“Right, the original body had a single wood spiritual root—perfect for alchemy.” Mu Li gave herself a reasonable excuse.
But after succeeding twice in a row at refining pills, she was thrilled beyond measure. She tossed all the remaining spirit herbs for Qi-Gathering Pills into the furnace.
This time took longer than before, draining more spiritual power, but the results were delightful—the number of pills produced exceeded the total of her first two attempts combined.
“Looks like I really am a genius.” Mu Li bottled the pills, so happy she wanted to burst into song. But when she saw the leftover dregs in the furnace, she sighed in regret. “I guess I can’t be greedy—so much material wasted.”
After resting and replenishing her spiritual energy, Mu Li began refining another low-grade pill—the Nourishing Qi Pill.
That went smoothly, too. After several trials, she gradually discovered the limit of how many herbs she could refine at once. “Perfect. I’ll make sure not a single herb goes to waste.”
After all, she was dirt poor.
Once she found her rhythm, everything went even more smoothly. She refined a furnace of pills, rested to recover, then refined again. Before she knew it, the whole night had passed, and the herbs she bought had turned into dozens of bottles of pills.
Seeing the fruits of her labor, Mu Li was deeply satisfied. Fatigue and sleepiness were forgotten.
“Too bad they’re all low-grade pills. I wonder if anyone will buy them. I should’ve tried some higher-grade herbs.”
In the original novel, plenty of pills were sold for sky-high prices—but those were all advanced pills. Qi-Gathering Pills were only useful for cultivators in the Qi-Training stage, and the book never even mentioned them.
Mu Li decided to visit a pill shop and ask.
The shopkeeper greeted her warmly after examining her pills: “Two pills for one spirit stone if they’re mid-grade, one pill per stone if they’re high-grade, and two stones for one pill if they’re top-grade. How does that sound?”
His curious eyes kept darting toward her, as if trying to see through the veil covering her face. The price he offered was higher than Mu Li expected—better than the last two shops she’d visited.
“That works.” Mu Li nodded, then emptied her storage pouch. “Will you take them all?”
“Of course, of course. Please wait a moment.” The shopkeeper nodded eagerly, handing the pills to his assistants to count. He turned back with a broad smile. “May I ask who refined these? If you have more, I’ll buy them all. Rest assured, our prices are the fairest in all of Ling City.”
It was a lucky morning for him—such a large batch of quality pills right after opening. The alchemist hadn’t even bothered to sort them; mid-grade, high-grade, and top-grade were all mixed together. No matter—his assistants could separate them. The important thing was the sheer quantity and fine quality. This month’s sales were secured.
Mu Li didn’t answer his question, only said coolly: “Not for now. If I have more, I’ll come again.”
Inside, she was bursting with joy. She had only hoped to earn back the money spent on herbs, but the shopkeeper’s price was so high that her hundreds of pills from last night would easily double her investment.
The assistants quickly finished counting: “462 mid-grade, 320 high-grade, 97 top-grade. That’s 745 spirit stones in total.” His voice trembled with excitement.
The shopkeeper rushed over, checked the sorted pills, then hurried back, nearly bouncing with joy. Mu Li kept her aloof demeanor as his plump body jiggled toward her.
“745 stones—I’ll round it up to 750. Would you like them in spirit stones directly, or deposited onto a card?”
The “card” was a common tool in the cultivation world, much like a modern bank card, though only usable in big cities like Ling City.
Mu Li thought for a moment. “Give me the spirit stones directly.”
Cards were convenient, but 700 wasn’t a huge sum. She didn’t have many stones on hand, so carrying them would be safer.
The shopkeeper quickly counted out 750 stones and handed them over, reminding her eagerly, “Next time you have pills, you must come back. I’ll give you the best price.”
Mu Li nodded and left. Outside, she released her spiritual sense to eavesdrop on their true thoughts.
One assistant exclaimed, “Boss, this alchemist is incredible! So many high-grade and top-grade pills, and such a high success rate.”
Another guessed: “Maybe they picked out the rejects and only sold the good ones?”
The first scoffed: “What kind of alchemist keeps the failures for themselves and sells only the best?”
The shopkeeper cut them off: “Doesn’t matter how they sell. As long as they bring them here, we’ll profit. With this batch, we’ll definitely outsell Yudan Hall next door this month.”
Mu Li withdrew her spiritual sense and shook her head. Her pills were even better than she thought. Too bad they were all basic low-level pills. If only she could refine higher-grade ones…
With her 700+ spirit stones, she returned to the herb shop from yesterday. This time, she bought not only low-grade herbs but also plenty of mid- and high-grade ones. The higher-grade herbs were far more expensive. Her freshly earned 700 stones vanished in an instant.
“No matter the world, money never lasts long,” Mu Li sighed.
Still, she felt relieved—she had not only earned back her herb money but even profited. “Alchemy really is a fast way to make money. I’ll earn back the cost of the furnace soon. Keep it up!”
She hurried home, eager to try refining higher-level pills. But before she could take out her furnace, a servant arrived with a message: her father was looking for her.