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"Could it be that this young man taught her?"
The old man furrowed his brows as he looked at Terra Su. No matter how he looked, Terra Su didn't seem like someone who would understand such things.
After all, when Terra Su was teaching Gu Qianxue earlier, the old man had heard it all. Those theories, full of errors, were unbearable to listen to. If an outsider like him knew the effects of Silver Luster Powder, that would be truly strange.
"Don't blame me for not warning you. Even if you accidentally added Silver Luster Powder without causing an explosion, you definitely won't be able to refine the Minor Origin Elixir. The ingredients you added aren't based on the prescription for the Minor Origin Elixir. You've added many useless materials and missed several essential ones."
The old man snorted coldly.
Terra Su smiled casually, "No need to worry, please go ahead."
As he spoke, Terra Su extended his hand, making a gesture to shoo the old man away.
The old man's face turned red with anger. "Fine, fine. If you don't listen to the advice of the elderly, you'll suffer the consequences. I want to see what kind of elixir you can refine."
With that, the old man angrily returned to his seat, his eyes fixed on Terra Su.
At this moment, the old man was extremely furious. He had kindly offered advice on how to refine the elixir, but Terra Su had rebuffed him. It was truly ungrateful.
Since Terra Su insisted on refining it this way, let him. The old man wanted to see what kind of elixir the young girl could produce under Terra Su's guidance.
"Speed up the condensing process."
Terra Su didn't care what the old man thought. He leaned back in the carriage, spending most of his time with his eyes closed, occasionally guiding Gu Qianxue in alchemy.
Gu Qianxue followed Terra Su's instructions carefully.
A quarter of an hour later, white smoke rose from the elixir cauldron.
The fragrant aroma of the elixir filled the entire carriage.
"What's going on? Did the alchemy succeed?" The old man smelled the fragrance and his expression changed.
This aroma wasn't just the scent of the Minor Origin Elixir; it was even more intense than the usual Minor Origin Elixir!
But it shouldn't have been possible to succeed with that method.
"Wow, did I succeed?"
Gu Qianxue's eyes sparkled as she excitedly opened the cauldron lid. Ten perfectly round, deep red elixirs appeared before her eyes.
"I did it, Brother Su, I did it!" Gu Qianxue cheered. This was her first successful alchemy, and she was naturally thrilled.
Terra Su opened his eyes and smiled faintly, "Good, let me see the quality of your elixirs."
The old man's gaze also turned to the small bronze cauldron. Could those randomly refined Minor Origin Elixirs actually be of high quality?
No, it was impossible. They should be eight or nine-star elixirs at best, ten stars at most.
But in the next moment, the old man's eyes narrowed.
Terra Su poured out ten elixirs from the cauldron, each perfectly round and deep red.
At a glance, they were clearly of high quality.
"Twelve-star elixirs."
Terra Su chuckled. As expected of the Innate Fire Spirit Body, she could easily refine twelve-star elixirs. If this news reached the Alchemy Domain, it would make those old fellows green with envy.
"Twelve-star elixirs?"
The old man was also incredulous. His face burned with embarrassment. He had just said he wanted to see what kind of elixirs Terra Su and Gu Qianxue could refine.
And now, they had refined twelve-star elixirs, silently slapping him in the face.
However, being slapped in the face wasn't important. What was important was that this young man and girl had taught him a valuable lesson: never judge by appearances and never be too arbitrary.
Just because someone is young doesn't mean they don't understand alchemy, and just because unconventional methods are used doesn't mean they will fail.
This lesson was significant for the old man.
Because the Elixir Path is a discipline that values rigor and truth. One must never assume; everything must be based on results.
As long as the final result is a good elixir, no matter how strange the process, it is reasonable, and no one has the right to question it.
Thinking of this, the old man stood up, walked to Terra Su, and bowed deeply.
"Young friend, I was short-sighted and too arbitrary earlier. I apologize."
The old man said sincerely.
"It's fine."
Terra Su smiled. He didn't have much of a grudge against the old man. The old man's earlier agitation was understandable as he was defending his belief in the Elixir Path.
"May I know your name, young friend?" the old man asked.
"Terra Su."
"Young friend Terra Su, I am Jackson Guo, the head of the Elixir Path branch of Anyang Academy."
As he spoke, the old man took out a brass badge to prove his identity.
"The head of the Elixir Path branch of Anyang Academy?"
Terra Su was somewhat surprised. He knew there was an Anyang Academy in Anyang City, established by the first Marquis Anyang. It mainly recruited geniuses under twenty from Anyang County, providing them with resources to nurture their growth.
Unexpectedly, the seemingly unremarkable old man before him was the head of the Elixir Path branch of Anyang Academy.
"Young friend Terra Su, if you go to Anyang City, would you be interested in joining the Elixir Path branch of Anyang Academy?"
Jackson Guo eagerly extended the invitation. Such a genius in the Elixir Path was not to be missed. Missing out would be a lifelong regret.
Their Elixir Path branch desperately needed such talent.
"I'll consider it."
Terra Su said tactfully. He had no interest in joining the Elixir Path branch of Anyang Academy. As an Alchemy Emperor, he didn't need anyone to teach him the Elixir Path.
But he couldn't say that to the old man, so he said he would consider it, which was a polite refusal.
However, Jackson Guo didn't catch the underlying meaning and happily said, "Good, good. When you've made up your mind, come find me."
For the rest of the journey, the old man enthusiastically chatted with Terra Su, occasionally asking for advice on the Elixir Path.
Terra Su didn't mind, but Gu Qianxue was quite unhappy, pouting because Brother Su was too busy dealing with the old man to play with her.
Fortunately, as they were nearing Anyang City, Jackson Guo remembered he had some matters to attend to and got off the carriage early.
An hour later, the carriage finally arrived at Anyang City.
Terra Su had visited Anyang City once in his previous life. Seeing the vaguely familiar city gate, he couldn't help but feel nostalgic.
Anyang City, he had arrived.
Entering Anyang City required a fee of ten taels of silver per person, totaling thirty taels for the three of them. For Terra Su, this was a trivial matter, but he couldn't help but think about the vast number of martial practitioners entering and leaving Anyang City daily. The accumulated fees must be an astonishing amount.
These revenues, needless to say, would all go into the coffers of Marquis Anyang's estate.
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