Chapter 300: A Risky Venture
Chapter 300: A Risky Venture
It was just an idea, and whether it was feasible or not, remained to be tested.
Fortunately, the cost was something he could afford.
He took out all six portions of herbs and placed them into the corresponding positions in the pill furnace.
Then, he activated the machine.
Indeed, he wasn't refining them one by one but all six at once!
It was known that the quality of the pills was related to the potency of the herbs.
The more herbs invested, the higher the grade, and the more pills that could be refined, increasing the chances of producing high-quality ones.
For instance, to refine advanced Spirit Nourishing Pills, a skilled alchemist could use two portions of herbs to produce ten advanced pills, with a profit margin of 200%.
For those with average skills, they might need three or even four portions of herbs to have a better chance of refining advanced pills, and there would also be a probability of producing supreme-grade pills, with a single one fetching nearly 10,000 yuan, a huge profit!
To attempt this, there was a prerequisite—the alchemist's skill level had to be up to par; otherwise, it would be a pure loss.
Take Shen Ming, for example, who could effortlessly refine six or seven basic Spirit Nourishing Pills from a single portion of herbs.
But with one and a half portions, he could only refine two intermediate-grade pills and a few basic ones, no more.
Using two portions might yield slightly better results, perhaps one more intermediate or a few more basic pills, but it would also lead to a significant waste of herbal potency.
With three or four portions, there was indeed a possibility of producing advanced pills, but that wasn't due to his skill level; it was merely a matter of stacking more herbs, resulting in an even more astonishing waste of potency.
In the end, he would only accumulate more losses.
There were those who engaged in the business of killing, but no one wanted to venture into a loss-making trade.
But Jiang Cheng was determined to do it.
Refining one portion at a time, he could only produce a single basic Spirit Nourishing Pill, and with some luck, maybe two.
But what if he used multiple portions?
He was well aware of his limited skills, and refining intermediate or advanced pills was almost impossible. However, with the abundance of herbs, he could rely on quantity to increase the number of basic pills produced.
Others with higher skills could refine ten basic pills from a single portion of herbs.
Using several times the amount, or even ten portions, he should be able to refine ten basic pills, right?
To outsiders, this seemed like a money-losing venture, a foolish idea. Ten portions of herbs cost 50,000 yuan, and the market price for ten basic pills was only 10,000 yuan!
But Jiang Cheng didn't mind.
What he sought was efficiency.
As long as he could gain more experience within a given time frame by refining multiple portions together, he was willing to accept it.
As for the cost?
A single portion of herbs cost 5,000 yuan.
Not to mention, he could currently obtain 200,000 units of cultivation resources for free, which was equivalent to forty portions of herbs.
And just a couple of days ago, he had uprooted the Iron Fist Gang, seizing two to three hundred thousand yuan in cash. After giving Shi Yan his share of 50,000 yuan, he still had over 200,000 yuan left, enough to purchase forty to fifty portions of herbs.
As long as the experience gained was substantial, money wasn't an issue, and these were necessary investments. Once he stacked up his proficiency, he could recoup the costs multiple times over!
Closing his eyes, information about alchemy techniques surfaced in his mind.
To refine high-quality pills, it wasn't just about using different quantities of herbs; the timing of adding the herb guide, the temperature in the furnace, and other factors also played a role, and the time, mental energy, and effort required would increase accordingly.
Jiang Cheng didn't plan to follow the method for refining advanced pills; he was self-aware. Instead, he followed the method for basic Spirit Nourishing Pills but with six times the potency!
The process went smoothly, and it didn't even take an hour; in half that time, ten basic pills took shape in the furnace, and they continued to absorb the herbal potency.
Jiang Cheng's eyes lit up with anticipation at the sight.
Perhaps, there was a chance for a few Intermediate Spirit Nourishing Pills to emerge.
Time ticked by, and indeed, two pills were successfully crafted as Intermediate Spirit Nourishing Pills, while the remaining eight pills seemed to have a higher quality than the usual Basic Spirit Nourishing Pills.
Finally, after an hour, the pill refining process concluded.
Jiang Cheng didn't rush to open the furnace, as he already knew the situation inside through his psychic energy.
So, he turned his gaze to the control panel before him, feeling a bit tense.
Suddenly, his pupils dilated.
The experience bar for pill refining had increased by 20% in an instant!
Jiang Cheng took a deep breath.
Indeed.
According to his previous experience, a single Basic Spirit Nourishing Pill provided slightly over 1% experience points.
And now, with this batch of pills, two of which were Intermediate Spirit Nourishing Pills, it was equivalent to twelve Basic Spirit Nourishing Pills. How could the experience points not be substantial? Moreover, his psychic energy expenditure hadn't changed much, and he still had four more attempts.
Jiang Cheng calculated the experience points...
He quickly arrived at an answer—over 33%.
With three more attempts, he would reach the Master Level in pill refining.
How long would it take?
Less than a day!
"That's it, let's do it!"
Jiang Cheng immediately headed outside.
He arrived at the Logistics Department and obtained herbs worth twenty spirit stones.
As the staff stared in disbelief, Jiang Cheng turned and left, entering the alchemy chamber.
After cleaning the alchemy furnace, he directly added ten sets of herbs.
Just as expected, an hour passed.
All ten pills in the furnace had taken form, nine of which were Intermediate Spirit Nourishing Pills, and one was Advanced. Consequently, the experience gain was nearly equivalent to 12 Basic Spirit Nourishing Pills, and the experience bar had reached 55%.
Jiang Cheng glanced at the control panel.
With two more attempts, he would achieve Mastery.
Of course, upon careful calculation, the losses would be even greater.
Previously, using six sets of herbs cost three thousand spirit stones, and the final yield was eight Basic and two Intermediate Spirit Nourishing Pills, worth twelve thousand spirit stones, resulting in a loss of eighteen thousand spirit stones.
Now, using ten sets of herbs cost fifty thousand spirit stones, and the final yield of nine Intermediate and one Advanced Spirit Nourishing Pills was worth twenty-one thousand spirit stones, resulting in a loss of twenty-nine thousand spirit stones.
Once was fine, but if repeated eight times, the losses would become substantial.
However, the truth remained—
As long as Jiang Cheng's pill refining skill improved, the losses would be recovered several times over.
As night fell, and he used another twenty sets of herbs, Jiang Cheng's mind was flooded with memories.
It was as if he had refined Spirit Nourishing Pills for a month, and he had become quite familiar with various techniques.
"I've already met the assessment requirements."
Jiang Cheng thought to himself.
But, it wasn't enough.
With ten sets of herbs, the yield of Advanced Spirit Nourishing Pills should be more than one.
(End of Chapter)
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