Dan Lou.
By the time the two arrived, the two elders were already teaching.
To be precise, it was a test for the alchemists of Daliang today.
The Second Elder was in charge of invigilation.
Master Xie Yan, surrounded by a group of mutated demonic beasts, sat in a circle, picking lice from each other's backs…
Master Xie Yan plucked a louse from the back of a mutated ape and popped it into his mouth.
After chewing it a few times, he closed his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.
Meanwhile, the demonic beasts on his back were anxiously scratching their ears and cheeks.
What was wrong with this person? Why couldn't he find any lice on himself?
…
Yan Ruyu and the others were busy at their respective alchemic furnaces.
Sweat beaded on their foreheads, and their expressions were incredibly bizarre.
Although Yan Ruyu was nearly a thousand years old, she had always appeared no different from a young woman in her early twenties.
But ever since she started learning from the two elders…
Her demeanor had changed drastically!
Her once beautiful face was contorted into an unbelievable shape…
Her left eye was wide open, with faint blood vessels visible at the corners of her eyes.
Her right eye was half-closed, appearing half-awake.
Most bizarrely, her eyeballs were not looking in the same direction!
While she was clearly facing the alchemic furnace, her left eyeball had rolled to the extreme left.
And her right eyeball was looking to the extreme right.
A classic case of cross-eyedness.
It was unclear how she managed to focus…
Her left nostril was bulging, while her right nostril had collapsed…
It was impossible to tell if her mouth was crying or smiling, but both corners had begun to pull in opposite directions…
As for the others, they looked roughly the same as Yan Ruyu.
However, the degree of contortion was noticeably less severe.
Yan Ruyu wiped the sweat from her forehead and carefully picked up a medicinal herb.
Suddenly.
As if sensing something, she turned her head.
She saw that the Second Elder had, at some unknown time, appeared behind her and was giving her a death glare…
Especially now, with the Second Elder’s back to Yang Guang, his entire face was cast in shadow.
Exuding an immense sense of pressure!
“Are you out of your mind?!” the Second Elder immediately berated. “You dared to add the Purple Firmament Blood Dew before the Ice Crystal Grass had fully melted. Are you afraid of not failing fast enough!”
“I’m sorry…” Yan Ruyu lowered her head and whispered, “Teacher, I was wrong…”
“There’s no need to say more, you’re already out!” the Second Elder said mercilessly. “Go wait to the side. Your punishment will be arranged after the exam!”
“Yes…”
Yan Ruyu quickly agreed, grabbed the scorching hot alchemic furnace, and shoved it into her crotch.
Then she stuffed the messy pile of herbs and tools on the table into the same place.
After finishing, she scurried to the corner of the wall and stood there obediently…
However, she would occasionally steal glances at the Second Elder, a strange excitement flickering in her eyes…
Speaking of which, this was Zi Yun Zhenren’s first time witnessing the daily routine at Dan Lou.
She was utterly stunned!
What in the world were these bizarre actions!
Even if others were out of the question, that scalding hot alchemic furnace, was she serious?
Thinking of this, Zi Yun Zhenren instinctively squeezed her legs together…
Out of politeness, they should have waited until the exam was over before speaking.
But now…
They couldn’t hold back anymore!
“Second Elder,” Zi Yun Zhenren called out softly.
“Huh?” The Second Elder finally turned his head, puzzled. “Sect Master? Your Majesty? What brings you here?”
“Second Elder, Ye Fan…” Zi Yun Zhenren gritted her teeth. “Has been harmed and killed!”
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire room fell silent…
Everyone froze as if petrified, staring blankly at Zi Yun Zhenren.
Although they hadn't interacted much with Ye Fan, these alchemists had always regarded him as a master, someone akin to being omnipotent.
Now that Zi Yun Zhenren suddenly declared that the omnipotent Ye Fan was dead, they found it hard to accept…
“Impossible!” Master Xie Yan shoved the mutated ape in front of him aside and strode to Zi Yun Zhenren.
“Bang!”
The mutated ape felt a sudden dizziness.
When it recovered, it found itself embedded in the wall…
“Ye Fan was so powerful, how could he possibly die!” Master Xie Yan exclaimed in disbelief. “Sect Master, you must be joking, right?”
“Sect Master!” The Second Elder’s face was grim. “This is no laughing matter!”
“I wish it were fake…” Zi Yun Zhenren’s eyes were filled with sorrow. “Unfortunately… I’ve already seen it, his life tablet is shattered…”
The Second Elder’s voice began to tremble.
“Our… good friend…”
Master Xie Yan’s left eyeball slowed its rotation significantly.
“Is dead…”
Then, the two embraced and wept uncontrollably.
“Wuu wuu wuu… Ye Fan is dead… he’s dead…”
Their voices were filled with grief.
It was enough to make the listeners mourn and the onlookers weep.
The alchemists nearby also lowered their heads, their shoulders heaving slightly…
The group of mutated demonic beasts looked at each other and began to imitate them.
They didn’t know what to do, so they just followed suit!
Although this scene was touching, Zi Yun Zhenren couldn’t bear to watch any longer.
The two old men shaking in each other’s embrace was too much to bear…
“Uh… pardon me for interrupting…” Zi Yun Zhenren quickly said. “I mean, can the two of you take action and avenge Ye Fan?”
Although the two elders appeared unreliable,
Zi Yun Zhenren had never doubted their strength.
Especially after their excursion to the ruins of the Purple Cloud Sect, this conviction had only grown stronger!
While she still didn’t know their exact cultivation realm,
Her intuition told her they were very powerful!
Not below the Nascent Soul stage!
Although this trust seemed blind and absurd, Zi Yun Zhenren decided to trust her woman’s intuition.
Because her intuition had always been accurate!
“Makes sense!”
The two elders instantly separated, their eyes fixed on Zi Yun Zhenren.
“Sect Master, quickly tell us who killed Ye Fan!”
Being stared at by cultivators of the mental arts was a terrifying experience in itself.
Especially when the two mental arts cultivators were so full of energy…
“The person who killed Ye Fan…” Zi Yun Zhenren subconsciously took two steps back. “Is from the Yade Empire…”
Then, she stammered through the cause and effect.
“What does Nascent Soul stage mean?”
“Don’t know, but it sounds very powerful and terrifying.”
The two elders exchanged glances, their bodies trembling involuntarily.
Then, they bent down in unison and buried their heads into the ground!
“Bang!”
“Bang!”
Their heads were firmly stuck in the earth, their bottoms sticking out as they trembled in place.
Their trembling voices came from underground.
“Too terrifying…”
“We’ll be killed…”
Trembling…
Trembling…
…
The mutated demonic beasts saw this and immediately understood!
“Bang bang bang Peng bang!”
They all buried their heads in the ground and started trembling their bottoms.
The alchemists looked at each other…
Alright…
Let’s follow the teachers’ lead…
“Bang bang bang bang bang…”
Unfortunately, they overestimated the hardness of their heads.
Many of them knocked themselves unconscious…