Refining Pills

Refining Pills

When Zi Yan heard that Xiao Ling had agreed to help her refine the medicinal ingredients, she was overjoyed. She looked vibrant and full of life, as though a sky full of stars were shining in her eyes, making her enthusiasm infectious.

Her lively eyes shifted slightly, revealing a hint of slyness.

Carefully, she took out a rather strange-looking medicinal ingredient from her Storage Ring. Its surface bore obvious bite marks, as though some creature had taken a bite out of it before. It gave off a faint fragrance, and upon closer inspection, its color seemed slightly dull, as though it had lost some of its original luster. Yet despite its imperfect appearance, it exuded a mysterious and enticing aura.

Zi Yan said with a grin, "Hurry up and turn this into delicious pills for me."

The moment Xiao Ling saw the medicinal ingredient, he knew what it was: a Sky Jade Fruit, the main ingredient for refining Spirit Dou Pills and one of the rarer sixth-grade medicinal ingredients.

Looking at the tooth mark on it, Xiao Ling's mouth twitched. He could not help asking, "Don't tell me you took a bite out of this?"

He casually took the Sky Jade Fruit and gently placed it into the medicine cauldron he had prepared beforehand. Then he drew upon the Beast Fire within his body and continuously poured it beneath the cauldron. A blazing mass of Beast Fire instantly rose up, licking at the bottom of the cauldron. The flames were incredibly hot, yet perfectly controlled. They would neither burn the Sky Jade Fruit nor fail to slowly extract its essence. Once the medicinal essence inside had turned into liquid, he casually took several sugar pellets from his Storage Ring and tossed them into the cauldron, improving the pills' taste.

"This kind of refining is really simple. Probably any Alchemist capable of melting medicinal ingredients could refine it."

Xiao Ling took out a porcelain bottle and made a casual gesture. Several milky-white pills flew into it. The energies within these pills had not been neutralized, so humans could not consume them directly. At best, their medicinal effects would be greatly reduced; at worst, the consumer would explode and die. Only a high-bloodline magical beast like Zi Yan could ignore such problems.

The moment Zi Yan saw this, she immediately pounced over, snatched the bottle of pills from Xiao Ling's hand, eagerly removed the stopper, and popped one pill into her mouth.

At once, a surge of pure energy spread through her body, increasing the Dou Qi within her. The faint sweetness lingered endlessly on her tongue, putting her in an excellent mood. Narrowing her eyes, Zi Yan shouted excitedly, "It's so delicious! I'll never have to eat those disgusting pills again!" As she spoke, she took out another pill and stuffed it into her mouth, chewing with loud smacks.

Sitting nearby, Xiao Ling watched in amazement at the Ancient Void Dragon's powerful physique. Consuming medicinal ingredients so brutally was not something humans, or even ordinary magical beasts, could digest.

"Ancient Void Dragons really are terrifying."

Before long, Zi Yan had eaten all those pills as though they were candy beans.

Patting her flat stomach, Zi Yan felt that she could still eat a little more. Her bright eyes fixed on Xiao Ling. Though she said nothing, the meaning in her gaze was obvious: Are there any more? I still want some.

Xiao Ling spread his hands helplessly. "If you want to eat them, bring me medicinal ingredients and I'll refine them for you. If you don't have any ingredients, I'm not using my own stock to make pills for you. You even snatched my Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill before."

Scratching her head, Zi Yan said somewhat sheepishly, "Then I'll go look for medicinal ingredients. When I get hungry later, I'll come find you to refine pills. What's your name? It'll be easier to find you next time."

Xiao Ling smiled and replied, "My name is Xiao Ling. I'm a new student this year, and also the chief Alchemist of Supreme Freedom Gate. You can go find the sect master, Lin Xiuyai, and join our faction. That way, it'll be much easier for you to find me."

Zi Yan nodded seriously. "Xiao Ling, I'll remember you. I'll go find that Lin Xiuyai later and join your Supreme Freedom Gate."

