Refining the Bigu Pill

Chapter 17: Refining the Bigu Pill

He withdrew from the Mysterious Space and flew toward Danxia Mountain on his artifact.

Shi Yue had over a hundred jin of Spirit Rice, plus several hundred jin of Blood Qi Fruit and Purple Luo Apricot, just enough to refine Bigu Pills.

Arriving at Danxia Mountain, Shi Yue spent two Spirit Stones to rent a low-grade Alchemy Room.

Over the past month, Shi Yue had also set aside some time to review several alchemy insights, benefiting greatly from them.

This time, he was quite confident he could successfully refine the Bigu Pill.

Shi Yue sat cross-legged before a Yellow Furnace. After meditating for a quarter of an hour, he opened his eyes, exhaled a mouthful of turbid breath, and began alchemy.

He formed hand seals, and several streams of magic power struck the dragon head, sending streaks of Crimson Flame flying out to gather beneath the furnace.

A little less than half an hour later, feeling the preheating was sufficient, Shi Yue tossed the prepared materials into the furnace and sealed the lid.

After another quarter of an hour, a thick medicinal fragrance wafted out from the furnace.

Smelling the rich aroma, Shi Yue grew even more cautious, his expression turning grave.

Half an hour later, with a "bang," a burnt smell emerged from the furnace.

This batch of Bigu Pills had failed.

Shi Yue frowned, carefully reviewing the entire alchemy process. He suspected the flame had been too intense, causing the failure. He cleaned the residue from the furnace and began refining a second batch of Bigu Pills...

Two days later, Shi Yue sat cross-legged before the furnace, now engulfed in Rolling Blazing Flames. The Alchemy Room was filled with a dense fragrance.

At this point, Shi Yue looked haggard, his eyes bloodshot.

He had lost count of how many times he had failed. Only one thought occupied his mind: to refine the Bigu Pill.

He refused to believe that others could do it while he, Shi Yue, could not. He had to prove to himself that he could.

Half an hour later, Shi Yue withdrew his hand seals, and the flames enveloping the furnace instantly scattered and vanished.

With a flick of his sleeve, the lid flew off and landed steadily on the ground.

Shi Yue stood up and quickly walked to the furnace. Inside lay ten yellow pills, each the size of a dragon's eye.

A wave of immense accomplishment brought a smile to Shi Yue's weary face. After countless failures, he had finally succeeded in refining the Bigu Pill.

Shi Yue picked up one yellow pill, sniffed it lightly, and placed it in his mouth.

As soon as the pill entered his mouth, it dissolved into a stream of saliva that flowed into his stomach.

The next moment, a warm sensation spread through his entire body, and a slight feeling of fullness appeared in his stomach.

Shi Yue nodded in satisfaction. Though he had failed over a hundred times before succeeding once, he had succeeded nonetheless. With diligent practice, he believed his success rate would only increase.

He took out an empty White Porcelain Bottle and stored the Bigu Pills inside.

A wave of fatigue washed over him, and Shi Yue's eyes grew heavy. Two days and two nights of nonstop alchemy had pushed him to his limits, both mentally and physically.

With a thought, Shi Yue entered the Mysterious Space. He walked into the stone house, lay down on the Stone Bed, and slowly closed his eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, Shi Yue opened his eyes, feeling refreshed and energized.

At this moment, all the rice stalks in the Spirit Field had fallen over, some even showing signs of rot.

Shi Yue took out a Black Porcelain Jar, scooped out a handful of Spirit Rice seeds, and evenly scattered them across the Spirit Field.

After applying rain, green seedlings sprouted from the soil one by one.

Next, he checked the growth of the Condensing Smoke Grass and Blazing Sun Grass. Confirming there were no issues, he withdrew.

Leaving Danxia Hall, Shi Yue flew back to Uncle-Master Zhou's cave dwelling on his artifact.

As soon as he entered, Shi Yue hurried to the three mu of Water Moon Flowers and applied rain to them.

After finishing all this, Shi Yue walked out and flew toward Great Void Valley on his artifact.

The five Blood Qi Fruit trees and five Purple Luo Apricot trees had borne far too many fruits—several hundred jin of each. Shi Yue had only used a few dozen jin of Blood Qi Fruit and Purple Luo Apricot for refining Bigu Pills. He planned to keep some for further alchemy and sell the rest for Spirit Stones to purchase Cultivation Resources.

Arriving at the market, Shi Yue took a lap around it and entered a shop that purchased Spirit Herbs.

This shop, named Hundred Herbs, was two streets away from the Green Pill Pavilion run by Great Void Sect.

Logically, as a disciple of Great Void Sect, Shi Yue should have sold his spirit fruits to the Green Pill Pavilion. But he chose not to. Many fellow disciples came and went from the Green Pill Pavilion, and being recognized would be troublesome. Selling to strangers was safer.

The spacious hall was packed with cultivators, fifty or sixty of them, all crowded around several counters, speaking with shop assistants dressed in yellow.

Shi Yue swept his divine sense discreetly and found that all these people were Qi Refining Stage cultivators. After a moment's thought, he walked toward one counter.

Glancing left and right to ensure no one was watching him, Shi Yue relaxed and got straight to the point: "Do you buy spirit fruits?"

"We do. Please step into the side room on the left, friend. Someone inside will attend to you," the assistant said, pointing to a Stone Room on the left side of the hall.

Shi Yue nodded and walked toward that Stone Room.

A yellow curtain hung outside the Stone Room, obscuring the view inside. A burly, Black-faced Big Man stood guard outside.

As soon as Shi Yue approached the Stone Room, the Black-faced Big Man stopped him.

"Someone is conducting a transaction inside. Please wait a moment, friend," the Black-faced Big Man said flatly.

Shi Yue nodded and stood there waiting.

Half a quarter of an hour later, a short, stout middle-aged man walked out of the stone room.

The Middle-aged Man's brows were tightly knit; he seemed to be in a poor mood. He cast a casual glance at Shi Yue before quickly striding out of Hundred Herbs Hall.

Seeing this, Shi Yue walked in swiftly.

The Stone Room was fifty or sixty zhang in size, furnished with some antique and elegant tables and chairs. In a corner of the room stood a purple incense burner, within which a stick of incense burned slowly, filling the air with a faint scent of sandalwood.

A shrewd-looking Green-robed Old Man sat on a Grand Tutor Chair. The spiritual energy fluctuations on his body indicated Qi Refining Level 7.

"Old Man here is Liu Yuan. May I ask how this fellow Daoist is called?" the Green-robed Old Man said, rising from his seat with a smile upon seeing Shi Yue.

"Zhao Yue." Shi Yue gave a false name.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Zhao. I wonder what spirit herbs Fellow Daoist Zhao wishes to sell? Feel free to bring them out. This shop will definitely offer a good price." The Green-robed Old Man said with a full smile.

"Does your shop accept Blood Qi Fruit and Purple Luo Apricot? What are the prices?" Shi Yue asked directly.

Hearing this, the Green-robed Old Man's expression showed some disappointment, but he quickly recovered. After a moment's deliberation, he spoke: "Of course we accept them. However, these two spirit fruits are of the lowest grade, so their prices are not high. Blood Qi Fruit is two Spirit Stones per jin, and Purple Luo Apricot is four Spirit Stones per jin."

(New book climbing the charts—begging for recommendation tickets, begging for support!)