「Five days later.」
In the dead of night, a bright moon hung in a sparsely starred sky, and a profound silence reigned.
"Hooo~"
Inside his D Level Cave Mansion, Lin Changheng swallowed the remaining Lower Grade Elixir—a Blood Replenishing Pill. After refining it, the deficit in his Essence Blood was just barely restored.
But the small square box in his hand was now empty.
'A single Lower Grade Blood Replenishing Pill costs two Spirit Stones. That's an extra twenty-four Spirit Stones of expenses out of nowhere each year.'
'The resources provided by the Xu Family, aside from a fixed amount of Spirit Rice and Spirit Tea, include an additional three Lower Grade Spirit Stones and one monthly portion of Alchemy Materials for a Red Flame Pill.'
The Xu Family had carefully calculated these provisions; they were absolutely sufficient to meet the needs of daily Cultivation.
For Lin Changheng, this was extremely generous. The labor of an Alchemy Apprentice could never earn him so much.
The problem was the expense of the Blood Replenishing Pills. It left him short on funds, lacking resources for Cultivation, and he even had to periodically trade away his Alchemy Materials for some Spiritual Sand.
In the first few years, Lin Changheng knew he had no chance of succeeding in Alchemy, so he used the Materials to supplement his expenses.
'No wonder it's been so hard to break through to the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation. I can't ignore this reason.'
It was a series of cascading negative effects.
Each link was interlocked, weaving a vast, inescapable net that descended upon him.
'This time, I must break through! And I *will* break through!'
With his Cultivation Technique improved and his Essence Blood fully replenished, Lin Changheng felt a sudden, mysterious intuition—the premonition of an imminent breakthrough.
It was time to break through the Realm that had held him back for so long!
Lin Changheng immediately took out one of his two Spirit Stones, clenched it in his fist, and simultaneously began to circulate his Cultivation Technique, the Flowing Fire Technique.
He then crushed it forcefully. As Spiritual Qi scattered from it, a powerful suction force erupted from his palm, drawing it all into his body.
...
Time slowly trickled by.
Lin Changheng sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, eyes closed. His breathing remained steady as the Spiritual Qi within him gathered, surging through his Qi Veins like a small, ceaseless river, its currents churning as it advanced.
The circulation of the Flowing Fire Technique was also smoother than ever before, completely free of obstruction. The speed and efficiency at which he refined Magical Power had increased.
The effect of the First Layer Origin Treasure Seed was making itself known!
As the Circulations continued unabated, the Spiritual Qi was refined strand by strand into Magical Power, which, like smoke and mist, sank into his Dantian.
Causing it to grow ever fuller.
The more this happened, the calmer his Heart and Spirit became—as tranquil as still water, neither hurried nor anxious.
Finally, Lin Changheng faintly touched a critical point.
CRACK!
It was as if there was a sound, yet in reality, there was none.
Lin Changheng's state of mind remained like still water. Only after he had completely refined the last remnants of Spiritual Qi from the shattered Spirit Stone in his hand did he slowly withdraw his technique.
He opened his eyes.
There was no joy of breaking through a Realm, only the calm composure of something that was simply a matter of course.
Third Layer of Qi Cultivation!
Having broken through, Lin Changheng briefly sensed his condition. The upper limit of his Magical Power had surged by more than fifty percent.
This not only meant he could cast a couple more Low Level Magic spells, but also that he wouldn't have to worry so much about his Magical Power running out during Alchemy.
Everything was taking a turn for the better.
He rose to his full height and pushed open the window. The bright moon, like frost, showered the courtyard in its light.
He couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.
"All my past troubles were nothing more than a bit of wind and frost."
...
「Three more days passed.」
The moment Lin Changheng stepped into the shop early in the morning, a clan member who did odd jobs came to greet him.
"Brother Lin, Mo Keqing is looking for you."
Lin Changheng went straight to the second floor.
To the left was a reception area, while to the right was a private cultivation chamber, exclusively for Ink Master's use.
