Is your elixir guaranteed to be effective?

A short while later.

Pill Saint Immortal Workshop.

Under Liu Qi's lead, Qi Yuan smoothly met the legendary Senior Sister, Zu Xianxian.

She was about twelve or thirteen years old, wearing a pale yellow quilted skirt that looked very warm. Her hair was tied in an exquisite double bun, and her palm-sized face was delicate and elegant, as if carved from pink jade, giving off a very cute impression.

At this moment, this porcelain-doll-like young girl was standing in front of a Medicinal Pill stall, picking and choosing. She then casually picked up a bottle of pills and asked in a sophisticated tone beyond her years:

"Shopkeeper, are your pills guaranteed to be ripe?"

"Guaranteed ripe? Are you looking for trouble on purpose, or..."

The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment. Just as he was about to drive her away, he saw the Pill Saint Sect emblem embroidered on the girl's sleeve. He immediately put on a fawning smile and said:

"Little Fairy, look at what you're saying. I've been setting up a stall in the Immortal Workshop for over ten years; how could I sell you raw pill eggs?"

Zu Xianxian slowly pinched a pill from the bottle and brought it to her delicate, upturned nose for a light sniff. Suddenly, her little face darkened, and she said in an unfriendly tone:

"Your Great Auntie here could smell something was wrong with your pills from a mile away. It's one thing if the heat wasn't enough, but even the Materials are short-changed. The amount of Purple Sun Lingzhi used is a full fifty percent short, and you still dare to say they're guaranteed ripe?"

Hearing this, the shopkeeper suddenly lost his composure and hurriedly argued:

"Little Fairy, all these pills are sourced from my supplier. I sell whatever the supplier gives me; there's absolutely no adulteration."

"Besides, perhaps the supplier's alchemists changed to a completely new Alchemy technique. It's normal for the Little Fairy to be inexperienced and unable to see the mystery within."

Hearing this, Zu Xianxian raised an eyebrow like a little adult and snorted coldly:

"That excuse is way too lame. Are you trying to bully me for being young and ignorant?"

As she spoke, she huffily pulled a token from her bosom and said loudly:

"Even though I am young, I am already an Earth Rank Alchemist certified by the Alchemist Association. How could I possibly not see whether your pills are good or bad?"

"If you're not convinced, you can call your supplier over and let me confront him on the spot!"

An Earth Rank Alchemist?

Hearing this, the shopkeeper's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly felt like he was breaking out in a cold sweat.

He never expected that this delicate-looking little girl in front of him would actually be an Earth Rank Alchemist.

Alchemists of this level didn't even number a hundred in the Pill Saint Sect; every one of them was a big figure far beyond his reach.

Now that his sale of inferior pills had been exposed on the spot by an Earth Rank Alchemist, his luck had truly hit rock bottom.

The commotion here quickly attracted a crowd of onlookers. Everyone cast looks of disdain at the merchant who had been caught red-handed and began to criticize him loudly.

Meanwhile, Pu Genshuo, who was watching from the side, seemed to think of something. He suddenly let out a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted and muttered:

"No wonder the Scarlet Sun Pills I bought from him before had no effect. It really was a problem with the pills and not a problem with This Daozi's body. That scared me to death..."

As he spoke, he glared at the shopkeeper angrily and said hatefully:

"Pah! Dead crook!"

Seeing this, Qi Yuan and Liu Qi looked at each other, then quickly distanced themselves from a certain someone, acting as if they didn't know him.

Seeing the surrounding denunciations growing louder, the shopkeeper knew that holding out any longer would be futile. He could only plead with a tearful face:

"Little Great Auntie, I really didn't know this batch of goods had been short-changed. Please spare me this once. I'll definitely pay attention next time, definitely pay attention."

"In your dreams!"

Zu Xianxian was completely unmoved and announced with an air of righteous indignation:

"According to the laws promulgated by our Pill Saint Sect, anyone selling substandard pills within the Pill Saint Immortal Workshop will have their selling qualifications revoked immediately and be fined ten times the value in Spirit Stones."

