77: Chapter 77 Elder Wang, your jaw has dropped!

[You followed a guiding Disciple through several heavily guarded checkpoints and finally arrived at the so-called "Logistics Camp."]

[This was a massive valley shrouded by a powerful Formation.]

[Inside the valley, Immortal Caves stood in rows, the air filled with the rich scent of medicine and scorching Fire Spiritual Qi, with busy Disciples rushing everywhere.]

[Some were moving crates of Spiritual Plants and Ore, while others were counting newly refined Medicinal Pills and Magical Artifacts; the entire camp was enveloped in a tense and busy atmosphere.]

["Senior Brother Tang, this is the Alchemy Division."]

["The person in charge of the division is Elder Wang. He... has a fiery temper, so please be patient with him later."]

[The guiding Disciple brought you to the largest Immortal Cave and cautiously offered a reminder.]

["Thank you for the reminder, Junior Brother." You smiled and discreetly slipped him a second-grade Medicinal Pill.]

[The Disciple's eyes suddenly lit up, his smile became ten times more sincere, and he lowered his voice to impart a few more key pieces of information before taking his leave.]

[You straightened your robes and stepped into the Immortal Cave.]

[The space inside the Immortal Cave was immense, and a wave of heat hit your Face.]

[Dozens of independent Alchemy Chambers lined both sides, most of which were emitting blue smoke, clearly indicating people were operating the Pill Furnaces.]

[A thin, white-haired old man with a stern Face, wearing the robes of an Elder, was pacing back and forth between rows of Pill Furnaces with his hands behind his back.]

[Suddenly, he stopped in front of a Disciple and kicked the Pill Furnace.]

["Bang!"]

["Idiot! You can't even control the heat. Are you refining Medicinal Pills or poison? If the Elders on the front line eat your medicine, are they killing the enemy or committing suicide?"]

["And you! You can even mess up the purification steps! Is your blockhead unable to remember such simple pharmacology? Have you lived for decades in vain?"]

["This batch is ruined again! Do you know that the war on the front line is intense, and every portion of Materials is stained with the blood of our fellow Sect members? You are murdering the Sect!"]

[The old man was spitting as he scolded, while the scolded Disciples all hung their heads, trembling in fear, not even daring to breathe loudly.]

[Watching this scene, you understood the situation.]

[This must be the hot-tempered Elder Wang of the Core Formation Stage.]

["Ahem." You gave a light cough, stepped forward, and bowed respectfully.]

["Disciple Tang Xun, by the order of the Sect Master, has come to report to the Logistics Camp."]

[Elder Wang turned his head abruptly, his cloudy old eyes shooting out a scrutinizing gaze as he looked you up and down, his brows furrowed tightly.]

["Tang Xun? The so-called Genius from Danxia Peak?"]

[His tone carried unconcealed suspicion and contempt.]

["Disciple does not dare to accept such a title," you said modestly.]

["Humph, you don't dare?" Elder Wang let out a cold snort. "Young, with Middle Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, yet your reputation is quite large. The Sect Master sent you here, saying he wants you to be responsible for refining third-grade elixirs. Boy, do you know who third-grade elixirs are for?"]

[Although Tang Xun was already ninety years old, because he had equipped the [Ageless Male God (Green)] trait, his appearance remained that of an eighteen-year-old.]

["Disciple knows, they are supplied to the Core Formation Stage Elders on the front line."]

["Good that you know!" Elder Wang's voice suddenly rose, like a thunderclap. "Core Formation Stage Elders are the pillars of our Azure Cloud Sect! They are risking their lives on the front line! If there is even the slightest error in the Medicinal Pills they use, can you bear the responsibility?!"]

[Good grief, he's engaging in workplace gaslighting right from the start.]

[You complained internally, but your Face wore a serious and earnest expression.]

["Disciple understands. Disciple will certainly do his utmost and will not dare to be the least bit negligent."]

["Talk is cheap!" Elder Wang didn't buy your act at all. He pointed to an empty Alchemy Chamber nearby, his voice cold.]

["Go, there are Materials for refining 'peiyuan elixir' there. I'll give you three hours; refine a batch and let me see!"]

["If what you refine are all Low Grade waste pills, then get lost over there and go roll 'Fasting Pill' with those Qi Refinement Stage brats!"]

[peiyuan elixir, a third-grade elixir, is a key Medicinal Pill for Early-Stage Core Formation Cultivators to recover magic power.]

[For an ordinary Alchemist of the third grade, producing five or six Medium Grade pills in one batch is considered an excellent performance.]

[Elder Wang's words were intended to give you a rough welcome and dampen the spirit of this "Genius."]

[The surrounding Disciples who were refining pills all cast looks of anticipation, waiting to see a good show.]

[They had long heard of Tang Xun's reputation and had been harboring dissatisfaction.]

[Why should a greenhorn be able to take charge of third-grade elixirs the moment he arrives? They, the veterans who had endured for over a hundred years, were still only refining second-grade elixirs!]

["Yes, Disciple obeys."]

[You didn't say another word, nodded calmly, and walked into the designated Alchemy Chamber under countless questioning gazes.]

[The stone door slowly closed.]

["Humph, putting on an act." A Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator curled his lips and whispered to the person next to him, "Just watch, within half an hour, there will definitely be the sound of an exploding furnace from inside."]

["That's right, third-grade elixirs aren't so easy to refine. When I tried it for the first time, I exploded the furnace a dozen times before I barely managed to refine one Low Grade pill," another person chimed in, his tone full of the superiority of someone who had been there.]

