One month
Su Bai rubbed his forehead, which was still a little numb from the shockwave.
He walked over and picked up the heavy Pill Furnace Lid, which had been flung into the corner and smashed into a shallow crater.
"We miscalculated. Refinement High-grade Spirit Medicine is not easy. Even a slight difference in timing and heat can lead to disastrous results. We were truly too hasty."
He muttered to himself, his tone tinged with self-reproach.
This could really explode!
If he hadn't already been Foundation Establishment Cultivator with his spiritual bones in their initial stages and his physical strength far exceeding that of ordinary people, the heavy furnace lid that had slammed down with such force would have likely broken bones and at least given him a concussion if he were a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator.
The path of alchemy is fraught with peril at every turn, and its dangers extend far beyond the loss of control over the furnace fire itself.
He raised his hand and wiped his face, his fingertips covered in a black grime mixed with medicine residue and ash. He brought it close and smelled it; all he could smell was a pungent, burnt odor, with absolutely no trace of the expected medicinal fragrance.
Clearly, this batch of materials is completely ruined.
What a waste! Even though they weren't my own Spirit Stone, it still feels like a pity.
"What's wrong? What happened?!"
Hong Gu's urgent voice appeared simultaneously with her swiftly flashing figure.
As Su Bai began Hand Seals to condense a stream of clear water to wash away the charred, sticky residue inside the Pill Furnace, he explained without looking up, "It's nothing, just a common minor accident during alchemy, commonly known as a 'furnace explosion'."
"It's inevitable when trying a new Pill for the first time." His movements were steady and smooth, the water flowing over the inner wall of the Pill Furnace, making a hissing sound and carrying away the burnt bits.
The Pill Furnace itself is made of excellent materials and is a legitimate magical Law Artifact. Although it experienced an explosion, its structure was not damaged; only the inner walls need to be carefully cleaned.
Su Bai thought to himself, thankfully the Moon Wolf Tribe provided the materials for free. The Golden Marrow Pill Ingredients, which cost 300 Spirit Stone per serving, had simply vanished. Even with his calm demeanor, he would have felt a pang of regret if he had to pay for them himself.
Under Hong Gu's scrutinizing gaze, Su Bai methodically cleaned up the scene, then thoroughly cleaned the Pill Furnace inside and out until it was spotless, as if the explosion had never happened.
He also dispelled most of the burnt smell in the stone chamber with a simple Clear Wind Technique.
After doing all this, he didn't stop for a moment, or even adjust his breathing to recover. He went straight to the side and took out the materials for the second Golden Marrow Pill.
"Are you going to continue?"
Hong Gu couldn't help but speak up, her tone tinged with doubt.
"Of course, failure is the mother of success. Only by summarizing our experiences can we break through." Su Bai said calmly, his hands already beginning to process the medicinal herbs.
"Besides, the alchemy session for today is not yet complete."
He was referring to the six hours each day agreed upon with the Eight-Foot Madam.
Upon hearing this, Hong Gu said no more, but simply crossed her arms and stood at the door, staring intently at Su Bai.
The second refining process has begun.
Su Bai became even more cautious, fully activating his Divine Sense and controlling the heat with exquisite precision, repeatedly experiencing and verifying the reaction of each medicinal herb after it was added.
However, as First-Tier Superior-Grade Pill, the Golden Marrow Pill is far more complex than the Yellow Dragon Pill, requiring Alchemist to have extremely high levels of experience, Spiritual Sense Strength, and micro-control of Spiritual Power.
Although Su Bai has the tenfold success rate bonus granted by [Candle Heart Reflecting Fire], this bonus is not omnipotent. It mainly smooths out many common failure probabilities, and its help is limited for directional errors or misjudging key points caused by insufficient experience or a lack of deep understanding of Pill.
After all, Talent can raise the lower limit, but the accumulation of experience determines the upper limit.
Another long and focused three hours passed. When Su Bai lifted the furnace lid, there was no explosion or charring inside, but the pill had not yet formed.
Only a small patch of dark-colored, viscous ointment failed to solidify, emitting a mixed and impure odor.
Although it wasn't a complete failure that resulted in the furnace exploding, this batch was undoubtedly ruined.
"Failed again."
Hong Gu's voice rang out coldly, tinged with obvious displeasure, "The mistress provided you with the spirit medicine so that you could refine qualified Pill, not so that you could waste them like this! If you fail to refine the required Pill for a long time, given the mistress's temperament..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but the threat of "killing you" was obvious.
Su Bai looked at the scrap at the bottom of the furnace, his face showing no discouragement, but rather a thoughtful expression.
