Moments later, Ji Yuan's eyes snapped open, a look of shock flashing across his face.
As he channeled several streams of pure and potent spiritual energy into the pill furnace before him, he immediately sensed the six layers of restrictions contained within, as well as the pure pill qi adhering to the inner walls of the furnace.
This was a pill qi that could only remain on the walls of a pill furnace after refining hundreds of pills of the ninth grade or higher!
Once a pill furnace developed pill qi, even a trace of it could instantly increase its value by several tens of percent, or even one or two times!
This was because this pure pill qi could slightly increase the success rate for alchemists when refining pills, and reduce the instability in the medicinal properties of various spiritual herbs during the final fusion stage.
However, it was not just the pill qi that shocked Ji Yuan so profoundly. The reason for his astonishment was that as soon as his spiritual energy was infused into the furnace, it directly refined all six layers of restrictions within!
There was no need for comprehension; a mere touch of spiritual energy was enough to refine all the restrictions in the furnace, giving him complete control of the entire furnace with just a thought.
While not as effortless as using his own arm, it could at least be described as being handled with ease, as if they had been together for years.
Refining pills in such a state eliminated the need to adapt to a new furnace, saving considerable trouble and ensuring that the user could perform at their normal level or even better.
While marveling at the ingenuity of the water mansion's owner, Ji Yuan silently circulated his Refinement Mystic Art to calm his mind and focus. Only when his state of mind was completely tranquil did he prepare to begin refining the pill.
According to the voice that had previously echoed in his ear, he needed to refine three different types of pills that met the required quality standards to pass this trial.
The voice did not specify what these requirements were, but it was reasonable to assume that the higher the grade and quality of the pills, the greater the chance of passing.
The first type of pill he intended to refine was the Water God Pill, a pill he was extremely familiar with!
This pill was comprehended by Ji Yuan from the corresponding Dao principles within the Grand Dao Catalog. He had refined no fewer than twenty to thirty batches of it over the past few months, making it incredibly familiar.
Although the refining technique for the Water God Pill was not overly complex, its appearance would improve with the increase in the quality of the spiritual materials used.
At this moment, with a single thought from Ji Yuan, a ball of scorching flame erupted from the bottom of the pill furnace, activated by one of its restrictions.
This flame, fueled by spiritual energy and other energies, could have its temperature controlled at will, making it very convenient.
While warming the furnace, he casually channeled several streams of spiritual energy, taking out the required spiritual herbs from the medicine basket and arranging them on a wooden rack beside the jade platform.
There were exactly three portions of these spiritual herbs, indicating that he had only three chances.
However, given how many times he had refined the Water God Pill, his success rate was at least eighty to ninety percent, making the possibility of an accident extremely low.
As the temperature in the pill furnace rose, Ji Yuan slowly exhaled, then channeled a stream of spiritual energy to jiggle open the furnace lid by nearly half. He waved his hands frequently, using his spiritual energy to lift and toss the spiritual herbs into the pill furnace one by one.
The spiritual herbs provided by the water mansion's owner were all exceptionally cultivated; each one was worth several thousand taels of silver. To gather such a collection under normal circumstances would not only require significant financial resources but also a great deal of luck.
Once the more than thirty spiritual herbs were initially tempered, Ji Yuan immediately increased his infusion of spiritual energy, causing the flame at the furnace bottom to surge significantly, and the temperature within the furnace to rise rapidly.
Before long, under the intense heat, the essence of various spiritual herbs was thoroughly extracted and continuously purified.
Approximately half an hour later, after all the spiritual herb essences had been purified, Ji Yuan took out a round bead from his emerald ring, which contained abundant essence of water vapor and a strong incense offering.
He tossed this item into the pill furnace, subtly changed his hand seals, and suddenly channeled spiritual energy from his hands, causing the furnace lid to completely seal. At the same time, the flame at the furnace bottom intensified.
Simultaneously, the hand seals he formed activated several layers of restrictions, concentrating most of the furnace's temperature onto that round bead.
This bead, accumulated with a century's worth of water vapor essence and the incense offerings of numerous people from a river demon, began to slowly melt under the intense heat, fully integrating into the essences of the spiritual herbs.
After an unknown period, a sharp glint flashed in Ji Yuan's eyes. He then abruptly changed his hand seals and let out a low shout, "Condense!"
As his voice fell, a buzzing sound emanated from the pill furnace, accompanied by waves of fluctuations.
After a long while, all abnormal phenomena gradually subsided. He immediately channeled a stream of spiritual energy to open the sealed furnace lid. Then, a pill radiating a rich golden-blue light swiftly flew out and slowly descended, hovering an inch above his palm.
"Eighth grade!"
Ji Yuan muttered to himself, a trace of surprise in his heart.
