The lightning had already dissipated, leaving behind black medicinal pills scattered on the ground.
Chen Pingan picked up the five pills that were scattered on the ground. They were completely charred black. It really made him wonder if he would die after eating these black, coal-like pills.
Chen Pingan held the five black pills in his hand and started to doubt his life. Was this pill refinement attempt a failure?
According to the description of the Alchemy Art, the pill that was successfully refined should be round and smooth, crystal clear, and emit a faint medicinal fragrance.
As for the pill in Chen Pingan's hand, it looked indescribable and even faintly emitted a burnt smell.
"It seems like Yue Qing was right. It's not possible to succeed in one's first pill refinement attempt. I bet even the god in heaven would turn his head if he was watching right now. Sigh."
Chen Pingan put the five failed products into his pocket and walked down the stairs dejectedly. He had really overestimated his own strength, despite not having fire-attribute Spirit Qi. He really thought that if he gathered all the ingredients, he wouldn't be far from success.
He thought of Dali's words of encouragement this morning and his disappointed mood eased a lot.
The path of cultivation was long. Whether it was cultivation or pill refinement, he needed to take it slowly. There was no such thing as instant success in this world.
"Grandpa Dali is right. I need to work harder and learn from that immortal!"
Chen Pingan was relieved, and his eyes flashed with determination again. He decided not to be brought down by his failure. In the end, it could not erase his determination to refine pills.
In reality, Chen Pingan had been wrong. The medicinal pill he had refined just now was actually a high-grade medicinal pill.
Any high-grade medicinal pills would trigger a lightning strike. This was not explained in the Alchemy Art, so Chen Pingan was completely unaware of it.
However, most pills did not have the ability to resist the lightning strike unless the pill furnace had the ability to resist the lightning, or if a cultivator personally blocked the lightning strike.
It just so happened that Chen Pingan didn't meet either of those requirements. He was only at the middle stage of the Qi Refinement stage, and it would be very difficult for him to resist the lightning strike.
As for that pill furnace, it was a second-hand furnace. Its quality was far from what Yue Qing had described.
The reason why the pill furnace hadn't been destroyed for so many years was because Yue Qing didn't know what true pill refinement was. With her level, she was unable to cause any substantial damage to the pill furnace.
Due to various reasons, the pill was unable to successfully overcome the lightning strike and ended up in its current state. Thus, its medicinal effect was halved.
However, Chen Pingan was unaware of all this.
"All of my money is gone."
He sighed in his heart. For the time being, he could no longer borrow money from Brother Xiong.
Because he had just borrowed it yesterday, he didn't want to ask Brother Xiong for money again. Otherwise, Brother Xiong would think that he had developed some bad habits.
Chen Pingan thought of something in his mind and walked out of the neighborhood building dejectedly. He took out his phone and looked at the time. It was five in the afternoon.
Outside the previously empty plaza, there were now many residents hanging out. Some were chatting, some were children, and some were walking dogs.
"There was a lightning strike just now. It was so scary. My father even thought it was going to rain."
"Yeah, I heard it too. When I came out to take a look, the lightning in the sky had already disappeared. Don't you think it's strange?"
"Damn, what's so strange about that? Maybe it's some stupid kid who's behaving poorly. The god in heaven probably just wanted to teach him a lesson!"
…
Chen Pingan speechlessly walked past the group of aunties. Just as he was about to walk out of the plaza, he heard a crazy dog barking behind him.
He looked over his shoulder instinctively, his eyelids twitching violently. He recognized the dog.
That was Dali's dog, Da Huang. It was a big yellow dog that had been nourished by Spirit Qi all year round. It was tall and was even stronger than Chen Pingan.
Chen Pingan was probably the second person in the neighborhood who was most familiar with Da Huang apart from Dali.
Before he moved out of the neighborhood, Da Huang had been very mean to him and would often bark at him.
If Da Huang treated everyone the same way, Chen Pingan wouldn't feel so aggrieved. However, Da Huang didn't even bark at the other old men or children in the neighborhood. It was only when it saw Chen Pingan that it acted like this.
Chen Pingan ignored Da Huang's barking and turned around to leave.
After Da Huang saw that the person it was barking at had left, it immediately gave chase at an extremely fast speed. It did not forget to let out a howl, as if it was trying to attract Chen Pingan's attention.
Chen Pingan listened to the howls that were getting closer and closer. His temples were throbbing and he had a very bad premonition.
Bang!
Just as he was busy in his thoughts, he tripped over something. Then, as he fell backward, he saw the thing that tripped him. It was Da Huang!
Da Huang, who used to only bark at him, had really gone crazy this time. After knocking Chen Pingan down, it stared at him without blinking and even drooled.
"Da Huang, are you crazy?! Quickly get off my body. My meat isn't delicious. It's salty and bitter. Get off me, I'll buy you canned food."
Chen Pingan's eyelids twitched even more, and his chest was wet with Da Huang's saliva.
At the same time, Da Huang's drool started flowing even more intensely. Da Huang was barking crazily, and its drool dropped straight on Chen Pingan's face.
Chen Pingan was extremely speechless. Was this fellow going crazy from hunger?
Chen Pingan wondered when Dali last fed the dog. After all, Da Huang seemed to have gone crazy from hunger.
"Da Huang, did you hear what I said? Come down while I'm still playing nice, or I'll really toss you!"
Chen Pingan gently persuaded. It wasn't that he was weaker than Da Huang. In fact, it was because he was afraid that his current strength was actually too strong. He feared that if he couldn't control his strength well, he would accidentally kill Da Huang when he tossed him away.
If this matter reached Dali's ears and he found out that Da Huang had been killed, he would definitely stir up a commotion in school for three days and three nights. Then, he would sneak into the school's staff dormitory in the middle of the night and kill the person who murdered his dog.
Chen Pingan gritted his teeth at the thought of that scene. At that moment, he felt a chill in his chest.
"Si."
Da Huang had a piece of cloth in its mouth. It seemed that the cloth was not what Da Huang and it spat it out in disdain.
"Da Huang! I'll beat you to death!"
Chen Pingan lowered his head and looked at his snow-white chest. His eyes were red with anger as he roared.
Da Huang was fearless as it sniffed around Chen Pingan's body. Together with its claws, it searched Chen Pingan's body.
Chen Pingan couldn't care less anymore. He was being suppressed by a dog. If other people found out about this, how embarrassed would he be?
Da Huang was still moving around on his body, shifting its claws and scratching Chen Pingan's pants pocket.
Chen Pingan's gaze turned dark. He kept his pills there, so he swiftly grabbed Da Huang's neck and lifted it up.
"Who taught you to do something like that, huh? You're so young and yet you're already behaving so poorly by touching other people's crotch. Today, I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of your owner!"
Chen Pingan lifted up Da Huang, who weighed 160 kilograms, with one hand and cursed angrily.
Da Huang did not seem to react in time, as it was scared out of its wits. This was the first time it had left the ground.
It swung its legs up, and instead of feeling the ground on its paws, it felt a strange feeling.
Da Huang was dumbfounded. Its eyes were wide open, and it did not dare to move as its body stiffened.