However,
Elder Yun Nie, who looked young, had to be at least two or three hundred years old. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to possess such deep seniority, having served as an elder under two generations of Palace Masters.
"Elder Yun Nie, your disciple Jiang Chen humbly comes to take on the mission."
Elder Yun Nie was a recluse who rarely concerned himself with outside affairs. Even though Jiang Chen's name had been spreading throughout the entire Danqian Palace these past few days, he hadn't heard a word of it.
If you had to find ten people in Danqian Palace who went their own way regardless of others, Elder Yun Nie would easily rank in the top three.
Even if a storm raged outside, he couldn't be bothered to care.
His life was pill refinement, pill refinement, and more pill refinement.
Moreover, Elder Yun Nie had one strict rule—when he was refining pills, no one was allowed to disturb him. And in his dwelling, there was an additional decree: spreading gossip and idle talk was strictly forbidden.
As a result, all of Elder Yun Nie's attendants followed the rules impeccably. Not a single one dared engage in idle chatter or spread rumors here.
Because, in Elder Yun Nie's view, if someone had the time to gossip, it meant they were far too idle. And if they were too idle, they needed to be given more work.
When Jiang Chen announced himself, Elder Yun Nie paid no heed and waved his hand dismissively. "I don't care what you're called. Tell me—what are your chances of success?"
This blunt, no-nonsense style caught Jiang Chen slightly off guard.
But he still said, "I'd like to examine the pill recipe first."
Elder Yun Nie let out a cold laugh and waved his hand. "Someone, drag this one out and give him a beating. After that, throw him out."
The very first thing he wanted was to see the recipe? This fellow was even more outrageous than the ones who came before. Most of the previous applicants had only come to tour Elder Yun Nie's quarters and observe his pill refinement in hopes of picking up a trick or two.
But this one—the moment he opened his mouth, he wanted to see the recipe. What audacity! If the entire recipe were seen, would the Six-Pattern Black Dragon Pill still be a jealously guarded secret?
So Elder Yun Nie instinctively assumed this Jiang Chen had come to swindle and deceive.
Jiang Chen looked completely innocent. "Wait a moment! Elder Yun Nie, if you want to beat or punish me, surely there must be a reason? How do you know I can't complete this mission?"
Elder Yun Nie snorted coldly. "So young, yet so cunning and scheming. You want to peek at my recipe and you think you don't deserve a beating?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen couldn't help but laugh. The reason he'd mentioned examining the recipe right away was simply because he'd assumed, quite innocently, that there was no intention whatsoever of stealing the recipe.
A reincarnated pill master of the Myriad Heavens Planes caliber—why would he need to sneak a peek at a mundane world's recipe?
Precisely because Jiang Chen harbored no such thoughts, it never occurred to him that Elder Yun Nie would be so guarded.
After a moment of reflection, Jiang Chen realized he had indeed been careless.
With a wry smile, he said, "Elder Yun Nie, I truly have no intention of spying on your recipe. How about this—you can omit some of the ingredients, or give me some medicinal residue. I can research either one. You're worried I'll steal your recipe, but you have to give me some clue to work with, don't you?"
Jiang Chen had a point. If you were going to post a mission, you had to give people some way to understand it. Otherwise, how could anyone possibly complete it?
Elder Yun Nie's sharp gaze swept over Jiang Chen several times, then he waved his hand and addressed the attendants. "Withdraw, all of you."
He was not entirely unreasonable, after all. As a Supreme Elder of such elevated status, squabbling with a young disciple was beneath him—he would never deign to do such a thing.
"Go fetch some medicinal residue," Elder Yun Nie ordered.
He then turned and went back inside. A short while later, he returned and placed a pill recipe before Jiang Chen with certain ingredients redacted.
Elder Yun Nie said nothing, only standing to the side with a cold smile and his hands clasped behind his back.
Clearly, he wanted to see what kind of game this young man was playing.
Those previous youths who had come to take on the mission had shown varying degrees of nervousness. Between their words and actions, there were always tells.
But this young man standing before him was even younger than any of the others, and yet his bearing betrayed not the slightest hint of nervousness.
This surprised Elder Yun Nie just a little.
In the Dao of pills, Jiang Chen possessed a natural air of mastery. The moment the medicinal residue was placed in his hands, he became like the most seasoned hunter given a bow and arrow—his senses sharpened instantly.
He picked up the residue, sniffed it several times, and turned it over in his hands. He even dipped a fingertip into the residue and placed it on his tongue, tasting it a few times.
This process lasted roughly half a shichen. Gradually, a confident smile surfaced on Jiang Chen's face. He did not even look at the recipe.
"Elder Yun Nie, allow me to make a guess. The primary ingredient of this pill should be Heavenly Net Ninefold Fungus. The supplementary ingredients should include Sweetening Grass, Nine Tribulation Purple Bamboo, Ancient Moon True Cicada Fluid, Buddha Water Nine Infant Fruit,