The Peculiarity of Ninefold Refinement

[You have already looked at those alchemy notes Xie Huide gave you.]

[These alchemy notes are very fragmented.]

[Unlike Xie Huide's True Explanation of the Dao of Alchemy, they aren't systematic.]

[But these fragmented notes are more targeted and detailed, providing greater inspiration.]

[They are very enlightening to you.]

[Especially the few articles specifically explaining the practical operation of refining the Inner Divinity Pill.]

[You repeatedly studied them for several days.]

[You feel you've absorbed enough knowledge.]

[You use a windproof lighter to ignite the alchemy furnace.]

[After calming your mind, you officially begin your first refinement.]

[After two hours of focused refinement,]

[The first batch of Inner Divinity Pills is freshly baked, steaming.]

[You calmly open the furnace.]

[Thin skin and big filling, eighteen pleats.]

[Ten waste pills lie quietly in the furnace.]

[You are expressionless and immediately begin the second refinement.]

[Your heart is unmoved.]

[As long as your expectations are low enough, your mentality won't be affected.]

[Three days later]

[You produce another ten waste pills.]

[You close your eyes to rest and recall the experience to summarize the failures.]

[You haven't closed your eyes for three days and three nights.]

[Coupled with the high energy consumption of alchemy, you are very tired.]

[You need a good night's sleep.]

[You are about to go inside to rest.]

[The Rank 2 alchemist under your command finds you.]

[He says that your group has run out of the Rank 3 Golden Wound Pills.]

[Only you can refine Rank 3 pills.]

[So you have no choice but to work overtime.]

[You force yourself to cheer up, set up the furnace, and begin refining the Golden Wound Pills.]

[Your usual output of Golden Wound Pills is about eight.]

[But today, your state is somewhat peculiar.]

[Although you are half-asleep,]

[You can clearly perceive the refinement process.]

[Every detail is infinitely magnified in your perception.]

[In the end, the output of this batch of Golden Wound Pills actually reaches ten.]

[Your Rank 3 alchemy has directly reached perfection!]

[You are very pleasantly surprised.]

[But you try to calm your mind, avoiding breaking this wonderful state.]

[You maintain this state and refine three more batches of Golden Wound Pills.]

[The Rank 2 alchemist quickly takes the Golden Wound Pills and leaves.]

[You don't stop refining.]

[You maintain your state and begin refining the Inner Divinity Pill.]

[This time, you already have a premonition.]

[The furnace is opened, and two finished Inner Divinity Pills lie obediently inside.]

["Hahaha, as expected of me!"]

[You pick up the two Inner Divinity Pills, unable to put them down.]

[Your Rank 4 alchemy has entered the beginner stage.]

[These days of effort have not been in vain.]

[At the same time, you have also withdrawn from the mysterious state you were just in.]

[You tried to enter that state again, but couldn't grasp the key no matter what.]

[Instead, endless weakness washed over you.]

[Your legs went soft, as if you'd fought for seven days and seven nights.]

[You hurried back to your room and collapsed into bed.]

[You slowly woke up two days and one night later.]

[Hu Zhongxuan came to find you just as you were waking up.]

[He thought you'd run away since you hadn't shown up for several days.]

[He glanced at your pill furnace and recognized the Inner Divinity Pill.]

[He was very surprised.]

[Your progress was too frightening.]

[You became proficient in refining fourth-grade pills in just a few days.]

[But you knew it was because you accidentally entered that mystical state that you were able to successfully refine the Inner Divinity Pill.]

[You noticed that Hu Zhongxuan seemed to know about pill refining.]

[Because he recognized it as an Inner Divinity Pill just by looking at the discarded pills.]

[Hu Zhongxuan offered to provide you with a sufficient amount of materials for refining Inner Divinity Pills.]

[However, fifty percent of the refined Inner Divinity Pills would have to be given to the army.]

[You didn't have many materials for refining Inner Divinity Pills on you.]

[This godforsaken place, Yajiang Pass, was close to the Azure Mesa Desert, and you couldn't buy any more materials at all.]

[If Hu Zhongxuan could provide the materials, it would solve your problem.]

[But fifty percent was too much.]

[You bargained with him until it was agreed that thirty percent would be given to the army.]

[Hu Zhongxuan considered it and agreed.]

[Because your current production rate was too low.]

[Even if you gave fifty percent to the army, you wouldn't lose out.]

[Now that you only had to give away thirty percent, you were making a killing.]

[You rarely went to the military medical office anymore.]

[You stayed in the rear.]

[You began to diligently refine Inner Divinity Pills.]

Can't find the book title by searching, you can try searching for the author, maybe it's just a name change!

[You would only go over to relieve suffering when there was a need to refine third-grade pills.]

[Hu Zhongxuan didn't force you to go to the military medical office either.]

