Chapter 46: Experience the Power of the Improved Joy Pill!

The massive gates stood wide open, and even before Yun Yi stepped inside, a rich, potent fragrance of medicinal herbs wafted out to greet him.

Breathing in the heavy aroma, Yun Yi felt his tension visibly ease.

"Follow me!"

With an expression of intense excitement, Qin Fengzi called out over his shoulder and dashed into the house, dragging Yun Yi and Qian Mo along in his wake.

As they walked down the path, Yun Yi cast a glance at the various low-tier spirit beasts confined in cages lining the courtyard, and a row of dark lines appeared on his forehead.

"He really is a madman!"

Stepping indoors, Yun Yi was somewhat taken aback by what he saw.

Contrary to the chaotic disorder he had imagined filling a madman's lair, everything inside was arranged and displayed with meticulous order.

"Look at this, Qian Mo! This is the Frenzy Pill!"

Seeing the astonishment on Yun Yi's face, Qin Fengzi chose not to disturb him. Instead, he pulled Qian Mo—whose eyes were now gleaming with excitement—over to begin explaining his concoctions.

"This is the very pill that the Vajra Crocodile ingested!"

Retrieving a small vial and pointing at the pill within, Qin Fengzi explained, "I originally intended to improve upon the traditional Blood-Burst Pill by eliminating its conventional side effects, but an unexpected thing happened."

"It altered the Vajra Crocodile's genetic structure and triggered an evolution!"

Qin Fengzi scratched his head with an embarrassed smile.

"However, while your Vajra Crocodile's cultivation realm increased, its actual combat capability was somewhat diminished."

Only upon hearing this explanation did the doubt in Yun Yi's mind finally vanish. When he had fought the Vajra Crocodile, he had indeed felt that aside from having exceptionally thick hide, the beast was not truly formidable in other aspects.

"Fengzi, may I take a look around your laboratory?"

"Haha, Brother Yun, please make yourself at home!"

Qin Fengzi remained engrossed in introducing his inventions to Qian Mo, who was clearly fascinated, his eyes practically radiating brilliance.

Losing interest in the pair, Yun Yi began to wander around on his own.

"What is this? An improved version of the Joyous Harmony Pill?"

Yun Yi asked in mild surprise when he spotted a vial containing a few pills resting on a nearby shelf.

When he read the accompanying description, however, he was rendered utterly speechless.

It stated that whereas a conventional Joyous Harmony Pill allowed the user to return to a normal state after venting their desires, this modified version would trap the consumer in a state of perpetual frenzy, driving them to behave like a wild beast until death claimed them!

Yun Yi: "……"

"What an absolute genius!"

Yun Yi sighed softly in admiration.

As he continued browsing, his wonder and praise grew steadily, simply because most of the pills Qin Fengzi had modified possessed wildly deviant properties—such as gender-swapping pills, supreme vigor-enhancing pills, and the like.

Suddenly, before Yun Yi could utter another exclamation of shock, a particular pill formula caught his eye.

"Oh?"

Yun Yi let out a surprised murmur and immediately began to study it.

"Brother Yun, are you also interested in alchemy?"

Noticing Yun Yi holding up his latest research project, Qin Fengzi immediately asked with a surge of renewed interest.

"Hahahaha, Brother Madman, you might not know this yet! My boss is also a Tier-1 alchemist! And he has even successfully refined supreme-grade pills!"

Chancing the moment, Qian Mo proudly introduced Yun Yi to Qin Fengzi.

True to expectation, upon hearing Qian Mo's introduction, Qin Fengzi's eyes lit up with fervent excitement. He was well aware of just how formidable an alchemist capable of refining supreme-grade pills truly was.

"Brother Yun, do you have any thoughts on this?"

Qin Fengzi asked, looking at Yun Yi with eager anticipation.

"Well… there is a flaw in this pill formula."

"Uh… please enlighten me, Brother Yun!"

Qin Fengzi pressed eagerly.

"Look here. You attempted to alter the original ratio of Thousand-Water Grass to Cliff-Rock Flower in order to eliminate the flaw where the traditional Armor-Piercing Pill leaves impurities accumulating in the body."

"However, you failed to account for the fact that reducing the amount of Thousand-Water Grass also diminishes the cold-attribute herbs used to neutralize the Demonic Flame Flower, thereby shattering the equilibrium. That is the exact reason why Brother Qin keeps failing."

As he spoke, Yun Yi reached out to gesture and trace diagrams for Qin Fengzi, his expression entirely focused.

