Chapter 6: Is This Still a Hundred Herb Pill?
By Gu Zhenren, June 18, 2014
Chu Yun’s expression remained calm. He gently patted his Immortal Pouch and summoned the Grassland Mountain Bear Beast.
The Demonic creatures of Xingzhou were all Tribulation Demons, so he couldn’t casually take them out. Doing so would cause a world-shattering sensation.
Therefore, his only choice was the Grassland Mountain Bear Beast. This Spirit Monster, at its peak as a Demonic Beast, had excellent potential and was of Supreme grade, making it very worthy of cultivation. Chu Yun had captured it intending to use it as a formation core. However, considering he was new to the area, he hadn’t excessively infused it with Innate Primordial Essence Qi, instead temporarily storing it within the Blissful Joy Ship.
Now, upon summoning it, a flash of radiant light quickly disappeared. The onlookers saw a fierce general clad in armor made of grass and vines appear before them.
The Grassland Mountain Bear Beast was quite large, so it appeared in human form.
“This is a Supreme grade Grassland Mountain Bear Beast!” Gongsun Yuanyuan’s eyes widened, and she couldn’t help but take two steps back, intimidated by the beast’s aura.
The surrounding crowd also stirred.
Demonic creatures of Supreme grade were relatively rare for them.
Chu Yun stood in place and began to refine pills. He tossed Medicinal Ingredients one by one into the air with one hand while forming hand seals with the other. The ferocious man, who was the transformed Grassland Mountain Bear Beast, sat on the ground, his large mouth open, spewing out emerald-green Grass Fire.
Under the scorching Grass Fire, the Medicinal Ingredients melted into a liquid at a visible rate. The liquid initially formed a ball the size of a fist, and under the constant refinement of the Grass Fire, its volume gradually decreased, finally condensing into a ball the size of a thumb. However, it still couldn’t form into a pill, lacking the final decisive step.
Chu Yun frowned. If this were Xingzhou, the pill would already be considered refined at this stage. But in Danzhou, it was merely a semi-finished product.
“The heat is too great. Continuous burning like this would have long since destroyed the inherent vitality of the Hundred Herb Pill. The pill being refined isn’t even half as good as mine. This reclusive Alchemist is truly an incompetent fool, unable to even refine a basic pill like the Hundred Herb Pill,” Gongsun Yuanyuan’s eyes were filled with intense mockery.
Many onlookers also frowned subtly upon witnessing this scene.
The Hundred Herb Pill was the most basic of pills. In Danzhou, almost all Alchemists would continuously refine Hundred Herb Pills during their early stages of learning to familiarize themselves with pill refining and practice hand seals. The Hundred Herb Pill was akin to a child’s primer.
“Why is it still burning? Even the best pill can’t withstand such roasting,” someone exclaimed in disbelief.
“Quick, emit Dan Qi, alas…” someone urged anxiously.
“It’s over. The greatest characteristic of a perfect Hundred Herb Pill is the aura of lush leaves and vibrant life contained within it. Constant refinement with such intense fire has gone too far. The raw pill has become a dead pill,” someone sighed with regret.
“Heh heh heh, it’s going to fail. To fail even at refining a Hundred Herb Pill.” Many others gloated with schadenfreude.
“It seems emitting Dan Qi is indeed the final step to finish. Without this step, a pill cannot be successfully refined in Danzhou. Interesting, very interesting.” Chu Yun mused, then opened his mouth and blew a gentle breath.
Although he didn’t possess Dan Qi, he had an Innate Body.
He secretly mobilized his innate origin, causing his breath to carry a trace of Innate Primordial Essence Qi. This trace of innate energy was extremely weak, almost imperceptible. It was only one ten-thousandth of a wisp, making it incredibly difficult for others to detect. Even Chu Yun himself, if he hadn’t known beforehand, wouldn’t have noticed anything unusual about this breath.
“Hmm?!”
A wave of surprise swept through the entire venue!
Everyone’s eyes widened in astonishment. They stared blankly at Chu Yun, countless gazes like sharp arrows piercing his body.
What the hell was this guy doing?!
If not emitting Dan Qi, why was he blowing air?
Did he think they couldn’t distinguish between ordinary breath and Dan Qi?
Dan Qi was the primary criterion for evaluating an Alchemist in Danzhou. It revealed the Alchemist’s foundation. In fact, everyone was anticipating Chu Yun’s Dan Qi. But to their surprise, Chu Yun didn’t emit Dan Qi and simply blew a breath.
After the surprise, came a wave of profound disdain and mockery.
“Incompetent Alchemist!”
“Without Dan Qi infusion, the Hundred Herb Pill is tainted by this ordinary air and instantly becomes a dead pill. The refining has failed!”
“How did he get into our Gongsun Family? Unbelievable, that such a disgrace of an Alchemist exists in this world. Shameful, truly shameful!”
Gongsun Yuanyuan was momentarily speechless.
She was dumbfounded!
She had initially thought that no matter how bad Chu Yun was, he would at least put on a decent show. She never expected him to be this terrible! How did he deceive her mistress? In the vast Danzhou, there were such scoundrels!
“Wait, could it be that he doesn’t even have an Inner Core?” A cold smile curved Gongsun Yuanyuan’s lips.
“Is this your pill refining art, Master? It truly opens my eyes! Hahahahahahaha…” She began to laugh coldly. Her laughter infected those around her, and many joined in. Their laughter was filled with disdain, mockery, arrogance, and schadenfreude.
