The simplified recipe for the Shangqing Rejuvenation Pill required a total of nine spirit plants.
The amount was not large, but the demand for quality was terrifyingly high.
The reason Yun Jin dared to claim she had full certainty earlier was because she had already examined this simplified recipe. Several of the ingredients it required were already in Wushuang Sect's possession, lying quietly inside her storage ring at this very moment.
The remaining materials were not difficult to find either.
Under the heavens, there were two places richest in spirit plants.
One was Xuandan Gate.
The other was the Spirit Beast Forest.
The rest of the needed spirit plants grew deep within the forest's core.
"I can refine the Shangqing Rejuvenation Pill. But I will need some materials," Yun Jin said, and without hesitation, listed off several extremely rare spirit plants.
Di Xiao narrowed his eyes, his tone dark and cold. "These spirit plants are indeed found in the core region. Even within the Spirit Beast Forest, they are counted among the most precious. If they can save Xiao Bao, then of course it is worth it. But if they cannot…"
"Senior," Yun Jin sighed, "do you not realize that twelve hours is actually very little time?"
Di Xiao: "???"
Yun Jin patiently explained, "If you keep wasting time like this, by the time comes, there won't be enough left to refine the pill! Wouldn't that render all my efforts meaningless? Wouldn't that fail not just me, but all these spirit beasts who are waiting with hope?"
Di Xiao: "???"
Yun Jin fixed him with a look. "Go quickly and bring the materials. Xiao Bao is waiting for you to save his life!"
Di Xiao glared at her.
Was this troublemaker truly Wandao's disciple?
Wandao had always been warm and comforting, like a spring breeze.
But Yun Jin? Why was it that after only a few exchanges, he always felt the urge to strangle her?
She herself had declared she could refine a ninth-rank pill in twelve short hours, a claim so absurd no one could believe it. Yet the way she framed it, if the time proved too short, the blame would somehow fall on him instead.
Di Xiao's expression grew darker. "I can fetch the materials. But you had best truly be able to refine this pill."
"Go, go. And remember, bring extra portions of everything!" Yun Jin replied.
Di Xiao, choking down his fury, vanished from sight in an instant.
Once he was gone, Yun Jin leisurely pulled out a pill furnace. Then, after a moment's thought, she pulled out a second. The simplified conditions for refining the Shangqing Rejuvenation Pill were as follows:
-Continuous infusion of Mahayana-level spiritual power.
-Assistance from a plant-spirit being.
-Refined, pure wood-attributed spiritual energy.
Yun Jin could satisfy all three.
Though her cultivation was a little below Mahayana, her spiritual power was of an unusually high grade. With the aid of a secret technique, and an amplification skill from Yun Mu, she could meet the requirement.
But a ninth-rank pill was no trifling matter.
The system clearly stated that one furnace would yield only three pills.
Xiao Bao's condition was dire, and even three might not be enough.
So Yun Jin had to run two furnaces simultaneously.
While the furnaces operated on their own, they still demanded her spiritual focus. With her current mental strength, two furnaces were her absolute limit.
Barely a limit.
But Yun Jin had never entertained the thought of failure.
In the blink of an eye, Di Xiao returned with the materials.
Yun Jin blinked in surprise. "Senior, your speed is incredible!"
Face dark, Di Xiao handed her a storage pouch. "There. If time runs short, the blame cannot be placed on me."
Yun Jin let out a sigh. "Senior, I was only speaking casually. You really took it to heart?"
Di Xiao: "…"
He took two deep breaths, then glanced at the two pill furnaces upon the dais. "Which one will you use?"
"Both," Yun Jin answered.
Di Xiao had no time to process that before Yun Jin, without hesitation, began kneading and twisting the priceless spirit plants in her hands, then tossing them straight into the furnace.
Di Xiao's mind buzzed. He thought he might lose his sanity. "Are you certain you're actually refining pills?"
He had some knowledge of alchemy, but he had never in his long life seen anyone do it this way.
"Senior, please step aside." Yun Jin brushed past him, crumpled the remaining ingredients together, and tossed them into the second furnace.
Di Xiao's heart clenched in pain.
Such waste!
These ingredients were treasures even he could scarcely bear to use lightly. Yet Yun Jin was tossing them about like common weeds.
"Is this truly pill refinement?"
"Something feels very wrong…"
"My cousin's nephew's aunt once saw an alchemist at work. It absolutely didn't look like this."
"Fairy Sister will definitely succeed," called the young Spike Deer in her crisp voice.
She, at least, trusted Yun Jin without a shred of doubt.
The other spirit beasts glanced at her, and for a time, fell into silence.
Truthfully, they too desperately wanted Yun Jin to succeed.
But…
Her technique was so crude even they, mere spirit beasts, found it unbearable to watch.
Could this really work?
Yun Jin ignored their doubts.
"Yun Mu."
At her call, Yun Mu immediately cast an amplification aura upon her.
Twin flames flared in Yun Jin's palms.
Her spiritual power surged forth.
The two pill furnaces began to hum and rotate.
Yun Jin looked focused, so Di Xiao refrained from disturbing her and turned instead to Cheng Feng Zhēnzūn. "This Yun Jin, is she truly a ninth-rank alchemist? Is this some newly created human method of refining?"
Cheng Feng Zhēnzūn, too, had difficulty describing what he saw. After a pause, he said vaguely, "This is indeed Yun Jin's way of refining. She refined a seventh-rank Butian Pill like this before, and the quality was perfect. Whether she can manage a ninth-rank pill… I cannot say."
"To attempt two ninth-rank pills simultaneously, and finish in twelve hours…" Di Xiao muttered, "Impossible!"
"It would normally be impossible," Yun Jin interjected, overhearing, "but the Rejuvenation Pill's essence lies in wood energy. Since I command the Primordial Wood, the time needed is shortened. Twelve hours will be just enough."
Di Xiao felt his very soul ache.
She was already attempting two furnaces of ninth-rank pills, yet she still had the leisure to eavesdrop and even explain herself?
He fell silent, watching the furnaces with growing dread.
With such a reckless approach, by his tens of thousands of years of experience, those furnaces could explode at any moment.
And if so many rare ingredients detonated together, the resulting blast would be catastrophic. He readied his fingers, prepared to conjure a protective barrier instantly.
At the slightest disturbance, his hand twitched.
But time passed.
The length of a stick of incense.
Both furnaces turned smoothly.
The length of a cup of tea.
A faint fragrance drifted into the air.
An entire hour.
The fragrance grew stronger.
As for the feared explosion?
There was no sign of it.
Yun Jin even glanced at Di Xiao. "Senior, what's wrong with your fingers? Are they cramping?"
Expressionless, Di Xiao pressed his fingers down. "Nothing. Just a bit mischievous."