equally puzzled, picked up the scripture and quickly flipped through it.
Like Bai Duanqi, he soon placed it back on the table.
"This isn't just a fake. It's completely empty."
Bai Duanfu stepped forward anxiously and opened the scripture himself.
Page after page, he found nothing but blank sheets.
His face turned ashen.
"Fu, are you absolutely certain you opened this scripture before and saw its contents?" Bai Duanqi pressed.
Bai Duanfu nodded firmly.
"Yes, I'm certain. There were definitely cultivation methods inside. The first line was..."
He opened his mouth to recite the first line but found that he couldn't remember it.
Bai Duanqi sighed.
"It seems that what you obtained was indeed the *Second Dao Scripture*. Otherwise, it wouldn't be possible for you to forget even a single line. Only when the original *Second Dao Scripture* appears do the contents of the copies vanish like this..."
But even as he spoke, Bai Duanqi felt something was off.
If this were a copy, the contents shouldn't disappear.
And if Bai Duanfu had obtained the original, why would it vanish? It was a contradiction.
Bai Duanfu said, "Grand Elder, Family Head, I am certain that what I obtained was the original *Second Dao Scripture*. The only explanation for its disappearance is that a higher-level version of the scripture has emerged."
Bai Duanhuang sighed.
"It seems the *Second Dao Scripture* is not destined for our Bai Duan family. Forget it. I'll have someone deal with Shangguan Qian to avoid any future complications."
Bai Duanfu hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Family Head, let's hold off on that. Shangguan Qian won't be leaving our family anytime soon. I'll take my time questioning her. Perhaps we can uncover some new information."
Truth be told, Bai Duanfu was the most unwilling to let go of the *Second Dao Scripture*.
He had seen it with his own eyes.
If he could switch to cultivating it, once he reached the Immortal King realm, he would undoubtedly become one of the most powerful Immortal Kings.
Bai Duanhuang hesitated, then nodded.
"Do as you see fit. Just make sure Shangguan Qian doesn't leave our family."
---
Lan Xiaobu's surroundings were saturated with dense immortal energy.
He wasn't just relying on immortal crystals for cultivation; dozens of immortal spirit veins within the Cosmic Dimension Matrix also provided him with an abundance of spiritual energy.
Having already been at the peak of the seventh level of the Golden Immortal realm, Lan Xiaobu broke through to the eighth level in just a few days.
A month later, he reached the ninth level.
As the *Longevity Sutra* circulated within him, Lan Xiaobu was nearly engulfed by the thick immortal energy.
If it weren't for his mastery of formations, which allowed him to set up a sixth-level spirit-gathering array, the sheer density of the energy would have been noticed by others.
Three months later, Lan Xiaobu reached the peak of the Golden Immortal realm.
It was time to leave and undergo his tribulation to advance to the Profound Immortal realm.
Once he became a Profound Immortal, he would make a discreet trip to the Bai Duan family.
Lan Xiaobu put away his immortal crystals and deactivated the protective array.
As soon as he did, he sensed something was wrong—Guang Kuo hadn't returned.
Guang Kuo had left on the same day as him, but due to the incident at the Wu Mu Market, his leave had been canceled.
When Lan Xiaobu returned, Guang Kuo was already gone.
Now, after several months of seclusion, Guang Kuo was still missing.
Feeling uneasy, Lan Xiaobu decided to head to the Forbidden Immortal Bureau to inquire about Guang Kuo's situation.
Just as he was about to leave, the array at the entrance was deactivated, and a young woman walked in.
She bore a striking resemblance to Guang Kuo, with large eyes and a round face, exuding a sense of innocence.
Lan Xiaobu immediately knew this must be Guang Kuo's daughter, Guang Jie.
"Who are you?" Guang Jie asked, her eyes filled with wariness as she looked at Lan Xiaobu.
Lan Xiaobu quickly clasped his hands in greeting.
"You must be Guang Jie. I'm Lan Xiaobu, a friend of your father's. I've been staying here temporarily."
The woman frowned.
"I am Guang Jie, but I've never heard my father mention you."
Lan Xiaobu explained, "Your father saved me. He arranged for me to join the Forbidden Immortal Bureau as a first-level Immortal Officer. But the day after I joined, he was sent out on a mission related to the Wu Mu Market case. It's been almost three months, and he still hasn't returned. I was just about to go to the bureau to find out more. I think your father must have been too busy with the case to inform you."
