Chapter 551 307:
Qiancao Hall is an affiliate of the Pill Cauldron Pavilion, and on the path of cultivation, it is like rowing against the current; if you do not advance, you will fall behind.
The advancement in a cultivator's realm is often supported by the assistance of medicine, such as for martial artists. From the Lower Three Grades, they use various Entry Level Bone-Forger Ointments, Yijin Pills, and Muscle-Nourishing Soups.
Up to the Middle Third Grade, they require various Grade-Entering Elixirs that enhance Qi and Blood Power, like the Qi and Blood Pill. There are even corresponding elixirs for the Great Cultivators of the Upper Three Grades.
An outstanding alchemist already holds a special status, coupled with Pill Cauldron Pavilion's non-involvement in the power disputes of Donglai County. Moreover, Pill Cauldron Pavilion is not only developed in Donglai County.
Joining Qiancao Hall to become a Pill Master at Pill Cauldron Pavilion can be a secure and profitable option, granting a significant status. It's a tremendous temptation for any independent alchemist or even the Pill Masters of third-rate forces.
Amidst the clamor, two women in light blue dresses followed, and a woman in a blue dress with three-leaf herb embroidery at the cuff appeared.
"Everyone, please quiet down!"
The woman in the light blue dress behind spoke, her voice infused with Spiritual Qi spread across the front of Qiancao Hall. After the crowd quieted their discussions, she continued: "This is Steward Lin, responsible for recruiting new Pill Masters for our Qiancao Hall this time."
Under many gazes, Lin Xue slowly stepped out.
"Today, our Qiancao Hall wishes to begin recruitment and establish a new furnace, with two rules. First, each person must pay three hundred taels of silver for registration, which is the cost of alchemy materials, whether they pass the examination or not. There will be no refunds."
"Second, I am completely transparent, the examination this time requires refining a commonly seen market Qi and Blood Pill."
"Now, those who are interested, please come forward to register and pay, then receive your number plate in order."
As soon as the three hundred tael registration fee was announced, nearly seventy percent of the eager crowd in front of the hall showed difficulties. These people were simply there to watch the excitement or had the mindset to fish in troubled waters.
No one was willing to throw away three hundred taels for no reason, which was precisely the reason Qiancao Hall set the registration fee.
At the same time, another twenty percent showed hesitation, as they lacked confidence in their alchemy skills.
When the examination topic 'Qi and Blood Pill' was announced, of the remaining ten percent, more than half fell silent.
The Qi and Blood Pill is a common Seventh Grade Pill, usable not only by martial artists but also by Three Religions Cultivators to enhance their physique and nurture their Qi and Blood.
As a result, many great counties' martial artists often used Qi and Blood Pills as a trade medium, replacing gold and silver, using pills to barter.
The path of alchemy not only requires talent but is also a gold-devouring cave; it requires constant practice and trial and error in alchemy to improve skills, which is not affordable for average cultivators.
Independent Pill Masters, even with decent talent, would quickly hit a bottleneck if there is no support from major forces to provide materials for trial and error or higher-grade Pill Formulas. Moreover, the pills they produce struggle to compete with those cultivated by Pill Masters from well-organized major forces.
A few breaths later, the first person registered. He was a man who appeared almost forty, with slightly dark skin.
"I register!"
After the first person registered, several others quickly followed suit from the crowd. The first batch of applicants comprised five people—three men and two women, and Su Mu was among them.
"I am… Sun Li."
"Alright, follow me."
Lin Xue made a simple registration of the five people's information, then led the first batch of applicants to the back courtyard on the first floor of Qiancao Hall. Each separate alchemy room outside had an examiner.
Outside the fifth alchemy room was a man in a black robe, appearing around thirty. Though his appearance was not particularly handsome, there was no herbal fragrance typical of an alchemist on his body, but rather a faint aura of blood and killing intent.
Not only that, his temples were slightly prominent, and as he moved, his Qi and Blood Power circulated. This man was a martial artist and had stained his hands with much blood.
Su Mu's eyes flickered, with his acute five senses, he could smell a unique scent on the man, slightly salty and fishy.
"A Sixth-Grade Martial Artist, with a smell of long-term involvement in water environments… this person is likely not from Qiancao Hall."
However, Su Mu did not think this person was a river bandit or similar, as Donglai County had developed water systems, involved in shipping whether by two gangs, the four Great Noble Families or the County Mansion. This scent did not necessarily mean anything.
"My surname is Cao, come in."
