Chương 76: 1.76 Pill Creation~

As usual, Ling Yinran found herself in the alchemy hall, idly watching Ning practice alchemy. It reminded her faintly of her younger days, when she used to watch her aunt refine pills, except this time, there were far fewer accidents and, thankfully, no explosions. That alone already made this a far more pleasant experience. Still, after standing there for a while, she could not help but speak.

"Junior Brother, aren't you tired of doing so much alchemy?" From her perspective, Ning was either refining pills or on his way to refining pills. Ever since he had successfully learned the basics, he had been doing it nonstop for the past five months. His work ethic, if nothing else, was terrifyingly consistent. Ning lifted the lid of the cauldron and glanced inside. Another low-grade Qi Gathering Pill sat there. Its shape was uneven, its qi unstable, and it seemed to be ready to crumble at any moment now.

He stared at it for a moment, sighed, and waved it aside.

"Senior Sister," he said calmly, "I've realized that alchemy is all about repetition, perfecting already precise movements, and controlling the rhythm of the process. All of that requires relentless practice." He paused, then added with a small smile, "Besides, it's fun to grind a skill to its highest potential." Ling Yinran blinked.

"…Grinding skills,'" she repeated slowly. That was another thing she had noticed. Ning had a habit of using very strange lingo: grind, optimize, debug, status. He may not have noticed it, since he was so casual about it. Still, as long as he was making progress and not blowing up the alchemy hall, she decided not to question it too much. Ling Yinran tilted her head slightly as she listened.

"That sounds reasonable," she admitted after a moment.

"But maybe you should take a step back and process things for a bit, since you have been having trouble for refinign qi gathering pill for a while now." She was not trying to discourage him. It was just that Ning's current Qi Gathering Pills were sitting at around twenty percent purity, barely having a consistent shape and definitely not safe for consumption. Ning did not respond immediately. Instead, he reached for the Image Recording Stone placed nearby.

Its surface shimmered faintly under the light, the edges worn just enough to show it had been used repeatedly. He infused a thin strand of qi into it. The stone responded with a faint hum, and a projection flickered into existence above it. The image stabilized. It showed Ning himself, standing before the cauldron earlier, refining the exact same Qi Gathering Pill. From it, one could see every moment, every pause, every shift in the flames.

Every tiny moment of hesitation that had felt insignificant in the moment but had ultimately contributed to failure. Ling Yinran's brows rose slightly.

"Also, I never thought you'd use an Image Recording Stone like this." Ning nodded, his eyes already focused on the projection.

"Watching from a third-person perspective helps," he said.

"When you're inside the process, everything feels smooth. Continuous. You don't notice where things go wrong. But from outside…" He gestured lightly toward the image.

"…patterns start to appear." The projection replayed. This time, the mistakes were obvious. At one point, the flame rose just slightly too high. At another, his timing lagged by less than a breath. Not major errors. But these were already quite telling. Ling Yinran watched Ning summarize stuff.

"You know," she said, "I'm definitely stealing this idea." This was another reason she liked hanging out with her junior brother. Ever so often, he brings out little surprises which would amuse her. In this case, using the image recording stone could be potentially useful when she was configuring her puppets. She could check the imbalance in the movement sequence and activation process from another perspective or even review the whole thing at the end.

Ning didn't even look at her as he replied, his attention still fixed on the projection.

"It's not stealing if it's between fellow disciples. It's called sharing knowledge to strengthen each other. Besides, with how familiar we are, ideas like this are meant to be shared anyway." Ling Yinran snorted lightly.

"You always have a way of saying things nicely." After a few more moments, Ning dispersed the projection with a flick of qi. Then he turned back to the cauldron.

"Let's try again." Ling Yinran blinked.

"That fast?" Ning had already started moving. This time, however, he did not reach for the Qi Gathering Pill ingredients. Instead, he picked up something far simpler. Fasting Pill materials. Ling Yinran raised an eyebrow.

"You're going backward to the fasting pills?"

"I would like it if you call it going back to basics," Ning retorted. His hands began moving. And immediately, the difference was obvious. The ingredients were processed smoothly under his control. The grinding was even, the mixing precise, the proportions adjusted instinctively from sheer repetition. His qi flowed steadily, guiding every step with refined precision. It looked… effortless. Ling Yinran watched silently as the process unfolded.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Where earlier there had been small stutters in rhythm, now there was only continuity. Each step flowed seamlessly into the next. The flame rose and fell at exactly the right moments. A short while later, Ning lifted the lid of the cauldron. Three pills rose slowly from within, suspended lightly in the air by residual qi. They were flawless. Ling Yinran stepped closer and examined them carefully.

