Spirit Pills Form Markings, Qi Refinement Fifth Layer!

Li Ye picked up the finished Wood Essence Pill and examined it. As he breathed in its fresh, grassy fragrance, he felt the Law Power within him grow considerably livelier, and his spirits soared.

"If I hadn't been a little impatient and made the fire a little too strong when condensing the pills, I should have gotten more in the end, instead of just one..."

Li Ye reflected on what had gone right and wrong, gazing at the pale cyan spirit pill with some hesitation.

If he took it, he would most likely break through the bottleneck and reach the Qi Refinement Fifth Layer!

But after thinking it over, he gritted his teeth and held back.

From his understanding of the Wood Essence Pill Formula, adding pure, gentle plant essence like Jade Sprout Spiritual Essence during refinement might have an accommodating and harmonizing effect.

It could bring the fusion of medicinal potency to another level, reducing the impurities and pill toxins by yet another grade!

Only pills refined that way would maximize the benefits for Li Ye!

He sat cross-legged and regulated his breathing, restoring some of his Law Power and mental strength as he reconsidered the many details of his last attempt.

Li Ye fired up the furnace again!

One spirit medicine after another went into the furnace, turning to medicinal liquid or powder under his meticulous control of the flames.

This stage was no different from before.

But as he entered the next stage, gradually fusing and harmonizing the various medicinal liquids into one,

a thought stirred in Li Ye's mind. He summoned four strands of Jade Sprout Spiritual Essence and put them into the Pill Furnace.

A single strand of Jade Sprout Spiritual Essence did not contain much spiritual power. After calculating, Li Ye believed four strands should strike the right balance.

It would not upset the balance of medicinal potency in the Pill Formula, yet would still produce the intended effect.

And if it failed, he could always adjust the amount.

As the Jade Sprout Spiritual Essence blended in, pure Plant Spiritual Qi instantly filled the Pill Furnace. The medicinal liquids, which had still been clashing and were somewhat impure as they fused, rapidly changed.

As though a catalyst had been added, the medicinal potency fused rapidly, and the impurities receded. It grew purer almost visibly, finally taking on a cyan-violet hue.

Li Ye watched the change and committed it to memory, then added the Jade Heart Grass to the Pill Furnace as prescribed.

This time, as the Jade Heart Grass's medicinal potency gradually blended into the violet-cyan liquid, Li Ye felt as though the process had never gone so smoothly.

The two merged into one the moment they touched, without even requiring any further refinement.

A process that had originally been fraught with risk was completed swiftly and easily!

With that, the demands on his control of the flames also lessened. Having learned from his earlier failure, Li Ye divided the pill liquid and successfully condensed it into pills.

He opened the furnace and retrieved the pills!

Ten pills flew out in quick succession. Two had turned black, four were somewhat dull in color, and another four shone with spiritual light and had a translucent quality...

As they landed in the vessel and their spiritual light faded,

Li Ye had only just begun to rejoice at the astonishing yield when he suddenly noticed that one pill seemed especially translucent, like a gemstone, with a strange pattern faintly circling it.

"Pill markings?!"

He froze. Had he really managed, with his level of skill, to refine a pill that had formed its own marking?

For a pill to form markings, its medicinal potency had to be thoroughly fused, free of all impurities, and perfectly harmonious.

Pills bearing markings were often more potent than others of their kind and had no side effects such as pill toxins. They could be called perfect pills!

How much stronger their potency was usually depended on the number of rings in the markings.

The Wood Essence Pill in Li Ye's hand, for example, had one marking, making it ten percent more potent than others of its kind.

Was the effect of this Jade Sprout Spiritual Essence really so extraordinary?

Since it worked for Wood Essence Pills, it would most likely work for other pills too, provided Plant Spiritual Essence of a suitable attribute was used as a catalyst...

It might even be applicable to things like artifact refinement, talismans, and Gu refinement!

Li Ye's breathing grew heavy.

Even a second-tier Alchemist personally refining a first-tier pill might not achieve this, yet he had done it so easily.

If he were not merely a low-level cultivator with a pitifully small number of Pill Formulas, this skill alone would have let him pass himself off as a high-level Alchemist and become an honored guest of numerous forces!

"Hahahaha..."

Low laughter suddenly rang out in the Alchemy Chamber. It grew louder and louder, until it was utterly uninhibited and full of delight.

The functions of his golden finger really did complement one another like this!

His laughter gradually faded.

Slowly calming down from his wild joy, Li Ye put the pills away one by one, leaving out only the Wood Essence Pill with one marking.