After saying that, she vanished from Xiao Ling's sight in a flash, impatient to search for medicinal ingredients.

Watching Zi Yan's retreating figure, Xiao Ling shook his head.

What an adorable thousand-year-old loli.

After getting to know Zi Yan, life gradually became more interesting.

Zi Yan came to play with Xiao Ling every day, bringing along some medicinal ingredients so that Xiao Ling could refine them into pills for her.

Just as she had said before, Zi Yan joined Supreme Freedom Gate and became its eldest disciple.

When the Inner Academy's Senior Students heard this news, they were all utterly incredulous.

That was the renowned King of Brute Force of the Inner Academy. Hadn't everyone always said that she had a fiery temper and a violent nature?

Yet she had actually joined a faction established by new students, leaving everyone deeply shocked.

Some Senior Students had originally planned to cause trouble for Supreme Freedom Gate, but those thoughts instantly vanished. They could not afford to offend the King of Brute Force. If they did, being beaten badly enough to lie in bed for ten days or half a month would be the least of their worries.

With Zi Yan joining, Supreme Freedom Gate entered a period of rapid growth. Many students with decent strength and outstanding talent chose to join it. Anyone with eyes could see that this faction had already established itself within the academy, and its future prospects were bright. Once its members grew stronger, the requirements for joining might become even stricter, and people might not be able to join even if they wanted to.

Xiao Ling was very satisfied with this. He now rarely had to worry about Fire Energy in the Inner Academy. As long as he casually refined a few pills while practicing alchemy, he could earn a large amount of Fire Energy.

Interestingly, when Zi Yan came to Xiao Ling to have pills refined one time, she happened to see Xiao Xun'er feeding Sixth-grade Pills to Rayquaza in Xiao Ling's courtyard. Zi Yan's jaw dropped, and she was so jealous that she nearly went mad.

It was as though some switch had been flipped. Xiao Ling often saw Zi Yan clinging to Xiao Xun'er and begging to be fed, which greatly amused him.

Xiao Xun'er did not care about spending a few pills. Feeding one was feeding, and feeding two was raising them both. After all, the young lady of the Ancient Clan was rich and generous.

Zi Yan did not spend all her time around Xiao Xun'er either. The pills Xiao Ling refined for her still made up the main part of her daily meals. In Zi Yan's words, the ones Xiao Ling refined simply tasted better.

The days passed quietly, one after another, plain but dotted with little splashes of color.

If Xiao Ling had cultivated alone like an ascetic, he would surely have become bored after a long time. Having a group of like-minded friends on the road to growth was quite heartwarming.

Within the Inner Academy, everyone's strength improved at a rate visible to the naked eye, all thanks to the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower. Xiao Ling's cultivation speed also increased greatly as a result. However, as his own realm gradually rose, cultivation became more and more difficult, like climbing a towering peak. Thus, even with the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower's support, it was impossible for him to break through a realm every few days.

Moreover, Xiao Ling had no intention of using his draw opportunities during this period. Before reaching the Dou Wang realm, his strength was in a stable period of growth. Once his body had fully matured and he possessed some ability to protect himself, he would use those opportunities. By then, those treasures would certainly be of great help when he ventured out into the world.

As his cultivation steadily improved, Xiao Ling's alchemy also advanced tremendously. As he grew older and his body developed more fully, Tai Yi Soul Sever also helped his Soul Power improve noticeably. Refining pills became increasingly effortless, and his pill success rate surpassed even the Inner Academy elders by a considerable margin. Unfortunately, Jia Nan Academy's Alchemy Department had a truly shallow foundation. The highest-ranked Alchemist in the academy was only Elder Huo, a Fifth-grade Alchemist. As Xiao Ling's alchemy grew ever more refined, the academy could provide him with less and less help, until he could only explore on his own. Xiao Ling did not care much about this. After all, a great opportunity still awaited him in the Xiao Family of Wutan City. As long as he obtained that opportunity, his alchemy would definitely improve by leaps and bounds.