Carefree Path of Dreams

"Dream?"

Fang Yuan smiled and showed a mysterious look.

This unpredictable attitude of his worried Ling Yin.

"That’s alright..."

He smiled and was rather gentlemanly. "I initially wanted to trade with you, your knowledge in alchemy for your freedom... But since you are not willing, then..."

"Pa!"

Fang Yuan snapped his fingers.

"Whooo! Whooo!"

A layer of Ecstasy Fog appeared and covered Ling Yin.

"You..."

Ling Yin stared at him and said a word before falling asleep.

Even if her miniature elemental force was not sealed, she would still succumb to Fang Yuan’s Ecstasy Spell, not to mention the state she was in now.

"My lady... Let’s meet in your dream..."

Fang Yuan placed his palm on Ling Yin’s forehead and initiated the dream accessing process.

...

It was daytime with a slight drizzle. A thick fog was all around.

In the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, within a large manor, Ling Yin stood up and yawned as she rubbed her eyes.

She had the look of a 12-year-old with two hair buns. She was in a pink robe and wore silk shoes, with two yellow flowers at the side. She was like a mini sculpture, adorable.

"This is... My home..."

Ling Yin was confused. "Why do I feel like I have forgotten something important..."

"Ling Yin!"

A voice travelled from the front of the manor, and Ling Yin threw all her thoughts aside. She stuck out her little tongue and said, "Oh no, I’ve woken up late today, will Master scold me?"

She ran all the way and arrived at the alchemy room.

In the middle of the alchemy room stood a large cauldron, and beneath it was Beast Charcoals burning. There was no smoke, only red flames, and anyone who stood near it would sweat profusely.

"You’ve missed the morning lesson, why are you so late today?"

Lu Renjia was wearing a brown robe in front of the cauldron, looking much younger than before.

"Don’t be angry master... I... I was working late last night, and slept a little later than usual!"

Ling Yin kneeled down and begged for forgiveness, and was worried that she would be beaten by the bamboo rods.

"Hmm, I’ll remember this... I will test you today. You will start reciting the alchemy technique and alchemy song, then I’ll test your medicine identification... If there are any errors, hehe..."

Lu Renjia displayed a strict master face and continued, "Let’s start with the Nine Transformation Alchemy Formula, then the Fire Hand Palm! Recite!"

"Yes, Master!"

Ling Yin obediently agreed and without hesitation started to recite. "Nine Transformation Alchemy Formula starts with the elements, first with ancient fire, then with wood..."

She was smart, to begin with, and now she could feel her thoughts rushing through her mind, as she grew suspicious. ’How did I learnt so much of Master’s alchemy techniques?’

As she smelled the concoction, she could immediately identify the pill being made. It was the usual Hundred Grass Pellet, which she could make it herself too.

’Wait... When did I learn the recipe for Hundred Grass Pellet?’

The young Ling Yin was suspicious, then heard Lu Renjia’s voice again. "Hmm, you are familiar with the techniques which means you are hardworking. However, it is not enough to just know them, you still need to understand!"

Lu Renjia showed a fierce expression, and Ling Yin did not dare to think any further as she shivered.

"Let me ask you, what is the difference between Three Yang Fire and Three Yin Fire?"

"Their difference lies in the type of flame. The Three Yang Fire is charcoal flame, while the Three Yin Flame is..."

Ling Yin answered without hesitation.

"Then what is the Settling Jade Liquid and Rising Sun?"

"Jade Liquid refers to pill essence. When the pill essence settles, it is a sign of the pill condensing. The Rising Sun refers to the method of extracting the pill, generally speaking..."

...

Time passed quickly as the exchange went by, and the young Ling Yin became increasingly suspicious.

Master’s questions were obviously those that she had not learnt, but unknowingly, she would be able to answer them, as though she had ten years of experience in alchemy.

’I seem to... forget something... Could it be that I’ve learnt alchemy before?’

Suddenly, there was an excruciating pain in her brain as she hugged her head with her hands, and squatted down in pain.

"Mm, you’ve done well in today’s test, go and rest!"

As ’Lu Renjia’ witnessed this scene, he had a weird expression and waved his hands. A fog emerged from a corner of the alchemy room, and slowly entered Ling Yin’s body.

"Yes, Master! I will take my leave!"

Ling Yin heaved as the pain in her head subsided. She did not think about it anymore and left.

"Whooo..."

As the door closes, Lu Renjia sighed, and suddenly transformed into Fang Yuan, with pity on his face. "Even though I am in the dream building stage, I am still too inexperienced. While trying to retrieve the secrets and stimulating her, I might even accidentally make the real Ling Yin lucid, and might be at a disadvantage!"

