Splat!
His eyes turned bloodshot as he stared at the black clump in the pot, smelling the burnt odor, his face was ashen.
He failed!
For the sixth time, he failed!
This was the sixth day of trying to refine the Allure Pill. With one attempt every day, his methodical attempts to create the pill have continued unabated.
The final result was heartbreaking.
Not a single success!
The best he managed was to boil a pale red paste.
He was quite certain that the final product mentioned in the pill formula should be a deep red color, a color that was redder than his most patriotic heart!
He picked up the pot with a somewhat desolate expression, dumped the lump of black stuff onto the opposite bank of the creek.
Then by the stream, he listlessly washed the pot with loofah.
His mind replayed the whole process of pill refinement over and over again.
"There's no problem with the proportion of ingredients, I've measured it precisely to a tee."
"The order of adding the raw materials should also be correct. I always add each one when the symptom appears."
"Could it be the heat? Or did the firewood not work well? But it is stated in the pill formula that peach wood was enough. It's a mere first-order pill, the requirement shouldn't be too high."
"Or was it that my technique was incorrect?"
Luo Chen started doubting himself after consecutive failures.
He even started to think that he might not possess the natural talent for pill refinement. The success of the Fasting Pill was simply because the original owner was talented, he just assumed control and reaped the benefits.
He had simply stolen someone else's well-established game account and sprinted along a well-paved road.
Splash! Splash!
Water splashed onto his face.
A big carp swam by, leaped, and showered him with water.
The fish population in the creek was rapidly increasing recently. It must be due to the Lancang River overflowing and sweeping them in!
Seeing the fish that was about to swim away, Luo Chen was even more frustrated.
Energy Release!
"Fireball Technique!"
A charred lump floated on the surface of the water and drifted away with the stream.
He looked down at the clean iron pot in his hands.
"Could it be because of the tool I'm using is incorrect?"
With a bitter laugh, Luo Chen realized his plight regarding pill refinement.
Without a mentor, without clan support, even the tools used for refining pills.
Others were using top-tier Magic Tool Pill Furnaces and fueled by heavenly or earthly fires. All he had was an iron pot to boil the ingredients.
High-quality Magic Tool Pill Furnaces cost up to ten times more than an equivalent flying sword!
Even the defensive tools favored by rogue cultivators were not as expensive as Magic Tool Pill Furnaces.
He had already spent all his savings just in gathering the ingredients for ten Allure Pills. Buying a Pill Furnace was completely out of the question.
And not any ordinary firewood could light the shoddiest Pill Furnace. They need first-order spirit wood as fuel, along with a pill refiner constantly adjusting the furnace flames using their spirit power.
He couldn't afford to buy first-order spirit wood, and he also lacked the spirit power to constantly adjust the flame.
Sometimes he wished that he could refine pills just like those rumored pill refiners. Pills would be produced as soon as the lid of the furnace was lifted. He didn't have to knead the hot paste into a ball when it was still scorching hot.
Who doesn't know how painful it was!
Some pastes even have negative impacts on the physical body!
He was simply without the required conditions!
After venting his frustration, Luo Chen put the pot back onto the stove, untied his apron, and sat at the doorway.
He faced the setting sun and slapped his cheeks twice.
"Why think about those unnecessary things!"
"I had put all I have on this, even if I hit a wall, I must break it before giving up!"
"I will not practice tomorrow, I need to adjust my mentality."
Everyone knows the saying 'Haste makes waste.'
But when troubles arise, one often has to suffer a lot before realizing they've rushed.
In the evening, Luo Chen was feeling extremely exasperated.
He needed to vent!
So...
Fireball Technique!
Fireball Technique!
Fireball Technique!
Unluckily for the creek, the fish within suffered continuously.
After consecutively casting the Fireball Technique at full strength nine times, Luo Chen exhausted all of his spirit power.
With nine proficiency points gained, Luo Chen returned to his room tiredly, sat cross-legged and activated his Longevity Technique.
After a full cycle, one fifth of his spirit power was restored.
With another cycle, another fifth of his spirit power was restored.