He waved his hand, clearing away the waste, and turned to Hong Gu, saying, "Don't worry, the next batch will definitely produce pills."
He paused, as if suddenly remembering something, then changed the subject, asking in a casual tone, "By the way, Hong Gu, are these Pill I refined ultimately for Madam herself, or for some important figure in the clan?"
Hong Gu frowned, looking at him warily. "Why are you asking so many questions? Just focus on refining your Pill."
Su Bai had already prepared his explanation, his face displaying the stubbornness of a technical expert. "You don't understand. We Human Race Alchemist emphasize ' Pattern-Based Pill Administration,' which means adjusting the heat, timing of fusion, and even using special techniques during the refining process according to the specific circumstances of each user, so that the medicinal properties of the refined Pill are more suited to the user's needs."
He counted on his fingers, giving an example with great seriousness. "For instance, when giving it to the elderly and frail, the heat must be extremely gentle to avoid the medicine being too strong and damaging their health."
"For younger children, the medicinal properties need to be refined to be more pure and gentle, making them easier to absorb."
"For adult men, the yang-tonifying energy in the Pill can be appropriately enhanced; for women, the focus should be on nourishing yin and harmonizing Qi and Blood..."
"If I don't know who will consume it, I can only use the most conventional and universally applicable method to refine it. The effect will naturally be greatly reduced, and it may even be unsuitable. Anyway, it won't kill anyone, but the effect is hard to say."
His half-truths, mixed with professional jargon and concepts, successfully fooled Hong Gu, who knew nothing about Dao of Alchemy.
A hint of hesitation appeared on Hong Gu's wolfish face, as if she were weighing the pros and cons.
Finally, feeling that Su Bai's words seemed to make some sense, and that the information he revealed wasn't exactly top-secret, he said, "Telling you won't hurt. These Essence Replenishing Pill and Yellow Dragon Pill are mainly for Madam's youngest son— Young Master Yin Yue."
Seeing that Su Bai was listening attentively, Hong Gu perhaps felt that since she had already spoken, she might as well say more so that the Alchemist would be more attentive, so she briefly explained the situation.
As a result, Su Bai learned more about the inner workings of the Moon Wolf Tribe.
The story revolves around the Wolf Emperor and his two wives. Howling Moon and Yinyue are half-brothers. Yinyue was born with congenital deficiencies due to an accident, and his Bloodline is dormant. Eight-Foot Madam spared no expense to obtain gentle Pill to nourish him.
Although the details of Crown Prince Xiao Yue were not directly mentioned, this background information gave Su Bai a more comprehensive understanding of the potential conflicts within the Moon Wolf Tribe (the eldest son and the favored youngest son).
"So, speaking of which..." Su Bai said thoughtfully in a low voice, "The Moon Wolf Tribe's Crown Prince Xiao Yue Yinyue, although brothers, seem to have some kind of competitive relationship?" He asked tactfully.
Hong Gu's expression changed slightly, and she immediately interrupted, "Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask! It's enough that you know it's for Young Master Yin Yue to take. Now, can you focus on refining the pills?"
"Of course, no problem."
Su Bai knew when to stop and didn't ask any more questions.
He cleansed his hands and focused his mind again, and this time, he began to refine the Yellow Dragon Pill, which he was now quite confident in.
With the blessing of the [Candle Heart Reflecting Fire] Talent, as long as he doesn't make any basic mistakes, the success rate of refining this kind of Pill that he has already mastered is close to 100%.
Two and a half hours passed with steady fire control and a gradually changing aroma of medicine. When the furnace lid was lifted again, one hundred round and plump Yellow Dragon Pill were clearly visible, with a rich medicinal aroma and a quality that was even better than when they were first refined.
Su Bai waved his sleeve and put it into Jade Bottle, handing it to Hong Gu: "Check the goods. Today's task is complete."
Hong Gu took the Jade Bottle, opened it, examined it carefully, and then smelled the medicinal fragrance. Her tense expression finally eased a little.
She nodded. "The quality is acceptable. That's enough for today." She said no more, took the Pill, and turned to leave, clearly to report back to the mistress.
After more than eight hours of continuous, high-intensity alchemy, including the mental strain from two failed attempts, Su Bai did indeed feel a bit tired.
However, he did not rest immediately. Instead, as usual, during the brief moment when Hong Gu was temporarily away, he once again walked out of the alchemy chamber and casually strolled around the camp.
Day after day, using the harmless identity of "Alchemist" that was gradually being accepted by some members of the Moon Wolf Tribe, Su Bai, like a patient web weaver, slowly expanded his social circle.
