On Wood Spirit Mountain.
Ye Xuan and Ji Fenghe walked along the mountain path. From Ji Fenghe, Ye Xuan learned that this assignment would probably last a long time.
Ji Fenghe's master had bestowed a hundred Pill Formulas on him, requiring him to become proficient at refining all of them within the year. Quite a few were for pills that could only be used at the Foundation Establishment Realm.
This excited Ye Xuan immensely as well. Judging by Ji Fenghe's earlier generosity, these Pill Formulas would surely be available to him too. In other words, this assignment alone would let Ye Xuan freeload a hundred Pill Formulas.
They entered the Alchemy Chamber on Wood Spirit Mountain. It had undergone some alterations, with an additional room housing a Pill Furnace.
"If you want to refine pills in the future, you can use this new room."
Ji Fenghe spoke generously, then changed the subject and asked Ye Xuan a question.
"Junior brother, have you made any progress in medicinal theory over the past month? This round of pill refining is no ordinary undertaking. It will require thousands of medicinal ingredients."
"Please test me, senior brother."
Ye Xuan spoke confidently. Over the past month, aside from visiting the various peaks to sign in, he had devoted himself to medicinal theory. He had exchanged for quite a few medicinal texts at Wood Moon Peak and the Scripture Repository, committing the properties of thousands of medicinal ingredients firmly to memory.
Seeing Ye Xuan's confidence, Ji Fenghe nodded in satisfaction, then began testing his knowledge of medicinal theory. From easy questions to difficult ones, Ye Xuan answered fluently. For some ingredients, he could even infer three things from one.
"Excellent!"
An hour later, Ji Fenghe clapped his hands and laughed heartily. Sure enough, he had not misjudged him. Ye Xuan possessed ample comprehension.
"Junior brother, have you ever refined pills yourself before?"
After testing his knowledge of medicinal theory, Ji Fenghe began testing Ye Xuan's pill-refining skills to verify whether his earlier suspicion was correct.
"I've refined Qi Gathering Pills and some antidote pills."
Antidote pills?
Ji Fenghe raised an eyebrow and gave Ye Xuan a curious look. Chore disciples generally did not leave the sect, and private fighting was forbidden within it. He was somewhat curious why Ye Xuan would refine antidotes, but he did not show it.
"Oh? Then please refine a batch of Qi Gathering Pills here, junior brother, so I can gain some understanding of your pill-refining skills."
"Yes."
Ye Xuan accepted the medicinal ingredients Ji Fenghe handed him, took a deep breath, and sat down before the Pill Furnace.
He understood that the better he performed, the more he could participate in Ji Fenghe's pill-refining practice.
He had only refined Qi Gathering Pills once before, in this very room, using this very Pill Furnace.
"Don't be nervous. Just do your best."
Seeing Ye Xuan inhale, Ji Fenghe thought he was a little nervous and offered some reassurance.
Ye Xuan nodded. With a focused expression, he prepared all the ingredients and formally began refining.
Sure enough, he was the one who adjusted the furnace fire that time.
Watching Ye Xuan's movements, Ji Fenghe nodded and began looking forward to seeing just how potent the Qi Gathering Pills Ye Xuan refined would be.
Qi Refining Fourth Layer. I first encountered Qi Gathering Pills at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer too. Back then, I refined nine Qi Gathering Pills with thirty percent efficacy, and Master even praised me for it.
A smile played at Ji Fenghe's lips as he watched Ye Xuan refine the pills, occasionally nodding in approval of his techniques.
Soon, the Qi Gathering Pills were finished.
Ji Fenghe could not see inside the Pill Furnace, but from Ye Xuan's practiced movements, he could guess that this batch of Qi Gathering Pills would have considerable efficacy and a high success rate.
They might have over sixty percent efficacy.
Even sixty percent was a generous estimate on Ji Fenghe's part.
Pill refining was skilled work that demanded a high degree of control over Spiritual Qi. Yet the cultivation Ye Xuan currently displayed had only just reached the Qi Refining Fourth Layer. Being able to refine Qi Gathering Pills with sixty percent efficacy at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer was exceedingly rare throughout the outer sect.
