Primal Bone-Shaping Pill

Yue Er froze under her great-grandfather's gaze. At that moment, she fully understood what it meant for there to be no greatest misery, only greater misery. Gu He's despair-inducing book had already made her lament her ill-fated life, and now the Pill King had proposed personally teaching her once she became a Fourth-grade Alchemist. Who would want to be taught by a lunatic who could write a book taller than a person?! As a royal princess, Yue Er understood perfectly what a Sixth-grade Alchemist meant to the Jia Ma Royal Family. One look at her great-grandfather's eyes told her that her future life would certainly be filled with alchemy. Having time to shop for clothes or go out for fun as she once had would likely become impossibly difficult. All she could do was stare wide-eyed at Gu He.

After speaking, Gu He noticed that Yue Er had been staring at him. He asked in puzzlement, "Yue Er, what is it?"

Although Yue Er was dissatisfied with Gu He, she was not foolish enough to show it directly. She said gloomily, "Nothing. I just wanted to remember you clearly."

Putting Yue Er's reaction together with Jia Xingtian's, Gu He suddenly understood that this was a little girl subtly expressing her dissatisfaction. He said to Jia Xingtian, "Elder Jia, don't be too strict with Yue Er either. The liveliness in her eyes and the faint spirituality she possesses show that she is exceptionally gifted in soul perception. With such talent in the soul, she has great hope of advancing to become a high-grade alchemist in the future. Perhaps even becoming a Sixth-grade Alchemist would not be a dream. At this stage, she should focus on building a foundation. Don't push her too hard, or making her hate alchemy would be more trouble than it is worth."

Although this was somewhat overstepping his bounds, Gu He could be considered half of Yue Er's teacher, so it was not too abrupt. Perhaps Jia Xingtian would even be pleased to see such a thing happen.

Behind her back, Yue Er fiercely waved her hand to calm the excitement in her heart, though the corners of her lips could not help rising. She was happy at Gu He's praise and relieved that she had finally escaped disaster. She believed that her always-overbearing great-grandfather would definitely listen to the Pill King in this matter. After all, his main purpose was likely to win the Pill King over.

Jia Xingtian turned a blind eye to Yue Er's actions and said seriously to Gu He, "Unpolished jade cannot become a useful vessel. Children lack resolve, so they must be disciplined. Of course, I will not let Yue Er become too tired. She is my great-granddaughter, and it pains me to see her exhausted. I merely want her to memorize the book written by the Pill King within three years, on top of her current studies."

Gu He had already voiced his opinion, but others had their own ideas. It would be inappropriate for him to interfere further, since they were neither family nor in a subordinate relationship. Still, this arrangement showed that Jia Xingtian had high expectations for Yue Er. Even without Gu He's suggestion, he likely would not have relaxed her training. After all, even the royal family could not casually persuade a Fifth-grade Alchemist and vice president of the Alchemist Guild to take a disciple without paying an enormous price.

The smile at Yue Er's lips froze. She felt that life was truly unpredictable and that one should not be too happy. With the air of a little adult, she let out a soft sigh, carrying an indescribable sense of worldly weariness. She withdrew the hand behind her back, placed it before her, lowered her head, and stared at the embroidered tips of her shoes.

Skipping past the matter, Jia Xingtian continued, "Pill King, this is the formula for the Primal Bone-Shaping Pill. I'll have to trouble you to refine it." As he spoke, he wrapped the formula in dou qi and handed it to Gu He.

Gu He accepted the formula with both hands and gave it a rough glance. From several ingredients listed on it—ingredients whose medicinal properties were violent but could not be overly extracted—he could tell that this was a pill intended for magical beasts. Ordinary people simply could not endure such violent medicinal effects. He then stored the formula in his Ring, trusting that the Jia Ma Royal Family would not joke about something as important as this formula.

With the serious business concluded and their connection to Gu He essentially established, Jia Xingtian spoke with Gu He and Teng Shan for a while before taking his leave. Teng Shan personally escorted the group to the entrance.

"Alright, this is far enough. Old Brother Teng Shan, you should go back. The Pill King is still here, so I shouldn't take up too much of your time." At the entrance, Jia Xingtian urged Teng Shan to return.

Teng Shan knew this was true and did not insist further. They cupped their hands in farewell.

When Teng Shan returned, he happened to see Gu He examining the formula for the Primal Bone-Shaping Pill.

"What, is there a problem with the formula?" Teng Shan asked a question that he himself did not believe.

"Not really. Most of the pills I refined before were meant for humans. This is the first time I've seen such a relatively high-grade formula meant for magical beasts, so while I had time, I couldn't help taking it out to study the differences from formulas used on humans." Seeing Teng Shan return, Gu He put the formula back into his Ring and explained.

"You really don't waste a moment when it comes to studying alchemy. No wonder you've achieved so much." Teng Shan first sighed in admiration, then asked with a curious expression, "So, have you found anything?"

"Yes. Without studying it in detail, and without having refined it, I can only roughly judge that when refining formulas meant for magical beasts, the extraction of the medicinal ingredients is rather superficial. The violent factors within the herbs are not completely removed. The selection of ingredients is also much broader; herbs that are clearly harmful to humans openly appear in the formula, and in no small quantities." Gu He took a light sip of the freshly brewed Jade Dew Tea, moistening his dry lips.

"As for formulas meant for humans, the extraction and neutralization of violent factors in medicinal ingredients are undoubtedly carried to the utmost extreme. Almost no violent factors are left behind, unless they must specifically be retained for treating an illness. Only then would a trace be preserved within the pill. Even in such cases, an alchemist must be present when the pill is administered before anyone would dare feed a patient a pill containing violent factors. Otherwise, the violent medicinal properties could easily clash with the dou qi within the body, causing the patient to explode and die."

Teng Shan nodded. "In the end, it is determined by the differences in constitution between humans and magical beasts. At the same level, magical beasts possess bodies far stronger than humans. Even higher-level humans cannot compare to magical beasts one level below them in physical strength or their ability to withstand the violent medicinal properties in pills."

"So, perhaps this kind of formula effective on magical beasts can provide some ideas and refining techniques, allowing us to create a new Sixth-grade formula with healing effects for humans." Only then did Gu He reveal his purpose.

Gu He did not particularly care about the result. Success would naturally be gratifying, while failure would only mean losing the chance at a Sixth-grade formula. Yet the consolidation and improvement in alchemy gained through the process could not be exchanged for any number of formulas.

Teng Shan sighed sincerely. "It seems you have already found a way to improve your alchemy in the next stage. You truly deserve to be called the most outstanding alchemy genius the Jia Ma Empire has seen in nearly fifty years. I am greatly looking forward to your future. I really want to see just how far you can go."

Gu He merely smiled and did not reply. With his understanding of the many secrets of this world, Gu He had far greater confidence in himself than any outsider did. He would eventually stand at the pinnacle of the Dou Qi Continent.