"I have gained quite a lot today, so I’ll just come back tomorrow!"

He smiled and the entire dream world collapsed.

...

"What a good dream!"

In the cell, Fang Yuan gazed at Ling Yin, who was soundly asleep and left the cell.

One would be innocent if he thought that he could conceal any secrets from a dream master!

Although he did not know any alchemy, this direct disciple of Lu Renjie must know, Furthermore, she was personally taught by him, which made her even more valuable.

"What a pity my dream-building skill was only elementary, otherwise I could just flip through her memories while she was awake, and could even reproduce the exact scene where Lu Renjia taught her..."

Fang Yuan only reached the stage where he could edit a spiritual beast’s memories. To do the same to a spiritual disciple, he would need more skill.

"With my new knowledge, I can still manage Lanruo!"

"Furthermore, it would also be good to gain more alchemy experience. After the holy stage, I might even follow the path of a dream alchemy master..."

With this to play cheat, what else could he say?

On the next day, Fang Yuan called for Lanruo and answered her queries.

Huang Fu Renhe was listening at one side, surprised.

He thought that Fang Yuan was only skilled in martial arts, and not in alchemy.

However, it seems that his Master’s alchemy skills was even better than his, which made Fang Yuan even more mysterious in the eyes of Huang Fu Renhe, as his respect for him grew.

...

Unknowingly, half a year went by, and the new year has begun.

In Xia Country, the new year was an extremely important festival. In the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, every household was decorated with colourful lanterns and there were hustle and bustle all around.

Furthermore, many people spent a lot of money after surviving the battle. Even the normal household bought many new clothes and tons of meat to celebrate life after the war, and the entire city centre became much more prosperous.

In Qingye City.

"Master look... This is the Blood Clotting Powder which Lanruo personally made!"

Lanruo wore a leopard print coat, and her face was glowing with happiness as she showed off her achievement to Fang Yuan.

"Oh?"

After hearing her, Fang Yuan diverted his attention from the festivities outside to the packet of powder in Lanruo’s hands.

Fang Yuan grew a year older, but there wasn’t any drastic change to him. He wasn’t scared of the cold anymore and wore a thin clothing despite the snowfall outside, which made him special.

He took the packet of powder form Lanruo’s hands and sniffed it. "That’s right, this is good quality Blood Clotting Powder. Good job Lanruo, you are now a qualified pharmacist!"

A pharmacist is not an alchemy master; not even an alchemy disciple, but at least she was making progress.

Based on theory, she only had two more steps. The first being fusing her miniature elemental force to become an alchemy disciple, and the next would be to break through to elemental force to become an alchemy master and able to harness spiritual fire!

Only two steps for Lanruo to become the likes of Lu Renjia, like how in a blink of an eye, a chicken would become a duck.

In reality, Fang Yuan knew that it would be almost impossible.

Although it might seem that a normal person could become an alchemy master in two steps, and even looked much simpler than the 12 Golden Gates, the difficulty of it was immense.

Unlike martial arts where one can advance step by step, the way of a spiritual knight is to reach for the Heavens in one single step!

It was obvious that those without gifts or potential should give up. Only those with gifts, a strong foundation, and luck might have a chance.

Why luck?

This was a problem related to finding a master.

Take Lanruo for an example. If she did not meet Fang Yuan, she had to wait for ages before ’someone worthy sees potential in her’, before a spiritual knight would take her in as a disciple.

The scariest possibility would be while waiting for the right master to come along, she might be abducted by the Wild Wolves Faction like the previous time, or even worse, taken in by an evil spiritual knight, who would use her a sacrifice.

Fang Yuan would be satisfied if Lanruo could break through the bottleneck and become a qualified alchemy disciple before she turns 20.

"Master... Is there something bothering you?"

Lanruo raised her head and could sense that something was not right.

"Oh?"

Fang Yuan was surprised. "To detect this you must have a strong magical energy. I’m glad my spiritual food cultivation for you did not go to waste... You’re right, Master is a little vexed."

"Lanruo wants to grow up and quickly mature so that I can help out Master and Brother!"

Lanruo exclaimed.

"Haha... Just some small matters, I won’t need Lanruo’s help for this one!"

Fang Yuan laughed and pinched Lanruo’s cheeks.

"Master, don’t"

While playing a fool with her, his had forgotten his worries.

"Master!"

When Lanruo left, Zhou Wenwu approached Fang Yuan and greeted him.

As the city master, he now had a beard and looked rather composed. "The Chen Family brought news. The people from the royal family are here..."

"Alright!"

Fang Yuan looked at the heavy snow outside and waved his hands. "Such urgency... They must be here because of Liu Yan. After all, this city master of ours is rather high-profile!"