I Was Fortunate Enough to Refine a Batch

Unless there's a complete breakdown in relations, few people can maintain control when interacting with an emperor.

Zhang Xuezhou's actions at Shanglin Garden were neither proactive nor passive, after all, he genuinely wanted to refine some good pills.

In order to build his own Little Jin, the new emperor placed almost all his bets on the Shanglin Garden.

The new emperor not only sent 782 boxes of medicinal herbs, but also ensured that only a handful of people could enter the Shanglin Garden, with no more than five people able to obtain accurate information.

Why are you here?

After three consecutive failures to produce the Tenfold Complete Great Tonic Pill, "Zhang Xuezhou was understandably distressed.

As he was pondering where he could make further modifications, a person forced their way into the bolted door of the Alchemy Chamber.

"Hey Dong, when did you seal this place off so tightly?"

If the security at Shanglin Garden were lax, Li Shaojun really wouldn't be in the mood for anything.

Compared to his last visit, Li Shaojun felt that the patrols in this area had been strengthened by at least three times, and the Imperial Guards at each entrance were armed with bows and swords, capable of fighting at both close and long range.

If no one with a special pass approached, Li Shaojun had no doubt that these people would take action directly.

This level of security was equivalent to that of an execution ground, and Li Shaojun was indeed very curious about what was happening inside.

Instead of answering Zhang Xuezhou, he asked Zhang Xuezhou a question.

"It's normal to close at night, isn't it?" Zhang Xuezhou said.

"I'm talking about outside. There are at least two hundred Imperial Guards patrolling back and forth outside," Li Shaojun said.

"I didn't go outside, so I have no idea what's going on outside!"

Zhang Xuezhou responded earnestly, but Li Shaojun felt that there was little difference between what Zhang Xuezhou said and what he didn't say; he couldn't expect to hear a single truth from Zhang Xuezhou.

"Refining pills?" Li Shaojun glanced around and said, "You've refined so many pills, you haven't been doing it for three days and three nights, have you?"

"That's about the time," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Your alchemy skills are mediocre at best," Li Shaojun said, looking at the large amount of waste medicine residue piled up in the Alchemy Chamber. "Even when I'm refining pills, I don't waste this much!"

"If you're not going to waste it, then at least refine the Eight Steps to Immortality Pill!" Zhang Xuezhou sneered. "His Majesty gave you so many materials to waste, and you've wasted them all without producing anything worthless!"

"Hey, you know what, Grandpa Li actually managed to come up with something!"

Li Shaojun habitually touched his chin, his aged face flushed with smugness.

"You actually managed to create a legitimate Eight-Step Ascension Pill?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in surprise.

"I was fortunate enough to successfully forge one batch!"

Li Shaojun shook his head, indicating that he was a genius at alchemy, having successfully made the Eight Steps to Immortality Pill with his cultivation at the Divine Ability Realm. This was a prime example of a lower realm challenging a higher realm.

Although the quality of the medicine wasn't great, Li Shaojun felt it was more than enough.

"You've really succeeded! Let me see!"

Zhang Xuezhou reached out to Li Shaojun and asked for it. Li Shaojun looked smug and then took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve.

"The Eight Steps to Immortality Pill turned into a lump last time, but this time it's turned into powder!"

Li Shaojun poured the powder into his palm, and a pile of red powder immediately poured out.

Zhang Xuezhou reached out, dipped his finger in the elixir, brought it close to his nostrils, and then licked it to taste it, memorizing the properties of Li Shaojun's genuine Eight Steps to Immortality Pill.

He developed many elixirs in his laboratory, but he never managed to create the Eight-Step Ascension Elixir.

The biggest reason for this is the lack of official standards. Even if Zhang Xuezhou produced dozens of versions, he still didn't know which one was suitable for use, and the pills he actually had were also of questionable quality.

Having memorized Li Shaojun's Eight Steps to Immortality Pill, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but be curious about its form after gaining a clear understanding of it.