After cleaning the Alchemy Chamber, Li Ye returned to his secluded cultivation room.

He gave the pill, translucent as jade, one last look, then decisively swallowed it.

The pill entered his stomach.

At first, only fresh wood spiritual power spread through him. But as his Law Power surged forth and began refining it, a torrent of pure medicinal potency suddenly erupted.

He could scarcely refine it fast enough!

Li Ye's face flushed as though he had received a great tonic, and he hurriedly devoted himself entirely to refining the medicinal potency.

"Phew..."

Li Ye's eyes flew open, a pale cyan light flashing in their depths. Even the long breath he exhaled was filled with the fresh scent of plants.

Sensing the increased Law Power within him, he looked excited.

"Finally... the Qi Refinement Fifth Layer!"

His predecessor had exhausted every means to strive and fight for it, yet had never managed to take this step, even in death.

But he had done it!

Once his excitement passed, however, Li Ye's expression grew a little strange.

"But my Low-Grade Earth-Wood Spirit Root really is a bit ridiculous..."

A Wood Essence Pill with one marking had pure, more abundant medicinal potency, with no need to worry about pill toxins.

Even if a cultivator at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining used it to break through to the seventh layer, it would probably give them a considerable chance of success.

Yet in his hands, it had barely been enough to break through the fifth-layer bottleneck!

It was this difficult.

If his golden finger's strength had not lain in piling up resources, Li Ye might really have felt some despair!

At the market, in the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

Refreshed, with a faint smile on his face, Li Ye strode into the hall.

The busy attendant spotted Li Ye and immediately called someone else over to serve the customer before him, then came up to Li Ye with familiar ease.

"Honored guest, it's been a while. Would you like to go upstairs for some tea?"

"I have some things I'd like to sell, so let's go upstairs."

Li Ye replied with a faint smile, already making his way to the stairs.

The attendant hurried after him, led him to their usual private room, and served fragrant tea and pastries.

A moment later, Yue Quan pushed the door open. The moment he saw Li Ye, he smiled.

"Fellow Daoist Li, you seem to be in a good mood. As the saying goes, happy events put a spring in one's step. I'm guessing you've brought good news to our shop today?"

"More or less..."

Li Ye answered with a smile. He took two jade bottles from his Storage Bag and set them on the table with a crisp clink.

"These are..." Yue Quan's eyes brightened slightly.

In the past, Li Ye had never treated Grain Avoidance Pills as this precious. And if this many were Qi Condensation Pills, then his Dao of Alchemy must have advanced greatly!

"These are all Qi Condensation Pills. From now on, I won't embarrass myself by bringing out practice work like Grain Avoidance Pills."

Li Ye spoke casually.

"These are all Qi Condensation Pills... Congratulations on advancing in the Dao of Alchemy, Fellow Daoist!"

Yue Quan immediately rose and cupped his hands in congratulations, then reached out to take a jade bottle and examine it.

"No hurry!"

Smiling, Li Ye motioned for him to sit back down, then took out another jade bottle and pushed it over to Yue Quan.

"May I ask how your shop buys Wood Essence Pills?"

Yue Quan's eyes widened slightly, and he immediately grew serious.

"Brother Li, can you already successfully refine pills of this sort?"

That was quite different from ruining ninety-nine percent of a furnaceful of ingredients and barely managing to produce one inferior pill!

An inferior pill had at most less than fifty or sixty percent of the potency of a finished pill, and the difference in value was enormous as well.

If Li Ye really could refine Wood Essence Pills, it would be of tremendous significance to him!

He excused himself and took the jade bottle. The moment he removed the stopper, he smelled the fresh fragrance of plants, and his spirits rose.

"It really is a Wood Essence Pill!"

He gently tipped it out, and as he looked at the pale cyan, translucent pill, all that remained on his face was conviction and surprise.

When he looked at Li Ye again, his gaze could not help but grow fervent.

For a shop like his, Qi Condensation Pills were already a hot-selling item, and the goods supplied by the Lineage alone could never meet demand.

That was even more true of Wood Essence Pills!

Li Ye's occasional sales of Qi Condensation Pills had already improved his shop's performance considerably. If he could also provide a steady supply of Wood Essence Pills, Yue Quan might even have a chance to rank first among the Lineage's shopkeepers and receive a reward from the Lineage!

"Brother Li, however many Wood Essence Pills you have, I can take them all. I guarantee you'll be satisfied with the price!"

He spoke seriously, then hesitated before asking,

"...What do you think of my Yue Household, Brother Li?"