The raw materials for a Qi-replenishing pill aren't worth much. Since we've already borrowed the alchemy furnace, we might as well go all the way. Even if the pill doesn't turn out well in the end, or if the quality of the pill is too poor, we won't lose anything.
Moreover, the shopkeeper was willing to help her because he noticed that the girl's clothes were made of fine fabric, and she might have encountered some unexpected misfortune that led to her current state. Everyone faces difficulties when they are away from home, and lending a helping hand is a way to build good karma, which is worthy of the "kindness" in the name of Baoshantang.
Many of the people who had been watching the commotion outside followed into Baoshantang. They were curious whether the little beggar who had just been kicked out of the house across the street was really good at alchemy or just trying to swindle people.
Some of the customers in Yongchun Hall also came out to see Shi Xuan. Some people actually believed her and were even draping alchemy furnaces and materials over her. The shopkeeper spat viciously at the people opposite him. This Baoshan Hall was always good at these superficial acts; helping this little beggar he'd chased away was nothing more than trying to gain a reputation for good deeds, needlessly making Yongchun Hall look like the villains. Hypocritical!
Shi Xuan ignored the crowd surrounding her, quickly lit the fire in the furnace, picked out a few herbs from several kinds of medicinal herbs, and seemingly casually threw them into the furnace. While using her spiritual power to control the fire, she also made hand seals to process the herbs in the furnace.
Everyone was shocked by her actions, and various discussions arose among the crowd.
"My God! Baoshantang is going to lose money this time. She clearly doesn't know how to refine pills. She just threw all the materials into the furnace!"
"The shopkeeper gave her enough ingredients for a whole batch of Qi-replenishing pills, but she only used a portion of them. She didn't use any of the Qilin grass. Is she really making Qi-replenishing pills? She probably doesn't even know the recipe."
"But she can execute the alchemy technique quite quickly, though it seems she made several mistakes."
"She didn't process the medicinal herbs before throwing them directly into the alchemy furnace; that won't make a pill!"
"Let's move around a bit, so we don't cause an explosion and hurt anyone."
"Let's go, there's nothing to see here. There aren't that many down-on-their-luck masters. A little beggar is just a little beggar."
"I want to see what kind of expression the manager of Baoshantang will have behind his back."
...
These discussions did not affect Shi Xuan. Currently, her spiritual power is limited, and coupled with the problem with her spiritual root, using spiritual power causes her body to hurt. The more spiritual power she uses, the more painful it becomes. Therefore, she can only choose to refine this first-order pill, which is the simplest to control fire.
The ingredients she discarded for the Qi-tonifying pill were those that were dispensable and could be added or omitted. For example, the Qilin grass itself did not contribute to the pill's effects; its role was merely to promote the fusion of the other two ingredients.
The burnt smell that the onlookers expected did not appear on time. On the contrary, the fire burned very steadily, and a fragrance gradually wafted out over time.
All eyes were on the alchemy furnace, watching the flames dancing at the bottom. Everyone held their breath, as if the result might exceed expectations.
Shi Xuan quickly completed the processing and fusion of the raw materials. She condensed the medicinal liquid together in sequence and controlled the liquid to rotate at high speed in the furnace with her divine sense so that it would be heated evenly.
Before long, a strange fragrance wafted out. Shi Xuan's fingers flew as he quickly cast a pill-collecting incantation. Several round pills jumped out of the pill furnace and were placed into a prepared white porcelain bottle. Without even looking at them, he handed them directly to the manager of Baoshantang.
The crowd erupted in uproar once again.
"Impossible! It actually formed a pill!"
"I don't understand. Didn't she put all the raw materials into the furnace without doing any processing at the beginning?"
"Impossible! The ingredient ratios are all wrong, and the Qilin Grass wasn't even added. I suspect this isn't a Qi-replenishing pill at all."
"But this scent... it really does look a bit like it."
"Why don't we just have the shopkeeper take it out and check it?"
...
The shopkeeper was secretly delighted. His judgment was correct; this child was probably a legitimate disciple of some noble family who had somehow ended up here. Watching her alchemy movements, he found them fluid, smooth, and insightful, with an indescribable charm.
Shi Xuan put away the alchemy furnace and cleaned up the remaining debris after refining the pills before saying to the shopkeeper, "Please take a look at the quality of this bottle of Qi-replenishing pills."
She thought to herself: Fortunately, the amount of spiritual energy needed to refine a first-grade pill is not too painful.
The onlookers all looked at the shopkeeper. They were very curious about the pill that had been made from this bottle of missing parts. Was it a Qi-replenishing pill? If not, what other kind of pill could it be?
Amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, the shopkeeper poured the elixir from the bottle into a tray inside the shop. Instantly, a delicate fragrance filled the entire room, a scent that was refreshing and invigorating.
There were five pills in total, each one round and plump, lying on the tray and radiating a lustrous glow.
The shopkeeper picked up one, held it up to his eyes to examine it in front of everyone, and after a moment, his smile vanished.
"This... there's no trace of the pill!"
Because it is difficult to completely remove impurities from alchemy materials, some pill marks formed by impurities will appear on the surface of the pill after it is successfully refined. The fewer pill marks, the higher the purity of the pill. The grade of the pill is directly related to its purity, which means that the fewer pill marks, the higher the grade of the pill.
For cultivators, the higher the grade of the pill, the less burden it places on the body. Top-grade pills are basically free of toxicity, and the flawless top-grade pills are completely free of any residual toxicity.
The pill before us has no visible traces of its original ingredient! It is a flawless, top-grade pill!
The shopkeeper's gaze was somewhat vacant. Even though he had been running a pill shop for many years, he had only seen a handful of top-grade pills. After all, the masters who could refine top-grade pills made their own custom-made pills and would not sell them in the shop.
The crowd erupted in uproar.
"It's a top-grade pill! But I don't think it's real."
"Impossible! Did I really witness the birth of a batch of top-grade pills?"
"Perhaps because her refining method is different, the pill marks are concentrated inside. Let the shopkeeper cut it open and take a look inside."
"Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand alchemy. Impurities can only float on the surface during rotation. If you can refine a pill that hides impurities inside, the Divine Cauldron Sect will probably send people to beg you to join their sect."
"Putting aside whether it's a Qi-replenishing pill or not, just its top-quality appearance alone makes this bottle of pills worth some spirit stones."
...
Various surprised murmurs rang out. Shi Xuan gently touched the lucky charm inside through the outer hem of her skirt and said, "Shopkeeper, why don't you cut one open and try it? You can pay me for the rest later."
The manager of Baoshantang finally came to his senses. He was a little reluctant to cut such a perfect pill, but under the urging of Shi Xuan and the onlookers, he gritted his teeth and used a knife to cut the pill in half.
When the two halves of the pill were fully exposed to everyone's gaze, the surroundings suddenly fell silent.
The inside of this pill was pure white and flawless! Not a single impurity could be seen. Its perfect appearance shocked everyone. Therefore, this was truly a genuine, top-grade, flawless Qi-replenishing pill!
Not only is it top-quality, but it's also flawless!
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