Chapter 47

Juxuan Pavilion, seventh-floor private room.

Liao Shopkeeper knocked on the door, "My Lord, I have urgent news to report!"

A voice, icy and cold, came from inside the room.

"Enter!"

Only then did Liao Shopkeeper carefully push open the door and step inside.

"My Lord," he said.

"Friend Qin just came to the shop to purchase spirit materials."

"He is preparing to break through mid-grade Alchemist."

Gu Qingzhao, who had been sipping tea while reading a scripture, suddenly sat upright, her dark brows knitting as she stared at Liao Shopkeeper: "What?!"

Liao Shopkeeper immediately bowed low and recounted the entire sequence of events without omission.

"You handled this matter well. A major merit is yours."

"When Yunze Xiancheng is completed, you will have a place within the Pavilion."

"Continue cultivating goodwill with Friend Qin. If he returns to the shop next time, report it to me directly." Gu Qingzhao's star-like eyes flickered uncertainly, as if deep in thought.

……

Qin Ming left Juxuan Pavilion.

A cup of tea's time later.

He walked confidently to Su Yuqing's chamber.

"Brother Su, this is Spirit Bamboo Wine—excellent flavor. I brought a jar for you to try." Qin Ming took out the spirit wine from his storage pouch and handed it to Su Yuqing.

Su Yuqing's face lit up with delight. He took the Spirit Bamboo Wine, uncorked it, and instantly a rich, intoxicating aroma of spirit wine filled the entire room.

"Fine wine! Brother Qin, you really have no shortage of fine things! Then I'll accept it with pleasure."

He had only two great passions in life: alchemy, and spirit wine and spirit tea.

Su Yuqing eagerly fetched two wine cups, ready to taste.

Seeing this, Qin Ming raised his hand to stop him: "Brother Su, I came today to borrow the alchemy chamber to refine pills. I've already drunk some—no more for me."

"Alright then, go ahead. I'll savor this Spirit Bamboo Wine properly." Su Yuqing nodded, picked up the cups, and turned to leave for the courtyard—then suddenly paused and asked offhandedly, "What pill are you planning to refine?"

"Juling Pill," Qin Ming answered without hesitation.

"Oh～" Su Yuqing first murmured, then suddenly realized, his tone rising sharply: "What did you say?!"

"Juling Pill? Are you certain?"

"That pill is among the most difficult of all mid-grade spirit pills to refine."

Qin Ming replied with absolute certainty: "Certain. That is the spirit pill."

He chose the Juling Pill for a reason: it is currently the spirit pill most effective for enhancing his magic power cultivation.

This time, preparing ten sets of spirit materials for the Juling Pill cost him several hundred spirit stones.

"Alright then," Su Yuqing said, unfazed. "Brother Qin always likes to take on high-difficulty challenges." He then carried the wine jar off to enjoy his drink.

Next.

Qin Ming entered the alchemy chamber, discarded distractions, and began refining the pill with undivided focus.

The pill formula and refining process were recorded in great detail in Su Yuqing's notebook.

He had mentally rehearsed it countless times—it was etched into his mind.

After further strengthening his soul, Qin Ming.

Extracting the medicinal base and blending the spirit herbs proceeded with flawless ease.

He opened the furnace's fire valve.

Boom! Scorching earth fire surged forth.

Qin Ming began controlling the flame, evenly heating the furnace.

When the heat was nearly right.

He gestured with his hand, and one pre-mixed batch of spirit herbs flew into the furnace.

Next came the most critical step.

With his powerful soul, Qin Ming carefully manipulated the earth fire while fusing the herbs within the furnace.

Long moments passed.

Puff!

Thick, acrid black smoke rose from the furnace.

Clearly, the first attempt had failed.

Qin Ming had anticipated this—refining mid-grade spirit pills was far more difficult than refining lower-grade ones.

To succeed on the first try was pure fantasy.

Qin Ming's face remained expressionless as he cleared the dregs from the furnace, reviewed his mistakes, and prepared for another attempt. Time passed.

Inside the alchemy chamber, the muffled sounds of failure echoed repeatedly.

Seven consecutive failures.

Finally, Qin Ming's composure began to crack.

"Where exactly is the problem?"

"I followed every step precisely—almost no deviation." He was utterly baffled, stuck in a deadlock.

Without understanding the key reason, no matter how many times he refined, the outcome would remain the same—failure.

Outside the alchemy chamber.

