Pill refining

The pill formula Zhao Zhengyuan had given him described a pill called the Chuyuan Pill, which greatly benefited the cultivation of Qi Refining Stage cultivators.

Of course, that referred to the effects of the original pill formula.

Now that one of its main ingredients, yunsheng fruit, had been replaced with the common shixiang fruit, it was hard to say whether the pills would retain their original efficacy even if he managed to refine them.

Chen Lin first did some basic preparation of the ingredients, then divided them into ten portions according to the quantities specified in the pill formula.

Then he picked up the Simple Pill Furnace.

Though called a pill cauldron, it was really just an iron pot with a somewhat unusual shape. It was not a magical tool, either, and did nothing to improve his chances of successfully refining pills.

With equipment like this, he could only refine the lowest-grade pills, and the success rate was supposedly enough to move a person to tears.

But a properly graded pill cauldron was a high-end item. Never mind whether he could find one for sale-even if he did, he could not afford it.

Just ten sets of pill-refining ingredients had consumed nearly half the spirit stones he had risked his life to obtain.

After setting the pill cauldron on level ground, Chen Lin took out some fuel specially intended for pill refining, placed it underneath, and lit it.

Higher-grade pills required an alchemist's Samadhi True Fire, or a special fire source such as earth fire or spirit fire.

Had this pill formula not been modified, the properties of yunsheng fruit would have made it impossible to refine with ordinary fuel. Once it was replaced with shixiang fruit, however, that was no longer a problem.

Fanned by a hand-cranked fan, the fuel burned ever more fiercely, soon glowing red.

Chen Lin drew a breath, lit the half-stick of jingxin incense he had saved while making Soul-Detaining Talismans, and began adding the ingredients to the pill cauldron in order.

Normally, a beginner like him should have refined each ingredient into an intermediate product separately before combining them at the end.

Such a crude approach was something only experienced Pill Masters used when refining pills they already knew inside out.

But his situation was different. All he needed was a valid refining method.

He slowly nudged the pill cauldron, rotating it.

The flames also rose and fell with the speed of the fan.

Only after nearly an hour and several additions of fuel did the ingredients in the pot begin to melt, slowly cooking down into a paste.

Chen Lin had no idea whether this was right, but it more or less matched what the pill formula described, so he proceeded to the next step: adding the main ingredient, shixiang fruit.

Bang!

The instant the shixiang fruit went in, it was like tossing an open flame into explosives. A bang rang out, sending the entire iron pot flying and splattering medicinal paste everywhere.

Chen Lin retreated far away, frantically wiping the dregs off his face.

Ignoring the large blisters rising on his face, he hurriedly extinguished the fire, then went over to the table and checked the remaining ingredients.

Only after finding that none of the ingredients had been damaged did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"I never imagined pill refining could be so dangerous. No wonder there are so few alchemists."

Muttering to himself, Chen Lin began cleaning up the mess, then set the pill cauldron up again.

Next, he went outside and checked each room. Only after confirming that everyone was out did he return to his room with peace of mind and continue refining pills.

Other beginners might have stopped to investigate what had gone wrong, but all he wanted was to rack up attempts as quickly as possible.

This time, however, he had learned his lesson. He put on several extra layers of clothing and wrapped his head and hands tightly to keep himself from being scalded again.

The steps remained the same.

When it came time to add the shixiang fruit again, it exploded with another bang.

Prepared this time, Chen Lin escaped injury. After a quick cleanup, he began his third attempt.

Time passed little by little.

At last, he reached his tenth attempt.

Since the process required little mana, Chen Lin was not particularly tired, aside from the misery of the explosions.

Even the lowest-level cultivators possessed physical and mental resilience beyond that of ordinary people.

Looking at the final set of ingredients left on the table, Chen Lin took a deep breath and approached the iron pot.

After so many attempts, he could now handle the process as easily as driving a familiar carriage down a well-known road.

But pill refining was unlike talismancrafting. No matter how practiced he became, he still had to wait for the proper heat and timing.

Nearly an hour later, the supporting ingredients began to melt.

Chen Lin picked up the shixiang fruit and cranked the fan furiously, raising the temperature of the flames.