Hearing Yun Yi's meticulous breakdown, Qin Fengzi's eyes grew increasingly bright as he began to counter with his own insights and perspectives.

Watching the two men engaged in such a fierce and passionate debate nearby, Qian Mo's lips twitched slightly. While he found these bizarre gadgets mildly interesting, he certainly lacked the stamina to meddle with them—and, of course, any talent for the craft.

In the blink of an eye, the sun began to sink toward the horizon.

"Brother Yun, we must continue our discussion another time!"

Watching Qin Fengzi waving vigorously from the doorway, Yun Yi responded with a warm smile and a wave.

He had spent the entire day debating various alchemical conundrums with Qin Fengzi.

While Yun Yi possessed absolute confidence in his own alchemy, when it came to sheer creativity in formulating pills, he could only bow his head in secret admiration for Qin Fengzi.

Qian Mo had already departed much earlier, leaving Yun Yi to make his own way back toward his quarters alone.

The path leading away from the Heavenly Courtyard was a quiet, secluded alleyway with sparse foot traffic.

Relaxing his mind, Yun Yi hummed a tune as he strolled leisurely along.

Then, he caught the faint rustling sound coming from not far behind him.

A flicker of amusement crossed his eyes, and a faint smile touched the corner of his lips as he casually spoke aloud, "Come on out! There's no need to skulk around hiding."

"Hahahaha! You're certainly quite alert, aren't you?"

When he saw who stepped out, Yun Yi paused for a fraction of a second, then suddenly found the situation rather amusing.

Standing before him was none other than Li Hu—the very same fellow who had tried to bully others upon entering the academy, only to be taught a thorough lesson by Yun Yi himself.

Glares of profound resentment marked Li Hu's face as he stared at the unperturbed Yun Yi. Extending a finger to point directly at him, Li Hu spun around and addressed a towering, two-meter-tall burly man standing beside him, "Brother Niu! This is the brat who completely disrespected you and beat me up!"

The massive brute addressed as Brother Niu looked down at Yun Yi from his towering height, a fierce and menacing expression twisting his features. "So you're the punk who beat up my little Tiger?"

"Step over here right now, kowtow twice until your head echoes on the stone, and break one of your own legs, and I might let this matter rest!"

Faced with the hulking giant, Yun Yi simply chuckled. "One of you is a complete idiot, and you're no better?"

"Brat, don't toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!"

"Yun Yi, if you know what's good for you, hurry up and apologize to me right now, or else this exact day next year will be your death anniversary!"

Li Hu watched Yun Yi with a smile that he could barely contain.

Da Niu glared at the youth before him, fully releasing the aura of his fifth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivation realm.

From his perspective, Yun Yi was nothing more than a puny weakling at the third layer of Foundation Establishment. Once the boy felt the crushing pressure of his cultivation aura, he would undoubtedly come crawling over to kowtow and beg for mercy.

However, reality proved to be the exact opposite.

"Are you an absolute retard?"

Stung by Yun Yi's blatant provocation, Da Niu flew into a rage. Having dominated the outer sect for years, no one had ever dared to speak to him in such a tone!

Unleashing his cultivation to its absolute limit, Da Niu lunged forward with a massive stride, closing the distance instantly as he hurled a vicious fist straight toward Yun Yi's chest.

"Scared stiff, aren't you, you little rat!"

Seeing Yun Yi stand motionless, a look of savage mockery spread across Da Niu's face.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Yun Yi's lips curled into a smirk. His figure vanished instantly, reappearing the next moment directly behind Da Niu. Raising his leg high, Yun Yi delivered a merciless kick straight to Da Niu's backside!

"Bang!"

In a fraction of a second, the two-meter-tall giant was sent hurtling through the air like a cannonball, crashing heavily into the ground with a bone-rattling thud.

"This……"

Li Hu stood frozen, utterly dumbfounded by the sight.

"Even fifth-layer inner sect disciples have fallen to my hands. What makes you think you measure up?"

Planting a foot squarely on Da Niu's chest, Yun Yi looked down from above with an air of absolute disdain, gazing coldly at the man pinned beneath him.

"You!"

Pinned beneath Yun Yi's foot, Da Niu felt the air leave his lungs in a sudden gasp, struggling desperately just to breathe.

"Whoosh!"

Before Da Niu could utter another word, a pill was effortlessly flicked into his open mouth, dissolving the instant it touched his tongue.