Soon, only Su Shi'er was left in the Discarded Pill Room.

The vast space was empty, with distant sounds of wolves howling and beasts roaring faintly echoing. Su Shi'er stood in the courtyard, his heart pounding with fear. Despite his bravery, he was still just a young boy.

But he knew well that to learn the Immortal Techniques, he must overcome the challenges before him. Lowering his head to look at the Discarded Pill Compendium in his hands, Su Shi'er began to flip through it.

The compendium contained simple introductions to over a hundred types of pill medicines and illustrations of discarded pills. Discarded pills were the failed products of pill refining, filled with impurities and even toxins, making them completely unusable.

For other children, understanding this would require significant effort. However, Su Shi'er had been learning to read and write from his grandfather since childhood, had read countless books, and was quick-witted. After silently reading through the compendium a few times, he memorized most of its contents.

Holding the compendium, Su Shi'er turned and entered the storeroom where the discarded pills were kept. Having read the text and seen the pictures, the next step was to identify the real items.

Inside the storeroom, discarded pills were piled up like mountains.

However, with the compendium's contents firmly in mind, Su Shi'er quickly discerned that there were not many types of discarded pills, just three to five kinds.

The most numerous were the Foundation Pills, used by entry-level disciples to strengthen the body and eliminate impurities.

Next were the Gathering Qi Pills, used by Qi Refining disciples to enhance cultivation speed, and a small Healing Pill for treating injuries.

Looking at the tens of thousands of discarded pills before him, Su Shi'er couldn't help but sigh. If these weren't discarded pills and he could possess so many pill medicines, it would be wonderful.

Unfortunately, for him, all this was just wishful thinking.

Su Shi'er stayed in the storeroom until evening, discovering two more types of discarded pills besides the three he had identified.

However, these discarded pills were just unwanted trash, and he could only learn more about pill medicines from them.

***

As night fell, Su Shi'er planned to return to his room to rest.

Just then, deep growls and heavy footsteps suddenly came from outside the courtyard.

The dull sounds, like muffled thunder or drumbeats, struck Su Shi'er's heart.

"Wild beasts?!"

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Su Shi'er was shocked, his mind immediately recalling the image of a figure with severed limbs on a stretcher.

"What should I do?" He froze in place, not daring to move, fearing he might alert the beasts outside.

But the beasts showed no intention of leaving.

The footsteps grew closer, and with a thud, something seemed to leap over the courtyard wall.

Hearing the commotion, Su Shi'er's heart raced. Holding his breath, he cautiously peeked outside through the storeroom's gaps.

In the courtyard, a tiger with white forehead and blood-red eyes paced, its breath making a panting sound, white mist puffing from its mouth and nose.

Its eyes, like copper bells, glowed with a fierce light. As it sniffed the air, it seemed to catch the scent of a human, letting out a low growl, shaking its fur, and slowly approaching the storeroom where Su Shi'er was hiding.

Seeing this, Su Shi'er's pupils contracted, and he trembled all over. With his small frame, he was no match for the tiger; he wouldn't even be enough to fill its teeth.

Terrified, Su Shi'er grew calmer the more afraid he became.

Turning to look at the mountain of discarded pills behind him, a bold idea formed in his mind.

Without hesitation, he quickly retreated to the pile of discarded pills, stealthily digging a deep hole and burying himself within.

"Clang!"

In just a few minutes, the storeroom door was pushed open, and a massive, fierce tiger head peeked inside.

The tiger's gleaming teeth and foul-smelling maw terrified Su Shi'er into holding his breath, not daring to move.

Fortunately, the sheer number of discarded pills masked Su Shi'er's scent, and after glancing around, the tiger turned and left.

Seeing this, Su Shi'er let out a sigh of relief. But fearing the tiger might return, he stayed hidden among the discarded pills until dawn.

After repeatedly confirming that there was no movement outside, he finally crawled out from the discarded pills.

"What kind of place is this, with such a huge tiger right after I arrived? If I stay here, I'll be eaten by that tiger sooner or later!"

Su Shi'er's heart pounded, and he muttered to himself in fear.

He didn't believe his small frame could be a match for the tiger.

"But if I leave, how will I learn the methods of cultivation?

If I can't cultivate, how will I avenge my grandfather and the others? And there's that mysterious pill furnace; I need to figure out its use!"

As he pondered, Su Shi'er took out the old, rustic pill furnace from his pocket.

Seeing the pill furnace again, his pupils contracted, and he was momentarily stunned.

"Huh? Why are there two pills?"

Inside the pill furnace lay two crystal-clear, thumb-sized pills, resembling jade.

He quickly poured the pills into his hand, and immediately, a rich medicinal fragrance filled the air, invigorating him, dispelling hunger and fatigue.

Su Shi'er felt a surge of energy, grabbing a handful of discarded pills for comparison.

The discarded pills were pitch black, emitting a faint stench, a stark contrast to the two pills in his hand.

After careful examination, he finally confirmed that the two pills were indeed good Foundation Pills.

"Strange, how did the pill furnace suddenly produce two Foundation Pills?

I've only ever used this thing to store salt, and I've never seen it produce any pills.

Could it be... that discarded pills fell in last night?"

Thinking of this, Su Shi'er immediately tried it out, placing a discarded pill into the pill furnace and watching intently.

Under his gaze, the discarded pill was enveloped in a green light, shedding its black color at a visible speed.

It seemed as if the impurities were being refined away by some force.

In just a few breaths, the discarded pill turned from black to gray-green.

After another dozen breaths, a crystal-clear, jade-like Foundation Pill appeared in the pill furnace.

"Hiss~"

Watching this unfold, Su Shi'er couldn't help but gasp.

"This pill furnace can turn discarded pills into good pills? Turning waste into treasure, this is too miraculous!

No wonder... no wonder those Immortals wanted this pill furnace so badly!

But, I wonder if this pill furnace can keep refining?"

With a mix of excitement and anxiety, he stuffed a handful of discarded pills into the pill furnace.

In his sight, all the discarded pills were enveloped in a green light.

After a dozen breaths, the light vanished, replaced by flawless, crystal-clear Foundation Pills.

Su Shi'er tried this over ten times, and no matter how many pills he put in, as long as the pill furnace could hold them, they would be refined into normal pills within ten to twenty breaths.

Throughout the process, the pill furnace remained in its rustic, worn state, unchanged.

Having confirmed the pill furnace's function, Su Shi'er turned to look at the mountain of discarded pills, his breath quickening.

At this moment, in his eyes, these were not unwanted trash but pills that could be used for cultivation!

"With so many pills, even if my spirit root is lacking, I can surely achieve something! I mustn't tell anyone about this!"

Clutching the pill furnace tightly to his chest, his heart pounded, and his face flushed red.

Though he didn't know much about cultivation, he understood the value of this pill furnace.

Hiding the pill furnace close to his body, he found several porcelain bottles in the storeroom to store the refined pills before returning to his room.

"Now, let's see if these refined pills are truly effective!"

With that thought, Su Shi'er took out a Foundation Pill from his pocket.