Chapter 21: The Novice Alchemist's First Success, and the Three Men Stirred with Murderous Intent
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/
The method was the same as always, and the speed had not changed.
After covering the furnace and lowering the fire, Yu Xian’s eyes once again shone with anticipation.
Another thirty breaths passed.
Boom!
The furnace opened, and a thick, sticky liquid was pulled out by spiritual energy, splashing onto the ground in front of Yu Xian with a splat.
“…The heat is still too low?”
Yu Xian muttered, sighed, cleaned the furnace with his spiritual energy, raised the temperature slightly, and after a moment of contemplation, raised his hand again.
The third batch of spiritual herbs fell into the furnace.
Alchemy seemed like a tedious process.
But if you deeply understood the transformations, feeling the fusion and evolution of various herbs, the process would become quite interesting.
That’s why Yu Xian found it fascinating!
Of course, Yu Xian’s third batch of pills was still a failure.
He attributed it to the heat still being insufficient.
The fourth batch failed, and the reason—he guessed—was also the heat.
The fifth batch failed, but this time, the pill turned into a solid mass, though the medicinal effects were counteracted, making it useless.
Yu Xian explained that he had stirred the spiritual energy too slowly.
The sixth batch failed!
The seventh batch failed!
Failure!
Failure!
Failure!
…
A total of thirty-one batches failed.
Thirteen hours had passed.
Yu Xian wiped the sweat from his forehead, sat cross-legged, and quietly restored his energy and spiritual force.
These thirty-one batches of pills were a complete failure.
But saying they were completely wasted would be wrong!
From these thirty-one failures, Yu Xian learned too much!
It was real practice, not just theoretical alchemy!
So, rather than feeling frustrated, Yu Xian actually smiled.
“Batch thirty-two.”
Yu Xian opened his eyes, and a confident glint flashed in them: “Start!”
The thirty-second batch of spiritual herbs rose into the air, expertly placed into the furnace one by one.
The fire was perfect, the order was right, the method was correct, and the speed was just right!
Even the time to refine the pills was precisely controlled!
Fifty-three breaths! The perfect time!
Yu Xian raised his hand and slapped the air!
Five pills were pulled out by the spiritual energy and fell into the prepared jade bottle.
Batch thirty-two was a success!
Yu Xian was filled with joy, picked up the jade bottle, and poured out a small spirit pill.
This pill was dull in color, had a mixed fragrance, was coarse in texture, and its shape was irregular. Clearly, the medicinal effect was not high.
It was a success, but only a low-grade spirit pill.
The same type of pill can vary greatly in potency!
Only when the maximum effect of the medicinal herbs is integrated, bringing out their full potential, is it considered a top-tier pill.
Yu Xian’s pill, however, had only achieved about ten to twenty percent of that effect, making it a subpar pill.
“Everything seems correct, but why is the medicinal effect so poor? Hmm… Looks like it’s the method of activating the herbs.”
Yu Xian took out a bottle of pills made by someone else for comparison, and after observing, he put the bottle away and muttered to himself. He raised his hand again.
Batch thirty-three, continue.
…
Time passed, and three days soon went by.
A total of one hundred sets of materials for the small spirit pills were used up.
The result was thirteen bottles of pills.
Two bottles were low-grade, six bottles were medium-grade, four bottles were high-grade, and one bottle was an extraordinary pill!
The extraordinary pill fully activated the medicinal effect!
Just one pill was worth the effect of five pills from before!
Previously, Yu Xian had only used medium-grade pills!
The final batch produced the extraordinary pill.
Yu Xian had now fully mastered the best, most perfect method for refining the small spirit pill!
If he continued, even though the extraordinary pill’s chances of being made weren’t high, he was confident that he could produce high-grade pills in eight out of ten tries!
Using one hundred sets of materials and forty-eight hours, the results were excellent.
Now, even if Yu Xian just bought the spiritual herbs from the herb shop and then refined them into small spirit pills, he could sell them for a profit.
After all, a bottle of small spirit pills could at least be exchanged for five sets of herbs.
After deducting the rental cost of the refining room and accounting for a few failures, he could still make at least fifty spirit stones, half the profit!
This was truly a great source of wealth!
Far better than hard labor like mining!
However, alchemy consumed a lot of mental energy and spiritual force, which was not helpful for cultivation.
If he spent too much time refining pills in the early stages and earned spirit stones, neglecting his cultivation, it would be a mistake with disastrous consequences.
After all, a person’s talent and root bones degrade with age.
The older one gets, the harder it becomes to make breakthroughs.
Moreover, small spirit pills were common, sold in every alchemy shop.
Hundreds of alchemists used these pills to practice their techniques.
So even though Yu Xian could refine them, it would take time to sell them.
Therefore, he didn’t need to waste too much time on them.
At the moment, mining was still the fastest, most stable, and most profitable source of spirit stones.
When his cultivation level increased and his use of spirit stones grew larger, mining would become a minor source of income.
At that time, he could turn to refining pills for business, making spirit stones.
Boom…
Time passed, and the stone door of the refining room slowly opened. It would close automatically after a quarter of an hour.
Yu Xian tidied up, stood up, and left the refining room, taking a deep breath before walking away.
He had spent four days away from the mining area, and though he had learned much, he had only mastered the refining of the small spirit pill.
Alchemy techniques were vast, and refining one type of pill wasn’t enough. There were countless other pills to be learned, and it would be a long journey.
But the path of cultivation was always long, and one had to be determined and constantly seek improvement.
