This Antler Serpent Must Be Male

"Yes, Miss!" Hope huffed and stormed off with the Spirit-Binding Rope.

As soon as Hope left, Grace grabbed the Antler Serpent and slipped into her spatial realm.

After all that fuss, even Grace found herself a little puzzled.

Just what kind of Antler Serpent was this, anyway?

It looked weird.

It could sniff out treasure.

Its bite was razor-sharp.

And even the Spirit-Binding Rope couldn’t hold it?

Grace lifted it up to eye level, staring from head to tail.

The Antler Serpent seemed to get shy under her gaze, turning its body away and showing her its tail.

"Cutie Pie, you’re amazing!" Grace turned the Antler Serpent to face her and asked, "Are you really an Antler Serpent?"

The Antler Serpent nodded.

"How come you can find treasure?"

It just stared at her, unmoving.

"And why are your teeth so sharp?"

Still, it didn’t move.

"And the Spirit-Binding Rope—how did you escape—mmph!"

Grace was in the middle of her interrogation when the Antler Serpent suddenly stretched out its head and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

Being stared at so closely, Evan Xiao was starting to lose control.

He wanted to kiss her. Hold her.

Grace was caught off guard by the kiss and felt her heart skip a beat. She gritted her teeth and tossed him aside.

This Antler Serpent is definitely a boy!

She turned and entered the tower, heading off to refine the Infernal Drake Pill for her mother.

The sooner she turned the Infernal Drake Eggshell into medicine, the better.

If the egg liquid inside dried up, the effect would drop sharply.

Luckily, while the ingredients for the Infernal Drake Pill were rare, the pill itself was only fifth-grade—Grace could handle that right now.

She ground all the herbs into powder, shaped them into pills, and put them into the Alchemy Cauldron.

Then she sat cross-legged, channeled the Breath of Five Elements, and condensed an Elemental Core in her palm, placing it into the cauldron.

This Elemental Core was formed from her own spiritual power. During alchemy, it could absorb the energy of heaven and earth and infuse it into the medicine, creating a magical pill.

At the same time, because its energy resonated with the human body, the alchemist could use it to control the heat and adjust the cauldron’s intake of spiritual energy.

Only those with a complete Five Element Spirit Root can form an Elemental Core.

That’s why people say only those with full elemental affinity can become alchemists—it’s all because of this.

After Grace tossed the Antler Serpent aside, it happily followed her into the tower, watching her closely the whole time.

Once the cauldron was sealed, Grace said to it, "Cutie Pie, I’m about to start refining pills. I can’t be distracted, so you need to leave for now."

But the Antler Serpent refused, shaking its head at her.

"Be good! Go outside—I’m only at the fourth cultivation rank, but I’m trying to make a fifth-grade pill. If I get distracted, I’ll mess it up!"

Hearing this, the Antler Serpent curled up on a chair in the corner, staring at her with its big, round eyes.

It was saying, I’ll be good—I promise I won’t disturb you.

Grace’s heart melted a little. "Then you absolutely cannot distract me!" she warned.

It nodded.

So Grace stopped worrying about him, lit the fire, and began refining.

Grace was at the fourth cultivation rank, so her Elemental Core was also fourth-grade.

Honestly, using a fourth-grade Elemental Core to make a fifth-grade pill—most alchemists would fail nine times out of ten. The risk was huge.

It’s simple: a fifth-grade pill needs more spiritual power than a fourth-grade Elemental Core can provide.

But Grace couldn’t wait—she had to use the Infernal Drake Egg liquid before it was wasted.

Luckily, her spatial realm was overflowing with spiritual energy, and her Alchemy Cauldron was top-notch.

Plus, she had tons of experience. She was confident she could pull it off.

Once the fire was lit, Grace focused all her attention, carefully sensing the pill’s condition and tweaking the cauldron’s controls, saving every bit of spiritual power for the most crucial moment of transformation...