I rely on learning to achieve immortality.

Ke Yanfeng hadn't refined pills for two months. This time, he was just trying to regain his skills, and the pills he chose were just ordinary Qi-replenishing pills, which weren't particularly difficult.

But for Xu Zhou, this was his first time truly assisting in alchemy, and he was extremely focused, dealing with it with utmost care.

As the fire blazed, Xu Zhou threw the prepared medicinal herbs into the furnace one by one, following the order instructed by Ke Yanfeng.

Xu Zhou listened carefully to the orders, kept his mind focused, and handled each medicinal herb with neither too fast nor too slow movements.

"Withered tree vines, one tael and three mace."

"One bowl of Mingxincao juice."

"Hurry up, give it to me within half an incense stick's time."

Under Ke Yanfeng's orders, Xu Zhou processed the medicinal herbs with increasing speed, yet showed no sign of panic.

His gaze was so intense that he seemed to lose himself in the herbs, oblivious to everything else except the herbs and tools in his hands.

The medicinal herbs were handed over to Ke Yanfeng one by one, and he was to personally find the right time to add them to the alchemy furnace.

To refine a good pill, not a single mistake can be made; these steps can only be completed by him personally.

As the medicinal herbs were continuously added to the furnace, the rising earth fire heated the furnace, and the herbs gradually decomposed and condensed into pills.

This process lasted all day.

By the time Xu Zhou came to his senses, the earth fire had died down and the elixir was almost complete.

Ke Yanfeng opened the furnace and took out the still slightly warm pills. A fragrant aroma wafted out, invigorating the senses.

He lowered his head and remained silent. Xu Zhou was also a little uneasy, unsure of how he would perform this time.

"Three pills were formed, each with a rich medicinal fragrance and a smooth appearance."

Ke Yanfeng finally said, "Barely acceptable."

The elixir's surface luster is slightly duller, and some of the herbs could be processed even more finely. If more care is taken when juicing the Bright Heart Grass, this elixir will be nearly perfect.

He looked at Xu Zhou, a stiff smile on his face: "However, as an apprentice, it's already quite good."

Xu Zhou felt relieved, knowing that he had passed this hurdle.

Ke Yanfeng is old-fashioned and rarely praises others. For him to say something extra, it's clear he's very satisfied with the result.

Ke Yanfeng then pointed out problems with several other steps, telling him to review them so he wouldn't make the same mistakes again.

Seeing that it was getting late, he was told to go back and rest.

Stepping out of the alchemy room, Xu Zhou pondered the process of refining pills today, feeling that every step was as clear as a mirror, as if it were engraved in his mind.

He couldn't help but let out a soft "Huh?": "Strange."

Not only are the steps for processing medicinal materials clear, but even time passes faster than before.

This sense of focus was not unfamiliar; he felt it when studying classical texts. He just hadn't expected to experience the same familiar feeling today in the alchemy room.

"Could it be that I can now even enter this state of mind when processing medicinal herbs?"

Xu Zhou was immediately filled with surprise and uncertainty.

If that's true, then if he refines pills in the future, it won't prolong his lifespan, and he can go even further beyond the lifespan limit.

But this is just speculation at the moment. I studied for two months before but couldn't get into this state. And now this unexpected thing happened. Whether it can be triggered reliably is still unknown.

Xu Zhou waited until the next day and returned to the alchemy room to try again.

Contrary to my expectations, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get into the same focused state as yesterday.

This left Xu Zhou feeling secretly disappointed.

After all, his lifespan was constantly being depleted during his studies in the alchemy room. This was quite unbearable for someone who had become accustomed to extending his lifespan through learning.

After trying to find the reason and thinking about it carefully, Xu Zhou felt that the reason might lie with Ke Yanfeng.

This senior student, Ke, is rigorous in his teaching, which allows students to learn knowledge quickly. However, he is overly strict, almost to the point of being nitpicky.

With someone constantly watching over him, Xu Zhou finds it difficult to concentrate on deep learning.

He also felt quite helpless about this.

