Chapter 212: Creating a New Pill Formula, Transcending Tiers in Pill Refining

Chapter 212: Creating a New Pill Formula, Transcending Tiers in Pill Refining

Chu Ning exited the archive room and was surprised to see Wang Ping sitting cross-legged outside. Wang Ping, sensing Chu Ning's emergence, immediately rose from his meditative state.

"Wang Ping, what are you doing here?" Chu Ning asked, puzzled.

Wang Ping scratched his head, "You didn't tell me to leave, Master Chu."

Chu Ning paused at his words. Indeed, he had only asked Wang Ping to guide him to the archives and hadn't specifically instructed him to leave afterward.

But this guy was a bit too dedicated.

"Have you been waiting here for a month?" Chu Ning inquired.

"I didn't know when you would come out, Master Chu," Wang Ping replied honestly.

"..." Chu Ning was momentarily at a loss for words.

Now he understood why Wang Ping, despite having the cultivation of the ninth layer of Qi Refining, was still confined to the main hall. This guy was just too dedicated for his own good.

Chu Ning had some understanding of Wang Ping's background. He had been a disciple of the late Overseer Qiu, and after his master's passing, no other Foundation Establishment Pill Master had taken him under their wing. As a result, he was assigned to the main hall by He Yanmao.

Wang Ping's duties included not only his own pill refining and cultivation but also attending to the needs of other Foundation Establishment Pill Masters.

Chu Ning glanced at Wang Ping and waved his hand dismissively, "Alright, I'm going to refine pills. You can go now."

"Yes, Master Chu!" Wang Ping replied and promptly headed downstairs.

Chu Ning then made his way to the second floor of the Pill Refining Tower.

The second floor was where various spirit herbs were distributed, and at that moment, numerous cultivators were present, collecting their allotted herbs.

Within the Nine Floret Sect's Pill Refining Tower, Pill Masters could earn contribution points by refining pills, which they could then exchange for spirit herbs.

Conversely, they could also exchange spirit herbs for contribution points to obtain pills.

Thus, the exchange counter on the second floor was usually bustling with activity.

"Master Chu!"

"Senior Brother Chu!"

As Chu Ning appeared, the crowd greeted him with respectful salutations, quickly making way for him.

Chu Ning nodded in acknowledgment and proceeded directly to the exchange counter without hesitation.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator behind the counter promptly attended to Chu Ning, inquiring about the spirit herbs he required.

"I need some Golden Sun Grass, Darkwood Roots, Purple Mist Fruit, Shadow Orchid Leaves, Clearheart Grass, Indian Barberry, and Spirit Vegetable Roots..."

Chu Ning listed the ingredients needed for several pill formulas in one go.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator didn't hesitate to gather and provide Chu Ning with all the requested materials without any further questions.

Evidently, they had received prior instructions from the tower's leadership.

As Chu Ning was about to leave with the herbs in hand, the amicable Foundation Establishment cultivator spoke up with a smile, "Senior Brother Chu, He Yanmao specifically instructed us earlier that if you come to collect herbs for pill refining, we should ask if you could refine a couple of batches of Foundation Establishment Pills."

Chu Ning paused in his tracks and nodded, "Certainly, do you have all the necessary spirit herbs prepared?"

The cultivator was elated to hear this and quickly affirmed, "Yes, we do!"

He promptly retrieved several jade boxes and handed them over to Chu Ning.

Chu Ning accepted them, gave them a cursory glance, and then stored them away in his spatial pouch.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator in charge of the spirit herbs smiled again and said, "Senior Brother Chu, if you need any other spirit herbs in the future, just let us know, and we'll deliver them to you. You can also send another disciple to collect them on your behalf; there's no need for you to come in person every time."

Chu Ning nodded in acknowledgment and departed amidst the respectful gazes of the crowd.

As soon as Chu Ning's figure disappeared from the restricted area of the second floor, the Pill Masters at the exchange counter immediately struck up a conversation.

"Master Chu is going to refine Foundation Establishment Pills!"

"Yeah, I heard that the Foundation Establishment Pills he refined last month were all snapped up. The first person to exchange for them was a senior brother from Purple Bamboo Peak, and he successfully established his foundation half a month ago after consuming one."

"I hope that when I reach the peak of Qi Refining, I'll also have the opportunity to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill refined by Master Chu."

