Li Sheng's mind flickered, and his vision elevated in an instant, taking in the entirety of Qingling Sect. Just outside the sect's gates, five carriages slowly came to a stop, and Bai Ye, dressed in black and wearing a wide-brimmed hat, jumped off the lead carriage.
Seeing this, Li Sheng was stunned, finally understanding why Bai Ye had been gone for three whole days.
"Goodness, did she move house while she was at it?"
Retracting his thoughts, Li Sheng instructed the formation spirit to open the grand protective array.
Outside the gate, the white mist parted to reveal a straight path leading directly into the sect. Bai Ye was about to head inside to inform her senior brother, but seeing the way had already opened, she realized he was already aware. At this moment, Li Sheng's image became even more mysterious in her heart.
"Follow the path straight ahead. Do not stray into the white mist, or the consequences will be on your own heads." Coming to her senses, Bai Ye gave instructions.
"Understood!"
The drivers, witnessing this magical sight, swallowed nervously.
Inside the sect, watching the carriages approach, Li Sheng couldn't help but ask, "How much did you buy, junior sister?"
Once the carriages stopped, Bai Ye removed her hat, revealing her delicate face with a hint of fatigue. Seeing Li Sheng, her long, phoenix-like eyes glistened with joy, indicating she was quite pleased with the results of her shopping.
"Hold on."
Bai Ye gestured for him to wait, then gave some orders to the people on the carriages. Four middle-aged women descended and began unloading.
"Senior brother, these are farm women from nearby villages. They can help with chores. Where should I place the books and herbs?"
"Herbs in the alchemy room, books in the cultivation archive. But you still haven't told me what you bought."
The two walked side by side, chatting as they directed the carriages to the proper destinations.
"Not that much. Aside from food supplies, I mostly bought martial arts manuals—over six hundred in total. Basic manuals are cheap, about 20 silver taels each, and I had to scour the whole Qing Mountain City to collect that many."
"Over six hundred?" Hearing the number initially seemed a lot, but after a brief thought, Li Sheng realized these six hundred manuals were only enough to deduce one sixth-grade technique.
"And the herbs?"
"Well... twenty sets for Body-Tempering Pills, each costing two spirit stones. Ten sets for Internal Energy Pills, each costing five spirit stones. Altogether, I spent 102 spirit stones."
"Senior brother, can you really refine pills?" Bai Ye blinked curiously.
"Don't worry, once the pills are ready, you'll see for yourself."
After everything was unloaded, Li Sheng went alone to the alchemy room. The waist-high alchemy furnace looked ancient and mysterious. As his gaze fell upon it, a line of text appeared.
[Refining Attempts: 5/5, Infusion Attempts: 1/1]
After placing five sets of ingredients into the furnace, multicolored light began to swirl, and the materials slowly sank into the furnace.
"I hope I succeed before the attempts reset." Based on his observations, the reset for the archive occurred around noon, which was fast approaching.
About a quarter of an hour later, a fragrant aroma spread through the room, followed by a flash of multicolored light. In the next instant, five round, smooth, green pills hovered above the furnace.
"Only five? That's a bit underwhelming." Li Sheng frowned, but after taking a closer look at the pills, a smile crept onto his face.
"Superior-grade pills!"
Pills are categorized into low, medium, high, and supreme grades. Even in the past, Qingling Sect only distributed one low-grade pill per month to its disciples. Generally, a pill refiner would produce seven or eight pills at a time, with a low-grade pill fetching one spirit stone for every two.
A medium-grade pill, however, was worth five spirit stones, while a superior-grade pill was extremely rare and could sell for up to two or three hundred spirit stones. Though he believed this price was somewhat inflated—likely due to its collectible nature—he estimated the real value to be around one hundred spirit stones per pill.
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Holding the five pills in his hand, Li Sheng couldn't be happier. Despite the small quantity, the quality was far higher.
Estimating that the reset time was near, Li Sheng wasted no time tossing the pills back into the furnace, murmuring, "Infuse!"
The colorful light swirled again, and the medicinal fragrance grew even stronger, wafting through the air. Even Bai Ye, cultivating in the Spirit-Convergence Chamber, noticed it.
In the Spirit Pool, the golden fish leaped out of the water as though trying to absorb the fragrance, while the old tortoise sunbathing by the pool moved slightly, lifting its head to gaze in the direction of the aroma.
Moments later, the light dissipated, revealing a single, pristine, snow-white pill, marked with four distinct green lines.
"Four lines... Holy cow! Supreme-grade pill!" Li Sheng excitedly shouted out an expletive in his native tongue.
Calming himself, he quickly headed to the cultivation archive to use his remaining attempts, finding five new ninth-grade martial techniques on the shelves, bringing his total to seven. However, since there were only two eighth-grade techniques, it wasn't enough to deduce the next level.
"Another two days and I'll be able to deduce an eighth-grade technique... then..." Li Sheng suppressed his excitement.
Just then, a prompt sounded.
[Attempts reset]
Hearing the reset, Li Sheng synthesized five more techniques before leaving the archive. He returned to the alchemy room, repeated the process, and soon produced another supreme-grade pill.
Satisfied, he headed towards the spiritual vein chamber.
Inside the Spirit-Convergence Chamber, Bai Ye was studying the spirit-level technique. The earlier two bursts of pill fragrance had disturbed her focus, and just as she calmed her mind again, she noticed her senior brother approaching.
"Senior brother, did the pill refining succeed?" Bai Ye stood up, her tone carrying a hint of respect, something even she hadn't noticed.
"Indeed. Junior sister, here's a pill for you. With its help, practicing the Dragon-Serpent Body-Tempering Technique will be much more effective." Li Sheng grinned and tossed her a jade bottle.
Bai Ye instinctively caught it, and when she poured it out, a pristine, snow-white pill with four lines appeared in her slender palm.
"Four lines... a supreme-grade pill?!" Bai Ye's lips parted slightly in shock, her perfect features filled with astonishment.
"This..." She hesitated, looking at the pill, before turning to Li Sheng. Her fair cheeks flushed slightly, and as though remembering something, her expression dimmed.
She gently placed the pill back into the jade bottle, walked over, took Li Sheng's hand, and put the bottle back into his palm. She then looked earnestly at his clean-cut face.
"Senior brother, this pill is far too valuable. I... I cannot accept it."
"Huh?"
Li Sheng was taken aback, thinking, You need to take it! Without you improving your strength, how will the sect advance, and when will I get my sect points? I was even planning on refining a supreme Internal Energy Pill tomorrow to help you break through to the seventh grade. What's going on?
Seeing his confusion, Bai Ye sighed, her expression tinged with melancholy.
"Senior brother, a supreme-grade pill is not like ordinary pills. It contains spiritual essence that can help a person enter enlightenment. Its wonders are unmatched, and even grandmasters covet them. Its value is immeasurable."
"I appreciate your kindness, but I cannot accept this. My great vengeance is still unresolved, and I cannot be distracted by personal feelings. The spirit-level technique is already more than I deserve. As for this pill... please, senior brother, take it back."