bookbashuk Chapter 137 Changing Mindset
Chapter 137 Changing Mindset
Zhao Fan carefully put away the rented alchemy furnace and then took the lapis lazuli furnace out of his storage bag.
He had only one batch of ingredients left for the Qingling Pill, and he planned to use the Azure Gold Furnace to refine it.
He felt a pang of regret for wasting the previous medicinal herbs.
After another hour of meditation to recover his spiritual energy, Zhao Fan opened the furnace again.
As expected, it was still six Qingling Pills.
Six medium-quality Qingling Pills, plus the previous six, make a total of twelve.
He picked out the two worst-quality pills and placed them together with the low-grade Qingling Pill refined in an ordinary alchemy furnace.
All three were of poor quality; two were standard low-grade, and one could barely be considered low-grade. These were the ones he needed to hand in tomorrow.
He carefully placed the remaining ten into another jade bottle and stored it deep inside his storage bag.
These pills are of good quality; they're perfect for cultivation.
However, Zhao Fan knew that he clearly couldn't deliver on his promise with these three Qingling Pills.
He pondered for a moment, then tapped the spirit stones in his storage bag. If the matter were to be investigated later, he would have to use the spirit stones to make up for it.
Zhao Fan sighed and put away the Azure Gold Furnace.
Outside the window, it was already dark. Xiao Er lay by the bed, having inhaled enough of the elixir fragrance, his belly rising and falling as he slept soundly.
Zhao Fan sat down cross-legged, swallowed a pill, and closed his eyes to cultivate.
The next morning, after tidying up the spirit field, Zhao Fan took the three poor-quality Qingling Pills and headed towards the main peak of Danfeng.
In the alchemy room on the main peak, the same middle-aged cultivator from yesterday was sitting behind the counter.
When he saw Zhao Fan enter, he raised his eyelids and his gaze fell on the jade bottle in Zhao Fan's hand.
"Exchange pills?"
"Yes."
Zhao Fan handed over the jade bottle.
The middle-aged cultivator took the jade bottle, opened the stopper, and poured three pills into his palm.
He glanced at it and frowned.
He took another closer look, and his brows furrowed even more, almost forming a deep frown.
He brought the pill to his nose and sniffed it, then looked at it against the light, before putting it down and picking up the second and third pills.
After looking at the three, his face turned quite pale.
"Is this what you made?"
His voice wasn't loud, but the dissatisfaction in his tone was almost overflowing.
Zhao Fan remained silent.
The middle-aged cultivator poured the three pills back into the jade bottle and pushed it in front of Zhao Fan.
"The Qingling Pill is a mid-grade first-tier pill. Of the three you have, two are only low-grade, and the other is not even low-grade. The Pill Peak will not accept such pills. Take them back."
Zhao Fan remained silent for a moment, then asked after a moment's thought.
"I took five portions of the elixir, how should that be accounted for?"
"Danfeng's rule is that pills that don't meet the quality standards will not be accepted or settled."
"You should have borne the cost of the medicinal herbs yourself. This time you received five portions of medicinal herbs and produced three unusable pills, resulting in a net loss of the cost of five portions of medicinal herbs."
He paused and glanced at Zhao Fan.
"However, considering this is your first time receiving medicinal herbs, we'll let it go."
"However, if this is all you've got in terms of alchemy skills, then you don't need to come back anymore. Although the medicinal herbs at Danfeng are cheap, they can't withstand this kind of waste."
Zhao Fan's heart sank. He had expected to be rejected, but he hadn't expected it to be so direct.
He hesitated for a moment, but still spoke.
"It was my overambition that led me to underestimate the difficulty of obtaining the Qingling Pill. I would like to try a different kind of pill instead."
The middle-aged monk looked at him without saying a word.
Zhao Fan continued.
"Spirit Nourishing Pill, this disciple would like to try the Spirit Nourishing Pill."
The middle-aged cultivator was silent for a moment. He wanted to refuse Zhao Fan, but then he glanced at the wooden plaque in Zhao Fan's hand.
The wooden plaque belonged to Uncle Gu; he recognized it.
He hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.
"Spirit Gathering Pill, five portions of medicinal herbs. This is your last chance. If you still can't refine a qualified product, you can take this wooden plaque back."
Zhao Fan clasped his hands in a fist salute.
"Thank you, senior brother."
The middle-aged monk turned around and took several packets of medicinal herbs from the shelf, placing them on the counter.
Zhao Fan took it, put it into his storage bag, and turned to leave.
Back at the wooden cabin in the back mountain, Zhao Fan took out the ingredients for the Spirit Nourishing Pill and placed them on the table.
The Spirit Nourishing Pill is a low-grade first-tier pill, suitable for cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining.
The formula is simple, the ingredients are common, and the refining difficulty is much lower than that of the Qingling Pill.
He had practiced it countless times when he was in the Su family; he could even do it with his eyes closed.
But this time, he couldn't use the Azure Gold Furnace, nor could he use spiritual energy to transform into silk.
