Pill Refining

Ever since he had mastered the secret of the Little Green Bottle, Han Li's life had been turned upside down.

Late every night, when Divine Hand Valley fell asleep, he would quietly take out the little bottle, green as jade, and set it beneath the moonlight to collect the mysterious Spirit Liquid.

Medicinal herbs that would normally take decades to mature could now be ripened in the blink of an eye.

"Another three bottles done..."

Han Li wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the freshly refined Yellow Dragon Pills before him.

The pills were golden, their surfaces smooth as mirrors, and their quality was several times better than the first batch he had given Jing Wen.

He carefully tucked two bottles into his robes and hid the remaining one in a specially made compartment beneath his bed.

"If I bring them all out..." Han Li's brows knitted tightly as his fingers unconsciously rubbed the Little Green Bottle.

He remembered Jing Wen's eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through everything, and could not help shivering.

That mysterious Offering Lord always seemed able to detect the secrets he concealed.

Outside the window, a bright moon hung high.

Han Li tucked the Little Green Bottle securely against his body.

In the darkness, conflicting emotions flickered in his eyes.

"Just one bottle a month... no, two will do." He murmured to himself, as though trying to convince himself. "Any more would draw too much attention."

At noon the next day, Han Li arrived at Jing Wen's residence as agreed.

It was a courtyard residence built beside a cliff, surrounded by insect-repelling spiritual herbs, with a faint medicinal fragrance lingering in the air.

"This junior pays his respects to Senior Jing." Han Li bowed respectfully and took two small celadon bottles from his robes.

Jing Wen reclined lazily in a bamboo chair, his long gray-white hair hanging loose.

He accepted the bottles and gently rubbed their surfaces with his fingertips. "You're on time this time."

As he pulled out a stopper, a rich medicinal fragrance immediately spread through the room.

A trace of surprise flashed in Jing Wen's eyes. These two bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills were far better than the last batch, almost reaching medium quality.

He mused inwardly, Han Li has quite a talent for pill refining.

Jing Wen gave Han Li a meaningful look. "You've improved considerably."

Han Li's heart tightened, and he hurried to explain, "This junior was fortunate. The herbs I found this time were quite mature, and I gained some insight into controlling the heat..."

"Is that so?" Jing Wen neither agreed nor disagreed as he poured a pill into his palm.

The Yellow Dragon Pill was golden all over, with a faint spiritual glow flowing across its surface. Compared with the inferior pills he remembered Han Li first producing, the difference was like heaven and earth.

Silence settled over the room, broken only by the rustle of leaves stirred by the mountain wind outside.

Han Li felt cold sweat seeping down his back. Jing Wen's gaze seemed capable of piercing his disguise and seeing the secret buried deepest in his heart.

"I hear..." Jing Wen suddenly spoke, his voice as soft as a whisper. "Doctor Mo went out to look for medicinal herbs. He must have quite a stockpile, mustn't he?"

Han Li knew Doctor Mo had gone out to look for medicinal herbs, but Doctor Mo did not seem to have any stock left, since all the herbs he found seemed to have been used on Han Li.

Han Li's mind raced as he considered how to answer Jing Wen.

"This junior... does not know..." Han Li's voice was dry.

Jing Wen chuckled and returned the pill to its bottle. "No matter. I'll accept these two bottles. Next month... I hope to see three."

Jing Wen stopped there, giving Han Li an excuse to deliver more pills.

With Han Li's intelligence, he should have understood Jing Wen's hint.

Han Li's pupils contracted slightly. Three bottles?

Han Li had never intended to provide so many.

He wanted to refuse, but remembering how everyone in the sect described Jing Wen's martial prowess as unfathomable, he dared not anger him and could only lower his head in assent.

After leaving Jing Wen's residence, Han Li hurried along the mountain path, his heart pounding like a drum.

Jing Wen's final remark had clearly been a hint for him to use Doctor Mo's stockpile of herbs to refine pills.

Han Li thought, That works too. It's a decent excuse.

Whenever he faced Jing Wen, Han Li felt ill at ease.

Not only was Jing Wen's strength unfathomable, but he also carried a faint, elusive air of wickedness.

Han Li therefore wanted to complete this transaction as soon as possible and keep far away from Jing Wen afterward.

Jing Wen stood before the window, looking in the direction Han Li had left, a faint smile playing at his lips.

He had deliberately cultivated this image in front of Han Li, naturally intending to pressure him into delivering the pills promptly.

"Three bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills a month..." he murmured. "That way, my cultivation won't be delayed."

Jing Wen turned toward a side room and pushed open its wooden door.

The room was simply furnished, with a crude Pill Furnace standing in the center, its body covered in archaic cloud patterns.

Calling it a Pill Furnace might not have been accurate. Strictly speaking, it was a mundane tripod cauldron.

