Pharmacy Hall

At Dan Peak, in front of a small wooden cabin, under an old locust tree, on the grass.

Li Shiyin sat cross-legged on the grass, her pretty face very serious, eyes fixed on Li An who was about ten feet away from her.

Little Li An stood there trembling, his face looking aggrieved. He wanted to lie down but didn't dare move... This aunt was too fierce.

Although little Li An could already fly through the sky riding on Sword Qi, and even chase the eighth-grade demon king Chasing Wind all over the mountains, he actually couldn't even stand steadily.

Because even though his Sword Qi seed had awakened, drawing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into his body and strengthening his physical form, and even though he had been carefully fed Spirit Beast Milk by Long Qiqi, which had also strengthened his body, making him much stronger than a normal infant, in the end, he was still just a four-month-old baby.

No matter how amazing he was, there was a limit.

So, to teach him how to control the Sword Qi inside his body, they first had to teach him to stand, to walk, to move his hands and feet, to use his own strength.

They had to take it step by step.

Seeing that Li An really couldn't stand anymore, Li Shiyin reached out her hand to him, gesturing: "Come, walk over here. Come to auntie."

However, Li An's legs were wobbly, and he pouted, not wanting to move.

Seeing him not moving for a long time, Li Shiyin furrowed her brows and lightly scolded: "Come here!"

Li An was startled, tears "plop plop" falling from his eyes, but he still moved his chubby little legs, taking one step at a time, swaying towards Li Shiyin.

Auntie is so scary!

His birth mother Yu Chi Zhen was right beside him. Li An's state made her heart ache, as he wobbled, seeming like he might fall at any moment. As she watched, she wanted to reach out and support him, but the sharp Sword Qi around Li An made her hesitate to act rashly.

She looked up at Li Shiyin, wanting to ask her not to be so fierce, but she opened her mouth and still didn't say anything.

Although he was unsteady and stumbling, Li An didn't fall after all. He walked while crying, reaching Li Shiyin's side, stretching out his chubby hands to grab Li Shiyin's hand, then taking a few quick "toddling" steps to crash into Li Shiyin's embrace.

"Great job! Our An'an is so amazing!" Li Shiyin immediately changed her expression, smiling broadly, continuously praising Li An. She then took out a handful of breakfast candy beans she had swiped from her master, spreading them out in front of Li An, "Here, auntie gives you candy to eat."

Li An's eyes brightened, thinking this aunt wasn't so bad after all. He picked up the candy beans to eat while still crying, his expression relaxing.

The carrot and stick approach really worked wonders. Little Li An was completely under control. Training needed to be strict, but rewards were necessary after training. The reward mechanism was the best training mechanism. — This was what her master had told her.

Li Shiyin gently hugged Li An, letting him rest, and smiled at Yu Chi Zhen, giving her a reassuring look.

Qin Ran walked out of the small wooden cabin, saw Li Shiyin methodically training Li An, and advised: "Although training should be strict, don't be too fierce. You also need to let him rest... He really needs sleep right now."

"Oh!" Li Shiyin nodded, "I understand, Master."

She looked at Qin Ran, seeing he was dressed as if going out, and asked, "Master, where are you going?"

"To the Chief Alchemy Hall! I haven't been there for three months, don't know how it's doing." Qin Ran replied, "Your master is still the Chief Alchemy Elder!"

"Oh right..." Li Shiyin suddenly realized, "I had forgotten if you didn't mention it."

Qin Ran glanced at her, thinking she was still absent-minded even when trying to act fierce.

Ignoring his silly disciple training his nephew like a pet, he activated his divine walking step and headed towards the Chief Alchemy Hall.

He had reorganized the Chief Alchemy Hall, removing Jian Yuanjie's old faction, bringing in all new people, and it was now on the right track.

And a Butler Hall that was on the right track didn't need him that much.

...At least not for a short while.

So he wasn't too worried.

Walking into the Chief Alchemy Hall, he looked around. Yan Yi, Zhou Fu, Zheng Jue, Wu Yan were all there, as well as four menial disciples. Indeed, everything was as usual.

Because there were fewer people than in Jian Yuanjie's team, it was busier than in Jian Yuanjie's time, especially for those responsible for medicinal herbs and pills.

The atmosphere in the hall was originally relaxed, with disciples organizing herbs and pills looking at ease, chatting and laughing. But as he walked into the Chief Alchemy Hall, the atmosphere instantly became serious.

He sat down in the main seat, and the breathing of the eight people inside collectively tightened.

After waiting for a while, he spoke up and asked: "Has anything major happened in the Chief Alchemy Hall during the days I was away?"

Zhou Fu, responsible for pill distribution, quickly found several scrolls, stood up and walked over, respectfully handing them to him, saying: "These are the records of pill distribution over the past few months."

Qin Ran took them but didn't immediately look, his calm gaze on Zhou Fu as he asked: "Has anything else important happened?"

"No," Zhou Fu replied.

"Medicinal herbs, pharmacology, pill refining techniques, these..." Qin Ran asked again, "How's the learning going?"

"Regarding medicinal herbs, I've memorized over a thousand types. I have some understanding of pharmacology, but this disciple's comprehension is poor, and there's much I don't understand. As for pill refining techniques..." Zhou Fu lowered her head, "There's been no progress."

Qin Ran frowned and asked: "Have you refined any pills?"

Zhou Fu's body trembled as she replied: "No."

"Hmm?!" Qin Ran was about to reprimand her when he suddenly realized why Zhou Fu had made no progress in pharmacology and pill refining techniques.

...Because Long Qiqi had been taking care of the child these past few months and had no time to teach her.

He paused, suppressed his anger, nodded and said: "Alright, focus on it in the future."

"Yes, Elder." Zhou Fu let out a big sigh of relief and quickly retreated to her seat.

After Zhou Fu withdrew, Yan Yi came up with another scroll and said to Qin Ran: "Sect Leader, these are the procurement records for December."

Qin Ran took it, opened it to look, and casually asked: "Did you go procurement alone?"

"I asked Senior Brother Lu Junxing for help..." Yan Yi said, "I was responsible for pill procurement, Senior Brother Lu was responsible for safety."

"You're quite clever!" Qin Ran praised, then said, "Later, give me a sample of the pills you procured. I want to see if Zhican Valley has been up to any tricks."

"Yes."

Then, just like a "homeroom teacher checking on studies", he questioned Yan Yi until he was sweating profusely before finally letting him go.

Qin Ran then questioned Wu Yan and Zheng Jue in turn. Zheng Jue had nothing to report, but Wu Yan mentioned one important matter.

Wu Yan's current responsibility was what Yan Yi had been responsible for before, which was the training of new pill refining disciples within the Dao Sword Sect.

She said to Qin Ran: "A few days ago, a young man came to the Dao Sword Sect, bringing spirit herbs, saying he wanted to exchange them for the qualification to join our immortal sect."

"What kind of spirit herb?" Qin Ran asked.

"Spirit Fuling, of entering-grade quality." Wu Yan took out a black wooden box from her Universe Bag and handed it to him.

Qin Ran took it, opened it to look, and saw that the Spirit Fuling inside the box was vibrant and bright, without any loss. He couldn't help but be surprised.

Because spirit herbs contain Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and essence, they are not easily collected, and the spiritual Qi and essence inside can easily be lost.

Even when alchemists collect spirit herbs, they need to be extremely careful, let alone ordinary people.

He looked at the spirit herb in the box, pondering whether it was collected by an ordinary person or if Zhican Valley was pulling strings behind the scenes...

"How old?" he asked.

"About thirteen years old."

"What's his name?"

"Zhang Junyi."