He wanted to use that rented ordinary alchemy furnace and refine it using his own true skill level.
He took a deep breath, adjusted himself to his best condition, and then turned on the furnace.
As spiritual energy flowed into the alchemy furnace, the spirit stones at the bottom of the furnace lit up.
Zhao Fan put the medicinal herbs into the furnace, probed the furnace with his divine sense, and began to control it.
The Spirit Nourishing Pill requires far fewer spiritual herbs than the Spirit Clearing Pill, and its requirements for spiritual consciousness are also much lower.
Although his total spiritual energy was still not large, its precision was sufficient, and it was not difficult to control.
Melting the medicine, separating the pills, and condensing the pills—each step was performed steadily and flawlessly.
He didn't try to get too much; he only divided the elixir into five portions.
The five portions of elixir rotated, solidified, and took shape in the furnace.
The alchemy furnace made a soft sound, and Zhao Fan lifted the lid, releasing five pills.
The pill is light blue, round and smooth, with clear cinnabar patterns, and is of medium quality.
Zhao Fan looked at the five pills in his palm and breathed a sigh of relief.
Since it's possible to use an ordinary alchemy furnace, then one can use spiritual energy to create silk threads and one's own alchemy furnace to refine the Spirit Nourishing Pill.
If he simply controls the amount he submits each time, it will be difficult for others to notice the difference.
He put away the rented alchemy furnace and took out his own to continue refining the remaining four portions of medicinal herbs.
Sure enough, after changing the alchemy furnace, alchemy became much easier, and each batch could produce seven or eight Spirit-Nourishing Pills.
There were no failures, no surprises.
By evening, Zhao Fan had thirty-five Spirit Gathering Pills in his hand.
When refining the pills, Zhao Fan deliberately did not pursue the quality of the pills, but only the quantity. In comparison, the quality of the pills was no different from the previous batch.
Looking at the neatly arranged Spirit Nourishing Pills on the table, Zhao Fan finally felt at ease.
These pills are of average quality; they're not the best, but they're definitely not bad.
It was almost identical to that refined in an ordinary alchemy furnace, matching his cultivation level and spiritual sense, so it wouldn't arouse suspicion.
The next day, Zhao Fan returned to the alchemy room on the main peak of Danfeng.
The middle-aged cultivator frowned again when he saw him, but still accepted the jade bottle he was offered.
The bottle was opened, and twenty Spirit-Nourishing Pills were poured into the palm of the hand.
The middle-aged cultivator examined each bead one by one, his brows gradually relaxing.
After he finished looking at the last one, he looked up at Zhao Fan with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"Spirit Nourishing Pill, Grade 1, Low-grade, 20 pills, Medium quality."
He put the elixir back into the jade bottle and made a note of it in the book.
"According to the price at Danfeng, one Spirit Nourishing Pill costs two spirit stones, and twenty pills would cost a total of forty spirit stones. After deducting the cost of the medicinal materials and the rental fee for the alchemy furnace, the actual settlement..."
He did some calculations and then looked up.
"Thirteen spirit stones."
Zhao Fan silently calculated in his mind that the cost of the medicinal materials for five portions of Spirit Nourishing Pills was about fifteen spirit stones. The spiritual herbs at Pill Peak should be cheaper. Adding the cost of the pill furnace rental and half of the commission, he would receive thirteen spirit stones. It wasn't much, but at least he wouldn't lose money.
He nodded.
"Can."
The middle-aged cultivator took out thirteen spirit stones from under the counter and handed them back along with the wooden plaque.
At the same time, the middle-aged cultivator also spoke up to remind Zhao Fan.
"Partnering with Danfeng only allows you to receive medicinal herbs twice a month. You've already used them all this month, so if you want to refine pills again, you'll have to wait until next month to receive them again."
Zhao Fan nodded, took the elixir, put it into his storage bag, and turned to leave.
After leaving the alchemy room, Zhao Fan stood on the stone steps and let out a long breath.
He could finally refine pills legitimately. Although the profit margin of the Spirit Nourishing Pill was low, its stability was a major advantage.
Moreover, of the five medicinal herbs, besides the ones he handed over, he kept fifteen for himself, which amounted to thirty spirit stones.
Adding these thirteen spirit stones, that makes forty-three spirit stones. Refining twice a month brings in nearly ninety spirit stones. Adding the sect's monthly stipend, that's almost one hundred spirit stones.
Zhao Fan was already very satisfied with the speed at which he was earning spirit stones.
As for the Cleansing Spirit Pill, we'll talk about it after our cultivation and spiritual sense have improved.
In the days that followed, Zhao Fan would refine Spirit Nourishing Pills twice a month.
He would open the furnace every three days, refining one batch of medicinal herbs each time, while devoting more time to forging the seed of divine consciousness and meditating.
The stewards at Danfeng were becoming increasingly satisfied with Zhao Fan. Although he didn't talk much, his attitude was noticeably better than before each time they settled the spirit stones.
Zhao Fan's contribution points are also accumulating slowly, though not quickly, but steadily.