Chapter Eighty-Three: Elder Zhao

As Liu Pan expected, shortly after the disciple who had announced his arrival entered the main hall, a wave of spiritual power swept out from within and landed upon him. Clearly, this was Elder Zhao’s spiritual sense.

Liu Pan refrained from probing the situation inside the hall with his own spiritual power; after all, Cloudflow Sect was a Four-Star Sect, and there were surely elders within who could arrange shielding arrays. If there had been no one around, or if he were in a bustling public area, Liu Pan might have risked a quick scan. But here, in the great hall where the elders resided, discretion was the better part of valor.

Soon, the disciple who had gone in to announce him returned at a brisk pace. He cupped his fists toward Liu Pan, his face tinged with a hint of sympathy. “Senior brother, the Elder says you are to go in at once—he happens to have a task for you.”

A task? Liu Pan was taken aback. To be assigned duties the moment he arrived—wasn’t this a bit too swift? As for the sympathy on the disciple’s face, Liu Pan simply ignored it.

With a confused expression, Liu Pan entered the main hall.

As expected, the most eye-catching sight within was the base of the enormous tree that pierced through the hall’s ceiling. Yet what left Liu Pan speechless was that several spots throughout the hall had been planted with shade-loving spiritual herbs; it seemed every inch of Cangyun Peak’s space had been put to use.

The entire hall was dilapidated, hardly fit for habitation. For a moment, Liu Pan even wondered if Elder Zhao’s problem wasn’t a bad temper, but rather some issue with his mind.

He glanced around but saw no sign of Elder Zhao. Just as Liu Pan’s confusion grew, a somewhat ethereal voice suddenly rang out, “Why are you still standing there in a daze? Get down here at once!”

Down? Liu Pan was stunned. He looked around once more, still finding no trace of the elder. Not until he took several steps forward did he finally notice a flight of stone steps descending behind the giant tree.

“A basement! Seriously?” Liu Pan was utterly speechless. His previous thoughts, it seemed, were too naive—this was truly squeezing every bit of use from Cangyun Peak.

Striding quickly to the steps, Liu Pan peered down. The staircase was not long, barely twenty meters or so, and at its end a faint light was visible. Judging by the clarity of Elder Zhao’s voice earlier, it was easy to surmise that the main chamber of the basement must be around the corner at the bottom.

Without hesitation, Liu Pan made his way down.

“What are you dawdling for? Get over here!” Before he could take in his surroundings, Elder Zhao’s voice sounded again, this time laced with clear impatience.

Turning his head, Liu Pan immediately saw a long-bearded man in his thirties, standing beside a waist-high, three-legged cauldron with round handles.

There was no need to ask—this was surely Elder Zhao. As for the three-legged cauldron, it was obviously an alchemy vessel.

Given Elder Zhao’s evident impatience, Liu Pan didn’t waste time looking around. He quickly strode over, offered a bow, and began, “Disciple Liu—”

“Enough with the pointless chatter!” Elder Zhao cut him off brusquely. “I’m heading out briefly. When I return, I’ll be refining pills. Go draw water from the well over there and clean the cauldron thoroughly. If I’m dissatisfied when I come back, you can pack your things and get out!”

Throughout his speech, Elder Zhao’s brows remained furrowed, his mood clearly foul. As he spoke, he strode straight out of the basement and soon vanished from Liu Pan’s sight.

Liu Pan was left dumbfounded. What was this situation? He’d barely set foot in the basement—hadn’t even gotten a good look at Elder Zhao’s face—before being dumped here to wash the cauldron. Could they possibly make things any harder for him?

He stared helplessly at the cauldron, then at the foot of the stairs, feeling as if a herd of wild horses were stampeding through his mind.

After a while, Liu Pan collected himself and spread his spiritual sense through the room, taking in his surroundings. Now that Elder Zhao had left, there was nothing to worry about; even if he triggered some array, only he would be aware.

His spiritual sense swept through the entire basement. To his relief, there were indeed a few arrays, but none that would be triggered simply by a spiritual scan. With that, he knew he could safely use his spiritual power in the Cangyun Alchemy Hall.

The basement itself was not large; having been carved out beside the massive tree, the walls were threaded with thick roots. In the ceiling, along with more roots, several glowing pearls were embedded, casting a gentle light.

Had he found such pearls elsewhere, Liu Pan might have suspected they were night pearls of great value. But within his own story, he knew these were common trinkets engraved with a Luminous Array, worth next to nothing.

