Dan Lou.
Two young attendants stood at the entrance, drowsy.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
Seeing Liang Rujing appear, they quickly bowed.
"Are the grandfathers inside?" Liang Rujing asked.
"The grandfathers have gone out on business," the two attendants replied truthfully.
"I understand," Liang Rujing nodded. "I'll take my friend inside for a look."
After Liang Rujing went in, the two attendants began to whisper.
Alas…
They wondered how many pills would be missing today.
Why were they so sure?
It couldn't be helped.
They had experienced too much and grown accustomed to it…
It would be abnormal if Princess Jiubefore leaving and no pills were missing!
As soon as they entered, a strong herbal scent wafted towards them.
Although Ye Fan no longer dealt with these things, he had once been a top alchemist.
The theoretical knowledge and experience were already ingrained in his genes.
He didn't even need to look; just by smelling, he could identify the herbs present.
Ye Fan was slightly surprised.
Logically, those who served as imperial alchemists in the Daliang Imperial Palace must be among the top in the entire Daliang Kingdom.
However, the medicinal ingredients here could only be used to refine Rank Six pills.
This level seemed a bit lacking, didn't it?
Of course, he was just curious and didn't ask further.
Anyway, he wasn't involved in these things anymore, and they had nothing to do with him.
"Ye Fan, wait here a moment." Liang Rujing scanned her surroundings and whispered, "I'm going to steal… ah no, I'm going to get some pills."
With that, she crouched and went upstairs.
The room where the pills were stored was quite large. The drawers and small porcelain bottles for storing pills alone numbered no less than ten thousand.
Even though they were all labeled with the names of the pills, someone unfamiliar would have to search for a long time.
However, Liang Rujing's movements were incredibly skillful, and she easily found the pills she was looking for.
It couldn't be helped.
She had been here too many times; she was as familiar as could be…
There was even a rumor in the palace.
Princess Jiuboth her main palace…
Liang Rujing felt no burden in taking the pills.
It wasn't stealing when it was her own family's property, was it?!
She had already planned it.
She would find an opportunity to send Ye Fan to the Royal Cultivation Academy. He would definitely need these pills then.
With her help, reaching Qi Refining in three years and Foundation Establishment in five years wouldn't be a problem!
Due to certain special reasons, Liang Rujing had very few friends.
In fact, apart from Ye Fan, Liang Rujing couldn't find anyone else she could call a good friend.
She cherished this friendship dearly.
Moreover, for some reason, Liang Rujing felt a special connection with Ye Fan, making her want to get closer to him.
So, she couldn't help but want to do something for Ye Fan.
First floor.
Ye Fan casually observed his surroundings.
The room was vast, with various medicinal herbs casually placed inside.
Several tables were set up in the room, with some scratch paper scattered on them for calculations.
Next to each table was a small alchemy furnace, seemingly for practical application when inspiration struck.
Overall, the first floor looked like a laboratory…
Ye Fan glanced at a table in front of him.
Besides paper, brushes, ink, and inkstones, there was also a set of medicinal herbs.
After a glance, Ye Fan concluded.
This set of medicinal herbs was for refining Rank Six Qi Burst Pills.
Qi Burst Pills could temporarily stimulate a cultivator's potential to an extreme degree, thus achieving combat power far beyond their usual level.
They had certain side effects, but they were not permanent.
However, it was unclear whether these people were careless or if the pill formula itself was flawed; the choice of medicinal ingredients was clearly wrong.
Although only one auxiliary herb was chosen incorrectly, its effect was the most crucial in the entire alchemy process.
It could be said that.
Before the pill was even refined, it was destined to fail.
If they were to refine it according to this, the result wouldn't even be a pill, but rather a poison!
While it wouldn't be lethal, the damage from the side effects would be very serious.
It seemed the alchemy level in the Daliang Kingdom was even more lacking than he had imagined…
The correct auxiliary herb was placed nearby, and Ye Fan casually swapped it out.
He made this move without a second thought, purely out of instinct and habit.
Just like how people eat when hungry and drink when thirsty.
