Creating a paradise in an ant nest

Chapter 41: The White Mice Testing the Elixir?

The Expansion Pill refined by Xu Ruoyun was not the normal version. Instead, it was a version she refined using only one-third of the spiritual plant ingredients in order to save resources and reduce costs.

As an individual alchemist, she was in dire need of spirit stones and resources.

It is said that alchemists are the wealthiest among cultivators, and they have no shortage of spirit stones.

But Xu Ruoyun knew that he was an experienced high-level alchemist. Low-level alchemists like her were all dirt poor, living a life of borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.

She refined the Yuntian Pill for several months in a row, and finally managed to save up 160 spirit stones to buy the spiritual plants and medicinal materials for refining the Kuohai Pill.

To avoid waste, she divided a complete prescription into three equal portions, using one portion at a time.

If the amount is too small, it will be difficult to form an elixir.

Because of her frugality, her first attempt at refining the herbs was undoubtedly a failure, and the entire batch of herbs turned into waste.

She learned from her failure and, after thorough preparation, attempted to refine the pill a second time, but failed again. The only improvement was that she managed to barely produce a pill. However, its quality was too poor, and its efficacy was unknown.

This is the third time it has been refined into a pill, but its appearance is slightly flawed.

Because only one-third of the medicinal materials were used, the resulting Kuohai Pill was much smaller than the normal Kuohai Pill.

If Xu Ruoyun sells this "waste pill" that is only one-third the size of the Expansion Pill, she can recover some of her costs.

After that, she would refine elixirs such as Qi-Boosting Pills and Tian-Nourishing Pills to earn spirit stones, and then use the spirit stones to buy the medicinal materials for refining the Ocean-Expanding Pill.

That's how it is for low-level alchemists; they spend all the spirit stones they earn in the process of constantly trying and practicing.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Senior sister, I don't have that many spirit stones. I only have thirty-eight."

Liu He didn't want to miss out on this rare opportunity to obtain a Sea Expansion Pill, but unfortunately, he didn't have enough spirit stones.

The normal price of the Expansion Pill is two hundred spirit stones. How long would it take him to save up enough to afford it?

Thirty-eight spirit stones?

Xu Ruoyun thought for a moment. Considering the risks Liu He was taking, the price was actually quite fair.

"Junior brother, I can sell you the Sea Expansion Pill for thirty-eight spirit stones, but I have a small condition. It's very simple and doesn't require much trouble."

Xu Ruoyun looked Liu He up and down, a sly glint in her eyes.

"Please speak, senior sister."

"What's your name? Which peak are you a servant from?"

what?

What does this mean?

Liu He was surprised. Could it be that his young and handsome face had aroused the covetousness of his senior sister?

"Senior sister, my name is Liu He, and I work as a caretaker at the outer mountain forest farm."

"Which specific forest area, and what time are you on duty?"

In response to Xu Ruoyun's questions, Liu He answered them one by one.

"My condition is that you need to tell me the details of your condition after taking the elixir, the more detailed the better."

This includes your cultivation level, the cultivation technique you practice after taking the elixir, and the effects of the elixir.

"I'll come find you at the outer mountain forest a few days after you take the elixir."

The Sea Expansion Pill that Xu Ruoyun refined has a flaw; she needs to adjust it according to the pill's effects.

"This... Senior Sister, isn't it said that this waste pill has the same effect as a normal sea-expanding pill, only that the size of the pill is smaller?"

Liu He understood from Xu Ruoyun's words that she was using him as a "guinea pig" to test the elixir.

"There's really no difference, just a minor, insignificant flaw. Don't worry, it definitely won't kill anyone. If you have any problems after taking my elixir, I'll take responsibility."

Xu Ruoyun made this promise.

"Okay, it's a deal."

The temptation of buying the Sea Expansion Pill for thirty-eight spirit stones was too great for Liu He.

He once again spent all his spirit stones savings to buy a Sea Expansion Pill, which was only the size of a fingernail, from Xu Ruoyun.

This sea-expanding pill is emerald green in color and emits a slightly bitter smell.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Deep inside the ant nest.

The Spirit Artifact Cave.

In front of Liu He were pieces of "waste pills"—the Kuohai Pills—that emitted a slightly bitter smell.

"Senior Sister Xu said that this Sea Expansion Pill was made using one-third of the spiritual plants, and its color is slightly different from the genuine product."

