The surroundings were utterly silent and devoid of any fluctuation.
Li Qi’s divine sense remained focused on the cluster of medicinal essence that was being fused together before him.
Every minute detail of change was being meticulously observed and accounted for by Li Qi.
Temperature, heat, refining techniques, everything was done with extreme caution.
Until a certain moment.
Suddenly, Li Qi’s previously solemn face relaxed, and a hint of surprise flickered in his eyes.
“It’s done!”
The many medicinal essences that had been fused together had now completely merged.
The faint outline of a nascent pill was visible, emitting a rich medicinal fragrance that wafted into Li Qi’s nostrils.
In an instant, even Li Qi felt a sense of clarity in both body and mind, the fatigue caused by his prolonged tension vanishing completely!
As expected of the Jade Dew Concentric Pill, capable of mitigating inner demons even for cultivators in the Tribulation Transcendence stage, its mere aroma had a remarkable effect.
Although there were many alchemists who had ruined their pills during the formation process, Li Qi was clearly not among them.
Coupled with the effect of the medicinal aroma, Li Qi, now completely relaxed, found the final stages of pill formation to be increasingly effortless.
Before long, the medicinal essence, which had been in a liquid state, gradually solidified completely.
Li Qi reached out and grabbed.
A pill that was as smooth and lustrous as jade appeared in his hand.
After a slight sniff of the pill’s fragrance, Li Qi’s smile deepened.
Simultaneously, Li Qi lightly tapped his finger, causing a small amount of medicinal powder to drift down from the pill in his hand. He caught it and tasted it with his tongue.
Immediately after, Li Qi’s eyes slowly closed, as if he were sensing something.
After a considerable while, Li Qi’s eyes finally opened.
However, at this moment, the satisfaction in Li Qi’s eyes had intensified.
“The cost has not been reduced significantly, but the pill I have refined now has a potency thirty percent higher than the original Jade Dew Concentric Pill.”
Li Qi made a rough estimation. If his life-bound spirit puppets were to refine it, without his alchemy skill, the potency of the Jade Dew Concentric Pill they refined might only be twenty to twenty-five percent higher than the original.
But that was enough.
Li Qi’s smile grew even more pronounced.
This was because he had learned through the inquiries of his third life-bound spirit puppet.
The best-selling modified version of the Jade Dew Concentric Pill currently appearing in the Qingrao Domain was sold by a force known as the Mo Dao Merchant Guild.
Their Jade Dew Concentric Pill had a cost similar to the original.
However, its potency was at most fifteen percent higher than the original version.
And the Jade Dew Concentric Pill that Li Qi had now modified could steadily surpass the one sold by the Mo Dao Merchant Guild.
But soon, Li Qi’s eyes narrowed, and he muttered to himself.
“Only one type of pill has been successfully modified so far, which is not enough. It took ten years this time, and I succeeded on the first attempt at modification and refining. I wonder if I will be so lucky with subsequent pills.”
After all, the Jade Dew Concentric Pill was considered one of the simpler high-priced pills with an openly disclosed formula in the Qingrao Domain.
Other pills might not be so easy.
“However, since the Jade Dew Concentric Pill has been successfully modified, I can let my life-bound spirit puppets go out and sell it in advance to earn some income.”
Li Qi was not foolish enough to wait until he had modified all the openly available pills before selling them together.
Once one was modified, it should be sold immediately.
With this thought, Li Qi’s mind stirred, and he sent a message to his third life-bound spirit puppet and his second life-bound spirit puppet, who had already returned to the Qingrao Domain.
The specific content was Li Qi sending them the recipe and refining method for the modified Jade Dew Concentric Pill.
He also arranged for them to purchase the pills, refine them themselves, and then sell them, striving to establish a branch of the Penguin Pill Pavilion in the Qingrao Domain as soon as possible to facilitate the future sale of his pills.
After all, compared to others, the resources he needed to consume were far too great. If he didn't put in a little more effort, he might not be able to afford it.
Upon receiving the news, his second and third life-bound spirit puppets quickly replied that they would act immediately.
Li Qi had great confidence in the execution of his two hardworking and loyal life-bound spirit puppets.
After all, these two life-bound spirit puppets could be considered as a second self.
He possessed virtues such as diligence, intelligence, and capability, and his life-bound spirit puppets naturally did too.
With that, Li Qi no longer paid attention to the matters concerning the two life-bound spirit puppets.
Returning to his senses, he casually put the Jade Dew Concentric Pill in his hand back into his spatial ring, without any intention of delaying.
He waved his hand over his spatial ring, and the formula for another type of pill appeared in his hand.
Focusing his gaze, the pill described on this scroll was called the Myriad Ancient Refining Soul Pill.
Judging by its name, it was easy to determine.
This type of pill enhanced the soul.
Li Qi swept his divine sense over it, and quickly read through the entire formula for the Myriad Ancient Refining Soul Pill.
He then proceeded to engage in lengthy deductions, just as he had done for the Jade Dew Concentric Pill.
However, compared to the Jade Dew Concentric Pill, the difficulty of modifying the medicinal properties of the Myriad Ancient Refining Soul Pill seemed to be several times greater.
Another ten years passed.
Although it was only ten years, with the amplification of Li Qi’s talent, the time he spent pondering was equivalent to a thousand years for others.
Yet, even so, Li Qi remained motionless. His brows were furrowed, and he maintained this posture for an unknown duration, like a human sculpture.
In this state, another five years quickly passed.
This was equivalent to fifteen hundred years for others.
It was precisely at this moment that Li Qi, who had been like a sculpture, finally made a move.
His eyes slowly opened, his expression as calm as water.
With a gentle tap of his palm, the necessary medicinal ingredients for the original Myriad Ancient Refining Soul Pill were floated out from his spatial ring, hovering to the left of Li Qi.
With another tap of his palm, hundreds of different types of pills floated out from his spatial ring, hovering to the right of Li Qi.
With a flick of his finger, a ball of scorching flame was once again generated out of thin air.
The actions he had performed while refining the Jade Dew Concentric Pill were once again replicated by Li Qi.
Controlling the heat and techniques, melting the essence of the medicinal ingredients, substituting different medicinal ingredients, and finally, the step of melting the essence of these countless medicinal ingredients.
“Condense!”
A faint voice emanated from Li Qi’s mouth.
The preceding steps appeared to be executed with such ease and fluidity by Li Qi, as if foreshadowing that this modified Myriad Ancient Refining Soul Pill would also be easily successful.
Clusters of medicinal essence began to fuse together.
But in the next moment, Li Qi, whose face had been expressionless, suddenly looked rather displeased.
In an instant, chaotic medicinal energy violently surged.
Following that.
“Bang!”
A dull thud was heard. The original medicinal fragrance belonging to each individual ingredient vanished.
It was replaced by an extremely foul, burnt odor.