https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-38-Xiao-Chen-You-re-Going-the-Wrong-Way/13509835/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-40-Selling-Pills-Forging-a-Master-/13509837/
Chapter 39: The Tedious Process of Pill Refinement
Chapter 39: The Tedious Process of Pill Refinement
Following the instructions for the Nourishing Qi Pill formula, Xiao Chen purchased several basic spirit herbs—fortunately still affordable—for his first attempt at pill forging.
In his small courtyard, he set up a pill furnace and arranged a lotus-shaped cushion, preparing to begin.
Step One: Preliminary Processing of Ingredients
This step tested a pill master’s knowledge—familiarity with the properties of each herb. However, since the Nourishing Qi Pill used only common materials, the vendors had already pre-processed them, allowing Xiao Chen to skip this stage.
Step Two: Burning Incense to Calm the Mind
This step tested one’s resources. Whether to use high-quality agarwood aloes depended on both willingness and financial capacity. Xiao Chen, possessing thirty pieces, generously lit one. As he sat cross-legged, its fragrance soon eased his nerves.
Step Three: Extracting the Essence
This required precise control of flame intensity. The main ingredients—spirit herbs and spirit spring water—were added to the furnace, then simmered with spirit flame to extract their medicinal essence into liquid form.
For an entire hour, Xiao Chen carefully adjusted the fire, neither too fierce nor too weak. Thanks to his Three-Legged Reversal Flame Furnace, he simply activated the corresponding runes on the furnace according to the formula’s specifications, making this step manageable.
Step Four: Adding Secondary Ingredients
Timing was critical here. The five auxiliary herbs had to be added at precise moments. Fortunately, the Nourishing Qi Pill’s simplicity meant the formula clearly specified each timing. Xiao Chen followed the instructions meticulously.
Step Five: Blending the Essences
This demanded both patience and refined mana control. As the liquid reduced, Xiao Chen used his mana to stir, flip, and rotate the mixture, ensuring even distribution before dividing it into ten portions.
The formula’s instructions were vague: “Blend thoroughly and separate evenly.” The exact method relied entirely on experience. Factors like the herbs’ origin, age, preservation, and residual spirit spring content varied each time. For advanced pills with dozens of ingredients, the complexity multiplied.
This was where Xiao Chen could no longer rely on tools. He had to do this himself.
Step Six: Shaping the Pills
The final step tested overall skill—and sometimes environmental conditions. The liquid had to solidify perfectly, requiring every prior step to be flawless. Otherwise, the pills would either fail to form or crack upon cooling.
Environmental factors, like the five elements’ interactions, also mattered. For instance, noon’s fire element favored fire- or earth-attribute pills but harmed water-attribute ones. For critical pills, masters timed their final steps to align with favorable elements.
Luckily, the Nourishing Qi Pill was universal, requiring no such considerations.
Thus, Xiao Chen’s main challenge lay in Step Five. After five hours, ten pills formed in the furnace.
“Pill forging isn’t that hard,” Xiao Chen mused, cutting off his mana flow as he waited for the furnace to cool. “Am I a once-in-a-thousand-years prodigy?”
Crack!
A sharp explosion shattered his thoughts, followed by a rapid series of pops, like firecrackers. Xiao Chen watched in horror as all ten pills shattered as the furnace cooled.
Failure struck swiftly, yet he’d expected it. First attempts rarely succeeded; pill forging was a craft honed through endless trial and error—and spirit stones.
Undeterred, he rested and resumed the next day.
Second attempt: failure.
Third: failure.
Fourth: failure.
…
Tenth: total collapse.
Ten batches consumed forty spirit stones—half a year’s stipend for an inner sect disciple. In ten days, he’d burned through resources worth months of cultivation.
He sought Elder Chen’s advice, who bluntly diagnosed: “Insufficient skill.”
“Practice until you master it. No shortcuts,” Elder Chen advised.
Xiao Chen nodded, repurchased ingredients, and resumed.
Two months later, 240 spirit stones vanished.
“Batch Seventy—Nourishing Qi Pill… Wait, one success!”
Xiao Chen stared at the single glossy pill in his furnace. A moment later, a second appeared in his pocket—the effect of his Buy One, Get One Free hex.
For once, he felt no joy—only exhaustion. “Finally… some hope.”
Had he failed longer, his savings would’ve crumbled. Without the Grand Elder’s 500-stone compensation, he’d have been forced into dangerous sect missions for income.
…
“Fifty spirit stones? Why’s it doubled?!”
On his ninth purchase, Xiao Chen learned the base herbs had skyrocketed in price.
“This makes no sense,” the vendor grumbled. “After you bought yours last time, prices shot to 45 stones. We hoped they’d drop… but then bandits attacked the Plains County in the east, killing dozens of herb cultivators. Supplies are scarce now.”
Xiao Chen’s thoughts turned to Liu Benxin—his clan’s lands lay in Plains County. The region’s fertile plains and natural spirit springs made it Li Zhou’s primary herb supplier. Though bandits likely ignored crops, the loss of cultivators would cripple next year’s harvest. Trade disruptions worsened the crisis, and greedy clans hoarded stocks, inflating prices.
Still, Xiao Chen paid 25 stones for five batches. Progress mattered more than costs now.
…
“Xiao Chen, still buying these herbs?” Jiang Cungang sneered, approaching the stall. A fellow pill forger, he often mocked Xiao Chen since the Enforcement Hall incident.
“With your talent, shouldn’t you’ve mastered pill forging already?” Jiang taunted. “Or is Awakening still beyond you? I’ve heard you’ve been dumping failed batches at Azure Water Peak for months—still no success?”
“You waste resources,” Jiang added. “A brute like you will never be a pill master.”
Xiao Chen pocketed his herbs, smiling coldly. “I bought a watch last year.”
Jiang blinked, confused. Xiao Chen shrugged and left. No time for fools.
Batch Seventy-One: Begin!
(End of Chapter)
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