AMSSO-Chapter 16: Refining Medicine with an Iron Pot

Qin Yiwei suddenly raised her head, looking at Mu Shiyue in shock.

“Master?!”

Mu Shiyue’s expression was calm. “If you want to do it, then do it. Anyway, being an alchemist isn’t hard.”

Qin Yiwei: “…”

She was very happy and excited that her master supported her in becoming an alchemist.

But her master’s next words left her both laughing and crying.

—If becoming an alchemist wasn’t difficult, would there be so few of them?

However, looking at her master’s innocent face, she didn’t say anything to argue back.

“That’s right, being an alchemist isn’t hard!” Xin Jinrui also nodded, full of heroic spirit. “Second Junior Sister, you can definitely do it!”

Qin Yiwei: “…”

Alright, case closed.

Turns out it was just the same inherited confidence.

Chu Jingzhuo, however, knew the difficulty of becoming an alchemist. After all, his family had also supported an alchemist.

That alchemist’s actual skill wasn’t great, but his chin was practically pointed at the sky.

The reason for his arrogance was, of course, because of how rare alchemists were.

Despite the fact that his pill success rate was very low, with only one or two successful pills per furnace, people still constantly flattered him.

This right here was the pride of an alchemist!

Still, Chu Jingzhuo also supported Qin Yiwei.

“Second Senior Sister, I believe you can definitely succeed!”

Qin Yiwei knew about Chu Jingzhuo’s situation.

Hearing him say this, she understood. It was his way of supporting her as his senior sister!

Looking at her master and two junior brothers before her, Qin Yiwei’s eyes grew slightly wet, and a surge of boldness rose in her heart.

“Alright, I will work hard!”

“Then let’s not sell those leftover scraps, we’ll keep them all for you,” Xin Jinrui said.

“Okay!”

Qin Yiwei couldn’t hide her excitement and nodded.

In her previous life, she had worked as an assistant for an alchemy apprentice, so she understood the general process of alchemy.

This time, doing it herself should be fine… right?

Just as this thought fell, her expression suddenly changed.

“What’s wrong?” Chu Jingzhuo noticed her change in expression and asked with concern.

“I… don’t have a pill furnace.” Qin Yiwei’s face stiffened.

Everything else could be skipped, but a pill furnace was essential!

“Pill furnace? How much does it cost?”

Xin Jinrui didn’t know much about alchemists, but needing a pill furnace for alchemy was normal, just like how he needed a pot to cook.

“This…”

Qin Yiwei’s brows furrowed tightly.

In that instant all her lofty ambitions were doused with cold water.

Wanting to become an alchemist wasn’t something she could do just because she wanted to.

Why were alchemists so rare?

Because even the preparation of materials at the start required spending a huge amount of money!

Qin Yiwei touched her storage pouch. Inside, besides the Red Crystal Stone her master gave her, there were only a few pieces of low-grade spirit stones.

That amount of money couldn’t buy a pill furnace!

To do a good job, one must first sharpen their tools.

Without a good pill furnace, how could one refine good pills?

“Even an ordinary pill furnace costs at least one mid-grade spirit stone.” Chu Jingzhuo had a rough understanding of these things.

“It’s that expensive?” Xin Jinrui’s eyes widened.

“The pill furnace is just the beginning, there’re still medicinal herbs!” Chu Jingzhuo’s expression also became serious.

The herbs were the real bottomless pit!

In order to refine one furnace of pills, several furnaces of herbs might be wasted.

The higher the grade of herbs, the higher the probability of failure.

This was just burning money!

Alchemists were propped up by piles of money!

Qin Yiwei also calmed down from her initial passion, her face extremely ugly.

She was too naïve.

If it was that easy, how could alchemists be so rare?

She opened her mouth with difficulty, wanting to say she was just joking earlier.

“A pill furnace? That’s simple.”

Mu Shiyue’s voice suddenly rang out.

Everyone instantly looked over. “Master?”

Mu Shiyue’s expression was calm and composed. “You can use an iron pot to refine pills first.”

“Iron pot?”

“Using an iron pot?!”

The few of them spoke in unison.

“Yes.” Mu Shiyue nodded. “You can refine pills with an iron pot first, as long as the heat is controlled well.”

Everyone: “……”

Even Xin Jinrui was speechless.

“Master, this is refining pills, not stir-frying food!”

Even if he didn’t understand alchemy, he knew it wasn’t that simple.

“What’s the difference?” Mu Shiyue blinked her big eyes at them. “Isn’t it just controlling the fire? Control the heat well, understand the properties of the herbs, and then the pills can be refined, right?”

“Master, it’s not that simple.” Chu Jingzhuo was also stunned.

He didn’t know his master could be so naïve!

“Master, no one uses an iron pot to refine pills!”

“Yes, there is.”

“There isn’t… there is?!”

Their pupils shrank, shocked as they looked over. “Who?!”

An iron pot and a pill furnace weren’t even on the same level!

“A master.” Mu Shiyue’s face didn’t change. “She really did use an iron pot to refine many pills.”

“Impossible!” Qin Yiwei shook her head repeatedly. “If there was such a person, wouldn’t it have spread all over the cultivation world already?”

“She was low-key.” Mu Shiyue showed no guilt.

She wasn’t lying. There really was someone who refined many pills with an iron pot.

She just didn’t say that it was her

In her previous life, Mu Shiyue was already at Tribulation Crossing Stage by the later Stage.

With one more lightning tribulation, she would’ve reached Great Ascension Stage and could charge for True Immortal.

At that time, she felt uneasy.

She thought her speed was too fast.

But at that stage, even if she didn’t cultivate, her cultivation continued to rise.

Because of this, she tried hard to slow down, spending her time on other things.

She refined pills with an iron pot, refined artifacts with an iron pot.

Oh, she even drew talismans with bamboo.

When doing these things, she suppressed her cultivation to restart from Foundation Establishment Stage.

Of course, even if she suppressed her cultivation, she still wasn’t the same as Qin Yiwei now.

After all, Qin Yiwei was truly at Foundation Establishment Stage, her control of spiritual power was not as skillful.

But for this kind of thing, just practice more!

As past memories flashed through her mind, Mu Shiyue’s face remained unchanged. “There really was someone who refined pills with an iron pot, but it greatly tests the alchemist’s control of spiritual power.”

Her master’s serious and firm expression made Qin Yiwei waver. “Is it really possible?”

“Of course!” Mu Shiyue nodded. “If you can refine pills with an iron pot, later when you use a pill furnace, you won’t blow it up.”

Qin Yiwei’s pupils shrank, instantly moved!

That’s right, pill refiners were prone to blowing up furnaces!

If the furnace blew up too many times, the pill furnace would be ruined and they’d have to buy a new one.

So really, alchemists needed money at every step.

If it were an iron pot that got ruined, she wouldn’t feel so distressed.

One ordinary pill furnace could buy many, many iron pots!

Since she was just starting out, she could use an iron pot for practice!

The more she thought about it, the brighter Qin Yiwei’s eyes grew.

“Alright! Let’s use an iron pot!”

Seeing that Qin Yiwei was really persuaded by their master, Chu Jingzhuo’s expression was indescribable.

He had never heard of using an iron pot to refine pills!

That alchemist in the Chu family was always extremely cautious before every refinement, treating the pill furnace as a treasure.

If anyone told him that pills could be refined with an iron pot, he’d probably beat them up!

But seeing Second Senior Sister’s excited and eager expression, Chu Jingzhuo still kept his mouth shut.

It’s best not to dampen her enthusiasm.