Chapter 122 – Refining Pills
“Mengxiang, don’t be disrespectful! It’s your fault you failed!” Yun Yao said sternly.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Yun Mengxiang realised that her ‘princess’ problem appeared again. Her Princess identity wasn’t very effective in the Clan and her father and auntie had repeatedly warned her to not offend strong cultivators with her attitude.
Zhao Feng was a disciple that both old man Guan and old man Zhang were fighting for and it wasn’t a good idea to offend someone with such status and potential. But maybe because she had gotten familiar with Zhao Feng the past few days and the latter was calm, she forgot about this.
“It’s fine, this is the attitude.” Zhao Feng laughed and he didn’t put it to heart.
The main point here was pill refining. Ever since he had entered the Grass-Wood Division, Zhao Feng had started to find interest in pill making and this interest was founded by the lure of ‘Spiritual pills’.
Zhao Feng thought that if he became a pill master, he could refine all the pills he needed. This could support his cultivation and save money. Pill makers was a hot job in the Clan.
“Zhao Feng, did you see the mistake that Yun Mengxiang made before?” Yun Yao decided to test Zhao Feng.
Zhao Feng wasn’t scared of giving Yun Mengxiang too big of a blow: “Firstly, she was too cautious like a rat, so her flame was too small and the temperature not high enough. Secondly, there were a few mistakes she made when controlling the flame and because the fire was small, it instantly extinguished. Of course, those was the most obvious mistakes, I’m too lazy to say the other smaller mistakes.”
Hearing this, Yun Mengxiang was so angry that she was trembling, but she couldn’t explode. If it was a normal person, she would have already sent them flying with a kick. Being a princess, when did anyone say anything like this to her before?
“En, the key points were said.” Yun Yao said praisingly as she nodded her head.
Yun Mengxiang could only suppress her anger. A light flashed in her eyes as she smiled and said: “Mengxiang was too dumb handed, may Pill master Zhao teach me?”
“I’m not a pill master.”
Zhao Feng’s heart jumped, it was obvious that Yun Mengxiang praised him so that the fall would be greater.
Any pill learner was unlikely to succeed on their first try.
After Yun Mengxiang had failed, it was Zhao Feng’s turn. Inside his mind, the process of Yun Yao creating the blood pill appeared.
For the past few days, Zhao Feng had a few tries of opening the flame, controlling the flame and adding the materials, but it was all testing.
It was much harder to put all the steps together and complete it in one breath.
Controlling the flame was the most important and the slightest mistake could shake the outcome.
The first step, putting the materials in.
Zhao Feng’s left eye slowly opened and he took one portion of each material needed. Amongst the same materials, there were good and bad ones which could affect the humidity and other small things like that.
Zhao Feng chose the most suitable composition and Yun Yao, who had noticed these small acts, nodded her head in praise.
In just the first step of choosing their materials, Zhao Feng had beat Yun Mengxiang.
After the materials were chosen, Zhao Feng put them into the furnace in order and put them in specific places.
The heat of the furnace wasn’t even everywhere, there was places of high and low heat respectively.
The first step, ‘adding the materials’ was completed.
Zhao Feng didn’t miss out any steps and if his steps were clumsy or hesitant, the process of Yun Yao refining the pills would appear in his mind.
The second step, starting the flame.
Starting the flame seemed simple, but there was a process to it.
This size and temperature of the flame couldn’t have any mistake, but a low class pill such as the blood pill didn’t need an extremely specific flame.
Zhao Feng lit up a piece of coal and a small red flame appeared.
Next was the most important step – controlling the flame.
Zhao Feng concentrated, he opened his left eye and used his inner strength to directly affect the flame. One needed to reach the 7th rank of the Consolidated Realm to become a pill learner because only then was their inner strength able to leave their body and affect the flame. Even then, this was the worst way but if one hadn’t even reached the 7th rank, how were they supposed to do this?
Zhao Feng’s control of the flame was extremely strong and the small flame was spread out evenly on the furnace.
As time passed, a faint medicinal smell wafted from the furnace.
Zhao Feng would occasionally add a few more coals to maintain the flame and although he wasn’t familiar with controlling the flame, it was natural for him.
This was because his left eye was precise and he could control his inner strength well.
For a full 2 hours, Zhao Feng still casually controlled the flame. This made Yun Mengxiang’s expression change slightly, she hadn’t expected Zhao Feng’s inner strength to be so dense and thick.
If it was her, her inner strength would’ve been depleted.
“Using every bit of power to its precise use. He’s reached mastery at controlling the flame.”
Yao Yun sighed, his skill in controlling the flame could already be compared with some older pill masters.
At this time, Yun Yao couldn’t help but admire old man Guan’s eyes. Zhao Feng was indeed a prodigy in pill making.
