"How could Xu Yang have changed so much?" Liu Qian shook her head as she watched his retreating figure.

Nothing he did today seemed like something the Xu Yang she knew was capable of.

Yue Gui said, "Maybe he’s just given up completely. The whole thing with the Alliance must have hit him hard. After it disbanded, I heard he never went back to the Sect. He was probably afraid to face anyone."

"If he could become a Pill Master, his situation would improve, but trying to become one with just a single Pill Formula... that’s just a pipe dream."

Hearing this, Liu Qian couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt. "Were we a bit too harsh back then?"

She genuinely hadn’t known that Xu Yang never returned to the Sect after the Alliance disbanded.

Yue Gui shook his head. "We just made the right choice. If he can’t even handle this much, the Alliance would have abandoned him sooner or later anyway."

Around the auction hall, those who knew Xu Yang all shook their heads, thinking he was delusional for believing he could become a Pill Master with just a single Pill Formula.

In the front row, Sun Jian looked at Ye Qiuling and smiled. "Junior Sister Ye, don’t you think it’s a shame that the Blood Coagulation Pill Formula you worked so hard to complete was bought by someone who knows nothing about Alchemy?"

Ye Qiuling shot Sun Jian a cool glance. "I sold the Pill Formula for money. It doesn’t matter who bought it. If you think it’s such a shame, Sun Jian, why didn’t you bid on it yourself?"

Sun Jian shook his head. "I’m not a Pill Master either. It would be a complete waste for me to buy it."

Ye Qiuling said no more, but her eyes remained fixed on the back of the figure who had just left.

"Master Xu, why did you buy that useless Pill Formula?"

Backstage at the auction, Zhou Yong was a bit stunned to see it was Xu Yang.

’I thought Xu Yang was supposed to be a steady guy. How could he do something so outrageous? This is going to cause quite a stir.’

Before long, everyone would know that a Purple Sun Sect disciple named Xu Yang, who knew nothing about Alchemy, had bought a Pill Formula at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion auction.

"Just for fun."

Xu Yang couldn’t be bothered to explain. He immediately took out the silver banknotes, paid, and smoothly obtained the Blood Coagulation Pill Formula.

Elegant script listed over a dozen medicinal herbs. Everything from the names and dosages to the required heat control was written out with perfect clarity. And yet, even with such a detailed formula, one still couldn’t refine the pill just by following the instructions.

After he finished reading it once, a faint light flickered before his eyes and a panel appeared:

[Blood Coagulation Pill (0/200)]

Xu Yang’s heart leaped with joy. ’It’s just as I guessed. The panel can be used to master alchemy techniques.’

’Two hundred proficiency points... I get at least three points a day, and I use one to increase my lifespan. It’ll take fifty days to max out the Blood Coagulation Pill. That’s nearly two months, which isn’t too long.’

He handed the Pill Formula to Zhou Yong. "See how much silver it would cost to buy all these herbs."

Zhou Yong took it and glanced over it. "Master Xu, it would be about forty taels."

Xu Yang’s eyelid twitched. "What about the Qi Replenishing Pill? Do you know the cost to refine one batch of those?"

Zhou Yong replied, "The cost for a batch of Qi Replenishing Pills is under thirty taels. The Blood Coagulation Pill has never been as cost-effective. Otherwise, that Inner Sect Disciple from the Purple Sun Sect would never have sold the Pill Formula."

Xu Yang asked again, "Generally, how many pills can be refined in one batch?"

Zhou Yong was left speechless. ’He doesn’t even know the basics, yet he dared to spend four hundred taels on a Blood Coagulation Pill Formula? I’d bet he’s never even heard of half the herbs listed on it. He’s a complete amateur who knows absolutely nothing.’

"That depends on the Pill Master’s skill. One batch can yield as few as five or six pills, or as many as ten or so."

Xu Yang nodded to himself. ’Even if the Blood Coagulation Pill is less cost-effective than the Qi Replenishing Pill, there’s still a profit to be made as long as one batch yields five or six pills.’

’If I use the panel to max out the Pill Formula before I start refining, I should be able to get ten pills per batch.’

"Does the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion sell Pill Furnaces?" Xu Yang asked.

’Now that I have the Pill Formula, I need a Pill Furnace to go with it. As soon as the formula is maxed out, I can start practicing Alchemy.’

Zhou Yong shook his head. "No, Master Xu. Pill Furnaces are usually custom-made at a Weapon Refining Workshop. However, for a basic pill like the Blood Coagulation Pill, you don’t really need a proper furnace. You can just buy a copper pot to brew it in."

With a flick of his finger, Xu Yang sent a piece of silver flying toward Zhou Yong. "A reward for you. As expected of a clerk from the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, you really know your stuff."

An unnatural expression flashed across Zhou Yong’s face.

Xu Yang didn’t notice his odd expression, simply taking the Pill Formula and turning to leave.

By the time he returned to the main auction hall, the event had concluded and people were starting to file out.

Following the crowd out of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, Xu Yang noticed some people leaving in a hurry—the ones who had won valuable items.

Even the Inner Sect Disciple Sun Jian looked wary, using a Lightweight Skill to depart immediately.

Seeing this made Xu Yang cautious as well. ’Anyone attending an auction, whether they bought something or not, is bound to be carrying a large amount of silver. You’d be guaranteed a score just by picking someone at random to rob and kill.’

’And on top of that, I bought a "useless" Pill Formula. In the eyes of some, I must look like a rich, foolish lamb ripe for the slaughter. I can feel several gazes fixed on me.’

’I think I’m being watched. I hope it’s just my imagination!’

Xu Yang’s heart sank. ’Looks like I can’t stay in the city. I need to get back to the Purple Sun Sect.’

With that thought, he plunged into the crowd, rapidly changing direction until he vanished.

"It looks like Xu Yang’s being followed. Should we help him?" Qin Ze whispered to Liu Qian and the others beside him.

After Xu Yang left, he had seen several figures quickly fall in behind him.

Yue Gui shook his head. "He’s not part of the Alliance anymore. Don’t go meddling. The people who would make a move are all desperate outlaws. Don’t stir up trouble."

Cyan Yang City was situated in the heart of the Yunling Mountain Range, a place where saints and sinners mingled. Aside from the local residents, it was filled with outsiders hunting for treasure—the kind of fearless desperadoes who would do anything for resources.