Yue Er stiffened under her great-grandfather's gaze. At this moment, she fully understood what it meant that there was no worst misery, only worse misery. The despair-inducing book Gu He had given her had already made her lament her ill-fated life, and now the Pill King had proposed personally teaching her after she became a Fourth-grade Alchemist. Who wanted that insane man who could write books taller than a person to teach them?! As a princess of the Imperial Family, Yue Er understood what a Sixth-grade Alchemist meant to them. One look at her great-grandfather's expression told her that her life would surely be filled with alchemy from now on. Having time to shop for clothes or go out and have fun as she had before would probably become immensely difficult. All she could do was stare wide-eyed at Gu He.
After speaking, Gu He noticed Yue Er had been staring at him. He asked in confusion, "Yue Er, what is it?"
Although Yue Er was dissatisfied with Gu He, she was no fool and naturally could not show it directly. She said sullenly, "Nothing. I just wanted to remember you clearly."
Combining Yue Er's reaction with Jia Xingtian's, Gu He suddenly understood. 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. From the liveliness in her eyes and the faint spiritual quality she gives off, it is clear that Yue Er is exceptionally talented 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 is not impossible. At this stage, it is better to focus on laying a foundation. Do not push her too hard, or making her grow disgusted with alchemy would be more loss than gain."
Though 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 was even happy to see such a thing happen.
Yue Er viciously waved her hand behind her back, suppressing the excitement in her heart. At the same time, the corners of her lips could not help but rise. She was delighted by Gu He's praise and relieved that she had finally escaped disaster. She believed that her usually forceful great-grandfather would definitely listen to the Pill King in this matter. After all, his main purpose should have been to win over the Pill King.
Jia Xingtian turned a blind eye to Yue Er's movements and merely said seriously to Gu He, "Unpolished jade cannot become a fine vessel. Children are fickle by nature, and they cannot be left unmanaged. Of course, I will not let Yue Er become too exhausted. She is my great-granddaughter, and seeing her tired pains me as well. I only want her to memorize the book written by the Pill King within three years, on top of her current studies."
Gu He had already expressed his opinion, but others had their own thoughts. 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 held great expectations for Yue Er. Even without Gu He's words, he likely would not have relaxed her training. After all, not even the Imperial Family could easily persuade a Fifth-grade Alchemist and vice president of the Alchemist Guild to take on an apprentice. They would certainly have to pay an enormous price.
The smile at the corners of Yue Er's lips froze. She only felt that life was unpredictable and that one should not be too happy. Like a little adult, she sighed softly, carrying an indescribable air of world-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 over the matter, Jia Xingtian continued, "Pill King, this is the formula for the Primal Bone-Shaping Pill. I will have to trouble you to refine it." With that, he wrapped the pill formula in Dou Qi and passed it to Gu He.
Gu He accepted the formula with both hands and gave it a brief glance. From several ingredients listed on the formula whose medicinal properties were violent yet could not be excessively extracted, he could determine that this was a pill meant 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 such an important pill formula.
With the serious business concluded and their task of establishing ties with Gu He essentially complete, Jia Xingtian took the initiative to bid farewell after chatting with Gu He and Teng Shan for a while. Teng Shan personally escorted them to the entrance.
"Alright, this is far enough. Old brother Teng Shan, go back. Since the Pill King is still here, I should not take up too much of your time." Once they reached the entrance, Jia Xingtian urged Teng Shan to return.
Teng Shan knew it was the truth and did not insist further. They cupped their hands in farewell.
When Teng Shan returned, he happened to see Gu He holding the formula for the Primal Bone-Shaping Pill and studying it.
"What, is there something wrong with the formula?" Teng Shan asked a question he did not believe himself.
"Not really. Most of the pills I have refined before were for humans. This is the first time I have seen such a high-grade formula meant for magical beasts, so while I have the time, I could not resist taking it out to study the differences from formulas meant for humans." Seeing Teng Shan return, Gu He put the formula back into his Ring and explained.
"You really do not waste a single moment when it comes to studying alchemy. No wonder you have achieved so much." Teng Shan first sighed in admiration, then asked with a curious expression, "So, did you discover anything?"
"Yes. I have not studied it in detail, much less refined it, so I can only make a rough judgment. When refining formulas for magical beasts, the extraction of the medicinal ingredients seems rather superficial. The violent factors within the herbs are not completely removed. The selection of ingredients is also much broader. Herbs that are obviously 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 the medicinal ingredients are undoubtedly carried to the utmost extreme. Almost no violent factors are left behind, unless the treatment of an illness specifically requires them to be retained. Only then would a trace remain in the pill. Even in such cases, an alchemist must be present when administering the pill before anyone would dare feed a patient a pill containing violent factors. Otherwise, the violent medicinal properties within the pill could easily clash with the Dou Qi in the body, causing the patient to explode and die."
Teng Shan nodded. "In the end, it is determined by the difference between human and magical beast physiques. 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 terms of physical strength and adaptability to the violent medicinal properties in pills."
"So, perhaps this kind of formula effective for magical beasts can provide some ideas and refining methods that can be used to create a new Sixth-grade Pill Formula with healing effects for humans." Only then did Gu He reveal his true purpose.
Gu He did not care much about the result. Success would naturally be delightful, while failure would only mean losing the chance at one Sixth-grade Pill Formula. Yet the consolidation and improvement in alchemy gained through the process could not be exchanged for with any number of pill formulas.
Teng Shan sincerely sighed, "It seems you have already found a way to improve your alchemy in the next stage. As expected of the most outstanding alchemy genius the Jia Ma Empire has seen in the past fifty years. I am truly looking forward to your future. I really want to see how far you can go."
Gu He merely smiled and did not respond. With his knowledge of this world's many secrets, Gu He had far more confidence in himself than outsiders did. He would eventually stand at the pinnacle of the Dou Qi Continent.