Green Wood Snake Seed

"These are the defective and waste Wood Origin Pills from the past seven months; they are all here."

Master Mo pointed to a stack of long wooden boxes on the table, then proceeded to explain in detail to Lin Changheng the method for processing these waste pills.

Only after hearing the full explanation did Lin Changheng realize the truth.

It turned out that the method for processing these defective Wood Origin Pills was not overly complex, but it had a high barrier to entry and was extremely taxing on both time and energy.

This was the fundamental reason why he had only given Lin Changheng Crimson Flame Pills in the beginning.

He needed to reverse twelve alchemy seals, which meant integrating the essence blood of demonic beasts into twelve specific steps of the pill-refining process.

The goal was to extract the Green Wood Snake essence blood contained within them.

It was a task that could only be performed by a ranked alchemist!

Once processed, they were to be sent back to the Xu Family and were not for public sale.

They could be used to nurture the fry of a certain spirit fish in the Black Water River, laying a foundation for them to ensure a higher survival rate and better growth in the future.

However, because it was so time-consuming, Master Mo had always brought them back to the family each year to hand over directly.

Although he had been asked many times to process them himself, Master Mo had shamelessly avoided the task, leaving the family elders helpless and unable to laugh or cry.

But after doing this so many times, Master Mo felt quite embarrassed. Now that Lin Changheng had delivered himself to his doorstep, he decided to go with the flow and hand the task over to him.

Young people, after all, should do more and learn more—it would do him no harm!

Before this "persuasion" tactic—which made Master Mo's old face burn with shame—could even leave his lips, Lin Changheng had already proactively accepted the task, leaving Master Mo deeply moved!

Watching Lin Changheng gather the eight long wooden boxes containing the defective Wood Origin Pills and the three containing Crimson Flame Pills into his arms, clutching them tightly as he headed downstairs, Master Mo was filled with emotion at such a dedicated attitude toward his duties.

If one is to take an apprentice, let it be like Lin Changheng!

"Wait!"

Suddenly, Master Mo called out, stopping Lin Changheng in his tracks.

"Is something the matter, Master Mo?"

Lin Changheng's heart skipped a beat.

"Take this. It is a storage bag I replaced some time ago; it has a capacity of one cubic meter. Don't look down on it—consider it a congratulatory gift for your promotion to alchemist."

A wisp of spiritual power carried a gray storage bag through the air toward him.

"How could I?! Thank you, Master Mo! I shall treasure this as if it were a precious jewel!" Lin Changheng's eyes lit up.

"Hehe, no need for thanks. Be off with you now!"

Having just finished his alchemy seals in the pill room and returned to the small cultivation chamber on the first floor of the shop, Lin Changheng waved his hand and retrieved the last of the eight long wooden boxes containing the Wood Origin Pills from his storage bag.

He had long heard of the wonders of storage bags; even the lowest-grade bag with a capacity of one cubic meter was worth a hundred low-grade spirit stones.

That was thirty percent more expensive than a low-grade magical artifact.

Even a second-hand storage bag with clear signs of wear would still cost sixty or seventy spirit stones, though there was no real market for them, as people feared they were stolen goods and avoided the associated trouble.

Upon first receiving the bag, he had spent a long time playing with "storing and retrieving" items before carefully hiding it beneath his robes to avoid being seen.

"Continue!"

Lin Changheng was very patient. He could have extracted all the Green Wood Snake essence blood in one go, but he chose to do it slowly.

He extracted from a dozen or so pills each day.

It had taken over ten days to finish, and this was the final batch!

Even if Master Mo were to suddenly call for an inspection, or even check the storage bag, he would not find a single anomaly!

This was the steady, cautious nature that belonged solely to Lin Changheng.

He opened the wooden box, looked at the dozen or so defective pills before him, and swept his hand over them.

At the same time, he connected his consciousness to the Origin Cauldron at the center of his mind.

Whoosh!

A flash of green light erupted, and in an instant, all the essence blood within the defective Wood Origin Pills was completely drained.

