11: Refined Huanglongdan

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, do you always refine Medicinal Pills like this?"

After Zhang Qingxiao completely ruined this batch of Yellow Dragon Pill, Liang Ming spoke in surprise.

"Mm, I have always followed the steps written on the Pill Formula, but I do not know why I cannot seem to grasp the method."

"Fellow Daoist Liang, can you see where the problem lies when I am practicing Alchemy?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qingxiao knew that he must have done something wrong for Liang Ming to have such an expression.

"Why do you never use the Spirit Gathering Formation?"

"This is the most critical step before the medicinal ingredients condense into a pill."

"If I hadn't seen that you were very proficient in the other aspects of Alchemy, I would have suspected that this was your first time coming into contact with Alchemy."

Liang Ming suddenly thought of something as he said this and looked at Zhang Qingxiao in surprise, "Did you not use the Spirit Gathering Formation when you were refining Pi Gu Pill either?"

"Mm, I indeed did not use it."

Zhang Qingxiao did not hide anything.

When refining the Pi Gu Pill, he had actually activated the Spirit Gathering Formation twice, but he felt that it was far less convenient than using his own Qi to control the medicinal juice, so he stopped activating this Formation later on.

"Then refine a batch of Pi Gu Pill for me to see."

"I have the medicinal ingredients here. If you succeed, the Pi Gu Pill will be yours."

Liang Ming was incredulous.

He had been practicing Alchemy for fifty years and had never heard of any Qi Refinement Stage cultivator who could refine Medicinal Pills without activating the Spirit Gathering Formation.

This was not a question of the strength of Qi, but rather that cultivators in the Qi Refinement Stage could not achieve such precise control over their Qi.

Even a slight mistake in the output of Qi could cause a batch of Medicinal Pills to become waste.

And the purpose of the Spirit Gathering Formation was to ensure that the output of Qi was stable and did not destroy the properties of the medicinal ingredients.

Zhang Qingxiao did not hesitate and directly placed the medicinal ingredients for the Pi Gu Pill into the Pill Furnace, skillfully refining a batch of Pi Gu Pill.

The quality went without saying; even if it could not compare to the best Pi Gu Pill on the market, it was still better than the Pi Gu Pill refined by most Alchemists.

"This..."

"How did you do it?"

Seeing the Pi Gu Pill refined by Zhang Qingxiao, Liang Ming was completely dumbfounded.

Having practiced Alchemy for so many years, the quality of the Pi Gu Pill he refined was about the same as what Zhang Qingxiao had refined.

At this moment, he couldn't help but start to doubt whether his method of refining Pi Gu Pill all these years had been wrong.

After practicing Alchemy for decades, he was actually inferior to someone who had been refining Pi Gu Pill for less than half a year.

When he asked Zhang Qingxiao to refine the pills, he had inquired about the situation in detail and knew that Zhang Qingxiao had not been learning to refine Pi Gu Pill for a long time.

"I just followed the refining method for the Pi Gu Pill and refined it step by step."

Zhang Qingxiao did not feel that there was any problem with his refining steps.

"Let's continue discussing the problem with refining the Yellow Dragon Pill."

Liang Ming did not want to talk too much with Zhang Qingxiao about this aspect, feeling that there was no way to communicate, so he could only return to the topic of the Yellow Dragon Pill.

When refining the Yellow Dragon Pill, Zhang Qingxiao had two very serious problems.

The first was that when placing the medicinal ingredients, he was too anxious; basically, every time the previous medicinal ingredient was just refined, he would put in the second medicinal ingredient.

This prevented the Impurities in the medicinal ingredients from being completely refined.

The second problem was the Spirit Gathering.

After explaining these two problems in detail, Zhang Qingxiao suddenly realized.

He also understood why he had not made any progress.

After watching Liang Ming refine the Yellow Dragon Pill once, he refined another batch of Yellow Dragon Pill under Liang Ming's guidance.

Although he still did not succeed, it was much better than before.

Zhang Qingxiao believed that after refining a few more batches and mastering the method of using the Spirit Gathering Formation, he would soon be able to successfully refine the Yellow Dragon Pill.

At the same time, he also had new insights into refining the Pi Gu Pill.

He believed that as long as he became proficient in using the Spirit Gathering Formation, he would definitely be able to refine higher-quality Pi Gu Pill.

The two of them, one teaching and one learning, quickly reached the evening, and Zhang Qingxiao had to say goodbye and return home.

For two consecutive afternoons, Zhang Qingxiao arrived at Liang Ming's house very punctually to learn the refining of the Yellow Dragon Pill.

"Many thanks for the guidance, Fellow Daoist Liang."

