?
Evening.
Lu Li looked at the three pill-like pearls emitting faint white light inside the jade bottle and slowly stretched his back.
This was the Jade Skin Pill. As for its efficacy, Lu Li didn't know, but at least he had finally refined it, and surprisingly smoothly at that.
Moreover, along the way, he had also refined five Meridian-Nourishing Pills.
Just as he was about to take a satisfied rest, the stone door suddenly opened, and a young girl dressed in black sneakily slipped in. When she saw Lu Li, her face immediately lit up with joy:
"Hi, I've come to find you again."
Lu Li was stunned, thinking this girl really hadn't lied-she actually managed to break through the alchemy chamber's restriction. He walked up to Yue and asked, "You got the materials?"
Yue giggled, "Of course! Who do you think I am? Is there any material I can't get?"
With that, she dumped a bunch of jade boxes onto the stone table with a clatter. "See if it's enough."
This...
Lu Li glanced suspiciously at the jade boxes and jade bottles on the table, opened them, and counted.
Jade Skin Flowers: forty-six.
Hundred-Grass Dew: fifty bottles.
Snow Lotus Seeds: forty-five.
Octagonal Ice Grass: sixty plants.
Stone Orchid Grass: fifty plants.
"So? Is it enough?" Yue asked curiously.
"Enough... I guess?" Lu Li looked at Yue strangely. "You... plan to refine how many Jade Skin Pills?"
"Of course, the more the better! This is all the stock from the Medicine Hall. If it's not enough, I'll post tasks and have people search for more."
"Don't! No, no, no!" Lu Li hurriedly stopped her. "It's enough, completely enough. Eating too many Jade Skin Pills actually has side effects. This is more than enough for you to consume."
If Mo Shang found out about this, he'd think Lu Li had too much free time on his hands.
"Oh, my master said 'three parts of medicine is poison.' That's what you mean, right?" Yue seemed to understand but not fully.
"Yes, that's exactly what I mean."
Lu Li didn't bother explaining, but that was indeed the principle-not everyone was like him, having experienced that mysterious fruit's body refinement, allowing him to recklessly treat pills like candy.
Because when normal people consume pills, the residual substances take a certain amount of time to be expelled from the body. The more they accumulate, the harder it becomes to expel them. This was also why ordinary people, even if they had pills, didn't dare to consume them recklessly.
"Oh, I understand now. Then see how many you can refine. If I can't finish them all, I can give them to other Senior and Junior Sisters in the Sect."
"Senior and Junior Sisters?" Lu Li asked curiously. "This gloomy place actually has other female disciples?"
"Of course! Otherwise, why do you think Senior Brother Wu Liu asked you to help refine this pill? I guess... he has someone he likes."
"Oh, so that's how it is." Lu Li nodded. "Alright, you go back first. Come find me again in half a month."
"Half a month? That long?"
"Of course. I'm not refining pills just for you alone. I still have to complete my tasks. Otherwise... go beg your master not to give me alchemy tasks, and I'll refine pills exclusively for you?"
"Oh." Yue pouted. "Fine, I'll come find you again in half a month."
After saying that, she waved at Lu Li. "Goodbye."
Lu Li smiled. Only after the stone door closed did he sit at the table, staring blankly at that pile of medicinal herbs.
If he paired the medicinal materials given by the other party into groups, he could assemble forty-five sets of Jade Skin Pill ingredients. The remaining Jade Skin Flowers and Hundred-Grass Dew couldn't be planted, so they could only be stored in the Space Hall.
However, those sixty Octagonal Ice Grass plants had intact roots. Moreover, Octagonal Ice Grass generally grew in Yin-cold places and was also a rare spirit herb that might be useful in the future. He cut off all their root systems and transplanted them into the medicine garden.
This counted as a pleasant surprise.
The Stone Orchid Grass was the same. Counting the root stems obtained from Wu Liu, there were now a full ninety-five Stone Orchid Grass stumps in the medicine garden.
After taking stock, Lu Li began refining pills again.
It wasn't until dawn the next day that Lu Li felt Wu Liu might be coming soon, so he stopped.
After this night's intense battle, all the materials for refining Piercing Acupoint Pills and Meridian-Nourishing Pills that he had on him were exhausted. For a short while, he couldn't refine any more pills for breakthrough cultivation.
He now possessed a total of fifty-six Piercing Acupoint Pills and fifty-five Meridian-Nourishing Pills.
Lu Li planned to start a new round of acupoint breakthrough soon, aiming to reach the seventh level of Qi Refining in one go.
Just as Lu Li was taking stock of his gains, Wu Liu entered. He scratched the back of his head, both excited and somewhat embarrassed, and asked, "Brother Qin, how did it go?"
Lu Li smiled, took out a jade bottle, and handed it over. "Three pills. Not a single set of medicinal materials was wasted."
"Ah, that's great! Thank you, Brother Qin." Wu Liu uncorked the bottle and looked inside, instantly overjoyed.
However, after collecting himself, he said somewhat apologetically, "Um, the Elder's task has been assigned. Take a look."
As he spoke, he handed Lu Li a piece of yellow paper with writing on it.
Lu Li took it and saw it read: August Task: Use three hundred sets of Corpse-Nurturing Pill materials to refine two hundred and ninety Corpse-Nurturing Pills.
"This... is too outrageous, isn't it?" Lu Li's gaze moved back and forth between Wu Liu and the task sheet.
Wu Liu felt a bit uncomfortable under the scrutiny and quickly said, "Brother Qin, don't be upset yet. I have good news."
"Good news?"
"Mhm. The Elder said he'll give you a one-year probation period. If you perform well, after a year, he'll help you expel the Soul-Devouring Pill and replace it with a Soul-Control Pill. Then you won't need to take Clear Spirit Pills every month."
"What!"
Lu Li's eyes widened, thinking, What kind of good news is this? I finally managed to get rid of the Soul-Devouring Pill's poison, and now you want to give me a Soul-Control Pill instead? At this thought, he couldn't help but feel a prickling sensation on his back.
It seemed he had to find a way to leave this place as soon as possible. He absolutely couldn't wait until after a year; otherwise, things would get troublesome.
"Brother Qin, don't be too happy. Perform well." Seeing Lu Li dumbfounded, Wu Liu thought he was overly excited, and the guilt in his heart diminished considerably. Holding the jade bottle, he left cheerfully.
Leaving only Lu Li sitting grim-faced at the table.
Half a month later, Yue arrived as promised.
As soon as she entered, she asked impatiently, "So? Are the Jade Skin Pills ready?"
Lu Li smiled, took out three jade bottles, and placed them on the table. "Thirty in total. Count them."
Actually, he had refined forty-five in total. But thinking about selling some later, he didn't hand over all of them.
Yue didn't think that much about it. Excitedly, she put away two of the jade bottles, then poured out one pill from the remaining bottle, pinched it in her hand to examine it, and immediately swallowed it in one gulp.
Instantly, shefelt a slight change in her skin. She couldn't help but bring her face close to Lu Li's. "How is it? Am I pretty?"
Her face was like jade-smooth cream, her nose finely carved like jade, her pink, tender lips close at hand. As she spoke, a fragrant aroma wafted over. Lu Li couldn't help but feel his palms grow warm, his face turning red as he said, "You're pretty, you're pretty, but... could you step back a bit?"
"Ah, oh." Only then did Yue realize she had gotten too close. Her delicate face also flushed pink, but she quickly recovered. Her eyes darting playfully at Lu Li, she suddenly chuckled. "You... are you shy?"
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