"Whew!"
With the refining complete, Ye Xuan let out a deep breath. Refining Qi Gathering Pills with Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivation really was no easy task. Every thread of Spiritual Qi had to be used exactly where it was most appropriate.
Fortunately, he had made no mistakes this time. Ye Xuan felt this attempt had been even more successful than his first.
Opening the Pill Furnace, Ye Xuan looked at the Qi Gathering Pills inside, then took one out and turned to Ji Fenghe with a smile.
"I haven't failed you!"
Accepting the Qi Gathering Pill Ye Xuan handed him, Ji Fenghe's smile gradually faded, his expression growing solemn. Holding the Qi Gathering Pill Ye Xuan had refined, he examined it carefully in his hand, scraped off a layer of powder with his fingernail and sniffed it, then even stuck out his tongue to taste it.
"How is this possible?"
Disbelief showed on Ji Fenghe's face. He quickly took an identical Qi Gathering Pill from his Qiankun Bag and compared the two pills in his hand.
"This... this really is a flawless Qi Gathering Pill!"
Shock filled Ji Fenghe's voice. The Qi Gathering Pill he had taken from his Qiankun Bag was a flawless one his master had bestowed on him after demonstrating how to refine Qi Gathering Pills.
Yet the Qi Gathering Pill Ye Xuan had refined was actually identical in quality to his master's. How could Ji Fenghe not be shocked?
Even after painstakingly practicing Qi Gathering Pill refinement last month, he had only managed to refine pills with ninety percent efficacy.
Yet Ye Xuan, a cultivator at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, had actually refined flawless Qi Gathering Pills!
"Senior brother, what's wrong? Is there a problem with this Qi Gathering Pill?"
Somewhat puzzled by Ji Fenghe's shocked expression, Ye Xuan took all the remaining Qi Gathering Pills out of the Pill Furnace.
"Wait, one, two, three... twenty-four Qi Gathering Pills."
Ji Fenghe's body went somewhat limp. He counted the Qi Gathering Pills Ye Xuan had refined. There were actually twenty-four, and every single one was flawless.
Back then, his master had only refined twenty-five flawless Qi Gathering Pills in one batch, and had told him that one set of ingredients could yield no more than twenty-five flawless Qi Gathering Pills.
Ji Fenghe looked at Ye Xuan as though he were looking at a monster.
Could Ye Xuan's pill-refining skills already rival Master's?
Ji Fenghe hurriedly shook his head, casting that thought aside. His folding fan fluttered rapidly in his hand, and he looked at Ye Xuan solemnly.
"Junior brother, have you carefully studied the refinement of Qi Gathering Pills before?"
"This is my second time refining them."
Ye Xuan did not understand why Ji Fenghe was asking, but answered truthfully.
"Hiss!"
Ji Fenghe sucked in a breath of cold air, his folding fan moving even faster.
A monster? A genius?
Ji Fenghe's instincts told him Ye Xuan was telling the truth, but he could not believe that someone could refine such perfect pills on only their second attempt.
"Have you ever refined Spirit Concentration Pills, junior brother? Could you refine a batch?"
Ji Fenghe took out another Pill Formula and handed it to Ye Xuan. He wanted to test Ye Xuan once more.
"No."
Ye Xuan happily accepted the Pill Formula. He had freeloaded another one. After carefully committing the Pill Formula to memory, he began refining.
Beside him, Ji Fenghe kept waving his folding fan, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on Ye Xuan.
He was filled with anticipation. From the way Ye Xuan prepared the ingredients, he could tell this really was his first time refining Spirit Concentration Pills.
Since this was his first attempt, Ye Xuan was much more cautious. He slowed the refining process, striving for the best quality.
Soon, the Spirit Concentration Pills were finished, succeeding on the first attempt.
Ji Fenghe eagerly reached out, opened the Pill Furnace, and peered inside.