Not qualified?

Huang Shanyu glanced dismissively, then again, frowning as he took the pill from Su Hao's hand. "You made this?"

"Of course, I never lie!" Su Hao said with a smile.

The maids on either side looked at the pill in surprise. They naturally couldn't discern anything peculiar about it.

"Fragrant Treasure Pill, a foundational pill in the Pill Dao. This medicine is most popular among female cultivators. Its effects are unique, it can remove body odor and exude fragrance, making a woman's body emit a unique scent, and her breath smell of flowers and herbs."

Huang Shanyu handled the pill, sniffing it, rubbing it, and even picking off a small piece to taste. "This medicine isn't difficult to refine, but the process is complex and extremely tests an Alchemist's foundation. Being able to refine this medicine indicates that one has truly entered the path of the Pill Dao and can refine medicine for cultivators."

After confirming the pill's authenticity, he casually set it down and stared at Su Hao. "An apprentice couldn't refine this. Don't try to fool me. Our apprentices have to study for two to three years and consume numerous materials before they might master it."

"Words are not proof. Even if I explained it a thousand times, you wouldn't believe me. I imagine the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion has the necessary equipment for alchemy. I'll refine the Fragrant Treasure Pill in front of you." Su Hao smiled.

Let alone the Fragrant Treasure Pill, he was confident he could even refine the Foundation Solidifying Pill and Tiger Heart Pill, which were a tier above the Pure Qi Pill and Spirit Gathering Powder, but he lacked the medicinal ingredients.

"Guards, prepare ten sets of materials for the Fragrant Treasure Pill. Have Alchemist Xu and the others vacate the alchemy room. We'll all watch Su Hao refine the Fragrant Treasure Pill." Huang Shanyu stood up and waved for the maids to make preparations.

"If I prove my alchemy skill, can I join the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion?" Su Hao stood up and followed him.

"If you can make a Pure Qi Pill, even if it breaks the rules, I will definitely let you join the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion and protect your life from Fairy Liu." Huang Shanyu said seriously.

"Alas, I can only barely refine the Fragrant Treasure Pill. Elder Huang, let's forget it. I won't waste your time." Su Hao sighed, intending to leave. At worst, he could try to get close to Liu Mei. The "murderer," Lin Zhi Shan, had already fled. What did other grudges have to do with a small fry like him?

"Su Hao, don't be in a hurry. If you can truly refine the Fragrant Treasure Pill, it shows you do have some talent in the Pill Dao. I will naturally speak well of you to my senior disciple brother." Huang Shanyu was even more eager to witness Su Hao's alchemy level.

Being able to stand out from so many Medicine Slaves and catching Lin Zhi Shan's eye, perhaps he did possess some unique talent. Moreover, Alchemists were scarce talents, and the profit from the Fragrant Treasure Pill was high.

"This..." Su Hao appeared to be in a difficult situation.

Huang Shanyu half-dragged, half-pulled him to the alchemy room on the left side of the backyard. The room, over a hundred square meters, was filled with the scent of herbal medicine. It had four small compartments, each equipped with tools for pounding herbs, preparing medicine, a boiler, and an Alchemy Furnace.

A middle-aged man in a Taoist robe walked up. "Steward Huang."

[Name]: Xu Wensi
[Realm]: Qi Refining Level 4
[Talent]: Talent for Pills (White)
Talent for Pills: Possesses some aptitude for herbal medicine and pills.

"Alchemist Xu, this is Su Hao, a disciple of Lin Zhi Shan. He wants to borrow our alchemy room." Huang Shanyu introduced.

"Him?" Xu Wensi said with a hint of mockery. "Back then, Lin Zhi Shan didn't even think much of me. Now he's willing to take a disciple in the Pill Dao. Could it be that Junior Disciple Su is a genius in this area?"

"Perhaps. He can already refine the Fragrant Treasure Pill," Huang Shanyu said from the side.

"Fragrant Treasure Pill? It's just an introductory medicine, what's so impressive about it?" Xu Wensi became even more dismissive.

"How long did it take you to go from an apprentice to mastering a 30% success rate with the Fragrant Treasure Pill?" Huang Shanyu retorted.

"About four years. I remember the Fragrant Treasure Pills from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion back then all came from my hands. At that time, Lin Zhi Shan was cooperating with another shop."

"Oh, this Su Hao, he only became a disciple a month ago." Huang Shanyu's heart stirred. Looking at it this way, Su Hao truly had alchemy talent!

