"The San-Wen Qing-Ling Pill is a fourth-grade pill. A standard San-Wen Qing-Ling Pill can assist a strong combatant to break through into the Great Combatant rank. If consumed by a Great Combatant, there is a slight chance of enhancing the user’s rank by one star, with no adverse effects." "The San-Wen Qing-Ling Pill comes in three grades. Each grade manifests one ring of pill patterns on the pill’s body. When three such rings are formed, it reaches the highest grade—the premium San-Wen Qing-Ling Pill. This pill should be used with caution by those below the Great Combatant rank. When consumed by a Great Combatant, there is a chance to temporarily enhance their strength by three stars, though there is also a certain probability of adverse effects. Those affected may experience a reduction in strength by one to two stars, though no life-threatening consequences will occur." "To achieve the highest grade of San-Wen Qing-Ling Pill, three distinct flames are required, and during the transition between these flames, the practitioner must reach the state of 'pure furnace fire.' Otherwise, the success rate is extremely low. Those who do not meet these conditions should proceed with caution." "Among the Grand Combatant cultivators at this stage, there is only one opportunity to consume the Three-Stripe Qingling Pill. Should one take it a second time, the body's resistance to the medicine will render the effort futile—wasted effort indeed. Should one later advance to the Grand Spirit cultivator rank, they may consume it once more, though even then, success would raise their rank by at most two stars, and the failure rate would increase significantly." "Materials required for the Three-Stripe Qingling Pill: Qingyan Grass, Black Tianma..." As his gaze slowly swept over the records inscribed on the scroll, Xiao Yan couldn't help but swallow a lump in his throat. It was well known that among medicinal pills, the most precious were those capable of directly enhancing the cultivator's rank and strength. Indeed, even the "Ji Qi San," a pill that enabled one to pass through the stage of forming the spinning aura, had been highly coveted by several elders of the Xiao family. This clearly demonstrated the immense value of such pills. And even the "Qi-Concentrating Powder" was merely a basic variant among this category of pills. The "Three-Stripe Qingling Pill" now held in Xiao Yan's hands was truly a precious medicine that could make countless Grand Combatant and Grand Spirit-level masters go wild with desire. A single pill of the highest rank could potentially elevate a Grand Combatant's strength by three stars. Consider this: for a Grand Combatant with good natural aptitude, relying solely on steady cultivation without any extraordinary encounters, achieving a three-star enhancement through sheer effort would typically take a year or two—something that would be extremely difficult to accomplish. Yet now, merely by consuming one such small pill, that entire period of time could be completely resolved. One could easily imagine how wildly such a simple pill would drive Grand Combatant-level masters to frenzy. Holding the black scroll tightly in both hands, Xiao Yan firmly resisted the urge to immediately use his spiritual power to scan the information contained within, instead lifting his gaze to smile at Famu. The dark eyes reflected his undeniable longing and admiration for the scroll. "Like it?" Famu smiled, noticing Xiao Yan's expression. "Indeed!" Xiao Yan nodded enthusiastically. "If this prescription were placed on the market, I believe many people would be willing to trade even a high-level Xu-level cultivation technique, or even a Di-level combat skill, just to obtain it," Famu said. "Agreed," Xiao Yan nodded. This Three-Stripe Qingling Pill was absolutely worth the price. "The Three-Stripe Qingling Pill is a treasured possession of our Pharmaceutical Masters' Guild. The copy you're holding is merely a duplicate, but creating just this single copy consumed five years of my time. Within the Guild, aside from the original, carefully preserved main prescription, there is only this one copy available." "Fahma said, 'Since it's a copied scroll, it can only be read once. Once the reading is complete, the residual spiritual energy on it will be completely consumed.'" "Oh," said Xiao Yan, slightly relieved. "Such a precious item—should it be the only one available, I'm sure Fahma would truly be reluctant to part with it." "This Three-Stripe Qingling Pill is already outstanding among all Four-Rank pill recipes. If you can successfully refine it by tomorrow, I believe you'll surely stand out among the rest." Fahma smiled. "Xiao Yan has solid capabilities, but the disadvantage is that he doesn't yet know what our exam task will be tomorrow. Therefore, as long as you manage to produce it successfully, your chances of winning will be very strong." "By the way..." Fahma paused, his gaze serious and steady on Xiao Yan, and said solemnly, "Do you have confidence in your ability to successfully refine it? The Three-Stripe Qingling Pill requires an almost rigorous control of flame energy. A single misstep, and the attempt will fail." "Stiffening his lips, Xiao Yan slowly ran his palm over the dark scroll, the comfortable sensation making him reluctant to move it. After a while, lifting his head from his contemplative state, he said seriously, 'If I say I'm certain we can succeed, you'd probably laugh it off—there's never been a single absolute success in alchemical crafting. So, I can only say that, among the people you could choose, if I were to prepare this elixir, my success rate would be the highest.' 