"…Ninety-six percent purity," she said after a brief pause.

"All three." She glanced at Ning.

"…You're getting increasingly better at this pill, however." Ning nodded calmly, completely unbothered.

"Yes. After all, I'm the one cooking them." Then, he picked up one of the pills and rolled it lightly between his fingers.

"The real problem I'm facing," he said, "is the jump."

"Jump?" Ling Yinran repeated.

"From Fasting Pills to Qi Gathering Pills," Ning explained. He placed the pill back down and gestured toward the ingredients on the table.

"The complexity increases drastically. Fasting Pills use simple materials, low interaction, and stable reactions. Even if you make small mistakes, the structure holds." He paused briefly.

"Qi Gathering Pills are the opposite." Ling Yinran listened quietly.

"More ingredients," Ning continued.

"More volatile interactions. Conflicting properties that need to be balanced in real time. The fire control alone becomes significantly harder." He tapped the edge of the cauldron lightly.

"Each ingredient has its own optimal temperature range. Their interactions aren't linear. If one step is even slightly off, everything collapses." Ling Yinran nodded slowly.

"That's true."

"So I'm bridging the gap," Ning said simply.

"I'm using Fasting Pills as the base and adding complexity step by step." He gestured toward a stack of jade slips.

"That's why I've been looking through Master's recipes. Fortunately, she has quite a collection." Ling Yinran snorted.

"That's putting it lightly. Her biggest hobby is collecting strange recipes. If something looks even remotely unusual, she'll keep it." Ning smiled.

"That sounds exactly like her." He picked up one particular jade slip.

"Let's try this one. It fits perfectly with my requirement; it is a step up from the normal fasting pill, but doesn't reach the complexity of the qi gathering pill." He scanned the contents briefly.

"I don't have Blood Qi Grass," he muttered, "but I do have Dragon Qi Grass, which is a superior version. As for the purification liquid… the cleansing property of Fenghuang's white flame should be enough." Ling Yinran watched as he began adjusting the formula. Creating a new alchemy pill was not something that could be done by simply adding sugar, spice, and everything nice, even though that did create the Powerpuff Girls.

But modifying Creating new pills was not something Ning could do on the fly, but modifying minor details was still within his limits, especially given his familiarity with the pill. After that, Ning once again began the pill refining. Since it was his first time practicing this recipe, he did not expect success at the first try, but it seems he got quite lucky. Ning opened the cauldron, and a single, perfectly formed pill rose into the air.

He paused, not only because of his lucky success but also by the pill itself.

"…Huh?" Ling Yinran leaned in, her expression shifting.

"Junior Brother," she said slowly, "this doesn't look like the pill in the recipe." She pointed at it.

"It's… pink. The one you selected had a slight reddish tint at best." There was no better word for it. It was undeniably pink. Ning stared at it as well, frowning slightly.

"…And the purity is around sixty-seven percent," he muttered.

"That's… surprisingly high." Ling Yinran folded her arms.

"So," she said, clearly interested now, "what does it do?" Ning rubbed his chin.

"The original pill was supposed to help in blood replenishing," he said slowly.

"If I replaced the main ingredient with Dragon Qi Grass… then the effect should be stronger." He paused. Then added, with a hint of uncertainty, "Probably." Ling Yinran glanced toward the corner of the room.

"…Should I bring the rat?" Given their master's track record with "creative" pills, it was standard practice at this point. If there were no willing volunteers, there were always the rats.

"That should be best," Ning nodded after a brief moment of consideration.

"Human experimentation can wait." Human experimentation was simply posting a mission in the mission hall asking for a drug testing disciple. Ling Yinran gave him a look.

"Don't say it like that." Ning coughed lightly and chose not to respond. Just as Ling Yinran turned toward the corner to retrieve one of their increasingly overworked test rats, a hand suddenly reached in from the side and picked up the pill. Neither of them had noticed anyone enter. They both turned at the same time. Standing there, who else could it be but Ling Xin. In her hand, the newly formed pink pill rested between her fingers. Ling Xin did not say anything at first. She simply observed.

Her divine sense swept over the pill, scanning its structure, its internal qi flow, its stability. Then, without any hesitation, she lifted it slightly closer and sniffed it. Her expression shifted, just a little.

"…Hmm," she murmured.