"I already said the pills from last time didn't count," Li Shaojun said sullenly. "That Nine Spirits Primal Sage was vomiting and spitting blood; whatever powder or pills fell out, they inevitably clumped together!"

"Like this?"

"A normal Eight Steps to Immortality Pill looks like this. If I reach the Sole Self Realm in the future, the color of this pill will be even redder. If I reach the True Self Realm, the color of this pill will be so red that it will make your eyes shine!"

"In other words, the redder the powder, the higher its quality!"

Zhang Xuezhou summarized it in one sentence, and Li Shaojun nodded in agreement.

"Don't even think about us getting the highest quality Eight Steps to Immortality Pill," Li Shaojun said. "Even our ancestor, Tongtian his extraordinary abilities, couldn't refine the highest quality Eight Steps to Immortality Pill!"

"Then your ancestor truly left with a regret!"

Without the addition of the Fortune Pill, the Eight Steps to Immortality Pill has no special medicinal properties upon ingestion; apart from bitterness, astringency, and numbness, it has no other sensations.

Seeing Li Shaojun's smug smile, Zhang Xuezhou knew very well that this guy was just waiting for him to test the drug and make a fool of himself.

"Once Master Li finds enough Fortune Pill, Master Li will become a cultivator of the Sole Self Realm," Li Shaojun said proudly.

"If you need Fortune Pill, you can have it refined by me. My fees are very reasonable," Zhang Xuezhou offered.

"Looking for you? Pshaw!"

Li Shaojun felt he must have been blind to have asked Zhang Xuezhou refine pills, but the thought of the Imperial Guards patrolling outside and the side hall filled with large boxes of various medicinal herbs made him uneasy.

"You didn't trick that young emperor into giving you the ingredients to refine Fortune Pill, did you?" Li Shaojun asked suspiciously. "Let me tell you, the Fortune Pill is different from the Eight Steps to Immortality Pill. Misusing the imperial court's medicinal materials could very well result in your family being wiped out!"

The reason why Li Shaojun was able to fool the new emperor into refining the Eight-Step Ascension Pill is simple: the materials he needed were precious, but most of them were used for making talismans and Law Treasure. Few people could use these materials, Great Han Dynasty's treasury had sufficient materials and a continuous supply.

However, the materials for the Fortune Pill are different. Many of the medicinal materials used in the pill need to be carefully selected, and the Demon Core used for the enchantment correspond to a demon's life.

The waste of these materials means that many people are busy but achieve nothing, and once non-renewable materials are lost, they are difficult to replenish.

Excessive spending could even lead to a shortage of materials in the Office of the Inner Clerk, causing many Alchemist to halt the production of high-grade pills.

The impact of this is far greater than what Li Shaojun did, and the consequences are unbearable for ordinary people. Even an emperor would be embarrassed if he made such a mistake.

Even if you can refine the Fortune Pill and master the art of alchemy, that... that's not the skill we need!

Li Shaojun thought for a moment.

He could refine the Eight Steps to Immortality Pill because others couldn't, but other Alchemist could truly refine the Fortune Pill.

If he could buy or exchange for the Fortune Pill, Li Shaojun felt that all high-risk investments were not worthwhile, let alone wasting his time and energy on them.

"I have a lot of the necessary medicinal herbs here, but I'm missing some high-quality ones and Demon Core. Tell me, would you like to take advantage of this pill-refining business?"

Zhang Xuezhou thought about the remaining Demon Core he had exchanged with Hongku, and the remaining Demon Core from the new emperor. If Li Shaojun added some more Demon Core, or offered some high-quality Poria cocos, white zombies, and licorice, he could then use them to test the Law Power Fortune Pill.

Zhang Xuezhou still felt the effects of refining the Qi and Blood Fortune Pill, and he believed he had a high chance of successfully refining the same type of pill.

His refining of the Tenfold Complete Great Tonic Pill went poorly; it wouldn't be bad if he could try refining a different elixir to wash away the bad luck.