Chapter 330 Attempting a Breakthrough, Cao Ying Gets Pregnant

Old Man Shennong placed the last black stone and looked up at Shen Wen.

"Do you know what a Ninth Grade Pill signifies?"

Shen Wen sat down opposite him, his expression calm. "I do."

"Tell me."

"Eighth-grade Alchemy refines the Fusion of medicinal power. Ninth-grade Alchemy refines the laws of heaven and earth."

Shen Wen's tone was steady. "An Eighth Grade Pill triggers Pill Lightning upon completion. A Ninth Grade Pill moves heaven and earth."

Old Man Shennong nodded and asked again, "Then what do you think you're lacking right now?"

Shen Wen was silent for a moment.

What was he lacking?

Dou Qi? He had just broken through to Three-Star Dou Zun, and the Dou Qi provided by the four great Origins surged like a tide; even an ordinary Dou Saint couldn't match his vast reserves.

Soul? Heavenly Realm Great Perfection, only one step away from the legendary Emperor Realm Soul.

Understanding of medicinal power? He had the Supreme Alchemy Art, the bodhi heart, and the Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart. Any Pill Formula in his hands could be fully understood in the shortest time.

But he indeed lacked one thing.

"Experience," Shen Wen said. "I have refined Eighth Grade Pills, but never a Ninth Grade one. That missing step is heat control, the sense of proportion, and things that can only be known by actually refining them."

A hint of appreciation flashed in Old Man Shennong's eyes.

This kid had a stable Heart-Nature.

How many Alchemists, upon reaching this stage, would think they were invincible and couldn't wait to charge toward the ninth grade?

Yet Shen Wen could clearly identify his own deficiencies. This self-awareness was even rarer than talent.

"Then what do you plan to do?"

Shen Wen said, "I ask Revered Master to test me."

Old Man Shennong smiled.

There was a hint of relief and satisfaction in that smile.

"Good, then I shall test you."

He stood up, leaning on his cane as he walked toward the house. After two steps, he looked back at Shen Wen: "Starting today, refine one batch of Eighth Grade Pills every day. No limit on type or quality.

I will only watch, not speak."

"Until when?"

"Until you feel you are ready. Then come find me."

As his voice fell, the thin figure had already disappeared inside the door.

Shen Wen sat in the courtyard, looking at the closed wooden door, and suddenly smiled.

One batch of Eighth Grade Pills every day.

This wasn't a test; it was clearly letting him build experience through a mountain of Medicinal Pills.

He stood up and returned to the Shen Residence, heading straight for the Pill Refining Room.

The supreme cauldron was already waiting in the corner.

In the days that followed, the sky above the Shen Residence never knew peace.

Day one, Seven-Colored Pill Thunder.

Day two, Seven-Colored Pill Thunder.

Day three, still Seven-Colored Pill Thunder.

Day four—

The rumbling of thunder echoed through the clouds, and seven-colored light surged within them, eventually turning into eight colors that struck fiercely toward the back courtyard of the Shen Residence.

The people of Pill City had already become numb to it.

At first, some people would look up, pointing and discussing.

"Pill Lightning again?"

"Is Grandmaster Shen eating Medicinal Pills like meals?"

"Refining Eighth Grade Pills one batch after another—how much money must that cost?"

Later on, no one looked anymore.

Let it strike; it wasn't hitting their heads anyway.

However, over at the Pill Tower, several Elders couldn't sit still.

"Is this kid crazy?" Tian Leizi stood by the window on the top floor of the Pill Tower, looking at the distant Eight-Colored Pill Thunder with a deep frown. "One batch of Eighth Grade Pills a day—isn't he afraid of refining himself to exhaustion?"

Xuan Kongzi held his teacup and said in a faint tone, "What's there to fear? The boy is young."

Tian Leizi turned to glare at him.

Xuan Kongzi acted as if he didn't see it.

Xuan Yi sat to the side, also holding a scroll of a Pill Formula, but she hadn't turned a page in a long while.

Her gaze fell on the Eight-Colored Pill Thunder, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

The boy who used to cling to her leg and call her Aunt Xuan was now actually trying to Breakthrough to become a Ninth-Grade Alchemist?