"A month? Impossible! Unless before he joined the Sect, his family had inherited knowledge of physicians and herbal medicine, giving him that kind of foundation!" Xu Wensi pondered.

"Is that so?" Huang Shanyu was taken aback. He hadn't considered that possibility just now.

"Yes, Alchemist Xu is truly amazing. You saw through my background at a glance." Su Hao lied.

Three maids entered, carrying the medicinal ingredients for the Fragrant Treasure Pill.

"Do you still need me to refine it?" Su Hao asked helplessly again.

"Of course. Please proceed." Huang Shanyu gestured to the side.

Su Hao then began to make the Fragrant Treasure Pill.

Two incense sticks later...

The Alchemy Furnace cooled, and waves of fragrance wafted from the holes.

"It's done, amazing! One set of materials and it's done!" Huang Shanyu's eyes lit up, and he went to inspect the Fragrant Treasure Pill.

Xu Wensi didn't even look at the pill, sneering, "The foundation is solid, but alchemy also depends on luck. The first one succeeding might just be good luck. When I was his age, I could make 7 out of 10 Fragrant Treasure Pills, so it's nothing surprising!"

Huang Shanyu thought about it, "Su Hao, are you going to refine the remaining 9 sets of materials as well?"

Achieving a 30% pill success rate would be profitable, which meant Su Hao had value!

"So what if he refines them all? I can refine this kind of pill for the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion anytime," Xu Wensi said, sensing a crisis.

Su Hao glanced at Xu Wensi, whose hair was gray.

This guy was fifty or sixty years old and only at Qi Refining Level 4, confined to this sunless alchemy room to refine pills.

His lips were an unusually pale black, a sign of accumulated pill poison.

This person refined pills every day, inhaling various herbal medicines, including some poisons. How could he not be affected?

Su Hao's heart skipped a beat.

If he truly joined the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, wouldn't he end up like this guy, seemingly having good treatment and status, but actually having no freedom, spending his days refining pills?

Would he be able to establish his own territory like Lin Zhi Shan, free from any constraints?

"There's no need. I've already proven my words are true. Since this level of skill still doesn't catch Elder Huang's dharma eye, let's forget it."

Su Hao glanced at the pill, retracted what he was about to say, and walked out.

"Nephew Su, how about this: if you can refine a Pure Qi Pill within a year, I'll recommend you to join the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion."

Huang Shanyu didn't seem to mind anymore, chuckling as he followed Su Hao out.

"A year? I might as well die in Liu Mei's hands tonight," Su Hao retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Well... don't worry, I'll send someone to speak with Fairy Liu. Fairy Liu will give our Heavenly Treasure Pavilion some face."

Huang Shanyu's tone was a bit hesitant.

"Then thank you, Elder Huang."

Su Hao cupped his hands.

He definitely couldn't rely on such a casual remark.

In the alchemy room, Xu Wensi sniffed the waves of exotic fragrance wafting through the air, casting a suspicious glance at the crystalline pills on the plate.

"No way... High-grade Fragrant Treasure Pill?"

Xu Wensi's expression darkened.

High-grade Fragrant Treasure Pills weren't a big deal for him now, but he himself didn't refine his first high-grade pill until after the age of forty!

While ordinary pills could be made with luck, high-grade pills couldn't be fooled by coincidence; they required extremely precise control throughout the entire refining process.

For low-grade pills like the Fragrant Treasure Pill, the efficacy difference between high-grade and low-grade wasn't significant, but there was a price difference of two to three spirit stones.

This was enough to make the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion interested.

One pill could earn an extra two or three spirit stones. What about a hundred or a thousand?

Even with Xu Wensi's current skill level, he needed to be extremely focused to have a chance of refining one, with a probability of only forty to fifty percent.

"Alchemist Xu, I think the Fragrant Treasure Pills he made have good texture. Are they at least mid-grade?"

Huang Shanyu returned to the alchemy room and asked with a smile.

"Good texture? Actually, it's quite average. But pills fresh out of the furnace are new, and it's easy to misjudge." Xu Wensi pointed to the Fragrant Treasure Pills on the plate. "Here, take a closer look!"

Huang Shanyu leaned in to see. The Fragrant Treasure Pills on the plate looked ordinary, and one even had a cracked outer layer, with poor appearance. "Strange, their appearance deteriorated so much in just a short while... Never mind, I hope Fairy Liu won't bother with a minor character like Su Hao."