Qi Refining Level Four

"Congratulations, Senior Sister. From now on, you can be counted as a disciple of the Alchemy Hall."

"Ah, there's nothing to congratulate me for. As long as I'm not an inner sect disciple, I'll always be a head shorter than others here on Medicine Peak."

Yin Caiwei waved her hand.

But even so, it was hard to hide her excitement.

On Medicine Peak, only by passing the assessment could one join the Alchemy Hall or the Fire Hall.

Otherwise, one could only do odd jobs on Medicine Peak and would never be able to come into contact with better resources.

"Oh right, Junior Brother, can I come ask you for advice on pill formulas in the future too?"

"Of course. If Senior Sister is willing to share, I naturally couldn't ask for more."

Li Jun nodded. He had been worrying about how to get into alchemy.

"Thank you, Junior Brother! I won't take advantage of you either. In the future, I'll give you a share of my monthly stipend. We'll count it as cooperation."

Yin Caiwei said generously.

After all this, she could be considered to know where the problem had arisen.

Those inner sect disciples looked friendly on the surface, calling her "Junior Sister" one after another, their voices sweeter than anyone's.

But when it came to something as crucial as pill formulas, these people had actually fooled her, causing her to suffer so many lashes.

If Li Jun hadn't reminded her, she would never have passed the assessment in this lifetime.

"There's no need for the monthly stipend. If Senior Sister can share some interesting sect gossip with me, I'll be perfectly satisfied," Li Jun said with a smile.

"Of course, no problem. Junior Brother, have you solved that auxiliary ingredient of yours? I heard that Eldest Senior Sister is going to refine pills again in a few days. When the time comes, I'm afraid..."

Medicine Peak—Alchemy Room

At that moment, the atmosphere inside the alchemy room was stifling.

Li Jun looked at the laborers who had been captured and brought in. This time, there were a full fifty people.

"Make your preparations!"

Shen Xiyue looked around and waved her hand as she gave the order.

Li Jun came to the Ancient Array just like last time. As the alchemy began, the medicinal catalyst on the jade disk began convulsing all over.

Shen Xiyue's fine brows furrowed slightly. Was it going to fail this time too?

However, as the refining process continued, the medicinal catalyst on the jade disk actually slowly quieted down.

"Eldest Senior Sister, the furnace temperature is too high," Li Jun reminded her in time.

"Good!"

Shen Xiyue had no time to be happy and hurriedly controlled the Earth Fire, adjusting the pill furnace's temperature.

Perhaps it was because of the added auxiliary ingredient, but this round of alchemy had especially complicated requirements for the furnace temperature.

Fortunately, with the entries constantly giving reminders, after enduring for ten days, the improved Purple Foundation Pill was finally completed.

"Pill furnace, open!"

Inside the alchemy room, Shen Xiyue gave a loud shout, and the furnace lid shifted open by a crack.

Five purple pills hovered in midair.

"Congratulations, Eldest Senior Sister!"

Liu Pan'er was the first to speak, and the rest of the crowd hurriedly offered their congratulations as well.

"Not bad. Everyone has worked hard these past few days. Go back and each receive a portion of supplements."

Shen Xiyue was in an excellent mood.

[Alchemy: Progress 8%]

Looking at the progress bar before him, Li Jun also let out a long breath.

Although this round of alchemy had resolved the auxiliary ingredient's fierce nature, the entire refining process had become even more complicated.

Clearly, as the variety of medicinal ingredients increased, there were higher requirements for the temperature of the pill fire, as well as the method of fusing the ingredients.

Fortunately, with the entries' reminders, combined with Shen Xiyue's talent, this round of alchemy could be considered a scare without danger.

"Li Jun, Senior Sister wants you to go find her," Liu Pan'er walked over and said softly.

"Thank you, Senior Sister. Li Jun will go right away."

That night, Li Jun once again came to Shen Xiyue's residence.

"Li Jun, you did well this time. What reward do you want?"

Shen Xiyue reclined sideways on a rocking chair, in a very good mood.

"Senior Sister, this is what I should do. Li Jun only wants to work steadily on Medicine Peak."

Li Jun cupped his fists and said.

