Translator: Cinder Translations
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"Perhaps I can find a Tier 2 spiritual herb similar to the Red Blood Vine to use as the main ingredient."
With this idea in mind, Song Wen began to consider which Tier 2 spiritual herbs would be suitable.
He took out the alchemy notes from Rong Jingyun, which recorded over a hundred formulas and covered many spiritual herbs, with detailed descriptions of their properties.
After reviewing the entire alchemy notes, Song Wen identified three Tier 2 spiritual herbs that might be suitable as the main ingredient:
Fire Pomegranate Fruit Sky Blue Thorn Yellow Essence Mushroom
Among these, the easiest to obtain was the Yellow Essence Mushroom, followed by Sky Blue Thorn, and the Fire Pomegranate Fruit was the most difficult.
After identifying these three herbs, Song Wen immediately ruled out the Fire Pomegranate Fruit.
The Fire Pomegranate Fruit was a rare herb that assisted cultivators in training their eye techniques and was more expensive than many Tier 3 spiritual herbs.
Even if Song Wen were to develop a new Explosive Blood Pill using the Fire Pomegranate Fruit, it would be impossible to produce it in large quantities because the herb was too rare, and even with enough spirit stones, it might not be available for purchase.
With a method for improving the Explosive Blood Pill in mind, Song Wen was eager to try it out. However, he currently had no ready spiritual herbs and needed to gather the required materials first.
Song Wen estimated the time; he had been in the alchemy room for less than a day. Leaving now would certainly attract suspicion.
He decided to use the remaining Qi Gathering Pill materials to continue making pills. Since he couldn't leave, he might as well make a few more pills to prepare for future demands from Su Huayue.
He had a total of six sets of Qi Gathering Pill materials, with two sets left from this time and four sets from before.
Another day passed.
Song Wen, looking somewhat weary, walked out of the alchemy room and handed a jade bottle containing fifteen Qi Gathering Pills to Su Huayue.
"Deacon Su, I have successfully produced three batches of Qi Gathering Pills as requested."
Su Huayue took the jade bottle, examined it, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Thank you for your hard work, Master Yuan. You can go back and rest. Remember to report to the alchemy room on the appointed day and time."
After bidding farewell, Song Wen turned and left.
Back at his residence, Song Wen immediately became energetic again; the previous fatigue was just an act.
He extended his spiritual sense into his storage ring and carefully searched through it.
He had quite a few storage rings, each containing various spiritual herbs, but he wasn't entirely sure which herbs he had.
Following the formula for the Explosive Blood Pill, Song Wen selected the required herbs.
Although the Explosive Blood Pill was a Tier 2 elixir, not all the herbs required for its refinement were Tier 2; some were Tier 1 herbs. These Tier 1 herbs were common auxiliary herbs, and Song Wen had many of them in his storage ring.
After checking his storage ring, Song Wen discovered that only two herbs were missing for refining the Explosive Blood Pill.
One was the Tier 2 spiritual herb called Ghost Needle Grass, which was an auxiliary herb for making the Explosive Blood Pill. Ghost Needle Grass was not particularly rare, but it wasn't available in the storage rings he had.
The other herb was the main ingredient.
Song Wen decided to first try the Yellow Essence Mushroom, as it was the cheapest and easiest to obtain among the three potential main ingredients.
After tidying up a bit, Song Wen went out to the dining hall.
It was noon, the time for lunch.
From the external alchemists like Duan Jie, one could occasionally get some useful information. Thus, Song Wen would often go to the dining hall during his free time to chat with Duan Jie and others.
Entering the dining hall, Song Wen noticed that Duan Jie was not present, but Qi Xiong and several other alchemists were there.
Without needing any formal introduction, Song Wen approached Qi Xiong and the others' table, found an empty seat, and sat down, greeting everyone at the table warmly.
After a while, a servant brought the dishes and served them.
Seeing that the people at the table were somewhat silent, Song Wen swallowed a bite of food and took the opportunity to start a conversation.
"Deacon Su Huayue is forcing an increase of 50% in tasks, and there's no compensation in spirit stones. If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have joined the Su family."
A female alchemist in her thirties picked up the conversation, lowering her voice and speaking softly.
"With this month's salary, I'm planning to leave the Su family."
The others at the table paused their actions and turned to look at the female alchemist.
"Gao Yan, have you really decided to leave the Su family?" one person asked.
Gao Yan nodded. "The Su family and the Du family will inevitably clash sooner or later. It's better for us outsiders not to get involved."
"That makes sense," someone agreed.
After a moment, a male cultivator said, "Then I will leave with you."
Gao Yan replied, "Yes, it's not safe around the Su family recently. Having companions to travel with will make things safer."
"Then I'll go too."
"I'll go as well."
Immediately, two more people expressed their intention to leave the Su family.
Qi Xiong, who had not spoken, looked worried and said, "The Su family's salary is still quite good. Are you all really going to leave? It's hard to find another family that offers similar treatment."
"High salary doesn't mean much if you don't have the life to enjoy it. Not to mention the increased task load, it will drain all our energy, leaving no time for cultivation," Gao Yan said.
The others nodded in agreement.
"But I..."
Qi Xiong seemed hesitant.
He knew that Gao Yan's choice was correct.
Qi Xiong was aware that Su Huayue had promised him a Breakthrough Pill. Since he had not yet received it, he was reluctant to leave.
"Qi Xiong, come with us. We've been together for years and trust each other. Starting anew somewhere else, with our alchemy skills, we should be able to do well anywhere."
Qi Xiong looked troubled. "But Deacon Su promised me the Breakthrough Pill in a month. I want to get the pill before making a decision."
A male cultivator who had decided to leave sneered.
"Do you think you can easily leave after taking the Su family's benefits? That's pure wishful thinking!"
The atmosphere then became somewhat oppressive. The group finished their meal in silence and left the dining hall in small groups.
Qi Xiong seemed deliberately isolated, leaving alone.
Watching Qi Xiong's departing figure, Song Wen's mind flashed with the scene of dozens of cultivators bound by chains, dragged into the mountain valley formation in the Su family's forbidden area.
It seemed the Su family had accelerated the matter due to pressure from the Du family.
Originally, Su Huayue had promised to give Qi Xiong the Breakthrough Pill after three months, but now it was moved up to one month.
However, so far, Song Wen still didn't know why the Su family was capturing cultivators of the "Longevity Technique."
"If there's an opportunity to soul-search a core member of the Su family, it would solve many mysteries."
(End of the Chapter)
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