Chapter 22: Alchemists Are Incredibly Difficult to Cultivate, You Know
Elder Qiao and Lu Mingyue were both slightly taken aback by Lin Xiao's words.
He needed alchemy done this quickly?
Lu Mingyue now understood — Lin Xiao must have come to Azure Brush Peak specifically for alchemy purposes.
She just wasn't sure what kind of Pill Junior Brother Lin Xiao wanted refined.
If it was simply a Pill for Spirit Gathering Realm cultivators, she could handle it herself.
"Go ahead and tell me. If it's a common Pill, you don't need to bring materials — I can refine it for you right now," Elder Qiao said dismissively.
What kind of Pill could a little Spirit Gathering Realm cultivator possibly need?
Never mind doing it for free once — even if it were free every time, Azure Brush Peak wouldn't care about such a minor expense.
"This junior wishes to have a Soaring Origin Pill refined," Lin Xiao said.
Upon hearing it was a Soaring Origin Pill, the master and disciple pair looked somewhat surprised, though not overly so.
People at the Spirit Gathering Realm generally used Origin Restoration Pills. Soaring Origin Pills were essentially for Wheel Sea Realm cultivators.
Perhaps Lin Xiao was preparing for his future advancement.
The materials for refining a Soaring Origin Pill were relatively precious, but not excessively so.
"That's fine. Wait here a moment while I—"
Elder Qiao was about to begin the alchemy when Lin Xiao's next action interrupted him.
"Elder Qiao, this junior has something to hand over to you." Lin Xiao passed over that promissory note.
"Hmm?!"
Elder Qiao was puzzled.
With a light wave of his right hand, the item flew into his grasp.
But when he saw clearly what he was holding, Elder Qiao froze completely.
"This — how did this end up in your hands?! What is Old Mu to you?!" Elder Qiao's expression twisted into something strange — furious, helpless, and aggrieved all at once.
Lu Mingyue, watching from the side, was utterly stunned.
She had followed her master for so many years, yet this was the first time she had ever seen him lose his composure.
Just what was it that Junior Brother Lin Xiao had handed over?!
"Old Mu is something like half a master to this junior. He told me to bring this here, saying it could be exchanged for three bottles of Soaring Origin Pills," Lin Xiao explained honestly.
Old Mu had taught him the "Nine Abyssal Demon-Suppressing Seal," so calling him half a master wasn't wrong at all.
Huff, huff!
Elder Qiao snorted heavily, his expression shifting again and again.
Finally, he looked at Lin Xiao with a complicated expression and muttered to himself.
"That old fellow really has no shame — and he wants three bottles at once. Hmph!!!"
"Fine, fine. I'll settle accounts with that old fellow later."
Elder Qiao seemed to have made up his mind.
He pinched his right hand.
A ball of flame appeared from thin air, wrapping around the promissory note and burning it to ash.
Then he walked to the alchemy furnace and formed a Hand Seal.
Boom! The furnace roared to life, flames surging from within as the temperature of the entire room rose sharply.
Next, Elder Qiao retrieved one alchemy material after another from his Storage Ring.
He was ready to begin immediately.
Lin Xiao stepped to one side. Since the elder hadn't asked him to leave, it was tacitly permitted for him to watch.
Lu Mingyue watched as her master brought out the materials one by one, initially without much reaction.
But when she spotted several unusual ingredients, her delicate brows furrowed slightly.
"Wood Spirit Three-Needle Flower? Snow Ancient Lotus? Crimson Blood Spirit Fruit?! Master, why are such precious materials needed to refine a Soaring Origin Pill?" Lu Mingyue asked, her face full of bewilderment.
None of these three materials were in the standard formula for a Soaring Origin Pill.
And the value of just these three ingredients alone far exceeded the worth of three bottles of Soaring Origin Pills.
Why was her master doing this?
Lu Mingyue was completely at a loss.
"You wouldn't need them for an ordinary Soaring Origin Pill, of course — but to refine a supreme-grade Soaring Origin Pill, these three materials are absolutely necessary..." Elder Qiao explained, his tone carrying a hint of grievance.
