Aotian entered the Alchemy Pavilion leader’s chamber with Rihai, following elder Dan Hong.

Inside was a simple room, with a desk, chairs, a few shelves with books, and some other objects, not much different from other sect buildings.

Aotian thought of decorating it better, perhaps with some of the many paintings and artifacts he had stolen. But before robbing the great sects of the Beiyan continent, he only had lower-tier items, and he didn’t think they were worth using. Now, with his recent gains, he would start decorating properly in his free time.

Controlling Dan Hong, Aotian guided them to a large carpet and sat cross-legged, motioning for his main body and Rihai to sit before him.

As soon as they were seated, ancestor Bao appeared beside them, startling Rihai a little with his sudden arrival.

“You are here. Well, I brought something very good from this trip for body refinement, something that will help you both cultivate quickly, and that is why I asked the brat and you to come here,” the ancestor explained, stroking his beard with a smile while extending his other hand, making a golden and crimson liquid float above his palm.

As soon as the liquid appeared, the spiritual atmosphere of the room immediately rose at high speed.

Bao Wuji released his spiritual energy, enveloping the room and preventing the energy from dispersing outside. There were two reasons for this.

The first was not to attract unnecessary attention. The second was that the liquid in ancestor Bao’s hand began to lose energy and volume, feeding the environment with spiritual power.

When the intensity of the room reached the level of a low-grade Sixth-Level environment, the Dew of the Dragon’s Lament in his hand stopped being consumed. Even at that level, only three drops were burned, for each drop was extremely concentrated.

Rihai looked impressed at the liquid but remained silent, obediently standing by even though she was very curious, which Aotian noticed.

Bao Wuji turned to her and smiled.

“You don’t need to be afraid to ask. You’re the brat’s wife, and in the Infinite Dao Sect, there’s no need to be cautious around anyone. Now, beyond being a disciple, you’re family to us, understand? So if you have any doubts, just ask,” he said gently, encouraging her.

Even the bad-tempered Dan Hong also looked at her and nodded seriously.

The main body, in turn, softly caressed her back, offering silent support and comfort.

Rihai was caught off guard by the sudden attention, but her heart warmed greatly. She already liked the atmosphere of the Infinite Dao Sect, and with her husband by her side, together with such kind elders, her sense of belonging and joy only grew stronger.

“T-Thank you, ancestor, elder Dan, husband.” She took a deep breath to recover from the intense emotion she felt, and then smiled beautifully, asking Bao Wuji without further hesitation: “Ancestor Bao, what is this liquid? It reminds me a little of the aura elder Snake emitted in his serpentine form. Such a tyrannical aura… I can’t help but think of the accounts of the mythological dragons of ancient times.”

Her curious blue eyes blinked, analyzing the liquid with confusion.

Bao Wuji smiled, unconcerned, and extended his hand to show the liquid more clearly as it floated there.

“You are right. From what I know of this world, dragons disappeared countless years ago, but on the last trip the elders made to the Beiyan continent, they found a graveyard with countless dragon skeletons. There was this Dew of the Dragon’s Lament. The old man studied it a little, and this is basically dragon blood fermented amidst spiritual veins for countless years, condensed into this highly energetic golden dew. It was also there that we obtained the dragon bloodline inheritance, and elder Snake decided to play with it, but that doesn’t matter right now.”

He explained with a serious look, surprising her greatly.

“This…” Rihai was left speechless.

She didn’t know whether to be more impressed with the existence of a graveyard of mythical dragons or with how naturally the ancestor spoke about elder Snake accepting to transform into a spiritual beast.

As for Aotian, he was speaking the truth through Bao Wuji.

Although he hadn’t studied much about the liquid at the time, as he was in a hurry to look for the herb that would improve his roots, once he returned to the sect, he used elder Bao Hui’s treasure analysis ability to better understand what that liquid was.

[Dew of the Dragon’s Lament: Void-Tier Treasure.

Status: Impure — tainted with dragon blood and impurities.

Description: Born amidst the flesh and blood of millions of dragon corpses, in a hermetically sealed cavern with spiritual veins running through the liquid. For countless years, the blood evaporated and recondensed there, becoming a wonder of nature.

Usage Requirement: For direct use, a body and cultivation strong enough are required to not explode from a Void-Tier energy load. For indirect cultivation, certain protections are necessary to mitigate the violent energy released by the dew.

Note 1: There are traces of dragon blood in the dew, which may hinder direct absorption by creatures without dragon blood.

Note 2: Strong impurities have infiltrated the dew, requiring slowed absorption to refine them.

Note 3: As it is condensed blood of a mythical creature and highly energetic, it is an extremely beneficial source for both body and spiritual cultivation. Prolonged use may bring resistance.]

