CHAPTER 1000: CHAPTER 997: THE TRAP

Just after Zi Yan finished speaking, she immediately realized the ambiguity in her words. But who was Zi Yan? A charming elder sister, such minor matters couldn’t possibly embarrass her.

She turned to glance at Lin Tian and chuckled alluringly, "Junior Brother, don’t take it the wrong way."

Said so directly, how can one avoid misunderstanding and still be a man? Moreover, Zi Yan was originally wearing a white women’s blouse, which already highlighted the fullness of her front. Fatally, perhaps due to the heat, she actually undid one of the buttons!

With the button undone, the shirt seemed ready to fail at containing the magnificent front anytime, a deep ravine was fathomless; beads of sweat flowed down her fair skin from her neck, past her collarbone, disappeared into the deep gorge.

Damn it, was it a mistake having this elder sister as an assistant? With such a scene, it’s wholly unproductive, Lin Tian thought gloomily, but the perk was that no matter how weary the alchemy process was, seeing Zi Yan in front would always refresh the spirit.

Lin Tian couldn’t help but swallow and said earnestly, "I didn’t take it the wrong way, very straight thinking here."

"Humph, you little rascal, still have energy to tease the elder sister, huh? I’m not playing with you, wait till I sit down and catch my breath," Zi Yan huffed, and truly sat down on the stone bench.

Judging by her look, she wasn’t pretending. Lin Tian suddenly realized that his alchemy speed was too fast, and his elder sister surely had been enduring fatigue to persist, which made Lin Tian a bit moved, so he kept quiet and peacefully waited for Zi Yan to rest.

"Junior Brother, you worked hard to make medicine for the old man, for what?" After a long silence, Zi Yan suddenly asked.

Lin Tian was stunned, then somewhat confused, indeed, why was he running around just to make medicine for the old man? Was it merely because he promised Yun Xiaotian?

His eyes grew somewhat misty, and memories of his grandfather’s passing floated in his mind; maybe he just didn’t want to experience such pain again.

"Sixteen-year-old Yun Xiaotian, bears a striking resemblance to sixteen-year-old me back then," Lin Tian murmured.

Zi Yan looked at the misty gaze of Lin Tian, her heart inexplicably ached; beneath his carefree exterior lay hidden sorrow, only he usually didn’t wish his sadness to affect those around him, so he buried it deep inside.

"Junior Brother, I’m rested now; we can continue." Zi Yan stood up and smiled gently; she said no comforting words since the best comfort was helping him succeed in alchemy.

Lin Tian was a bit surprised by Zi Yan’s sudden gentleness, but he didn’t delve into it, just stood up and took out the final ingredient, the Yin Yang Life Fruit.

"Elder Sister, once I take out the Yin Yang Life Fruit, immediately seal the bottle." Lin Tian solemnly instructed, and Zi Yan nodded earnestly.

Lin Tian placed the bottle on the ground and twisted the cap with one hand. A "click" sound followed, as if triggering a mechanism, the lid opening to reveal a hole just the right size for the Yin Yang Life Fruit to pass through.

Such a small opening would be quite difficult for a regular person to retrieve the Yin Yang Life Fruit, but not Lin Tian.

With a flick of his finger against the bottle, the bottle vibrated strongly, causing a fruit to shoot out perfectly through the hole, Lin Tian reached out and caught it. Zi Yan had been ready long ago, swiftly grabbing the bottle, turning the cap with her hand, "click", sealing the bottle again.

This was no ordinary glass bottle; besides its high strength and resistance to damage, the cap was cleverly designed to seal the mouth tightly, safeguarding the Yin Yang Life Fruit inside.

Gazing at the fruit in his palm, Lin Tian didn’t have time to admire it, gently tossing it into the cauldron, then quickly covered the cauldron lid.

The cauldron’s design itself could suppress the volatility of the medicinal properties to some extent, Lin Tian closed the lid, breathing a sigh of relief.

Without waiting too long, Lin Tian ignited the coke crystal in the furnace, blue flames reignited heating the cauldron. Of all the medicinal ingredients, the mildest in medicinal properties was the Yin Yang Life Fruit, just too fragile.

If the temperature isn’t controlled during refinement, the Yin Yang Life Fruit will be ruined, its medicinal properties lost quickly. So Lin Tian cautiously controlled the flame, not letting the temperature rise too fiercely.

Inside, the temperature gradually increased, Lin Tian observed the Yin Yang Life Fruit through his clairvoyance, when suddenly, without warning, black smoke emerged from the fruit—this smoke seemed agitated by the heat, spewing more and more, entirely different from Lin Tian’s expectations.

"Something’s wrong!" Lin Tian exclaimed just as the sound stopped, the cauldron gave a muffled "boom", and the lid was blown off, thudding onto the ground.

Zi Yan was startled and glanced bewilderedly at Lin Tian; it was the first unexpected occurrence since they began alchemy. Lin Tian didn’t know what was happening, and couldn’t answer her.

While both were stunned, black smoke emerged from the cauldron, forming an agitated mass in the air, wriggling like a living thing.

The smoke mass spun around seemingly searching for something; a few seconds later it seemed to spot Zi Yan’s presence and quickly flew towards her. Lin Tian’s mind flashed the scene at Zhao Ya’s house, making him panic, followed by intense anger.

Damn it, I fell into Black Robed Secret Master’s trap; the Yin Yang Life Fruit was enchanted by him, Lin Tian muttered a swear, unable to think more, leaped towards Zi Yan.

Before the smoke touched Zi Yan, Lin Tian quickly swept her up, then with a flash, returned to his original position. The smoke missed, failing its attack and seemed wary, hanging back in the air.

"Junior Brother, what is this thing? Is it like that red sphere at Zhao Ya’s house?" Zi Yan stared at the air-borne smoke, asking with disbelief—she had a vivid memory of that sphere, not only being controlled by it but also receiving CPR from Lin Tian.

"Indeed, this was the witchcraft cast by Black Robed Secret Master in the Yin Yang Life Fruit, revealed and activated by heating. Who would’ve thought this bastard would set me up in the end," Lin Tian said furiously.

"What now?" Hearing it was witchcraft, Zi Yan instinctively leaned closer to Lin Tian, afraid of being possessed again.

Her scent and gentle touch were there, yet Lin Tian wasn’t in the mood to enjoy; he wished to hang the Black Robed Secret Master and beat him now.

"Elder Sister, don’t run around later," Lin Tian whispered in her ear; the smoke seemingly sensed Lin Tian’s distraction and accelerated to dive down.

A smirk appeared on Lin Tian’s lips; you chose not to follow the road to Heaven, decided to break into Hell’s closed door—this is just what I wanted.

Like the red sphere, the smoke indeed had a faint sense of instinct and could make simple judgments, albeit still a bit foolish; Lin Tian darted out, releasing his hold on Zi Yan and charged forward.