Is It Going Smoothly?

To convince the little one that she wasn't the kind of person she imagined, Su Qing exerted a tremendous effort.

She nearly worked herself to death on the spot...

It was clear just how frustrated she was.

In the past, things had never seemed quite this difficult to handle, but today, this matter had pushed her to her absolute limit.

Su Qing even began to suspect that the girl was teasing her on purpose; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so impossible to reason with.

However, Su Qing couldn't be entirely sure of the truth...

After all, now that the little one had grown up, she wasn't as easy to read as before.

She was much harder to see through than her older sisters.

After a long time, the matter was finally laid to rest for the moment.

Su Qing stretched, looking wearily at the bright moon in the sky. She thought to herself, 'There are still a few things I need to do quickly... I need to put the refinement of longevity pills on the schedule soon. I probably won't have time to refine them myself here, so it looks like I'll have to leave it to my clone. Fortunately, my clones are quite strong, so refining these pills shouldn't be a problem. I just need to return and pick up the medicinal ingredients.'

In the Northern Continent, Su Qing still had many matters to handle...

At the very least, until the mountain of official documents was cleared, she certainly couldn't slack off and rest. If she wanted to refine the pills quickly, she definitely couldn't do it with her main body.

By the time her main body had free time, it would likely be a very long time from now.

Therefore, leaving it to a clone was the right decision.

In any case...

Aside from being busy at certain times, her clone in the mortal world was relatively free most of the time.

As for why she didn't use the clone at Mount Changbai?

The reason was simple: the clone at Mount Changbai was also a bit overwhelmed.

After all, she had to handle an untold number of incense requests!

Where would she find the spare time to refine pills?

Once Su Qing made her decision, she exhaled a long breath of turbid air and muttered to herself, "It's settled then. Time to rest... I have to keep working tomorrow!"

With the day's events concluded, Su Qing went to sleep.

The next day.

Su Qing's life returned to normal.

No more chaotic incidents occurred...

And on the second day, some good news arrived from the North Sea Dragon Palace.

They reported that the Dragon Palace was already undergoing repairs and that more people had been sent to guard that damned seal.

Clearly, the previous incident had taught the Dragon Palace a significant lesson...

They were now taking the seal much more seriously.

They were terrified that the thing might escape again.

It was only natural for them to be afraid...

It would be worse if they weren't. If they were careless, it would be a nightmare.

Who knew how long it would be before they encountered the same trouble again?

While the Su Qing in the Northern Continent returned to her routine, her clone in the mortal world also became busy.

On the second day, she went to the Northern Continent to collect the materials needed for alchemy.

Upon returning to the mortal world, she immediately began preparing for the refinement process.

Refining pills was a task that required a great deal of mental effort and a significant amount of time.

Therefore, before starting, Su Qing had to make many preparations.

At the same time, she had to hand over necessary affairs to Ao Yiyi and the others to handle, lest some chaos break out in this small place while she was busy.

Su Qing did not want to have to worry about external matters while she was refining pills.

After returning to the small courtyard, Su Qing quickly gathered everyone around her.

Since everyone was at home, they soon assembled.

Su Qing did not hide her intentions and explained the specific situation to them.

"In other words, you plan to refine several pills to extend the lives of Su Qingyu and Rendong?" Hu Lin'er asked after a moment of silence upon hearing the news.

Su Qing nodded and said, "Yes, exactly... I managed to get a few pill formulas from Taishang Laojun that can extend life. However, even with these, it will only be for ten or twenty years. They cannot extend life by too much. Firstly, the potency of the pills has its limits, and secondly, a mortal might not be able to withstand a pill that is too powerful."

"Aside from that, there is one more thing: once any kind of longevity pill or spirit herb has been used, any other life-extending items will become useless..."

"Therefore, this means... we can only help Su Qingyu and the others extend their lives by ten or twenty years at most."

Su Qing explained everything clearly without any concealment—how powerful the pills were, what they could achieve, and how they were restricted by the rules of heaven and earth.

After all, if she didn't make this clear, it might give everyone undue expectations.

And harboring such expectations wouldn't be good for anyone.

Thus, she was as transparent as possible regarding this matter.

After hearing Su Qing's words, the group was momentarily stunned.

They were clearly surprised by this outcome...

After a moment of silence, Ao Yiyi was the first to speak.

"I understand. Extending a mortal's life is not something easily permitted; it inherently goes against the rules of heaven and earth. It's only natural that there would be many restrictions. While it's a bit of a pity, there's nothing that can be done about it."

It wasn't that Ao Yiyi was particularly detached; she simply understood that this was an unavoidable reality.

Therefore, she naturally wouldn't pressure Su Qing to do more.

After all...

Su Qing couldn't run to the Underworld and strike names off the Ledger of Life and Death like Sun Wukong did.

Besides, even if names were struck from the Ledger of Life and Death, it didn't mean a person wouldn't grow old. Just look at those monkeys on Flower-Fruit Mountain whose names were removed!

How many of them were living well?

Many of them had even begged Su Qing to let them reincarnate!

Seeing that Ao Yiyi understood the logic, Su Qing felt a sense of relief...

Although she knew her friends weren't unreasonable people, concern could often cloud one's judgment. If they lost their ability to think clearly in such a situation, it wouldn't have been too surprising.

When the others heard Ao Yiyi's explanation, they also nodded after a moment of silence.

They were all capable of understanding the stakes involved.

None of them were fools.

They knew that this matter was fundamentally a violation of the rules.

Being able to extend a life by ten or twenty years was already no small feat.

The reason they had been dazed was mostly surprise that the longevity pills could only be used once.

