Nine Astra Skies

On that same afternoon, Great Emperor Mingwu was keeping watch, heavily guarding the entire Lake Ming. He had obtained Master Apothecary Xuanyi's permission to keep the secret. Thus, other than Master Apothecary Xuanyi, Ye Chen, and Li Xu, no one else was allowed to set foot outside of Xuan Pavilion.

Xuan Pavilion, Lei Yi's courtyard.

Lei Yi, Hao Feng, and Yan Cheng were together.

"Great Emperor Mingwu had sealed off Lake Ming. Master has surely promised him something good." Lei Yi's face was ashen.

"With so much meat from the Purple-gold Divine Fish, who knows how many Human Tier soul pills they'll refine and produce? It won't be a small number, that's for sure. Master would give those Human Tier soul pills to Mingwu but is still unwilling to share them with us. We've followed Master for so many years and have always been fiercely loyal. Even if we didn't contribute much, we still worked very hard!" Hao Feng muttered angrily. However, he had neglected that when Master Apothecary Xuanyi taught them alchemy, he would give them some medicinal pills every now and then, and had never owed them anything. Now, in the face of tremendous benefits, they could not hold themselves back.

"We can't even get out of Xuan Pavilion. Master is in isolation, refining and producing pills. Are we just supposed to sit around and wait?" Yan Cheng was gloomy. "If I'd known, I would've left in advance!"

In the afternoon, they were still undecided and hesitant. By the time they had wanted to move on, the entire Lake Ming had been sealed off, and they had no way of communicating with the outside world.

"We can only wait for the night to release a messenger hawk!" Hao Feng said. Sending out a messenger hawk at night would lessen the risk of being discovered.

"Since Master is being heartless, he can't blame us for misbehaving." Lei Yi had a plan. After this incident, he might not be Master Apothecary Xuanyi's apprentice anymore. Nonetheless, two years ago, his clan had arranged for him to go to another place, to an Apothecary who was even more proficient in alchemy than Master Apothecary Xuanyi. It was just that Lei Yi had always hesitated. Now, for the sake of the Human Tier soul pills, he was throwing caution to the wind. At worst, he would find another master.

"Senior Brother Lei, if Master finds out about this, I'm afraid we'll never be his apprentices again." Hao Feng was rather doubtful about this. If he lost his important position as Master Apothecary Xuanyi's apprentice and was merely an Intermediate Apothecary, Hao Feng's status in his clan would decline significantly.

"Don't worry, just follow me. Even if Master Apothecary Xuanyi chases us out, we can be the apprentices of other Apothecaries!" Lei Yi said.

"Senior Brother Lei has other connections?" The eyes of Hao Feng and Yan Cheng lit up.

"Of course!" Lei Yi gave a tranquil smile as he looked at Hao Feng and Yan Cheng.

"From today onward, both of us shall follow Senior Brother Lei to the ends of the earth!" When they noticed Lei Yi's expression, Hao Feng and Yan Cheng immediately understood and proclaimed their loyalty.

It was nighttime and not a soul was stirring. Only a few messenger hawks fluttered up into the dark, heading in different directions.

Two days later, Ye Chen was still quietly refining and producing his pills. His Astral Body was deep in the refining furnace and he noticed that the herb mixture in the furnace had taken on a grayish-yellow tint.

"That's the color of Chi-amassing Pills. Have I succeeded? But it's only been two and a half days. Usually, Chi-amassing Pills would need three days of refinement and production to be complete!" Ye Chen frowned. Nonetheless, the medicinal pills in the furnace were done!

"Little Wingsy, put out the fire quickly!"

When he heard Ye Chen's order, Little Wingsy hurriedly extinguished the flames.

Ye Chen circulated his Celestial Chi and moved the lid of the refining furnace. Then, he took out the metal container which held the herb mixture.