“It failed… Does this mean Innate Qi cannot replace Dan Qi?” Chu Yun ignored the laughter, his expression calm. He remained silent and accepted the Hundred Herb Pill presented by the Grassland Mountain Bear Beast.
The Hundred Herb Pill was dark and mushy, exuding a burnt smell. Compared to the pill Gongsun Yuanyuan had refined, it was like an ugly duckling meeting a swan.
However, failure was failure.
Chu Yun was indifferent to the outcome. It was merely an experiment that piqued his interest.
Let the surrounding people mock him. Did he need to get angry about it?
The mockery of ants was meaningless to an elephant.
Listening to their cold laughter, Chu Yun found it rather amusing. It was a display of human nature, and he immersed himself in this laughter, savoring the Daoist essence behind it, even gaining some subtle insights.
There was still a slight doubt in his mind.
“Logically speaking, Innate Qi should have had an effect. Could it be that the Hundred Herb Pill is too low-grade and basic to withstand the grace of Innate Qi? Wait…” Suddenly, Chu Yun’s heart stirred. He applied gentle pressure with his finger, and the Hundred Herb Pill crushed open.
No.
Only the burnt, dark, mushy outer layer of the Hundred Herb Pill broke.
In an instant, a vibrant green radiance erupted from Chu Yun’s fingers. The light was so brilliant and dazzling that the people in the Scripture Repository couldn’t open their eyes.
“Pill Aura!”
“Such a dazzling Pill Aura!”
“How is this possible? This is actually a Pill Aura! Only Middle grade pills can emit a Pill Aura!”
Everyone gasped in unison, their exclamations erupting.
Swish… The Pill Aura flashed and disappeared, but immediately followed by a surge of potent Dan Qi.
If Gongsun Yuanyuan’s Hundred Herb Pill emitted Dan Qi like a gentle breeze on the prairie, then Chu Yun’s pill’s Dan Qi was like a storm on the sea!
Vast and impassioned!
Emerald-green Dan Qi, with the Hundred Herb Pill as its center, continuously spread outwards in waves.
The Dan Qi surged forward like an incoming tide, making everyone feel as if they were facing a hurricane, causing them to retreat.
The Dan Qi was so rich that even holding their breath, they could smell the intense fragrance of grass leaves.
Swish swish swish.
As the Dan Qi dissipated from the Scripture Repository, wherever it went, flowers, grass, and trees grew at a visible rate. In an instant, they had more than doubled in lushness!
After a brief silence, an uproar erupted within a five-hundred-pace radius centered on the Scripture Repository.
“Who is refining pills?”
“Such potent Dan Qi, what kind of pill is this to have such efficacy!”
“It seems to be a Hundred Herb Pill…”
“Nonsense! The Hundred Herb Pill is just a Lower grade pill. Didn’t you see the recent Pill Aura and smell this intense Dan Qi?”
Instantly, footsteps sounded, and countless people surged towards the location like a tide.
The noise from outside grew louder and louder, while the first floor of the Scripture Repository fell into an eerie silence.
There were no more cold laughs.
Expressions of extreme astonishment were frozen on everyone’s faces. They stared blankly at Chu Yun, their eyes wide open.
Gongsun Yuanyuan was even more dumbfounded. Her mouth was agape, large enough to swallow an egg.
“This is impossible, how could this happen?!” she cried out in her heart, her extreme shock making it difficult to think.
Chu Yun’s pill had surpassed her understanding. They had clearly used her Medicinal Ingredients, yet the refined Hundred Herb Pill was no longer Lower grade, but a Middle grade pill.
What was going on?
Was a Middle grade Hundred Herb Pill still a Hundred Herb Pill?
Gongsun Yuanyuan felt like she was dreaming. She had never heard of anyone being able to refine a Hundred Herb Pill into a Middle grade pill.
But all of this was happening before her eyes. She had witnessed the entire process.
She looked at Chu Yun before her in shock. Was this even human!
“Innate Qi is the root of all things. As expected, Innate Primordial Essence Qi has a significant effect on pills, capable of directly upgrading their grade. If I were to continue infusing it, could I directly elevate this pill to Supreme grade?” Chu Yun examined the Hundred Herb Pill in his hand, then slightly shook his head.
“The Innate Qi contained within this Hundred Herb Pill is only one-tenth of the Innate Qi I breathed out. The rest of the Innate Qi dissipated along with that wave of Dan Qi. It seems lowly-grade items can only withstand a limited amount of Innate Qi. If I continued to infuse it, I fear I would cause the pill to explode.”
“He’s shaking his head, is he still not satisfied with this refining result?” This thought suddenly flashed through Gongsun Yuanyuan’s mind.
In that instant, the image of Chu Yun, unfathomably profound, was deeply imprinted in her heart.
“This Hundred Herb Pill is for you.” After examining it, the Hundred Herb Pill had lost its value. Chu Yun casually tossed it to Gongsun Yuanyuan and quickly made his escape.
Just as he left, a large group of Beast Tamers, who had heard the commotion, flooded into the Scripture Repository.
“Could it be that the refining method he just displayed is the true and correct method for refining Hundred Herb Pills? I must experiment with it thoroughly when I get back!” Gongsun Yuanyuan thought as she looked at the Hundred Herb Pill in her hand.
(To be continued)