Even though Ye Fan no longer refined pills, these things were already a part of his instincts.
Soon, Ye Fan realized a problem.
The fact that even the refining of Rank Six pills could be mistaken made the skills of these so-called imperial alchemists questionable.
If Liang Rujing frequently consumed the pills they refined, wouldn't it be equivalent to slow suicide?
"Ye Fan, I'm back." Just as Ye Fan was pondering, Liang Rujing sauntered over. "There's nothing else here, let's go."
She was smiling happily, looking like a weasel that had just stolen a chicken…
"Rujing, don't eat pills from here anymore." Ye Fan thought for a moment before finally speaking.
He couldn't stand by and watch his granddaughter be poisoned to death.
"Eh? Are there problems with the pills here?" Liang Rujing was clearly a little surprised.
"There are big problems," Ye Fan nodded seriously. "They will harm people!"
"Ye Fan, you understand alchemy too?" Liang Rujing quickly seized on the key point.
"No, I just saw an old senior refining pills before," Ye Fan casually brushed it off.
"Is that so…" Liang Rujing mumbled. "But I wasn't planning on eating these pills myself. I prepared them for you."
Ye Fan: ???
"Never mind, I'll give them to the little dog and the little fox later."
In Liang Rujing's opinion, the husky and the little fox had eaten quite a few pills from here before without any issues, so they would surely be fine continuing to eat them.
Outside the city, the husky and the little fox were lying on a coffin when they suddenly shivered.
Strange, why did it feel a bit cold?
…
"Let's go somewhere else," Liang Rujing didn't think much of it and pulled Ye Fan towards the exit.
Just as they reached the entrance, they saw a group of old men and a young female cultivator approaching.
"Rujing greets all the alchemy grandfathers and Granny Yan." Liang Rujing greeted them politely.
"We heard some commotion in the alchemy room just now, and I was wondering which audacious thief it was,"
An elder teased with a smile:
"So it's little Rujing."
"How many times have I told you, you should call me sister." The young female cultivator reached out and flicked Liang Rujing's forehead.
"I know, Sister Yan." Liang Rujing stuck out her tongue and made a face.
"You child." The female cultivator smiled helplessly. "Have you got enough pills? If not, take some more."
Their status in the palace was special.
Strictly speaking, they didn't have to adhere to the imperial family's strict hierarchy, so their speech was more casual.
Moreover, they had watched Liang Rujing grow up, and they had long regarded her as their granddaughter.
"Oh, little Jiu has grown up, has she?" The elder who spoke earlier glanced at Ye Fan beside her. "Bringing this handsome young man today, are you preparing to let us feast our eyes…"
He suddenly paused.
Because he realized that the young man in front of him seemed a bit unusual!
Upon closer inspection, he was instantly shocked!
It was the legendary Innate Dao Body!!!
The others also noticed this and exchanged stunned glances.
However, they were wise enough not to pry further.
"Not at all, Grandpa Wang, you're talking nonsense again." Liang Rujing wrinkled her nose at Elder Wang. "Alright, I won't talk to you any longer. We're leaving."
With that, Liang Rujing pulled Ye Fan away.
"I never thought I'd live to see an Innate Dao Body in my lifetime…" Elder Wang sighed as he watched their retreating figures.
"Perhaps this is little Rujing's good fortune," Yan Ruyu nodded. "Alright, let's not meddle in the affairs of young people. Let's get back to researching the Qi Burst Pills."
"Yes, let's not meddle in the affairs of young people." Elder Wang chuckled and looked at Yan Ruyu. "Junior Sister Yan, let's focus on our own matters."
"Right, right, Junior Sister Yan," the other elders chimed in.
Yan Ruyu gave them a glare and walked into the house.
The elders, seemingly accustomed to this, followed Yan Ruyu inside.
Although Junior Sister Yan had never agreed to his pursuit, he still had to try.
After all, one must have dreams.
What if it came true one day…
Yan Ruyu walked to the table where Ye Fan had been standing and frowned at the herbs on it.