"By the way, Qianluo, I have something I'd like your help with."
"Huh? What does Brother Jiang want me to help with?"
Snapped out of her dreamy daze by Jiang Che's voice, Sikong Qianluo asked curiously. She was more than willing to help him with anything she could.
"I need your help gathering some spiritual herbs…"
"Wait here for a moment."
With a mysterious smile, Jiang Che set down his chopsticks and turned to head into his study.
Once inside, he picked up a brush and casually wrote down the names of over a hundred types of spiritual herbs.
These were the ingredients required to refine Innate Pills, Blood Qi Pills, Barrier-Breaking Pills, and Youth-Retaining Pills.
As for the ingredients needed for Great Restoration Pills, Heavenly Unity Pills, and Life-Extending Pills, he didn't even bother writing them down—he knew that Snow Moon City wouldn't have anything that rare.
He planned to purchase those directly from the system later.
If he went to Sikong Changfeng to request these herbs, the stingy old man would never agree.
As the lord of Snow Moon City, Sikong Changfeng had tight control over the city's finances—and, naturally, all of its spiritual resources.
But if Sikong Qianluo were the one asking, the outcome would be entirely different.
After all, that doting father was infamous for spoiling his daughter.
Just imagining Sikong Changfeng's pained expression made Jiang Che chuckle mischievously.
…
When Jiang Che returned to the main hall, he handed the list of herbs to the eagerly waiting Sikong Qianluo.
"Brother Jiang, what do you need so many herbs for?"
Seeing the names of dozens—no, over a hundred herbs—scribbled across the parchment, Sikong Qianluo was stunned.
Despite her decent knowledge of herbs, she couldn't even recognize half the names on the list.
"I need them for alchemy. Once I refine the Youth-Retaining Pill, I'll give one to you as a gift."
Jiang Che smiled warmly, offering her a reason that left no room for refusal.
"Alchemy? The Youth-Retaining Pill? You mean that legendary pill said to preserve eternal youth after a single dose?"
Sikong Qianluo's breath hitched, and her heart began to race.
She had read about the Youth-Retaining Pill in ancient texts, but such pills had vanished from the world for over a hundred years.
As for whether Jiang Che's claim was true?
She didn't doubt him for even a second.
In her eyes, Jiang Che was omnipotent.
If he claimed he could bring the dead back to life, she'd probably believe him without hesitation.
The young lady of Snow Moon City had undoubtedly become Jiang Che's number one fan.
"Yes, it's exactly that Youth-Retaining Pill," Jiang Che confirmed with a smile.
"I'm also going to refine the Barrier-Breaking Pill and Blood Qi Pill. With those, your cultivation could directly rise to the sixth level of the Grandmaster Realm."
His words were deliberately tempting, further drawing the girl into his plans.
He wasn't lying either—if she took those pills, Sikong Qianluo really could reach that level.
"How many herbs do you need?"
"The more, the better. Alchemy doesn't have a high success rate, after all…"
Jiang Che made up an excuse with practiced ease. In truth, with his divine-level alchemy skills, failure was impossible.
His real goal was, of course, to drain Sikong Changfeng's resource stores dry.
Ideally, Qianluo would wipe out her father's entire herb stash!
When it came to spiritual herbs, the more, the merrier.
"Leave it to me!"
"Don't worry, Brother Jiang—I'll go find my dad right away!"
Sikong Qianluo patted her chest confidently, grabbed her Silver Moon Spear, and bolted out of the hall in high spirits.
…
"Still not planning to show yourself?"
Once she had left, Jiang Che turned toward a corner of the room, his lips curled into a teasing smile.
In the next moment, a figure appeared three meters away—it was none other than Li Hanyi.
Today, however, she wasn't wearing her usual ghost-faced mask.
When there were no outsiders present, she saw no need for such pretenses.
As the fourth city lord of Snow Moon City, Jiang Che was no longer considered an outsider.
Clad in white, wielding her Iron Horse Glacier Sword, and bearing her usual cold expression, Li Hanyi stood quietly.
Her outfit was modest and reserved, revealing only her pale, jade-like hands.
"Doesn't it bother your conscience to lie to Qianluo like that?"
She raised an eyebrow and spoke coldly.
Unlike Sikong Qianluo, who idolized Jiang Che, Li Hanyi was much harder to fool.
She had overheard their entire conversation and didn't believe for a second that Jiang Che could refine something as mythical as the Youth-Retaining Pill.
In all her years wandering the martial world, Li Hanyi had never encountered a genuine alchemist.
Such individuals were believed to have long since vanished.
Even if some still existed, their capabilities usually didn't go beyond basic pills—for healing or minor energy restoration.
As for miraculous pills like the Youth-Retaining Pill?
She had never seen one in her life.
And judging by Jiang Che's youth and incredible martial strength, it was obvious most of his time had been spent cultivating.
When would he have possibly found time to study alchemy?