Refining

Although the people from the association were astonished that she possessed a Heavenly Fire, none of them were foolish enough to ask where it came from, what kind of Heavenly Fire it was, or what function it served.

It wasn't that they lacked interest, but rather that asking about such a spiritual treasure might be seen as overly intrusive. Although Shi Yu was young, everyone showed her ample respect, treating her essentially as an equal.

After all, to be a Tier-2 alchemist at such a young age with deep attainments, and to have a spiritual flame acknowledge her as its master—barring any unforeseen accidents, her future accomplishments would undoubtedly surpass President Song's. How could they treat her as an ordinary junior?

Upon returning to her cave dwelling, Shi Yu offered a brief greeting to the others before heading straight into the alchemy room.

Inside the alchemy room was an earth fire vent, where the flames flickered listlessly, licking at the air without much enthusiasm.

The moment Shi Yu stepped inside, the tongue of flame jolted in terror and tried frantically to burrow downward into the vent, wishing it could hide completely. Unfortunately, the vent opening was only so large. Try as it might to diminish its presence, a wisp or two of flame remained exposed, trembling violently.

Watching the earth fire—once so wild and arrogant—act like a mouse sighting a cat, Shi Yu felt a touch amused.

After examining the earth fire for a moment, she thought, This earth fire understands human nature and displays clear emotions. It really is somewhat unusual.

Even if other earth fires developed consciousness, it was usually nothing more than a faint, hazy wisp of awareness. They would never show such humanlike, emotional expressions as the one before her, let alone understand speech and know how to show weakness.

With intelligence so close to a human's, this earth fire likely had some special encounter in the past. Previously, due to its violent nature, no one had noticed anything special about its sentience; only after she arrived and suppressed it with the Void Fissure Spiritual Flame did this reveal itself.

Under her ambiguous gaze, the earth fire cowered even more pathetically.

Shi Yu paid it no more mind and summoned her newly refined Tier-2 pill furnace.

Besides the main ingredient, Blood Cloud Ginseng, the Lesser Longevity Pill required several auxiliary herbs, all of which happened to be inside her Fate-Tapping Bell. She was only missing one spiritual plant that replenished vitality, but that was no issue—adding a small amount of diluted Life Spring water would serve as a suitable substitute.

Since this was her first time refining the Lesser Longevity Pill in this world, and she only had a single stalk of Blood Cloud Ginseng with no margin for error, Shi Yu mentally rehearsed the process twice before beginning.

Flicking her fingers, she summoned the Void Fissure Spiritual Flame. After warming the furnace, she tossed in the spiritual plants one by one to refine them into medicinal liquid.

A deep, crimson liquid floated inside the furnace, thick and heavy like viscous blood. The scent it released carried a subtle, foul stench of gore.

Blood Cloud Ginseng grew in soil soaked in blood. Although consuming it directly extended one's lifespan, its foul blood energy would pollute internal spiritual energy to a degree.

However, refining it into a pill not only enhanced its life-extending effects but also eliminated most of that impurity.

Under the scorching heat of the flame, wisps of black vapor rose from the crimson liquid. As it merged with the other medicinal liquids, its dense, viscous color and texture gradually transformed, becoming increasingly translucent and clear.

Finally, half a day passed, and the pills were complete. She opened the furnace.

Three pills emerged, exhaling a fresh, pleasant pill fragrance that filled the air, clearing the mind of anyone who caught a whiff.

Though the fragrance lingered, none of the three Lesser Longevity Pills bore a pill halo; all three were medium-grade.

A medium-grade Lesser Longevity Pill extended life by ten years. Shi Yu was slightly dissatisfied, but the Blood Cloud Ginseng used as the primary ingredient wasn't particularly top quality to begin with. Given its medicinal potency, reaching medium-grade was already the limit.

Placing the three pills inside a jade box, Shi Yu turned, opened the stone door of the alchemy room, and walked out.

The members of the Zhou family were all waiting outside. Since this concerned the future survival of their clan, anxious expressions were unavoidable.

Seeing her emerge so quickly, they froze in surprise for a moment before stepping forward, hesitation written on their faces.

