Chapter 82: Breakthrough Pill

"Daoist Sansu, you refined it?"

"Barely." Xu Chuan said lightly.

However, Zhou Yiming's heart surged with waves, because he knew that previously, neither the Zhou family's pill refinement elder nor the recruited alchemists had ever successfully refined a complete pill.

Almost all failed in pill condensation due to conflicting medicinal properties.

He had once heard his clan brother who followed the chief alchemist mention that this pill formula might be an ancient pill formula.

Its medicinal properties were domineering and extremely difficult to refine.

It was also missing one or two key auxiliary ingredients, which was why everyone was helpless and now, someone had actually successfully refined it.

"Master, please wait a moment. I'll go invite Elder Zhou Sen over immediately."

Zhou Sen was the white-haired elder that Xu Chuan and the others had met in the great hall.

Only Zhou Sen was cultivated by the Zhou family itself, while the other two were recruited rogue cultivators. However, the Zhou family was now continuously training family disciples to become alchemists.

Hearing this, Xu Chuan nodded slightly, collected the only finished pill into a porcelain bottle, then sat cross-legged on a cushion to meditate and regulate his breathing.

In a moment, Elder Zhou Sen hurried over, and upon meeting, immediately said, "Fellow Daoist, take out the pill for me to observe."

Xu Chuan moved the porcelain bottle in front of Zhou Sen.

Zhou Sen poured out the pill that was half gray and half white, carefully observing it.

"There's pill fragrance diffusing. It's indeed a formed pill, but observing its color, the quality is ordinary and can only be considered low-grade."

"Elder Zhou's pill Dao is profound. You saw through its mysteries at a glance." Xu Chuan said, "This pill is not easy to refine. The slightest carelessness during the process will lead to failure."

"Perhaps this humble one's magical power is insufficient and pill Dao not refined enough, which is why only one pill was formed."

Zhou Sen sized up Xu Chuan, his eyes slightly narrowing.

Only then did he discover that Xu Chuan actually had seventh layer Qi Refining cultivation, only one layer less than himself.

A mere rogue cultivator could cultivate to this extent and was also proficient in pill Dao?

Forget it, what does it have to do with me?

Zhou Sen at this moment only cared about the pill formula and immediately said, "Yiming, show me the completed pill formula."

"Yes, Elder."

Zhou Sen glanced over it, his brows slightly furrowing.

"You added Jade Yang Grass and Water Origin Flower?"

Zhou Sen looked at Xu Chuan uncomprehendingly, "Fellow Daoist Sansu, this pill formula already has two fire and cold attribute spiritual medicines, Thorn Fire Vine Flower and Cold Ice Grass, and you added two more."

"Wouldn't this intensify the fire and cold origin qi attributes? How could pill condensation succeed like this? Are you certain these are the spiritual medicines used in refinement?"

Zhou Yiming cupped his hands and said, "Elder, the spiritual medicines were all fetched by me. They're definitely these, without doubt."

"How did you manage to refine this pill using these spiritual medicines?"

The Zhou family was powerful, and Xu Chuan knew well that if he was overly arrogant, he would inevitably bring great disaster upon himself.

However, this pill formula was extraordinary, and the pills refined from it were equally exceptional. Requesting more compensation would certainly be acceptable to the Zhou family.

"The pill formula has already been completed, and this humble one has already successfully refined a finished pill. Elder, you should first verify this pill's effects, whether it's what your Zhou family needs, before discussing other matters."

Xu Chuan closed his eyes and began regulating his breathing.

Seeing this, Zhou Sen left the pill refinement room with Zhou Yiming to find someone to verify it.

With this pill formula completed and a finished pill refined, even the family head and other elders were alarmed.

"This is that Breakthrough Pill?"

The Zhou family head held the half gray, half white pill between his thumb and finger, his gaze flowing, neither happy nor sad.

"Let's first find a suitable person to test this pill's effects."

His gaze swept around the surroundings as he said lightly, "Is anyone willing to try?"

After a long moment, seeing no response from anyone around, Zhou Sen stepped forward and said, "Family Head, let this elder try. According to the pill formula's description, this Breakthrough Pill is used by those in the late Qi Refining stage to break through bottlenecks."

