Chapter 28

3.5 hours later...

Song Shuhang's eyes were still bright, but his body was somewhat tired.

"Forty-first ingredient, finally almost done," Song Shuhang muttered.

He didn't expect that he could persist to this step on his first attempt at refining a pill. However, he was also approaching his limit. After this ingredient, there were only four left: Fresh Tyrant Branch, Nine Yang Crimson Flame Bamboo Slices, Deep Sea Cold Crystal, and Snow Demon Core. He could make it to the end!

He opened the pot and quickly added the forty-first ingredient.

Before Song Shuhang could cover the pot, a sudden change occurred in the hot pot.

The pale gray medicinal liquid, which had already integrated forty ingredients, suddenly emitted a strong stench and a burnt smell when it came into contact with the forty-first ingredient!

The medicinal liquid, which had already filled half the pot, quickly evaporated, and in a blink, it had reduced by one-fifth!

"Tsk, did it fail?" Song Shuhang said in distress. Although he had added water at the beginning, he suspected that he might have failed from the start.

However, since there were no issues up to the forty-first ingredient, a small glimmer of hope and expectation inevitably arose in his heart. Was this the gambler's mentality unique to humans?

But now, was it finally going to fail completely?

"No, it's not completely over yet," Song Shuhang saw that the gray medicinal liquid, though evaporating, was still stubbornly integrating the forty-first ingredient.

He knew he had to do something; if he did nothing, it would really be over.

In fact, the forty-first ingredient was the most challenging step in refining the 'simplified body-strengthening liquid.'

From this step onward, it was already the final stage of the 'simplified body-strengthening liquid.' The four ingredients after this one were not to enhance the medicinal properties.

The Fresh Tyrant Branch, Nine Yang Crimson Flame Bamboo Slices, Deep Sea Cold Crystal, and Snow Demon Core were the first two being extremely yang and the latter two being extremely yin. These four ingredients were used to purify the 'simplified body-strengthening liquid.'

Purification was the most crucial step. Without it, the body-strengthening liquid would be nothing more than a pot of ten-ingredient nourishing soup. Drinking it would make one feel great, but the body-strengthening effect would be greatly reduced. With the purification step, the ten-ingredient nourishing soup would transform into a body-strengthening liquid, turning from a common medicine into a divine elixir.

The forty-first ingredient was the catalyst for purification.

This step was indeed the easiest to fail, and Soft Feather had failed dozens of times at this point.

But how could he turn the failure around?

If a pharmacist were present, with his superior pill-refining experience and skills, he could certainly turn the tide and save this pot of 'body-strengthening liquid.'

But Song Shuhang had neither the experience nor the skills of a pharmacist.

"The evaporation is too fast; I need to slow it down. Add water!" Song Shuhang, treating a dead horse as if it were alive, added a ladle of water to the pot. Although he wasn't sure if it would work, at least the evaporation rate slowed down.

"Four ingredients left."

Song Shuhang's mind raced.

Time-wise, he didn't have enough to refine another batch. In another one or two hours, his roommates would probably return.

To be honest, if they saw him messing around with 'pill refining' in the small kitchen, Song Shuhang couldn't guarantee that his enthusiastic roommates wouldn't tie him up and send him to the psychiatric ward.

Given their level of enthusiasm, each deserving at least ten 'good person cards,' this was a very real possibility!

"Let's try adding all the remaining ingredients at once. Since it's almost a failure anyway, I'll treat it as a learning experience," Song Shuhang decided.

In the group, Northern River's Loose Cultivator and Soft Feather had failed many times. If he, a complete outsider, succeeded on his first try, that would be the real problem.

He opened the pot.

Fresh Tyrant Branch, Nine Yang Crimson Flame Bamboo Slices, Deep Sea Cold Crystal, and Snow Demon Core—four ingredients were thrown into the pot in one go.

He covered the pot!

Then, Song Shuhang witnessed the true 'ice and fire hot pot.'

The Fresh Tyrant Branch and Nine Yang Crimson Flame Bamboo Slices partially integrated with the medicinal liquid, turning red upon heating, as if they were about to ignite. This part of the medicinal liquid became even more vigorous, evaporating faster. The evaporating gas spurted out from the vent holes in the lid, like a fountain.

