Cultivation: From Menial Worker to Immortal Venerable

The light spot immediately melted into the plant upon contact.

In a short while, the plant became lush and green, appearing full of life.

"It seems this thing can also restore vitality to plants!"

Next, Zhou Xun tried applying the green light spot to the wooden table beside him, the Spirit Rice in the jar, and the prohibition token for the main door, testing them all.

However, nothing changed.

Zhou Xun shook his head, about to end his research, when his hand accidentally brushed against the medicine bottle in his pocket.

At that moment, an idea struck Zhou Xun.

He immediately took out the medicine bottle and poured out a refined Pigu Pill.

Then, he controlled the light spot and had it melt into the pill.

A wondrous scene unfolded.

The green light spot and the pill miraculously merged into one.

Zhou Xun's eyes widened in surprise as he quickly picked up the Pigu Pill to examine it.

"It seems the quality has improved!"

"It's just not by much. Could it be that the Spirit Grain seedling was too ordinary?" Zhou Xun speculated.

"I'll test it again another day!"

Although he still had a Qi Induction Pill seedling in his possession, its value exceeded one hundred and fifty Spirit Essence. Even purchasing other spirit herbs would cost over one hundred Spirit Essence.

Zhou Xun couldn't afford to waste such an expense.

In the following days, Zhou Xun spent his days refining Pigu Pills at the Danbao Pavilion. He still had a monthly quota of fifty bottles.

At night, he returned home to study the recipe for the Qi Induction Pill.

The Qi Induction Pill shared many similarities in its refining techniques with the Pigu Pill, so he learned much faster.

By the fifteenth day, Zhou Xun had memorized the refining method for the Qi Induction Pill.

He decided to start attempting to refine it.

To be safe, Zhou Xun, under the guise of researching medicinal properties, spent two Spirit Essence to purchase fifty Spirit Grain seedlings from his neighbor, the spirit farmer.

If he failed in refining the Qi Induction Pill, he could still extract the essence from the Spirit Grain seedlings to improve its quality.

The materials for the Qi Induction Pill were worth nearly two Spirit Stones. If he failed to refine it, it would be a significant loss.

Returning to the alchemy room, Zhou Xun prepared to start refining.

During this period, many apprentice candidates were busy practicing refining Pigu Pills.

Opening his furnace to refine pills now would not attract anyone's attention.

Furthermore, alchemy required undisturbed concentration, and the alchemy room was locked from the inside, preventing outsiders from entering.

Therefore, Zhou Xun had no worries about being exposed.

He took out the materials for the Qi Induction Pill and the dozens of Spirit Grain seedlings, arranging them in front of him.

Zhou Xun calmed his mind and simulated the refining process of the Qi Induction Pill in his mind.

He considered every detail several times, and only when he felt there were no issues did he begin refining.

The process was the same: warming the alchemy furnace, condensing the medicinal liquid.

Everything went smoothly.

Everything was under Zhou Xun's control.

He cast the final incantation.

The pill furnace lid automatically opened, and only five pills flew out.

"Only two can barely be considered first-grade, the remaining three can only be classified as inferior pills!"

"I've barely broken even," Zhou Xun sighed.

Zhou Xun carefully recalled the process.

It turned out that during the condensation of the medicinal liquid, he was not proficient enough, which led to imperfect fusion later on, ultimately causing some pills to fail refinement.

After all, this batch of materials could normally yield ten pills.

With exceptional performance, perfect condensation and fusion of the medicinal liquid, and no waste, it could produce twelve pills.

If one could achieve this, they could be called a master.

"If I didn't have Divine Sense to control every minute detail, this entire batch might have been ruined!"

Having understood the reason, Zhou Xun then used the Ningshun Sutra to extract the essence from the Spirit Grain seedlings, upgrading all five pills to first-grade.

During this condensation, Zhou Xun also discovered a limitation in extracting essence.

That is, the improvement in pill quality was not without limits.

He could clearly feel that as time went on, the improvements gained from fusing the essence were becoming negligible.

After refining this batch of Qi Induction Pills, Zhou Xun's net worth was almost wiped out.

Fortunately, the 15th was just two days away, the date he and Hong San had agreed to trade.

The Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, the same private room as last time.

Both were in good spirits after completing the transaction.

One received a Pigu Pill, confirming that Zhou Xun could indeed produce the pills.

The other received Spirit Essence, alleviating his financial difficulties.

"Pill Master Zhou is truly a man of his word, preparing the pills so quickly. I'll toast you, Pill Master Zhou!" Hong San chuckled heartily.

"It's just the most basic Pigu Pill. I found a few colleagues, and we gathered enough!" Zhou Xun smiled faintly, raising his wine and draining it in one gulp.

The spirit feast on the table was worth over twenty Spirit Essence, courtesy of Hong San.

After eating and drinking their fill, and with a bit of alcohol in him, Hong San chuckled, leaned over, and lowered his voice.

"Pill Master Zhou, are you truly content with trading just one or two Spirit Stones per month? Considering the cost of acquisition, the profit isn't much, is it!"

"Spirit Stones are valuable, and of course, I'm tempted. But I lack the means!" Zhou Xun remained unfazed.

"If Pill Master Zhou can provide pills like the Qi Induction Pill and Aura Concealing Pill, I'll purchase them at five Spirit Essence below market price!" Hong San's expression struggled for a moment before he gritted his teeth.

"Oh?" Zhou Xun's expression shifted, then he sighed.

"Brother San, your price is truly tempting, but alas, I am also unable to meet your request. The channels for selling discarded pills from the Danbao Pavilion are not something a newcomer like me, who hasn't even passed the assessment period, can access!"

Hong San merely shook his head upon hearing this.

After leaving the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, Zhou Xun headed to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

In the same private room, Zhou Xun sold all his Qi Induction Pills to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion at a price of 35 Spirit Essence each.

The Hundred Treasures Pavilion acquired a vast number of treasures daily, so a few Qi Induction Pills wouldn't attract undue attention.

"Fellow Daoist's alchemy talent is extraordinary. You've successfully refined the Qi Induction Pill in such a short time!" the middle-aged shopkeeper praised him.

The original price for Qi Induction Pills at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion was 30 Spirit Essence each, but he valued Zhou Xun highly and specifically added five Spirit Essence to foster a good relationship with this exceptionally young pill master.

"You flatter me, Shopkeeper. It cost me materials from three furnaces for these five pills; I've taken quite a loss!"

Zhou Xun feigned dissatisfaction.

"For someone just starting with the Qi Induction Pill, achieving success with materials from three furnaces is truly remarkable," the middle-aged shopkeeper consoled him.

As the most common low-grade pill, it was entirely within reason for Zhou Xun to refine the Qi Induction Pill using three batches of materials.

After a brief chat and collecting the Spirit Essence, Zhou Xun took his leave.

From the two sales of pills, Zhou Xun earned over three Spirit Stones.

However, he quickly exchanged them for materials for two more Qi Induction Pills.

Based on his estimates, he would be able to produce ten pills in his next refining session.

However, he wasn't in a hurry to refine them.

The assessment that would determine if he could truly become an alchemy apprentice was fast approaching.

Over the past two ten-day periods, people had been successfully refining Pigu Pills one after another.

After ten people succeeded, Zhou Xun also announced his own successful refinement.

Twelve people – this position was right in the middle, neither attracting too much attention nor causing issues in passing the subsequent assessments.

As of today, seventeen people had successfully refined Pigu Pills.

The person ranked seventeenth was none other than Wei Shangyi.

With his current performance, it seemed unlikely he would remain in the assessment.