It could be said that he was both the cause of Xu Zhou's success and his downfall, and Xu Zhou could only wait for an opportunity in the future.

...

While Xu Zhou was focused on learning alchemy, the Hundred Herbs Hall must have experienced some turmoil.

He was naturally uninterested in this, and as long as it didn't interfere with his alchemy studies, he ignored most of the news.

However, Senior Brother Ke is involved in these controversies and occasionally mentions related news.

Zhuang Siyan didn't last long after taking over the pharmacy. First, he was complained about by Steward Zhang for his inadequate skill in teaching apprentices to identify medicines, which he accused of misleading them. Then, he made a mistake in dispensing medicine.

Later, it was discovered that he had secretly replaced rare medicinal materials to enrich himself.

Several alchemists joined forces to launch an attack, and in the end, Zhuang Siyan could only leave the pharmacy in disgrace.

This matter even implicated Steward Zhuang, greatly damaging his prestige. It remains to be seen how Zhuang Siyan will be punished behind the scenes.

Senior Brother Ke wasn't one to gossip, but he often brought these things up in front of Xu Zhou.

After listening to a lot, Xu Zhou noticed some inconspicuous details.

Senior Brother Ke rarely leaves the alchemy room, yet he seems to know everything that happens in the hall, which is rather strange. In particular, he knows almost everything about Zhuang Siyan's departure, as if he witnessed it with his own eyes.

How did he know so much?

Xu Zhou inexplicably thought of Xiao Bing.

Initially, Xiao Bing expressed a desire to meet Ke Yanfeng, who seemed somewhat dismissive but did not refuse. It remains unclear whether they actually met or reached any cooperation agreement.

Xu Zhou was only thinking about it.

Nothing is more important than focusing on your studies if it doesn't concern you.

After the initial familiarization process, Ke Yanfeng successively started refining pills several more times. In addition to Qi-replenishing pills, he also dabbled in other first-grade pills such as Heart-Clearing Pills and Blood-Replenishing Pills.

Refining these pills wasn't difficult for Senior Brother Ke; the main purpose was to give Xu Zhou a chance to hone his skills.

Despite the numerous challenges, Xu Zhou remained enthusiastic and even looked forward to refining pills.

Only at this time, when Senior Brother Ke is focused on refining pills, will he not be watching him. This allows him to enter a state of concentration and slow down the loss of his lifespan.

As time went by, Xu Zhou gradually mastered the techniques and steps of alchemy by observing others.

"Twenty miasma-avoiding pills have been produced this time, and all of them are of superior quality in color."

The new pills were ready, and after inspecting them, Senior Brother Ke couldn't help but show a smug look on his face. Even a year ago, he would have found it difficult to achieve such results.

This is largely thanks to the help of the assistant.

With Xu Zhou handling the medicinal herbs, he could focus on refining the pills and controlling the fire, without having to worry about anything else. He was able to perfectly utilize his alchemy skills, so it was only natural that he would achieve such results.

In high spirits, Ke Yanfeng took out three pills from his collection, bottled them, and handed them to Xu Zhou: "This is your share."

"Thank you, senior brother!" Xu Zhou accepted the porcelain bottle without hesitation.

This is not the first time the core has been divided.

Since assisting him in alchemy for the third time, Ke Yanfeng saw that he was serious and reliable, so he increased the amount of medicinal materials used, gradually increasing the number of pills produced each time.

As a reward, a portion of the newly produced pills will be given to Xu Zhou. Whether he uses them himself or gives them to the sect to exchange for rewards is up to him.

After Xu Zhou took his leave, Ke Yanfeng murmured, "He has grown to this level in less than a year... At this rate, I'm afraid that in less than five years, I will be able to refine mid-grade pills just as easily."

He also thought that although Xu Zhou was persistent, his talent was only above average, and it would take him at least one or two years to reach his current level.

They had originally planned to take a year or two off to focus on teaching, but unexpectedly, Xu Zhou had reached this level in just nine months. Such a speed of improvement is probably quite rare even within the entire Hundred Herbs Hall.

"It seems that the problem wasn't with my teaching."