The amicable Foundation Establishment cultivator overheard their chatter and couldn't help but shake his head.

In recent days, cultivators from various peaks and towers had been inquiring about Foundation Establishment Pills, specifically asking for those refined by Master Chu.

He sighed, "In the past, when we didn't have Foundation Establishment Pills, everyone scrambled for just one pill. Now, it's not enough to have any Foundation Establishment Pill; it has to be one refined by Master Chu. His name is now known throughout the entire sect."

Refining Foundation Establishment Pills was not a challenging task for Chu Ning.

Upon entering the pill refining chamber, he immediately set to work and produced two batches without any issues.

He didn't intend to hold back, deciding to submit all the pills, achieving a 100% success rate, to the tower's management.

After all, he had no use for these pills himself, and he had already set aside several pills from his previous refining attempts.

After refining the two batches of Foundation Establishment Pills, Chu Ning proceeded to take out the ingredients for the Darkwood Yang Restoration Pill.

Combining the pill formulas he had grasped recently, he prepared to refine three to four types of pills, with the Darkwood Yang Vigor Pill being his primary focus.

Previously, he had been using the Refining Spirit Pills he created from the Green Wood Primal Yang Pill for cultivation. Over the past six months, he had also consumed some of the Nine Floret Condensing Yuan Pills.

However, Chu Ning had always wanted to refine intermediate-grade middle-tier or even higher-grade wood-fire dual attribute pills.

"If I can refine an intermediate-grade middle-tier Darkwood Yang Pill and combine it with the effects of the Refining Spirit Pills, it should be comparable to an intermediate-grade high-tier pill, which would likely surpass the effects of the Nine Floret Condensing Yuan Pill."

Chu Ning muttered to himself as he eyed the ingredients in front of him.

Then, with a swift incantation of a spell, he began the refinement process for the Darkwood Yang Vigor Pill.

Compared to the Nine Floret Condensing Yuan Pill, the Darkwood Yang Enhancing Pill was even simpler to refine.

However, as Chu Ning applied the improved fire control technique he had developed for the Nine Floret Condensing Yuan Pill, the first batch of Darkwood Yang Essence Pills resulted in nine successfully refined pills.

This was a unique talent that belonged solely to Chu Ning, and he had never revealed it to anyone. However, he almost always refined the spirit of the pills he consumed, further enhancing their tier and efficacy.

One, two... after refining the spirit of the Darkwood Yang Vigor Pill seven times, Chu Ning furrowed his brows as he examined the pills in his hand.

He could sense that the pill had reached its limit after being refined seven times. If he attempted to refine it further, the pill would be ruined.

"This pill has reached a high level of quality for a middle-grade top-tier pill. If I can push it just a bit further, it might even become a high-grade pill." Chu Ning muttered to himself.

The tier of this middle-grade top-tier pill was the same as the Nine Floret Condensing Yuan Pill that he had refined publicly before.

"It's a pity that the nine Nine Floret Condensing Yuan Pills I refined and gave to Ling Cang and He Yanmao for research were all middle-grade high-tier. Otherwise, after refining the spirit, they might have been able to reach the tier of a high-grade pill."

Of course, even that wasn't enough to satisfy Chu Ning.

What he truly wanted was to refine a high-grade pill with fire-wood dual attributes through spirit refining.

Only then would there be greater progress in his Blazing Inferno Divine Wood Art.

Before he could achieve that, it seemed that he needed to first refine a middle-grade top-tier pill with fire-wood dual attributes.

At this moment, Chu Ning recalled the pill refinement process he had just gone through and the insights he had gained over the past month of studying pill formulas.

"The Golden Sun Grass and Darkwood Roots used in the Darkwood Yang Vigor Pill aim to balance fire and wood attributes. These two spirit herbs have very similar levels of fire and wood attribute spiritual energy, and they don't conflict with each other. However, the medicinal effects of these two herbs aren't top-notch, so if I want to further enhance the pill's quality, I'll need higher-grade spirit herbs."

With that thought, Chu Ning took out a jade box from his storage pouch and retrieved several Flame-Twin Fruits.

"If I directly replace two Flame-Twin Fruits or add them into the mix, is there a possibility that the pill's tier will increase?"

Intrigued by the idea, Chu Ning decided to give it a try.

