Refining Pills

Xiao Yun had long considered building his own faction. It was only because his strength had been too weak before that he had not acted immediately. But now, Xiao Yun had broken through to become a Nine-Star Da Dou Shi. He believed that before long, he would successfully advance to the Dou Ling realm. Fang Wen had happened to come to him with his complaints, so Xiao Yun simply went along with it. Although establishing a faction would bring some trouble, Xiao Yun could also have them help him with minor matters such as gathering medicinal ingredients and selling pills.

With that in mind, Xiao Yun returned to his room, sat cross-legged, and began cultivating. He needed to consolidate and adapt to his newly advanced realm.

The next day, after finishing his cultivation, Xiao Yun walked out of his room and saw Fang Wen sleeping soundly on the living room sofa. Did this kid wait outside for me all night? Thinking this, Xiao Yun lightened his footsteps and slowly approached.

Smack!

Suddenly, Xiao Yun took out a jade box from his Storage Ring and tossed it onto the coffee table in front of the sofa.

"Uh... Boss, you're awake?" Startled awake by the sound, Fang Wen sprang from lying down to sitting upright on the sofa, gazing blearily at Xiao Yun before him.

"Young man, staying up late all the time won't do. Be careful not to wreck your kidneys."

Xiao Yun looked at Fang Wen with a smile and said, "Open it and take a look. These are pills I sorted out last night. They're all varieties unavailable in the Inner Academy. They can effectively suppress and clear Fire Poison. Later, lead the others to gather the medicinal ingredients listed there, then sell the pills to the Inner Academy students."

Hearing Xiao Yun's words, Fang Wen immediately snapped awake, all sleepiness gone. He hurriedly opened the jade box and saw four types of pills inside, along with their relevant information.

"Third-Tier Pill, Ice Vein Pill. It can suppress Fire Poison. After taking it, one can extend their cultivation time in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower and avoid Fire Poison corroding the body and mind."

"Third-Tier Pill, Calm Mind Pill. Taking it before entering the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower can calm the mind and accelerate cultivation speed. One pill lasts for half a day."

"Third-Tier Pill, Fire-Cleansing Pill. It can effectively eliminate accumulated Fire Poison within the body. It is suitable for those who cultivate in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower for extended periods."

"Fourth-Tier Pill, Ice Heart Pill. It possesses all the effects of the three pills above, and its medicinal potency is even stronger!"

These four types of pills could actually be called one type, because the three Third-Tier Pills had all been simplified by Xiao Yun from the Ice Heart Pill. After all, Da Dou Shi-level students still made up the majority in the Inner Academy, while Fourth-Tier Pills were not suitable for Da Dou Shi to consume. They could neither afford them nor use them.

Thus, Xiao Yun, a commercial genius, split one Fourth-Tier Pill into three Third-Tier Pills and sold them separately. With this arrangement, every Inner Academy student could take pills refined by Xiao Yun.

However, Fang Wen, who was not an Alchemist, could not see through Xiao Yun's maneuver at all. He only felt that he had truly found someone powerful to rely on.

After reading through the four kinds of pills, Fang Wen's face immediately lit up with wild joy. "Boss, if these pills really work as described, then we're going to strike it rich! Other than those elders, I've never heard of any student in the Inner Academy being able to refine pills that eliminate Fire Poison."

"This is the price list. Later, take the newly recruited freshmen and bring this batch of pills to sell near the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower. Whether they work or not, you'll find out soon enough."

"Also, the faction I'm establishing will be called Xiao Sect. Any student who joins Xiao Sect gets a thirty percent discount on pills. As for managing the members of Xiao Sect and gathering medicinal ingredients, you'll be in charge of all that. From now on, you'll receive ten percent of the total monthly pill sales. What do you think?" Xiao Yun said with a chuckle.