"Those apprentices before lacked perseverance. If they had persisted, their achievements today would certainly be no less than Xu Zhou's!"

Ke Yanfeng felt it necessary to tell Steward Zhang that he wanted to take on a few more apprentices to teach.

...

Since he didn't have time to refine pills, Xu Zhou focused on his studies, except for processing auxiliary medicinal materials.

The medical classics in the library have been almost completely read, and nearly 90% of the knowledge has been memorized. As for the remaining ones that haven't been memorized yet, I can deduce their general meaning based on experience.

During this period, he mainly spent his time studying the "Longevity Technique".

In the path of cultivating immortality, cultivation level is paramount.

He's been a disciple for almost seven years, yet his cultivation hasn't improved at all; he's truly an anomaly.

Others thought he was focused on alchemy and had no time for anything else, but he knew very well that he was only temporarily accumulating knowledge through learning and would eventually have to return to the path of cultivation.

Besides, even alchemy requires cultivation to support it in the later stages. The sooner you learn this technique, the better.

As he studied it more, Xu Zhou vaguely sensed that the [Longevity Technique] seemed to have something unique that wasn't mentioned on the cover.

Besides extending lifespan, this technique has another unique feature: even without regular practice, the body's internal energy will automatically circulate, subtly increasing the overall cultivation level.

The specific improvement is unknown to Xu Zhou as he hasn't started cultivating yet, but it certainly won't compare to closed-door cultivation. Only with the accumulation of time will this improvement gradually become considerable.

Seeing this, Xu Zhou felt a little more at ease.

This technique suited him better than he had imagined.

Realizing this, he studied even more diligently, hoping to master the technique as soon as possible and officially begin his cultivation.

Just as he was concentrating, someone came to tell him that someone was looking for him outside Baicaotang.

Upon hearing this news, Xu Zhou's heart stirred slightly, and he had already guessed who the visitor was.

Sure enough, as soon as he stepped outside, he was greeted by a familiar face to Li Zelei.

Six or seven years have passed, and Li Zelei has become increasingly rugged, his aura has gradually become extraordinary, and his cultivation level has even risen to the third level of Qi Refining, making people feel a sense of fear.

But upon seeing Xu Zhou, the other party greeted him warmly with a smile and walked over, saying, "Junior Brother Xu, thank you so much for last time."

Xu Zhou smiled and waved his hand: "It's good that you've returned safely, Senior Brother. Did you have a good harvest this time?"

"Hehe, you guessed right."

Li Zelei patted the storage bag at his waist, and several pieces of crimson ore rolled out, quickly piling up into a small heap.

"This time, I ventured down to the Fire Cave, going twenty feet below, and was fortunate enough to find a small copper deposit, from which I harvested more than ten catties of copper ore."

As agreed, three jin of this harvest is yours.

Xu Zhou looked at the mountain of ore in front of him: "Didn't we agree that I would only take 10%? Senior brother, don't break the rules just to accommodate me."

"Junior brother, these should be yours."

Li Zelei said with a smile, "The portion I originally gave you wasn't much. The other half was what he gave me as compensation because I gave the Fire Control Pill to my fellow senior brother."

Half of the ore was obtained by exchanging your pills, so I naturally can't keep it. I can only give it to you. Junior brother, you can't refuse this."

Xu Zhou smiled helplessly and put away the copper ore.

Since following Ke Yanfeng in alchemy, he had accumulated many low-grade pills. He had been thinking of exchanging them for the sect when he had the chance, but when he heard Li Zelei mention taking a risk to seek opportunities, he gave him these pills.

Of course, Li Zelei wouldn't take his things for nothing; he made it clear that he would share some of the profits with him.

Even though he only received 10%, Li Zelei went to dangerous places and gained a lot from each trip. Xu Zhou accumulated more and more contribution points, and the storage bag was earned in the process.

After handing over the ore, Li Zelei asked expectantly, "Junior Brother mentioned last time that he might be refining miasma-avoiding pills in the next few days. Do you have them yet?"

Xu Zhou frowned slightly.

"Senior Brother Li, are you really going to the secluded valley?"