Chapter 176: Chapter 175: Vein Nourishing Pill
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
A knock came from outside the door.
’Who would be looking for me? Is it for Xu Yuan?’
Chu Mu straightened his clothes and motioned for Wangcai to move aside before opening the door.
"You’re back?"
The first thing he saw was a figure in red.
"It’s good that you’re back. This is the food for the next two months. You should check it."
Chang Hongyi pointed to about ten large baskets piled up by the door, forcing a smile.
"Isn’t it delivered every seven days?"
Chu Mu looked at the girl, who seemed to have lost her usual liveliness, feeling a bit puzzled.
Chang Hongyi waved her hand dismissively. "I’ve found a new, big business. This little gig? I’m not doing it anymore."
"Heh..."
Chu Mu chuckled. "In that case, I wish you great fortune, Miss Hongyi."
"Of course, of course."
The girl grinned, but then, as if she remembered something, her smile immediately vanished.
Chu Mu glanced at her but didn’t ask any questions. He picked up the baskets and started carrying them into his room.
After a few trips, all the piled-up food was moved inside. Not far away, the figure in red was still delivering food from door to door.
’Her business... was stolen?’
Chu Mu glanced over, unable to stop himself from speculating.
For the ninety-nine households in Zone D3, waste disposal plus food supply brought in an income of at least ten or so Lower Spirit stones every month.
For someone at the Qi Cultivation First Layer, an income of ten or so Lower Spirit stones a month would probably be impossible to hold onto without a backer.
’To suddenly quit a business like this...’
Considering the girl’s expression, the reason was undoubtedly clear.
After a moment of contemplation, Chu Mu took out another Sound Transmission Talisman and sent a message to Xu Yuan. He then took out the talisman for contacting Wang Mazi, listened for a moment, closed his door, and went out.
"Uncle Li, what’s been going on with you these past two months?"
"I sent you sound transmissions but you didn’t reply, I knocked but you didn’t answer..."
Having changed back into his Li Gang disguise, Chu Mu hadn’t even reached the door when Wang Mazi eagerly came to greet him.
"What’s wrong? Afraid I was going to run off?"
Chu Mu joked as he pushed open the door and walked inside.
Wang Mazi gave an awkward laugh and stopped complaining.
"It’s not a big problem. How about this: seven days."
Chu Mu paused at the doorway and turned his head. "Come back in seven days. There should be some results by then."
"Alright, I’ll be back in seven days."
Seeing this, Wang Mazi took the hint, nodded, and left without even stepping inside.
Chu Mu stepped into the room, and what greeted him was a total mess.
Various Spirit Medicines were piled up haphazardly, and discarded experiment notes were scattered across the floor. The strong smell of herbs mixed with the stench of household garbage, creating an indescribably foul odor.
Chu Mu pinched his nose. It was a good thing his body was now extraordinary; if an ordinary person were cooped up in this environment for long, they probably wouldn’t survive!
’I need to learn some Life Magic.’
As he started cleaning up, Chu Mu recalled what he had learned before.
Magic was divided into three categories: Attack, Defense, and Support. The so-called Life Magic was actually a type of Support Magic, just a more refined application of it.
For example, the Cleaning Skill and Dust-removal Skill of the Wind and Water Attribute, or the Lighting Skill of the Fire and Yang Attributes...
Although different Magic Attributes and learning magic across attributes could greatly affect casting and power, it made no difference for simple convenience whether it was a second or two slower or faster.
After cleaning the room, Chu Mu didn’t rush to turn his two months of experimental research into alchemy results. Instead, he fell straight onto his bed and slept like a log.
He slept for a full day and night. Only after sweeping away all the accumulated fatigue did he sit cross-legged before his Pill Furnace.
Everything was ready. As soon as the furnace fire was lit, he could begin refining the Vein Nourishing Pill he had spent nearly two months researching.
He sat for a long time, carefully going over the medicinal properties of the ingredients and the entire refining process one more time. Only then was the pile of Spiritual Charcoal lit.
The thirteen Spirit Medicines were worth fifty-two Lower Grade Spirit Stones. According to the Pill Recipe, a successful refinement would generally yield around ten pills. If control over the medicinal properties was perfect, the yield could even reach around thirteen pills.
And the market price for a single Vein Nourishing Pill was fifteen Lower Grade Spirit Stones!
In other words, as long as a batch of Vein Nourishing Pills was successfully refined, the profit would be more than double the cost!
Of course, a single failure meant that fifty-two Lower Spirit stones would go up in smoke.
The last time, Wang Mazi had brought raw materials for a total of eleven batches of Vein Nourishing Pills.
In nearly two months of experiments, he had consumed three sets of them.