As she spoke, a squad of Pill Saint Sect Disciples responsible for maintaining order arrived from elsewhere.

The leader respectfully greeted the little girl, then confiscated the shopkeeper and the pills on the stall together, taking them away without any hesitation.

"What an impressive little girl, to see through the crook's tricks at a glance."

"This Little Fairy reached the level of an Earth Rank Alchemist at such a young age, and she acts in such a disciplined and mature manner. She truly lives up to being a top Disciple of the Pill Saint Sect."

...Meeting the admiring gazes of the people around her, Zu Xianxian triumphantly raised her chin, preparing to inspect the next stall.

Just then, Liu Qi brought Qi Yuan before Zu Xianxian and greeted her:

"Little Senior Sister, busy?"

Upon seeing Liu Qi, Zu Xianxian blinked her almond eyes in surprise and asked in a crisp voice:

"Junior Brother Liu, aren't you supposed to be behind closed doors researching new pills? How do you have the time to come here and play?"

Immediately after, she furrowed her delicate brows in dissatisfaction and corrected him with a serious tone:

"Junior Brother, how many times have I told you? If you want to call me something, call me Senior Sister. You are not allowed to add the word 'Little' in front, otherwise don't blame Senior Sister for not showing you any fellow-Disciple affection."

"Ah, right... right, Senior Sister..."

Liu Qi grinned and rubbed his head, then pointed to Qi Yuan beside him and said:

"Senior Sister, this Fellow Daoist is the Daozi of Taixuan Holy Land, Qi Yuan. He's an expert at solving cases. Hearing that Revered Master is still troubled by the last theft case, he volunteered to come and help."

As he spoke, he winked hard at Qi Yuan and continued the introduction:

"Fellow Daoist Qi, this is my Third Senior Sister, Zu Xianxian."

Qi Yuan nodded upon hearing this and cupped his hands politely:

"Greetings, Miss Zu."

Before coming, he had learned some information about Zu Xianxian from Liu Qi. This little girl was already an Earth Rank Alchemist at the age of twelve; her talent in the Dao of Alchemy could be called prodigious.

In addition, Zu Xianxian's other identity was the direct great-great-granddaughter of Pill Saint Zu Chengzhi. From birth, she had been favored by that living Pill Saint, possessing a deep background that no one dared to provoke.

"You're an expert at investigating cases?"

Zu Xianxian tilted her little head and sized up Qi Yuan for a moment. Suddenly, a look of interest appeared on her face as she asked in a mysterious tone:

"Then can you guess what I'm doing right now?"

Before Qi Yuan could answer, Pu Genshuo, who had walked over from not far away, leaned in and interjected:

"Little sister, the question you're asking is way too simple. You just caught a crooked merchant; you're definitely cleaning up the market atmosphere of the Immortal Workshop!"

After seeing Pu Genshuo, Zu Xianxian curled her lips in disgust and said to Liu Qi beside her:

"This person is way too ugly; he doesn't look like a good person at first glance. It's one thing to be ugly, but his brain is also a bit slow. Is he your friend too?"

Pu Genshuo's face stiffened upon hearing this. He then glared at her fiercely and said through gritted teeth:

"You brat, do you have any manners? Who are you calling not a good person? And where am I slow..."

Before he could finish, Liu Qi covered his mouth and dragged him away.

"Who are you calling a brat?"

Zu Xianxian was also so angry her eyebrows shot up. She was just about to go up and teach him a lesson when she saw Qi Yuan had already stepped in front of her. He said calmly:

"This friend of mine has eaten too many inferior pills, so it's inevitable that he's speaking a bit recklessly. If he has offended you, I hope you can be magnanimous."

"As for your question... if This Qi is not mistaken, you should be trying to investigate whether any pills flowing out from your Revered Master's Alchemy room have appeared on the market, using that as a clue to track down the thief's whereabouts!"

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Zu Xianxian's eyes lit up. She looked at Qi Yuan with a surprised face and blurted out: "How on earth did you see that?"