2022-11-21 06:49:48"Teacher, I..." Ting Wei was unsure what he should say except to show that he was apologetic.
"It was fine to know where your mistake was. Although having a worm or two in the Spirit Disvolving Grass wouldn't affect the outcome of the pill too much, it was still better to be careful." the elder said.
"After all, I doubt we will have the appetite after eating something with a foul smell like this. But again, who the hell will search for food when he's cultivating? Smells or not, this is a cultivation pills, not sweets." the elder chuckled at the end of his sentence.
"Disciple will remember the mistake today and prevent it from happening again." the eldest amongst them, called Ting Wei, quickly promised to pay more attention.
"On a side note, this means we're not going to refine all these subpar pills. Since the herb was under your care, bring them back to the supply office and turn that place upside down." the elder changed his tone suddenly.
"Ask them to explain why I am provided with this low-quality product. Are they intended to kick me out from this Blood Refining Grotto?" said Elder Wei Xuan. His tone obviously gives Ting Wei a reason to nitpick in the supply office.
Furthermore, with the elder's background...
[SO WHAT IF I BEHAVE LIKE A HOOLIGAN? IF YOU'RE UNHAPPY, GO BECOME A BRONZE-TITLED ALCHEMIST LIKE ME!]
That was how ridiculous Elder Wei Xuan could behave if anyone dared to take advantage of him.
"Alright. Since we're not going to refine anything today, thanks to the supply office, shall we do something else today?" Elder Wei Xuan suggested after Ting Wei left the workshop with the rest of the Spiritual Disvolving Grasses.
"Teacher! Xuan-Xuan would like to know about the pills and the way they're graded!" the only female disciple in the group asked. Her name was Xia Xuan-Xuan, and she was also around Ting Wei's age. She can also be considered Elder Wei Xuan's second Unofficial Disciple.
"The pills and their grading... Quite a good topic." the elder nodded and agreed to her request. After all, it was good for them to know more about how this world works.
"Alright. Let's begin with the pill's categorization. How many category do we have?" Elder Wei Xuan began by asking them a simple question.
"Four, teacher! From Bronze to Silver, Gold, and Heaven-Category." one of them quickly answered.
"Good. What kind of pills it had to be to qualify for Bronze-Category Pills?" the elder continued.
"The pills would have to be suitable for consumption for a cultivator in Body Tempering, Spiritual Condensation, and Golden Core Layer." Xia Xuan-Xuan fought for the chance to answer the question this time.
"Very accurate answer, Xuan-Xuan. So, what other grading we had other than the categorization of pills?" asked the elder. But this time, none of them could answer.
Their silence made the elder chuckle. Perhaps it was a hint of self-satisfaction because a teacher couldn't always have his students fighting for the chance to answer everything on his behalf, correct?
"To make it simpler to understand, a pill will be graded first on its category before they're assigned by the number of stars. Most of those sold in those treasures pavilion are considered starless medicinal pills." the elder explained in detail.
"A starless pill means they're refined and comply with the minimal requirement of that certain medicinal pill. But once in a while, a few with excellent quality would be made available in the market."
"These excellent quality pills would be graded accordingly based on the Heavenly Alchemist Association's Stars. Each star represented one fold, and they start from two-star." answered the elder.
"One of the best examples is the four-Star Spiritual Replenishing Pill available to order in the Worldly Treasures Pavilion. It was graded as four-star pill because the medicinal pill itself and four times more effective than the starless version." he added.
"Is that true? If the pill's effect is as potent as told, then a quadruple fold in price is not considered ridiculously priced. No wonder the Spiritual Replenishing Pill was sold at a price of 80 Spiritual Coins per pellet." Xia Xuan-Xuan nodded.
If consuming a single pill would provide fourfold the effect, paying eighty Spiritual Coins is considered generously priced. After all, who doesn't want to cultivate four times faster?
Unfortunately, there's a limit to their availability. Putting aside a four-starred pill, they'll have difficulty finding a two-starred one. Furthermore, even if there's no problem with supply, the cost multiplies once for each star.
A regular Spiritual Replenishing Pill only costs ten Spiritual Coins. But a two-star would cost twenty per pellet, forty for a three-start, and eighty for a four-star.