[You thought Hu Zhongxuan was a pretty decent guy.]

[Eleventh year]

[Great Qian and the Golden Yue Kingdom were fighting fiercely.]

[Neither side would yield.]

[Even Apex Grandmasters had begun to engage in direct combat.]

[But neither side had gained a clear advantage.]

[The Golden Yue Kingdom had more Apex Grandmasters.]

[The Great Qian Li Imperial Family had a total of fifty-six Apex Grandmasters.]

[The Golden Yue Kingdom had a total of sixty-eight Apex Grandmasters.]

[But most of the Apex Grandmasters in the Golden Yue Kingdom belonged to the Mizhen Sect.]

[The Mizhen Sect was the state religion of the Golden Yue Kingdom.]

[The Golden Yue Kingdom didn't have as many sects as Great Qian.]

[The Golden Yue Kingdom only had one Mizhen Sect.]

[The Mizhen Sect's leader had immense power, even surpassing the Golden Yue Kingdom's ruler.]

[When the Golden Yue Kingdom's ruler saw the Mizhen Sect's leader, he had to affectionately call him "Revered Father".]

[Therefore, the Golden Yue Kingdom's army couldn't mobilize many Apex Grandmasters.]

[Great Qian wouldn't mobilize all of its Apex Grandmasters either.]

[So, it was a stalemate.]

[This year, your Inner Divinity Pill refining technique improved through constant practice.]

[And also reached the initial stage]

[You can produce four Inner Divinity Pills per batch]

[Enough to supply your daily cultivation needs]

[Moreover, the pill refining materials you consume are all provided by Hu Zhongxuan]

[The feeling of getting it for free makes you feel quite comfortable]

[However, you never entered that mysterious state you were in when you refined the Inner Divinity Pill for the first time again]

[You tried staying awake for days and nights]

[You tried refining pills non-stop, refining until your mind was numb, refining until you were incoherent]

[But none of it worked]

[You had to give up, thinking about going back and asking Xie Huide]

[Since no one is paying attention to you]

[You don't need to hide your cultivation level, you can cultivate openly]

[This day, you were condensing True Qi]

[You suddenly felt the world broaden before you]

[You have completed the ninth True Qi condensation]

[You felt some changes happening to the world around you]

[It seemed to become clearer]

[But upon closer inspection, there was no change at all]

[You vaguely had this feeling during the eighth True Qi condensation]

[Now this feeling is even stronger]

[You became suspicious]

["Could it be that I've compressed too much True Qi and caused problems for myself?"]

[But you don't feel any discomfort]

[You don't have to worry about exploding like a pressure cooker for the time being]

[Besides, there's no use in worrying]

[You have no precedent to refer to]

Because Miao Liwu, the creator of the Ninefold Profound Art, hasn't even been born yet.

[Miao Liwu will be born in the sixteenth year]

[And you think Miao Liwu might not be born at all]

[Many things in this simulation are different from the last time]

[For example, this war between the two countries did not happen last time]

[But you still decided to go to Willow Tree Village to take a look in the fourteenth year]

[Because in this year, Willow Tree Village will experience a drought, and Wei Xia and Miao Jiayao may starve to death without your relief]

[In that case, Miao Liwu will definitely not be born]

[You have been in Yajiang Pass for two years]

[In these two years, the intensity of the battles between the two countries has not been particularly great]

[But since the past few days, the number of wounded has suddenly increased]

[Hu Zhongxuan also transferred you back to the military medical office]

[Many of the wounded who are sent here have particularly serious injuries]

[There are many people missing arms and legs, and the mortality rate is also very high]

[Hu Zhongxuan told you that this is because the high-level martial artists of the two countries have begun to participate in large numbers]

[The intensity of the war is about to escalate]

[In fact, before this war, the Great Qian and the Golden Yue Kingdom were just having minor skirmishes]

[Equivalent to you stealing my dog, and me catching your chicken]

[You don't know why the two countries are making such a big fuss this time, fighting so fiercely]

[You asked Hu Zhongxuan]

[But he looked up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle and said with unfathomable depth: "You will know when you should know."]

[At that time, you couldn't wait to slap his dog face]

[You hate this kind of deadpan riddle-solver the most]

[You desperately held down your restless right hand]

[Suppressing the urge to attack, I chatted with Hu Zhongxuan for a while longer.]

[You learned from him that Bai Chen, that old codger, had also been conscripted.]

[He'll be arriving at Yajiang Pass tomorrow.]

[Apparently, when they went to conscript him, Bai Chen reacted quickly.]

[He immediately ran from the clinic's backyard.]

[But Bai Chen's martial arts realm was too low, and he was too slow, so he was chased down and dragged back.]

[I breathed a sigh of relief: "That was close; he almost got to live a comfortable life."]