Shen Xiyue turned her head to look at Li Jun and smiled lightly. "You're very smart, but you should also understand that I made an exception and allowed you to become a disciple of Medicine Peak. In the eyes of outsiders, you're already one of mine."

"I dare not forget Senior Sister's kindness. As for what others think, Li Jun doesn't want to speculate too much. I only want to work for Eldest Senior Sister at Medicine Peak."

Shen Xiyue nodded lightly, then waved her hand. Two bottles of pills flew to Li Jun.

"These are two bottles of Spirit Gathering Pills. Take them and cultivate properly. Although you have Five Spirit Roots, you underwent the Ancient Array's remolding. It's still possible for you to cultivate to the late stage of Qi Refining."

"Thank you, Eldest Senior Sister! Li Jun will definitely cultivate hard."

Shen Xiyue waved a hand. "I've always been clear-cut about kindness and grudges. As long as you work for me sincerely, I naturally won't treat you unfairly."

"Also, in the next few months, I'll be going to Beast Peak to procure some new Spirit Oxen. Expand the cowshed a little."

"As you command, Eldest Senior Sister. If the number of Spirit Oxen is going to increase, could Yin Caiwei assist me? With two people working together, handling the supplementary ingredients will be faster too." Li Jun took the chance to ask.

"That's fine. She was originally in charge of the cowshed before, and you two are already familiar with each other."

"Thank you, Eldest Senior Sister!"

After leaving Shen Xiyue's residence, Li Jun also let out a breath of relief.

He did not know if it was his imagination, but he felt that Shen Xiyue carried an aura of someone in a position of power.

"Expanding the cowshed. Looks like I can keep saving up my milk for a while."

Li Jun looked at the pills in his hand. With Zhao Wenjie's Spirit Stones plus these pills, breaking through to the fourth level of Qi Refining should be a sure thing.

Four months passed in the blink of an eye.

On a meadow in the rear mountain of Medicine Peak.

Li Jun sat quietly cross-legged on a massive boulder.

When the Spirit Stone in his hand turned to powder, a powerful aura of spiritual energy burst out.

"Finally, the fourth level of Qi Refining!"

Li Jun opened his eyes and felt the surging spiritual energy within his body. He felt that his current state was extraordinarily good!

"The fourth level of Qi Refining. I can be considered to have officially stepped into the middle stage of Qi Refining. My spiritual energy has formed a complete heavenly circuit, so from now on, its recovery speed will be even faster."

As Li Jun sensed the spiritual energy in his body, for the first time, he felt a sense of endless vitality.

Aside from his spiritual energy being able to form a complete heavenly circuit, his body had also undergone an initial cleansing.

If he were placed in the secular martial world, he would already count as a martial arts expert.

"Cultivating to the fourth level of Qi Refining in just over half a year—this speed isn't slow either."

Li Jun felt it was necessary to learn a spell that could conceal his cultivation.

Otherwise, if others found out that someone with Five Spirit Roots like him could cultivate to the fourth level of Qi Refining in just over half a year, it would definitely draw the attention of the higher-ups.

"Two bottles of Spirit Gathering Pills, six hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, and this is only the fourth level..."

Li Jun made a rough estimate. Breaking through to the fifth level of Qi Refining would probably require over a thousand low-grade Spirit Stones.

By the time he reached the late stage of Qi Refining, wouldn't that be pushing close to ten thousand?

"I have to learn alchemy. Otherwise, even in another ten years, I'm afraid I still won't cultivate to the late stage of Qi Refining."

Li Jun drove the Spirit Oxen back to the cowshed. At this point, the cowshed had already doubled in size, and the number of Spirit Oxen had also reached sixty.

The thatched hut they had originally lived in had also been renovated and expanded, turning into a two-story small building.

Yin Caiwei lived upstairs, while he lived downstairs. This was more convenient too.

"Junior Brother, you're finally back." Yin Caiwei put down the ladle and said softly, "Steward Huang Yi came by just now."

"Steward Huang Yi? What did she come for?"

"It seems to be about mining. Recently, everyone in the sect has been saying that strange phenomena have been occurring frequently deep in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. This year's winter is probably going to be hard to get through, so they want to mine the Black Rock Mine in advance," Yin Caiwei said.

Li Jun's heart gave a thud.

Was Yao Yuzhi's plan finally about to begin?