Chapter 44

Time is an invaluable consumable, whether you like it or not, it is always being consumed.

As he refined the elixir, it was already approaching half past three in the afternoon.

The refinement of the body-strengthening liquid in Song Shuhang’s hands was nearing its end.

Just like yesterday, when the forty-first ingredient was added, the body-strengthening liquid in the pot changed.

Because of his experience, Song Shuhang calmly added water this time. A moment later, he threw in the fresh Tyrant Branch, the Nine Yang Crimson Flame Bamboo slices, the Deep Sea Cold Crystal, and the Snow Demon Core all at once.

When the liquid in the pot became polarized, Song Shuhang directly turned up the heat to the maximum.

After doing everything, Song Shuhang finally let out a sigh of relief.

Everything was going smoothly, now it all depended on the final step!

Oh, right, he still needed to prepare for the possible smell of 'all the stenches in the world' that might come later.

Four minutes later.

Boom...

The lid of the hot pot was once again blown off by the high pressure, and black smoke spewed out from the pot, filling the entire room with an indescribable stench.

Song Shuhang was well-prepared and had already held his breath—although the stench still managed to invade his sense of smell through some unknown means, pinching his nose and holding his breath could still alleviate the stench to some extent.

"Ugh? What's that smell?" The药师 (Pharmacist) was powerful, with extremely sensitive senses. Especially his sense of smell, which was about three hundred times more sensitive than that of an ordinary person.

The strange stench rushed into his mouth and nose, making the Pharmacist feel extremely uncomfortable.

This is already in the range of biochemical weapons, right? An ordinary person would turn pale and vomit after smelling it for a while!

If it weren't for his strength and the fact that he had endured various strange odors from failed elixir refinements, he might have collapsed when the stench hit him.

"If this thing were refined, it would be a nightmare for First Stage cultivators who have opened their nasal orifices and Second Stage True Masters who can't yet control their sense of smell," the Pharmacist muttered. He slapped his hand, creating a gust of wind that dispersed the extremely foul black mist.

"Even though I've smelled it once, I still can't get used to it. I don't think I'll have an appetite for the next few days," Song Shuhang complained.

"Did it succeed?" the Pharmacist asked.

"Since the stench came out, it should have succeeded, right?" Song Shuhang picked up the hot pot lid, which was always thrown off. Even reinforced glass would eventually shatter, wouldn't it?

The Pharmacist pinched his nose and leaned over to look at the hot pot. At the bottom of the pot, there was a thin layer of black medicinal paste, transparent and pungent.

He extended his finger and, from a distance, picked up a drop of the medicinal liquid, which he then put in his mouth.

Feeling the explosive medicinal properties of the body-strengthening liquid in his mouth, the Pharmacist smiled in satisfaction: "Just as I thought."

After a rough estimate, the medicinal effect was about half as strong as the simplified version of the body-strengthening liquid.

In theory, the stronger the effect of the elixir used by cultivators, the better. However, the simplest body-strengthening liquid, when its medicinal effect was reduced to a certain extent, unexpectedly showed a special effect!

The old version of the body-strengthening liquid had a powerful effect. Even the elite disciples of various sects needed to cultivate for several months to half a year to stimulate their blood and qi to the limit and adjust their body to the best state before they could take it.

After the Pharmacist simplified the body-strengthening liquid, the elite disciples of various sects still needed to cultivate and adjust for about a month before they could take it.

But if the medicinal effect of the body-strengthening liquid was further reduced, the disciples within the sects could take it after just a slight adjustment.

After that, once their bodies were strengthened, they could take a higher-quality body-strengthening liquid, greatly reducing the initial time required to cultivate disciples.

It's important to note that the time for disciples to lay the foundation is crucial. The optimal time for laying the foundation is between four and six years old, a mere two years, and the earlier they take the body-strengthening liquid, the better.

More importantly, Song Shuhang's method of refining the body-strengthening liquid didn't require any special effort. All he needed to do was switch to the elixir refinement steps immediately when he made a mistake at the forty-first step of refining the 'simplified body-strengthening liquid'.

This method was like a patch for the Pharmacist's 'simplified body-strengthening liquid', further improving the formula and significantly reducing the loss of medicinal materials for 'apprentice alchemists'.

Seeing the Pharmacist's satisfied smile, Song Shuhang let out a sigh of relief and asked, "Can this help you improve the formula for the simplified body-strengthening liquid?"

"Not so easily. Your successful refinement this time only proves that my idea of improving the formula is feasible. In the next few days, I will need your cooperation to make some adjustments to your elixir refinement method. Hehe, this trip was indeed worth it," the Pharmacist said, feeling very pleased.

Song Shuhang nodded and said, "I will do my best to cooperate with you, Senior."

The Pharmacist nodded in satisfaction, pulled out a thick notebook, and quickly recorded various data and details from the experiment.

He was known as a genius alchemist and was somewhat famous among cultivators. But his reputation as a genius and his fame didn't just fall on him while he was sitting at home. From this thick notebook, one could see how much effort and hard work he had put into the study of alchemy. Moreover, in the Pharmacist's cave, there were enough thick notebooks to fill thirty bookshelves.

Behind every successful genius lies an unimaginable amount of sweat.

Song Shuhang looked at the Pharmacist with a hesitant expression.

Finally, he couldn't hold back: "Senior Pharmacist, you said that Master Tongxuan's flying sword message would arrive in about four to five hours. Calculating the time, it should be about now, right?"

The "Basic Vajra Fist Technique" and the "True Self Meditation Sutra"! The foundation-building techniques that would truly allow him to enter the world of cultivators!

Just thinking about the two foundation-building techniques made Song Shuhang's heart race, and he couldn't wait to get his hands on them.

"Haha, no need to rush. Master Tongxuan's flying sword message is using me as a coordinate, and I will feel it when it's close. Yes, but we should still go back to your dormitory. The initial teleportation coordinates were set there, and the flying sword should also fly there if everything goes as planned," the Pharmacist said with a smile.

"Should we go back now?" Song Shuhang asked eagerly.

"No need to rush. While observing your refinement of the body-strengthening liquid, I verified the feasibility of many ideas in my mind. I need to record them first. Yes, if you're in a hurry, you can go back first, and I'll follow shortly," the Pharmacist said.

Song Shuhang nodded.

"Senior, should I go back to the dormitory and wait?"

"Go ahead, go ahead. Young people are always too impatient," the Pharmacist said, throwing a set of keys to Song Shuhang.

They were the keys to this house.

"Here are the keys. Since there are five floors, I don't need that many. You can live on the top floor, so you don't have to rent a place," the Pharmacist said without looking up.

Since he had already bought the house, it would be useless to leave it empty, so he might as well do Song Shuhang a favor.

Song Shuhang took the keys without being overly polite: "Thank you, Senior!"

He really needed a place where he wouldn't be disturbed, and... he didn't have extra money. The Pharmacist lending him a room solved his immediate problem, so he didn't want to be overly formal with his senior.

"Remember to lock the door!" The Pharmacist waved his hand and continued writing in the thick notebook.

Song Shuhang left with a light step.

Of course, he didn't forget his electric stove and hot pot. He needed to take them back to avoid arousing suspicion from his dormitory mates.

He turned the page, and the advertisement began.

He turned the page, and the advertisement ended.