[Elder Wang listened to these discussions without stopping them; he simply crossed his arms and stared coldly at the stone door of your Alchemy Chamber, his eyes also carrying a hint of contempt.]

[In his view, even if Tang Xun really had some talent, he was at most just crossing the threshold of a third-grade Alchemist. The Sect Master arranged for him to come here, mostly for the sake of Liu Changfeng, wanting him to come to the rear to gild his resume and gain some experience.]

[Inside the Alchemy Chamber.]

[Looking at the neatly arranged Materials for refining peiyuan elixir on the stone platform, your mouth curled up to your ears.]

["Tsk tsk tsk, things provided by the public are just great."]

["The feeling of not having to spend your own money on Materials for Alchemy is just so awesome! This is simply a heavenly job!"]

[You couldn't even be bothered to use your own Pill Furnace and directly activated the Earth Fire equipped in the stone chamber.]

[You stretched and then began to process those Spiritual Plants in a leisurely manner.]

[Purification, extraction, Fusion...]

[Your movements were fluid and natural, without the slightest delay. Every step was as precise as a textbook.]

[Under the enhancement of the [Alchemy Genius (Purple)] trait, these steps, which seemed incredibly tedious and required extreme caution to others, were as simple as eating and drinking to you.]

[Less than half an hour later.]

["Condense!"]

[You flicked your finger, casting a spell into the Pill Furnace.]

["Hum—"]

[The Pill Furnace emitted a long, soft chime, and a rich, thick scent of medicine instantly filled the entire chamber.]

[The furnace lid popped open automatically.]

[Twelve round, plump Medicinal Pills, emitting a faint cyan halo, lay neatly at the bottom of the furnace like stars.]

[On the surface of each Medicinal Pill, a trace of mysterious pill patterns faintly emerged.]

[They were clearly Top Grade!]

["Hmm, not bad, didn't embarrass myself."]

[You nodded with satisfaction and then performed an incredibly practiced and natural action.]

[You picked out two Top Grade Medicinal Pills with the clearest pill patterns and the best quality, and stuffed them into your Storage Pouch.]

["One batch of Materials, twelve pills produced in one furnace, every single one Top Grade."]

["I'll hand over ten, and keep two for myself as a technical service fee; that's not unreasonable, right?"]

[You calculated in your mind.]

["Not unreasonable at all! Back in the company, 996 was a blessing, and the boss wouldn't even pay overtime. Now I'm exceeding my KPI, so taking some performance bonuses is only right and proper! I have so much professional ethics; if it were someone more black-hearted, they would just say the furnace exploded and pocket the whole batch of Materials."]

[With a clear conscience, you packed the remaining ten peiyuan elixirs into a jade bottle.]

[Then, you pushed open the stone door and walked out.]

[Outside, Elder Wang and a group of Disciples were still waiting to see you make a fool of yourself.]

["Why are you out? Did you fail to process the Materials? Boy, let me tell you, the Sect's Materials are extremely precious; there isn't a second portion for you to waste!" a Disciple immediately said sarcastically.]

[You ignored him and walked straight to Elder Wang, handing over the jade bottle in your hand.]

["Elder Wang, Disciple has fulfilled the mission; the peiyuan elixir has been refined."]

[Your voice was not loud, but in this sweltering Immortal Cave, it sounded exceptionally clear.]

[Everyone was stunned.]

[Refi... refined?]

[How long has it been? Not even half an hour, right?]

[What a joke! Even a fourth-grade Alchemy Great Master couldn't possibly refine a batch of third-grade elixirs this quickly! This kid must have failed and just brought out some medicine dregs to fool people!]

["Humph! I want to see what kind of trash you've refined!"]

[Elder Wang snatched the jade bottle, his Face full of disbelief and mockery.]

[He pulled out the stopper and rudely poured the Medicinal Pills into his palm.]

[The next second.]

[His movements froze.]

[His cloudy old eyes instantly widened, staring fixedly at the ten Medicinal Pills in his palm—round, plump, overflowing with Spiritual Qi, and even bearing faint pill patterns.]

[His mouth opened little by little, wide enough to fit an egg.]

[The surrounding Disciples also stretched their necks, and when they saw the quality of the Medicinal Pills in Elder Wang's hand...]

["Hiss—"]

[A chorus of gasps rang out in the Immortal Cave, sharp enough to suck the air dry!]

["Top... Top Grade! Pill patterns! All of them are Top Grade!"]

["My god! Am I seeing this right? Ten! A full ten Top Grade peiyuan elixirs!"]

["Half an hour... ten Top Grade ones... this... is this even human?!"]

[The entire Alchemy Division fell into a deathly silence at this moment.]

[Everyone looked as if they had been hit by a paralysis spell, staring at you blankly, with eyes that seemed to be looking at a monster that had walked out of an ancient Alchemy myth.]

[(A supplement on the setting of Alchemy: The Alchemy grades in the Human Realm correspond to the Cultivator's Realm: First-grade for Qi Refinement Stage, second-grade for Foundation Establishment, third-grade for Core Formation, fourth-grade for Nascent Soul, and fifth-grade for Soul Transformation. However, there are exceptions—each grade contains "ticket" type Medicinal Pills used to assist in breaking through to that Realm, for example, the foundation establishment pill taken during the Qi Refinement Stage belongs to the second grade.)]