I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

Chapter 4: Successfully Refining a Top-Grade Pill!

The Jade Slip of the Dao of Elixir: Increases the success rate of elixirs by 30%.

Crimson Gold Furnace: Increases pill success rate by 20%.

There are also two improvements to alchemy talent.

Zhou Yuan stared at the two rows of attributes side by side on the panel, feeling as if he were floating on clouds, as if it were all unreal.

"If...the effects could stack..."

Once the thought entered my mind, I could no longer suppress it.

50%!

This means that he will have a guaranteed success rate of 50% when refining any rank pill!

This is even with his own talent being zero!

If we also add the "Alchemy Talent Enhancement" provided by both pieces of equipment...

Zhou Yuan felt his blood was about to boil.

Then wouldn't he be able to directly try to refine a first-grade high-quality pill, or even a first-grade top-quality pill that has miraculous effects on Qi Refining Perfection?

The temptation is just too great.

He couldn't wait a moment longer and was eager to verify his conjecture.

Zhou Yuan grabbed the remaining thirty-seven spirit stones from the table, strode out of the courtyard, and headed straight for the Miaodan Pavilion in the center of the town.

Miao Dan Ge is the largest elixir shop in Huangfeng Valley Market. It has a Foundation Establishment cultivator as its backer, enjoys an excellent reputation, and also sells spiritual herbs of various grades.

His goal this time is very clear.

Biyuan Dan.

First-grade high-quality pills are of great benefit to the cultivation of cultivators in the late stage of Qi Refining, and their value far exceeds that of Qi-increasing pills.

Its refining materials are naturally more expensive.

Zhou Yuan spent all thirty-seven spirit stones until only two remained, barely enough to gather enough spiritual herbs for two or three portions of the Azure Essence Pill.

He also casually bought a very ordinary alchemy furnace at the general store, which only cost him one spirit stone.

The Crimson Gold Furnace has already been equipped and cannot be taken out; he still needs a furnace to use.

Back in his quiet room, Zhou Yuan set up the newly purchased ordinary alchemy furnace, took a deep breath, and calmed his mind.

The two equipment slots on the panel were emitting a faint glow, giving him boundless confidence.

Open the furnace and warm the cauldron.

He put the ingredients for the first Biyuan Pill into the furnace in the order specified on the recipe.

The moment my divine sense probed in, an unprecedented and wondrous feeling welled up in my heart.

Everything inside the furnace is clearly visible, down to the smallest detail.

The melting of every medicinal herb, the flow of every medicinal liquid, and even the most subtle collisions and fusions between medicinal properties were clearly reflected in his mind.

Those previously obscure and difficult techniques for controlling the heat now feel as natural as breathing.

Where the medicinal properties are too strong, a gentle heat is needed to suppress them; where the integration is not smooth, a strong heat is needed to promote it. Almost without thinking, the body's instincts make the most correct response.

It's a feeling of being in control!

It's the accumulation of talent that brings about a qualitative change!

Two hours later.

As the final incantation for collecting the elixir was executed, a medicinal fragrance far richer and more mellow than that of the Qi-Boosting Pill suddenly wafted from the elixir furnace, filling the entire quiet room.

Zhou Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and with trembling hands, he lifted the stove lid.

At the bottom of the furnace, five emerald green pills, radiating a shimmering, precious light, lay quietly.

Bi Yuan Dan!

Become!

Success on the first try!

My previous guess has now been perfectly confirmed!

Zhou Yuan carefully placed the five Azure Yuan Pills into the jade bottle, and a tremendous sense of joy and satisfaction welled up from the depths of his heart.

He can now be considered a true alchemy genius.

As long as he has the recipe and the materials, he can practically roam freely in the entire field of first-tier pills!

He's even qualified to reach that higher level.

First-grade top-quality pill!

Each of those pills was incredibly valuable, enough to make even cultivators at the tenth level of Qi Refining envious.

If one can refine it stably, not to mention a thousand spirit stones, even ten thousand spirit stones doesn't seem out of reach.

Perhaps, I really can use this equipment slot to defy fate and change my destiny.

Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul...

Those realms that were once out of reach now seem to have become no longer ethereal fantasies.

With this burning ambition, Zhou Yuan put the remaining ingredients for the Biyuan Pill into the furnace and started the furnace again.

……

Two months later.

Inside the quiet room, the rich fragrance of cinnabar almost solidified.

Zhou Yuan stared at the few pills that were slowly taking shape in the alchemy furnace, their bodies gleaming with golden light, his face filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"Success again."

Inside the alchemy furnace was the Golden Source Elixir.

One of the few top-grade first-tier pill formulas recorded in the jade slip of "The Insights into Alchemy"!

Its medicinal power is domineering and its effects are outstanding. It is specially made for cultivators above the tenth level of Qi Refining to break through bottlenecks and accumulate magical power.

A month ago, after mastering the refining of the Biyuan Pill, Zhou Yuan devoted all his energy to the research of the Jinyuan Pill.

Even with the incredible combined effect of the two pieces of equipment, the difficulty of refining top-grade pills still exceeded his imagination.

The first two attempts to open the furnace both ended in failure.

Each batch of materials is worth nearly ten spirit stones. After two batches, more than twenty spirit stones have been wasted.

If he hadn't recouped some of his losses by selling Biyuan Pills over the past two months, he simply wouldn't have been able to sustain such expenditures.

But each failure deepened his understanding of refining top-grade pills.

Finally, on his third attempt, he succeeded.

And now, this is the seventh time in a row that he has successfully refined the Golden Source Pill.

This indicates that he has already grasped the basics of refining this elixir.

With more practice, maintaining a success rate of over 20% for pills is definitely not a problem.

If you include the 50% safety margin added by the equipment slots...

Seventy percent!

A top-grade first-tier pill with a 70% success rate!

If this number were to get out, the entire Huangfeng Valley market would probably be shaken!

Zhou Yuan knew very well that once the Golden Source Pill was put on the market, it would definitely cause a frenzy of buying, and spirit stones would pour in.

But he suppressed the tempting idea for the time being.

That's too high-profile.

The fact that a rogue cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining could continuously produce top-grade pills for sale is itself the biggest flaw.

He understood the principle of "possessing a treasure is a crime" better than anyone.

Exposing one's greatest trump card before having sufficient self-defense capabilities will only bring endless trouble, and may even turn one into a pill-refining machine kept by some powerful forces.

During this period, he carefully sold the dozen or so bottles of Biyuan Pills he refined to Miaodan Pavilion in batches, without causing too much of a stir in the market of independent cultivators.

Making a fortune quietly is the best approach.

With this in mind, Zhou Yuan temporarily put aside his plan to refine pills.

The refining of first-tier pills was no longer a secret to him.

As for second-tier pills, that's the domain of Foundation Establishment cultivators. Not only are there no pill formulas, but the refining methods are also completely different from first-tier pills. They require the true fire of the Foundation Establishment stage to activate them, which is beyond his current cultivation level.

The most urgent task is to improve one's cultivation.

Only by becoming strong ourselves can we have the most fundamental guarantee.

With a thought, Zhou Yuan removed the Crimson Gold Furnace from his equipment inventory and replaced it with the jade slip containing the "Fire Cloud Technique" manual.

[Equipment 2: Jade slip containing the "Fire Cloud Technique" cultivation method (Mid-grade Tier 1)]

[Effect 1: Increases the cultivation speed of the Fiery Cloud Technique.]

[Note: This is a cultivation technique passed down by a Foundation Establishment cultivator, containing their insights and reflections.]