The Rich Cultivator

Chapter 769: 769. The Revolutionary Pill Maker appears again

A whole day passed before Tyler finally walked out of the room he had grandly renamed the Experiment Lab. Shyla followed a few steps behind him with a blank expression, her eyes dull as though her soul had already left her body. Behind her came the skeleton, carrying a large object completely covered with a black cloth. Looking at the three of them together, it was hard to tell who was the living person and who was the corpse.

"What kind of abomination did we create..." Shyla muttered under her breath for what was probably the hundredth time that day.

At the same time, Maximus, Lee and Louch arrived at the courtyard. They had received Tyler’s message earlier and immediately rushed over. The three first greeted Tyler before their attention was drawn to the object the skeleton was carrying.

"What is that?" Maximus asked curiously.

Tyler simply smiled. "Put it on the table."

Before Shyla could say anything, the skeleton obediently walked over and carefully placed the object on the stone table exactly where Tyler wanted it.

"..."

Shyla stared at the skeleton.

Then at Tyler.

Then back at the skeleton.

"You traitor."

The skeleton tilted its skull in confusion, obviously having no idea why its master was suddenly scolding it.

Shyla pointed an accusing finger at it.

"I raised you for years! Fed you spirit stones! Repaired your bones every month! And now you listen to him better than you listen to me?"

The skeleton simply stood there silently.

Tyler pretended not to hear any of it. He clapped his hands once, drawing everyone’s attention.

"Alright. Time to show you the first product of the White Aspirants."

The skeleton stepped forward again and neatly pulled away the black cloth.

A strange metal machine appeared before everyone.

It wasn’t very large, roughly the size of a small cabinet. Formation patterns covered almost every surface, while several jade crystals were embedded around the main body. There was a circular slot on the top, a control plate on one side, and a small drawer beneath it.

Nobody recognized it.

The courtyard became completely silent.

Tyler looked quite satisfied.

"I call it..."

He paused deliberately.

"...the Pill Maker."

Everyone blinked.

"A what?" Maximus asked.

"A Pill Maker."

"...That explains absolutely nothing."

Tyler laughed.

"You’ll understand soon enough."

He tossed the bag he had been carrying toward Maximus.

"The ingredients are already sorted. Put everything into the slot according to the markings inside."

Although completely confused, Maximus followed the instructions exactly. He carefully poured each spirit herb into its corresponding compartment before closing the lid.

"Good." Tyler nodded toward the machine. "Close the lid and press that jade switch."

Maximus followed the instructions without asking any more questions. The moment his finger pressed the switch, the formation engraved across the machine gradually lit up. One node after another awakened, spiritual light flowing through the engraved lines like water running through irrigation channels. Soon the entire machine was humming softly. Even the four words engraved on its front, The White Aspirants, glowed for a brief moment before the light gradually stabilized.

"...That’s all?" Lee looked at the strange machine, then at Tyler.

Tyler simply found a chair nearby and sat down. "Now we wait."

Seeing how calm he was, the others stopped asking questions. They dragged over a few chairs and quietly sat around the table. Nobody spoke. The only sound inside the courtyard was the steady humming of the formation and the occasional crackle of spiritual energy circulating inside the machine.

Nearly forty minutes passed before a crisp ding suddenly echoed through the courtyard. It was followed by several lighter sounds, like beans dropping onto a metal plate.

Tyler smiled.

"It’s finished."

Maximus hurried over before anyone else could move. He crouched down, pulled open the drawer beneath the machine, and froze. Several dark green pills were neatly arranged inside the tray, each one round and glossy, with faint Yin spiritual energy drifting from their surface.

"...Boss?"

He picked one up with trembling fingers.

"What... what is this?"

Lee and Louch had already rushed over. The moment they saw the pills, both of them instinctively sucked in a cold breath.

"Dark Qi Pills..."

"Our Dark Forest Society’s Qi Refining pills..."

The two stared at the tray for a long while before slowly turning their heads toward the machine. Neither of them knew much about formations, but they knew one thing very well.

A machine had just refined pills.

Maximus looked from the pill in his hand to Tyler with a blank expression.

"So... I just refined pills?"

Shyla rolled her eyes.

"No."

She folded her arms and snorted.

"The machine refined them. You only poured herbs into a box."

Although she sounded unconvinced, her eyes never left the machine for even a moment.

"I can refine a batch faster than this."

