NOVEL NEXT Chapter 614: Just One Step Away
"Creak"
The tightly closed door was pushed open, and Xiao Yan stepped out, facing the morning sun and stretching lazily.
Her soft body stretched with the movement, revealing beautiful and alluring curves.
Compared to a few years ago, Xiao Yan had grown a lot, transforming from a slightly immature girl into a young woman starting to show beauty and charm.
She walked out of the room, exercising in the courtyard, also dispersing the faint medicinal aroma on her body.
A phantom emerged from the ring on Xiao Yan's hand, transforming into a graceful woman in her thirties dressed in luxurious clothes.
The woman looked at Xiao Yan with a caring gaze and said with concern, "Exhausted, right?"
Xiao Yan showed a hearty smile and shook her head.
Indeed, the continuous alchemy over the past five or six days had left her physically and mentally exhausted, but her mood was filled with joy as the process of refining elixirs went very smoothly.
"Medicine Lady, once Sister brings back the Enlightenment Zen Grass and Molten Fire, our elixir can advance further. By then, we can find someone to test it again."
Xiao Yan said excitedly, having already received Han Li's message that her sister had successfully obtained the valuable Enlightenment Zen Grass and Molten Fire from Refining Immortal City, solving a major issue for her.
The Medicine Lady nodded with a smile, "No need to rush, you will surely succeed."
Xiao Yan corrected, "It's not me, it's you; this is your achievement, I'm just helping you realize it."
The Medicine Lady did not argue with Xiao Yan; they had debated this issue many times before without any meaning.
After chatting for a while, the Medicine Lady returned to the ring. She was now just a thread of Divine Soul, her power recovering a bit under the ring's nurturing, occasionally able to come out, but that's all.
Xiao Yan left the courtyard and ventured onto the bustling street, finding a familiar shop to eat some food.
With the Medicine Lady's help, Xiao Yan had actually advanced to Innate just a dozen days ago, but her eating habit hadn't changed yet.
She had been hiding in this little town at the foot of Heavenly Mountain for several months now, having traveled from the Central Plains to the north, mainly searching for a precious material that only grows there, simultaneously evading the search from both righteous and evil factions.
Xiao Yan knew very well that what she was doing wasn't allowed by both factions, not even by the entire Cultivation World—that is, refining elixirs that enable men to easily cultivate.
Even though Xiao Yan initially didn't care much about male and female rights issues, a glance through the Male Right Vanguard could easily tell that the women who held power in the Cultivation World would not allow such a thing to happen, let alone the extreme feminist organization True Mother God Sect.
Despite this, Xiao Yan went ahead without hesitation; on one hand, she was not pleased with the current world's trend despite being a woman herself, and on the other hand, it was the Medicine Lady's wish.
Sure enough, after her purpose was exposed, she was immediately chased by True Mother God Sect, the Righteous Alliance claiming nice things, but their true thoughts were as plain as day to any passerby.
Xiao Yan luckily evaded the pursuit with the Medicine Lady's help and fled to the north's Heavenly Mountain, expecting neither True Mother God Sect nor Righteous Alliance to anticipate such a distant escape.
Originally, after finding the materials on Heavenly Mountain, Xiao Yan intended to leave this place, but she had already communicated with Han Li in letters, knowing Han Li had found the precious Enlightenment Zen Grass and Molten Fire and was on her way here, so she decided to stay and wait for her sister's arrival.
After filling her stomach, Xiao Yan returned home, continuing her involvement in the elixir refining process.
This was an elixir almost miraculous—countless alchemists throughout history had failed to create it.
Young as she was, Xiao Yan naturally didn't possess such power; the formula she had was the lifetime achievement of the Medicine Lady.
The Medicine Lady was also a great alchemist during her life, summarizing the experience of predecessors and spending all her time inventing this formula, but unfortunately died before it was refined.
So she pinned her hopes on Xiao Yan, who was also an exceptional alchemy genius on a centennial level. With the Medicine Lady's guidance, as long as she gathered the formula's materials, creating the elixir seemed possible.
Xiao Yan repeated the refining steps, memorizing each step, meticulously observing the heat to ensure no mistakes occurred during the refining process.
She was so immersed in the refining process that she forgot time until a knocking sound startled her awake.
Xiao Yan showed a vigilant look; living so reclusively here, she had minimal interactions with residents—local people shouldn't be seeking her.
The knocking continued, and Xiao Yan summoned a thread of flame from the furnace, transforming into a small fire snake that nodded at Xiao Yan before slithering out the window.
Soon, the little fire snake returned, merging into Xiao Yan's palm to deliver the view it witnessed.
Outside the gate stood a person draped in a black cloak, their appearance concealed entirely, visible only was a slender hand gently knocking on the gate.
Seeing this scene, Xiao Yan displayed utter delight, swiftly rushing out and sprinting to the courtyard, unlocking the tightly closed gate.
"Sister!"
Xiao Yan opened her arms and hugged the woman standing outside.
Han Li was slightly stunned, then also opened her arms to hug Xiao Yan.
"I'm back!"
The sisters happily embraced each other for a while, then entered the courtyard hand in hand.
Han Li looked at Xiao Yan with surprise, "You've reached Innate?"
Xiao Yan nodded a bit shyly, not having entirely relied on herself but succeeded under the Medicine Lady's help, feeling slightly like cheating.
Quickly, Xiao Yan also sensed something surprising—Han Li's aura felt different: "Sister, you've reached Innate too?"
Han Li smiled and said, "I got lucky, but this journey was quite fruitful."
Separated from Fang Zhou, she cultivated while traveling back, finally managing to digest the Demon Suppression Saint's gift.
After digesting, her already Foundation Establishment Peak realm finally crossed the threshold to reach Innate.
"I've found the Enlightenment Zen Grass and Molten Fire for you."
"That's amazing!"
Xiao Yan exclaimed excitedly, "With these two you've brought, the formula only lacks the last type of flame, we're just a step away from creating the elixir."
"Heh, that step you might not cross."
A stranger's voice suddenly sounded.
Han Li and Xiao Yan's expressions changed, immediately alert and looking toward where the voice came from.
A woman, dressed entirely in black, standing on the courtyard wall, with an unruly demeanor noticed at some point.
Looking down at the two in the courtyard, she sneered, "Seems the intel was wrong, General Yun; the enemies are two Innate cultivators, not Foundation shrimp."
"No matter."
Another cold voice suddenly echoed, Han Li and Xiao Yan quickly turned, finding a white-clad woman with a light veil on her face standing on the rooftop.
"They've only just reached Innate, no threat."