I rely on learning to achieve immortality.

It took Song Rou quite a while to integrate into the alchemy room.

Although she was exceptionally talented and made rapid progress in alchemy, she had only studied medicine for two years and lacked experience in directly processing medicinal materials, so her foundation was not as solid as Xu Zhou's.

This caused the previously stable progress of alchemy to stagnate for a period of time, and Ke Yanfeng kept a gloomy face for almost half a month because of it.

However, as she studied, Song Rou's understanding of Daoist alchemy improved rapidly.

After three months of adjustment, they finally met Ke Yanfeng's minimum requirements and began to work on refining pills.

Although Song Rou's start was a bit bumpy, her talent largely made up for it. Her skills in processing medicinal herbs gradually caught up, which amazed Ke Yanfeng.

Initially, Ke Yanfeng was worried that Xu Zhou might lose his composure because of Song Rou's appearance.

But after observing him for the past few months, he noticed that Xu Zhou showed no resentment whatsoever, and was even very kind to Song Rou. He remained outwardly calm, yet always offered guidance when she made a mistake.

Xu Zhou played a significant role in Song Rou's rapid integration into the alchemy room.

Realizing this, Ke Yanfeng couldn't help but sigh: If everyone in Baicaotang were like Xu Zhou, the sect's pill production could at least double.

Xu Zhou was quite relaxed.

Although he initially subconsciously felt a desire to compare himself to Song Rou and even thought about watching her make a mistake, he quickly suppressed these thoughts and openly offered his advice.

He knew that Song Rou was extremely talented, and befriending her would be of great benefit to him in the future. There was no need to compete with her over trivial matters.

Song Rou did indeed help him a lot.

On the surface, he was the one giving instructions, but as their relationship became more amicable and they continued to exchange ideas, many of Song Rou's thoughts also contributed to Xu Zhou's improvements.

If you look closely, his progress in alchemy is even faster than before!

And so, a year passed.

During one of the alchemical processes.

Ke Yanfeng was on high alert, and Xu Zhou and Song Rou were also focused on their work, afraid that a mistake would affect the alchemy.

This was not their first time refining a mid-grade pill, but it was their first time refining Qi-Inducing Dew.

Qi-Inducing Dew is a spiritual medicine that aids in cultivation, one tier higher than Yellow Sprout Pill. It can help mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators accelerate their cultivation. The difficulty in refining this type of spiritual medicine is greater than that of ordinary pills of the same tier, which is why they are so solemn.

They had been busy with this for several days and had hardly rested.

Ke Yanfeng was alright, after all, he had ample cultivation foundation, and he did not show any signs of fatigue on the surface.

Xu Zhou and Song Rou were both of low cultivation levels, their complexions were sallow, and their movements were sluggish. If it weren't for the Qi-replenishing pills, they probably wouldn't have been able to hold on much longer.

Fortunately, after many days of hard work, the time for results has finally come.

As the final process was completed, all the priming dew had cooled down and was gradually removed by Ke Yanfeng.

These warm, jade-like elixirs were drawn into the jade bottles, filling one bottle, then two, until finally the fourth bottle was filled and then the liquid was completely drained.

"Three and a half bottles."

Ke Yanfeng's tone was tired but also tinged with joy. He hadn't used many medicinal herbs this time, and the finished product was three and a half bottles, which was a pretty good result.

He took out two bottles and put them away, then waved his hand and said, "You can divide the rest among yourselves. I'm going to rest now."

As the door to the alchemy room closed, Xu Zhou and Song Rou's gazes fell on the remaining one and a half bottles of Qi-Inducing Dew, and their hearts warmed.

The value of the Qi-Inducing Dew surpasses that of the Yellow Bud Pill; one bottle of the former is equivalent to ten bottles of the latter. For them, it is truly a tremendous fortune.

It was also because Ke Yanfeng was rich and generous that he gave them so much money with a wave of his hand, catching them off guard.

After a long silence, Xu Zhou spoke up, "Junior sister, this item isn't very useful to me. If you need it, you can take more."

After eight years of cultivation, his level was still only at the first level of Qi Refining, and he was a relatively new cultivator with only a trace of magical power within his body. He was no different from an ordinary person, so this bottle of Qi-Inducing Dew was useless to him.

Conversely, Song Rou, though also an outer disciple, has not given up cultivation. Now her aura is stable, and she is not far from reaching the second level of Qi Refining.

Her cultivation level had improved so quickly, she must have worked very hard, and clearly she had hope for her future path. Since that was the case, Xu Zhou was happy to do her a favor.

