Li Guanqi was frozen where he stood, staring at the handsome, tall, and straight-backed man before him, momentarily forgetting to respond.
Gu Changsheng stepped forward with a laugh. "Hahaha, don't take offense, Huaizhi. Guanqi was probably just surprised to see you look so young."
He was worried that Xiang Huaizhi might take offense at some minor slip in etiquette.
The man before them looked youthful, but in truth, he was older even than Gu Changsheng—a true old monster in every sense of the word.
Moreover, this man was notorious throughout the alchemy world for his eccentric temper.
He might brew a pill for a bitter enemy, yet refuse a close friend's plea and leave them to die.
It could be said that Xiang Huaizhi was an outlier among alchemists, yet his talent in the alchemical dao was absurdly monstrous.
As a result, no one in that circle dared cross him, let alone anger him.
What was more... Xiang Huaizhi's combat prowess was nothing like that of a physically frail alchemist.
In life-and-death battles, practically no opponent had ever escaped with their life from his grasp. He was an absolute monster.
Li Guanqi stared at Xiang Huaizhi with an inscrutable look, then pulled Meng Wanshu along as he bowed and said solemnly, "Junior Li Guanqi greets Senior Xiang."
Meng Wanshu did the same. At this point, the others also understood what was going on.
The elders exchanged glances, each seeing disbelief in the other's eyes.
They had never seen Xiang Huaizhi show such a cordial attitude toward an outsider.
The corner of Xiang Huaizhi's mouth curled slightly as he looked Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu up and down with an impassive gaze.
He had never imagined that the day he and Li Guanqi finally met would unfold under circumstances like this.
After taking his seat, Li Guanqi's heart surged with emotion. He had never expected to encounter one of the most mysterious members of the Eight Generals today.
Back then, Hong Zhi had mentioned the members of the Eight Generals to him:
*Long Hou, Hong Zhi, Chankongzi, Youming, Nangong Xuandu, and now Xiang Huaizhi...*
*Only two left that I haven't seen.*
Xiang Huaizhi had Li Guanqi sit beside him, then turned toward Gu Changsheng, who was standing dazed where he was, and said nonchalantly, "Say what you came to say. Pay me no mind."
Only then did Gu Changsheng take his seat at the table. He said solemnly, "Then I will get straight to the point.
"I gathered all of you here today because Little Friend Li's soul is damaged, and I hoped you might help come up with a solution."
The white-robed old man with his hands tucked in his sleeves frowned and spoke up. "Old Gu, you know as well as anyone how soul damage works. You can't just conjure something from nothing.
"Not to mention... this little fellow allowed his void avatar to achieve independence!
"Furthermore, if my eyes don't deceive me, he severed his three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls entirely, didn't he?"
Han Yuan's eyes were razor-sharp; with a mere probe of Li Guanqi's aura, he had already deduced his current condition.
Beside him, the white-bearded old man Jiang Qizhi sighed. "There is no other way. Even if one could find spiritual treasures of heaven and earth to patch the void, fusing them would still be nearly impossible."
Finally, Guo Feng rose and said, "If that's the issue, there is nothing more to discuss.
"Even if all five of us were to refine a pill together, it would be useless. It wouldn't help in the slightest."
Gu Changsheng smiled. He naturally knew they had no answer, so he deliberately built up the suspense with a quiet chuckle.
"What if... I hold the formula for an ancient pill: the Profound Origin Sacred Soul Pill?"
*Scrape!*
Chairs screeched jarringly across the floor as the three old men leapt to their feet in an instant.
Han Yuan grabbed Gu Changsheng by the collar and hauled him up, shouting with eyes alight with excitement, "What did you say?! Say that again?!"
Jiang Qizhi, who wore a goatee, rushed forward and shook Gu Changsheng by the shoulders.
"You're full of bull! There's no bloody way I'm believing you have it!"
The old man was so agitated that his regional dialect slipped out. Guo Feng squeezed in beside him and said, "Where did you get it?! Do you really have it?!
"You know full well my son suffered soul damage years ago! If you truly have the formula for the Profound Origin Sacred Soul Pill, I'm willing to pay three hundred million spirit stones for it!"
Jiang Qizhi shoved him aside and barked, "Get lost! Three hundred million? If you're broke, don't stand here squawking!
"Eight hundred million! Give it to me!
"Don't force my hand, or I'll give you a thrashing!"
Li Guanqi watched them practically tearing at one another, completely unprepared for things to take such a turn.
Dressed in fiery red robes, Xiang Huaizhi slowly held out a hand, his slender fingers beckoning slightly as he said softly, "Come here. Let me have a look."
Li Guanqi obediently drew closer.
Xiang Huaizhi touched his fingertip to Li Guanqi's glabella. From that warm fingertip, a vast yet gentle surge of divine sense swept through Li Guanqi's entire body.
It made gentle contact with his sea of consciousness and origin spirit without intruding too deeply, allowing Li Guanqi's tense body to gradually relax.
Xiang Huaizhi withdrew his divine sense. A slight frown appeared on his handsome face, and he scolded Li Guanqi gently, "Reckless."
It was said with utter naturalness, like an elder gently reprimanding a junior of his own family.
Meng Wanshu covered her mouth to stifle a laugh and whispered, "That's right, Senior. You ought to lecture him more often."
Xiang Huaizhi glanced at Meng Wanshu and nodded with a smile.
"Did you give the pill formula to Gu Changsheng?"
Li Guanqi gave a silent nod. Xiang Huaizhi said softly, "Keep your wealth hidden. Don't let these old fellows know.
"Though even if they do, it hardly matters. If any of them dares lay a hand on you, I will incinerate three generations of their clans.
"Still, with how turbulent things are right now, it is best to be cautious."
Hearing this, Li Guanqi could only nod obediently.
Gu Changsheng shoved the bickering elders back with an exasperated burst of energy, looking down at his crumpled collar as he snapped, "You're all old enough to know better, damn it! Why are you acting like children?!
"If I brought it up, was I going to keep it from you?"
With that, Gu Changsheng had them sit back down, then glanced toward Xiang Huaizhi.
He noticed that Xiang Huaizhi and Li Guanqi were conversing pleasantly, and Xiang Huaizhi showed no surprise whatsoever that Gu Changsheng had the pill formula.
Gu Changsheng looked around the room and announced in a deep voice, "I will give every one of you a copy of this pill formula!"
Everyone was stunned by his words!
Gu Changsheng explained frankly, "The techniques required to refine this pill are exceedingly demanding—so demanding that... I cannot handle it alone!
"I invited the few of you here today because we share close ties.
"Therefore... I hope none of you will hold back your efforts! We must also study this formula together.
"After all, many spiritual herbs and plants from ancient times went by different names than they do today, and some have even vanished entirely..."
The old men's faces lit up with excitement, their complexions growing noticeably rosier.
They had thought Gu Changsheng would surely seize this chance to extort an exorbitant sum from them, never expecting things to turn out like this.
Yet the more this was the case, the more determined they felt to succeed in refining the Profound Origin Sacred Soul Pill by any means possible!
Even Xiang Huaizhi, standing to the side, felt his interest piqued. To him, refining ordinary contemporary pills posed no challenge at all.
Next, Gu Changsheng showed the pill formula to everyone. The old men gathered tightly around Li Guanqi, taking turns examining his condition.
Like a test subject, Li Guanqi could only listen as the five of them engaged in a wild, heated debate.
Chapter 861