Chapter 51: Six Mystic Pills

Chapter 51: Six Mystic Pills

For an entire month, Ning Xiaochuan would drive to the Golden Roc Heart Nurturing Hall every morning to study books and return in the evening. At night, he would cultivate his first innate Divine Ability, "Lightning Divine Beast," while also contemplating the sword intent of the "Annihilation Demonic Sword."

Over this month, Ning Xiaochuan read over 3,000 volumes related to Heart Nurturers, familiarizing himself with more than 50,000 different grades of Mystic Medicines—their types, medicinal properties, refining techniques, combinations, and the refining process of Intermediate Elixirs, among other topics. He devoured books of all kinds, conducting his own analysis and research.

Of course, during this month, he also attended lectures by the hall master of the Golden Roc Heart Nurturing Hall alongside Yu Qianqian, asking many questions about how to refine Intermediate Elixirs.

Sometimes, he would discuss the Heart Nurturing Technique and Pill Principles with Yu Qianqian.

Yu Qianqian was also preparing to refine an Intermediate Elixir, aiming to officially become an Intermediate Heart Nurturer. The two had many topics in common.

Through their continuous exchanges, Yu Qianqian discovered that Ning Xiaochuan actually knew more than she did—his knowledge was even more comprehensive. This once again shattered her confidence, making her feel that her genius aura paled in comparison under Ning Xiaochuan’s brilliance.

Throughout the month, Ji Hanxing continued to follow Ning Xiaochuan wherever he went. Sometimes, she would still lift him off the ground, but Ning Xiaochuan remained unfazed, as if he were a dead pig unafraid of boiling water—letting her do as she pleased, completely indifferent!

Ji Hanxing found him utterly unmanageable and eventually stopped resorting to physical force, though she still trailed behind him like a beautiful ghostly shadow, impossible to shake off.

After a month of studying the Heart Nurturing Technique, Ning Xiaochuan made significant progress. Through continuous research into Pill Principles, he had roughly grasped the method of refining Intermediate Elixirs and decided to begin refining his first batch of "Intermediate Elixirs."

Since Ning Xiaochuan’s cultivation had reached the Divine Body Realm, he could now briefly control the demonic sword within his Demon Ventricle. Thus, he no longer worried that the Blood Toad Wood would be forcibly absorbed by the demonic sword after refining and could use it as the main ingredient for the Intermediate Elixir.

"The main ingredient I’ve chosen is Blood Toad Wood, which has a Yang Attribute while also carrying a hint of water property."

"Using Five-Grade Snow Lotus Mystic Medicine can neutralize the Yang Attribute in the Blood Toad Wood, while Five-Grade Luodan Sand Mystic Medicine can conceal its water property. But is Five-Grade too potent? Perhaps Four-Grade Luodan Sand would be more stable."

After continuous deliberation, Ning Xiaochuan ultimately selected "Five-Grade Snow Lotus," "Four-Grade Luodan Sand," and "Three-Grade Heart Nurturing Grass" as supplementary ingredients for the Blood Toad Wood.

To account for potential failures, Ning Xiaochuan purchased ten portions of Mystic Medicine, with an additional fifty portions of Three-Grade Heart Nurturing Grass.

"Heart Nurturing Grass" and "Mystic Stones" were foundational materials for refining Intermediate Elixirs, absolutely indispensable.

Boom!

The first refining attempt failed. The moment the Five-Grade Snow Lotus merged into the Heart Nurturing Cauldron, the balance of Yin and Yang energies inside was disrupted, preventing the formation of Elixir Qi. This ultimately led to the dissipation of medicinal energy, reducing it to a muddy residue.

The second time, Ning Xiaochuan first refined the Heart Nurturing Grass into Heart Nurturing Liquid, transforming it into the base liquid for pill formation. Then, he integrated the Four-Grade Luodan Sand into the Heart Nurturing Cauldron. This time, the balance wasn’t disrupted, and a faint wisp of Elixir Qi slowly emerged.

However, when he added the Five-Grade Snow Lotus into the Heart Nurturing Cauldron again, the medicinal Qi balance inside was thrown off once more, causing the Elixir Qi to scatter—another failure.

"This time, the timing wasn’t right. I should have added the Five-Grade Snow Lotus faster."

Learning from the previous two failures, Ning Xiaochuan proceeded with even greater caution this time. As soon as he added the Four-Grade Luodan Sand, he immediately followed with the Five-Grade Snow Lotus.

This time, it worked. The medicinal Qi remained balanced.

1000... 3000...

Through continuous refinement, the medicinal Qi transformed into Elixir Qi, undergoing a qualitative change.

A good omen!

Continue!

Boom!

In the end, it still failed. The medicinal Qi of the Blood Toad Wood was too intense, preventing the Elixir Qi from coalescing. Unable to form a pill, the elixir essence dissipated from the Heart Nurturing Cauldron.

Failure! Failure! Failure!

Seven consecutive attempts, and Ning Xiaochuan failed every time, never succeeding in forming a complete pill.

These seven failures cost him all the Mystic Medicines, with a combined value exceeding two million Small Coins. The losses made Ning Xiaochuan somewhat restless and impatient.

"Calm down! Stay composed! Don’t panic. There must be something I’m missing. Since the Yang Attribute of the Blood Toad Wood is so potent, I’ll add two more Five-Grade Snow Lotuses and double the amount of Mystic Stones."

Ning Xiaochuan began his eighth attempt.