"It's not yet been three days. Why have you opened the lid? Did you fail?" Li Xu walked over and asked, puzzled. Well, failure was to be expected. Being able to hold on until the third day during one's first attempt at alchemy was already the achievement of a genius. The next time Ye Chen had refined and produced pills, if he could improve slightly, he would nearly be able to succeed. In the past, Li Xu had studied under Master Apothecary Xuanyi for half a year and experienced hundreds of failures before finally refining and producing his first successful batch of medicinal pills.

"I don't know. It looks like it's a success." Ye Chen was not certain and took out the herb mixture. A strong medicinal scent drifted up.

"Success?" Li Xu stared blankly. It had only been two and a half days. Was this not too fast? Moreover, it was Ye Chen's first time refining and producing pills! As he had detected the medicinal scent in the air, Li Xu revealed a baffled look. The scent of this Chi-amassing Pill was somewhat distinct from the Chi-amassing Pills others had produced! It seemed like it was more intense.

They removed the useless parts of the herb mixture and shaped the rest into medicinal pills according to the specifications of Chi-amassing Pills. There were ninety-one pills in total. Ye Chen's success rate was ninety-one percent!

Li Xu took one of the Chi-amassing Pills and swallowed it to test its medicinal strength. The medicinal efficacy of this Chi-amassing Pill was twenty percent more than an average Chi-amassing Pill. The effects were notable.

As he stared at Ye Chen with a foolish expression, Li Xu could not help asking, "Ye Chen, are you sure this is your first attempt at alchemy?"

"Yes, Senior Brother Li." Although Ye Chen had many reservations, he still replied confidently. Using ancient alchemy methods to refine and produce pills in the armguard's space was ultimately different from using ordinary alchemy methods. This was Ye Chen's first time using ordinary methods to produce Chi-amassing Pills. This success rate was much higher than he had imagined.

Upon hearing Ye Chen's answer, even Li Xu could not help but feel a seed of envy sprouting in his heart. Back then, he had failed hundreds of times before successfully refining and producing a batch of Chi-amassing Pills. The success rate of Li Xu's first batch was no higher than two percent. He felt somewhat discouraged. Was this the gap between ordinary people and geniuses?

Back in Li Xu's time, he was the outstanding one among hundreds of thousands of elite candidates and was thus selected by Master Apothecary Xuanyi. He also bore the label of a genius. Nonetheless, compared to Ye Chen, Li Xu was practically so ashamed that he dared not show his face!

"I'll take this to Master." Li Xu took some of the Chi-amassing Pills and hurried toward Master Apothecary Xuanyi. As the Human Tier medicinal pills in the furnace were too precious, Master Apothecary Xuanyi had to keep watch by the furnace's side all day long without leaving. Fortunately, alchemy did not require one's full attention at all times. Barring any urgent circumstances, it was fine to chat with him.

When Li Xu gave the Chi-amassing Pills that Ye Chen had successfully produced to Master Apothecary Xuanyi, the latter was incredulous as well. Ye Chen had succeeded in his first attempt. Moreover, the success rate of ninety-one percent was mind-boggling. The time he had taken was shorter than most people and the Chi-amassing Pills Ye Chen had refined and produced were significantly better than ordinary Chi-amassing Pills. He was practically… A freak!

In his hundred and seventy plus years of living, Master Apothecary Xuanyi had never seen such a case! Yesterday, Ye Chen had displayed his unique skill in fishing. Today, with Ye Chen's attempt at alchemy, he had shocked them again until their eyes nearly popped out.

"Could Ye Chen truly be someone blessed by the heavens?" Master Apothecary Xuanyi mumbled to himself. There was no way to explain all of this. In terms of alchemy, one might justify it by saying Ye Chen was just exceedingly talented, but what about yesterday's fishing? Master Apothecary Xuanyi had seen for himself how those fishes were practically lining up to bite at Ye Chen's bait. In the end, he even managed to catch the Purple-gold Divine Fish.

"In the past, I'd never believed in things like destiny, but today, even I have no choice but to admit there's some truth to it," Li Xu said ruefully by one side.

