Complete one practice method every day

Chen Zhige carefully placed the pill back into the jade plate, nodded, and spoke with a hint of self-satisfaction:

"The refining process was indeed somewhat bumpy, but the final result was acceptable. In my opinion, the quality of the finished pill is top-notch."

Chen Xuanli, who stood with his hands behind his back, remained calm, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger. He simply said, "Now that it's been refined, consume it as soon as possible. If the effects are not satisfactory, we can make other plans accordingly."

Without the Nourishing Spirit Pill, his cultivation level simply cannot increase.

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhige took a deep breath, picked up the pill again, and without hesitation, slowly put it into his mouth.

The pill didn't feel hard upon entering the mouth; instead, it had a peculiar suppleness, then transformed into a warm, gentle current that slid down the throat.

The warm current spread into my limbs and bones, bringing a familiar, comforting feeling as if the source of life was being nourished and replenished, and my spirit was invigorated.

Chen Zhige closed his eyes and carefully savored the sensation, preparing to receive the ethereal, sublime feeling that would cleanse his mind and stimulate his alchemical senses. That was the greatest benefit that a high-quality human pill could bring to an alchemist, helping him increase the success rate of refining high-level pills.

However, after a moment, the look of enjoyment on Chen Zhige's face gradually froze, and his brows involuntarily furrowed.

The warm current continued to spread, and his body was indeed nourished, but the feeling of lightness and sublimation that could touch his fundamental spirituality as an alchemist was still nowhere to be seen.

It was as if the elixir had only improved the physical form, but not the spirit.

About ten breaths later, Chen Zhige suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes, his eyes no longer showing any of the previous smugness and enjoyment, but instead filled with a sense of irritation.

His brows were furrowed, and his lips were pressed into a straight line.

Chen Jing and Chen Xuanli, who had been closely observing his expression, felt their hearts sink upon seeing this.

Chen Zhige had taken Rendan more than once or twice, but he had never shown such an expression before. In the past, even if the effect was slightly less than expected, he would mostly feel regret, not such obvious displeasure and irritability.

"Zhi Ge, is there something wrong with this Ren Dan?" Chen Jing stepped forward, his tone filled with concern and gravity.

Although Chen Xuanli did not speak, he looked at Chen Zhige, waiting for his answer.

Chen Zhige didn't speak immediately. He closed his eyes again, trying to capture that glimmer of spirituality that might have been overlooked. After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes, his voice tinged with obvious frustration:

"The elixir is complete, and its medicinal power is quite potent. But it lacks that finishing touch, that light and ethereal quality!"

He pointed to his chest and then to his forehead. "The medicine replenished my qi and blood and warmed my internal organs, but it failed to truly touch that spiritual origin!"

This elixir is effective, but it's dead! It can't help me steadily refine the Nourishing Spirit Elixir!

Chen Jing's brows furrowed even more deeply: "You mean, the quality of this elixir is insufficient? But you just said..."

"We misjudged it! Or rather, there's something wrong with the material itself!"

Chen Zhige waved his hand impatiently, interrupting Chen Jing, "That Wang family boy has the title of genius alchemist, but his spirituality is far inferior to the people we used before."

A elixir made from such materials is naturally a substandard product! So much effort and rare auxiliary ingredients have been wasted!

Chen Xuanli's face also darkened. After going through so much trouble and risking a complete falling out with the Wang family, all he got in the end was a second-grade Human Pill.

"Then what should we do now..." Chen Jing pondered for a moment, then said, "Should we find suitable materials as soon as possible and refine another batch?"

"Re-refine?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhige's voice suddenly rose, becoming sharp, "Chen Jing! What do you think human pills are, something you can eat or refine as you please?"

"Taking human pills consecutively in a short period of time, the combined effects and conflicts are secondary; the residual, impure spiritual backlash is enough to drive me insane and kill me. You want to see me die in this pill-making room!"

Chen Jing's expression changed, and he quickly said, "I absolutely did not mean that..."

Chen Zhige glanced at Chen Jing and said decisively, "I need to resolve this once and for all! I need an alchemist of high enough quality and with a pure enough spiritual essence! Only then can the human pill formula possibly meet the requirements!"

"Zhi Ge is right. Since we are going to refine it again, we need to find the best materials. Chen Jing, are there any suitable targets in Youlin County? We need to decide as soon as possible," Chen Xuanli said to Chen Jing.

Chen Jing fell silent, names flashing rapidly through his mind.

Risk, value, feasibility... countless thoughts intertwined.

After a moment, Chen Jing slowly raised his head, looked at Chen Xuanli and Chen Zhige, and said in a solemn tone: "We do have a target, but given the current situation in the county, this matter is of great importance. Please allow me to consider it carefully to ensure that nothing goes wrong. We will discuss it in detail later."

After saying this, Chen Jing nodded slightly to the two of them, then turned and strode out of the alchemy room.

Inside the alchemy room, only Chen Zhige and Chen Xuanli remained, along with the flickering oil lamp.

The oppressive silence lasted only a brief moment.

Chen Zhige turned around and fixed his gaze on Chen Xuanli's calm and expressionless face.

"Xuanli, are you just going to let Chen Jing keep hesitating and wasting his time?"

Do you know that without the Nourishing Spirit Pill to warm your soul and without the Snow Ginseng Jade Marrow Paste to solidify your foundation, your forced advancement to the Marrow Refining Realm will not only stagnate, but over time, it may even regress due to old injuries!

At that time, let alone spying on the filth, even maintaining the status quo will be a luxury! Are you willing to accept that?

Chen Xuanli frowned almost imperceptibly, meeting Chen Zhige's piercing gaze: "What do you want to say?"

"What am I trying to say?"

Chen Zhige seemed to be ignited by these words. He stepped forward, approaching Chen Xuanli, and lowered his voice, but every word was like a knife:

"We both know perfectly well that kidnapping a foreign alchemist is extremely risky. The Wang family's actions must not be repeated! Moreover, the talent of foreigners is based on hearsay and is difficult to ascertain! That Wang family boy is a cautionary tale!"

But what about at home? We have a perfectly good material right there, within easy reach! Why go to the trouble of searching far and wide, taking unnecessary risks, and gambling on an unknown quality?

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuanli did not reply, but his brows furrowed even more deeply.

"That Chen Yue! He's only been in the manor for a little over a month, yet he's already able to refine the Qi-Strengthening Pill. With such a talented and beautiful person as medicine, he might even help me make another breakthrough in my alchemy and refine pills of even better quality! What... what are you hesitating about!" Chen Zhige's voice trembled slightly with excitement.

Chen Xuanli's gaze flickered slightly as Chen Zhige spoke, but his expression remained calm as he slowly said:

"Chen Jing's concerns are also for the sake of the Chen family's future business for decades to come."

"Chen Yue is already a pill refiner in my Chen family, and we can even arrange a marriage between us. Cultivating a pill refiner with such talent is no easy feat; this is a long-term strategy for stability."

"Long-term stability and security? Hahaha..."

Chen Zhige seemed to have heard the most absurd joke in the world, and burst into laughter. His laughter echoed in the closed alchemy room, sounding particularly jarring and manic.