He understood that if he wanted the horse to run fast, he had to feed it enough grass. Besides, with these pills, Xiao Sect was destined to become one of the strongest factions in the Inner Academy. When the time came, Fang Wen could worry about all those troublesome matters.

Xiao Yun only needed to refine pills. Not only would he have an endless supply of medicinal ingredients to practice with, but he could also sit back and reap the rewards, gaining huge amounts of Fire Energy. Why wouldn't he do something so beneficial?

As for whether someone might leak the pill formulas? Come on, was everyone forgetting Xiao Yun's background? If anyone dared copy the formula for the Ice Heart Pill, they might be selling pills in the morning, only to be kicked out of the Inner Academy by Fire Elder, Jia Nan Academy's number one Alchemist, that very afternoon.

Therefore, unless someone truly managed to refine a new pill that could eliminate Fire Poison, Xiao Yun had no need to worry about competitors at all.

"Alright, Boss. Leave this sort of thing to me. I guarantee there won't be the slightest mistake!"

Fang Wen said excitedly. He then grabbed the jade box from the coffee table and ran out of the attic like the wind to gather people and sell the pills.

Watching the man vanish like the wind, Xiao Yun shook his head and smiled. "See? Rushing off again."

Returning to the private cultivation chamber built into the attic, Xiao Yun took out a large quantity of medicinal ingredients from his Storage Ring. These were all things he had accumulated previously in the Outer Academy. After a while, Xiao Yun took a deep breath. He knew that if Xiao Sect was to develop, it would depend on the pills he refined next.

Sitting cross-legged, Xiao Yun waved his hand, and a red medicinal cauldron appeared in the cultivation chamber. His expression gradually calmed. This time, he planned to refine only Third-Tier Pills. Pills of this level were something Xiao Yun had long mastered.

At his current level of alchemy, he even had a thirty percent success rate with Fourth-Tier Pills and could attempt the Fourth-Tier Alchemist examination. His success rate for Third-Tier Pills had reached a terrifying eighty percent. Furthermore, Xiao Yun had simplified the Ice Heart Pill formula and split it into three, greatly reducing both the required ingredients and the difficulty of refining these three Third-Tier Pills. Refining them came even more naturally to him.

As he recalled the formulas for the three pills in his mind, Xiao Yun formed a hand seal, and Purple Crystal Lion Flame instantly rose from between his fingers.

The faint purple flame danced between Xiao Yun's fingers like a spirit of fire. As it flickered, the surrounding temperature gradually rose as well.

With a flick of his finger, the purple flame traced a graceful arc, passed through the wind-fire vent, and entered the medicinal cauldron. The instant it entered, the purple flame surged violently, its blazing heat distorting even the air.

His gaze fixed on the medicinal cauldron, Xiao Yun lightly moved both hands. Fiery-red Dou Qi swept up the medicinal ingredients and directly tossed them into the flames.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

The medicinal ingredients were instantly swallowed by the flames, erupting with sizzling sounds. Xiao Yun's expression remained unchanged as his hands rapidly formed seals to control the fire. At the same time, his Soul Power extended outward, sensing the condition of the ingredients.

Very quickly, all the essence within the ingredients was refined out, leaving behind only the withered remnants. Xiao Yun lightly swept his arm, and the remnants turned into ash, flowing out through the wind-fire vent.

He calmly watched the pool of pill liquid, wrapping it in flame as he continuously picked up medicinal ingredients from his side and tossed them into the cauldron.

At this moment, Xiao Yun's Soul Power had completely entered the medicinal cauldron. Under the fine control of his Soul Power, the flames alternated between high and low temperatures, continuously expelling impurities from the pill liquid before merging it again...

"Phew..."

More than ten minutes later, Xiao Yun slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. A Third-Tier Ice Vein Pill had successfully been refined.

Pinching a pill the size of a longan between two fingers, Xiao Yun examined it. The pill was snow-white throughout, with a ripple-like pattern on its surface. Its pill fragrance spread through the air. Even someone who knew nothing about alchemy would recognize it as a finished pill of exceptional quality after taking a whiff.

