Chapter Sixty-Five: The Rate of Pill Formation

“What are you grinning about, silly?” Little Book teased mischievously.

But to Gu Weiyu, the voice of Little Book was simply heavenly; she wished she could put this little fellow on a pedestal. “Thank you, Little Book!”

“All right, now the real challenge is fusing the medicinal liquids.” Little Book rolled over awkwardly in Gu Weiyu’s sea of consciousness.

Gu Weiyu gazed warmly at the little green book in her mind—it was just so adorable. “Mm, let’s keep going!”

She took out another spiritual herb and began extracting its essence once more.

With the success of her first attempt, the second extraction went much more smoothly.

Soon, two distinct clusters of medicinal liquid appeared inside the jade cauldron.

Gu Weiyu controlled the two liquids with her spiritual sense, slowly merging them together.

“You’re a quick learner!” Little Book begrudgingly praised from her sea of consciousness.

Gu Weiyu beamed, then picked up the next herb to continue refining.

———

Suddenly, there was a muffled bang from within the jade cauldron. Gu Weiyu started, quickly checking the cauldron with her spiritual sense.

She found that the previously emerald green liquid had turned into a pitch-black sludge, and a pungent stench wafted out.

“Oh no!” Little Book huffed, “What happened? Didn’t I tell you to watch the heat?”

Gu Weiyu looked sheepish. “Little Book, I’ve never refined pills before, you know?”

How was she supposed to know what intensity of flame to use, or when? Wasn’t this her first time, too?

Little Book gave a disdainful snort. “Your spiritual sense is so weak!”

Gu Weiyu had to agree. The main reason things had gone awry was precisely because her spiritual sense was too feeble; a single misstep during the fusion, and the liquid was ruined.

“All right, you’d better rest for a bit,” Little Book said, somewhat helplessly.

After refining pills for so long, Gu Weiyu was indeed fatigued—both mind and body.

She sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion in the alchemy room, circulating the Nine Arts of Spirit Refinement. The throbbing discomfort in her forehead gradually faded.

After half an hour, her spiritual sense had returned to its peak.

“Little Book, let’s try again!” Gu Weiyu said, her spirits high.

She took out another set of herbs for the Rejuvenation Pill, following the same steps as before.

Extract the essence—fuse the liquids—extract the next herb…

Gu Weiyu seemed to have found the knack. Her speed and coordination improved. Just as she felt confident that this time she would surely succeed—

There was another familiar bang from within the jade cauldron.

Gu Weiyu’s expression changed as the pungent smell spread throughout the alchemy room.

The medicine—had burned again!

“Little Book, what’s happening?” she asked, puzzled.

“Er…” Little Book hesitated. “Actually… I’m not sure what’s gone wrong either…”

“But didn’t you just say making Rejuvenation Pills was a piece of cake?” Gu Weiyu’s tone held a faint trace of annoyance.

Little Book bristled, tossing about in her sea of consciousness. “I’ve never made them myself! When my previous master did it, it always looked like that! Obviously, you’re just too weak…”

Gu Weiyu: “…”

She’d only made a single comment, yet this guy responded with a whole tirade and even lost his temper at her. Hmph! She refused to believe she couldn’t succeed in refining a Rejuvenation Pill!

Gu Weiyu took out another set of herbs, focusing all her attention on the task at hand.

Bang—

Another muffled sound from the cauldron.

Little Book muttered, “Your spiritual sense is just terrible. You should really work on strengthening it first…”

But Gu Weiyu seemed not to hear. Instead, a thoughtful look crossed her face.

She closed her eyes, restoring her spiritual sense, and replayed every detail of the last attempt in her mind.

Everything seemed correct. Could it be—the timing of the fusion was off?

She opened her eyes and tried again.

This time, when it came to the final fusion, she started a little earlier than before, keeping her spiritual sense sharply attuned to every fluctuation inside the cauldron.

Sure enough, the liquid didn’t burn as quickly this time. As it thickened, she adjusted the flame and began the final collection.

A quarter of an hour later, Gu Weiyu gazed at a small lump inside the cauldron, fragrant with the scent of rare herbs, but her face was full of confusion:

What was still wrong? Was the flame not strong enough at the end?

Unfortunately, there was no one to answer her questions. Little Book was unreliable, so she would have to rely on her own experimentation.

She collected the thick liquid in a prepared jade vial and began the process anew.

Bang—

No, the flame was too fierce!

Bang—

The collection was too slow!

Again and again, Gu Weiyu learned from her failures, constantly adjusting her technique.

Her progress was obvious: her use of spiritual sense became more skillful, and the entire process more fluid and natural.

“This is it!” Gu Weiyu’s spiritual sense was taut with focus as she watched the cauldron, smoothly fusing—controlling the flame—collecting the pills—all in one seamless flow!

She instinctively closed her eyes, bracing herself for another explosion—she’d had enough of cauldron mishaps.

But there was no bang from within. Only then did she open her eyes and peer inside with her spiritual sense—

Her eyes widened in astonishment.

At the bottom of the jade cauldron, a dozen perfectly round pills lay quietly.

Each was an emerald green, gleaming with a unique luster. If one looked closely, most of them even bore three pill marks.

A flicker of excitement flashed in Gu Weiyu’s eyes, and her voice trembled, “Little Book, look! I did it!”

Little Green Book rolled over lazily in her sea of consciousness. Lately, it hadn’t bothered to pay attention, but at her words, it glanced at the cauldron. “Not too shabby. Most of them are top-grade pills.”

Most of them were top-grade, and it still called that “not too shabby”?

Gu Weiyu was left speechless by its tone. She wasn’t some legendary master—couldn’t it offer a little encouragement?

She pursed her lips, lifted the cauldron lid with a spell, and a rich medicinal fragrance filled the room.

She took a deep breath, feeling refreshed, then took out a jade bottle she’d prepared in advance, and stored all the pills inside with another spell.

After putting away the bottle, Gu Weiyu carefully reviewed the entire process. She felt she was finally beginning to understand the true art of alchemy.

She sat cross-legged to rest. Though the process had drained her greatly, her spirits were high.

With this success behind her, Gu Weiyu felt certain her next attempt would be even better.

She rested for nearly half an hour before opening her eyes again. Probing her storage pouch with her spiritual sense, she was going to take out another set of herbs for the Rejuvenation Pill.

But to her embarrassment, she discovered that all ten sets of herbs had been used up!

Ten sets of herbs, and only one successful batch—her pill-making rate was truly something else!