"Ink Master, you were looking for me?"
Lin Changheng entered the reception room. It was empty. On the tea table at the head of the room sat two long, rectangular wooden boxes. Seeing them, Lin Changheng's pupils contracted slightly.
'This is…'
"Correct. Have a seat first."
Accompanied by a wizened voice, Ink Master walked out from the cultivation chamber and sat down in the main seat.
"Please give me your instructions." Thirty years of stagnation had taught Lin Changheng how to strike the perfect posture.
Ink Master reached out and pushed the two long wooden boxes forward. They shot out and landed in front of Lin Changheng, who caught them with both hands.
"A few days ago, didn't this old man speak to you about the matter of Inferior and Wasted Pills?"
Lin Changheng nodded at the right moment, not daring to interrupt, but his heart was already racing with a faint, excited guess.
"Originally, handling the Wasted and Inferior Pills was Xu Hanzhou's responsibility. But since he has returned to his clan, the task can only fall to you."
"After all, the only people I can trust, who are also capable, are the two of you."
An excited expression immediately appeared on Lin Changheng's face. "I will definitely not betray Ink Master's trust."
Then, Ink Master handed over an old booklet. "These are the methods for processing Inferior and Wasted Pills. Take it and learn. You can return it to me after you've mastered it."
"These Elixirs must be processed within two days. Afterward, you can take them to the Li Family Spirit and Flesh Shop on the east side of the Marketplace, give them to their Shopkeeper, and settle the account on the spot."
Having finished giving his simple instructions, he waved his hand, dismissing Lin Changheng.
"Yes!"
Lin Changheng departed, clutching the old booklet and tightly hugging the two Long Wooden Boxes, his heart burning with excitement.
The furnaces in the backyard Alchemy Room weren't being lit today, so no one would be coming by. It was quiet.
Lin Changheng set the old booklet aside and first picked up the two Long Wooden Boxes.
The boxes were crafted from Pear Wood and were quite heavy. This wood could greatly slow the dissipation of Medicinal Power and was often used to store Low Tier Elixirs.
If the Elixirs were precious, they would be stored in special Jade Bottles, or a Spirit Locking Talisman would be affixed to the wooden box to suppress the loss of Medicinal Power to almost nothing.
He opened the wooden boxes one by one.
He found that each box had twenty slots for elixirs, for a total of forty in the two boxes.
Only twelve slots were empty, and the surface of all the elixirs bore red, cloud-like patterns.
Red Flame Pills!
A full twenty-eight of them!
This should be the number of Wasted and Inferior Pills produced in a month.
Although he didn't know why there were no Wood Element Pills, Lin Changheng couldn't be bothered to dwell on it.
The moment he reached out and touched an Elixir, the Primordial Cauldron, standing silently in his sea of consciousness, reacted. Cyan Mist churned at the Tripod Mouth!
"It really works!"
With this confirmation, Lin Changheng found it impossible to suppress the grin forming on his lips.
"Twenty-eight pills... I wonder how much I'll get from Spirit Stealing."
Despite this thought, Lin Changheng didn't act rashly. Instead, he began to read through the old booklet on how to process Wasted and Inferior Pills.
...
After the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea,
Lin Changheng slowly closed the old booklet, a thoughtful expression on his face.
According to the booklet,
Wasted Pills were easy to deal with. They just needed to be crushed, thoroughly and completely incinerated by flame, and then the ashes collected.
Then, the ashes would be collected by the clan annually and scattered into the Black Water River, turning into black mud to fertilize the river grass.
Inferior Pills, however, were much more troublesome. A very low-cost neutralization method was used to permeate the Elixir and dissolve most of the Pill Poison within. This would create substances harmful to humans but harmless to beasts, after which the pills would be cut and sold.
'I can completely absorb the Essence Blood from the Wasted Pills, but for the Inferior Pills, I can only extract a portion. I can't take it all, or the secret might be exposed...'