“It is a bit strange…” Zu An took out a new set of clothes and changed into them. He looked at Daji. He really found it hard to associate this stunning beauty with history’s greatest enchantress. “If we say that she has a will, then her normal expression is too blank, and she can’t even speak. If we say that she doesn’t have one, then why doesn’t she let me even touch her?”

Mi Li sneered. “You’re just a pervert after all. You want to do some weird things just because she’s pretty.”

“Then why don’t you give it a try?” Zu An quickly retorted.

Mi Li rolled her eyes. She didn’t feel like paying him any more attention. “Since you’re now the owner of one of the nine cauldrons, do you know what functions it has?”

Zu An wiped away the blood on his body. Even though his injuries looked frightening, his body was at a level where it didn't really matter. “I didn’t have time to check before. Let me see…” He closed his eyes. He linked his mind with that ancient and profound will. A while later, he opened his eyes again with a strange expression.

“So?” Mi Li asked curiously.

“The cauldron isn’t complete, so it can only use a small portion of its power. It can be used for pill refinement, and you know the characteristics of its pill refinement as well,” Zu An replied.

“I do?” Mi Li was baffled. She had never seen the nine cauldrons herself back then, so how could she know?

“You should have already found out back then when we were with Shen Xuzi. The characteristics of this cauldron are a mix of the Kindhearted, Devil’s, Frugal, Extravagant, and all sorts of other furnaces.”

Mi Li was shocked and surprised. “Then doesn’t that mean it combines all of their benefits?”

“Yup.” Zu An also had a big smile on his face. He had already been itching every time Shen Xuzi introduced another furnace. However, they all had their own egos and couldn't be used together. Yet now, one of the nine cauldrons did precisely that! It let him have everything he wanted.

He couldn't help but say, “I wonder if this cauldron has some kind of copying ability and secretly copied the other furnaces’ additional effects.”

However, Mi Li shook her head. “I feel as if it’s the opposite, that those pill furnaces were around this cauldron for a long time and ended up being affected. After all, they weren’t ordinary furnaces themselves, so they were able to produce a portion of this cauldron’s traits. Of course, no matter how special they are, they’re still too far from the nine cauldrons. That’s why they could only inherit a small part of its abilities, and still had all sorts of restrictions.”

“So that was it.” Zu An felt her analysis made more sense. He quickly brought out the ingredients he had prepared ahead of time. The imperial hospital had given him a good amount of Sky Crane Root and Red Star Jade, but he only had two stalks of Purple Firmament Flower. It was the two stalks he had gotten from that red dragon’s nest outside Brightmoon City. He’d had a few more stalks before, but unfortunately, they had been wasted in the ordinary medicine furnace.

“I hope that I can succeed this time.” Zu An placed the medicines into the cauldron according to the Ki Condensation Pill formula, and then had Daji start the fire.

Daji’s eyes widened, but that might have just been Zu An’s misperception. There seemed to be a bit of unwillingness in her eyes, but she didn’t refuse. She reached out with her slender hand and surrounded the pill furnace with her foxfire.

The two were practically in sync right now. He was able to perfectly control the strength of her flame. Zu An was quite curious about that. Since they were connected like this, then why couldn't he sense what she was thinking?

However, he quickly calmed himself down and began to focus on pill refinement. The cauldron began to sparkle as the foxfire surrounded it, and one could see the ingredients inside being transformed.

Mi Li couldn't help but sigh. “This cauldron is top-notch for refining pills after all. The reason why the success rate of pill refinement is so low is mostly because the process requires tremendous detail. If the amount of ingredients used is even a bit too high or too low, or if the heat is improperly controlled, it can easily result in failure. Only a master alchemist can properly control all of these variables, but you can see the changes to the ingredients inside, so you can adjust things properly. This can save you decades of experience compared to others!”

Zu An’s expression didn’t ease up in the slightest. He said with a grave voice, “This isn’t enough. The flame still isn’t enough.”

“Is it because Daji’s cultivation is too low?” Mi Li asked with a frown.

“No.” Zu An shook his head. “The feedback I’m getting from the nine cauldron is that something is missing. How do I describe it… It seems to need another type of fire, yet I can’t exactly describe it either.”

“Hm?” Mi Li could see the situation inside as well. The ingredients were slowly being cooked, but there was still no change at all. She thought for a bit, and then she realized something. “I understand now. What the nine cauldron needs is probably the combination of yin and yang. Daji’s fox fire is of the yin attribute. If there is only yin, there cannot be life, if there is only yang, there cannot be growth. I believe that another type of yang flame needs to be used together with this yin flame in order to properly make use of this cauldron.”

Zu An was stunned. “But where would I find another flame?”

After all, he didn’t awaken an element like other cultivators when he reached the sixth rank. The reason why he was able to use the flame element was completely because he borrowed Daji’s fox fire.

How was he supposed to come up with another flame on the spot?

If it was any other time, he could take the time to think about it, but he was in the middle of refining a pill right now! He was already committed and couldn't stop halfway, or else the precious pill would be completely ruined. He had no idea when he would be able to gather enough ingredients again.

Mi Li frowned as well, clearly at a loss on this topic. However, she had a lot of experience and quickly thought of a solution.

“Don’t you awaken a weird bird every time you make a breakthrough with your Phoenix Nirvana Sutra? And then won’t you get a corresponding bizarre ability?” Mi Li quickly said.

Zu An nodded. “Yeah.”

There was no need to hide that from her with their relationship.

Mi Li said, “The birds you awakened are Grandgale, Hundredwarble, Blue Mallard, Snow Phoenix, and Blue Luan. If my suspicions aren’t wrong, they should be in accordance to the phoenix’s nine children.”

“The phoenix’s nine children?” Zu An was stunned.

Mi Li nodded. “Indeed. It is rumored that the phoenix had nine divine birds as its descendents, each possessing a unique ability. The technique you cultivate is the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, and there just happens to be several birds. It is definitely not a coincidence.”

Zu An had his suspicions as well, but he wasn’t as certain as her.

Mi Li continued, “If my suspicions aren’t wrong, there is one descendant called the Fire Phoenix, which inherited its ancestor’s flames. If you can awaken this bird, then you can produce a yang fire. If we look at the order, then it shouldn’t be far off.”

Zu An said with a bitter smile, “Now that you mentioned it, it is strange. I always got a new bird ability whenever my cultivation went up a rank, but even though I already reached the eighth rank, there was no new weird bird that showed up.”

Mi Li replied, “There is a fundamental difference between cultivators before the eighth rank and after. I believe that it is because you had just broken through the eighth rank doorstep, and your cultivation hasn’t fully reached a point where you can unlock the Fire Phoenix’s ability.”

“Then there’s nothing we can do about that now.” Zu An felt a headache. “How could I increase my cultivation in such a short time?”

He sucked away Ma An’s cultivation just now. He was only at the sixth rank however, so the increase wasn’t much at all.

Mi Li’s expression became a bit strange. “Did you forget that you have another source of power inside of you?”