"The herbal materials and all alchemy tools are here. If you need anything else, you can mention it now."
The man in the black robe spoke indifferently. Su Mu stepped into the alchemy room, and his eyes brightened slightly. This alchemy room was spatially equivalent to the one he had set up in his courtyard.
However, the arrangement of all tools and some unfamiliar devices caught the eyes of someone who learned on his own like him. As they say, among three people walking, there must be one who can be my teacher.
"As expected of a force under Pill Cauldron Pavilion, the arrangement of the alchemy room and tools is worth learning."
Su Mu glanced around. The materials needed for the Qi and Blood Pill were already prepared in three sets, with the quality of the materials being medium; not too good, but not bad either.
Su Mu shook his head, indicating he had no objections.
"Mr. Sun prefers a quiet environment for alchemy."
"Rest assured, I won't disturb you."
With that, Mr. Cao did not leave the alchemy room. He first closed the alchemy room door, then went to a corner, sat cross-legged with his back to Su Mu, and started cultivating with his cultivation technique.
"This examination seems not simple."
Su Mu thought to himself, without worrying too much. If it didn't work out, he could just leave. Pill Cauldron Pavilion's reputation outside was quite good, and previous trades and dealings with Qiancao Hall also left Su Mu with a good impression of the hall.
Retracting his gaze, Su Mu picked up a roll of beast hide beside the herbal materials, which was a Pill Formula, and examined it carefully.
"This Pill Formula is very similar to the Qi and Blood Pill Formula in the 'Ten Elixir Herbs Manual'… but the difficulty is slightly lower, and the refining method is simpler, with two additional ingredients."
Su Mu closed the formula, with his terrifying comprehension and inference talent at the Dragon-and-Phoenix Level, along with his ever-growing spiritual power, he completed the inference comparison of the two formulas in an instant.
Having a plan in mind, he immediately began processing the herbal materials according to the formula, with every refining step committed to memory.
"Previously, my refining success rate for Qi and Blood Pills stabilized at about sixty percent…"
Su Mu quickly recalled his previous experiences with Qi and Blood Pill refining in his mind. It took him less than two months to improve his refining success rate from barely producing pills to sixty percent.
If it weren't for the urgency of the competition, given more time, Su Mu could completely achieve a higher success rate, such as reaching eighty percent like with Bone Strengthening Pills or even higher.
"Grind the century-old White Ginseng into powder and extract its essence; boil the century-old Three-leaf Blood Ginseng for more than two hours…"
Su Mu expertly handled the herbal materials in front of him.
Cao Yu, with his back turned to Su Mu, glanced at Su Mu's every move with the corner of his eye, unable to stop showing a hint of confusion on his face. The Qi and Blood Pill Formula for the examination had been modified to a certain extent.
The refining difficulty was above that of an ordinary Qi and Blood Pill, and alchemy is a meticulous process where any tiny change can ruin a furnace of pills.
"How reckless… starting after merely glancing through the formula."
Cao Yu had witnessed many experienced alchemists refining; even those who had spent decades immersed in alchemy still required time to carefully study unfamiliar formulas.
Moreover, the examination time allocated was ample, not just a day or half a day, but a full three days.
With only three sets of materials provided for the examination, this youngster's impulsive action seemed truly foolish in Cao Yu's eyes. Soon, he also noticed that Su Mu didn't use those special tools while processing the materials.
Such an amateurish performance drastically lowered Cao Yu's evaluation of Su Mu.
"Not only reckless but also not recognizing the alchemy tools?"
"This kid can barely achieve a thirty percent success rate, let alone produce pills… he's hopeless."
At this, Cao Yu shook his head and stopped observing Su Mu's alchemy process, closing his eyes to focus on cultivation.
What others thought, Su Mu naturally didn't know. He was fully immersed in the alchemy process.
As the fire in the furnace roared, time passed second by second.
At a certain moment!
A heart-calming fragrance of pills interrupted Cao Yu's cultivation. As he smelled this fragrance, his whole body trembled, and he swallowed a mouthful of water, turning his head to look.
Amidst the fragrance's lingering, a young man in ordinary work clothes uncovered the pill furnace, with his eyebrows slightly furrowed.
"It looks like it failed… Indeed, how could he succeed…"
Interrupting his thought process abruptly, Cao Yu's eyes widened, full of disbelief.
Only to hear the young man, with his back to him, sigh with a hint of disappointment on his face.
"Sigh, it seems I haven't refined pills for a while and have become rusty… only six pills from this batch."