On either side of the cauldron stood dozens of shelves. Only the nearest two held jars and bottles; the rest were stacked with books.

In a corner, a well built of bluish stone marked the spot Elder Zhao had indicated for drawing water to clean the cauldron.

At the far end of the basement, a passage led to other rooms, but a shielding array was set at the doorway. Liu Pan hesitated, then refrained from forcefully probing further.

Having surveyed the basement, Liu Pan’s gaze fell upon the cauldron before him. This was his first time seeing a cauldron used for water-based alchemy.

Such cauldrons differed from those used for fire-based alchemy in one crucial aspect: the thickness of the vessel walls. Fire cauldrons prized heat resistance and conductivity, while water cauldrons had but one requirement—sturdiness.

Inside the cauldron, a brownish-gray, foul-smelling liquid lingered. Liu Pan began to understand why Elder Zhao’s mood was so bad: the elder had clearly failed in his alchemy attempt, and Liu Pan had arrived at just the wrong moment. With Elder Zhao’s prickly temperament, it was no wonder the blame fell on him.

Resigned to his fate, Liu Pan could only sigh at his luck. To be told he’d be kicked out if the cauldron wasn’t cleaned to satisfaction—according to Qin Ling’s earlier description, his prospects here seemed bleak indeed.

Still, even though he suspected his stay would be short, there was nothing for it but to carry on. At this point, what else could he do? Besides, if Elder Zhao had ordered him to clean the cauldron, refusing would be tantamount to courting death.

Without searching further, Liu Pan soon spotted a wide-mouthed jar beneath the cauldron, along with a pair of gloves and a ladle of unknown material.

The jar functioned much like a storage pouch, meant to collect the waste from pill refining. The primary difference was that storage pouches could not hold fluids directly.

As for the gloves and ladle, their purposes were self-evident.

Pill waste, though unfit for medicines or pills, made excellent fertilizer for spiritual herbs, and many alchemists would collect it for their own use or to give to others. In certain places, people even traded such impurities or failed pills, each with its own uses.

Donning the gloves and clutching the jar, Liu Pan began ladling out the foul liquid, the sound of splashing water echoing through the chamber. At that moment, he truly felt the bitterness of his fate.

Soon, most of the liquid was gone, but a problem arose: it was impossible to get every last drop with just the ladle.

After a moment’s thought, Liu Pan pressed his gloved hand to the remaining dregs and circulated his internal Frost-Ice Art, sending ice-elemental power into the cauldron to freeze the residue.

He could not tell what kind of pill Elder Zhao had attempted, but he was keenly aware that his abilities now surpassed those of any ordinary icebox.

Under his icy power, the leftover liquid solidified before his eyes, and with a bit of control, Liu Pan easily removed a large chunk of ice and dropped it into the waste jar.

Relieved, he turned his attention to the well in the corner.

He had to admire cultivators—who else could dig a well atop a mountain like this?

With specially crafted ropes and a unique bucket, after much effort Liu Pan finally hauled up several buckets of water and scrubbed the cauldron inside and out.

He was especially grateful for his ice powers; by freezing out the impurities, he could clean the cauldron with ease. If forced to wash and rinse it repeatedly, seven or eight times might still not suffice.

Wiping sweat that didn’t actually exist from his brow, Liu Pan had just turned his gaze toward the shelves of books and taken two steps forward when he sensed Elder Zhao’s return. This left him at a loss—he had hoped that if he moved quickly enough, he might have time to browse a few useful volumes, so that even if he were soon thrown out, he would not leave empty-handed. Who would have thought Elder Zhao would return so quickly?

Moments later, Elder Zhao’s spiritual power swept into the basement, locking onto Liu Pan. Soon after, the elder entered.

“Master, the cauldron is cleaned,” Liu Pan promptly announced as Elder Zhao entered, bowing respectfully.

“Mm.” Elder Zhao nodded, glancing at Liu Pan, then at the cauldron, a trace of something odd in his gaze. But he said nothing, and stepped to the cauldron.

With a wave of his hand, a table of white jade appeared before the cauldron, followed by freshly dug medicinal herbs placed upon it one by one. Clearly, Elder Zhao had gone out to gather herbs.

Only then did Liu Pan notice that the elder was using a storage ring, not a pouch—a detail that made him marvel at the man’s wealth.

Seizing the opportunity while Elder Zhao prepared the herbs, Liu Pan examined them as well.

After a moment, he was mildly surprised, for several of the herbs were ones he recognized, and their combination made him think of a particular pill recipe—the Earth Origin Pill.