Improving the Spirit-Urging Pill
Little C, are you serious???
Now that he had come this far, what retreat was there?
Keeping his demands to a minimum was basic etiquette when choosing a side.
Lu Ping chose A.
[You chose A.]
[You bowed and said,]
["This disciple is willing to try."]
[Only when he saw that you were willing to take the task did the elder, who had remained silent all this time, speak with an implied meaning.]
["If this succeeds, there will be a reward. If it fails, that's fine too."]
[You heard the unspoken meaning in his words.]
[Failure being fine did not mean you would be fine.]
[That day, you were taken to a separate Alchemy Chamber.]
[Inside the chamber was an earthfire furnace. The medicinal ingredients had already been prepared, and there was a complete Pill Formula as well.]
[You confirmed that your judgment had been correct.]
[This was the Spirit-Urging Pill, though it had not yet been finalized.]
[The woman did not leave; she stayed in the chamber.]
[You refined the first batch according to the original formula for the third bottle, producing two pills whose medicinal potency was thirty percent higher than that of the original third bottle.]
[The woman took one and summoned a spiritual flame. The pill liquefied and fell onto a pill-testing array disc.]
[The pill-testing array disc lit up in three colors: gray, black, and red.]
[The pill-testing array disc usually had four colors: cyan, gray, black, and red, representing sufficient medicinal potency, insufficient medicinal potency, heavy Pill Poison, and violent medicinal effects, respectively.]
[This pill not only had insufficient medicinal potency and heavy Pill Poison, but also carried a risk of causing the user's body to burst apart and die.]
[The woman frowned but said nothing.]
[You fired up the furnace and refined another batch, but failed again.]
[The woman's expression grew a shade colder.]
[Workplace People-Pleaser took effect.]
[She did not lose her temper.]
[Your heart was as still as water, and your hands were rock steady.]
[Artisan Spirit took effect.]
[Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement took effect.]
[The third batch, the fourth batch... all the way to the ninth.]
[You did not display any astonishing talent.]
[You simply kept adjusting the proportions of the medicinal ingredients, then recorded every adjustment on a Jade Slip.]
[Reasons for failure, changes in heat, deviations in medicinal potency...]
[Even with the Workplace People-Pleaser Trait holding her back, the woman's expression had grown so gloomy it looked ready to drip water.]
[You remained unmoved and fired up the furnace for the tenth batch.]
[You kept the main ingredient that urged spiritual power, removed the Soul Bewildering Incense, and added a supplementary ingredient to stabilize the meridians. Then you used the Little Flame Art to control the fire, pressing the medicinal properties into the pill embryos in three stages.]
[An hour later, the Pill Furnace trembled lightly. With a beckoning gesture, you flipped open the lid. Three pills had formed in the batch, and waves of pill fragrance wafted out.]
[Even without using the pill-testing array disc, the woman's expression visibly softened.]
[The woman channeled spiritual power, liquefying a pill and letting it flow onto the Formation Plate.]
[The pill-testing array disc lit up in three colors: seven parts cyan, two parts red, and one part black.]
[Her face showed unmistakable delight.]
[At some point, the Alchemy Hall elder had also come to the Alchemy Chamber. He picked up a pill and examined it for a long time.]
[The woman said,]
["This one has already reached the medicinal potency of the pills in the original second bottle. But the chance of the user's body bursting apart has dropped considerably."]
[After she said this, there was a hint of deeper meaning in the way she and the elder looked at you.]
[Over the next ten days, you and the woman continued adjusting the Pill Formula.]
[You were responsible for controlling the fire, breaking down the medicinal properties, and reducing costs.]
[She was responsible for testing the pills, calculating their effects, and recording the reactions.]
[The Alchemy Hall elder came to check once a day.]
[Finally, the fifteenth version of the Spirit-Urging Pill was complete. Its medicinal effects were intact, and the probability of the user's body bursting apart had fallen by ninety percent.]
[The Alchemy Hall elder placed a Storage Bag in front of you.]