Upon hearing this, Song Rou was initially delighted, but then she pursed her lips slightly and shook her head, saying, "Senior Brother, what you say is inappropriate. We have all worked hard for these Qi-Inducing Dews for several days. Senior Brother has put in more effort than me, so you should take this bottle."

Xu Zhou couldn't help but smile wryly: "Junior sister is joking. My cultivation level wasn't high to begin with, and I almost couldn't hold on these past few days, holding everyone back quite a bit. Junior sister, please take this bottle."

"No, that's not fair."

Song Rou smiled slightly and said, "We don't need to argue here. Since Senior Brother insists on yielding, why don't we each have half?"

Xu Zhou could tell that Song Rou desperately craved the Qi-Inducing Dew, yet she managed to suppress her desire and insist on sharing it equally with him, which clearly showed that she had put in considerable effort.

Since that was the case, he nodded in acceptance and silently remembered this kindness.

After splitting the score, the two were exhausted and went back to their rooms to rest.

When Xu Zhou woke up, it was already a day later.

Sitting up in bed, recalling his previous experience, he couldn't help but shake his head inwardly: "Alchemy is really time-consuming and laborious."

The process of refining the Qi-Inducing Dew alone took him almost half a month, especially the last few days when he worked non-stop, which nearly killed him. If he hadn't been able to enter a state of focused concentration from time to time to conserve his energy, he almost wouldn't have made it through.

Even so, this state of focus is becoming increasingly unstable.

As he became more and more familiar with and proficient in handling medicinal materials, he entered a state of focused concentration less and less often, and each time he could only reduce the rate of lifespan loss to 70% or 80%.

He certainly understood what this meant.

My understanding of Daoist alchemy is deepening, and I'm almost at the end of my studies.

Of course, this doesn't mean that alchemy is an easy skill to learn, but rather that with his current status, he has no way to learn it.

As an apprentice, what he must and can only learn is the pharmacopoeia and the processing of medicinal materials.

In terms of processing medicinal herbs, he is already proficient in handling all common first-tier herbs. Even for uncommon ones, he can quickly deduce a method to ensure that at least 95% of the medicinal properties are not lost due to the processing method.

As for the medicinal classics...

He had finished reading it three months ago.

This was something Xu Zhou had never expected. He had actually read through dozens of thick medical texts, almost memorizing them perfectly.

When you reach the end of your studies, there's nothing left to learn; it's as if going any further leads to a blank page.

"Right now, the only thing I can continue learning is the 'Longevity Technique'."

"However, in the realm of alchemy, we have reached a bottleneck."

"If you want to continue your studies, you must become a true alchemist in order to learn the real alchemical classics in the Hundred Herbs Hall."

However, becoming an alchemist is not easy.

Xu Zhou has been in the hall for seven years, which is still relatively short in terms of seniority. Normally, an apprentice needs to study for ten years before he has a chance to become an alchemist. Even if he were to apply now, the deacons in the hall would probably not be willing to let him go.

On the other hand, he didn't want to be the one to stick his neck out.

Although he has lived a secluded life in Baicaotang these past few years, remaining aloof from worldly affairs, the turmoil within the sect has always allowed him to detect a clue.

There's clearly some power struggle within the Golden Flame Sect, and it's recently begun to affect the Hundred Herbs Hall. In recent years, the positions of the hall's stewards have been unstable; some familiar faces have suddenly disappeared, and strangers have taken their places. Steward Zhuang, who previously had a grudge against Ke Yanfeng, has also been removed from office during this period.

Amidst this turmoil, if one could seize the opportunity, it might be possible to curry favor with the powerful figures within the sect and rise rapidly in rank. However, Xu Zhou's path is not based on this, and he is unwilling to get involved.

He sighed inwardly, realizing that the coming year would cost him a significant amount of his lifespan.

But thinking about it carefully, he has lived for almost thirty years, but his physical age is not yet twenty. He has lived ten years longer than others, so his mindset is much more peaceful.

He temporarily put the matter aside and focused his gaze on the Qi-guiding dew beside him.

How do we use this thing?

For Xu Zhou, the most wasteful use would be to sell it to the sect. He doesn't lack contribution points, so why waste this rare mid-grade spiritual herb?

But on the other hand, he himself can't use it either.

His cultivation level was far too low; taking such a spiritual medicine was no different from taking poison.

But if it's left in the storage bag, who knows how long it will take before it can actually be used?

After thinking for a long time, Xu Zhou suddenly smiled.

If he remembered correctly, Li Zelei's cultivation level seemed to be close to the fourth level of Qi Refining, and he was not far from breaking through.

Now it's worth considering doing him a favor. After all, Senior Brother Li's storage bag is definitely full of benefits, and it would be much more profitable than selling it directly to the sect.