Yun Jin stood motionless, lost in thought.
She was trying to decide which pill recipe to learn first.
Now that she was at the Nascent Soul stage, she was theoretically capable of refining fourth-rank pills.
However...
People like Ye Liuqin had already entered the Divine Transformation stage. They were most likely fifth-rank alchemists by now, and the pills they brought out would naturally be among the rarest of their rank.
If she wanted to outshine them, she had to think carefully.
A perfect-grade fourth-rank pill might be enough to barely win, but it would be cutting it close. It would be better to go straight for a fifth-rank recipe. Given her spiritual strength far surpassed the average Nascent Soul cultivator, spending a few more Emotional Value points wouldn't be an issue. A fifth-rank pill should be well within reach.
Yue Zhao knew she could deduce pill formulas just by analyzing the pills themselves. For the past few days, he'd been helping her scour the market for various pills.
There were also some fifth-rank pills inside the storage ring Cang Li had left behind. All things considered, she had a fairly wide selection to choose from.
After studying her options, Yun Jin finally decided on one of the most difficult fifth-rank pills: the Shenhun Dan—Soul Nourishing Pill.
This pill was exceedingly rare. It could enhance the strength of one's soul, and the requirements to refine it were incredibly high.
Most fifth-rank alchemists could theoretically refine this pill, but in reality, it was notoriously hard to master.
The reason was simple: the demand it placed on an alchemist's spiritual power was overwhelming.
Fortunately for Yun Jin, spiritual power was her strongest domain. She was leagues beyond the average cultivator.
This level of difficulty didn't even faze her.
Following the system's parameters, Yun Jin spent some Emotional Value points and simplified a perfect-grade formula for the Soul Nourishing Pill.
After reviewing the final version, her brows furrowed slightly.
The difficulty of the refinement itself wasn't the problem.
The issue was...
She was short one ingredient.
Cang Li's storage ring had plenty of space, and Yun Jin had used it to stockpile all sorts of medicinal herbs.
Yue Zhao had also continued gathering materials for her, bringing a fresh batch along during this trip. She had everything else needed for the Soul Nourishing Pill—except one herb: Shehun Cao, Soul Seizing Grass.
A shame.
Yun Jin let out a quiet sigh of disappointment and was just about to select a different pill recipe when Ye Liuqin's voice drifted over.
"Junior Sister Yun, are you facing some kind of trouble?"
Yun Jin smiled. "I was planning to refine a Soul Nourishing Pill, but it seems I'm missing one herb. Without the Soul Seizing Grass, I can't proceed."
Soul Nourishing Pill?
The disciples from Xuandan Gate exchanged glances, then some of them couldn't help but laugh.
"Junior Sister Yun, the Soul Nourishing Pill is at minimum a fifth-rank pill. Are you saying you intend to refine a fifth-rank Soul Nourishing Pill? Even Senior Sister Ye only succeeds one or two times out of ten. Don't waste your ingredients."
"Better not waste everyone's time, either. Just grab a pill and take it to the stone chamber for verification."
Ye Liuqin's expression shifted subtly at Yun Jin's calm demeanor. "As it happens, I do have a spare stalk of Soul Seizing Grass. I can lend it to Junior Sister Yun for now."
As she spoke, a wooden box appeared in her palm. She opened it to reveal a vividly colored spiritual plant.
It really was Soul Seizing Grass.
"Senior Sister Ye, you've been focusing on studying the Soul Nourishing Pill yourself lately. You don't even have enough for your own trials. How could you let her waste it like this?" one disciple whispered anxiously.
Ye Liuqin smiled. "It's just one stalk. It's not that big of a deal. Junior Sister Yun, feel free to try."
To Ye Liuqin, the herb wasn't exceptionally rare. What she truly wanted was to see whether Yun Jin was that rumored alchemy prodigy.
Yun Jin thought for a moment, then nodded without declining. "Then I'll accept this herb. Once the pill is done, I'll give you one Soul Nourishing Pill in return."