He was well aware of the pure fire and wood dual-attribute spiritual power contained within the Flame-Twin Fruits. After all, he had primarily used this fruit along with a few other non-top-grade spirit herbs to refine the Primal Spirit Treasure Pill.

"If I directly replace the ingredients, it probably won't increase the pill's tier. I should try adding them directly, but then I'll need to make adjustments during the extraction and liquefaction processes. I'll also have to add Golden Silver Dew and Dragonstone Bile."

Chu Ning didn't rush into it. Instead, he began to think about how to improve the pill refinement process, combining it with his own knowledge of pill refinement techniques.

He even started simulating each step in his mind, envisioning the possible changes that could occur within the pill furnace.

It took him seven days to finally finish refining his plan.

"Well, there's only one way to find out if it'll work!"

Chu Ning muttered softly and cast several incantations toward the pill furnace.

After controlling the fire, Chu Ning officially began the refinement process.

One by one, he added the spirit herbs into the pill furnace, and surprisingly, he didn't hesitate much this time.

After all, he had already simulated these steps countless times in his mind.

However, as soon as Chu Ning added the Flame-Twin Fruits and began to manipulate the incantations to extract their essence...

BOOM!

A loud explosion reverberated from within the pill furnace.

The next moment, the lid of the pill furnace flew off, and a surge of spiritual power burst out, filling the entire pill refinement room with chaotic energy.

The pill furnace itself was sent flying by the force of the explosion.

Chu Ning's expression changed, and he quickly summoned a protective barrier in front of him.

He waited for the pill furnace to fall back down, and once the splattering medicinal liquid had settled, he dispersed the barrier.

Then, he swiftly cast incantations with both hands to stabilize the unruly earth fire.

"This is probably the first time I've had a pill furnace explosion. As expected, creating a new pill formula isn't easy, especially for such a high-tier pill."

As Chu Ning cleaned up the mess in the pill refinement room, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Over the past few years, relying on his Primordial Spirit Body and well-established pill formulas, he had experienced some fluctuations in his pill refinement success rate.

However, overall, his pill refinement journey had been smooth sailing, and even when things didn't go well, he could still produce a few pills per batch.

But this time, the entire batch had failed, and all the spirit herbs were wasted.

Fortunately, the quality of the pill furnace was excellent; otherwise, Chu Ning would have had to replace it.

After a moment of reflection, Chu Ning began to recall the process of his failed pill refinement attempt.

"As expected, there's no substitute for practical experience. I had simulated this refinement process countless times and thought it would work, but it still failed. However, the order of adding the spirit herbs wasn't the problem; the issue lies in fire control. After adding the Flame-Twin Fruits, I should have adjusted the fire control incantations during the extraction of the Greenleaf Ginseng's essence."

Chu Ning thought about it for a while and then spent a long time refining his technique further.

Only then did he attempt the refinement again.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

BOOM!

A louder explosion than before signaled another failed attempt.

This time, since more spirit herbs had been added, the loss was even greater.

"I think I added too much Golden Silver Dew this time..."

Time and again, Chu Ning tried and failed.

After each failure, he made slight adjustments, either changing the order of adding the spirit herbs or modifying the fire control incantations.

Chu Ning opened the door to the pill refinement chamber, intending to go and get more spirit herbs directly, but then he changed his mind and called Wang Ping, who was in the main hall, over.

"Take this message token and go to the exchange counter to collect ten portions of Golden Sun Grass, Darkwood Roots, Purple Mist Fruit, Shadow Orchid Leaves..."

Chu Ning listed all the spirit herbs needed for his improved version of the Darkwood Yang Vigor Pill formula on a message token and handed it to Wang Ping.

Wang Ping, who had been curiously inspecting the pill refinement chamber, hurriedly took the token from Chu Ning and rushed to the second floor to the exchange counter.

"Are you here to exchange spirit herbs for Master Chu?"

The amicable cultivator at the counter was curious to see Wang Ping holding Chu Ning's message token.

"What pill is Master Chu refining now? He just collected about a dozen portions of spirit herbs the other day."

Hearing this question, Wang Ping's mind flashed back to the messy state of Chu Ning's pill refinement chamber that he had witnessed earlier.

However, he instinctively shook his head and replied, "I don't know. Master Chu didn't tell me."

Although he was simple-minded, he knew what he should and shouldn't say.

