Chapter 6: Failure Still Boosts Proficiency
Chapter 6: Failure Still Boosts Proficiency
Pfft!
Staring at the black lump in the pot, inhaling the acrid smell, Lucas Chen’s eyes turned bloodshot, his face ashen.
Failed again!
The sixth pot, another failure!
This was the sixth day of refining the Miraculous Elixir, and he had been diligently working on it at a steady pace, one pot per day.
The final result was a heavy blow to him.
Not a single success!
The best he managed was a pot of pale red paste.
He was certain that the pill formula described the final product as a deep red, redder than his own patriotic heart!
With a despondent expression, he picked up the pot and dumped the black lump across the Lancang River Stream.
He then washed the pot by the stream, using a loofah sponge half-heartedly.
His mind kept replaying the refining process.
“The proportions and measurements are definitely correct; I’ve been precise to the gram.”
“The sequence of adding ingredients can’t be wrong; I always add them at the precise moment the symptoms appear.”
“Is it the temperature control? Or is the firewood not suitable? But the formula says any Peachwood will do, and for a mere first-grade pill, the requirements shouldn’t be that high.”
“Or is it my technique?”
The continuous failures were making Lucas Chen doubt himself.
He even wondered if he lacked the talent for pill refining, and the success with the Fasting Powder was only because the original owner had the talent and he just followed the path laid out.
He was merely using someone else’s well-trained game account to sprint down a well-trodden path.
Splash!
Water splashed on his face.
It was a large carp that had jumped up, splashing him as it swam by.
The stream had been teeming with more fish lately, probably due to the rising waters from the Lancang River.
Glancing at the fish about to swim away, Lucas Chen’s anger flared.
Crackle of energy!
“Fireball!”
A black lump floated up from the water and drifted away with the stream.
He looked down at the clean iron pot in his hands.
“Could it be the equipment?”
Lucas Chen couldn’t help but give a classic protagonist’s bitter smile. He knew all too well the Quandary he faced in pill refining.
Without a master to guide him, without a family to support him, and even without proper pill-refining equipment.
Others used top-tier Magical Crucibles, fueled by Celestial Flames and Earth Fires, while he was stuck using an iron pot.
But a good magical crucible cost ten times more than a comparable Flying Sword!
Even the favorite defensive magical tools of itinerant cultivators couldn’t match the value of a magical crucible.
Gathering the materials for ten Miraculous Elixirs had already left him penniless; buying a Pill Furnace or a crucible was out of the question.
And even the cheapest crucible required at least first-grade Spiritwood for fuel, and a pill master to continuously adjust the temperature with their spiritual energy.
He couldn’t afford first-grade spiritwood, and he didn’t have the cultivation to continuously adjust the temperature with his spiritual energy!
Sometimes he wished he could be like the legendary pill masters, producing a dozen pills at a time, instead of having to knead the hot medicinal paste by hand.
Who didn’t know how hot that stuff was?
Some pastes even had adverse effects on the body!
But he had no choice!
After a bout of self-pity, Lucas Chen put the pot back on the stove, untied his apron, and sat at the doorstep.
Facing the setting sun, he slapped himself twice.
“What’s the point of thinking about all that nonsense!”
“I’ve bet everything I have on this. Even if I hit a brick wall, I have to break through it!”
“Tomorrow, I won’t practice. I need to adjust my mindset.”
Everyone knew that rushing things was counterproductive.
But when the moment came, they often had to bump their heads before realizing they were in too much of a hurry.
That night, Lucas Chen’s heart was filled with frustration.
He needed to let it out!
So...
Fireball!
Fireball!
Fireball!
The stream suffered, and the fish in the river wailed.
Nine full-power Fireballs drained his spiritual energy completely.
With nine points of proficiency gained, Lucas Chen returned to his house, exhausted, and sat in meditation, circulating the Eternal Spring Technique.
One Grand Circulation, and his spiritual energy recovered by a fifth.
Another Grand Circulation, and it recovered another fifth.
Well, that’s it.
Lower-tier cultivators have weak physiques and even less developed spirits and souls. Practicing two or three times a night is about the limit.
In the second half of the night, Luo Chen fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up the next morning, his spiritual energy had only recovered to just under half.
The limited spiritual energy also restricted his ability to use spells to gain proficiency and achievement points.
Spending a day casting Fireball would require five days to recover!
Even a low-energy spell like Cleanse required enough time to recharge.
Luo Chen didn’t live in a particularly safe area, so he had to always keep some spiritual energy in reserve for emergencies.
In fact, when he woke up that morning, he felt a bit scared.
Last night, he had really gone crazy, using up all his spiritual energy. If a beast had wandered over, he would have had little ability to defend himself.
“I can’t do that again. Remember, remember!”
He muttered to himself, then sat cross-legged and ran through the Everlasting Technique.
His spiritual energy recovered another fifth.
Then he opened his attribute panel.
Name: Luo Chen
Lifespan: 27/75
Spiritual Roots: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth
Realm: Qi Refinement Level 3: 75/100
Technique: Everlasting Technique Proficient: 249/300
Spells: Cleanse Novice 51/100, Entangle Skilled 176/200, Fireball Perfect 304/500
Skills: First-Rank Alchemist: Fasting Powder Master 507/1000, Wonder Pill Novice 3/100
Achievement Points: 1 (usable for corresponding realm techniques, spells, or skills)
Looking at his attribute panel, Luo Chen felt a bit dazed.
His lifespan, unless something unexpected happened, should be the lifespan he had before crossing over. The original owner of this body had long since died, and his lifespan should have been zero.
The reason he wanted to earn spirit stones so badly was to cultivate and achieve immortality.
Thinking about how he would only live to 75 on Earth if he hadn’t crossed over made him feel a bit sad.
He couldn’t even reach the age of eighty, where his descendants would dance at his funeral. Although, before crossing over, he was just a singleton.
So in this life, he was determined to cultivate to the highest level and live as long as possible!
But the cold, hard reality slapped him in the face. Over half a month had passed, and he hadn’t stopped practicing the Everlasting Technique twice a day.
But his realm hadn’t budged.
With five balanced spiritual roots, he shouldn’t be this weak!
How did the original owner cultivate to Qi Refinement Level 3? Surely, the deceased owner didn’t leave him several bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills!
After the cold, hard reality, came the joy of the benefits of being a crossover.
His Everlasting Technique proficiency had increased by 26 points, though he didn’t feel much of a difference.
In the spells section, Cleanse had increased by two points, once when he used it to clean his robe and once to clean the iron pot, thoroughly removing the lingering taste from refining Fasting Powder.
Entangle had barely changed, and he didn’t want to use it to overstep and kill a Golden Core cultivator with Blue Silver Entangle.
Fireball, however, had seen a massive increase in proficiency, thanks to the maximum two casts a day and last night’s extravagance, jumping by 36 points.
Now, it had broken through the Skilled level and reached the Perfect level.
It also provided an achievement point for breaking through a level.
Hehe, what would it feel like to have a Perfect-level Fireball?
But with his spiritual energy not yet fully restored, he had to suppress his excitement and eager hands for now!
With that thought, Luo Chen closed his attribute panel.
But before closing it, his gaze subconsciously flicked to the achievement points. He blinked, then quickly reopened the panel.
“Wait!”
Skills: First-Rank Alchemist: Fasting Powder Master 507/1000, Wonder Pill Novice 3/100
He remembered clearly that after using an achievement point to learn Wonder Pill, his proficiency should have been only 1 point, but now it was 3 points.
But he had never successfully refined a Wonder Pill!
“Failing can increase proficiency too?”
(End of Chapter)
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