"The Blood Beast Pills were your own creation, and you had intentionally left behind the pill recipe back then."

You calmly asked, "The Blood Beast Pills are my family heirloom. Is there a problem?"

Guo Lan hurriedly waved his hands. "Young Master He, no problem at all! It's just that the Seventh Elder mentioned some techniques in the Blood Beast Pills resemble the Danxia Sect's style. He wanted to find time to chat with you."

This was exactly the effect you wanted, so you replied, "No problem at all. I'm available anytime."

Guo Lan then explained his true purpose for visiting - he was actually here to help Xie Huide survey and document the animal species in your zoo, so the improved pill recipe could be more precisely targeted.

You took Guo Lan to the zoo.

The moment Guo Lan entered, he was utterly shocked.

This vast zoo deep in the mountains resembled a prehistoric jungle.

Various abnormally large animals played and fought within, their movements shaking the ground beneath them.

"Young... Young Master He, did these animals all grow like this from eating Blood Beast Pills?" Guo Lan stammered.

"Correct."

"Then... is there still a need to improve the Blood Beast Pills?"

"Improve them we must. I need more advanced fierce beasts for practicing my Guarding Gate Body Technique."

Guo Lan suddenly understood. "Ah, so Young Master He practices the Guarding Gate Body Technique. Now I see."

The Guarding Gate Body Technique wasn't any secret in Great Qian. Few practiced it simply because collecting beast blood was too time and energy consuming.

Over all these years, only Wan Qingluan had mentioned someone achieving a physique comparable to a Grandmaster.

That person had become something of a spiritual icon for those with poor martial arts aptitude who preferred unorthodox methods.

This group was somewhat looked down upon by mainstream martial artists, their hearts secretly harboring hidden insecurities.

Your current persona was precisely that of someone with abysmal martial talent but plenty of money, trying to turn things around through the Guarding Gate Body Technique.

So Guo Lan didn't press further, afraid you might be similarly sensitive and take offense.

Guo Lan carefully inquired about the zoo's situation and dutifully recorded the additional animal species you might introduce.

Finally, he had gathered nearly all the required information.

The midday sun blazed overhead at its hottest.

You invited him to cool off in the zoo's comfortable lounge.

Guo Lan politely followed you to the resting area.

You had servants brew chilled tea, prepare a fruit platter, and summon two attendants.

You lounged lazily in a rocking chair, sipping tea to cool off.

Guo Lan, however, sat primly on a chair beside you, appearing quite restrained.

Glancing at Guo Lan, you noticed him engrossed in reading an introductory pill manual, his brows furrowed in confusion.

You said, "My family has an heirloom pill manual with a passage that might relate to your confusion."

Guo Lan looked up suspiciously. "Young Master He, may I ask what passage?"

You chuckled and casually quoted a line.

Guo Lan froze, then suddenly had an epiphany, like solving a math problem that had stumped him for days.

His face lit up with excitement. "Hahaha! Yes! That's it! Why didn't I think of that!"

Guo Lan sprang to his feet. "Thank you for your guidance, Young Master He! Though my family's means are modest, the ten Blood Qi Pills I receive monthly from the sect are quite valuable. I'll give them all to you as thanks!"

You waved dismissively. "Think nothing of it."

Guo Lan didn't linger. Riding his wave of inspiration, he rushed back excitedly to the Danxia Sect to refine pills.

You didn't try to stop him - that would have meant providing another meal.

Two months later...

Your little animals had finally matured a batch.

You approached the oversized "little" animals with excitement.

"My big babies, it's about that time~"

The giant creatures cowered in a corner, trembling.

With swift precision, you drew a drop of essence blood from each.

In the end, you collected seventy drops of various essence bloods.

The fusion process went smoothly, successfully combining all seventy types.

You now had a total of one hundred thirty-four fused beast essence bloods.

The additional physical enhancement brought you to mid-stage Skin Refining - though this barely affected your current strength.

Still, free physical enhancements were like found money - no reason to refuse.

