The main pill room of Yaoling Peak is not small.
To take care of the newly inducted disciples, every day at sunset, a sixth-rank alchemist or higher demonstrates the method of refining a commonly used pill in the main hall of the pill room.
The third-rank pills that Chu Siyu had were learned through these general observations.
As for her master, Chen Tairu had not yet started teaching her alchemy. On the first day of her apprenticeship, when she formally acknowledged Chen Tairu as her master, he gave her a flame seed.
The flame was light blue, with a restrained temperature.
When Su Huai first saw it, he thought it was some kind of rare fire, but later learned that it was just a spirit fire that Old Chen had taken from the bottom of a volcano and nurtured with immortal power, far less powerful than the legendary rare fire.
These days, Chen Tairu had been teaching this young disciple how to control the spirit fire, along with sharing some insights.
When Su Huai sneaked into the hall with his hands in his pockets, the elder on the central high platform of Yaoling Peak was refining a fourth-rank Qingxin Pill.
This is a lifesaving elixir that can remove most common toxins in the immortal domain, with a market price of around a thousand spirit stones per pill.
"Hiss... Alchemists truly have a profitable career."
"The key to refining the Qingxin Pill is the last step!"
"During the pill condensing stage, you need to add a petal of the Clear Water Lotus to enhance the pill's efficacy."
"But our Peak Master of Yaoling Peak, Old Chen, adds an extra Purple Yun Grass when refining this pill. Although this makes the pill taste bitter, it increases the efficacy by another ten percent."
The elder's hand movements were swift, continuously infusing spirit power into the pill furnace to refine the pill.
Chu Siyu didn't yet have the ability to refine fourth-rank pills.
But this didn't stop her from taking notes diligently in the front corner, writing down every word the elder said.
However, when noting the addition of the Purple Yun Grass, she drew a small circle beside it.
Every alchemist has their quirks.
For instance, the number one alchemist in the world, the national teacher of the Zuntian Divine Dynasty, Li Zhongyuan, liked to add some bitter herbs without affecting the pill's efficacy. According to him, this was to inspire future generations by making them understand that taking pills is not pleasant, fostering a cautious approach to life.
Whether it worked or not is unknown, but it was said that every disciple of the Zuntian Divine Dynasty liked him.
During the annual celebration, disciples would grit their teeth and polish the statue of the national teacher in front of the palace until it gleamed. Over time, the statue's hair was worn off, and the national teacher himself, seemingly under a mysterious curse, lost all his hair, becoming a kindly bald man.
Chu Siyu, on the other hand, liked to make pills taste like various fruits, like eating candy.
She drew a small mark next to the Purple Yun Grass to indicate that she would think of a way to remove the bitterness.
She was truly so gentle that it made one cry...
Su Huai sneaked through the crowd, standing behind Chu Siyu, drawing curious looks from many disciples.
Especially those who hadn't seen Su Huai before, who gave him angry looks.
It wasn't out of jealousy.
In a few days, Chu Siyu's intimidating personality had spread. This junior sister was gentle and never flaunted her status as a personal disciple. Instead, she arrived earlier and stayed later than most disciples every day.
With good talent and hard work, who wouldn't love such a junior sister?
In just a few days, Chu Siyu had become the beloved mascot of Yaoling Peak. Knowing that being close to strangers made her uncomfortable, they always left a small open space for her during the elder's public pill refining sessions.
At first, it was in the middle.
But Chu Siyu quickly noticed and, after expressing her thanks, moved to the corner.
Now, a strange male disciple was standing so close to her, peeking at her notes!
Why was he wandering his eyes and grinning? Unacceptable!
Su Huai had no ill intentions.
Initially, he was indeed looking at her notes.
But he couldn't understand them!
The notes were illustrated, and he could barely recognize that the big circle represented the pill furnace, chicken feet represented hands, and leaves represented some herb...
A modern Picasso! Terrifying!
Unable to understand the drawings, he looked at other things.
At 1.86 meters tall, with Chu Siyu at 1.67 meters, he naturally saw a glimpse of the scenery hidden by her collar.
First, her delicate collarbone.
Then, a small, stunning white curve like a beautiful jade...
Su Huai felt his nose getting hot.
"Hey, you there!"
The elder who had finished refining the pill couldn't hold back.
He was just an outer sect elder and hadn't seen the newly appointed Holy Son. He only knew that there was a new Holy Son but hadn't attended the high-level meetings to see him.
He saw a creepy male disciple peeking at the youngest personal disciple of Yaoling Peak.
Unacceptable! How did such a person pass the entrance exam of our Yan Yue Immortal Sect!?
The elder was furious, pointing at the confused Su Huai.
"What are you looking at?! Yes, you!"
"Your eyes are wandering, not focusing on the demonstration. I assume this mere fourth-rank pill is too easy for you?"
"Ahem, elder, I..."
"No excuses!"
"Come up and demonstrate the refining of Qingxin Pill! If you fail, don't blame me for giving you a failing grade in the year-end assessment, ruining your chances of becoming an inner disciple for life!"
Su Huai was stunned.
The surrounding disciples of Yaoling Peak looked at him with schadenfreude.
Chu Siyu finally noticed someone beside her.
She felt a bit annoyed, as the discomfort she usually felt around strangers was completely absent with Su Huai. Whether it was because she got used to him or something else.
Hearing the elder forcing Su Huai to refine a pill, she showed a rare smile of schadenfreude, like a little rabbit learning the fox's cunning.
Su Huai opened his mouth, touching his ring, intending to pull out the Holy Son token to show off, but stopped upon meeting Chu Siyu's gaze.
He stepped onto the platform, standing next to the elder.
"Elder, you really want me to refine a pill?"
"Are you afraid?"
"Why would I be? But the quality of this pill furnace..."
The elder knocked on the furnace. "This furnace is named Zixia, a sixth-rank spiritual tool made by an elder of the Qiling Peak. It won't hold you back!"
"Sixth rank... then I'm relieved."
Su Huai covered his mouth, hiding a smile.
"Elder, Qingxin Pill is too simple. How about I demonstrate a self-created pill?"
"A self-created pill!?"
The elder was in awe, dropping his disdain.
Most alchemists merely learn the recipes passed down by predecessors.
If someone can create a new pill, even if it's just first-rank, they deserve respect!
"Please!"
The elder gestured, respectfully stepping aside.
Su Huai grinned, pulling out a handful of herbs from his storage ring.
These herbs were obtained from fifth-rank monsters during the trial. The worst was fourth-rank quality.
Now, not just the elder, but even the disciples below who didn't know Su Huai thought he was an unknown expert!
After all, using such high-grade herbs meant he was at least a fifth, maybe even a sixth or seventh-rank alchemist!
"Start the furnace, refine the pill!"
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