Knowing they were burning with anxiety, Shi Yu didn't keep them in suspense. She handed the jade box directly to Old Man Zhou. “I did not fail my mission.”

The heavy hearts in their chests finally settled. For a moment, they were so overcome with emotion that their lips trembled, unable to find the words to express their gratitude.

“Thank you, little friend.” These four simple words rolled around in Old Man Zhou's mouth several times before he finally spoke them.

His emotions churning, Old Man Zhou took the jade box with slightly trembling hands and slowly opened it under everyone's watchful eyes.

Three round, crimson pills lay within like polished glass, crystal-clear and translucent. Catching just a slight whiff of the pill fragrance brought a long-lost sensation of ease to his body, which had been depleted of vitality from his approaching end.

Without a doubt, as Shi Yu had said, this pill could truly extend life.

Exercising his spiritual energy, he drew one of the pills into his hand, closed the jade box, and returned the other two to Shi Yu. “According to the rules of alchemists, I shall take only one. The other two belong to you, little friend.”

In the Origin Realm, most alchemists spent their entire lives refining only two or three types of pills. For one, pill recipes were an alchemist's lifeblood and rarely shared. Aside from the few common recipes that were public knowledge, obtaining new recipes required an immense price.

Furthermore, studying each new recipe consumed vast quantities of spiritual plants with no guarantee of success. In terms of cost-effectiveness, mastering a single recipe and repeatedly refining it was usually enough to accumulate cultivation resources for oneself, so why waste effort on thankless tasks?

Consequently, alchemists capable of refining specialized pills were exceptionally rare. Requesting their services required not only payment but also providing at least two sets of ingredients. Furthermore, any excess pills beyond the agreed-upon quantity belonged to the alchemist.

Since this was the custom, Shi Yu accepted them without hesitation. In any case, only the first pill would extend life; consuming additional ones would yield merely mild nourishing effects.

“In addition, your compensation for refining the pill will be calculated separately. I will discuss the details with you once I have consumed and refined the pill. How does that sound?” Old Man Zhou offered a faint smile. “This old man's lifespan is nearly exhausted, so I will have to bother you here for a few more days.”

There was no time to return to the Zhou family to consume and refine it, so Old Man Zhou decided to take it immediately on the spot to convert it into lifespan.

Shi Yu nodded. “Feel free to find any spot in the cave dwelling, Elder Zhou.”

Shortly after, Old Man Zhou consumed the pill and went into seclusion to refine its medicinal power, while the remaining members of the Zhou family stood guard outside.

Having spent half a day refining pills, Shi Yu felt somewhat fatigued. Just as she was preparing to eat something and sleep in her room for a few hours, Qingzhou emerged carrying dishes. “Sister.”

He set down the food, gestured for Shi Yu to sit, and poured a cup of tea for her. “Please enjoy your meal, Sister.”

She had to admit, a life where food was brought straight to her mouth was far more comfortable than living alone. No wonder any cultivator with a bit of wealth would hire a few servants to handle mundane affairs.

Shi Yu took out the box of Tier-3 Qingxu Spirit Tea that President Song had gifted her and handed it to Qingzhou. “Use this to brew tea from now on.”

“Understood.” Qingzhou took it and set it aside carefully, then went to the herb garden to water the spiritual grains under Shi Yu's watchful gaze.

His long, silver hair cascaded all the way down to his calves, loosely gathered together and draped over his shoulder. While watering, he used one hand to hold his long hair so it wouldn't sweep against the ground. As he moved back and forth watering the crops, his posture was so graceful that it... how to put it? It carried a delicate charm like a willow swaying in a gentle breeze.

She had heard that female Snakefolk were beautiful, enchanting, and slim-waisted. Perhaps it wasn't so strange for the males to be like this as well.

Shi Yu quietly looked away, retrieved two bottles of python blood from the Scarlet Flame Void-Cleaving Python's body, set them on the table, and said to Qingzhou, “These are for you.”

Python blood was beneficial to Qingzhou, so Shi Yu wasn't stingy. Since Qingzhou had given her his life scale, he was one of the very few people she could trust entirely. If he grew stronger quickly, he would be able to assist her when she traveled outside in the future.

After finishing her meal, Shi Yu stood up and returned to the main chamber to rest.