Next Time I'll Come at Night

At the end of the month, Pill Hall.

The Great Sword Sect truly had a fire bottled up inside, bent on rising to prominence. Not only had it established every major hall, it had also poured no small amount of effort into this Pill Hall.

Five pill furnaces of varying grades stood within the Pill Hall for the sect's alchemists to rent and use. There was even a pill furnace that was a top-grade artifact. Though it lacked earthfire, it still had the right flavor.

"A top-grade artifact Alchemy Furnace. Truly extravagant."

There were a full one hundred and eight Spirit Stones embedded in it alone. The sight nearly made Lin Chang'an drool as he stared enviously at the pill furnace before him.

"Sooner or later, you'll return to my side."

Good fellow—he had already regarded this top-grade artifact pill furnace as his own.

"After a month of preparation, the medicinal pills were finally brewed by month's end."

Lin Chang'an stood before the furnace, his expression solemn as he closed his eyes for a moment. His alchemy skills from all these years, along with every experience and insight, surged through his mind.

Suddenly, his eyes flashed like cold lightning as he held his breath and focused.

With a Sword Finger, an exquisite sealed brocade box floated out from his storage pouch and slowly opened. One by one, pitch-black, foul-smelling medicinal pills drifted out and entered the pill furnace in a smooth, flowing motion.

His spiritual power was like fine threads. As it surged and receded through his palms, the flames within the furnace shifted.

Lin Chang'an's breath was long and steady. Under his practiced movements as he held his breath and focused, a wisp of flame rose within the pill furnace under the control of his spiritual power.

"This pill cannot be rushed. First, the impurities must be refined out, and only then can the medicinal power be completely refined..."

Lin Chang'an watched the pill furnace gravely. The palm pressed against its wall not only controlled the heat through spiritual power, but secretly drew in the spiritual energy from those one hundred and eight Spirit Stones.

Under the high heat, the egg-sized pellets inside the pill furnace continuously shrank. Strands of black, foul-smelling impurities were refined out, and their scent drifted outside.

"Cough, cough! Which heartless bastard is refining pills? Why does it smell so damn rank?"

"Blech! Senior Brother, I'm about to throw up! Who the hell is refining poison?"

"Damn it, blech! This reeking stench—who would be stupid enough to eat these pills..."

"Are they using shit to refine pills?!"

There had not been many people in the Pill Hall to begin with, but once that dense, fishy, rank odor spread out, even powerful mid Qi Refining cultivators turned green in the face, their eyes wide.

"It's that brat Lin Chang'an. Damn it, that kid is up to no good."

"Don't! Don't act rashly. He's under Elder Lu's protection. Let's just endure it. I heard that little bastard only gets six hours of use at the end of each month. We can avoid him in the future. Let him make a mess here today."

"Damn it, something's wrong with this smell!" One cultivator's face had turned blue from the stench, but the next moment, it visibly flushed red.

"This is!" Nearly everyone who came to the Pill Hall was proficient in this field. The moment they sensed the medicinal effect in the air, their faces flushed red. After cursing under their breaths, they all flicked their sleeves and left.

"Pah! That brat is actually this shameless!"

The voices outside were not quiet, but Lin Chang'an, inside the Pill Room, curled his lips into a fiery, excited smile.

A communal pill furnace really was better. Though he could only use it for six hours each month, this top-grade pill furnace had plenty of Spirit Stones, and he did not even have to pay for them himself.

As for how quickly the Spirit Stones in this top-grade pill furnace were consumed, what did that have to do with him? How long did he even come here in a month?

Still, he carefully controlled the amount he absorbed. He understood the principle of a thin stream flowing long.

"Pills complete!"

One crimson medicinal pill after another, glimmering with spiritual light, floated out. After being tempered by true fire, they had shrunk from egg-sized to pigeon-egg-sized, showing just how arduous an alchemist's work was.

Lin Chang'an sniffed them and immediately revealed a satisfied smile. "Add a little fragrant honey, and their appearance will be flawless. As for the ingredients!"

Lin Chang'an narrowed his eyes. His palm swept over the pills, and specks of milky-white spiritual light shimmered from the crimson pills.

The pills absorbed the white light one after another. Even finer impurities within them were continuously removed, while their medicinal powers were further stimulated and fused together.

"Now this is worthy of my identity as a genius alchemist." Lin Chang'an nodded with satisfaction and smiled.

The ordinary-quality pills became superior-grade after the milky-white spiritual light faded away. Once fragrant honey was applied to them, they gave off a faint fragrance.

"But next!"

Lin Chang'an's expression changed. A fist-sized, dry, hard Pellet that carried a fishy stench appeared in his palm. Suppressing the urge to vomit, he said miserably, "I was careless. Next time, I have to remember to bring some spices."

Crunch, crunch.

With his entire face twisted into a bitter grimace, Lin Chang'an wolfed down the black, dry, hard Pellet in two or three bites. The next moment, his face flushed crimson and the spiritual power within his body became violently restless.

But immediately afterward, a stream of milky-white spiritual light emerged from his sea of consciousness and circulated through his entire body, soothing and purifying everything. His spiritual power became even purer, and even the pill toxins from just now were purified, leaving behind only pure, mild medicinal power.

What he had eaten was the impure pill toxin refined from the pill furnace earlier. Ordinary alchemists would burn it away completely with pill fire, but he had carefully preserved it. There was still medicinal power within it, after all; he simply lacked the means to extract it at his current level.

Alchemy was, in truth, the process of refining impurities from medicinal paste, leaving behind the essence. These impurities were also known as pill toxins.

"Sigh, if only this Mysterious Treasure could directly increase my spiritual power."

Lin Chang'an spoke with some sourness. His talent for alchemy was actually ordinary. He had relied entirely on the ability of this Mysterious Treasure to earn himself the title of genius alchemist.

This ability worked not only on medicinal pills, but even on his own body. It could purify his spiritual power and cleanse every impurity within him.

"Alchemist Lin!"

The moment he stepped out of the Pill Room, Lin Chang'an saw Elder Yao, the mid Qi Refining cultivator from the Great Sword Sect who was responsible for guarding the Pill Hall.

Elder Yao stared at him with the look of a resentful wife, his eyes bloodshot. The sight startled Lin Chang'an.

"Elder Yao, I didn't exceed my six hours, did I?"

Lin Chang'an was somewhat baffled, but faced with those eyes, he still spoke carefully. After all, he could not beat the old fellow yet.

"Alchemist Lin, next time you refine this kind of medicine, could you come at night? I'll wait outside."

That vile gust from earlier had nearly choked Elder Yao to the point of passing out. Lin Chang'an now noticed that Elder Yao's wrinkled face was flushed red as well. He had clearly been affected by the medicinal effect.

For a moment, Lin Chang'an awkwardly rubbed his nose. "Elder Yao, the moment I saw you, I felt especially close to you. This pill is for you. Next time, I'll come at night."

After Lin Chang'an left, Elder Yao lowered his head and looked at the superior-quality Bigu Pill in his palm, falling silent.

Yet after the figure departed, a cold smile appeared on Elder Yao's kindly face. "Little piglet, this old man is waiting for you to grow fat."