Pill making asked for precision, especially in flame control.
Two hours later, Zhao Feng’s inner strength had slowly faded away and the flame extinguished.
The remaining heat from the furnace still made the furnace give off a medicinal smell.
Zhao Feng sniffed it and he found that it did indeed belong to the blood pill. Its smell right now was tens of times stronger than before since because it had just been made.
After waiting for a while, Zhao Feng tapped his finger in the air.
Pah!
From the furnace jumped up tens of blood red pills.
This was the last step, opening the furnace.
One had to time when to open the furnace. If it was too early, the pill may not have solidified yet and if it was too late, the pill’s size might be too large and crack. Under that situation, the pill might explode and destroy the entire pill refining room…
Shua!
Zhao Feng waved his robed and grabbed the tens of red blood pills with his hand.
“Let me see the success rate.” Yun Yao said while smiling.
Success rate?
Zhao Feng paused, but he soon remembered what this meant.
When a batch of pill was made, there was always a success rate. For example, of ten pills, there might be only 5 pills successfully created, the others would either be trash pills or ungraded pills.
Zhao Feng handed over all the pills to Yun Yao.
“It can’t all be ungraded and useless pills, right?” Yun Mengxiang laughed.
At this time, she saw that her auntie’s face was solemn and full of shock.
“Thirteen blood pills, 1 perfect pill, 4 excellent, 6 normal and 2 others which are slightly below the standard of normal but still in the normal category.”
Yun Yao couldn’t help but take in a cold breath: “If the requirements aren’t strict, this is a 100% success rate.”
100%!
Yun Mengxiang’s face had turned pale fright like she had been frightened. Then, she and Yun Yao looked at Zhao Feng with complex emotions.
“This is your first time refining pills?”
The shock and questioning hadn’t disappeared from Yun Yao’s face.
“That’s right.”
Zhao Feng’s heart was slightly weak, he hadn’t expected his precision and control to be so good.
After his confirmation, Yun Yao and Yun Mengxiang seemed like they had been beaten and their souls lost.
“These 13 pills were created by you, so you have have them.”
Yun Yao returned the pills that Zhao Feng refined back to him.
Then… There wasn’t a then.
Zhao Feng was kicked out for no reason, leaving behind only Yun Yao and Yun Mengxiang.
“Auntie, why aren’t you teaching him anymore?”
“How can I teach a prodigy such as him? It’s a miracle! How can someone have a 100% success rate when refining their first batch of pills?” Yun Yao sighed in despair.
How is this possible!?
Yun Mengxiang was speechless.
“Keep this a secret for now. All you’ve got to do now is not to offend him and maintain a good relationship with him… ” Yun Yao said.
…..
After leaving the refining room, Zhao Feng went into deep thought.
“That’s how it is… No matter how excellent the pill maker is, it’s hard for them to have a 100% success rate even if they are a pill master, unless they create pills far below their usual standard… ”
Zhao Feng finally realised that his 100% success rate was shocking. Because it was his first time refining pills, he didn’t have a standard and he still made a 100% success rate.
For the next few days, Zhao Feng was much more relaxed and free, the tasks that old man Guan had given him were completed.
During daytime, he would occasionally read a few books and at night, he would cultivate. His main focus was still Silver Wall Technique. But after reaching the 9th level, his progress slowed down.
It would be at least a few years before his Silver Wall Technique reached the 10th level, according to his analysis. Zhao Feng could only wait and hope that Vice Head Guan would give him a few more Spiritual pills. If he didn’t, he could create them himself later on…
Time passed quickly and Zhao Feng had stayed in the Clan for half a month now.
Of the newly entered disciples, Xiao Sun, Yun Mengxian and Liu Yue’er had the most major improvements. Xiao Sun had apparently reached the half step – Ascended Realm while Yun Mengxiang and Liu Yue’er had reached the peak 9th rank of the Consolidated Realm.
Such speed was a miracle in the mortal world. But in the Clan, it was fast but not shocking. The nine ranks of the Consolidate Realm was only a beginning after all.
Zhao Feng knew that Yun Mengxiang had a pill master auntie, so she had eaten at least 5 or more of the Marrow Cleansing Pill, but Liu Yue’er couldn’t be found amongst the outer disciples.
Some said that she had been taken in by another Elder and became the 3rd person to become a disciple of an Elder after Bei Moi and Sun Yuanhao.
The two Nan Gongfan and Yang Qingshan had reached the half-step 9th rank and 9th rank respectively.
Compared with the others, Zhao Feng’s cultivation speed wasn’t fast. Although he focused mainly on Silver Wall Technique his cultivation had still broken through to the 9th rank.
