"This matter does not concern you. Step aside for now." Nora Su suppressed the anger in her heart, striving to keep her tone calm as she spoke to Charlotte Ling.
Charlotte Ling smiled faintly, but before she could respond, Joe Di interjected, "I'm enjoying my conversation with Sister Charlotte. Why must she leave?"
...Nora Su was momentarily at a loss for words. She hadn't expected Joe Di to speak to her this way—did he truly not understand his own position?
He came with Luna Fairchild, thinking she respected him? Did he really not realize he was merely Luna's lackey—if even that? When Luna Fairchild was in a good mood, Joe Di could stay by her side; in a bad mood, she might kick him away without a second thought.
Almost everyone knew this—perhaps the only one oblivious was Joe Di himself. To put it kindly, he was Luna Fairchild's admirer; to be blunt, he was just a substitute. Yet this substitute actually considered himself a distinguished guest of Winterhold Valley.
If not for Luna Fairchild's reputation, Nora Su might have slapped Joe Di into dust on the spot.
Charlotte Ling was gentle on the outside but strong within. If not for Joe Di, she might have stood up and stepped aside—not out of fear of Nora Su, but because she simply didn't take Nora's words seriously. After all, she was a Transformation Alchemist; why should she care about someone like Nora Su?
Now that Joe Di had told her not to get up, she naturally remained seated.
Seeing Joe Di dare to talk back and Charlotte Ling remain motionless, Nora Su managed to hold back her anger, but her face had already darkened.
Meanwhile, Isabelle Shao glanced at Joe Di in surprise. Although she wasn't fond of gossip, she knew a bit about Luna Fairchild's preferences. She hadn't expected Luna's lackey to actually defy Nora Su. After all, Nora called him Brother Joe only out of courtesy to Luna. In truth, Nora considered Joe Di less than a dog.
Yet she did not interject—it had nothing to do with her. Casually, Isabelle Shao picked up a cup and poured herself some of Joe Di’s Starry Sky Tea.
In her mind, all the tea here was naturally provided by Winterhold Valley.
But as soon as the tea was poured, a faint aura of tranquility wafted through the air. Both Nora Su and Isabelle Shao were instantly captivated by this serene energy.
Isabelle Shao raised her cup and drank it down in one go. Immediately, her eyes widened, her face lit with excitement and joy.
She felt herself immersed in a boundless, star-filled cosmos—a universe of infinite serenity. It was as if she had been gifted an entirely new world, teeming with the primal energy of creation…
If she could meditate upon this feeling, perhaps her understanding of the Dao would reach a deeper level.
"Excellent tea!" Isabelle Shao exclaimed, looking delightedly at Nora Su, who was still wide-eyed. "Nora, I didn’t expect Winterhold Valley to serve such tea to guests—this is the best tea I’ve ever tasted."
As she spoke, the longing in her eyes was unmistakable.
Nora Su was quite puzzled. She reached out to pour herself some tea, but Joe Di lifted the teapot away and said calmly, "This was given to me by a friend. There’s only a little left—if you all finish it, what will I drink?"
Upon hearing that the tea belonged to Joe Di, Isabelle Shao’s eyes showed a hint of apology. "Sorry, Brother Joe—I thought it was Winterhold Valley’s tea. My name is Isabelle Shao, from the Heavenly Pill Sect…"
Before Isabelle Shao could finish her introduction, a crowd emerged from the inner hall. Luna Fairchild spotted Isabelle sitting beside Joe Di and hurried over, smiling brightly. "Brother Joe, Sister Isabelle is a Transformation Alchemist. If you ever need pills refined, you can ask her for help."
Isabelle Shao replied calmly, "Luna, you give me too much credit. There are people here far more skilled than I am. When refining Transformation Pills, some can even use Dan Residue to condense Dan Qi and raise the pill's grade. I don't have such ability—it's beyond me."
A wild-haired young man, his face flushed, argued, "It's definitely possible! Using Dan Residue to condense Dan Qi can surely improve the grade of Transformation Pills."
"Dan Yan, can't you just let Sister Isabelle have her say? Must you be so insistent?" a slightly older woman complained, unable to hold back her frustration.
Joe Di now understood why Isabelle Shao had stormed out in anger—it was all because this wild-haired youth was spouting nonsense, defiling her understanding of the Dao of Alchemy.
The surrounding cultivators secretly thought things were turning bad. Everyone knew Isabelle Shao's temperament—she was rational and rarely lost her temper. But when it came to alchemy, calm had nothing to do with her. If anyone challenged her beliefs about the Dao of Alchemy, she was sure to erupt, and might even resort to violence.
Sure enough, just moments ago Isabelle Shao had been about to ask Joe Di about his Starry Sky Tea, but now she slapped the table and stood up abruptly. "I, Isabelle Shao, don't need anyone to yield to me. Dan Yan, since you claim you can use Dan Residue to condense Dan Qi and even raise the pill's grade, then refine a batch for me right now. If you succeed, I'll admit you're right and kneel to you as my master."
Dan Yan, face red, stammered, "I can't do it yet, but I believe it's definitely possible—and very likely, too..."
Sicily of Lakehaven Sword Manor, dressed in white, laughed heartily. "How about this—let's have a show of hands and vote on who's right. Those who agree with Sister Isabelle's view of the Dao of Alchemy, raise your hand."
With that, Sicily promptly raised his hand.
Following Sicily’s lead, the rest of the group raised their hands one after another. In the end, Joe Di noticed only four people hadn’t raised their hands—Dan Yan and Isabelle Shao, being the main parties in the debate, naturally didn’t need to. Aside from them, only Joe Di and Charlotte Ling kept their hands down.
"Charlotte, why didn’t you raise your hand?" Already displeased with Charlotte Ling, Nora Su suddenly questioned her.
Charlotte Ling smiled gently. "Because I’m not well-versed in alchemy, I don’t know who’s right, so I can’t raise my hand."
Charlotte Ling’s words made many cultivators look uncomfortable. They, too, were not skilled in alchemy—or their knowledge was limited. They’d only raised their hands to support Sicily and Isabelle Shao. Sicily’s background was impressive, and he was a half-step Primordial cultivator.
Isabelle Shao hailed from the Heavenly Pill Sect and was a Transformation Alchemist herself. Compared to Dan Yan, who was a rogue cultivator, Isabelle’s expertise was far more convincing. Besides, Dan Yan wasn’t even a Transformation Alchemist—just a Dao Nurturing Pillmaster.
"Brother Joe, why didn’t you raise your hand?" Luna Fairchild asked with a playful smile, having just raised her own hand to support Isabelle Shao. She’d brought Joe Di to Winterhold Valley, giving him equal standing beside her. In her eyes, for such a trivial matter, Joe Di should naturally follow her lead.
Joe Di replied nonchalantly, "I didn’t raise my hand because I think Dan Yan is right. If he’s correct, why should I support the wrong side?"
For Joe Di himself, he never needed the Dan Qi from Dan Residue to improve the quality of his pills. His mastery of the Dao of Alchemy far surpassed Isabelle Shao’s. Using Dan Residue to enhance pill quality was certainly possible.
This applied to pillmasters whose alchemy skills weren’t strong—impurities weren’t fully purified during refinement, leaving some pure, useful Dan Qi in the residue. Even if a pillmaster knew about this useful Dan Qi, they couldn’t extract it to refine higher-grade pills. Attempting to do so would likely ruin the batch, turning it into waste, or even lower the pill’s grade.
Before Joe Di created the Law Pill Formula, he used this method himself. After inventing the formula, the residue from his pills contained almost no useful Dan Qi, so he no longer needed such a low-level technique.