It then sank into his consciousness, where the Origin Cauldron rippled slightly, releasing a glow that revealed a new, emerald-green treasure seed alongside the existing gold and crimson ones.

[Green Wood Snake Treasure Seed: Spirit Snatching Transformation in progress]

[Spirit Snatching: 79/100]

[Utility: Common-grade demonic beast bloodline, naturally possesses wood affinity, carries innate talents: Entanglement, Poison Neutralization, Miasma Spray. Upon completion of Spirit Snatching, one may be refined into the body.]

"Nearly eighty percent complete! In another two or three months, this Green Wood Snake Treasure Seed will finish its transformation!"

A look of satisfaction flashed through Lin Changheng's eyes.

He had not expected to be able to push the progress to this stage in such a short amount of time.

"Entanglement, Poison Neutralization, Miasma Spray... which one should I choose?"

Lin Changheng had been struggling with this decision for some time. Aside from Entanglement, Poison Neutralization and Miasma Spray both seemed like good options, and today, he finally made up his mind.

"Poison Neutralization!"

Lin Changheng decided to choose something that could protect himself.

Unlike high-level cultivators, those in the Qi Refining stage had limited means and relied heavily on various methods of poisoning; all sorts of toxins were diverse and emerged one after another.

Moreover, this place was not far from the border of the Wilderness. Within the Wilderness, countless poisonous insects and beasts existed, and toxic gases and miasmas were frequently encountered; one could easily fall victim to them without even knowing how.

Whether during the Small Reclamation or the Great Reclamation, it was not uncommon for cultivators to have their paths ruined due to injuries from poisoning.

Having a method like Poison Neutralization at his disposal would truly provide much more peace of mind.

Having figured this out, Lin Changheng touched the crimson treasure seed again to take a look.

Fire Crow Treasure Seed: First Layer

Spirit Snatch: 22/100

Hmm, the progress was steady.

Next, Lin Changheng began to take stock of his current possessions.

They were quite substantial.

Originally, he had only one spirit stone left.

Last month, he had received ten percent of the pills he refined, which amounted to five Crimson Flame Pills. Selling them to the shop at market price had earned him ten spirit stones.

Adding the three issued to apprentices and subtracting the twelve spent on six Blood Replenishing Pills—enough to last him half a year—he had two left.

This was not the main bulk.

The key was that he still had twenty-five authentic Crimson Flame Pills hidden in his storage bag; the five portions of materials he had originally deposited had all been refined into pills!

At market price, that was fifty low-grade spirit stones!

Among them, there was one that Lin Changheng had consumed himself.

It was indeed effective; Lin Changheng estimated it was equivalent to five days of arduous cultivation.

However, he would need to spend half a month to thoroughly refine and slowly absorb this single pill.

Furthermore, it contained a very small amount of pill poison, but it was still present.

Lin Changheng was somewhat worried and had consulted Master Mo about it. The answer he received was to consume them in moderation.

He suggested taking one authentic Crimson Flame Pill a month, as the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.

Exceeding this amount would cause the drawbacks to outweigh the benefits.

If one were to consume a fine-quality Crimson Flame Pill, the medicinal effect would be stronger and the pill poison would be minimal, allowing for the possibility of taking two per month.

That would be equivalent to half a month of arduous cultivation!

Master Mo had encouraged Lin Changheng to strive toward refining pills in that direction.

He even used himself as an example, saying that his own rate of producing fine-quality pills per furnace was only ten percent, and he couldn't even achieve that with every batch.

Some mediocre mid-grade alchemists might even go their entire lives without ever refining a single fine-quality pill.

"Fine-quality pill..."

Lin Changheng walked toward his home, lost in thought.

He considered himself quite skilled at refining Crimson Flame Pills, but after seeing the fine-quality pill Master Mo had produced, he knew he still had a long way to go.

He tried often, yet still could not achieve it.

Could it be that my Fire Control ability is still insufficient? Is the scorching and refining not deep enough?

As he thought this, he suddenly saw a slender figure at his doorstep, knocking on his door.

He couldn't help but be stunned.