The Seventh Elder stuffed the jade token into her hand. “Paid off. This is what's left.”
Song Yao was shocked. “You owed so much, and it's already all paid off?”
The Seventh Elder nodded slightly and said with a smile, “Pill cultivators making good money is definitely no rumor. If the Elixir Pavilion hadn't been blown up previously, causing a massive deficit that I was busy trying to cover, I wouldn't have ended up in such a miserable state... Now that I have a bit of free time, refining a couple of batches of pills for others occasionally is more than enough to earn some pocket money.”
Song Yao swept her senses through the jade token to check the funds and was suddenly filled with deep emotion.
She knew she had made the right choice by studying the pill-refining path.
It was just that her habit of falling asleep the moment she opened a book still hadn't cured itself. There was no way she could refine pills for others to earn money like a normal pill cultivator...
Fumbling around in her spatial pouch, she pulled out two Qi-Replenishing Pills and handed them to the Seventh Elder, asking expectantly, “Master, can the pills I refine be sold for money?”
The Seventh Elder took them with lingering apprehension.
His impression of this child's pills was still stuck on the time when the side effects had almost poisoned everyone in the Elixir Pavilion.
He wondered if there had been any improvement by now.
Under Song Yao's expectant gaze, he extended his spiritual energy to wrap around them, inspecting them closely.
The more he inspected them, the more he felt something was off.
His expression fluctuated between light and dark.
“Huh...”
How strange.
The ingredients were clearly not that complex. How had they been refined into a pill of such fine quality?
The spiritual energy contained within was also somewhat unusual...
Frowning, he walked toward the inner area of the Elixir Pavilion. “Eat first. If it's not enough, there's more in the pot. I'm going to find someone to test this pill.”
Song Yao replied, “Okay~”
However, even after she had eaten and drunk her fill, the Seventh Elder showed no sign of coming out.
Squinting, she let out a yawn and slowly paced over to see what was going on, only to run right into the Seventh Elder as he was walking out. His expression was incredibly complex. “Are you full?”
“Yes, I'm full.”
“Do you have the energy to refine some pills?”
“Huh?”
“If you have the energy, refine a batch. Let me see how you do it.”
He had truly never seen a pill with such a bizarre flow of spiritual energy, and the efficacy completely exceeded what these medicinal herbs should have been able to produce.
The side effects were even more inexplicable...
Song Yao was more than eager to have someone give her some guidance. She nodded in agreement, turned to head into the medicine shop to grab the herbs, and then went up to the second floor, picking a random cauldron to refine her pills.
The Seventh Elder followed behind, watching with his heart in his throat.
She was throwing the herbs into the cauldron by the handful, entirely based on her whims. Could nothing really go wrong this way?
He couldn't help but remind her, “Pill refining is a rather precise process. Doing it this way is probably not...”
Before he could finish his sentence, Song Yao closed the cauldron with a loud bang.
He opened his mouth but swallowed the rest of his words. Seeing her spiritual energy surge out alongside several Fire-Driving Talismans, he instinctively took a few steps back and exclaimed in shock, “To refine a Qi-Replenishing Pill, you must use a gentle flame...”
There was another loud bang.
Song Yao flipped open the cauldron, and several pills flew out. “All done!”
The Seventh Elder: “?”
Did it even start?
How was it already over?
He stood there in genuine daze for a moment before taking the pills.
This time, the flow of spiritual energy inside the pills was even more peculiar, seemingly different from the ones she had given him earlier.
His brows furrowed, relaxed, and then furrowed again.
To be able to reach this level, she was no longer relying on the medicinal effects from the book's recipes; it was mostly dependent on the refiner's own control over the herbs.
Was this little girl really just a Heaven-grade wood spiritual root?
He was also a Heaven-grade, but he wouldn't dare guarantee he could achieve something like this.
The Seventh Elder hissed, carrying the pills as he walked upstairs. “I need to do a little more research, a little more research...”