After studying it carefully for a while, Xiao Yun murmured, "It's been nearly a month since I last refined pills. I didn't expect my first attempt to produce a pill pattern. Looks like I haven't gotten rusty."

He then flicked his finger, shooting the pill into a jade bottle at the side, and continued refining the other pills.

While Xiao Yun immersed himself in alchemy, the outside world of the Inner Academy was about to explode.

Earlier, Fang Wen had gathered people and brought the four kinds of pills Xiao Yun gave him to promote and sell near the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower. At first, no one believed that pills capable of suppressing and eliminating Fire Poison existed. Everyone thought Fang Wen and the others had gone broke and were trying to make a fortune through a scam.

But as time passed, news of the matter spread further and further, finally drawing the attention of some Inner Academy students with excessive Fire Poison buildup. With the mindset of treating a dead horse as if it were alive, they bought several pills and swallowed them on the spot. As a result, the Fire Poison symptoms of those who took the pills immediately eased. The red glow in their eyes dimmed, and their blocked meridians gradually began to flow freely again.

Only then did the Inner Academy students realize that the pills Fang Wen and the others were selling were genuine. Furthermore, their prices were far lower than the pills refined by the elders of the Alchemy Department. They immediately pulled out their Fire Crystal Cards, and the pills were instantly snatched clean by the frenzied crowd.

In the small courtyard outside the attic, Fang Wen paced restlessly. He had still underestimated just how attractive these pills were to the Inner Academy's older students. Even though he had repeatedly made it clear that every pill had sold out and they could only wait for Xiao Yun to refine more, many people continued coming to him. There were even fierce experts from the Strong Ranking among them.

"Now there are so many people begging for pills. Even if Boss refines them quickly, he can't possibly supply this many people. What am I supposed to do?" Fang Wen paced in circles anxiously. Xiao Yun had remained inside the attic for an entire day. During that day, who knew how many people had come looking for him, hoping to obtain a pill? But how could he refine pills? He wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and never concern himself with the outside world again.

Creak...

Just as Fang Wen was troubled and depressed, the sound of a door opening suddenly rang out. He abruptly raised his head and looked toward the tightly shut little door of the attic. "Boss, you finally decided to come out."

Before Xiao Yun could even push open the door, he heard Fang Wen's weak, listless voice. He quickly left the cultivation chamber and came to the small courtyard. "What's wrong? Your voice doesn't sound right. Did something happen to Xiao Sect?"

Seeing Xiao Yun emerge, Fang Wen, who had been completely at a loss, seemed to find his backbone again. "No, Boss. The pills you gave us worked too well. They're completely sold out outside, and everyone's waiting for you to come out and refine more."

"That's all?" Xiao Yun waved his hand, and more than a hundred jade bottles appeared on the ground. "There are one hundred sixty pills here, enough for them to use for a while. Use the Fire Energy earned to exchange for more medicinal ingredients. Also, go to the Alchemy Department and recruit some Third-Tier Alchemists. Let them refine the pills from now on. We take seventy percent of the Fire Energy, and they take thirty."

Standing on the steps, Xiao Yun patted Fang Wen on the shoulder and offered him some encouragement.

"This... Most Alchemists are proud people. If they only get thirty percent, will they agree?" Fang Wen asked uncertainly.

"Why wouldn't they agree? They don't need to provide the medicinal ingredients, and they still get to earn Fire Energy. Where else in the world can they find such a deal? If they won't do it, plenty of others will. Do as I said! I have other matters to attend to. Leave the pills to you."

Xiao Yun spoke domineeringly and left directly. He still needed to cultivate in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.

As for recruiting Alchemists, he was not worried in the slightest. The pills worked so well, and the other Alchemists would not only get three pill formulas for free, but also a large supply of medicinal ingredients to practice with. If they still were not satisfied, then they truly did not deserve the job.