Two hundred pills in one batch

"This is outrageous!"

"If only I had believed Dongfang Shuo's nonsense, I would have stayed there and practiced my sword diligently!"

Large medicine chests were carried into the side hall, and the Imperial Guards escorting them formed a long line.

Standing by the side of the main gate, Zhufu Yan watched the Imperial Guards working in a hurry, and then watched Commander Wei Qing arranging and directing the escorts. His heart was like a cat's claws scratching at him.

The patrolling Imperial Guards had already blocked his way, making it impossible for him to reach Zhang Xuezhou's side hall.

This situation made it impossible for an outsider like him to get close, and Zhang Xuezhou couldn't possibly call him over at the moment.

"I'm so angry!"

Zhufu Yan watched as Wei Qing bowed in response to a young man in armor, whose official rank was clearly much higher than Wei Qing's.

Zhufu Yan couldn't figure out where the court could find such a young and powerful official, but he knew very well that Wei Qing was currently an extremely popular figure among the young officials in the court, and that he could either advance to the level of one of the Nine Ministers or become a regional general in the army.

If someone like Wei Qing had to bow, the other party must have been a very important person.

"It would be better to get noticed while practicing swordsmanship over there than to just wait around here in Shanglin Garden!"

Zhufu Yan looked on with envy. He was even more astonished by the sheer scale of Zhang Xuezhou and his team's alchemy and pharmaceutical work, realizing that Zhang Xuezhou was no ordinary Alchemist in the imperial court.

"Dongfang Shuo was also destined for a life of hardship!"

Although he admired Zhang Xuezhou, Zhufu Yan was not jealous. He didn't think there was anything good about Zhang Xuezhou's lowly position in the court, and he would never do such a thing in the court.

After much deliberation, Zhufu Yan finally found peace of mind.

Although he didn't become a high-ranking official, he didn't have to work like a beast of burden like Zhang Xuezhou.

No matter how many elixirs were made for the imperial court, it was useless; Zhufu Yan had never heard of any top-ranking official in the court being Alchemist.

He tried to reassure himself, but when he sniffed the air, he noticed a strong medicinal smell mixed in with the exhaust fumes coming from the chimney of the side hall a hundred meters away. He felt his Qi and Blood tremble after just one breath of the fumes, which made Zhufu Yan uneasy.

Although Zhang Xuezhou was incompetent in his official duties, his Zhang Xuezhou skills were truly outrageous; even the elixir energy he produced could cause his Qi and Blood to tremble.

Zhufu Yan had to admit that he had never eaten anything good in his life, but he had also never seen anyone's food this good.

If Zhang Xuezhou and the others had given him even a few bites of the medicine dregs he didn't want, Zhufu Yan felt that after more than twenty years of cultivation, he wouldn't still be stuck in the Consciousness Creation Realm refinement.

He stretched his neck and breathed heavily, which drew laughter and pointing from the two patrolling soldiers.

"What's so funny? I'm not as rich as you guys to buy pills!"

Although the Imperial Guards of Shanglin Garden were selected from the Southern Army and Northern Army, each one was chosen from among hundreds, these people did not come from poor backgrounds. It would be difficult for those from poor backgrounds to stand out in the army guarding Chang'an City.

The way the Zhufu Yan sniffed the scent of the elixir was indeed somewhat embarrassing, and it drew ridicule from the Imperial Guards who had some wealth.

He retorted Zhufu Yan, disregarding the face he had long lost over the years. As long as it was useful to him, he didn't care whether it was waste gas from the Pill Cauldron or anything else; as long as it worked, that was all that mattered.

"Swallow... spit!"

Taking a long, deep breath, Zhufu Yan expelled the waste gas from his body, and he felt completely refreshed.

Living near the side hall of the Alchemy Chamber still has some advantages; although one may not have access to the elixirs, smelling their medicinal aroma is not bad.

Thinking about how he had run back from the other side, Zhufu Yan slapped himself twice hard, then continued to take deep breaths.

Why is the aroma of this medicine so strong?

"The smell is like swallowing Qi and Blood Origin-Nurturing Pill!"

"No wonder that guy who got in through connections was sniffing so hard!"

"Let's quickly take a couple of sniffs; this will save us a lot of effort in consuming elixirs!"

When the whispers behind him reached him, Zhufu Yan saw the two Imperial Guards who had mocked him earlier standing there, also breathing heavily. Only then did he realize that perhaps nothing like this had ever happened in Shanglin Garden before.

