Alchemy Failure

Li Jun looked around. Everywhere his gaze fell, there were severed limbs and broken arms, blood mist rising into the air.

Atop the ancient array's jade disk, it had already become a living hell on earth.

And yet, whether it was the inner sect disciples around him or Shen Xiyue, all of them wore indifferent expressions, as if they had long since grown used to it.

Before the alchemy furnace, Shen Xiyue's pretty face was faintly cold.

"Clean it all up."

After saying that, she flicked her sleeve in slight displeasure and drifted away.

"Don't just stand there. Hurry up and help."

Liu Pan'er walked over and said to Li Jun.

Li Jun nodded, silently following the others to put the alchemy room back in order.

"Li Jun, Eldest Senior Sister is looking for you. Come with me."

"All right. I'll have to trouble you, Senior Sister."

Li Jun followed Liu Pan'er to Medicine Peak's main peak.

Unlike the seclusion of the back mountain, Medicine Peak's main peak was much livelier.

As one of the Azure Cloud Sect's two great main peaks, Medicine Peak's disciples were not only devoted to their main craft of alchemy; their combat strength was likewise far from ordinary.

The peak was divided into two halls: Alchemy Hall specialized in the art of alchemy, while Fire Hall focused on practical combat and killing.

And the Red Firmament Art, as the Azure Cloud Sect's strongest cultivation method, was precisely the root reason why the disciples of Artifact Peak and Medicine Peak, relying on the advantage of their fire spiritual roots, had gradually stood out over the years and far surpassed the other two peaks.

Before long, the two of them arrived before a pavilion.

The pavilion had three floors and occupied around ten mu of land, its entire structure built from obsidian.

Not only was it warm in winter and cool in summer, it could also gather spiritual energy, marking it as the residence of a core disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect.

Of course, since Shen Xiyue was the Azure Cloud Sect's chief eldest disciple, her residence, whether in location or size, belonged to the very top tier.

After entering the pavilion, Li Jun shuddered all over. The dense spiritual energy left him somewhat dazed.

Wasn't this spiritual energy a little too dense?

If the spiritual energy in the cowshed was a small stream, then the spiritual energy here was already a long river!

This difference was at least tenfold!

"There's no need to make a fuss. This place has a Level 2 Spirit Gathering Array, so spiritual energy gathers here without pause."

Liu Pan'er gave him a reminder, the corner of her mouth carrying a teasing curve.

"Thank you for clearing up my confusion, Senior Sister."

Li Jun pulled his mind back, feeling extremely envious.

Someday in the future, he also wanted to have a cave residence like this.

If he cultivated in such an environment, who knew how many Spirit Stones he could save? His cultivation speed would surely be much faster as well.

"Senior Sister, I've brought Li Jun."

In the main hall, Shen Xiyue sat beside a table with one hand propping up her forehead.

After hearing the voice, she raised her head and beckoned. "Good. You may leave first."

Liu Pan'er bent in farewell, and before leaving, she signaled for Li Jun to hurry forward and pay his respects.

Li Jun quickly stepped forward and cupped his fists with both hands. "Li Jun greets Eldest Senior Sister."

"No need for such courtesy. During today's alchemy, did you sense anything?"

Li Jun's heart gave a thump.

If it had been before, he might have simply told the truth.

But this time, dozens of mortals had directly exploded into blood mist, and Shen Xiyue had not even blinked.

The reactions of the others had also been very strange. Not only were they extremely cold, they even seemed to have long since seen this sort of thing until it became nothing new.

Clearly, these people were not doing this for the first time. They might even have done it many times!

Li Jun did not reject slaughter. In this world, mercy toward enemies was cruelty toward oneself; he had never denied that.

The weak were prey to the strong, schemes and deception abounded, and for cultivation resources, fighting and killing were even more the norm.

But Li Jun did not approve of this method of alchemy. What difference was there between this way of refining pills through the indiscriminate killing of innocents and "eating people to cultivate"?

So although the Shen Xiyue before him treated people kindly, the person behind that front might be someone extremely ruthless.

"I have to say something. If I have no value, I'm afraid my end won't be much better."

Li Jun came to a decision in his heart.

He was only a tiny outer sect disciple. The reason the other party was willing to take him in was, in essence, because she had taken an interest in the certain perception ability he had displayed during the previous alchemy session.