["You did well in this pill trial."]
["You are exempt from your alchemy quota for three months. You will also be rewarded with three hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones."]
[After saying this, the elder added,]
["Nothing that happened here is to be shared outside."]
[You lowered your head and bowed.]
["This disciple understands. Thank you, Elder."]
[The woman suddenly spoke.]
["What is your name?"]
[You bowed again and answered,]
["Lu Ping."]
[Si Wangshu nodded.]
Lu Ping suddenly realized that the simulator could actually reveal real names too.
The text continued.
[You continued keeping your head down and surviving in the Alchemy Hall.]
[With three months of quotas waived, you had more time to refine Qi-Congealing Pills.]
[You used the three hundred Spirit Stones you had been awarded to buy medicinal ingredients.]
[You pushed your cultivation to the late stage of the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.]
[You continued using Spirit-Eroding Powder to conceal your Qi.]
[In everyone's eyes, you were just a First-Rank Alchemist who had been praised by an elder, refined pills steadily, and had a good temperament.]
[Ordinary disciples naturally knew nothing about the Alchemy Hall elder summoning you in private.]
[But among the management, it was no secret.]
[From that day on, the Alchemy Hall steward Zhao Li treated you little differently from a Second-Grade Alchemist.]
[When you next went to the Internal Affairs Office, the disciple behind the counter rose to his feet of his own accord.]
[When you handed over the pills, he checked them first, then pushed the account book in front of you.]
["Senior Brother Lu, sorry for the trouble, but please sign here."]
[Several First-Rank Alchemists standing in the queue nearby did not make a sound for a long time.]
[Qian Dafu stood farther back in line, clutching a bag of medicinal ingredients. Even he quietly raised his chin a little.]
[Someone beside him lowered his voice.]
["How long has that Lu Ping even been here?"]
[Qian Dafu shot the speaker a sidelong glance.]
["What do you know? Our Senior Brother Lu does things with real 'steadiness.'"]
["Steady enough that even the elder can see it."]
[You naturally paid no mind to Qian Dafu and the others' conversation.]
[You placed a Storage Bag on the counter. Inside were 120 Qi-Replenishing Pills.]
[The disciple in charge of checking them froze for a moment.]
["Senior Brother Lu, what are you..."]
[You said calmly,]
["This is my quota for the next six months."]
[The entire Internal Affairs Office fell silent in an instant. What ordinary disciple handed in six months' quota in one go?]
[Just then, Zhao Li came out from the back room. He glanced at you and began checking the pills himself.]
[One pill, two pills, three pills...]
[Every one of them passed. Moreover, quite a few had medicinal potency twenty percent above the standard.]
[Zhao Li raised his head and looked at you again, an inscrutable emotion in his eyes. In the end, however, he merely left the disciple in charge with a few words.]
["There's nothing wrong with the pills. From now on, there's no need to chase Lu Ping for his quota every month."]
["If he wants to hand it in every six months, let him. Once a year is fine too."]
[The throats of the Alchemists nearby bobbed, but none of them spoke. There was jealousy in their gazes as they looked at you, but even more envy.]
[You returned to the Ding Character No. 13 Cave Abode, shut the stone door, and checked the restrictions.]
[You took out the ingredients for Qi-Congealing Pills and began refining.]
[The Little Flame Art kept the furnace fire steady.]
[Artisan Spirit took effect.]
[Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement took effect.]
[Three pills in one batch, four in another...]
[By the seventh batch, you could consistently produce four pills per batch.]
[You kept all these pills for yourself.]
[Two months later, you had swallowed more than 180 Qi-Congealing Pills in total.]
[You successfully broke through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.]
[You used Spirit-Eroding Powder to conceal your Qi.]
[On the surface, you were still at Qi Refining, Second Layer.]
[You tested the limit of what your meridians could withstand.]
[Previously, two Qi-Congealing Pills a day had been close to your limit.]
[After breaking through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, you could withstand three Qi-Congealing Pills a day.]
[You began increasing the dosage.]