The cultivator had only asked out of casual curiosity, and since Wang Ping said he didn't know, he didn't press further.

Wang Ping soon returned to Chu Ning's pill refinement chamber with the spirit herbs.

Chu Ning took the herbs but didn't immediately enter the chamber. Instead, he thought for a moment and instructed, "I'll be refining pills here for a while. You don't have to wait outside; go and attend to your own tasks."

"Yes, Master Chu!" Wang Ping replied respectfully and headed back to the main hall.

"What a simple-minded fellow," Chu Ning shook his head and then re-entered the pill refinement chamber.

After opening the packages of spirit herbs and examining them for a while, Chu Ning still didn't rush to start.

Taking advantage of the time when Wang Ping had gone to collect the herbs, Chu Ning once again summarized the mistakes he had made in the past dozen or so refinement attempts.

At this moment, he took out several jade slips that recorded pill refinement techniques and began to study them anew.

This occupied him for a full day before he finally started again.

Chu Ning ignited the pill furnace and cast a few fire control incantations, similar to what he had done when refining the Nine Floret Condensing Yuan Pill. However, midway through the process, he suddenly changed the incantations, as if switching to a different fire control technique.

In an instant, the spiritual energy of the spirit herbs seemed to fill the pill furnace, even though they hadn't been added yet.

Chu Ning's initial set of incantations had apparently separated and distinguished the spiritual energy.

Only at this point did Chu Ning calmly add the spirit herbs, one by one, into the pill furnace.

He continued to vary the fire control incantations as the last herb was added, and his hands moved faster as he cast the spells.

The essence of this last herb was extracted and refined extremely quickly.

The next moment, Chu Ning changed the incantations again.

The extracted essences began to slowly merge within the pill furnace.

Chu Ning was extremely cautious during this step, as it had been the most problematic in his past dozen or so attempts.

Finally, under Chu Ning's control, all the essences blended evenly together.

Chu Ning probed with his spiritual sense to check the uniformity of the blend.

Then, with a series of incantations, he began to divide the liquid, but not into nine portions as before; this time, it was twelve!

After adding more types of spirit herbs, Chu Ning realized that the medicinal power was too strong, and dividing it into only nine pills would be too much for them to bear.

So, he decided to make twelve pills instead.

Even with twelve portions, Chu Ning, with his spirit-dividing technique, still didn't feel much pressure in sensing them all.

As none of the twelve portions of liquid showed any problems, Chu Ning changed the incantations once more.

He cast a series of incantations onto the pill furnace and simultaneously uttered a soft command.

"Condense!"

Within the pill furnace, the twelve portions of liquid finally began to condense into pills.

Everything proceeded smoothly until Chu Ning sensed that all twelve pills had formed.

However, his expression remained unchanged, without a hint of joy.

He felt that even with these improvements, the pills were still a bit short of being intermediate-upper-tier.

This might have been related to dividing the pills into twelve portions, as the medicinal power seemed slightly weaker than he had anticipated.

Without hesitation, Chu Ning continued to cast a series of incantations, one after another.

Gather Spirit!

This pill didn't usually require much spirit gathering, but at this moment, Chu Ning still performed the spirit-gathering technique.

However, it was different from the previous spirit-gathering attempts, as this pill only needed wood and fire dual-attribute spiritual energy.

Chu Ning guided and infused the two types of spiritual energy into the pill furnace.

The pills, which had been just a step away from reaching the upper tier, now crossed that boundary.

Suddenly, a fragrant aroma wafted out from the pill furnace, filling the entire pill refinement chamber.

"Success!"

Chu Ning's eyes lit up, and with a wave of his hand, he opened the lid of the pill furnace.

Simultaneously, twelve pills flew out and landed in his palm.

"Intermediate upper-tier pills!"

Chu Ning sensed the quality of the pills, and a smile finally appeared on his face.

These were the first pills he had successfully refined using his self-created formula!

"I shall name it the Blazing Wood Spirit Pill!"

Chu Ning gazed at the pills, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

In his estimation, intermediate upper-tier wasn't the limit for this pill.

"Advanced-tier pills," Chu Ning murmured as he tidied up the pill furnace and then threw another pill into it.

Advanced-tier pills were normally only refined using the pill fires of Golden Core cultivators.

Now, with his pill-refining talent, he was going to attempt it!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end