In Shen Xiyue's understanding, he seemed to have received some kind of alteration from the ancient array, which was why he could sense abnormalities during the alchemy process.

Now that Shen Xiyue's pill refining had failed, she naturally wanted to hear some good news.

Li Jun thought for a moment, then said pensively, "Eldest Senior Sister, the temperature of the pill flame during this refinement should have been fine. It's just that those medicinal primers seemed a little strange."

Shen Xiyue betrayed no emotion. "The most important improvement in this refinement was the addition of a new supplementary ingredient. According to the ancient texts, this supplementary ingredient must be refined together with the medicinal primer's 'innate fate' to achieve the best effect."

"But you saw the result. A mortal body cannot withstand such powerful medicinal properties. And the best medicinal primer is precisely a mortal body. From the looks of it, this seems to be a dead knot."

Li Jun's eyes flickered slightly, and he understood the reason those mortals had exploded.

"Eldest Senior Sister, I do have an idea. I don't know whether it would be feasible."

"Oh? Let's hear it."

Shen Xiyue's interest was piqued.

"Eldest Senior Sister, since the medicinal primer has to be refined together with that supplementary ingredient to produce the greatest effect, then we can consider neutralizing the ferocity of the supplementary ingredient. That way, the medicinal primer can absorb it without exploding and dying."

Shen Xiyue nodded. "Continue."

"Eldest Senior Sister, I don't know what that supplementary ingredient is, but if it's a spirit herb or spirit medicine, it can actually be fed to a Spirit Ox using a special method. A Spirit Ox's stomach is very strong, and can merge that supplementary ingredient's medicinal properties into its milk."

Shen Xiyue's eyes lit up. She understood what Li Jun meant.

"You have a way to do it?"

Li Jun straightened his back and cupped his hands. "Replying to Senior Sister, Li Jun cannot guarantee success, but there is a high chance it will work."

Hearing Li Jun's answer, Shen Xiyue's mood finally improved somewhat.

As expected, her eye for talent was still quite good.

"Fine. I'll give you a chance. If you can neutralize the medicinal properties, I can give you more Spirit Stones to aid your cultivation. When the time comes, wanting to be promoted to an inner sect disciple won't be impossible either."

"Many thanks, Eldest Senior Sister. Li Jun will do everything in his power!"

Medicine Peak's rear mountain, the cowshed.

After returning from Shen Xiyue's place, Li Jun truly let out a sigh of relief.

He had a feeling that if he had said he had not sensed anything unusual, the next time she refined pills, Shen Xiyue might very well take him to run experiments on.

As for why he had said that.

First, because in the Fusang Hand, Li Jun had indeed seen such a technique.

Second, it could also make Shen Xiyue feel that he had value to exploit, so she would not take him to be killed in an experiment one day.

Lastly, Li Jun also had a little selfish motive of his own.

If he could neutralize the supplementary ingredient's medicinal properties, then in the future he could seize the chance to suggest that Shen Xiyue raise more Spirit Oxen.

As long as there were more Spirit Oxen, he could obtain more milk, and that would be even more beneficial to his cultivation!

As long as the Purple Foundation Pill remained unfinished for a single day, he could continue to pull Shen Xiyue's tiger-skin banner over himself and cultivate in secret.

Li Jun took a deep breath. If he wanted to survive in the Azure Cloud Sect, for now he could only bind himself to Shen Xiyue. Otherwise, he would be unable to move an inch.

"In the future, I'll also have to study Hu Dadao's map. If things go wrong, I can make preparations in advance and run for it early."

Afterward, Li Jun opened the formula Shen Xiyue had given him.

The so-called supplementary ingredient was actually a formula for a medicinal liquid.

It was said to be able to stimulate medicinal properties, raising the Purple Foundation Pill's effects to another level.

"I'll mix it first and take a look."

He went to the storeroom and took out a medicine vat, as well as the ten portions of materials Shen Xiyue had given him.

"Three taels of Fervent Heart Grass, two stalks of Dragon Blood Ginseng, four taels of Spirit Focusing Flower..."

Just as Li Jun was mixing according to the formula, lines of text suddenly appeared before him.

[Missing main ingredient: Purple Lightning Thunder Bud]