"You scoundrel! What nonsense are you spouting!"
Upon hearing Chen Xiao's words, Zhu Xuanqing was instantly enraged and began to curse him.
As soon as he finished speaking, a blur of black flashed before his eyes. Chen Xiao suddenly appeared in front of him, followed by a sharp slap.
Chen Xiao's palm landed on Zhu Xuanqing's face without any warning.
"Am I giving you too much face? If you weren't Chu Luo's father-in-law, for your repeated disrespect towards me, you'd be dead by now!"
Chen Xiao said with a detached expression.
Zhu Xuanqing was immediately shocked. The moment Chen Xiao made his move, he knew the opponent's strength far surpassed his own.
He never expected that this seemingly ordinary young man would have such deeply hidden strength!
"Good for you, Chu Luo! You're colluding with outsiders to seize power, aren't you?"
Zhu Xuanqing, in his fury, accused Chu Luo.
"It's not like that, Uncle Zhu. I didn't!"
Chu Luo desperately tried to explain, but Zhu Xuanqing refused to listen and even spat at him.
"Chu Luo, what are you still trying to deny? I was wrong about you! Hmph!"
However, at this moment, Chu Qingbai waved his hand, stopping Zhu Xuanqing.
"Xuanqing, hold your tongue. I believe this is not Chu Luo's intention."
Zhu Xuanqing's eyes widened. "Valley Master, what time is it? He's about to seize power, and you're still protecting him!"
Chu Qingbai smiled wryly. "Xuanqing, you're being foolish. If Chu Luo truly wanted to seize power, would he choose this moment?"
Only then did Zhu Xuanqing realize and look at Chen Xiao in confusion. "Then what does this kid mean?"
Let alone Zhu Xuanqing, even Chu Luo didn't understand.
"Brother Chen, what are you doing? I don't want to be the Valley Master!"
Chen Xiao said lightly, "Your father is too pedantic and indecisive, not a good candidate for Valley Master. Although you are still young, you are more qualified to sit in the position of Valley Master than your father."
Chen Xiao was purely being unreasonable. After all, everything has two sides. Chu Qingbai's benevolent nature might not make him unsuitable as Valley Master.
Moreover, as an outsider, whether Chu Qingbai was suitable to be Valley Master had nothing to do with him.
Chen Xiao did this solely because it would be more advantageous for him if Chu Luo became the Valley Master.
He wanted to explore the forbidden area of Medicine King Valley. With Chu Qingbai's pedantic nature, he would definitely not allow him to enter.
However, if Chu Luo were to become Valley Master, there was a high probability that this matter could be accomplished.
But Chu Qingbai was not made of clay. Chen Xiao's words were naturally unbearable to him!
"Hmph, Mr. Chen, the position of Valley Master of Medicine King Valley is not for an outsider to decide. Please leave Medicine King Valley immediately!"
It was a rare sight to see Chu Qingbai lose his temper.
Chen Xiao sneered and said softly, "Valley Master Chu, so you would rather your entire family be killed by your younger brother than accept my help?"
"Your help? Ridiculous! Our Medicine King Valley's alchemy skills are unrivaled in the world, why would we need your guidance?"
Chu Qingbai said with arrogance and disdain, looking at Chen Xiao. "Young man, don't think you can disregard everyone in the world just because you have some skill. It's not wrong to be young and spirited, but being too arrogant will only make you a laughingstock!"
Chen Xiao snorted. "Since your Medicine King Valley's alchemy skills are unrivaled, why do you think you will lose to your second brother? If you don't believe me, let's have a competition. If I lose, I'll be at your mercy. If you lose, you'll abdicate. Do you dare?"
"Why wouldn't I dare?"
Chu Qingbai clasped his hands behind his back and said proudly, "However, you should know that I'm agreeing to compete with you today not to win or argue, but to teach you how to behave, on behalf of your elders!"
Chen Xiao sneered. "Very well, then I will show you today what true alchemy is!"
"Brother Chen, why are you going through all this trouble? I really don't want to be the Valley Master..."
Chu Luo sighed helplessly, feeling caught in the middle.
"Stop the nonsense, I'm helping you!"
Chen Xiao said impatiently, "The life-and-death challenge targets the Valley Master. Only by becoming the Valley Master do you have a chance to defeat your second uncle."
At this point, there was nothing more Chu Luo could say. He felt like he was being forced onto a stage. No matter who won or lost, he found it hard to be happy.
Chu Qingbai led the way, bringing Chen Xiao to an alchemy room.
To be fair, he sent people to find two identical alchemy furnaces.
"Young man, the great way is simple. Since we are only competing in alchemy, I suggest we use the Peiyuan Pill to decide the winner. What do you say?"
"No problem!"
The Peiyuan Pill is just a basic type of medicinal pill.
As the name suggests, its function is to strengthen the foundation and replenish vital energy. It has good recovery effects for those who have just recovered from serious illnesses, and ordinary people can also take it to strengthen their bodies.
The formula for the Peiyuan Pill is simple, and the refining process is not complicated. It is one of the pills that beginners must refine.
However, the simpler it is, the more it tests a person's alchemy skills.
It's like a bowl of fried rice for a chef. Every chef can make fried rice, but whether they can make it well is the ultimate test of their culinary skills.
Chu Qingbai is a master alchemist with refined skills. If we were to compare him to chef levels, he would be at least a world-class culinary god.
He hadn't refined such a basic pill as the Peiyuan Pill for decades, but it had no impact on him.
In less than twenty minutes, the pills were out of the furnace, and the entire room was instantly filled with the aroma of medicine!
Zhu Xuanqing leaned in to take a look and immediately cried out in shock.
"Pill patterns! You've refined pill patterns!"
"The Valley Master is indeed the Valley Master. He can even refine pill patterns with the simplest Peiyuan Pill. This skill can be called masterful!"
Pill patterns, also known as Danwen, are the fine lines that appear on a pill during the process of its formation.
Generally speaking, pills with pill patterns have several times the medicinal effect of ordinary pills.
"Kid, our Valley Master has finished refining his pills, and your alchemy furnace hasn't even caught fire yet. Could it be that you don't know how to refine pills at all?"
During Chu Qingbai's alchemy process, Chen Xiao stood motionless in front of his alchemy furnace, which aroused Zhu Xuanqing's suspicion.
Chen Xiao smiled slightly. "I was just waiting for him to finish refining. Alright, now you can move the alchemy furnace outside."
"Move it outside for what? Kid, what trick are you trying to pull?"
Zhu Xuanqing was full of confusion.
"It's too small here, I can't spread my wings!"
Chen Xiao said nonchalantly.
"Can't spread your wings? I think you're just looking for trouble!"
Zhu Xuanqing was so angry that his beard bristled.
Chu Qingbai waved his hand. "Forget it, Xuanqing. Let him have his way!"
"Fine, I'll see what kind of tricks he can pull!"
Chen Xiao took the alchemy furnace outdoors, which quickly attracted the attention of many family servants and courtyard workers.
After they heard the reason for the matter, they all pointed and talked about Chen Xiao.
Where did this kid come from? He actually dared to compete with the Valley Master in alchemy. Isn't this like showing off one's meager skills before an expert?
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the Qilin Fire erupted from Chen Xiao's eyes, and the fire beneath the alchemy furnace suddenly flared up!