"But I'm short of spirit stones, so I can only buy spirit pills if they're cheap."

When he commissioned the magical artifacts, he bought discarded second-hand ones; when he bought elixirs, he could only afford those that had been ruined during the refining process.

"With this Sea Expansion Pill, I won't have to worry about cultivation resources anymore."

With that in mind, Liu He no longer hesitated and took a Kuohai Pill.

The Kuohai Dan was digested and absorbed in just a moment after entering his stomach.

Boom~~

The elixir's power suddenly erupted.

The Expansion Pill is the most effective elixir for improving cultivation in the early stages of Qi Refining; one pill is equivalent to three years of arduous cultivation.

If the spiritual energy provided by the Qi-Boosting Pill was a trickle, then the Ocean-Expanding Pill is a raging river!

The spiritual energy within Liu He's body surged and rushed through his meridians like a burst dam, pouring into his dantian as if it were about to burst.

He circulated his energy, guiding a massive amount of spiritual energy through his meridians, forming cycles that flowed into his dantian.

After a night of meditation.

Liu He's dantian (energy center) visibly expanded.

"The effect is too obvious. It is indeed the strongest spiritual pill for the early stage of Qi Refining."

"The medicine was so potent that it almost disrupted the flow of spiritual energy within my meridians."

"Kuohaidan should not be taken frequently; it is said that it should be taken one month apart."

This is a limitation of the expansion of the sea.

Due to the strong potency of the medicine, there should be at least a one-month interval between taking two Kuohaidan pills.

"I broke through to the second level of Qi Refining a year ago. One Expanding Sea Pill increases my cultivation by three years. I only need one more year to break through to the third level of Qi Refining!"

Liu He thought to himself that if he took the Expansion Pill again next month, he could break through to the third level of Qi Refining.

"Isn't this too fast?"

He couldn't help but have the thought of "concealing his talents".

Currently, none of Wu Shao's menial disciples have broken through to the third level of Qi Refining, including Wang Yarong, who has a medium spiritual root.

People like Li Liangtian and Zhou Kang had just broken through to the second level of Qi Refining some time ago.

"Wang Yarong won't be able to break through to the third level of Qi Refining until before the selection at Lingzhi Peak. I'll break through then too, there's no rush."

Liu He doesn't need to perform too well.

Being able to perform slightly better than others is considered "genius".

However, his inferior spiritual root improved faster than that of geniuses with medium spiritual roots, which easily aroused suspicion from others.

"Next, we will focus all our efforts on refining the Earth Element Pearl."

The Earth Element Pearl that Liu He received when he was promoted has not yet been fully refined.

It took longer than he had anticipated.

"It'll be almost done. In just over half a month, it will be fully refined."

Inside the spiritual cave, he was about to refine the enormous earth elemental pearl, which was three zhang tall.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

a few days later.

At Waishan Forest Farm, Xu Ruoyun came to find Liu He.

"Junior Brother Liu He, you've taken the Expansion Pill, right? How was the effect? ​​Was it as I said, no different from the normal Expansion Pill?"

"Senior Sister Xu, is the potency of the normal Expansion Pill really that strong? I almost had my spiritual energy disrupted when I circulated my energy."

Although Liu He had never taken the Sea Expansion Pill before, the pill's effects were clearly "flawed".

"Huh? The spiritual energy is disordered? Tell me more about it."

"After I took the Sea-Expanding Pill, the medicinal power erupted instantly, surging like uncontrollable waves, impacting my meridians and dantian..."

Liu He recounted the situation at the time.

"I understand. Thank goodness you're alright. With this experience, I'll definitely refine the perfect Sea Expansion Pill next time."

Xu Ruoyun kept Liu He's words in mind, and she had already figured out where she had gone wrong when she was refining pills.

"Senior Sister Xu, if you have any similar failed attempts at refining elixirs next time, you can come to me and I'll buy them."

Liu He thought this was more cost-effective than "buying the elixir together".

"Next time? I can refine enough Sea Expansion Pills for one or two years. Next time I should try refining mid-grade spirit pills."

"I also want mid-grade spiritual pills, as long as they can improve my cultivation level."

"Alright, I'll ask you to dispose of the failed elixirs when I'm learning how to refine mid-grade elixirs..."

Xu Ruoyun agreed verbally, but she didn't think Liu He could advance to the mid-stage of Qi Refining in one or two years.