In his estimation, this pill should have reached the high grade of the ninth tier if refined successfully. He hadn't expected it to reach the mid-grade of the eighth tier in the end!
This was equivalent to a quality improvement of nearly a whole major tier!
Consuming such a pill would be sufficient to forcibly break through to the mid-stage of the Spirit Infusion realm, and it might even allow him to reach the late-stage in one go.
Not to mention that Ji Yuan's current cultivation level was already comparable to the mid to late-stage of the second realm, and he could achieve breakthroughs by refining large amounts of spiritual energy even without consuming pills.
However, having such a Water God Pill, with a quality that had already reached the mid-grade of the eighth tier, would undoubtedly save him a significant amount of time and effort. It would also allow him to nourish his physical body with its immense medicinal power and strengthen his soul with the incense offering within.
The purpose of a pill's power was not to force breakthroughs but to make the path of cultivation smoother.
After feeling the medicinal power contained within this pill for a moment, Ji Yuan placed it into a pre-prepared jade box and then set it on the jade platform where he was sitting.
A soft light immediately permeated the area and slowly dissipated after a while, indicating that the quality of the pill had been assessed.
Seeing this, he finally closed the jade box, stored it in his emerald ring, and then his gaze swept around, his eyes meeting those of the other two individuals in mid-air.
The gazes of the three quickly broke apart; none of them could discern the expressions in the other's eyes within that brief moment.
After withdrawing his gaze, Ji Yuan immediately began to regulate his breathing and circulation, circulating his cultivation technique to recover his spiritual energy while using his Refinement Mystic Art to restore his depleted soul light and mental energy.
At the same time, he calculated in his mind that the refinement of this Water God Pill, excluding the effort involved, had taken a total of three and a half days, far exceeding any previous batch.
However, the result was naturally excellent. An eighth-grade mid-tier Water God Pill would allow him to break through his cultivation in a short period after his injuries had fully recovered.
Furthermore, the water vapor essence and incense offering contained within this pill could even elevate his physical body and soul to a higher level.
He could not, however, predict the full extent of the medicinal efficacy of a Water God Pill that had fully integrated an entire bead.
After a day and a night, Ji Yuan's eyes opened again, and he immediately began refining the second pill.
While regulating his breathing and circulation, he had maintained his connection with the pill furnace, and the flame at the furnace bottom had been burning continuously. This meant there was no need to spend time warming the furnace again.
Once the temperature in the pill furnace was adjusted to a suitable level, he waved his hand, and with spiritual energy enveloping several spiritual herbs, he tossed them into the furnace opening.
The refinement of the second pill took much longer than the Water God Pill. Extracting the essence from the spiritual herbs alone took three days, and the subsequent steps of nurturing and condensing the pill took a full ten days.
Although this was the first time he had refined this particular pill, Ji Yuan was fortunate. Several crises had arisen during the process, but he had managed to overcome them without incident.
When the soft light on the jade platform dissipated, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He then contentedly placed the jade box containing the three pills into his emerald ring.
This batch of pills, while unable to enhance his cultivation or heal his injuries, possessed extremely strong life-preserving capabilities. Even if a vital spot were attacked, as long as it was not a fatal blow, it could sustain his life for a short period.
He had obtained this 'Divine Radiance Heart-Preserving Pill' from a white jade cylindrical pillar during the first stage. However, as it was his first time refining it, this pill only achieved a mid-grade of the ninth tier.
"Now it's time to refine the Three Revolutions Divine Dew Pill!"
A sharp glint flashed in Ji Yuan's eyes, and he then closed his eyes, adjusting his condition to the best possible state he could achieve.
The so-called 'Three Revolutions Divine Dew Pill' was the pill formula he had pieced together from the last white jade cylindrical pillar.
This pill was divided into three parts: the first nourished vitality, the second restored injuries, and the third protected the soul.
It was refined using thirty-six auxiliary herbs, each at least fifty years old, combined with seven main herbs over a hundred years old, along with nine variations of martial and civil flames, and one hundred and thirty-two complex incantations and techniques.
Even with Ji Yuan's current alchemical attainments, he did not have much confidence in successfully refining it.
However, given the current situation, if he wanted to pass this trial, he might have to take a risk and attempt it.
Because he had given up one opportunity earlier while refining the 'Divine Radiance Heart-Preserving Pill' to earn a high score from the assessor, he now had to refine a top-grade spirit pill to pass the trial successfully.
Among all the pill formulas he possessed, only the 'Three Revolutions Divine Dew Pill' had the highest grade. Once formed, it would have a quality of at least low-grade seventh tier.
Moreover, setting aside the matter of passing the trial, this pill was extremely important to him. If he could refine it, he could recover from his injuries in a very short period.
He was still planning, if possible, to try his luck and see if he could gain anything in that lost Xuanhuang City.