Chapter 7

Hearing Han Muye’s words, Mu Wan paused, then looked up at him.

"Senior Brother Han, have you studied alchemy?"

Han Muye shook his head.

"No, I haven’t."

A faint smile appeared on Mu Wan’s face. "Then how can you dare to guide me in alchemy?"

She was a renowned genius in the alchemy lineage of the Nine Profound Sword Sect among the younger generation.

If not for the fact that the alchemy lineage of the Nine Profound Sword Sect wasn’t thriving, her reputation would have been even more prominent.

Now, a person who had never refined any elixirs before was telling her that her alchemy techniques were wrong.

Was this a joke?

Or was this person deliberately trying to draw her attention?

"This furnace’s failure will be on me." Han Muye raised his hand and placed six spirit stones on the stone platform in front of him, then placed another one to the side.

Mu Wan frowned.

Was this guy serious?

Other things could be faked, but spirit stones couldn’t.

They were all low-rank cultivators, and no one’s spirit stones came easily.

"Alright." With a frown, she raised her hand and replaced the spirit medicine in her hand with a green spirit herb, then put it into the alchemy furnace.

After that, Han Muye didn’t speak again, waiting for Mu Wan to put all the spirit medicines into the alchemy furnace, then began to gently rotate the furnace, with faint spirit light flickering in his hands.

Han Muye looked at her with a hint of envy.

This was a cultivator who had condensed spirit energy.

Old Huang had told him that the cultivation realm was divided into three stages: Heaven, Earth, and Man.

The Man stage included the cultivation of primordial energy, condensation of spirit energy, and foundation building.

The Earth stage included the opening of the source, enlightenment of the spirit, and the formation of the elixir.

The Heaven stage included the formation of the yuan baby, the soul leaving the body, and the transformation of the spirit.

Being able to condense one’s own spirit energy meant crossing the first step of the cultivation of primordial energy and reaching the second step of the Man stage, the condensation of spirit energy, gathering spirit energy in the body, and shedding the mortal body.

Han Muye had comprehended a few sword techniques and had just comprehended the method of alchemy, as well as many forging techniques for swords.

However, without cultivating any cultivation techniques and without any cultivation to support him, these skills were like water without a root.

Although he had a full-level comprehension, he firmly believed that he was only lacking a cultivation opportunity.

But the poor spiritual root quality of the ninth rank made him feel somewhat uneasy.

"Hum—"

The alchemy furnace resonated, and Mu Wan raised her hand, summoning two yellowish beans from the furnace.

Reaching out to catch them, a hint of joy flashed across Mu Wan’s face. "Two!"

A furnace of spirit medicines was supposed to produce only one elixir, so producing two meant she had saved a furnace of spirit medicines, which was equivalent to indirectly earning the spirit stones for a furnace of elixirs.

Her gaze swept over the elixirs in her palm, and surprise showed in her eyes.

The quality of these elixirs was much better than those she had refined before.

Elixirs, like cultivation spiritual roots, were also divided into ranks from the lowest to the first rank.

However, when evaluating elixirs, besides the rank of the elixir itself, one also had to consider the purity of the medicinal power and whether the refinement was just right.

This was the quality.

Inferior, ordinary, excellent, and supreme.

Ordinary elixirs usually fell into these four categories.

As for whether there were other qualities above these, there were few records in the world, and it was hard to verify.

Inferior elixirs were mostly filled with elixir toxins and were unsuitable for consumption.

Ordinary elixirs were the most common among ordinary alchemy cultivators.

Excellent elixirs required skilled techniques.

As for supreme elixirs, they were rare and hard to come by.

A low-rank elixir, if of excellent quality, could easily rival a high-rank elixir.

For example, an excellent ninth-rank elixir could have a medicinal power that was much purer and more potent than an ordinary eighth-rank elixir of the same attribute.

The better the quality of the elixir, the purer the medicinal power it contained, and the fewer impurities it had.

"Excellent...?"

Murmuring softly, Mu Wan reluctantly handed the two elixirs to Han Muye.

Although the Solidifying Pill was only a ninth-rank elixir, an excellent Solidifying Pill was still a good thing.