"A sliver of Dragon Qi Grass, cloud wheat, basic grain… and you added a supplementary Yang-type ingredient as well?" Her tone was casual, as if identifying the composition of a newly created pill was no more difficult than recognizing vegetables in a soup. And given how Ning had to do a whole blindfolded ingredient testing, this was probably true. Ning blinked. Ling Yinran, on the other hand, looked entirely unsurprised.

"Aunt, you're awake?" she asked.

"I thought you were cultivating."

"I was," Ling Xin replied lazily.

"But I felt some interesting pill in my vicinity which triggered my pill radar, so I am here." Ning stared at her.

"You can just… sense that?" Ling Xin glanced at him, then lifted her chin slightly.

"Most alchemists can't," she said, with a faint trace of pride.

"But I've developed a kind of… sensitivity." There was a brief pause. Ning looked at her. He was not entirely sure whether she was serious. Given the world they lived in, however, there was a non-zero chance she actually meant it. So he decided not to question it.

"Anyway," Ling Xin continued, as if nothing unusual had been said, "you were discussing the effects of this pill, right?" Ling Yinran nodded.

"We were about to test it."

"There's no need," Ling Xin said. And before either of them could react, she casually tossed the pill into her mouth and swallowed it. Both Ning and Ling Yinran froze.

"…Aunt," Ling Yinran said slowly, her voice rising, "what are you doing?" Ling Xin waved a hand dismissively.

"Relax. The ingredients are too low-level to have any meaningful effect on me. Besides, experiencing it firsthand is the fastest way to understand a pill." She glanced at Ning, her gaze a bit pointed.

"The willingness to take the plunge is what separates the mediocre from the exceptional." Ning immediately understood what that look meant. She was absolutely trying to set an example. And more importantly, she was absolutely expecting him to follow it and eat one of her goddamn pills as well. Seriously, Ning had survived not eating her special pills until now. Ning pretended not to notice.

"Master," he said instead, seizing the safer option, "what are the effects?" Ling Xin closed her eyes briefly, focusing on the sensation. For a moment, everything seemed normal.

"Hmm," she began, "it replenishes qi and blood. The internal flow is smooth, and the effect is-" She stopped. There was a brief pause. Then, a faint blush appeared on her face. Ling Xin opened her eyes.

"…Oh." Ning and Ling Yinran both stared at her.

"Oh?" Ning repeated carefully. Ling Xin coughed lightly, her composure returning with visible effort.

"…It seems your pill also has an aphrodisiac effect." Silence filled the room.

"What?" Ning and Ling Yinran spoke at the same time. They both turned to look at her again. This time, there was no room for doubt. Ling Xin's breathing had become slightly uneven, and the faint flush across her face was… unmistakable.

"That's correct," she said, maintaining a surprisingly calm tone despite the situation.

"The pill stimulates blood flow to enhance recovery. However, the side effects appear to include… heightened stimulation." She paused.

"…And not a weak one." She continued speaking even though she was facing the effects of the pill. Not wanting to open that can of worms, he simply nodded and jotted down the effects. Ling Yinran, however, frowned slightly.

"Aunt… shouldn't you do something about your condition?"

"Oh, right!" Ling Xin reached into her storage bag and took out a small white pill. Without hesitation, she swallowed it and within moments, the effects disappeared as if they had never existed. Her expression returned to its usual calm.

"…Handled," she said. There was a brief silence. Ning looked at the pink pill again.

"…An aphrodisiac, huh?" He did not know what to feel. This was supposed to be a stepping stone toward refining Qi Gathering Pills. Instead, he had somehow created something… entirely different. Don't get him wrong, even now, Ning could absolutely find usage for this pill, be it using it to bait various wild beasts, or turning it into gas form, and using that as another attack to mess with the enemy. Ling Xin, on the other hand, looked delighted.

"As expected of my disciple," she said, nodding approvingly.

"The first unique pill you create on your own, and it's already this interesting." Behind him, Ling Yinran muttered under her breath, just loud enough to be heard,"… There are two of them now." Ning chose to ignore that. He stared at the pill in his hand. First, he had sold light novels. Now, he had created an aphrodisiac. At this rate, he wasn't sure what path his cultivation was taking anymore. Would anyone believe me if I said I didn't choose the gooner life? but the gooner life chose me? Ning pondered.

Ling Xin clapped her hands once, breaking his thoughts.

"Still," she said, "this deserves recognition." Ning looked up.

"For your first successful innovation," she continued grandly, "I will reward you." This got Ning's interest.

"I've recently been studying teaching methods," she said.

"Apparently, there is something called the 'carrot and stick' approach. So, tell me any one of your requests, not anything big, but something I could help you with."... Thanks for reading~