Chapter 74

(Still at the third watch, I'm asking for recommendations and collections. If you like this book, please don't be stingy with your recommendation votes. A great author doesn't need this stuff, but for a grassroots author like me, it's like a heavenly dew.)

As the medicine boy looked on with envy, it reminded him of himself before he entered the Qingling Mountain, gazing at the magical light of the magical instruments and the cloud boats on the journey.

Immediately, Chu He reined in his distraction and began the refinement of the Qi-Benefiting Pill.

The success or failure of this matter was crucial to whether he could use this pill room immediately. He had to be fully focused. If he couldn't refine a high-quality Qi-Benefiting Pill, he would have to return to the ground and study further in the classroom behind the palace until he could refine the Qi-Benefiting Pill with absolute confidence. Only then would the ownership of this pill room be officially transferred. Returning to class was not what Chu He wanted.

There was a small issue: with Zhang He present, Chu He didn't want to bring out the Purifying Fire, a secret item. He wasn't sure if the pill could still be refined to a high quality without this layer of purification.

From the ten sets of materials Zhang He sent, it seemed he didn't believe Chu He could refine a high-quality Qi-Benefiting Pill.

Never mind, let's try it first. If it doesn't work, we'll try again.

Taking a deep breath, he prepared to activate the black iron cauldron and begin the pill refinement.

Before activating the cauldron, Chu He extended his spiritual sense into the cauldron to familiarize himself with the operation of the rune arrays and the internal conditions.

There are many types of pill furnaces, various kinds: water-fire cauldrons, inner-embryo cauldrons, and so on.

Fortunately, the structure inside this black iron cauldron, cast from black iron, was the same as the one given to him by Gu Han.

Although the black iron cauldron in front of him was a mid-grade magical tool, it had five rune arrays, meeting the minimum requirement for a high-grade magical tool: [Fire Generation], [Fire Gathering], [Star Transformation], [Star Net], [Spirit Storage].

Fire Generation and Fire Gathering were mid-level rune arrays, while Star Transformation, Star Net, and Spirit Storage were low-level.

The Star Transformation rune array transformed spiritual essence into star power. Although it was a low-level array, it couldn't be inscribed without the cultivation of the Core Formation realm and a deep study of the star path.

Star power is a dustless and intangible force. Due to its heavy nature, it can remove most impurities from medicinal liquids. Using it to form a star net for purification, combined with the manipulation of spiritual sense and the force of levitation, greatly enhances the purification process.

The Spirit Storage rune array, as the name suggests, can store a large amount of concentrated spiritual essence, which is used to form the pill when the treasure pill or spirit pill is about to be completed.

The five rune arrays could have been classified as a high-grade magical tool, but only two were mid-level, failing to meet the minimum requirement of three, so it was still classified as mid-grade.

The design concept should also be the same as the cauldron given to him by Gu Han: to accommodate disciples whose cultivation has not yet reached the innate realm, such as those at the peak of the ninth layer of the Qi Condensation realm, allowing them to use this cauldron.

Being able to use a magical tool between mid-grade and high-grade, Chu He felt pleasantly surprised. He was particularly curious about the new Star Transformation and Star Net rune arrays.

The leader of the Earth Fire Department indeed had good judgment: to do a job well, one must first sharpen the tools.

After slightly injecting spiritual essence to adapt, Chu He began the first batch of Qi-Benefiting Pill refinement.

After four practice sessions last night, the first two steps went smoothly for Chu He, without any hindrance.

Zhang He watched from the side, initially surprised, then approving: such skill and proficiency were not inferior to the disciples in the 20th-grade pill room.

However, Chu He's first batch of pills did not succeed because he didn't expect the strength of the earth fire, which overcooked the materials, turning them into waste.

Chu He was somewhat frustrated: the earth fire's enhancement at least doubled the cauldron's firepower, far exceeding what he was familiar with yesterday. Stabilizing its use required a higher demand on spiritual sense. Even though he reduced the input of spiritual essence, he still failed.

Chu He's first failure seemed to be within Zhang He's expectations. He remained silent, still smiling at Chu He.

Although the herbs were free for practice, Chu He did not continue refining. Instead, he closed his eyes and sat down, lost in thought. He replayed the process, identified the shortcomings, and improved them for the next refinement.

Zhang He, seeing this, praised him again in his heart: calm and meticulous, Bai Li really found a good seedling.

He didn't rush to guide Chu He, letting him try to solve the problem himself and summarize afterward, which was more efficient and better for Chu He.

After a short while, Chu He opened his eyes, stood up, and began refining again.

Zhang He watched him step by step, feeling even more surprised: the guy had corrected four out of the original five mistakes. The remaining one, though not corrected, was significantly improved and no longer posed a major threat to the pills in the cauldron.

Chu He did it in one go, activating the Star Transformation and Star Net rune arrays. These two arrays were indeed good assistants in pill refinement. The purification effect of the Star Net, though not as miraculous as the Purifying Fire, was almost the same in effect.

The pills were completed and taken out of the cauldron.

A total of twenty-two pills, all of high quality.

Zhang He clapped his hands and praised, "Little Chu, you've truly surprised me. Bai Li finally had good judgment this time. Alright, the 26th pill room is yours."

Chu He, of course, said, "It's all thanks to the guidance of the steward and the instructor."

Zhang He didn't care about his flattery and earnestly reminded him of one thing: he couldn't go down to the A-grade level. If he trespassed, he would be severely punished.

Zhang He, being busy, then explained some trivial matters and rules before leaving.

Chu He, having received the pill room's usage rights, began his task.

If he couldn't complete the task of refining 300 high-quality Qi-Benefiting Pills, it would be deducted from his monthly salary. Although Chu He's pockets were full, having his money deducted would be like cutting his flesh.

"How can I let you suck my blood?!" Chu He rolled up his sleeves, brimming with boundless energy.

With Zhang He gone, he carefully observed the surroundings, looking for any hidden mirage mirrors. However, with his cultivation, it was futile; he couldn't discern anything.

"Never mind, even if I knew, so what? It's not some immortal fire anyway." Thinking about it, it had no offensive power and could only purify two percent of the flame, which wasn't very noticeable and wouldn't attract envy.

After an unknown amount of time, he finished refining the remaining eight sets of materials.

There were no spirit clocks on the walls, clearly the intention of the person in charge: to prevent any decorations or matters from affecting the user of the pill room.

During the eight refinement processes, one batch was of medium quality due to a slight mental fatigue, resulting in a minor oversight.

It seemed that pill refinement also required a high level of mental concentration. Even with an immortal fire and an immortal cauldron, a moment of inattention or oversight could lead to failure. This batch of pills gave Chu He more useful experience.

Fortunately, the other seven batches were all of high quality, which greatly comforted Chu He.

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