This meant he only had eight chances left. Based on the value of the raw materials, he needed to succeed at least three times just to barely minimize his losses.
Otherwise, it would be a total loss.
Clearly, the potential profit far exceeded that of the Grain Avoidance Pill, but so did the risk.
It was also clear that for other Alchemists, every new Pill Recipe was a massive money pit.
The accumulation of experience relied on refining batch after batch. And each batch, whether a success or a failure, consumed a fortune in Spirit Stones.
He sat for a long while until his mind was calm. The moment the furnace fire was lit, the "Spiritual Radiance Blessing" descended.
The leap in his thinking and intellect brought about what felt like a transformed Divine Soul Perception.
Meticulous and as precise as a machine.
The furnace fire blazed, scorching hot. Under the control of his Divine Sense, the temperature of the fire changed accordingly.
One by one, the medicinal herbs were placed into the furnace. The subtle changes in their properties were all perceived, all controlled, all undergoing further transformation under the heat of the fire.
Among them, it was obvious that many changes were beyond his current understanding.
Variables naturally arose one after another.
With thirteen Spirit Medicines and their countless interactions, the difficulty had clearly risen by more than just one level compared to the Grain Avoidance Pill.
The existence of "Spiritual Radiance" and his enhanced intellect were clearly not omnipotent.
The first attempt at refining the Vein Nourishing Pill quickly ended in failure.
Chu Mu calmly cleaned out the dregs. All of this was basically within his expectations.
Even though he already had a fairly clear understanding of the properties of the thirteen Spirit Medicines for the Vein Nourishing Pill, his alchemy experience was still severely lacking.
All told, he had only ever refined the Grain Avoidance Pill. This was his first contact with the Vein Nourishing Pill, and he had only personally analyzed and experimented with these thirteen herbs.
He needed to accumulate experience, and the existence of Spiritual Radiance could shorten this process to the bare minimum.
As long as he succeeded once, it would be impossible to fail again under the Spiritual Radiance Blessing.
And as his experience grew and his knowledge of Spirit Medicines broadened, refining other elixirs in the future would inevitably become much easier.
The second attempt failed at the medicinal property fusion stage.
The third attempt failed at the Solidifying Pill stage.
The fourth attempt... another conflict in medicinal properties. Failure.
The fifth attempt: success!
Out of eight batches of Vein Nourishing Pills, four were successful, yielding a total of forty-six pills. The final batch even produced a One-Patterned Vein Nourishing Pill.
In terms of value, this meant that on his very first attempt at refining the Vein Nourishing Pill, he had already guaranteed a profit.
Including the Spiritual Charcoal and Spirit Oil, the total value of the raw materials was five hundred eighty Lower Grade Spirit Stones.
The final yield was forty-six Vein Nourishing Pills, plus one One-Patterned Vein Nourishing Pill, with a total value of over seven hundred Lower Spirit stones!
And on the Light Curtain Panel, in just a few short hours, his mastery of refining the Vein Nourishing Pill had leaped to the "Adept" realm!
For a skill like alchemy that required a massive accumulation of experience, the existence of Spiritual Radiance was something that even the phrase "like giving a tiger wings" could not fully describe.
’Can’t be too high-profile...’
Chu Mu shook his head and sighed softly. If he wanted to, with this nearly miraculous performance in alchemy, he could probably obtain a very high status with ease, even in the Longevity Sect.
But... this Cultivation Immortal Realm was too dangerous.
If he were too high-profile, whether he’d live comfortably was one thing, but he would absolutely... die quickly!
He picked out twenty-one Vein Nourishing Pills and placed them in a Jade Bottle. The remaining twenty-five were put into a Wooden Box he had prepared long ago.
The twenty-one Vein Nourishing Pills were for Wang Mazi.
For an inexperienced novice Alchemist refining the Vein Nourishing Pill for the first time, to succeed twice with only eleven batches of raw materials was already extremely good!
From now on, he just needed to gradually increase his "success rate."
Considering the price of the raw materials for the Vein Nourishing Pill and its market price, a thirty percent success rate in alchemy was enough to barely break even, and a forty percent success rate would guarantee some profit...
It was quite substantial, much more so than with the Grain Avoidance Pill!
It would also let Wang Mazi get a taste of the profits—a taste even sweeter than that of the Grain Avoidance Pill!
After all, the Vein Nourishing Pill was effective all the way up to the Late Stage of Qi Cultivation.
Moreover...
Chu Mu pinched the Vein Nourishing Pill that had a single Pill Pattern, his gaze flickering.
Given the Vein Nourishing Pill’s nature as a support for cultivation, this Pill Pattern was probably even more precious than he imagined!
