An Extra Villain in Cultivation World-Chapter 70: “Before the Alchemy Test”

Xuanyan immediately understood what was happening. This wasn’t a casual question. Mei Lingyao was testing him.

He could easily ask the system for the answer and gain a perfect first impression, but that would also create a problem. If he showed too much knowledge here, Mei Lingyao would start seeing him as an alchemy genius.

Xuanyan had no interest in that.

In the sect, it was already normal for disciples to become famous because of their masters. If he became Mei Lingyao’s disciple, most people would naturally assume his future achievements came from her guidance. That reputation was far more useful than being labeled a genius from the start.

Besides, Xuanyan knew very well how difficult the alchemy path truly was. Even Ye Qingfeng had spent years studying under a Rank-Eight master before reaching a respectable level. Compared to that, Xuanyan was still just an Outer Sect disciple who had barely stepped inside an alchemy chamber.

Under normal circumstances, someone like him shouldn’t be able to identify the ingredients of a spiritual tea with complete accuracy.

So instead of asking the system for the answer, Xuanyan simply lifted the cup again and let the fragrance linger for a moment before taking another sip. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"The taste is light, but the aftertaste stays for a long time," he said, thinking about it while the warmth spread across his tongue. "Spirit Clearing Leaf should be part of it... and something meant to calm the mind. Moon Orchid petals, perhaps. But the bitterness at the end feels a little forced, like that part was added later." Is it Moon Orchid Clear-Heart Tea? Xuanyan asked clearly not expecting to be right.

Mei Lingyao’s eyes narrowed slightly when she heard Xuanyan speak with such confidence, but she didn’t dislike his answer. In fact, she was rather pleased. For someone who knew almost nothing about alchemy, his judgment was already quite accurate.

Yanmei understood it as well. Even though this tea had nothing to do with Moon Orchid Clear-Heart Tea, the taste was indeed very similar, and the two ingredients Xuanyan mentioned were often used in that type of tea. This is actually really amazing for someone who never interact much with spritual herbs.

"Husband, it’s not Moon Orchid Clear-Heart Tea," Lingling said when seeing Xuanyan guess wrong made her hesitate for a moment. She wasn’t sure whether her mother would like him being corrected, but in the end she still spoke.

She gently lifted the teapot as if presenting it. "It’s brewed from several Rank-2 beast materials along with stabilizing spirit herbs. It isn’t meant to calm the mind like meditation teas. Instead, it nourishes the body and greatly boosts a cultivator’s vitality."

"The beast essence inside the tea is very rich. After drinking it, the warmth spreads through the body and strengthens blood and muscles. If taken regularly over time, it can slowly increase the drinker’s vitality permanently."

Xuanyan : (⁠●⁠_⁠_⁠●⁠)

He could only stare at the teacup in silent disbelief. He genuinely couldn’t believe he had missed the mark by such a large margin. Then again... the fault might not have been entirely his. The tea tasted so terrible that he barely paid attention to what was happening inside his body.

Besides, with his basic Yang Physique his vitality was already absurdly high. It regenerated constantly, far faster than ordinary cultivators. When he drank the tea earlier, he barely felt any noticeable change in his body at all. The only thing he noticed was that his mind felt a little lighter, as if unnecessary thoughts had been washed away.

"Even so," Mei Lingyao said calmly, "your sense of taste isn’t bad. This is a vitality tea, but I deliberately refined it to resemble the flavor of Moon Orchid Clear-Heart Tea. Being able to notice that difference is not something ordinary people can do."

Her gaze lingered on Xuanyan for a moment. It wasn’t difficult for her to notice that he hadn’t particularly enjoyed the tea she had prepared specially today.

"You didn’t like it?" she asked lightly. "For a young cultivator, this tea should be quite beneficial."

Before Xuanyan could politely claim that he liked it, Lingling spoke first. "Brother Xuanyan, if you don’t like it, you don’t need to force yourself to drink it," she said earnestly. "Your vitality is already very strong. You probably don’t need something like this anyway."

The moment those words left her mouth, Lingling’s ears turned bright red, hot enough that one might think water could boil beside them.

Mei Lingyao took another quiet sip of her tea and glanced at Lingling’s flushed ears before shaking her head slightly. "Young people," she murmured under her breath with a faint sigh, her gaze lingering on them for a moment longer. "It must be nice."

Meanwhile Lingling’s accidental double meaning was still spinning through Yanmei’s mind, circling like a flying sword that refused to find a place to land.

Xuanyan looked at the three women around the table — Lingling blushing like a ripe peach, Yanmei silently suffering, and Mei Lingyao watching everything with amused eyes — before he quietly murmured to himself, "My life is about to become very troublesome."

Mei Lingyao didn’t continue asking questions about alchemy after that. It quickly became obvious to her that Xuanyan’s theoretical knowledge was still very shallow. When the tea ceremony ended, she immediately began preparing the chamber for the next step of his test.

Before anything else, she firmly pushed Lingling toward the door of the private alchemy chamber. "Out," she said calmly. "You are not an alchemist. Watching this part would be meaningless."

Lingling immediately tried to protest, clinging to the doorframe with exaggerated stubbornness. She even tried acting cute, insisting that she should be an exception because she was Mei Lingyao’s daughter... and also Xuanyan’s wife.

Unfortunately for her, Mei Lingyao remained completely unmoved.

"No," she said flatly, pushing her outside anyway.

While the two of them argued near the door, Xuanyan happened to notice something unusual. For a brief moment, Yanmei looked strangely pleased when Lingling was being dragged out of the chamber.

But the moment their eyes met, Yanmei’s expression froze. She immediately looked away as if nothing had happened.

***********

Author note-- "I’m dropping this book."