'How high?' Fang Ma asked softly. '...Less than half.' Xiao Yan spread his hands, honestly admitting that with his current strength, crafting fourth-rank elixirs was quite a challenge. Had it not been for Fang Ma's emphasis that this elixir particularly demanded mastery of flame control, Xiao Yan would have hesitated to commit—though he might not excel in other areas, his command of the Qinglian Earth-Heart Flame was absolutely confident. 'Ah... indeed, not very high at all.' Sighing, Fangma shook his head with a wry smile, rubbing his temple and murmured, "Indeed, among the people I've been able to find, only you, Liu Ling, and Yue'er possess the potential to rival Yan Li. Among the three of you, I've always favored you, so that's why I've been quietly preparing to support you." Xiao Yan nodded silently, gently placing the dark scroll in his hands on the table, and looked steadily at Fangma. "The success rate I mentioned is my bottom line. As for the final decision, it still depends entirely on Master Fang's judgment." "You're willing to give it up?" Fangma glanced at Xiao Yan with a calm smile. "Of course I'm not willing to give it up... But if Master Fang doesn't agree, shall I then force it?" Xiao Yan replied with a light, teasing tone. Fangma remained silent, his dry fingers lightly tapping the table, producing a subtle, rhythmic sound that echoed clearly in the quiet, spacious room. "Ahh..." The silence lasted for a long time. Suddenly, Fama sighed softly, reached out, and, in the slightly disappointed gaze of Xiao Yan, gently took the black scroll back. The scroll rotated slowly in Fama's hands. His cloudy eyes half-closed, and after a while, the rotation stopped abruptly. He suddenly stood up, grasping one end of the scroll firmly and presenting it to Xiao Yan. Seeing the latter's surprised expression, Fama chuckled wryly, "By now, I no longer have much time to search for someone better than you. You're truly fortunate." "So, it's yours," he said. Xiao Yan blinked, a smile spreading across his face. He extended both hands to receive the scroll, gently caressing it with affection, before solemnly declaring to Fama, "I will do my best!" Smiling, Fama rubbed his eyes and sighed, "Little one, this time I've truly placed all my hopes on you. Don't let me down, please..." "Please don't add any more pressure to me... I'll give it my absolute best, though who can really predict the outcome right now?" The weight of the responsibility instantly turned the bright smile on Xiao Yan's face into a look of concern. "Hmm, good," Fama nodded with a smile, adding, "First, use your soul energy to interpret this scroll. It's quite precious—should anything go wrong on your way back, it would certainly be a disappointment..." "Understood," Xiao Yan nodded, then slowly unfolded the scroll once more, closing his eyes as his soul energy spread from his brow and swiftly penetrated the scroll, rapidly absorbing all the intricate information. Gazing at the image of Xiao Yan in meditation, Fama gently nodded, rose from his seat, stepped out of the room, and summoned a guard to fetch the herbs used for crafting the Three-Trace Qingling Pills from the storage warehouse. ... When Xiao Yan drew back his soul energy from the scroll, his mind remained somewhat foggy. For the first time encountering the formula for a fourth-rank pill, the sheer volume and complexity of the information far exceeded his expectations—no wonder Fama, with his considerable abilities, had taken several years to simply copy it. Opening his eyes, the black scroll now resting on his hands had quietly transformed into a pile of black powder. After patting his hands, Xiao Yan looked up to find that the once-neat table was now filled with stacks of herbs, preserved with remarkable perfection, some even still glistening with fresh dew. "Here are three sets of ingredients for the Three-Trace Qingling Pills. Don't think I'm being stingy—should you fail three times in a row, the time limit will surely be approaching. In that case, you'd automatically concede and formally surrender." Fang Ma pointed to the materials on the table, smiling. Nodding slightly, Xiao Yan carefully collected the ingredients into his storage amulet, only exhaling a deep breath once everything was securely packed. "That's all I can do for now. Tomorrow, it'll be up to you." Fang Ma patted Xiao Yan's shoulder with a warm smile. Xiao Yan smiled and nodded firmly, repeating, "Rest assured—I'll give it my very best!" "I hope you'll perform well. Also, if the opportunity arises in the future, I'd like to see your true face." Fang Ma added lightly. Xiao Yan's smile slightly stiffened, and he nodded gently, "There will be an opportunity." "Well, it's getting late now, Pharaoh. I'll bid you goodnight. We'll meet again at the council tomorrow!" Without further delay on this matter, Xiao Yan bowed slightly to Pharaoh and then turned, walking slowly toward the outer gate.