Even so, it was the vessel best suited to pill refining in the Seven Mysteries Sect's storehouse.

Had Jing Wen not deliberately cultivated an image of unfathomable martial prowess, the Seven Mysteries Sect's leader might not have sent the Tripod over so readily.

Remembering the sect leader's pained yet respectful expression, Jing Wen sighed inwardly.

"I'll just have to make do with it for now!"

His fingertips brushed the furnace wall and touched a thin layer of dust-the Pill Furnace clearly had not been used in a long time.

"My predecessor's memories are hazy. In the end, I'll have to try it myself to find out where I stand," Jing Wen murmured. With a sweep of his sleeve, an invisible force cleared all the accumulated dust from the furnace.

He picked up several basic ingredients from the nearby table: ten-year-old yellow essence, ordinary reishi, morning dew from the mountains... These were all common resources in the Seven Mysteries Sect and could hardly be considered precious.

Following the steps in his memory, Jing Wen first removed the impurities from the yellow essence and arranged it at the bottom of the furnace.

"Hiss-"

A wisp of flame kindled at his fingertip, igniting the charcoal beside him, which immediately began to crackle softly.

Jing Wen frowned slightly. The heat seemed a little too fierce.

He hurriedly adjusted the thickness of the charcoal layer. The flames shifted from blue to blue-green, and only then did the temperature stabilize.

With his current spiritual power, Jing Wen could not refine pills directly using flames generated by that power. He still needed external fuel such as charcoal.

An hour later, a scorched smell drifted from the furnace.

Jing Wen lifted the lid and saw that the ingredients had turned into a mass of black residue.

His first attempt had failed.

"My heat control still isn't precise enough..." Jing Wen was not discouraged. Instead, a trace of excitement flashed in his eyes.

He cleaned the Pill Furnace and added another batch of ingredients.

This time, he used a gentle flame to refine them slowly.

Suddenly, strange crackling sounds came from inside the furnace.

Jing Wen examined it and discovered that the medicinal properties of the yellow essence and reishi were actually repelling each other.

He swiftly formed a hand seal and sent a streak of spiritual light into the furnace, forcibly harmonizing their medicinal properties.

The furnace shook violently before finally releasing a muffled bang, followed by wisps of black smoke.

His second attempt had failed as well.

Jing Wen stood quietly for a moment, carefully recalling the Pill Formula.

Suddenly, he chuckled. "So that's how it works."

For his third attempt, Jing Wen focused all his attention.

The furnace blazed with red light, and three round pills shot out.

With a sweep of Jing Wen's sleeve, the three pale blue pills flew into his palm. Their surfaces gleamed with a faint, cold light, and they felt icy to the touch. They were the most basic first-grade Iceheart Pills.

Iceheart Pills had the effect of Mind-Clearing and Spirit-Calming, effectively warding off inner demons during cultivation.

"The quality is a little poor, and there aren't many, but at least I succeeded." Jing Wen picked up one pill and held it before his eyes for a close inspection.

Faint deposits of impurities were visible inside the pill, and his heat control was still imperfect. Even so, successfully forming pills during his first venture into pill refining was already a rare achievement.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and satisfaction flashed in his eyes. "It seems my comprehension and talent for pill refining are both quite good."

The Iceheart Pills were only the beginning. Next, he intended to try refining every Pill Formula he knew.

He beckoned with one hand, and a yellowed ancient book flew from a nearby shelf into his grasp.

As the pages turned, an old Pill Formula fluttered out. At the top, written in scarlet cinnabar, were the words "Blood-Replenishing Pill."

"The Black Fiend Cult's cultivation methods are domineering. Every session depletes blood and vital energy, so Blood-Replenishing Pills are essential," Jing Wen murmured, lightly tracing the densely written list of ingredients on the Pill Formula with his fingertips.

If he could refine Qi-Blood Pills, their effects would naturally be even better.

As for graded pills such as Body-Tempering Pills and Diamond Iron-Bone Pills, they could greatly strengthen the body and reduce the backlash from practicing evil cultivation methods to a minimum.

Unfortunately-

"With these graded pills, not only are the Pill Formulas hard to find, but the ingredients are also extraordinarily precious." Jing Wen shook his head and sighed softly.

He had only seen the names of these pills in ancient books. The actual methods for refining them were probably known only to the pill refiners of the great sects.

Still, now that he had Han Li, an "unexpected windfall," there might be a turning point.

Jing Wen's gaze flickered as the image of that seemingly ordinary youth, who actually carried a supreme treasure, surfaced in his mind.

"There's no hurry. One step at a time." He put away the Pill Formula and swept his sleeve, reigniting the furnace fire.

This time, he would attempt to refine Blood-Replenishing Pills.

As the furnace fire rose, the dancing flames were reflected in Jing Wen's eyes, which were as deep as an abyss.