Chapter 31: The Goal of an Alchemist’s Life: The Flawless Pill

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The small cauldron in Gu Xi’s hand glowed as white as jade. He poured the Eight Petal Celestial Orchid, the Spirit-returning Crimson Fruit, the Hundred Herb Dew, and other plants into the cauldron one by one. He did not think about what kind of pill he wanted to refine.

When he was traveling with the old man earlier, the old man seemed to be carefree and unconcerned about the affairs of the world. He had a compassionate heart. However, when he attacked, his moves were unpredictable, revealing a bit of unrestrained and unruly behavior.

Perhaps it was this characteristic that made Gu Xi resonate with him. There were too many memories in his mind, and he did not have time to distill them one by one. Even though he was not completely familiar with them, those memories had fused into his blood and bones, as if he were born with them.

“What medicinal pill should I refine? The Qi Replenishing Pill? Spirit-tempering Pill? Detoxification Pill?”

Gu Xi said the names of several medicinal pills in a row, but he did not have any clue. However, even so, his hands did not stop moving. It was as if he had done it many times.

His body was surrounded by a vague Dao rhythm. It was as if there was an invisible existence in the void that was using Gu Xi’s hands to control these things. At this moment, his eyes seemed to have traveled through time and space.

Gu Xi did not come back to his senses until the faint medicinal fragrance reached his nose. “What’s that smell?”

He suddenly turned his head and realized that he had thrown in all of the medicinal herbs. “Not good!”

Gu Xi slapped his head. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he put all the medicinal herbs in. “It won’t affect my pill-making, will it? Will the furnace explode in the end?”

He wanted to fish it out, but it was already too late.

Seeing that it had already fused into one and could not be separated at all, Gu Xi sighed and said, “Since things have already come to this, then let’s leave it to fate.”

He did not know what exactly would be refined out of the medicinal herbs in the small cauldron. Gu Xi gathered his spiritual energy in his palm, and a spiritual fire was lit, burning fiercely under the cauldron.

At this moment, he had almost given up on this cauldron of medicinal pills, but he felt that it was a pity for these medicinal herbs. He could not bear such wastage.

“Even if it’s a failed pill, the dregs of the pill can still be extracted. At worst, I’ll just waste a chance to use the system.”

Gu Xi made up his mind and let the spiritual fire circulate on its own. He went to take a nap.

After an own amount of time, a rich and strange fragrance made Gu Xi open his eyes. “What’s that smell? It smells so good.”

Following the smell, Gu Xi walked over and was surprised to find that it was coming from inside the cauldron. At this moment, the spiritual fire had already been extinguished, and there was no movement inside the cauldron.

There seemed to be an indistinct strange fragrance in the air.

Gu Xi said uncertainly, “From the looks of it, it’s a success.”

Before he could open the cauldron, Little Nine’s big tail swept over. “Little Nine, stop fooling around!”

Gu Xi brushed away its big furry tail. Then, the two of them curiously peeked into the cauldron.

What greeted their eyes was a pure white medicinal pill. There were no impurities or unnecessary decorations. The body of the pill was round and full, and it did not look like a medicinal pill. It looked like it was a top-grade treasure that had been created by the Heavens.

The fragrance was also different from the medicinal fragrance that Gu Xi had smelled earlier. His consciousness slid into an ethereal state. His entire body became light, and he felt as if he was flying like a swallow. All the impurities were expelled from his body.

Even Little Nine’s eyes narrowed in pleasure. It subconsciously stretched its body, and its furry face was filled with a comfortable expression.

“What kind of pill is this?”

It was funny to say that he did not know what kind of pill he had refined.

Gu Xi held it in his hand and carefully studied it. If there was someone proficient in alchemy here, he would find that the quality of this pill had reached the perfect level.

The medicinal properties of all the plants were fused, bringing out all of their advantages. Furthermore, there were no side effects. Most importantly, there was no pill poison. There were no downsides to consuming this pill at all.

This was the most perfect and beautiful pill. It was also the top pill in the alchemy world. All alchemists devoted themselves to a goal their entire lives, which was to create such a ‘Flawless’ pill.

One had to know that no matter how gentle a spirit plant was, it would more or less clash with other plants. After all, everything was mutually reinforcing and counteracting each other. Moreover, each plant had impurities, because all kinds of elements could not be completely removed.

In addition, during the process of refining pills, there would also be pill poison. The more proficient the alchemist, the less pill poison there was. It was not very harmful to the human body, but over time, cultivators still need to expel them from their bodies.

Therefore, an average alchemist could only achieve a quality of 60-70%, while the quality of an excellent alchemist was 80-90%. People who could refine pills with a quality of 90% and above were rare. These were alchemy saints.

No one had ever refined a Flawless quality pill. It was said that it only existed in ancient times, and now it was almost a legend.

Gu Xi did not know that the moment he untied the herbs in the cauldron, the wind and clouds surged. A crane came from the Nine Heavens. The divine glow on the pill was brilliant, and the golden light was boundless. It instantly attracted the attention of several peaks around Sanqing Peak.

Among them was Wu Huaqing, who was supervising his disciples to refine the medicinal pill at this moment. He was scolding resentfully, “Have you forgotten what I taught you? I’ve already told you that although Skyheart and the Netherworld Grass look the same, their medicinal properties are completely different. Now that you’ve mixed the two and added the Netherworld Grass into the Clear Spirit Sky Flower, this cauldron of pills is ruined.”

The pill fire was burning fiercely, and the air was filled with a strange smell. If it was successfully refined, it would not smell like this.

As expected, just as he opened the cauldron, he saw a few pitch-black pills.

Wu Huaqing wanted to say something else, but a strange fragrance drifted over. This fragrance was so strong that it completely covered up the smell of the ruined pills. He was stunned on the spot, and his heart immediately stirred.

This smell–

“Who else is refining pills?!”