Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

When Ye Jiuge returned to the Zilin Residence, it was already dawn. She slept until noon, not knowing that, in that very moment, a monstrous woman was thinking about her.

After Qing Mama entered Ye Jiuge's room, she couldn't help but mutter, “Eldest Miss, what business is so important that it requires you to go out late at night?”

“Obviously, it's important, so you don't need to ask about it.” Ye Jiuge didn't want to bring any external business into the Zilin Residence. As long as Qing Mama helped her manage the household, that was enough.

“Alright!” Seeing that Eldest Miss didn't want to talk about it, Qing Mama changed the subject. “Eldest Miss, Yu Die and Hua Die have good potential, and I plan on letting them officially embark on the cultivation road. I want to buy them the Bone Opening Medicine. Can you recommend which grade is best?”

The Bone Opening Medicine was the first step in cultivation. It made the pract.i.tioners' meridians more stable, allowing them to get better results with less effort. However, Bone Opening Medicine was expensive. Usually, it was bought by wealthy families for training their subordinates; it was a great thing if someone could afford to buy a medium-grade Bone Opening Medicine.

“You don't need to buy it; I'll give it to them.”

Ye Jiuge had a good impression of the two young maids. Qing Mama was old, and Ye Jiuge wanted to let her enjoy her later years. Although the young maids did not have Spiritual Roots, it would be great if they could carefully cultivate and be helpful to Qing Mama.

“In that case, I shall thank you on their behalf.” Qing Mama's face was full of smiles.

In her mind, Ye Jiuge was an even better Alchemist than the Old Master. Obtaining Bone Opening Medicine personally made by her was an enormous blessing.

“First, you need to call over Hua Die and Yu Die so I can inspect their bones.” Ye Jiuge had to inspect their bones before giving them the Bone Opening Medicine.

“Yes, I'll go fetch them at once.” Qing Mama excitedly went and called Yu Die and Hua Die.

After finding out that the Eldest Miss was personally making Bone Opening Medicine for them, the young maids couldn't hide the excitement on their small faces. Then, Ye Jiuge inspected their bones and immediately understood the situation.

The materials needed for the Bone Opening Medicine were elementary. They were all herbs used for tempering the bones and muscles, and the only difference was the dosage used as well as the pairing of some of the herbs. For example, Hua Die had a small skeleton but many muscles, so she needed very little Baizhu, which had to be paired up with Tree Peony Root so her bone density could increase. Yu Die was the opposite; she needed a lot of Baizhu, which had to be paired up with Azure Bamboo Leaves so that her muscle strength could increase.

Ye Jiuge had no idea that this preliminary examination almost killed the two young maids. She made up her mind, then quickly wrote two formulas and gave them to Qing Mama so that she could pick up the medicinal herbs.

Qing Mama happily received the formulas and planned to pick up the herbs later. She would then find a good day for opening the girls' bones.

Due to the discussion they'd had last night, Ye Jiuge secretly came to Ye Yu's house. However, he was not there. Instead, she found Wan Ziyang and Bai Songling.

“Is Eldest Miss looking for Ye Yu?” asked Bai Songling.

“Yes, where did he go?” curiously asked Ye Jiuge.

“I don't know. We are also waiting for him.” Bai Songling rolled his eyes, then smiling, said to Ye Jiuge, “Did you know that Ye Yu came looking for us last night and brought a treasure map?”

“I do. In fact, I made him do it.” Ye Jiuge had a smile on her face too and continued, “A person's talent can arouse the envy of others. Ye Yu and I aren't people of great importance, so it's better if this treasure map is gifted to the Emperor.”

Bai Songling did not believe Ye Jiuge's nonsense one bit. If she wasn't a person of great importance, then who was?

Wan Ziyang said flatly, “I handed over the treasure map captured from Xu Hansen to the Emperor.”

“The Emperor should be very excited,” Ye Jiuge said sensibly.

The Crown Prince placed the treasure map inside the Dragon Phoenix Pendant and kept it on his person for safekeeping. That is, he was obviously keeping it hidden from the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the Empress. Now that Ye Jiuge had revealed this matter, the Empress and Crown Prince were very nervous.

“Indeed, the Emperor has ordered the Justice Department to investigate thoroughly any incidents of people harmed by Sorcerers. A generous reward has been offered for catching Sorcerers.”

Previously, the members of the Justice Department had not been very supportive of Wan Ziyang's pursuit of Sorcerers, and they'd thought that it was a waste of energy. But now that the Emperor has ordered it, they were all eager to perform meritorious deeds in front of him.

“Generous rewards will bring forth brave men. Su Junqing will not dare run rampant again this time.” Ye Jiuge was delighted at the thought of Su Junqing's misfortune.

Now that Emperor Xuanwu has personally ordered it, Su Junqing would certainly face ruin if they found proof of him cultivating evil arts.

“Leave Su Junqing to us. The Alchemy Convention will be held in the Medicine Refinery Valley. What are your plans, Eldest Miss?” asked Bai Songling.

“There are no plans.” Ye Jiuge had never been interested in the compet.i.tion because she liked doing research and practicing alchemy in silence.

“I heard that the winner of this Alchemy Convention will be rewarded with an alchemy furnace from the Weapon Refinement Sect, which is worth 30,000 gold coins.” Bai Songling felt that it was a pity that Ye Jiuge didn't want to partic.i.p.ate, so he conveniently revealed some information.

Over these last years, Emperor Xuanwu had raised the standards for the Lei Kingdom's alchemy compet.i.tion to attract more alchemists, which was why the prize was now so big.

“30,000 gold coins?” Ye Jiuge's eyes lit up. She said without hesitation, “Alright, I'll partic.i.p.ate.” Although she hated compet.i.tions, she liked rewards.

Bai Songling then revealed additional information, “This time, besides the alchemists from the Lei Kingdom, there will be many alchemists from other places, so the business trade will be very lively. Maybe there will be some good things up for exchange.”

Both he and Dongfang Que were very interested in this Alchemy Convention because they hoped to find pieces of information about the Fire Dragon Herb from the alchemists from distant regions. The Fire Dragon Herb was necessary for removing the poison from Dongfang Que.

“Ok, we'll take a look at that time.” Ye Jiuge was very interested in this business trade; the batch of Indigo Jade Water Plants that she'd collected at the bottom of the lake could be sold.

“By the way, your father, Great Master Ye, is one of the judges. He has the power to advance one person directly to the finals. Do you want to look for him and ask him about it?”

Although Bai Songling had confidence in Ye Jiuge's alchemy skills, she would be saved a lot of effort if she could obtain a pa.s.s straight to the finals.

“There's nothing to ask. He will give that spot to Ye Shanshan.” Ye Jiuge was certain about this. Moreover, she didn't want that spot. As long as Ye Yuxuan wasn't making things difficult for her, she was content.

“How about if the Dongling Prince gets you a spot?” asked Bai Songling.

Although the recommendation spots in the Alchemy Convention were very hard to obtain, they were not impossible, so long as one worked hard.

“Don't bother. I'll just get a spot by relying on my own strength.” Ye Jiuge gestured with her hands.

How could she return home with the furnace worth 30,000 gold coins if she couldn't even get through the first several trials?