Lin Zhiyue was in no hurry to rush into refining higher-grade pills. Instead, she chose the Soul-Spirit Pill.
Soul-Spirit Pills were uncommon. Their grade ranged between the third and fourth grade, and they had a niche purpose—strengthening the soul and expanding the range of one's divine sense.
To most cultivators, this kind of pill was far less practical than a Foundation Establishment Pill or Spirit-Recovering Powder. It did not directly aid in raising one's cultivation level and required long-term consumption to show any effects.
However, during her previous attempts, Lin Zhiyue had discovered that its extraction process and heat control placed extremely precise demands on spiritual energy. It might help her better master the characteristics of her spiritual roots.
She happened to have gathered the main herbs required for the Soul-Spirit Pill, so she decided to start her experiments with the extraction phase.
She divided the main herbs into small portions of varying ratios, using her spiritual energy to guide the airflow into a spiral inside the container.
Under her control, her wind spiritual energy swirled along the walls of the container, generating high-frequency micro-vibrations within the medicinal liquid. This caused the spiritual herbs to rupture rapidly without heat, releasing their active components.
The entire extraction process relied solely on the circulation path formed by her spiritual energy inside the container.
At first, she was not sure if this method was reliable. By sampling the liquid every half-cup of tea at the start and then gradually extending the observation intervals, she slowly established her own basis for judgment.
After the first round of extraction, she obtained a batch of highly concentrated crude liquid.
She let the liquid sit at a low temperature for half an hour, and a thin layer of sediment formed on the top.
She separated the sediment and compared it with another batch of liquid processed at a different flow rate. She found that the sample treated with high-frequency micro-vibrations was superior to the control sample in color, fluidity, and storage stability.
This was only a preliminary result, but it was enough to confirm that she was on the right track.
Next, she began attempting to put this batch of crude liquid into the alchemy cauldron.
The refining process for the Soul-Spirit Pill was longer than that of the Foundation Establishment Pill, and the condensation phase was exceptionally sensitive to temperature changes.
In her first two attempts, she encountered issues with the medicinal liquid separating during the late stage of condensation. Although the batches were not ruined, the success rate of forming pills was less than half.
Using the data from her two failures, she adjusted her heat curve. During the final stage of condensation, she used her ice spiritual energy to slowly lower the temperature of the cauldron walls while using her wind spiritual energy to maintain an even heat circulation inside. This kept the medicinal liquid stable during cooling, preventing its components from separating due to uneven temperature gradients.
During her third attempt, the liquid inside the cauldron showed no signs of separating, and the condensation process went much smoother than the previous two times.
The moment Lin Zhiyue lifted the cauldron lid, a crisp, refreshing fragrance wafted out before she could even see the results.
The scent was not strong, yet it penetrated the entire alchemy room, drifting out through the cracks of the windows and doors.
Three Soul-Spirit Pills lay at the bottom of the cauldron, glowing with a faint azure luster. Their surfaces were covered in a ring of fine, dense veins that radiated outward from the center like leaf veins. Every single line was clearly visible with neat edges.
She stared down at them for a moment, confirming that those lines were Pill Veins and not cracks from the refining process.
The fragrance drifted out through the open window, passed under the eaves, drifted over the bamboo racks drying spiritual herbs, and spread all the way to the stone steps outside the alchemy room.
A disciple drying herbs next door stopped his work, turned his head, and sniffed the air.
Someone walking along the corridor slowed down, their gaze drifting toward the alchemy room.
Zhou Zhengqing was walking down the stone steps. He paused at the doorway of the alchemy room, his gaze landing on the pill in her hand.
He walked closer and stood by her worktable, looking down at the Soul-Spirit Pill beside her hand. His gaze lingered on the Pill Veins on its surface for a moment before he spoke. “A fourth-grade Perfect-Grade Soul-Spirit Pill. Very good.”
His tone sounded no different from usual, but Lin Zhiyue still caught the slightest hint of a tremor hidden beneath his steady voice.
Lin Zhiyue placed the pill back into the jade tray.
She looked down again at the even, delicate veins on the pill's surface.
Alchemists were divided into five ranks, but pills were divided into nine grades, with the highest grade being Perfect-Grade.
A Perfect-Grade pill was perfectly round with dense and well-proportioned Pill Veins, often exuding a faint fragrance. Higher-grade pills could even trigger natural phenomena.
The residual warmth of the cauldron still lingered on Lin Zhiyue's fingertips. She was quietly wondering if she could now be considered a true Alchemist when a wave of irrepressible gasps suddenly erupted around her.
“An eighteen-year-old Alchemist! She actually succeeded...”
“To reach Perfect-Grade quality on her first attempt at refining a fourth-grade Soul-Spirit Pill! This is simply unprecedented!”
“Look at those Pill Veins. Although they are few, this luster and fragrance... If taken to an outside auction house, it would go for at least one hundred mid-grade spirit stones a pill!”
Listening to the discussions of the surrounding disciples shift from shock to fanatical excitement, Lin Zhiyue's racing heart finally settled.
At the same time, the system's voice chimed in her mind right on cue, announcing the successful completion of the task. Four Gold Tickets acquired!
Zhou Zhengqing's gaze remained fixed on the plump, round pills. Only after a long while did he look away, turning a complicated expression toward her. “You are the most talented disciple I have ever seen, without exception. But I am curious, how did you manage to refine a Soul-Spirit Pill to the Perfect-Grade? Even I, having immersed myself in the path of alchemy for decades, have never refined a Perfect-Grade Soul-Spirit Pill.”
Lin Zhiyue pondered for a moment before replying honestly, “In response to Elder, I have learned an extraction method called the ‘Ultrasonic Extraction Method’.”
“Ultrasonic... Extraction Method?” Zhou Zhengqing and the surrounding disciples froze in unison, exchanging blank looks. They had clearly never heard of such a bizarre term.
Seeing their bewildered expressions, Lin Zhiyue patiently explained, “Actually, the principle is not complicated. During the condensation phase, I use my wind spiritual energy to create extremely high-frequency micro-vibrations inside the container. The frequency of these vibrations is far beyond the limit of what our ears can capture, which is why I call it ‘ultrasonic.’ It can instantly break up clumping components in the medicinal liquid, allowing different medicinal properties to fuse perfectly at a microscopic level, thereby pushing the pill's quality to its absolute limit.”
In her past life, generating ultrasonic waves through wind alone would have been almost impossible.
Even a destructive typhoon's frequency only hovered within a few thousand hertz, far from enough to produce ultrasonic waves.
But this was the cultivation world, and the wind spiritual energy here was no longer the same force she had known in her past life.
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