A supreme-grade Soaring Origin Pill?!
Both Lu Mingyue and Lin Xiao were stunned.
Pills were generally classified into four grades: low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and supreme-grade.
The medicinal efficacy differed greatly between each grade.
Moreover, all medicines carry some toxicity — consuming too many Pills would cause impurities and toxins to accumulate within the body.
The higher the grade of the Pill, the smaller the side effects and the less harm it caused to the body.
A single low-grade Soaring Origin Pill could be bought for 500 spirit stones, but a high-grade Soaring Origin Pill couldn't be purchased even for 2,000 spirit stones — no one would sell it.
As for supreme-grade Soaring Origin Pills, they were priceless rarities that ordinary people would never put up for sale.
Her master was actually going to refine Soaring Origin Pills for Junior Brother Lin Xiao — and not just one batch, but three full furnaces. This was truly a grand gesture.
Lin Xiao was equally astonished.
Three bottles of supreme-grade Soaring Origin Pills.
Whatever Old Mu had given him was worth far more than he had imagined.
While the two of them were still reeling in surprise, Elder Qiao had already opened the furnace and begun the alchemy.
Materials were fed into the furnace one by one in a specific order, and several hand seals were formed to control the furnace temperature.
Extracting the essence of the materials, fusing them, condensing them, forming the Pill...
The entire process flowed like clouds and water, seamlessly natural.
Lin Xiao watched in a daze — this was the first time he had ever witnessed the alchemy process with his own eyes.
Four hours later.
Under Elder Qiao's control, the lid of the alchemy furnace was opened.
A rich, refreshing fragrance wafted out, enveloping the entire room.
Ten pill pellets hovered in midair, with wisps of red flame still swirling around them.
Four of the pellets were charred black, while the remaining six were crystal clear and exquisitely formed.
"Master, six supreme-grade Pills from this batch — your alchemy has improved again!" Lu Mingyue said, her eyes filled with admiration.
She could refine Soaring Origin Pills too, but at her level, she could only produce low-grade ones at best.
Elder Qiao cast a satisfied glance at the Pills that had emerged from the furnace, then quickly produced a jade bottle and collected them inside.
"Seems my fortune is good today. I'll begin the second furnace right away."
Elder Qiao said nothing more.
Striking while the iron was hot, he immediately started on the second batch of Soaring Origin Pills.
"Senior Sister, what level of alchemist is Elder Qiao?" Lin Xiao asked curiously.
"Hehe, my master is a seventh-grade Alchemist — there are only three seventh-grade Alchemists in the entire Great Wei Dynasty!" Lu Mingyue said softly.
With his Senior Sister's explanation, Lin Xiao came to understand the general concept of Alchemists.
The status of an Alchemist was held in the highest regard no matter where one went.
The ranking began with entry-grade, then first-grade, second-grade, all the way up to ninth-grade at the peak.
To become an Alchemist, one needed to possess an innate talent for alchemy.
Such individuals were said to be one in ten thousand.
And breaking into alchemy was extraordinarily difficult, with advancing in grade being even harder still.
Within the Great Wei Dynasty, the combined number of factions large and small numbered well over a thousand.
Yet there were only three seventh-grade Alchemists, and the number of sixth-grade Alchemists hadn't even reached a hundred.
This spoke volumes about how scarce they were.
To cultivate a high-grade Alchemist, the resources required were beyond even what a Revolving Pill Realm powerhouse could fathom.
Lin Xiao nodded inwardly and continued to watch Elder Qiao's alchemy with focused attention.
Another four hours passed.
The second furnace of Soaring Origin Pills was complete.
This time, a full seven supreme-grade Pills had formed.
Both master and disciple were overjoyed.
Elder Qiao's face broke into a wide, beaming smile.
If he could maintain this kind of supreme-grade yield rate, he'd have plenty to boast about the next time he met those other two old fellows.
Just as Elder Qiao was about to begin the third furnace of Soaring Origin Pills, a voice interrupted him.
"Elder Qiao, this junior has an impertinent request."