At the pavilion among the mountain range, blood still seeped from Halika's severed arm. He stood outside the pavilion together with Lin Mufeng and the middle-aged woman, waiting in silence with anxious expressions.
Yang Kai stood not far from them, his expression indifferent, utterly motionless.
No one knew what he was thinking.
After a moment, more than a dozen people suddenly poured out from the pavilion. They included men and women, old and young, but without exception, each wore a badge on their chest symbolizing their identity as alchemists.
It was the mark of a pill furnace — a symbol recognized throughout the entire Star Domain.
The number of furnace legs distinguished an alchemist's rank.
On the badges worn by these alchemists, even the one with the fewest furnace legs had eight! That was the mark of a Saint King realm alchemist.
Two of the eldest among them even bore badges with nine-legged furnaces — the symbol of a Void realm alchemist!
Void realm alchemists held extremely high status in the Heng Luo Star Domain. Across the entire Star Domain, there were very few who had reached that level. The even higher Void King realm numbered only three to five at most, divided among the most powerful forces.
Even the massive Star Soul Commerce Association had only a single Void King realm alchemist stationed on their main star!
The dozen or so people who had walked out of the pavilion were the most senior and most skilled alchemists on Rainfall Star.
Halika and Lin Mufeng had invited them here to diagnose Xue Yue's injuries and see if they could find a way to save her.
On normal days, these alchemists were scattered across different locations on Rainfall Star, each with their own territory, cultivating medicinal herbs and refining pills for the Commerce Association to sell. The Association provided them with protection and a certain amount of resources. Their relationship with the Association was one of partnership, not subordination, so even Halika and Lin Mufeng treated them with the utmost courtesy and dared not show the slightest disrespect.
They usually didn't dare disturb them without cause. But for the safety of Third Young Master Xue Yue's woman, they had gathered them all here together.
When the alchemists walked out, Halika and the others perked up and quickly stepped forward to greet them. Lin Mufeng clasped his fists and asked, "Everyone, how is Lord Xue's condition? Is there any way to treat her?"
The dozen alchemists looked at one another, seemingly reluctant to speak.
Seeing their expressions, Halika and Lin Mufeng's hearts sank. They realized something was wrong.
"What exactly is her condition?" Halika asked urgently.
Everyone turned to look at one of the alchemists wearing the nine-legged furnace badge — an old man with hair and beard completely white. He had no choice but to speak up: "My lords, I'll be blunt. The dozen of us examined her for quite some time, but we have no idea what caused Lord Xue to fall into a coma. All we know is that some kind of icy force invaded her body. Her bodily functions have been completely frozen, she has no consciousness of her own, and we can't extract any information from her."
Halika listened in silence.
The old man continued, "If you don't tell us what exactly happened to Lord Xue, how are we supposed to save her? We don't even know what kind of pill to refine."
"Exactly. At the very least, you need to tell us the cause and what she went through," another Void realm alchemist chimed in. "Only then can we prescribe the right treatment and refine a pill to wake her up."
Halika's face immediately filled with conflict.
The Profound Yin Sunflower Water was of utmost importance — a cultivation treasure that would make anyone envious. If word got out, it would very likely attract the covetous eyes of powerful experts. Before they figured out a way to collect it, Halika absolutely could not utter the four words "Profound Yin Sunflower Water."
But doing so would delay the dozen or so alchemists from diagnosing Lady Xue's condition. Halika was torn to an extreme, unable to help but cast his gaze toward Lin Mufeng, silently seeking his opinion.
Lin Mufeng gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.
Halika said with a strained expression, "Everyone, it's not that we wish to conceal anything. It's just that this matter is far too grave, and we wouldn't dare speak of it carelessly."
From the tone of his words, the dozen or so alchemists realized there were things they simply were not meant to pry into, and they stopped pressing the matter. The elderly man furrowed his brow and pondered for a moment before saying, "If that is the case, then I'm afraid we won't be of much help."
"Everyone, can't you at least try a bit more?" Halika pleaded urgently. "You are the finest alchemists on the Rain Waterfall Star. If even you can't do anything, then Lady Xue she..."
Whether Lady Xue lived or died had nothing to do with him. What he feared was that if something happened to her, it would provoke Young Master Xue Yue into a frenzy of rage — and that was something he could never endure.
The dozen or so alchemists all shook their heads in unison, making it clear they were truly powerless.
Halika, Lin Mufeng, and the others wore helpless expressions, exchanging bitter smiles.
Just then, one of the Holy King-realm alchemists spoke up. "Lord Halika says we are the finest alchemists on the Rain Waterfall Star, but that flatters us more than we deserve. We all know there is another person whose alchemical skill and understanding of medicinal properties surpasses all of ours. If you could persuade him to come take a look, he might be able to discern something, and it's even possible he could find a method to counteract this."
Hearing this, the elderly man who had spoken earlier raised his eyebrows, seeming to recall this very person as well. He nodded and said, "Indeed — if it's him, then perhaps it could work."
The others immediately chimed in agreement, all readily and wholeheartedly acknowledging that person as the number one alchemist on the Rain Waterfall Star.
The alchemist community was an exceptionally proud one. Among alchemists of the same rank, no one would ever admit that another was more skilled than themselves. They always believed themselves to be the finest alchemist at their level, and that everyone else was trash — and that the pills they refined were trash as well!