By now, he had grasped many key techniques and moved with practiced ease. After integrating all the Mystic Medicines and Mystic Stones into the Heart Nurturing Cauldron, the medicinal Qi began to boil again, transforming into crimson Elixir Qi. The Heart Nurturing Liquid at the bottom of the cauldron was continuously absorbed into the Elixir Qi, eventually turning it into a liquid state.

Elixir Liquid!

Ning Xiaochuan grew excited.

Transforming Elixir Qi into liquid form was a significant breakthrough.

No longer rushing, he adopted a gentler approach to nurture the blood-glowing liquid inside the Heart Nurturing Cauldron, continuously channeling his Profound Qi into the cauldron to merge with the liquid.

Now, only the final step remained—condensing the Pill Pattern to solidify the elixir.

Ning Xiaochuan sat cross-legged beneath the Blood Toad Wood, his body exuding a medicinal fragrance that attracted flocks of birds circling Haitang Manor.

Yu Yan stood at a distance, her face filled with concern. "Young Master has been sitting there for four days and nights without eating or drinking. His body won’t be able to take it."

Tianchenzi stood like a ghost by the small lake, having remained there for four days and nights. He chuckled hoarsely, "What does a little girl like you know? He’s refining an Intermediate Elixir. Just the Elixir Qi it emits can sustain him for a month without hunger or thirst. Truly remarkable—only sixteen years old and already on the verge of becoming an Intermediate Heart Nurturer. His talent surpasses even that old man Guo Shidao."

Suddenly, Ning Xiaochuan, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, opened them and uttered a single word: "Condense!"

A small cauldron flew out from within him, enveloped in Profound Qi, hovering before him. It emitted a rich elixir fragrance, taking the form of a blood toad suspended in midair.

"It’s about to succeed!" Tianchenzi exclaimed.

When one's cultivation reaches the Divine Body Realm, the Heart Nurturing Cauldron has been refined to a sufficiently sturdy state, allowing it to emerge from the heart and manifest in the air. As Ning Xiaochuan's power grows stronger, he will even be able to refine pills with the Heart Nurturing Cauldron placed outside his body.

Ning Xiaochuan's hands moved ceaselessly through the air, using Profound Qi to carve Pill Patterns, transforming them into Blood Toad Seals that he imprinted into the Heart Nurturing Cauldron. After a while, the engraving of the Pill Patterns was complete.

Ning Xiaochuan's heart surged with excitement—had he truly succeeded in refining an Intermediate Elixir? If so, it would mean he was officially qualified to become an Intermediate Heart Nurturer, a status that would elevate him to an incomparably noble position.

"Boom!"

The Heart Nurturing Cauldron opened, releasing six clusters of crimson light, each enveloping a pill the size of a mung bean. The pills were translucent, exuding a concentrated fragrance.

Success!

And not just one—six pills had been refined at once, a result that greatly surprised Ning Xiaochuan!

He collected all six Blood Toad Pills, and Yu Yan immediately presented an Ice Jade Box. "Congratulations, Young Master, on refining an Intermediate Elixir and becoming a distinguished Intermediate Heart Nurturer."

"Whether it's truly an Intermediate Elixir remains to be confirmed through appraisal. I'll take these pills to the Heart Nurturing Hall and request the Hall Master's evaluation."

Ning Xiaochuan placed the six Blood Toad Pills into the Ice Jade Box and immediately headed for the Golden Roc Heart Nurturing Hall.

Guo Shidao hadn't expected Ning Xiaochuan to refine a successful batch so quickly. Upon opening the jade box, a dazzling light burst forth. "To refine six pills on your first attempt—remarkable!"

He lifted one of the Blood Toad Pills, letting it hover above his palm. The pill bore intricate, winding Blood Toad patterns—these were the Pill Patterns, profound and mysterious.

After observing for a moment, Guo Shidao sighed softly. "A pity. These can only be considered Semi-finished Pills."

Ning Xiaochuan frowned. "How can that be? I clearly sensed that the medicinal energy within them is no weaker than that of an Intermediate Elixir."

Guo Shidao nodded. "That's because your Seven Orifices Demon Heart is exceptionally unique, allowing the potency of your Semi-finished Pills to rival the Intermediate Elixirs refined by others. If you were to auction these six Semi-finished Pills, they could fetch the same price as ordinary Intermediate Elixirs—but no higher."

Intermediate Elixirs naturally vary in quality. Common ones sell for between 1 million to 3 million Small Coins, while the finest can fetch up to 50 million Small Coins.

If Ning Xiaochuan were to auction these three Semi-finished Pills, they would likely only reach 1 million to 3 million Small Coins—their value couldn't exceed that.

Ning Xiaochuan asked, "Then why did this happen? I meticulously controlled the timing—there's no reason they should have turned out as Semi-finished Pills."

Guo Shidao said, "You must have put in a great deal of effort to refine the Blood Toad Pills, using top-tier medicinal ingredients, especially the main ingredient, the Blood Toad Wood, which is highly active, clearly freshly cut from the tree. However, the auxiliary Mystic Medicines you used were all harvested long ago and were Dead Medicine. Live Medicine and Dead Medicine inherently clash, making it impossible to successfully refine the pills. Yet, you still managed to forcibly produce Semi-finished Pills—this is already quite remarkable."

Ning Xiaochuan suddenly understood. No wonder he had failed seven times in a row. The biggest reason was that he hadn’t distinguished between the dead and active properties of the medicinal ingredients.

After realizing the cause, Ning Xiaochuan immediately went to purchase live Five-Grade Snow Lotus and Three-Grade Heart Nurturing Grass.

Although live Mystic Medicines were more expensive than dead ones, if they could be refined into Intermediate Elixirs, Ning Xiaochuan didn’t care about spending a few Small Coins!