Compared to his keen perception, the reactions of these two Imperial Guards were clearly much slower.

Not to mention the strong medicinal aroma, even if a field mouse had burrowed two or three zhang deep, Zhufu Yan could smell the meaty aroma of the field mouse while standing in the ground.

He had previously thought that Shanglin Garden was full of experts, and that even the patrolling guards had reached the True Spirit Realm, which made him extremely unconfident.

But now, in hindsight, he realizes that even those Imperial Guards who were a level below him, let alone those at the same cultivation level, had limited strength.

He only needs a stepping stone to potentially unleash a cultivation speed and strength far surpassing those of these people.

Feeling the surging Qi and Blood within his body, Zhufu Yan felt that he was not far from entering the Body Transformation Realm.

"It's a pity I don't have Fortune Pill to break through to the next realm, and I also lack a good enough Realm Technique. Otherwise, I might have been able to reach the Divine Ability Realm in ten days or half a month in this place!"

For Zhufu Yan, the aroma of the medicine was so strong that it had become a Sacred Land for his spiritual practice.

He glanced at the Imperial Guards who were slightly lost in thought while on patrol, then nimbly flipped over and moved closer to the side hall where alchemy was being conducted.

The increasingly strong medicinal aroma wafted over, bringing Zhufu Yan closer and closer to the Body Transformation Realm, which he had been striving for for so long.

"Puff!"

A whooshing sound came from the side hall, Zhufu Yan saw a plume of white smoke Shengteng from the chimney.

He wanted to get closer and leap up, but the whooshing sound also woke up the patrolling Imperial Guards.

"Keep your distance!"

"We have received a directive from our superiors: anyone who trespasses without permission will be killed on sight!"

The two Imperial Guards shouted, their longswords flashing half a foot from their waists, clearly showing their extreme dissatisfaction with Zhufu Yan's overstepping of boundaries.

"Gentlemen, I'm good friends with that Lord Dongfang. You both witnessed me being invited over," Zhufu Yan quickly said. "We're all law-abiding citizens, and we certainly wouldn't trespass and disrupt the alchemy process inside. Dongfang Shuo is currently refining the Returning Origin Primordial Spirit, so I'm just taking a couple of breaths. You should do the same, before the fragrance dissipates—once it's gone, it'll be gone forever!"

Zhufu Yan quickly tried to persuade the Imperial Guards.

He fabricated a story, implying that he had connections and that approaching the side hall's Alchemy Chamber wouldn't cause any problems. He even encouraged the Imperial Guards to move closer, since it was within their patrol area.

These words might not have much effect under normal circumstances, but they have a significant impact in the present moment.

Zhufu Yan could see the rising white mist, and so could the Imperial Guards. Breathing in the medicinal fragrance had a good effect, and breathing in the elixir's energy would certainly be even better.

If no one had spoken up, it would have been fine, but after Zhufu Yan's persuasive words, it was undoubtedly tempting.

Especially if they only touch upon it and don't use it, the medicinal energy will dissipate, and ultimately no one will benefit from it.

Half-heartedly, the Imperial Guards moved their legs, without taking any action against Zhufu Yan.

"Wonderful!"

As they drew closer, Zhufu Yan heard the gasps of astonishment coming from the Alchemy Chamber.

The soundproofing of the Alchemy Chamber was obviously very strong. Even though he had gotten close and pricked up his ears, and the person who exclaimed in surprise was speaking in a normal voice, it still sounded somewhat muffled to Zhufu Yan.

"Two hundred Qi and Blood Fortune Pill in one batch?"

Although he didn't hear everything clearly, Zhufu Yan undoubtedly caught some of the key points.

For him, the cultivation fortuitous opportunity he had been begging and running around seeking was directly generated in the Alchemy Chamber of this side hall, producing two hundred copies.

This was something that Zhufu Yan could hardly imagine.

He didn't understand how this world worked, or how the pills he had been pursuing for nearly ten years without ever seeing their appearance could be mass-produced in the Alchemy Chamber.

This is not Origin-Nurturing Pill or Spirit-Forging Pill, but Fortune Pill, which is enough to give a person the opportunity to reach the Divine Ability Realm through transformation.

For many cultivators, the Divine Ability Realm is the greatest pursuit in life, and obtaining a Fortune Pill can propel them into the Divine Ability Realm is of paramount importance.

But this stroke of luck seemed insignificant. Upon hearing the sound of someone preparing to refine another batch of Fortune Pill in the Alchemy Chamber, Zhufu Yan felt his life's goal shatter in an instant.