Moreover, these beast bloods had all been enhanced by Blood Beast Pills.

Using ordinary fierce beast blood would have required many more types to achieve similar results.

It showed just how difficult the Guarding Gate Body Technique would be for someone with genuinely poor martial talent.

But your progress would accelerate soon, with Xie Huide optimizing the Blood Beast Pills.

Feeding fifth-grade pills to your animals might just make them evolve into spirits.

Three months later...

Guo Lan returned to your estate.

Old Wang escorted him to the main hall.

This time, he brought Xie Huide's optimized version of the Blood Beast Pill recipe - now a fifth-grade pill called Blood Essence Pills.

These not only enhanced animal physiques but also concentrated their vital essences into their blood, making each drop of essence blood even more potent.

You took the recipe and paid Guo Lan.

Being well-versed in pill recipe modification rates, you knew Xie Huide had charged surprisingly little.

You understood this was because Xie Huide felt a connection to the Blood Beast Pill recipe.

After settling payment, you cheekily told Guo Lan, "Seems your Seventh Elder comes cheap. I'll request him again next time!"

Guo Lan could only force a laugh, not daring to comment further.

"Oh, Young Master He, the Seventh Elder said he'll visit in two months to discuss your ancestor's pill refining background."

"No problem at all. I'll be completely honest... I mean, completely truthful!"

Guo Lan gave an awkward chuckle. "Young Master He does love his jokes."

You smiled faintly while sipping tea.

You eagerly anticipated meeting Xie Huide. In your last simulation, he had died too soon and too regrettably.

You remembered how Xie Huide had dressed his finest on his death day.

All to present himself properly for one last meeting with Deng Wanshu, even though she couldn't see him.

The memory stirred emotions.

You took another sip to compose yourself.

Confident in your understanding of Xie Huide, you believed you could quickly befriend him.

Then you could casually drop hints about the Reviving Yang Pill before finding an opportunity to exchange it with him.

Having settled on this plan, you gave an imperceptible nod.

Maintaining composure, you continued chatting with Guo Lan. "How did your pill refining go after last time?"

Guo Lan's mood visibly darkened. "Despite your guidance, I've made no progress whatsoever!"

He then produced forty Blood Qi Pills. "These are for you, Young Master He. Please don't think poorly of them!"

You knew the Danxia Sect gave servant disciples ten Blood Qi Pills monthly, plus variable numbers of defective pills.

These forty represented nearly Guo Lan's entire savings.

You didn't accept them. While not one to pass up advantages, you weren't that hard up.

Instead, you frowned, finding this quite peculiar.

The issue you'd pointed out to Guo Lan was key to refining first-grade pills.

Overcoming it should have allowed him to produce at least one or two successful pills.

Yet Guo Lan showed zero progress.

You questioned him further.

After hearing his situation, you barely restrained yourself.

The words "Are you for real?" nearly escaped your lips.

Guo Lan had been a Danxia Sect servant disciple for over a year without successfully refining a single first-grade pill.

The sect's rules stated that producing one or two first-grade pills within two years would promote a servant disciple to full disciple status - failure meant expulsion.

Exceptional full disciples could compete to become personal disciples.

In your past life, you'd started as a quasi-personal disciple, becoming a full personal disciple in under three years.

This wasn't boasting - Guo Lan's incompetence was simply staggering by comparison.

After over a year in the sect, he hadn't successfully refined a single proper pill.

Like someone training with a swim team for a year only to remain unable to swim - anyone would ask "Are you okay?"

With his two-year deadline approaching, Guo Lan teetered on expulsion.

You mentally sighed, "And here I thought giving you advice meant I'd encounter a pill refining prodigy like Lin Mo. Instead I get the biggest noob imaginable!"

Then you reconsidered, "Must be Old Wang's bad influence!"

Guo Lan clearly felt embarrassed but remained, seeming to want to say something.

Knowing his thoughts, you preempted him, "Don't talk about repaying favors. Just promise if you cause trouble later, you won't drag me into it!"