From what Aotian understood, the cavern was almost like a huge still: dragon blood and spiritual energy were the raw materials, and as they evaporated and condensed, they formed the marvelous Dew of the Dragon’s Lament.

As for how the lake above was formed, where the public cultivated, Aotian wasn’t sure.

He imagined that perhaps a little of the vapor had escaped the matrix over countless years, being retained by the formation above the cavern until it turned into the Dragon Lake. Or perhaps it had been the work of someone, the creator of those formations.

But Aotian wasn’t very interested in unraveling that, preferring to focus on his cultivation.

With the origins explained, Bao Wuji pulled from his storage a ring containing a Founder-Tier alchemy cauldron, stolen from those sects, and immediately poured the blood-stained dew inside.

Extremely hot flames rose under the ancestor’s control, licking the cauldron with precision, while Bao Wuji constantly reinforced the vessel with his energy; otherwise, it could explode or be damaged upon contact with such a reactive material as the dew.

With the alchemy underway, a barrier was raised by ancestor Bao, surrounding him to isolate the process. Without it, the heat emitted by the flames of a Void Refiner would have easily killed the other three in the room.

It didn’t take long for the refinement to finish, and soon the lid opened, expelling impurities.

Since they had been refined by Bao Wuji, the impurities no longer contained energy, being easily expelled by the sect’s Feng Shui.

Although they could be purified, Aotian had never found a record of impurities truly being destroyed completely, and not even the sect’s synthesized Techniques, to his confusion, could accomplish it. Thus, they could only be purified until they lost energy and threat, allowing them to be expelled with ease.

With the impurities gone, the lid opened fully, revealing two sections of liquids separated by the ancestor’s energy.

On one side, golden and emitting strong fluctuations even more condensed than before, was the Dew of the Dragon’s Lament, purified and free of impurities. On the other, purified dragon blood, which also contained great energy, though incomparable to the dew.

Bao Wuji immediately stored the dew, the blood, and the cauldron back into his storage space. Then he extended his hand and drew into his body all the energy released by the dew when he had first brought it out in the room.

With the energy inside his own body, he refined it quickly, purifying the impurities that had escaped earlier along with the energy and that Feng Shui hadn’t been able to remove.

Satisfied with the room’s air once again cleansed of impurities, Bao Wuji waved goodbye to Dan Hong, grabbed Aotian and Rihai, and vanished like a ghost, reappearing moments later in the cave of the two, far from the Alchemy Pavilion.

There, he released the purified dew, once again filling the room with energy.

Rihai watched the sequence of actions in confusion, while Aotian remained calm. When she was about to ask, Bao Wuji spoke first:

“As you can see, I purified this energy so you can cultivate more safely using it. But for now, you will need to cultivate in the old man’s presence, for the sect has not yet built anything capable of containing a Void-Tier liquid without letting it disperse into the air due to the low energy environment.”

“So, in the coming times, I will remain here to control the liquid and prevent its leakage into the air outside the room, while you cultivate. Any problem with this arrangement?”

He declared, looking at the two with a calm smile.

“For me, that’s fine, Ancestor Bao. In fact, I thank you in advance.” Aotian nodded, smiling calmly, though inwardly anxious to begin cultivating.

Rihai looked speechlessly at Aotian’s shamelessness and sighed.

“Ancestor Bao… this seems improper, to take so much of your time like this,” she spoke with uncertainty.

The ancestor was already being far too generous with the two, and she didn’t want to impose further.

“You don’t need to worry about such small things. The old man will have plenty of free time in the days ahead, and it is no problem to invest in improving the brat’s cultivation and yours,” he spoke kindly, stroking his beard and waving indifferently with his other hand.

Seeing that the ancestor wasn’t lying, Rihai accepted with a helpless sigh, promising herself to work harder at cultivation and be less of a burden. She then bowed deeply, thanking the ancestor.

Thus, Aotian and Rihai sat cross-legged, and the coming period would be filled with intense progress in body refinement.

…

Far away, in the Treasure Pavilion, Zhao Linghai, the outer elder responsible for the outer disciples, better known as elder Zhao, stood before a couple: a green-haired young woman and a white-haired young man.

They were newly accepted outer disciples, receiving their items, a rundown of the sect’s rules, and some basic guidance, which he was just finishing up.

“… with the contribution points earned. But remember: don’t save too much while aiming only for cultivation techniques and higher realms. Invest in some useful spells, for it is better to have the strength to earn more points than to die without spending what you had worked for before.”

Elder Zhao concluded his instructions with a serious face, when he felt a presence approaching. A faint smile appeared on his lips. “Well, that’s it. Your guide has just arrived, and my instructions are finished as well.”

Hearing this, the couple immediately turned toward the corner of the building, where a white head cautiously peeked out—only to freeze upon being noticed.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep