Failed Refinement

As soon as the Soul Nurturing Pill entered his belly, he felt a warmth spread through his heart, making his entire body feel cozy.

He even felt a sense of 'strengthening,' but upon checking his body, he found no changes.

Chen Lin rejoiced inwardly.

It seemed this pill could indeed nourish and strengthen the soul. Since he didn't need to split his soul, he didn't have to expend any of the medicinal effects, absorbing them all himself.

He knew nothing about souls, only that they were beneficial, but he was unaware of the specific advantages.

Still, it didn't matter as long as it was good for him.

Calming himself, Chen Lin, following the instructions in the soul-splitting secret technique, feigned a pained expression and pretended to inject soul power into the talisman, continuing his refinement.

Outside the courtyard.

Lu Li stared intently into the house, Chen Lin's every move captivating his attention. His palms clenched subconsciously.

The Soul Capturing Talisman was extremely important to him, and it was incredibly difficult to refine.

He couldn't find many Talisman Masters because, even with the Soul Nurturing Pill, irreversible damage to the soul was still a risk. The few renowned Grand Talisman Masters would absolutely refuse to craft it.

Without the Soul Capturing Talisman, his treasure couldn't be restored for use, significantly weakening his strength.

At this critical juncture, a decline in strength was tantamount to an increased chance of death.

"Whoosh!"

The Talisman Paper before Chen Lin erupted in a ball of black fire, ending in failure once again.

Lu Li's eyes seemed ready to spew fire as well.

Ye Jingyun glanced at him. She said nothing but placed a hand on her Flying Sword, preventing him from flying into a rage and potentially harming Chen Lin.

Chen Lin's expression remained unchanged.

This failure was within his expectations, as he hadn't followed the standard refinement method to draw the Talisman Runes.

He had no intention of actually refining the talisman!

Even someone blessed with great fortune wouldn't succeed every single time; occasional failure was normal.

He wasn't willing to waste his own resources, so he had to waste someone else's. Lu Li, the gullible fool, was perfect for the job.

With Ye Jingyun present, the other party couldn't do much to him. He would be leaving this city in a few days anyway, so he didn't need to care about those damn Five Great Families.

Besides, he had already consumed the Soul Nurturing Pill and couldn't possibly return it. While the mid-grade Flying Sword was tempting, it wouldn't significantly boost his strength, as he wasn't a sword cultivator who primarily focused on sword control.

While lost in thought, he attempted several more refinements.

Without exception, they all ended in failure.

Looking at the empty Talisman Ink bottle, Chen Lin put on a dejected and helpless expression and slowly stood up.

At that moment, Lu Li, who had been closely observing the situation, rushed into the room, murderous intent practically radiating from his eyes!

"I'm sorry, I've failed Fellow Daoist Lu's expectations, but I truly did my best."

Chen Lin appeared weak, swaying slightly as he offered Lu Li a bitter smile.

"You're courting death! Do you know how many Spirit Stones I spent on these materials? Do you know the value of a single Soul Nurturing Pill? Did you do this on purpose? I'll take your life!"

Overwhelmed by immense disappointment, Lu Li exploded, pointing his Flying Sword, which shot towards Chen Lin's face!

However, the moment the Flying Sword was launched, it was caught by a phantom, earth-yellow hand, emitting mournful cries.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, what is the meaning of this? My disciple already stated that success couldn't be guaranteed. Furthermore, the Soul Capturing Talisman is inherently a talisman with a very low success rate, so failure is quite normal. Yet, you intend to kill him in a fit of rage? Do you not hold me, Ye Jingyun, in any regard!"

Ye Jingyun's voice was cool and clear. As she spoke, she retracted the spell she had cast, and Lu Li's Flying Sword clattered to the ground.

Lu Li's expression darkened. He summoned his Flying Sword back with a gesture, slowly retreated outside the door, and then laughed in extreme anger. "Good, good, good, Ye Jingyun. I hope you can remain this defiant!"

With that, he took flight and soared out of the courtyard.

Seeing the other party retreat without a fight, Chen Lin breathed a sigh of relief.

His cultivation was too low to discern Lu Li's exact level. He worried that if Lu Li was also at Qi Refining ninth layer, or even more powerful than Ye Jingyun, she might not be able to risk her life to protect him.

In that case, he would have had to summon Yu Yuehai.

"Thank you for your help, Fellow Daoist Ye!"

Chen Lin approached and respectfully bowed to Ye Jingyun.

This bow was sincere.

Although he hadn't figured out the reason, she had consistently shown him great care, even more so than Yu Yuehai.

Ye Jingyun smiled slightly and teased, "What? Now that the danger has passed, you don't recognize me as your master anymore?"

"Ah!"

Chen Lin was taken aback.

He had assumed her mention of a master-disciple relationship was merely an excuse to prevent Lu Li from attacking him. Could it be that she was serious?

His eyes flickered slightly, unable to ascertain her true intentions for a moment.

However, he immediately bowed deeply again. "This disciple greets Master!"

Since the other party said that, whether it was a joke or they genuinely had such intentions, he had to solidify their relationship.

Even though his age was almost that of the other party's father, and even though they were both at the Qi Refining Stage, he had to acknowledge this master.

Every bit of connection meant one more sliver of hope for survival; he couldn't afford to worry about anything else.

Regarding Chen Lin's kowtow to formally become a disciple, Ye Jingyun neither accepted nor rejected it. Instead, she turned and went back into Yu Yuehai's room.

Chen Lin stood there for a while before returning to his room with a thoughtful expression.

He sat alone in his room for a while longer, still unable to understand Ye Jingyun's intentions.

The other party clearly had an agenda; otherwise, there would be no reason for her to show him such concern. But since she wasn't explaining, he had no way to guess, and could only take things one step at a time.

He shook his head to clear his mind and began to focus on refining the medicinal properties of the Soul Nurturing Pill.

He had never even heard of this pill before; its value should be considerable, so he couldn't waste it.

After refining the pill, he felt refreshed and invigorated, with a sense of lightness.

However, this feeling didn't last long, and he soon returned to normal.

He checked himself but found no changes, so he continued to refine the Enlightenment Pill and the Thunderclap Bead.

He had originally planned to refine some First Origin Pills as well, but he didn't have enough materials for ten batches. He couldn't refine them without sufficient materials, so he had to give up.

The materials for the Thunderclap Bead were still very cheap, so he bought a lot.

Moreover, as he refined them more and more, there were several instances where he succeeded without relying on his innate ability.

"Could it be that I've eaten too many Enlightenment Pills and become more perceptive?"

Chen Lin, who had completely given up on his own aptitude, was overjoyed.

In addition, besides the increased success rate, his understanding of the Thunderclap Bead's principles deepened. He could even modify and simplify the formations, and even managed to layer two stable formations on a single set of materials, making them more stable.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him.

"Is it possible to use the finished Thunderclap Beads as materials and refine a more powerful, layered combination of Thunderclap Beads?"

This thought sent a jolt through Chen Lin's body, and he immediately took out several Thunderclap Beads and a pile of neutralizing materials.

After carefully pondering it in his mind, he felt that theoretically, it should work.

The Thunderclap Bead produced an explosion by utilizing the impact force between materials. A finished Thunderclap Bead could be considered an unstable material. He just didn't know if the layered formation method he developed could maintain such intense stability.

As for the correct refining method, it should also be fine.

He could use the same techniques as before; he was already extremely proficient with them.

The rest would have to be left to his innate ability.