The value of a Soul Nourishing Pill far exceeded that of a single Soul Seizing Grass.
But the disciples from Xuandan Gate only sneered.
Sounds nice.
If she could actually succeed.
That stalk of Soul Seizing Grass was as good as wasted.
Ye Liuqin simply smiled. "No worries. Go ahead, Junior Sister Yun."
Yun Jin nodded and began taking out the necessary herbs one by one.
The moment Ye Liuqin saw them, her pupils contracted slightly.
These ingredients... were entirely different from the formula she had for the Soul Nourishing Pill.
Some were removed, some replaced. Overall, the recipe required fewer materials.
There had been rumors—every time that mysterious alchemy genius refined a pill, they used a self-devised formula.
Could it be... Yun Jin was really that person?
Ye Liuqin focused, even activating her spiritual sense to observe every detail.
But—
There were no details to observe.
In Ye Liuqin's perception, Yun Jin casually extracted the spiritual essence from each herb, then simply dumped them into the cauldron all at once.
Then, unbelievably, the furnace began to operate on its own.
Just like the rumors said.
Ye Liuqin's expression changed subtly.
This technique... was identical to what her master had once described.
Could Yun Jin really be that person?
No—
She had to see whether the pill would actually succeed in the end.
Ye Liuqin watched intently, while the other disciples from Xuandan Gate could no longer hold back their scoffs.
That kind of pill refining technique was laughable.
If that worked, what was the point of all their years of painstaking training?
A waste of herbs and time, nothing more.
"Forget it, no need to say more. At this rate, the cauldron will explode soon enough. At least it won't waste much of our time," one disciple muttered.
"Too bad for those materials, though," another added.
Yun Jin ignored them. She sat down cross-legged and leisurely pulled out a small bag of sunflower seeds.
Her eldest senior brother knew her well.
He'd brought her a whole pile of seeds on this trip. Had he known she'd end up in this exact situation?
Alchemy really was boring.
Even though the cauldron could operate on its own, she had to maintain a thread of her spiritual sense linked to it. She also couldn't move more than fifty meters away.
This cauldron might have evolved, but not thoroughly enough.
She was basically stuck within range. Without some snacks, this wait would be unbearable.
This batch of Soul Nourishing Pills would produce three pills in total. If all went well, it would take twelve full hours to complete.
At first, only a few people stood nearby watching.
But soon, others finished their challenges and came out from their chambers.
One by one, the crowd grew.
Yun Jin had inscribed six rooms. So far, she had only completed the Beastmaster challenge. The other five rooms couldn't receive their final rewards unless she completed her trials.
Jin Yu currently ranked first in the Artifact Control chamber, but until Yun Jin finished her test, he couldn't receive the final reward either.
Still, Jin Yu didn't seem anxious. He was more intrigued by Yun Jin's method of alchemy.
Eventually, he couldn't help but ask Ye Liuqin, "Is this some new kind of pill refining method?"
Sunflower Seed Alchemy?
Ye Liuqin didn't even know how to respond.
"She's being so casual, yet the cauldron is still working fine?" Cheng Su's gaze flickered.
She had never refined pills herself, but she knew the general process. It was usually extremely complex.
How could Yun Jin's random approach have lasted this long?
Even the Xuandan Gate disciples were starting to waver.
An hour had passed. The cauldron was still stable, and the faint scent of medicinal fragrance was beginning to spread.
What was going on?
The more Jin Yu watched, the more amused he became. "Looks like pill refining isn't all that hard, huh? Guess sword practice is still the real challenge."
Just as he finished speaking—
Yun Jin finished her bag of seeds.
She stood up slowly, clearly growing bored.
Drawing her Tai'a sword, she stepped aside.
She still had one thread of spiritual sense connected to the cauldron, so she couldn't use advanced techniques.
Might as well practice some sword forms casually.
Nothing too difficult. Just a little warm-up.