He chatted with the soldiers on duty, struck up conversations with the servants in charge of purchasing, and even established preliminary, interest-based connections with some Moon Wolf Tribe members who seemed frustrated or whose families also needed Pill.
Each conversation seemed aimless, but he subtly gathered bits and pieces of information about Crown Prince Xiao Yue's recent situation in these seemingly casual chats.
More than half a month passed quietly amidst the regular alchemy and information gathering.
When Su Bai was taking a break from refining pills, he suddenly Consciousness the years had passed and he had quietly entered his twenty-fiveth year, marking his ninth year of cultivating immortality. He couldn't help but feel a little dazed.
Time seems both long and short to practitioners.
After more than half a month of effort, Su Bai finally confirmed a key piece of information through several different channels.
In preparation for the grand ceremony next June to decide the ownership of the "Young Wolf Lord," Crown Prince Xiao Yue has been spending most of his time in seclusion in the underground Cultivation Room deep within the Howling Moon Hall, diligently cultivating. He has not made a public appearance for several months and has rarely even handled daily clan affairs.
"Living a secluded life, practicing asceticism in seclusion..."
Su Bai pondered for a moment.
This naturally increases the difficulty of the assassination.
To force one's way into the heavily guarded underground Cultivation Room of the Howling Moon Hall, where the Wolf Emperor resides, would be tantamount to suicide.
He could only suppress his impatience and continue to wait. He waited for Howling Moon to end her seclusion and go out to play.
Alternatively, wait for an opportunity to arise from within. Patience is the most indispensable quality for Assassin.
In Pill Formula, consistent practice has brought about visible progress.
The Golden Marrow Pill still failed to produce a single qualified batch, but the investment of over thirty portions of precious materials, worth tens of thousands of Spirit Stone, was not entirely fruitless.
Each failure gave him a deeper understanding of the difficulties in condensing the Golden Marrow Pill.
From initially exploding the furnace, to producing only waste paste, and then managing to barely form a few pills of poor quality...
Every step is an accumulation of experience.
Su Bai could sense that the thin layer of paper separating them was getting thinner and thinner, and a breakthrough was imminent.
The refining of Yellow Dragon Pill has reached a high level of perfection.
The success rate of pill production has remained stable at over 95%, and the quality of the Pill has been steadily improving. The Yellow Dragon Pill produced in the last few batches are of perfect shape and can be considered top-quality Pill of the same grade, completely reaching the limit that he can achieve at his current stage.
That afternoon, Su Bai had just finished an attempt to make a batch of Golden Marrow Pill, which ended in failure once again.
He was standing in Pill Furnace, reviewing the process with his eyes closed, trying to figure out if several subtle changes in the heat control could be optimized.
"Sizzle..."
A slight, peculiar sound of airflow rang out outside the alchemy chamber, interrupting Su Bai's thoughts.
Su Bai opened his eyes, got up, and silently walked to the door of the stone chamber, pulling open the heavy stone door.
Outside the door stood a man of exceptionally tall and robust build.
The Moon Wolf Tribe warrior, over three meters tall, clad in simple leather armor and sporting a dark gray wolf head, was pressed against the wall in a furtive manner that seemed disproportionate to his size, his brown-yellow wolf eyes warily scanning left and right.
Upon seeing Su Bai emerge, he visibly breathed a sigh of relief, but his movements remained swift as he quickly stuffed an inconspicuous gray cloth Storage Bag into Su Bai's hand.
"I... I sneaked over here while that woman, Hong Gu, was having her shift change and eating!"
The wolf demon warrior lowered his voice, his tone urgent and pleading, "Alchemist, I'm begging you! This Storage Bag contains the Yellow Dragon Pill Ingredients that I've been saving for a long time! My son... his chances of successfully activating his Bloodline depend on this! Please, you must refine it for me! I will repay you handsomely!"
Su Bai took the Storage Bag and scanned it with his Divine Sense. It was indeed a complete set of Yellow Dragon Pill Ingredients, and it had been prepared with care.
He nodded calmly and put away the Storage Bag: "Understood. I'll refine it for you when I have time, just wait patiently."
Upon hearing this, the wolf demon warrior's face showed a look of deep gratitude. He bowed repeatedly to Su Bai, then, not daring to linger, he crouched down as he had come, using the shadows of the building to quickly disappear around the corner of the passage.
Su Bai closed the door and weighed the Storage Bag in his hand.
This Moon Wolf Tribe Demon Cultivator warrior was a useful informant that Su Bai had been developing recently, and he usually patrolled the vicinity of the palace.