However, this elixir was originally commissioned by Han Muye, and he had also provided guidance during the refining process.

Mu Wan wanted to keep the elixirs for herself, but she didn’t have the face to do so.

So, this was an elixir?

Taking the two bean-sized Solidifying Pills, Han Muye sighed inwardly. No matter where you go, things that can be eaten are never cheap.

And the smaller they are, the more precious they are.

Seven spirit stones for just this much.

If Mu Wan knew what Han Muye was thinking, she would probably cry.

An excellent Solidifying Pill was five times the price of an ordinary one. Giving Han Muye the elixirs at the price of ordinary ones, and he still wasn’t happy?

Who was the one who lost out the most?

"Junior Sister, you’re busy, so I’ll take my leave." Han Muye put away the elixirs and bowed to Mu Wan.

It wasn’t good to keep watching her refine elixirs.

Mu Wan nodded and then looked at Han Muye. "Senior Brother Han, you said you haven’t studied alchemy. Why were you able to point out the incorrect order of the two spirit medicines in the Solidifying Pill just now?"

I knew you would ask.

Han Muye laughed and said, "I don’t understand alchemy, but as a Sword Observer, I do have some knowledge of sword forging."

"Strength without durability, brittleness without breaking. Sword forging and alchemy should have some commonalities."

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the bamboo pavilion.

It was quite a distance to the Sword Pavilion, and he needed to get back before dark.

"Did you get the Solidifying Pills?" Old Huang asked with a smile.

Han Muye nodded and took out the two elixirs.

"Huh, these Solidifying Pills..." Old Huang’s body trembled, and he hurriedly leaned forward.

"These are excellent elixirs!"

Excellent?

Seeing Han Muye’s confusion, Old Huang explained the difference between the ranks and qualities of elixirs.

When Han Muye said he had bought two excellent elixirs for seven spirit stones, Old Huang’s eyes widened.

"Tsk tsk, she must have a crush on you."

Old Huang looked Han Muye up and down, his words filled with envy.

He took out a wine gourd, took a big sip, and then offered it to Han Muye.

Han Muye shook his head.

He didn’t like drinking.

Seeing that he didn’t take it, Old Huang put the gourd back and said with a smile, "You can rest easy tonight."

"That sword was claimed by someone this afternoon."

That sword?

Han Muye was taken aback and whispered, "The one from last night?"

The one that shouted about dual cultivation last night.

Old Huang nodded and, seeing his expression, grinned. "What, do you want to dual cultivate again?"

Han Muye’s brows furrowed slightly.

That sword was a bit strange.

Not in the way it was forged, but in how it ended up in the Sword Pavilion, which was strange.

"Who claimed the sword?"

He looked at Old Huang.

Old Huang glanced at him, opened the book on the long table, and pointed to a name. "Inner Sect disciple Su Yang, who used his mission rewards to claim the sword."

"I didn’t even get a single spirit stone out of it."

Han Muye didn’t care much about the spirit stones. To him, being a Sword Observer was more about the benefits of being an Inner Sect disciple and the opportunity to comprehend sword techniques from various swords.

"It’s strange, that guy came to claim the sword and directly took that one and left." Closing the book, Old Huang muttered.

Directly took that one?

Han Muye turned to look at the wooden racks in the Sword Pavilion, his eyes narrowing.

"Forget about it, we’re just Sword Observers." Old Huang patted Han Muye’s shoulder and said, "Tomorrow we have to polish the long swords on the first floor, which is a labor-intensive task."

"Take the Solidifying Pills tonight."

Saying this, he looked at Han Muye again. "Being good-looking is a blessing. Why didn’t I ever meet someone who gave me excellent elixirs for free..."

Han Muye had a tall and straight figure, not particularly muscular, but with a well-proportioned face that looked good.

But Han Muye knew that Mu Wan had given him the excellent elixirs because of the few words he had said during the alchemy process.

In the end, one couldn’t rely on looks; it was all about strength...

Sighing softly, he returned to his meditation room, sat cross-legged, and the two light yellow pills appeared in his palm.

Taking the elixirs.

Would it hurt the first time?