"Since he had successfully produced Chi-amassing Pills, Ye Chen should be qualified to be a Beginner Apothecary. When he heads to the Central Empire, he should be able to easily obtain the Apothecary's Nameplate. Li Xu, teach him how to refine and produce the more advanced Detoxifying Pill or White Yang Pill," Master Apothecary Xuanyi said. If Ye Chen could refine and produce the Detoxifying Pill or the White Yang Pill, he would have reached the level of an Intermediate Apothecary.

Li Xu nodded. He did not know how to describe his current emotions. Back then, he had studied under the Apothecary for five years before first attempting to refine and produce the Detoxifying Pill. It took another three years for him to qualify as an Intermediate Apothecary. All in all, it took eight years. If Ye Chen was able to refine and produce the Detoxifying Pill or the White Yang Pill just like that, Li Xu would feel the urge to head-butt the wall.

When Li Xu returned, Little Wingsy was chewing on fifty or sixty of the Chi-amassing Pills that Ye Chen had refined and produced as if they were jelly beans. Furthermore, he was still stuffing more in his mouth.

"Eating so many Chi-amassing Pills will create problems. At most, you can eat ten of them in one go and slowly digest them!" When Li Xu saw this, he panicked and yelled.

"Senior Brother Li, it's fine. Little Wingsy has unusual abilities. Even if he eats more Chi-amassing Pills, he'll be fine." Ye Chen chortled. Little Wingsy did not quite like ordinary Chi-amassing Pills because he felt that eating Chi-amassing Pills was akin to eating medicine. However, of all things, he liked eating the Chi-amassing Pills that Ye Chen had made, .

Li Xu glanced at Little Wingsy, then glanced at Ye Chen. These two were freaks! Li Xu could feel his confidence being beaten down thanks to Ye Chen.

"After this, I'll teach you how to refine and produce the Detoxifying Pill and the White Yang Pill." Although Li Xu envied Ye Chen's talent, he was not stingy with his alchemy knowledge. He passed on everything he had learned. In the path of alchemy, the most important thing was one's practical understanding.

Li Xu could not refrain from exclaiming at Ye Chen's astounding perceptivity. No matter what Li Xu said, Ye Chen could remember after hearing it once. Moreover, Ye Chen was able to make further deductions based on what he knew. In a few days, Ye Chen's knowledge was almost on par with an Intermediate Apothecary's!

On the third day, Ye Chen began refining and producing the White Yang Pill. The White Yang Pill was a medicinal pill between the Chi-amassing Pill and the Chi Deposition Pill. It was not as widespread as either of these pills. Nonetheless, to become an Intermediate Apothecary, other than mastering the necessary knowledge, the other benchmark was the ability to refine and produce the White Yang Pill and the Detoxifying Pill.

On the eighth day, Ye Chen had succeeded in producing the White Yang Pill and he was two days faster than an average Intermediate Apothecary. His success rate was eighty-nine percent.

After refining and producing the White Yang Pill, Ye Chen started on the Detoxifying Pill.

On the eleventh day, Ye Chen had succeeded in refining and producing the Detoxifying Pill with a success rate of ninety-two percent.

Ye Chen was qualified to be an Intermediate Apothecary!

Whether it was Master Apothecary Xuanyi or Li Xu, they stared at Ye Chen as if they were staring at a monster. In their days, they had taken at least five years to enter the ranks of Intermediate Apothecaries whereas Ye Chen had only joined them for a few days. It turned out that geniuses truly existed in this world!

What Master Apothecary Xuanyi and Li Xu did not know was that, in the alchemy process, the assistance provided by Ye Chen's Astral Body was immensely helpful. In general, when Intermediate Apothecaries refined and produced pills, they were in the dark regarding the situation in the furnace, knowing nothing, save for what they could sense based on their Celestial Chi. However, Ye Chen's Astral Body could easily examine what was happening in the refining furnace. Naturally, refining and producing pills was a walk in the park. In addition to having read The Grand Supreme Way of Alchemy and the information on ancient alchemy methods left behind by the armguard's owner, Ye Chen already had a robust foundation. Naturally, it was all smooth sailing for him!