It had been quite some time since Tao Yisheng completed his ten-year guard duty in Yuanzhao and arrived in Tianlan Immortal City.0

To Luo Chen’s surprise, Tao Yisheng had not hurried back to Green Pill Valley. Instead, he had rented a long-term cave residence on Tianlan Peak. That unexpected decision only deepened Luo Chen’s curiosity about the hidden motive Tao Yisheng was concealing from him.0

Whenever their conversations arrived on top-grade pills from Green Pill Valley, Tao Yisheng would always avoid the subject. Yet when the topic shifted to alchemy, he became enthusiastic, almost too eager to share and debate.0

Luo Chen played along, meeting with him every few days to exchange views on alchemy. Over time, he realized that Tao Yisheng’s skills were far below what he had first assumed. The title of second-tier alchemist had not been earned through genuine ability. Luo Chen had been misled only because Tao Yisheng was well-versed in theory. Growing up in an alchemy-focused sect, he had been immersed in those teachings since childhood. Only now, through their exchanges, was he beginning to turn theory into practice.0

Luo Chen represented the opposite extreme. He was certainly unable to recite obscure doctrines, but...0