Chapter 23

At this moment,

Lin Bai took stock of his body, now that his foundation had been consolidated, and nodded with great satisfaction!

"Then next up, it's time to refine elixirs!"

He took out the medicinal ingredients he had purchased earlier from his storage bag, a glint flashing in his eyes!

Although finished Spirit-Forging Pills were very expensive, the price of these raw ingredients wasn't all that shocking.

So, he had bought enough for ten batches in one go!

No more hesitation—

Lin Bai turned his gaze toward a dusty pill furnace sitting in a corner not far away!

"Whoosh!"

With a flick of his wrist, he stirred up a gust of wind that blew the dust away.

He lit the furnace fire and opened the pill furnace.

He tossed all the ingredients straight into the furnace, refining them all in one pot…

Thinking back on the advice Seeing Xiao Yan had given him,

even though Lin Bai knew it sounded a bit unreliable, he just went ahead and listened!

"Rehmannia root, frost bamboo, blood lingzhi…"

He dumped all the medicinal ingredients he'd bought into the pill furnace in one go, with no particular order, and not a shred of technique to speak of!

In the blink of an eye, he had thrown every last ingredient into the pill furnace.

Then he found a tree branch and, just like stir-frying a dish, kept stirring the elixir inside the furnace!

At this moment, the pill furnace really did look like it was stewing a great hodgepodge!

Seeing that it was about ready,

Lin Bai put the lid on the pill furnace, his eyes burning with intensity!

"I wonder what reward the golden treasure chest will give?"

He had already started thinking about the gains to come, paying no attention at all to controlling the furnace fire.

But…

Lin Bai quickly discovered, to his astonishment, that the process was going extremely smoothly!

"Pill fragrance!?"

He drew in a deep breath—he could already smell wisps of fragrance drifting out from the pill furnace!

At this moment, it was as if he had reached an utterly masterful level in refining Spirit-Forging Pills!

He was even unconsciously controlling the furnace fire, just like a grandmaster of the Pill Dao!

If any outsider were to witness this scene, their jaw would surely drop to the floor!

……

Nearly an hour later,

in the area where Lin Bai's cave abode was located, pill fragrance filled the air!

Not only that,

above his cave abode, dark clouds began to gather thickly!

Lightning even writhed among them, emanating a terrifying pressure!

In an instant,

"This smell… such rich pill fragrance!?"

"Lin Bai? He… he actually bought those ingredients earlier to refine elixirs!?"

"He succeeded???!"

Shouts of astonishment rose one after another!

Black-robed disciples, faces full of shock, hurried streaking toward Lin Bai's cave abode!

This time, they were truly scared!

Hearing the commotion outside,

Lin Bai paid it no heed, his burning gaze fixed on the pill furnace whose fire had already died down, yet which still glowed a fiery red!

"It's done!?"

Once he came back to his senses, he sucked in a sharp breath!

After following Seeing Xiao Yan's advice earlier, he had felt like a completely different person, as if his spirit had wandered into the Grand Void.

He didn't even know how long had passed, but the elixir he was trying to refine seemed to have succeeded!

Even though he had no real knowledge in this area, he knew that as long as there was pill fragrance, there was a very high chance this batch of Spirit-Forging Pills had succeeded!

Although he didn't know how many pills there would be, success alone was a good thing!

Lin Bai circulated the spiritual power within his body and lifted the lid off the pill furnace!

"Hiss!?"

When he saw dazzling light blooming within the pill furnace, his eyes suddenly went wide!

What was going on!?

Before he could even collect himself,

【Ding! You have completed Seeing Xiao Yan's suggestion!】

【Congratulations! You have obtained the Wandering Dragon Body Movement from the golden treasure chest!】

【Congratulations! You have obtained ten years of cultivation base from the golden treasure chest!】

【Congratulations! You have obtained Lei Pojian from the golden treasure chest!】

GLOSSARY:

【Lin Bai, Seeing Xiao Yan, Lei Pojian, Wandering Dragon Body Movement, Spirit-Forging Pill, golden treasure chest】

"Do you wish to claim it immediately?"

A series of prompt sounds rang out in Lin Bai's mind!

Meanwhile, the disciples watching outside saw this scene, and their eyeballs nearly popped out!

"???!"

They saw that as the alchemy furnace opened, the entire cave dwelling was filled with brilliant light, emitting an even richer scent of elixir, their faces blank with shock!

This is...

A success!?

It was at this very moment,

that the void above grew heavier with dark clouds!

Faintly,

Lei Guang flashed, carrying a terrifying sense of pressure!

At this time,

atop the Alchemy Peak of the Inner Sect.

Elder Ouyang Xiu was leading a group of Alchemy Peak disciples in refining elixirs!

"In any step of alchemy, one must not be impatient. First, warm the furnace, lay out the herbs, temper, and refine..."

"Only when you have completely mastered every step will it be possible to increase the chance of forming an elixir!"

"And the core of alchemy is the elixir fire; if you can control the elixir fire during the process, the chance of forming an elixir will rise again..."

He explained while demonstrating with his own hands.

Dozens of disciples listened with full concentration, constantly trying!

But...

among the dozens of disciples, only a handful succeeded!

Seeing such a result,

Elder Ouyang Xiu's expression turned displeased, and he scolded them for their lack of progress: "What have I told you? Do not be impatient, do not be impatient!!"

"So many people, and only a few succeeded!?"

"Your generation is the worst batch of Alchemy Peak disciples I have ever taught!"

He let out a long sigh and darkened his face.

At this time,

he opened the alchemy furnace and began to collect the elixirs.

Taking one elixir that emitted a faint fluorescent glow from within and spreading it in his hand,