"These three days have been very beneficial to me. This is the remaining forty Low-Grade Spirit Stone; please accept it, Fellow Daoist Liang."

Ending the last day of study, Zhang Qingxiao handed a cloth bag to Liang Ming.

"You are too polite, Fellow Daoist Zhang."

"After this time, we can be considered acquaintances. In the future, we can interact more when you have time."

Liang Ming took the cloth bag and counted it carefully to ensure that the quantity was correct.

At the same time, he also wanted to be on good terms with Zhang Qingxiao.

He was eighty-seven years old this year, and because he had cultivated the Longevity Skill, he appeared a bit younger.

However, according to his Realm of the sixth layer of Qi Refining, he did not have much lifespan left.

If he was lucky, he could live for another ten or twenty years; if he was unlucky and got injured, he might pass away on the spot.

And his granddaughter was still young, so if he ever reached a point where he really couldn't go on, he could have some preparations.

[Name: Zhang Qingxiao]

[Identity: Chang Sheng Sect Utility Disciple]

[Aptitude: Mediocre]

[Lifespan: 32 / 75 years old]

[Realm: Qi Refining third layer, Progress: 39 / 100]

[Cultivation Technique: ChangSheng Skill for Qi Refining Stage, Great Master: 8 / 800; Tiger Leopard Body Tempering Art, Great Master: 707 / 800]

[Skill: Alchemy: Pi Gu Pill, Proficient: 172 / 200; Yellow Dragon Pill, Initiate: 1 / 100; Spell: Fireball Technique, Great Master: 358 / 800; Swordplay: Chong Ling Swordplay, Great Master: 513 / 800]

"In the future, I will finally not have to spend so many Spirit Stone to buy Yellow Dragon Pill."

On the way home, Zhang Qingxiao opened the attribute panel and looked at the information of the Yellow Dragon Pill proficiency 1 / 100, unable to hide the joy in his heart.

Being able to refine the Yellow Dragon Pill could be considered truly becoming an Alchemist, and his life could be more comfortable.

"Fellow cultivator Zhang, you are back so late?"

"It is getting more and more chaotic outside now, so you should be careful."

"Two days ago, there was a family of three in front of our alley who were all killed in their home."

"Everything in their house was also stolen. The scene was enough to make one's blood run cold."

Zhou Quan was sitting at the door of his house and immediately reminded Zhang Qingxiao when he saw him returning so late.

He had heard from his daughter that Zhang Qingxiao had been returning quite late these past few days, so he specifically waited here for Zhang Qingxiao to return.

During this period, Zhang Qingxiao's changes had become greater and greater, and his living conditions were visibly rising.

The fragrance of Yao Beast meat and Spirit Rice drifted into their small courtyard, separated by a wall, from time to time.

This made him pay more attention to Zhang Qingxiao.

It was just that the silly girl in his family was not up to the mark and didn't know how to be anxious at all.

The number of times she had gone to Zhang Qingxiao's house could be counted on one hand.

If it weren't for the sake of Face, he would have wanted to directly tell Zhang Qingxiao to send his daughter over.

It could be said that he was worried sick for this daughter.

"Many thanks for the reminder, Fellow Daoist Zhou."

"I had some very important things to do these past two days, so I came back a bit late. It won't happen again in the future."

Zhang Qingxiao was in a good mood today, so he chatted with Zhou Quan for a while.

He had also heard about the family of three who died in front of their alley and had even glanced inside when passing by.

It was indeed a very tragic death.

"Brother Zhang, you haven't eaten yet, right? We just finished cooking and haven't eaten yet. Why don't you come over and eat a little with us, Brother Zhang?"

While Zhang Qingxiao and Zhou Quan were chatting, Zhou Yun, who had been waiting in the courtyard, walked out and shyly extended an invitation to Zhang Qingxiao, following the script her old man had given her.

"That would be too embarrassing..."

Hearing what Zhou Yun said, Zhang Qingxiao's stomach was indeed a bit hungry.

Liang Ming and his granddaughter both lived on Pi Gu Pill and had no habit of cooking.

It was really not early now, and going home to cook would be troublesome. Since he was familiar with Zhou Quan and his daughter, it wouldn't hurt to have a meal.

After all, they were neighbors who knew each other well, and they could look out for each other if they ran into trouble in the future.

"What is there to be embarrassed about? We are all neighbors..."

Zhou Quan stepped forward directly and enthusiastically pulled Zhang Qingxiao into the small courtyard.

Today, the father and daughter had specially tidied up the house, and they had also tightly closed the door of the room where they made talisman skins.

There was no smell in the courtyard, which actually surprised Zhang Qingxiao.