Just how old was he!

...

The ninth day.

When Shen Wen emerged from the Pill Refining Room, the sky was already dark.

He stood in the courtyard, looking up at the dissipating Eight-Colored Pill Thunder, and let out a long breath of turbid air.

Nine days of Eighth Grade Pills; he had refined nine different types.

Each batch produced more than three pills, and every single one was of top quality.

He closed his eyes, replaying the refining process of the past few days from start to finish in his mind.

The heat control of every batch, the Fusion of medicinal power in every pill, the response to every descent of Pill Lightning—

Countless images flashed through his mind, being dismantled, analyzed, and summarized bit by bit by the bodhi heart and the Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart.

Those words that originally only existed on the Pill Formula, those subtle points that could only be felt but not described, became clear through these repeated replays.

Shen Wen opened his eyes.

It was about time.

He turned and walked toward the neighboring courtyard.

Old Man Shennong was sitting in the courtyard drinking tea.

Seeing him enter, he lifted his eyelids: "Refined enough?"

Shen Wen nodded and sat down opposite him.

Old Man Shennong set down his teacup and looked at him.

Under the moonlight, that young face was calm, his eyes clear, without a trace of fatigue or impatience.

"How do you feel?"

Shen Wen pondered for a moment and said, "For Eighth Grade Pills, I should be able to succeed with every batch. But for the ninth grade... there's still a layer of window paper left to poke through."

Old Man Shennong raised an eyebrow: "What window paper?"

Shen Wen said, "Eighth-grade Alchemy refines medicine. Ninth-grade Alchemy refines rules. I know the rules exist, but I don't know how to refine them into the Medicinal Pill."

Old Man Shennong was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

There was a hint of emotion and relief in that laughter.

"You kid, you're better than I was back then."

He stood up, leaning on his cane as he walked toward the house. At the door, he looked back at Shen Wen.

"Starting tomorrow, I will teach you."

...

Days passed one by one.

The Pill Lightning above the Shen Residence still hadn't stopped, but from the eighth day onward, no one looked up anymore.

They were used to it.

Anyway, it wasn't hitting them; let it strike.

Shen Wen himself, however, grew busier and busier.

During the day, he studied the theory of refining Ninth Grade Pills with Old Man Shennong; at night, he pondered and deduced on his own, occasionally having to deal with the "inspections" from the several madams in the residence.

On this day, Shen Wen had just returned from Old Man Shennong's place when he saw Cao Ying waiting for him at the courtyard gate.

She was wearing a crimson-purple long dress today, her hair coiled high, and her complexion looked much better than in previous days.

Shen Wen walked up to her, his gaze scanning her face, his eyebrows slightly raised.

"How do you?"

Cao Ying looked at him, the corners of her lips curling slightly, but she didn't speak.

Shen Wen felt uneasy under her gaze. Just as he was about to ask again, Cao Ying suddenly reached out, took his hand, and placed it on her lower abdomen.

"There's some movement."

Shen Wen was stunned for a moment.

Then he looked down at Cao Ying's abdomen, then up at her face, then back at the abdomen, then back at her face.

"Really?"

Cao Ying nodded.

Shen Wen fell silent.

He just stood there, his hand still on Cao Ying's abdomen, motionless.

Cao Ying waited for a few breaths. Seeing him not speak, she was about to say something—

"How long?"

Shen Wen's voice was a bit raspy.

Cao Ying said, "I found out a few days ago. It should be... from that period after you came back from the Nine Serene Earth Nether Python."

Shen Wen fell silent again.

A moment later, he suddenly bent down and picked Cao Ying up in a princess carry.

Cao Ying was startled and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck: "What are you doing?"

Shen Wen didn't speak, just carried her toward the house.

His steps were very steady, but his face looked a bit dazed.

Looking at him like that, Cao Ying suddenly laughed.

She leaned into his chest and said softly, "I've finally conceived. Are you happy?"

Shen Wen looked down at her, his usually calm eyes now filled with a rare sense of being dazed.

"I'm happy."

He said, his voice soft, as if confirming something.

Cao Ying looked at him, the curve of her lips deepening.

"That's good."