"How's it going?" Su Yuqing, seeing Qin Ming's soot-streaked face, grinned mischievously and stepped into the alchemy chamber with his hands behind his back.

He casually picked up a failed pill refined by Qin Ming, gently crushed it between his fingers, and then carefully began examining the blackish-gray medicinal dregs.

He then brought it to his nose and sniffed.

A long while passed.

Su Yuqing's brows furrowed slightly, revealing an expression of deep thought; after pondering for a moment, he finally spoke up and asked, "How long have you been attempting to refine this Spirit-Gathering Pill?"

Qin Ming felt somewhat puzzled; whenever he came here to refine pills, Su Yuqing had always ignored him, yet today he had rarely taken the initiative to enter and even posed a question.

His spirits instantly lifted, and he immediately answered truthfully, "I only started refining them today; in total, I have refined them just seven times."

Su Yuqing: "."

"You managed to reach this level in just seven attempts?"

"Are you pulling my leg?"

Su Yuqing rubbed the medicinal dregs in his hand, causing the black ash on the surface to fall away, revealing a blue-green semi-finished product pill the size of an almond at the very center.

"You are already about one-third of the way to success."

Qin Ming stared at that failed pill, spread his hands, and said, "This might indeed be a case of a blind cat catching a dead rat."

Immediately afterward, he sifted through the remaining dregs and discovered that indeed, only the one in Su Yuqing's hand was a semi-finished product.

Seeing this situation.

A look of struggle appeared on Su Yuqing's face; after hesitating for a long time, he let out a heavy sigh and said, "Forget it, Brother Qin, to be honest, among all the spirit herb cultivators I have ever met, you possess the highest talent for pill refining."

Qin Ming: "?!"

He couldn't help but think to himself that if not for the entry greatly enhancing his divine sense, let alone any talent, he would probably still be struggling with basic Detoxification Pills right now.

"Your steps and process for refining the Spirit-Gathering Pill are actually without fault."

"It's just that you are missing one thing," Su Yuqing said slowly.

Qin Ming's heart leaped with joy; it seemed he was about to obtain the answer that had baffled him for so long.

He asked in confusion, "What is missing?"

"I will demonstrate it just once; watch closely." Having said this, Su Yuqing walked over to the table.

His entire demeanor began to change completely.

Immediately, he began refining the Spirit-Gathering Pill.

Under his exquisite techniques, the spiritual materials rapidly decomposed; his movements flowed like drifting clouds and flowing water, completed in one seamless breath, with every step handled with effortless ease.

It took merely the time required to burn half an incense stick.

Ding! A clear chime signaling a successful refinement rang out from within the pill furnace.

Twelve deep blue colorful premium Spirit-Gathering Pills emerged fresh from the furnace.

Su Yuqing waved his hand with a beckoning gesture, and the pills flew into his palm.

Qin Ming had just been utterly stunned; his own amateurish techniques simply could not compare to this.

"It seems there is a difference in the pill refining technique," Qin Ming hesitated for a moment before voicing his thoughts.

Qin Ming had clearly seen that during Su Yuqing's final step of merging the spiritual medicines, the quality of the forming pill should have been that of an ordinary Spirit-Gathering Pill.

As a result, he unleashed a unique technique; the medicinal liquid, which was nearly formed into a pill, separated once again, only to merge anew, adjusting until it reached perfection.

Only then did he achieve it in a single step, refining colorful premium Spirit-Gathering Pills.

Su Yuqing smiled slightly and nodded, saying, "That's right; this set of 'True Art of Yin-Yang Separation and Union for Spirit Control' is my exclusive pill refining technique, a realization I have summarized over many years of studying the art of pill refining, and it is currently still being constantly innovated and perfected."

"As for the pill-merging technique within it, I dare say that apart from myself, not even a tier-two or higher pill master could comprehend it."

"Although you have watched by my side for so long, you have only learned the superficial aspects and have not grasped the true essence."

Qin Ming suddenly achieved great enlightenment, "So that's how it is."

"I can transmit this 'True Art of Yin-Yang Separation and Union for Spirit Control' to you, but you must swear never to pass it on to others," Su Yuqing suddenly said to Qin Ming with an extremely serious expression.

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming instantly froze! Amidst his wild joy, his heart was simultaneously filled with immense astonishment; how could Su Yuqing so easily transmit something so important to him? 'Could it be that...'

(End of Chapter)