Meanwhile, the Deep Sea Cold Crystal and Snow Demon Core, upon heating, their outer shells cracked, releasing icy blue liquid. This icy blue liquid seemed extremely cold, and upon integrating with the other half of the medicinal liquid, it began to cool and calm the boiling liquid.

The calm part became colder, while the boiling part evaporated even faster. The two parts of the medicinal liquid showed signs of separating.

He couldn't let them separate. Song Shuhang increased the heat on the induction cooker, trying to make the cooling part boil again.

As the temperature rose, the evaporation rate of the medicinal liquid increased. In less than a minute, the original half-pot of medicinal soup had reduced to less than a third.

It would evaporate completely in at most ten breaths.

"It's a complete failure," Song Shuhang laughed, not caring about the failure as he had been mentally prepared.

He reached out to turn off the induction cooker. If he continued, the pot would burn.

However, his fingers stopped halfway— he saw that the medicinal liquid, though evaporating faster, was no longer separating and was re-integrating.

On a whim, Song Shuhang didn't turn off the heat but instead increased it to the maximum!

He was taking a big risk, adding more heat, hoping to integrate all the medicinal liquid and extract the properties of the forty-five ingredients! This way, he might still get some residue before the liquid evaporated completely.

The induction cooker, set to maximum, made an unusual noise.

In the hot pot, ice and fire intertwined in the small pot, forming beautiful patterns. The two parts of the medicinal liquid churned, shaking the pot.

Finally, Song Shuhang couldn't see the changes in the pot anymore.

The medicinal liquid evaporated, leaving a thick layer of impurities on the reinforced glass lid.

Drip, drip... It was the sound of the ingredients churning. Each churn took exactly one second.

Song Shuhang held his phone, watching the time.

Unable to see what was happening in the pot, he decided to turn off the induction cooker after five minutes.

2 minutes and 23 seconds.

Boom...

At this moment, a high-pressure surge in the hot pot lifted the lid.

Immediately, a black smoke spewed out, enveloping the entire small kitchen, and a pungent smell filled the air.

The smell was so intense, it was as if all the world's foul odors had been combined. Just a whiff made one want to vomit.

"Ugh..." Song Shuhang pinched his nose and quickly turned off the induction cooker.

"So stinky." Even with his nose pinched and holding his breath, the strange stench still penetrated Song Shuhang's nose, refusing to leave.

He ran to the window and opened it. If he didn't get some fresh air, he would only be waiting for his roommates to find his body—cause of death: suffocation from the stench.

As soon as the window opened, the black smoke drifted out, and the stench in the kitchen gradually dissipated.

"This smell is indescribable and lingers endlessly," Song Shuhang sighed. He would probably not forget this smell for the next few days. He wondered if he could still eat.

"This thing, when refined incorrectly, has such a terrifying smell, it could be used as a biochemical weapon. If this smell could be collected, I could release it in anyone's room who annoys me, ensuring they would never forget it," Song Shuhang said sarcastically.

On the ground, the lid of the hot pot was still spinning. Fortunately, it was made of tempered glass and didn't break. Otherwise, he would have to pay to compensate the school.

After picking up the lid, Song Shuhang felt a wave of dizziness. The fatigue from nearly four hours of work hit him like a tidal wave!

He quickly held onto the table and slowly sat down.

After a brief rest, he pinched his nose and looked into the pot, wanting to see what the failed medicinal liquid looked like to emit such a foul smell.

In the hot pot, the original half-pot of medicinal liquid had reduced to a thin layer.

It was black, transparent, and had a pungent, intense smell.

"Black and mushy, a bit like transparent sesame paste. Just too stinky," Song Shuhang complained.

"Wait, this... how could it be?" He suddenly remembered something and quickly took out the notebook with the pharmacist's formula.

The medicinal liquid turned into a paste, black and transparent, with a pungent smell. This was how the pharmacist described the finished product of the simplified body-strengthening liquid.

It seemed... very similar to what he had refined?