Yes, just like that.
The physical strength of a lower order cultivator isn't good, let alone that their spiritual souls have not achieved any qualitative change. Practicing two to three times in a night is about their limit.
Luo Chen then went to sleep soundly for the rest of the night.
When he woke up the next day, less than half of his spirit power had been restored.
The limited amount of spirit power is indeed what's preventing him from breaking through using his proficiency in his techniques and gaining achievement points.
To recover from a day of casting the Fireball Technique, he needs five days!
Even for the low-consumption Cleaning Technique, a considerable amount of time is required for rest.
Luo Chen isn't living in a particularly safe place, and he must always retain some Qi power to escape when needed.
Actually, when he woke up in the morning, he was a bit scared.
He was mad last night, having used up all his spirit power. If a demon beast had wandered over, he would've had very little ability to resist it.
"I cannot behave like this in the future, I must remember it!"
Murmuring, he sat cross-legged and activated the Longevity Technique once more.
Another fifth of his spirit power was restored.
Then he opened his attribute panel.
[Name: Luo Chen]
[Lifespan: 27/75]
[Spirit Root: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth]
[Cultivation Level: Third Level Qi Refinement Stage: 75/100]
[Cultivation Technique: Longevity Technique Mastery - 249/300]
[Techniques: Cleaning Technique Beginner - 51/100, Entanglement Technique Proficient - 176/200, Fireball Technique Perfection - 304/500]
[Skills: First Order Pill Refiner - Fasting Pill Grandmaster - 507/1000, Allure Pill Beginner - 3/100]
[Achievement Points: 1 point (Can be used for corresponding cultivation technique, techniques, skill initiation)]
Looking at his attribute panel, Luo Chen was a bit stunned.
Without any surprises, his lifespan is from before he crossed over. The original owner of this body had died long ago. His lifespan should be zero.
The reason why he wanted to earn so many spirit stones was really for cultivation, for longevity.
When it came to thinking that he could only live for 75 years on Earth without crossing over, he felt a little sad.
He wouldn't even attain the age of having a "happy" death at 80 years old. His descendants couldn't indulge in singing and dancing at his funeral, even though he was single before he crossed over.
So, in this life, he will rise step by step, cultivating to the highest level, living the longest!
Then, the harsh reality slapped him in the face. Half a month had passed, and he had not stopped his twice-daily practice of the Longevity Technique.
But his cultivation level hadn't moved at all.
Even a body with balanced Five Spirit Roots can't be this incompetent, right!
How did the former host cultivate to the Third Level Qi Refinement Stage? The owner of the remains couldn't have left him bottles full of Qi Nurturing Pills!
After the cold reality, came the moving benefits of being a transmigrator.
The proficiency for the Longevity Technique had increased by 26 points, even though he didn't feel any changes.
For the techniques, the proficiency of the Cleaning Technique increased by two points. Once he used it to wash his robe, and another time to clean the iron pot, completely washing away the smell left from refining the Fasting Pill.
The Entanglement Technique didn't change much since he didn't want to be wrapped up in it in order to kill a Golden Core stage cultivator.
However, the Fireball Technique, thanks to its maximum twice a day usage and the squandering efforts of last night, surged by 36 proficiency points.
Now, he made a breakthrough from Mastery Level to Perfection Level in one breath.
He even got one achievement point for breaking through a stage.
What would a Fireball Technique of the Perfection Level feel like? Hehe.
However, since my spirit power hasn't fully recovered, I should suppress my excitement for now!
Thinking like this, Luo Chen shut down the attribute panel.
Though, before he closed it, his gaze unintentionally jumped over the achievement points. He blinked his eyes and hurriedly reopened the panel.
"Wait a minute!"
"[Skills: First Order Pill Refiner - Fasting Pill Grandmaster - 507/1000, Allure Pill Beginner - 3/100]"
He remembered very clearly that after he used his achievement points to initiate the Allure Pill, the proficiency should have been one. But now it was three.
But he's never successfully refined the Allure Pill before!
"Can I also gain proficiency from failure?"