Chapter 18
Success rate.
Refining magic pills can’t be considered hard nor easy. The process is related to what they have just practiced, the ability to control the soul force. If their ability is high, there will be less chance of failure. The opposite is also true. That’s why Big brother Wu gives You XiaoMo six types of magic herbs, because his ability is high. This is also a type of endorsement of his skill.
The other four disciples are extremely dissatisfied but they dare not voice out their objections. This is a decision made by Big brother Wu. He is of the same seniority as Elder brother. No matter how dissatisfied they feel, they dare not object. Furthermore, the truth is, they are not up to You XiaoMo’s standard. If they were to make unreasonable demands at this point, they could leave a bad impression on Big brother Wu. But towards You XiaoMo, this time they will certainly bear a grudge. He really stood out in front of Big brother Wu, leaving them appearing useless in comparison.
You XiaoMo has no idea, but even if he does, what can he do? After receiving the magic herbs, he simply throws himself into refining magic pills. There are several steps in refining magic pills. Each step is just like what he practiced before. Take the soul force and drop them into the three small openings. The actual use for these three small openings is to extract the magic herbs.
After introducing the soul force. You XiaoMo chooses three types of magic herbs, contusion herb, living root herb, and peaceful spirit flower. The magic pill from these three magic herbs is called dispelling pill, used to dispel poison. But its effect is not great, only able to dispel simple poisons.
At first, his actions are not smooth. This is after all his first time extracting magic herbs. He is unable to remove enough of the impurities. You XiaoMo discovers that he can actually distill them a few times but he is worried about standing out again, so he only does it once. After removing some impurities, he drops the magic herbs that have turned into fine powder into the bottom of the cauldron. He then puts both of his hands into the cauldron.
At this moment, both his hands are covered by a thin layer of diaphanous white mist, his soul force. He takes the three types of fine powder and blends them together. It’s not just simply mixing them together. There are specific steps to the process. If an error is made in any one of the segments, it will affect the quality of the magic pill or maybe even result in failure.
But these steps were already explained by Big brother Fang. You XiaoMo also read them in the book, so he has them firmly in his head. You XiaoMo recalls the teachings of Big brother Fang and compares them to the steps recorded in the book. He sketches out an outline in his mind and after finding no mistakes, starts the process according to his plan.
If this was the him from before, he definitely could not have done it. Although his power of memory in his past life was not bad, he still couldn’t have sketched the whole detailed outline in his mind. That’s why he is somewhat amazed at his achievement.
Blending of level one magic pills has five steps. Although simple, one still can’t afford to be careless. A high degree of concentration is required. While referring to the outline in his head, You XiaoMo uses his ten nimble fingers to go through the steps, slowly blending the three magic herbs together. First step, second step, ……. when his forehead is covered in a layer of sweat, he finally succeeds in refining a level one magic pill.
The magic pill is light yellow, with a smooth and glossy surface. One can smell the slight fragrance of the peaceful spirit flower, a very pleasant fragrance. You XiaoMo examines the pill. This must be a low grade magic pill. Normal magic pills, no matter what the color, if the color is light, it means that the grade is low. His pill is light yellow so it must be a low grade magic pill.
Big brother Wu comes over. He gives him a satisfied nod after seeing the magic pill in his hand. Although it is a low level magic pill of rather low quality, but succeeding in the first try is considered very fortunate. After a few words of praise, he returns to where he was.
Things like refining magic pills, it’s up to the master to lead them through the door, but the rest depends on the individual. Elder brother Fang took the place of Master Kong to teach them refining magic pills. But he only covered the basics. The rest depends on the individual’s ability to grasp the concept. So today’s class can be considered the final class with Big brother Fang.
After seeing that they have all grasped the basics of refining magic pills, Big brother Wu doesn’t continue to watch over them, only urging them to continue practicing in the afternoon. Just before leaving, he tells them one thing.
“I’m not sure if Big brother Fang already told you this, regarding the magic pills you make. Each magic pill can be exchanged for one merit point. But each day you can only earn up to ten merit points.”
Hearing the first part, You XiaoMo is surprised and delighted. He never thought that he could earn merit points by refining magic pills. Although it is only one point for one pill, it’s still better than nothing. Just when he starts to calculate how many pills he should make each day, Big brother Wu’s last words destroys all his plans. There is obviously no such thing as a free lunch!
But then, this restriction is actually necessary. If not, everyone will refine level one magic pills to earn merit points. This would also use up a lot of level one magic herbs. Also, the various tasks in Earth peak will be left undone.
You XiaoMo stays in the stone room and refines magic pills through the whole afternoon. Big brother Wu did not give out a lot of magic herbs, but because he just stimulated his soul force yesterday, the reserves of his soul force is not full. He is unable to sustain too much depletion, so he has to take a break after every five pills. He only finishes using up the magic herbs when the sun is about set.
Of the forty portions he received, he did not waste a single one. But these forty magic pills are low grade pills. Although his success rate is a hundred percent, he still needs to improve the quality.
You XiaoMo is not worried. After tidying up, You XiaoMo goes to submit his work before heading to the canteen.
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