Zen Heart Pill

Hu Gan froze for a moment, then voiced his question.

"As long as you prepare two gentler fire seeds in advance, you can still meet the requirement of three flames."

Wu Bai smiled and explained it lightly.

Elder Huo shook his head. "But that method requires tremendous Soul Power and control over fire."

"It's not too bad. It isn't that difficult."

Meanwhile, Hu Jia had walked up behind Hu Gan, her little face brimming with curiosity.

Seeing this, Hu Gan immediately opened the jade bottle to let the girl see for herself.

"The Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill is best taken at the Peak Dou Master stage. That minimizes the danger posed by its powerful medicinal effects and gives the user a better chance of gaining three stars after reaching the Da Dou Shi stage."

"Once you reach three-star Da Dou Shi, you need to suppress it. Don't let your Dou Qi keep surging, or it'll damage your foundation."

"Then spend half a month adjusting. Once you've more or less adapted, you can continue advancing."

Hu Jia was the Vice Dean's granddaughter. That connection was worth sharing a little experience for.

After hearing this, Hu Gan's smile grew even warmer. This was knowledge money couldn't buy outside the academy.

"Thank you for teaching me, Senior Wu Bai," Hu Jia said.

"You're welcome."

For a while, host and guests were equally delighted.

Fifteen minutes later, Wu Bai parted ways with Elder Huo.

Back at the dormitory, Wu Bai took out the Vast Sea Cauldron and admired it at length.

"It really is much sturdier, especially the inner walls."

Wu Bai was quite pleased with the dark-blue Medicine Cauldron.

Of course, he wouldn't know how well the new cauldron performed until he used it to refine a pill.

If Sixth-Grade Pills didn't resonate so intensely with the energy of heaven and earth, placing such a severe strain on the cauldron itself, Wu Bai wouldn't have wanted to replace his beginner's cauldron at all.

He then took out the four Sixth-grade Pill Recipes.

After a moment's thought, he selected one and sent his Soul Power into it.

"The Zen Heart Pill may be among the lower-tier Sixth-Grade Pills, but it's far harder to refine than ordinary Fifth-grade Pills like the Dragon Strength Pill."

A moment later, Wu Bai opened his eyes. He didn't look particularly troubled.

In truth, the Zen Heart Pill was slightly easier to refine than the Bone-Tempering Spirit-Nurturing Pill.

For an ordinary Fifth-Rank Alchemist, though, it still presented the difficulty expected of a Sixth-Grade Pill. The Bone-Tempering Spirit-Nurturing Pill was simply an outlier.

Wu Bai glanced at the sky. Rather than rush to prepare for refinement, he went to the academy cafeteria and bought several meals.

After putting the food in his Storage Ring, Wu Bai settled down to cultivate.

As it happened, Yellow Springs Demon Saint had already confirmed what lay beneath that expanse of magma.

Wu Bai wasn't too concerned. He was still far too weak, so he left Yellow Springs Demon Saint to worry about how to deal with it all.

He had also left the planning of his future development to his teacher, Yellow Springs Demon Saint.

At dusk, Han Yue had just finished cultivating and opened her window for some fresh air when a delicious aroma wafted over from next door.

"Hm? Wu Bai!"

"Yue'er, come eat."

"Coming! Give me a moment!"

After dinner, Han Yue let Wu Bai stroke her legs for over an hour.

They stayed close together, quietly feeling time slip by.

Late that night, Han Yue reluctantly returned to her room.

The next day, Wu Bai came back from outside and entered Han Yue's room.

"Take off my clothes?"

Han Yue blinked, secretly pleased. Am I really that tempting to Wu Bai?

But Wu Bai went straight into her bathroom. Ignoring the skimpy undergarments there, he filled her bathtub with some water.

Han Yue came to her senses, her cheeks reddening. After putting away her intimate clothing, she saw Wu Bai summon the Blue-White Flame.

He tossed a great many medicinal herbs into the flame, extracted their essences, and let them fall into the tub.

The dozens of herbs all required different refinement temperatures, yet Wu Bai adjusted the heat around each one to precisely the right level.

Watching how effortlessly he did it, Han Yue found herself momentarily lost in thought.

Finally, Wu Bai poured in the milky-white Earth Core Body Tempering Milk. He even swirled some of the medicinal liquid around its container to rinse out the last drops before he was done.

"Yue'er, what are you thinking about?"

Wu Bai stepped up to Han Yue and pinched her cheek.

Coming back to herself, Han Yue pecked him on the lips and said with a smile:

"I was wondering how to thank Wu Bai for being so good to me."

"You're mine. Of course I'm going to treat you well, silly."

Wu Bai drew Han Yue into his arms and held her delicate body tightly against him.

He didn't linger for long, though, and again urged her to undress.

"Hurry up. The medicinal liquid won't be as effective once it cools."

Wu Bai didn't stay to sneak a look at Han Yue's body. He was confident that one day, she would share that beauty with him willingly.

Unless Han Yue lost her mind, she was bound to be his.

The thought put Wu Bai in a good mood.

"Today's a good day to refine a Sixth-Grade Pill."

The dark-blue cauldron looked striking beside the Blue-White Flame.

The sight lifted Wu Bai's spirits even further.

Boom—

The flames roared to life.

Yet no matter how high the temperature rose, the heat remained confined within the cauldron. Wu Bai's formidable Soul Power gave him perfect control over the flames.

One hour passed, then two...

As the thick medicinal liquid in the tub turned into clear water, Han Yue's fist-sized Dou Crystal transformed into a Sea Urchin Dou Crystal.

Han Yue had far greater talent for cultivation than Wu Bai. Even in the Outer Academy, she had advanced at almost the same pace as him.

Suddenly, a powerful fluctuation of energy erupted above the Dormitory Area.

It was barely noticeable, stirring only a light breeze, but Han Yue still sensed it.

After all, it had come from the room next to hers.

When she saw Wu Bai moving around inside, Han Yue stepped out of her room.

"Wu Bai, that disturbance just now—"

"I caused it."

Before Han Yue could finish, Wu Bai smiled and nodded, then handed her a small jade bottle.

Han Yue removed the stopper and tipped the bottle. A pill the size of a longan came into view, blue and white in color and wreathed in a cool mist.

The moment she held it, Han Yue sensed just how astonishingly much energy that tiny pill contained!

She already had a guess, but she wanted to hear the answer from him.

"Is this...?"

"A lower-tier Sixth-Grade Pill. The Zen Heart Pill."

Wu Bai straightened his chest slightly, his face full of confidence.

Han Yue immediately threw herself into his arms. Words could no longer describe how she felt.

She was thrilled—utterly thrilled. She felt like someone lucky enough to stumble upon a nugget of gold.

And she had somehow gotten to this exceptional man before anyone else.

At the same time, that thought buried deep in Han Yue's heart surfaced again.

While we're living right next to each other, maybe I should just take the plunge with Wu Bai!