"Teacher! Couldn't an alchemist increase the dosage of raw ingredients to refine a higher-starred pill?" the fourth, the youngest after Chen Tu, asked. His name is Peng Yiyuan, and he is turning twelve this year.
"Won't the market be full of starred pills if the refining process is this easy? But it is actually possible. Of course, not through the raw ingredient but the completed pill itself." Elder Wei Xuan answered Peng Yiyuan's question.
"Completed pill? The teacher's meaning is... We'll have to use a Spiritual Replenishing Pill to refine a starred pill of the same type?" Peng Yiyuan continued.
Elder Wei Xuan lightly nodded at him as the answer to his question.
"It was for this sake that the Alchemic Refinement Flame Technique was created." the elder added. His reply not only answered some of their curiosity but also slightly touched on the part of higher alchemy.
Knowing this fact made them show more interest in the Alchemic Refinement Flame. Unfortunately, even if the elder is willing to teach them, it eventually depends on their effort in learning the technique. And out of all the disciples of Elder Wei Xuan, only his Official Disciple, Tang Yun Long, is capable.
Of course, now there's Chen Tu.
Another half an hour later, Ting Wei finally returned with three brand new Spirit Disvolving Grasses. This allows the pill-refining process to continue. At the end of the day, the elder succeeded in all four refinements and concocted eleven successful Spirit Desertification Pills.
"Xiao Lei, Xiao Tu. Bring this box of pills to the Supply Office and check what kind of pills they require tomorrow. Xiao Wei will be around tomorrow to assist you two in preparing what we need." the elder ordered.
"Yes, teacher!" Chen Tu and Qin Lei swiftly replied and accepted their assignment.
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(What an amazing feeling... Could this be something only those in the fourth level would realize?) Chen Tu remained seated, but for every breath he took, the Spiritual Energy of his surroundings was attracted over. His body was like a leaf sponging up all the dew as it absorbed all these blimps of Spiritual Energy to nourish his flesh. This mist-like Spiritual Energy is incomparable to what a Spiritual Replenishing Pill offers. Still, it was something nobody would complain about. After all, no matter how diluted and faint this Spiritual Energy was, they're still the Spiritual Energy everyone pursued. Nobody would cover their water well when it rains because they're afraid it would be overfilled by the rainwater. Apparently, Chen Tu's guess was correct. A feat like this was indeed someone above the Flesh Tempering Stage could enjoy. And thanks to his fully-tempered flesh, Chen Tu is now more than capable of applicating Spiritual Energy to strengthen his physique. Although the diff
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"Disciple understands." Chen Tu cupped his fists together and replied. His response also helps confirm that he will be taking the assignment seriously. "Xiao Tu will start paying more attention to his pill refinement after returning and wouldn't disappoint the teacher's expectation," he added. After saying what he should, Chen Tu excused himself from the workshop by giving a reason he'll have to get back and prepare. And obviously, the eight Grain Pellets were left in the workshop without saying. That's a must in case the elder changes his mind later. And regardless of how he decides, Chen Tu still has to leave a sample for Elder Wei Xuan to check on them, correct? This means a copy of everything from the ingredient, steps, and final product was left for the elder's inspection. Chen Tu's activities consisted of eating, sleeping, cultivating, and refining pills for the following days. Thanks to all these tasks in his hand, he hardly reported to the Spiritual Garden to work or assis
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The question piqued the elder's interest after Xia Xuan-Xuan opened her mouth. Apparently, even the elder couldn't help but feel curious about Chen Tu's answer. But at the same time, he can't ask this question openly. After all, he was an elder. Someone who stood at least a few levels above them in alchemy and cultivation. Wouldn't it hurt his pride slightly to ask a junior about something he should know better? Luckily, there's a Xia Xuan-Xuan in the group. While her talent is neither good nor bad, she has this social commonsense that could make everything work. Hence, she was the elder's icebreaker, always the first to hear and know everything. Chen Tu didn't respond to Xia Xuan-Xuan's question instantly. Still, everyone here could see that Chen Tu's gaze was currently pointed at the pill mold. This reaction from Chen Tu can be partially translated to "look at the result yourself!" He stayed silent and observed the mold until it was completely cooled. Then, instead of inspecti