Guang Jie's wariness faded.
Her father was indeed a kind-hearted man.
She even comforted Lan Xiaobu, saying, "Don't worry. My father often goes on missions that last over a year. It's not unusual for him to be gone for months."
Lan Xiaobu didn't respond.
He felt something was off.
Missions that lasted over a year were usually for major cases, like capturing someone like Ju Xiuruo.
But the Wu Mu Market wasn't far—it was right on the Jiangyan Immortal Path.
How could a mission there take months?
"Uncle Lan..."
Guang Jie hesitated, then said, "You don't seem much older than me."
Lan Xiaobu thought to himself, *I'm not just a little older than you—I'm definitely younger.*
"Never mind, I'll call you Brother Lan," Guang Jie decided, lowering his status a bit.
She then took out a jade bottle and handed it to him.
"Brother Lan, I'm an alchemist. Since you work at the Forbidden Immortal Bureau and are likely to get injured, I'll give you this bottle of pills."
Lan Xiaobu's divine sense swept over the bottle.
It contained second-grade Recovery Pills, a decent healing elixir.
"Thank you," Lan Xiaobu said, accepting the bottle without refusal.
Guang Jie's straightforward and kind nature reminded him of her father.
"Brother Lan, I'll be staying at home for a while. If my father returns to the bureau, please let him know I'm preparing for the sect's alchemy competition," Guang Jie said, clearly pleased that Lan Xiaobu had accepted the pills.
An alchemy competition? Lan Xiaobu thought about his upcoming plans.
After visiting the Forbidden Immortal Bureau, he might head straight to the Bai Duan family and not return for some time.
With that in mind, he offered, "Guang Jie, I've also studied alchemy, and my skills are quite good. How about you refine a batch of pills, and I'll give you some pointers?"
"Pointers?" Guang Jie's eyes widened in disbelief.
She was a second-grade alchemist, after all.
Did this Lan Xiaobu even know what a second-grade alchemist was? Did he realize how rare and respected they were, even on the Jiangyan Immortal Path?
Lan Xiaobu nodded.
"Yes, I'll give you some pointers. If you don't need my help, I'll be on my way. I might be working overtime these next few days and won't be back for a while."
Suppressing a laugh, Guang Jie took out her alchemy cauldron.
"Alright then, I'll refine a batch of Recovery Pills. Let's see how well you can guide me."
The cauldron was a low-grade immortal artifact, and its craftsmanship was mediocre.
Lan Xiaobu guessed that despite her reputation, Guang Jie's position in her sect wasn't particularly high.
Once the cauldron was out, Guang Jie's demeanor shifted.
She became serious and took out a second-grade immortal flame talisman.
For alchemists like Guang Jie, whose cultivation wasn't high enough to produce inner flames for alchemy, they had to rely on external sources like earth flames or flame talismans.
Since there were no earth flames here, she had to use the talisman.
As for actual flames, those were rare and hard to come by.
Second-grade flame talismans weren't cheap, but as a second-grade alchemist, Guang Jie could afford them, even if her status in the sect wasn't great.
The talisman ignited, and Guang Jie began the familiar process of cleaning the cauldron.
She then took out various immortal herbs, such as True Origin Vine and Spirit Recovery Fruit, and began adding them to the cauldron in the proper sequence.
As Lan Xiaobu watched her refine the herbs, he noticed several issues: her alchemy techniques were average, her immortal energy control was lacking, and her timing wasn't optimal.
At best, she would produce a batch of mid-grade Recovery Pills, with a few low-grade ones mixed in.
Just as Lan Xiaobu predicted, after about two hours, Guang Jie finished refining the pills.
The batch consisted of seven mid-grade pills, three low-grade ones, and two duds.
As she retrieved the pills from the cauldron, Guang Jie seemed satisfied.
If not for the subpar flame, she believed she could have avoided the duds.
"Brother Lan, please tell me what I did wrong so I can improve," Guang Jie said, a hint of amusement in her voice.
Lan Xiaobu pointed to the cauldron.
"There were quite a few issues in your refining process. Let me explain them to you first, and then I'll guide you step by step as you refine another batch."
(That's all for today's update.
Goodnight, everyone!)
(End of Chapter)