Li Tan followed the steward to the fourth floor, where the space was somewhat smaller and the population sparser than the third floor. In the center was a circular hall, with rooms arranged in order around it.
“Please come this way.”
The steward pointed in a direction, leading the way and stopping in front of a wooden door. He respectfully said, “Well, here we are. The assessment requires the production of a second-grade Hunyuan Pill, and all the materials have already been prepared.”
“Alright, let’s begin then.”
Li Tan glanced at the wooden door. Above it hung a wooden plaque inscribed with the vermilion characters “Pill Refining Room.”
This place was usually used by alchemists for pill refining but was temporarily serving as the assessment venue. After opening the door and lighting the oil lamp, Li Tan entered the stone-structured room, designed to prevent fires from furnace explosions. In the center stood the pill refining furnace, with neatly arranged materials for producing the Hunyuan Pill already placed on the ground.
Among second-grade pills, the Hunyuan Pill was one of the simplest to produce, with a straightforward function: accelerating the recovery of true energy.
Because it was easy to make, it posed virtually no difficulty for Li Tan. Compared to producing the pill, he was more interested in the Xuan Tie pill furnace he had bought at the auction, and this was a good opportunity to test it out.
This furnace had no name, so Li Tan named it Xuánhuáng Ding.
The Xuánhuáng Ding’s primary function was to avert heavenly calamities, and secondarily, to make pill refining easier. Li Tan was curious about how much easier it could make the process.
He took the Xuánhuáng Ding from the Huang Tower and placed it on the ground. Sitting cross-legged, he moved all the herbs closer, ignited the pill flame, and began refining the Hunyuan Pill.
His hands moved swiftly, almost without looking, relying solely on instinct to toss the herbs into the Xuánhuáng Ding.
Yet each toss was precise, without any mistakes. If Zuo Qingchun had been present, he would surely have praised him in admiration.
The first round of herbs had all been added and began to change under the scorching pill flame. With only one set of materials available, Li Tan wasted no time. Quickly following the ancient method he had accidentally discovered in the Dahuang Ruins, he channeled his true energy, activating the patterns within the Xuánhuáng Ding.
As the true energy flowed, the intricate patterns inside the Xuánhuáng Ding emitted a pale yellow glow, giving it an ancient, solemn aura.
“Wow,” Li Tan couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
With these patterns activated, he distinctly felt that his consumption of true energy to maintain the pill flame had decreased by more than half, and the stability of the pill flame had significantly improved.
“This item is a real treasure. It’s lucky it appeared in a small place like Chi Ze. If it had appeared in Xue Cheng, you wouldn’t even get close without a local high-grade martial technique.”
He had struck gold.
Li Tan grinned and continued refining the Hunyuan Pill in a methodical manner. About an incense stick’s time later, the pill room was filled with a faint fragrance, signaling the completion of the Hunyuan Pill.
Li Tan withdrew his true energy, extinguished the pill flame, and swiftly retrieved the pill as if plucking chestnuts from a fire. Upon closer inspection, he nodded in satisfaction: “Pill patterns—a supreme-grade Hunyuan Pill. Not bad at all.”
The first pill was top-notch. Li Tan then retrieved the remaining pills.
This batch yielded a total of six Hunyuan Pills, meaning only one was lost. After a brief moment of contemplation, Li Tan stored the supreme-grade Hunyuan Pill and all the high-grade pills into the Huang Tower, keeping only the two medium-grade and one low-grade pills with him. He then exited the pill room, closing the door securely behind him.
The steward, who had been waiting at the door, looked at Li Tan in astonishment and stammered, “So fast?”
“What’s wrong? Not allowed?”
Li Tan shot him a glare.
The steward hurriedly shook his head, “No, no, of course it’s allowed. Hehe, did you produce any pills? Passing the assessment only requires one pill.”
Privately, the steward thought, “Coming out this quickly must mean failure, maybe even a furnace explosion. This nobleman is just here to play with me.” But then he saw Li Tan approach and casually toss out three round objects as if they were trash.
Startled, the steward hurriedly caught them in his hands. He looked at them, rubbed his eyes, and looked again, then gasped in disbelief, “This! This! Two medium-grade and one low-grade! Not only would it be impressive for a novice, even experienced pill refiners might not achieve such results!”
Seeing the steward’s shocked expression, Li Tan felt his decision to conceal the high-grade and supreme-grade pills was extremely wise. He inquired, “Is there any issue? If not, please proceed with the registration and provide me with my identification.”
“Just a moment, right away, right away.”
The steward widened his eyes, carefully examining the three Hunyuan Pills in his hands. He even smelled them and finally gulped, “No problem. Oh, please come with me to the third floor first. Miss Zhang should be out soon, and I’ll handle her matter together.”
“Okay.”
Li Tan nodded, and the steward sighed in relief.
He was afraid Li Tan would say, “I refuse,” leaving Miss Zhang waiting on the third floor, which would cause him trouble when she got angry.
As Li Tan followed the steward and had just arrived on the third floor, Miss Zhang opened the pill room door and walked out. The group of youths waiting at the door immediately gathered around to flatter her.
The steward quickly walked over, while Li Tan, uninvolved, waited on the spot.
Soon, the youths, who had been clustered together chanting “Senior sister is awesome,” made way for the steward. Then, suddenly, they all fell silent.
Before the steward stood Miss Zhang, her white dress now black, her once clean face as sooty as if she had just emerged from a mine.
Clearly, she had failed, and there had even been a furnace explosion.
“This is very puzzling, but it’s okay. You’re still young; you can try again next time.”
The steward comforted her skillfully.
Although Miss Zhang was in a particularly bad mood, she politely refrained from taking it out on others and calmly asked, “I understand. Thank you for your trouble. Oh, when did that gentleman who was with me come out?”
“Oh, Master Li has already come out.”
The steward replied.
Miss Zhang unsurprisingly asked, “So fast? He failed too, right?”
The steward chuckled awkwardly, “Eh, Master Li passed the assessment.”
Miss Zhang’s expression of sympathy instantly froze, and she stood there stunned, “Wha… What did you say again?”
The steward had to repeat, “Master Li passed the assessment.”
“What incredible luck! He must have managed to refine one low-grade pill!”
Miss Zhang cast an envious glance toward Li Tan.
Then, the steward’s somewhat embarrassed voice came from her ear again, “Ahem, that is, Master Li refined one low-grade pill.”
Miss Zhang nodded in agreement, as expected.
However, the steward added, “And two medium-grade pills.”
Miss Zhang’s expression froze once more.
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