Halfway up, he stopped and said, “If we ignore the side effects, your pills could be rated as Spirit-grade. But if you really want to sell them, they would probably only fetch an Earth-grade price. That way, many who are tight on funds might be willing to buy them. However, before selling, you must inform them of the side effects. Otherwise, if they accidentally consume one during a fight, it could lead to trouble.”
Song Yao's eyes lit up.
She could already touch the threshold of the Spirit-grade?
That meant the efficacy was still very impressive.
Out in the world, a single Spirit-grade pill cost at least several thousand to tens of thousands of spirit stones, and most of the raw materials were very expensive.
Her pills were different. The raw materials were extremely basic, and they were refined so quickly that she could sell them in bulk.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt there was a market for this. She ran off to ask Yu Jing of the Inner Yard's North Peak to help her look for potential buyers. Then, with a burst of energy, she threw herself into the Elixir Pavilion to refine pills, planning to make a large batch to sell.
A single batch could yield dozens of pills.
Ten batches would yield hundreds.
She was going to be rich!
By the time she reached her seventh batch, Song Yao's vision went black, and she fainted.
When she woke up, the Seventh Elder had a face full of worry, pacing around with his hands behind his back as he nagged, “Refining pills so recklessly when your soul is incomplete... A normal person refining two batches a day would already find it extremely draining on their essence and energy. How can you not care about your own body in the slightest?”
“If you don't even care about yourself, do you expect others to care for you? You're young now, so nothing serious will happen, but just wait until you're older and see if you regret it...”
Seeing Yu Jing standing outside, Song Yao scrambled up from the bed, pulled her outer robe tight, and walked out. “It's fine, it's fine. I won't die.”
The Seventh Elder watched her back and shook his head helplessly. “Saying such things again. A mere child always keeping death on the tip of her tongue.”
The Eldest Senior Brother, He Yu, came over holding a bowl of medicinal soup and smiled. “Aren't children always like this, speaking without any taboos? Once she grows up a bit and witnesses life and death, she naturally won't speak so carelessly anymore.”
The Seventh Elder sighed. “Then it's better if she never witnesses it.”
...
“The world has been quite unstable lately. There actually is a place suffering from a disease outbreak called Windbell Town. It is under the jurisdiction of the Shilan Sect. They suffered a flood a few days ago, and the situation is very bad. The Shilan Sect is seeking help everywhere.”
Yu Jing briefly explained the situation. “That place is too far from Nine Saints Hall, and since we are currently too busy with our own troubles, we can't spare any hands to help. However, if you have the time, you could go take a look. Perhaps you can sell your pills to them.”
“After all, the Shilan Sect is famous for cultivating windbell grass. They are quite wealthy and don't lack money.”
Wealthy.
Suffering from an outbreak.
Remote.
It was practically tailor-made for her.
Without a second thought, Song Yao took the map. “Thank you, Senior Brother Yu.”
“You're welcome, but I suggest you bring a few more people along. After all, it's a long journey, and there's no telling what dangers you might encounter.”
Yu Jing paused, then added, “Also, I heard that before long, the Saintess of Beiyao Sect and the Young Master of Taiqing Pavilion will be getting married. All of you personal disciples must attend. Since the senior brothers and sisters above you are hard to track down, you and Jiang Jin absolutely cannot be absent. Make sure to return early and prepare ahead of time.”
“Alright.”
Though she said so, Song Yao still planned to go alone.
First, she didn't have a suitable companion. Second, the cultivation of the other youngsters in Nine Saints Hall wasn't very high.
If she flew there by herself, she could arrive in a single day. If she went with them, she would probably have to accommodate their speed, which would take at least two or three days.
Besides, asking someone to accompany her to such a distant place would count as owing a favor.
It was quite a hassle.
She packed her hundreds of pills and didn't tell the Seventh Elder the truth, only saying she was going out for a stroll.
Before the Seventh Elder could respond, Jiang Jin walked in from outside. When he saw her, his cheeks turned a strange shade of red, and he cleared his throat slightly. “Where are you going for a stroll? I'll accompany you.”
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