All nine previous attempts had failed at this hurdle. Truthfully, he felt somewhat apprehensive.

Although countless experiments had already confirmed his talent ability, this was his first time using it for pill refining.

After a short wait, the medicinal liquid in the pot began to roil.

Bracing himself, Chen Lin quickly tossed the shixiang fruit inside.

Bang!

A tremendous blast rang out.

The earlier scene repeated itself as the medicinal liquid in the pot exploded outward.

Just as Chen Lin's expression changed drastically and he thought his talent ability had failed, that familiar fluctuation of energy suddenly appeared.

An invisible hand swept gently through the air, gathering all the splashing medicinal liquid together and returning it to the iron pot.

Then the medicinal liquid began to solidify at a speed visible to the naked eye, finally forming ten milky-white pills the size of quail eggs.

Chen Lin froze for a moment, then was overjoyed.

He quickly took out the pills and extinguished the flames, then eagerly examined them.

Each of the ten pills gave off a medicinal fragrance that refreshed the heart and soul. Smooth, round, and flawless, they were clearly no ordinary objects.

After admiring them delightedly for a while, he took out a porcelain bottle and carefully placed the pills inside.

Then he rose, went to the window, and opened it to look outside. Only after confirming that no one had returned did he relax.

Back at the Iron Cauldron Pill Cauldron, Chen Lin could not restrain himself from taking the pills out for another look. The more he looked, the happier he became.

To his eyes, these ten perfectly round pills were more lovable than ten peerless beauties!

His talent ability was as overbearing as ever.

Although it only succeeded once in ten attempts, every success yielded a perfect result. This pill formula could theoretically produce at most ten pills per batch, and it had given him all ten.

Even a Pill Grandmaster probably could not achieve such a yield.

Of course, a Pill Grandmaster would not succeed only once in ten batches, either.

After cleaning up the mess, Chen Lin hurried out of the room.

He returned quite some time later, carrying a cage with a little white rabbit inside.

Although he had refined the pills according to the formula Zhao Zhengyuan had given him, he knew absolutely nothing about pill refining. He could not determine whether the pills were genuine or poisonous, so he needed to test them.

He took out a Chuyuan Pill, stuffed it into the little white rabbit's mouth, and quietly watched.

Soon, the rabbit grew frenzied, repeatedly crashing against the cage.

Its body also began to swell, growing larger and larger like a balloon being inflated, looking as though it might burst at any moment.

At this sight, Chen Lin's expression darkened.

But as time passed, the scene he anticipated did not occur. The rabbit's body slowly returned to its original size, and it stopped behaving frantically. Instead, its fur became noticeably glossier.

Chen Lin thought it over and began to understand.

What had happened was probably not caused by a problem with the pill, but by the rabbit's inability to withstand the concentrated energy within it. After all, this was only an ordinary rabbit, not a monster beast.

With that thought, Chen Lin's expression eased, and he continued observing the rabbit for changes.

He waited until the next morning. Only when he saw that the rabbit had not died but had instead become even livelier did he feel reassured.

Eagerly, he hung a "Closed-door cultivation-do not disturb" sign outside his door, sat on a meditation cushion in a cultivation posture, and began calming his mind.

An hour later, Chen Lin suddenly opened his eyes, took the small bottle containing the Chuyuan Pills from inside his robe, poured out a pill, and swallowed it in one gulp.

The moment the pill entered his stomach, it burst into an energy cluster that spread throughout his limbs and body.

It made his meridians sting slightly.

Rather than alarm him, this delighted him. He could guide this energy with his cultivation technique, which proved that the pill was genuine. And the stronger its medicinal power, the better its effects.

It gave him hope of a breakthrough.

The original owner of his body had long since reached the peak of the second layer of Qi Refining, but no matter how hard he tried, he had been unable to break through to the third layer of Qi Refining. He had taken some cheap medicines before, but they had done little good.

Perhaps his opportunity had finally arrived.

After that surge of delighted surprise, Chen Lin immediately focused his mind and devoted all his effort to circulating the medicinal power according to his cultivation technique.

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