Louch immediately shook his head.

"Senior Sister, that’s not the point."

"What isn’t the point?"

"The point is..." Louch pointed at Maximus. "He doesn’t know the first thing about alchemy. He’s still a mortal, yet he just produced Dark Qi Pills."

This time Shyla fell silent.

She had been so focused on criticizing the machine that she had overlooked the most frightening part.

Maximus couldn’t even distinguish spirit herbs yesterday.

Today, after following a few simple steps, he had successfully produced a batch of pills.

Her gaze slowly shifted toward Tyler.

"...Boss."

"Hm?"

She stared at the strange machine for a long time before letting out a deep sigh.

"Do you realize what you’ve built?"

Tyler smiled without answering.

Shyla rubbed her forehead helplessly.

"If this thing gets out..." she muttered, "...every low-level alchemist will curse your ancestors."

Tyler couldn’t help laughing. He reached over and lightly patted the metal casing as though introducing an old friend.

"Don’t worry."

"This fellow can only refine the simplest Qi Refining pills."

He paused for a moment before grinning.

"So... for now, I’m only making enemies of the low-level alchemists."

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

The following morning, Tyler arrived at the Formation Hall once again and knocked on the Hall Master’s office door.

"Come in."

Vance was seated behind his desk, leisurely sipping tea while reviewing several scrolls. Seeing Tyler enter, he couldn’t help but smile.

"Oh? You’re here already?"

Tyler cupped his fists. "Hall Master."

Vance put down the scroll in his hand and looked at him with interest.

"Don’t tell me you’ve already made progress on your project." He chuckled before shaking his head. "It’s only been a week since I handed it over to you."

In his eyes, Tyler was probably here to report some minor achievement. Perhaps he had purchased a formation disc from the market, made a few insignificant modifications, and wanted the Formation Hall to acknowledge it as the project’s first result. It wasn’t uncommon for young disciples to get excited over small accomplishments.

Tyler opened his mouth.

"It’s not that. I’ve already completed a—"

Before he could finish speaking, hurried footsteps echoed outside.

Bang!

The office door swung open.

The disciple who had helped Tyler register into the Formation Hall rushed inside with an anxious expression.

"Master!"

Vance frowned slightly.

"What happened?"

"It’s Elder Rowan’s herb garden. Something went wrong with the protective formation. The spirit herbs are beginning to wither, and Elder Rowan specifically requested that you go immediately."

Hearing that, Vance immediately stood up.

"If it’s Elder Rowan, then we can’t delay."

He turned toward Tyler with an apologetic smile.

"It seems I’ll have to postpone our conversation."

Tyler nodded.

"Hall Master, please go ahead."

Vance had already reached the door when he suddenly remembered something. He paused, rummaged through a pile of scrolls on the shelf beside him, and casually tossed one toward Tyler.

"Oh, right."

Tyler caught it.

"In a few days, Schez Town will be holding a small gathering. It’s mainly for Qi Refining Realm disciples from the nearby sects. Every year they invite each Formation Hall to send a representative to observe the event. If you have nothing better to do, you might as well go and have a look."

After saying that, Vance hurried away with the disciple.

The office quickly became quiet again.

Tyler looked down at the scroll in his hand.

The disciple who had interrupted them glanced back as he followed Vance out. He recognized Tyler immediately and gave him a polite smile before hurrying after his master. Although he still didn’t think much of Tyler’s project, there was no reason to offend someone personally recommended by Elder Martin.

Soon, Tyler was left alone in the office.

He slowly opened the scroll.

Inside was a simple introduction to the gathering in Schez Town. Besides merchants and wandering cultivators, disciples from several nearby sects would also attend. There were trading areas, lectures from senior cultivators, exhibitions of formations, talismans and pills, and finally a friendly competition among Qi Refining Realm disciples.

Tyler rubbed his chin.

"Hm..."

His gaze stopped on the final section.

"A competition?"

He read it once more before nodding to himself.

"So Hall Master wants me to participate."

With that thought, Tyler carefully rolled the scroll back up and tucked it into his sleeve before leaving the office.

Far away, Vance suddenly sneezed.

For some reason, he had an ominous feeling.

He had merely intended for Tyler to broaden his horizons by watching the competition and meeting disciples from other sects. At no point had he considered sending Tyler onto the stage.

If he knew what conclusion Tyler had just reached, he would probably spit out a mouthful of blood on the spot.