Yu Xian passed through the teleportation array and left the mining area, heading toward the nearby mine.
He had just taken a few steps when a voice rang out.
“Yu Xian, stop.”
The voice was cold, emotionless.
Yu Xian turned to look.
Huang Hanxiao, Liu Xue, and Sun Bingcheng stood in the distance, watching him.
Liu Xue coldly ordered, “Come here!”
Yu Xian frowned slightly, then relaxed and walked over, bowing respectfully. “Yu Xian greets the three managers.”
“You’ve been gone for four whole days. Where have you been?”
Huang Hanxiao asked, his tone indifferent. “Do you know that you’ve broken the rule about leaving the mining area without permission?”
“Oh? Does the mining area have such a rule?”
Yu Xian looked at Huang Hanxiao in confusion. “But when I entered the mining area, I carefully studied the rules, and there was no such clause.”
“This is the rule of the Lieyang Mining Area!”
Liu Xue shouted. “You’ve made a serious mistake! Kneel!”
Yu Xian raised an eyebrow, glanced at Liu Xue, then at the impassive Huang Hanxiao and Sun Bingcheng, and suddenly laughed aloud.
The three of them were stunned by his laughter.
Huang Hanxiao narrowed his eyes and coldly said, “You dare laugh?”
“Why can’t I laugh?”
Yu Xian stopped laughing, looked at the three of them, and loudly said, “You dare change the rules of the mining area? You are the ones committing a great crime!”
His words were like a thunderclap, startling Sun Bingcheng so much that he stumbled and nearly knelt.
Liu Xue was also stunned, his face turning pale.
Only Huang Hanxiao looked at Yu Xian and suddenly laughed.
“Junior brother, don’t be angry. We were just joking with you. The mining area is free. This is the rule of the mining area, how could I change it?”
Huang Hanxiao laughed, patting Yu Xian’s shoulder, his tone becoming meaningful. “But Junior Brother, you’re young, and you really have some courage.”
Yu Xian wiped off his smile, bowed again, and said, “I have no courage. Your joke really scared me, my legs nearly gave way.”
“Hehe.”
Huang Hanxiao chuckled, then stared at Yu Xian and suddenly said, “Why did you kill Zhao Mulin and Zhang Lao San?”
“Huh?”
Yu Xian was puzzled. “What are you talking about, manager?”
“Hehe.”
Huang Hanxiao laughed again and nodded. “Nothing. Go ahead and do your work.”
“Yes.”
Yu Xian nodded and turned to leave, his expression calm as he walked away.
As Yu Xian disappeared into the distance, Liu Xue frowned and couldn’t help but speak. “Huang Shixiong, are we just letting this kid go? He must have some kind of treasure.”
“This kid is clever. I’ve been in the mining area for over ten years and still don’t know the rules as well as he does…”
Sun Bingcheng stood up, his face slightly red, embarrassed by how he nearly knelt earlier.
“Let him go?”
Huang Hanxiao’s eyelids twitched slightly, then he turned to Liu Xue with a cold voice. “Are you stupid? Would I go as far as killing him here?”
“Ah, yes, yes…”
Liu Xue froze for a moment, then his face flushed. He quickly nodded and forced a laugh. “Huang Shixiong, you’re absolutely right.”
“Hmph.”
Huang Hanxiao gave him a cold glance before turning and walking toward the teleportation array.
If Zhao Mulin could be killed, this kid’s methods would definitely not be weak.
Even with Zhao Mulin’s strength, Huang Hanxiao would have taken a while to defeat him!
Huang Hanxiao’s eyes were filled with coldness.
That kid had a huge secret on him! To obtain it, however, would require a price.
He wasn’t like Zhao Mulin, an idiot. He had reached the management position in the mining area because he was smart!
It was time to prepare carefully and then find an opportunity to capture Yu Xian, interrogate him, and take whatever secret treasures he had!
Meanwhile, Yu Xian continued to walk with a calm expression.
He could feel the cold murderous intent hidden deep in Huang Hanxiao’s eyes.
The truth was, his abnormal mining abilities and the repeated discoveries of ore veins had already raised suspicion.
Anyone normal would suspect him!
Zhao Mulin had died, and now Zhang Lao San was gone.
When Zhang Lao San was gone, Liu Xue and Sun Bingcheng showed up!
When their trap was broken, they knew they couldn’t handle him.
So, Huang Hanxiao came!
Even if Yu Xian killed Huang Hanxiao, stronger people would come next!
Yu Xian’s brows furrowed tightly.
Now, with only the cultivation of the Qi Condensation stage, his strength was too weak, like an ant. The more powerful people focused on him, the sooner he would fall into danger!
“Huang Hanxiao is much stronger than Zhao Mulin. Even if I sneak attack with the talisman, the Golden Light Slash, I might not be able to kill him. I must find a talisman sealed by a Foundation Establishment or even a Golden Core cultivator…”
Yu Xian furrowed his brows, thinking to himself.
He naturally wouldn’t wait for his demise!
But even if he killed Huang Hanxiao, what would he do when stronger people came to investigate?
“Huang Hanxiao must die… Liu Xue and Sun Bingcheng must also die.”
Yu Xian’s brows suddenly relaxed, but his gaze was filled with icy coldness!
He had to quickly eliminate these three people!
Once they were dead, the next management sent from other places would likely not know the situation and would not suspect him.
This had to be done quickly to prevent them from leaking the information and making things worse!