"Sigh, it's just a shame that this method only works once. I never expected there to be such a rule within the laws of heaven and earth," Hu Lin'er couldn't help but sigh. "I suppose my knowledge was too limited..."

Although Hu Lin'er's father was the white deer under the South Pole Immortal and she had traveled with Su Qing for many years, she was still not entirely clear on the intricacies of the world's rules.

Upon hearing this, Su Qing nodded and said, "Before Taishang Laojun told me about this, I was actually quite muddled about it myself and didn't clearly understand the situation. In fact, it's not just mortals who are restricted by these rules; they apply to immortals as well."

"Even the Peaches of Immortality from the Heavenly Court only grant longevity the first time they are eaten. Any subsequent consumption only increases one's cultivation and cannot further extend one's lifespan."

Su Qing gave a helpless smile and shook her head, adding, "If there were a way to extend life multiple times, how could I not say so? I also want them to live a few more years!"

"I understand, of course... I'm not doubting you, I just feel quite helpless about it," Hu Lin'er said, nodding.

She knew very well that the bond between Su Qing and Su Qingyu was very deep...

Therefore, Su Qing certainly hoped they could live longer.

"Sigh, what a pity... It's a pity Li Yichou died so early. If she had lived just a bit longer, she might have been able to live a few more years too," Su Qing said, her thoughts drifting to Li Yichou.

That person's luck was truly poor...

How did she happen to die just before this?

"The world is unpredictable; no one is to blame for that," Jin Xin suddenly spoke up. "Sister Su, don't think too much about it."

Su Qing smiled and shook her head. "If you want to know who is the most detached here, it's definitely me... I'm just feeling a bit sentimental, so don't worry about me."

Jin Xin nodded slightly and asked, "Then, Sister Su, when do you plan to start refining the pills?"

"I'll start tomorrow! I called everyone together today to hand over the matters that need handling before I begin," Su Qing smiled and said. "After all, I still have quite a few things on my plate!"

She said that, but in reality, there were only a few tasks to be done...

They weren't so numerous that they couldn't be finished.

They were just a bit disorganized and required some attention.

After all, it involved dealing with mortals!

Ao Yiyi nodded and said, "Sister Su, if there's anything, just arrange it in advance and leave it to us. You know our capabilities; we'll definitely do a good job. You can focus on refining the pills with peace of mind..."

"I certainly believe in you all..." Su Qing smiled and nodded, then began assigning the tasks.

Su Qing had quite a few things on hand, but once distributed among everyone, it didn't seem like so much anymore.

With everyone taking one or two tasks, it was very easy to get everything settled.

Therefore...

Once Su Qing finished the arrangements, no one felt it was a hassle or even that there was much to do. They even felt that Su Qing hadn't assigned everything.

"Actually, that's all of it..." Su Qing spread her hands and said to Ao Yiyi. "Alright, let's leave it at that for now. We'll take things slowly. I'll go set up the alchemy room first so it's ready for tomorrow."

Refining pills required more than just ingredients; the alchemy room could not be neglected either...

The necessary arrays still had to be set up properly.

Otherwise, if the house blew up halfway through, it would be quite embarrassing.

Although Su Qing had attained great mastery in the path of alchemy, she was, after all, refining a profound pill she had never made before.

Therefore, she couldn't guarantee that no accidents would occur...

So, just to be safe, she needed to prepare thoroughly.

Upon hearing this, the others had no objections. They nodded and went about their own business. No one was particularly idle.

Of course, that was except for Coal Ball, who had listened in a daze and wasn't even entirely sure what was going on.

Although she had been called by Su Qing to join the discussion, she was really just there for the sake of participation.

She hadn't been assigned any tasks...

There was no helping it; who could blame the little one for being unsuited for such things? If she were given any task, she would only make a mess of it. It was better to let her just be a cat and be cute.

While the others were busy, Su Qing went to an unoccupied guest room.

Inside the room, she first calculated the orientations and estimated the layout for the arrays in her mind.

Then, she cleared everything out of the room...

Once the room was empty, Su Qing quickly began setting up the arrays.

A True Fire Array for drawing flames, a Spirit Gathering Array for drawing spiritual energy, and various other arrays for reinforcing the structure...

Su Qing set them up one by one.

After a period of busy work, the arrays were finally complete.

With the boost from these arrays, the success rate for this pill refinement would also increase.

"No need to rush today. I've done so much that my mental energy is starting to wane. I'll start refining tomorrow after I've rested well."

The mental energy Su Qing had allocated to this clone was relatively limited...

Therefore, she naturally couldn't refine pills while she was tired.

That would only increase the probability of failure.

Time flowed by.

The night passed quickly.

The next morning.

Su Qing had slept her fill and was in high spirits...

Furthermore, her main body had even diverted more focus to her so she could be as stable as possible during the refinement.

Entering the alchemy room, Su Qing took out the cauldron.

With her hands forming seals and her lips chanting incantations, she began the long process of refining the pills.

Refining any pill required time.

Especially for such precious pills, it required a significant investment of time.

For this simple pill that could only extend life by ten or twenty years, Su Qing needed to spend a full twelve days refining it...

During this period, she had to constantly monitor the heat...

Not a single mistake could be made.

If even a small error occurred, this batch of pills would be wasted.

Consequently, the pressure on Su Qing was not small.

Fortunately, Su Qing was no longer a novice...

Even in such circumstances, her refinement remained steady and smooth.

Everything stayed within her control...

Day by day, time slipped away.

Twelve days passed in the blink of an eye.

And after these twelve days, Su Qing's pill refinement finally reached its closing stage—the most critical moment.

"Condense!" Su Qing whispered, her hands continuously forming seals.