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With no other choice, Qian Renhan had to continue refining pills. Fortunately, Ziyan kept bringing medicinal materials from Canaan Academy for pill crafting. With the accumulation of pills and the corpse of Yichen, his cultivation advanced to the late stage of the Seven-Star Dou Zun, just one step shy of reaching the peak. It must be said that Canaan Academy's medicinal material reserves were indeed rich—no wonder even a Seventh-Rank Alchemist would be tempted by them.
However, this was also due to Qian Renhan's unique ability. On the Dou Qi Continent, few cultivators aside from Void-Devouring Flame could freely absorb energy to upgrade like he did.
At that moment, a petite figure suddenly appeared nearby with an uncanny presence. Long, pale purple ponytail and a delicate, porcelain-like face—whether to men or women, she was strikingly charming. It could only be Ziyan.
But unlike her usual neat appearance, Ziyan's clothes were slightly torn. Her slender arms were covered with bruises, and the small circles under her eyes were reddened—she had clearly just been crying.
"What happened?" Qian Renhan asked. After nearly half a month of her dutifully working under him and sometimes lightening the mood, he had grown a bit fond of her.
Ziyan shook her head. "Nothing, senior. I couldn't gather all the medicinal materials. Can I exchange them for pills instead?"
Qian Renhan took out a jade vial. "Yes, but first tell me—who hurt you?"
"A sixth-rank magical beast. I took too many materials from Canaan Academy, then went into the mountain to find more, and fought the beast. I lost."
Of course, Ziyan wouldn't cry over such a minor thing. She had been bullied countless times as a child in the magical beast mountains. She was crying because she had taken too many materials from the academy's treasury. Even Elder Su Qian, who usually doted on her, couldn't protect her. She was harshly scolded by a group of elders from the pill refining department—especially the fiery-tempered Elder Huo who had just broken through to the sixth rank. Then, recalling her orphaned childhood combined with the recent injury in the mountains, she couldn't help but shed tears.
"Where is that beast? Lead the way."
Qian Renhan stood up. Finding the beast wasn't about venting anger—it was about retrieving those medicinal materials. After spending half a month with Ziyan, his feelings toward her were similar to those he had for his subordinates when he was still the Martial Soul Hall's Pope.
"This way, senior, this way!" Ziyan mistook his intentions for wanting to stand up for her, and became excited. At her age, only Elder Su Qian had ever stood up for her before. The other elders had a bad impression of her for misusing materials, but this time she had truly taken too much, hurting the old man's feelings.
In a flash, their figures crossed space, heading toward a mountain outside the Black Horn Domain.
Ziyan turned and smiled. "Senior, what level of expert are you? Your mastery of spatial power surpasses even Elder Su Qian. He could never catch me."
"Just focus on leading the way."
After traveling hundreds of miles, they arrived at a rarely trodden mountainside. Hidden in a dense forest was a huge cave guarded by a magical beast with red fur on top and white underneath, resting by the cave entrance. It looked like it was on watch duty.
Ziyan immediately jumped out, making a playful face. "Big kitty, I'm here to play again!"
Hearing the voice, the beast woke and smiled at Ziyan, speaking human words. "Brat, you haven't had enough punishment. Since that's the case, I won't let you off this time."
The sixth-rank beast gathered its energy and spread its wings to pounce, but Qian Renhan struck it with a palm from a distance, sending it flying. He then absorbed all the Dou Qi contained in the array at the cave entrance and entered.
Ziyan hopped along behind, still shocked by how decisive the senior was. He was efficient to the extreme, never wasting a move—if he could finish it in one strike, he wouldn't bother with a second.
Inside the cave, there was a large pile of precious medicinal materials, their fragrance filling the entire space. Opening a jade box revealed rare items: Jade Dragon Saliva, Extreme Cold Lingzhi, and other sixth-rank materials extremely scarce in the Black Horn Domain, and even some seventh-rank materials.
If Qian Renhan had visited Canaan Academy's medicinal treasury, he would certainly marvel that this place's stock rivaled half of their reserves.
"Senior, I found these materials. Could you give me some?" Ziyan asked pitifully. This time, the old man was really angry. She wanted to bring back some materials to replenish the treasury.
"Except for those used to improve cultivation, take whatever you want." Qian Renhan opened a jade box and placed the materials he favored into his storage ring.
"Oh, thank you, senior!"
Ziyan's face lit up with joy. She wanted to accumulate energy to grow stronger, but more than that, she cherished her bond with Elder Su Qian.
Moments later, the wolf-like beast, still staggering from Qian Renhan's palm strike, returned. Seeing Qian Renhan and Ziyan ready to leave with the now-empty mountain, it angrily stamped its foot and shouted, "Return my master's medicinal materials, humans! Return my master's medicinal materials!"
Ziyan waved her hand and said, "Big kitty, haven't you had enough beating? You're no match for this senior. You'd better leave quickly before you lose your life. For a proud sixth-rank magical beast to serve as a human's guard dog—isn't that a little humiliating?"
The beast replied sadly, "Do you think I want this? That human sealed me and forced me to be his slave. Since I'm going to die anyway, I'd rather die quickly at your hands than suffer torture from him."
"Senior, could you help this magical beast? I'll run errands for you for free from now on."
Ziyan grabbed Qian Renhan's arm with both hands, shaking him eagerly. Her attempts to vent and her success in getting medicinal materials greatly increased her fondness for him.
Qian Renhan's expression remained calm as he pulled his arm free. With a palm swipe, he captured the sixth-rank beast's spirit, drawing its sealing energy into his own dark Dou Qi. The seal on the beast was completely absorbed.
Back in the mountains, Qian Renhan resumed pill refining in a cross-legged position. After this round of raiding medicinal materials, the power of the pills he refined would finally allow him to break through to the Eight-Star Dou Zun. Meanwhile, Ziyan returned to Canaan Academy to deliver the herbs.
Three days later, as usual, Ziyan brought auxiliary pills like Dragon Strength Pills and exchanged them for a sizable batch of medicinal materials at the Black Emperor Pavilion, preparing to return to the mountain where Qian Renhan was.
But compared to before, feeling a bit proud from her accomplishment and praise from Elder Su Qian, and with her naturally wild personality, she grew bored of the usual route. She deliberately took a longer path, wanting to enjoy the scenery before heading back to the mountain to find Qian Renhan.
Arriving at a mist-shrouded unfamiliar mountain range, just as Ziyan was about to explore, a harsh laugh echoed, "Heh heh heh, I didn't expect to find a high-level juvenile magical beast who can manipulate spatial power. Perfect—this Protector needs a mount. You're it."
(End of chapter)