"I'm at eight layer of Qi Refining. Although I'm not at a bottleneck, it should still have some effect in advancing my magical power. It will be beneficial without harm to me."

"Moreover, this elder also wants to personally experience the pill's effects through consumption, so as to facilitate subsequent improvements."

The Zhou family head looked at Zhou Sen and cupped his hands toward him, "I trouble Third Grand-Uncle then."

Zhou Sen took the pill and immediately swallowed it, then sat cross-legged to refine it.

Two hours later.

Zhou Sen slowly opened his eyes and exhaled, "It's indeed a Breakthrough Pill, with seventy percent of the efficacy described in the pill formula."

As these words were spoken, the people around all revealed joyful expressions.

A purple-robed elder excitedly said, "Cousin, when can this Breakthrough Pill be mass-produced?"

Zhou Sen glanced at him and sighed lightly, "It's hard to say yet. Wait until I first refine a finished pill using this completed formula before discussing it."

The Zhou family head seemed to sense something and spoke up, "All elders, please don't hinder Third Grand-Uncle's research into the pill formula."

"If there's good news, naturally everyone will be notified."

In the following three days.

Zhou Sen used the pill formula completed by Xu Chuan to refine pills. However, either pill condensation failed or he refined a furnace of waste pills, leaving him utterly perplexed.

As for Xu Chuan, he returned to the original courtyard and went into closed-door cultivation.

"Father, when will we leave the Zhou family?"

Seeing Xu Mingxian ask this, Xu Chuan smiled ambiguously, "Do you want to leave or not want to leave?"

"Father saw through me."

Xu Mingxian wasn't surprised either and said lightly, "This courtyard isn't the Zhou family's core area, but the spiritual qi concentration is more than double that around the Jade Cold Pool."

"Envious?" Xu Chuan said, "But this was accumulated by the Zhou family's predecessors through hundreds of years of successive struggles. In this aspect, our Xu family is indeed far behind."

"But it's not that we can't catch up quickly."

"Oh, how do we catch up?" Xu Mingxian's curiosity was piqued.

"Wait a while and you'll know. Although your father completed their pill formula, this matter isn't finished yet. I'm afraid we'll have to stay for several more days."

Xu Mingxian's sword-like brows slightly furrowed, suddenly drawing half an inch closer to the center, revealing his worried thoughts.

"Could it be that the Zhou family..."

Xu Chuan raised his hand and smiled, "Not so. It's just that this pill formula seems to be an ancient formula, with extremely high refinement difficulty. Even with my current peak seventh layer Qi Refining cultivation, I dare not relax in the slightest, and there must be a specific refinement process. The Zhou family's chief alchemist, relying only on the pill formula for experimentation, probably won't be able to produce finished pills in just a few days."

"But your father can use this to request more compensation."

"Father, aren't you afraid..."

"In this matter, your father has his own measure."

Seeing him say this, Xu Mingxian didn't press further.

Who was Xu Chuan? He had blazed trails through difficulties to establish the current Xu family. His grasp of human nature was the best Xu Mingxian had ever seen.

…

Pill Refinement Room A.

Boom~

A muffled sound came from inside the pill furnace, immediately followed by swirling black smoke rising.

Failed again, again, again!

Zhou Sen's brows locked tightly, like distant mountains shrouded in a thin mist, unable to see the direction clearly.

He thought of something and turned to look at Zhou Yiming.

"When Fellow Daoist Sansu refined the finished pill, was there anything special?"

Zhou Yiming carefully recalled, "There didn't seem to be anything too different. Wait, does sweating more than usual count?"

"More difficult than any previous attempt?"

"It should be."

Zhou Sen stared at Zhou Yiming. Even if he wanted to reprimand him, he didn't know how to do so.

With his first layer Qi Refining cultivation and shallow pill Dao knowledge, how could he discover the mysteries of pill refinement?

At the very least, one needed to be at fourth layer of Qi Refining, after divine sense was born, before it would be convenient to investigate and have the marvel of controlling objects with divine sense.

"With his seventh layer Qi Refining cultivation, refining one furnace of pills would actually be this exhausting. Could there be some mystery within?"