Chapter 261: Closed Loop
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Qin Jinglan’s face blushed slightly as she led Chen Fei to the counter, where she replaced his waist badge.
Still a Tier Seven alchemist, there was no sign of an upgrade, but the style of the waist badge had changed slightly. Even within the Alchemist Alliance, the identity of those in the Aperture Tempering realm was somewhat different.
“Young master, now you can take on these refining tasks. However, these tasks have very strict requirements. Each furnace has a requirement for the number of pills produced, and if it falls short, the contribution value reward is halved, and you will be prohibited from taking the same task for a year.”
Qin Jinglan unfolded a list of tasks for Chen Fei and pointed to several special ones.
Chen Fei glanced at them and found that they were all tasks involving refining pills with spirit herbs. The tasks detailed the required number of pills produced in each furnace and the quality of the pills.
Each task offered a substantial contribution value, as an example, for the Spirit Snow Pill that Chen Fei was most familiar with, if he refined a furnace that met the requirements, he would receive a reward of three thousand contribution points.
The contribution points of the Alchemist Alliance were quite useful and could be exchanged for a variety of items within the alliance, including spirit herbs and pills. There was even the Thousand Thread Technique that Chen Fei had been eyeing for a long time.
The Thousand Thread Technique had a total of nine layers, and the further you went, the more exorbitant the price for exchange. Without years of accumulation, it was difficult to exchange for the advanced levels of this technique.
“The Spirit Snow Pill requires three pills per furnace. So, if an alchemist is skilled, how many pills can they produce at most?” Chen Fei’s eyes lit up as he looked at Qin Jinglan.
Qin Jinglan was momentarily taken aback by the question; she hadn’t really looked into this because alchemists of that level were not something she could usually come into contact with.
“Well, young sir, some talented alchemists can sometimes produce four Spirit Snow Pills in one furnace,” said a woman inside the counter in a soft voice.
From the moment Chen Fei appeared here to the moment he exchanged for the Alchemist waist badge representing the Aperture Tempering realm, the gazes of the several stewards inside the counter had become somewhat heated, and they didn’t conceal it at all.
“Four!”
A smile involuntarily appeared on Chen Fei’s face. According to the task, after the pills were refined, as long as he turned in the required quantity, the extra pills could be taken by the alchemist, serving as an incentive.
After all, refining three pills per furnace was already quite demanding, and if an alchemist was in good form and produced an extra one, it meant the quality of the other three pills was top-notch.
For the alliance, there was no loss at all, but rather a gain.
As for the alchemist, dedicating themselves to refining pills, if their technique was truly excellent, they had a chance to obtain an extra pill after receiving contribution points.
This was a win-win situation, making both parties willing to cooperate.
Others could produce four Spirit Snow Pills in one furnace, but what about Chen Fei?
If it weren’t for the circumstances, Chen Fei might have burst into laughter. When it came to alchemical skills, as long as you had the recipe, wasn’t it all about practice!
For others, producing four Spirit Snow Pills in one furnace was extremely difficult, carrying an element of “easier said than done.” After all, refining pills with spirit herbs was much more challenging compared to regular ingredients.
The spiritual conflicts within could leave a bunch of alchemists unconscious. Only Aperture Tempering realm warriors, whose core soul energy had undergone a transformation, could handle this spiritual collision.
Alternatively, one could elevate the Thousand Thread Technique of the alliance to a very high level to have a slight chance. However, it required a substantial number of contribution points to exchange for the Thousand Thread Technique, something that most alchemists couldn’t accumulate.
“Young master, you should still be cautious when taking on these tasks,” Qin Jinglan reminded in a low voice.
Although Chen Fei was in the Aperture Tempering realm, as a Tier Seven alchemist, he had only reached the minimum threshold for accepting these tasks.
To take on these tasks, one should ideally be at least a sixth-grade alchemist. Qin Jinglan had absolute confidence in Chen Fei’s talent, and with some time to practice, she was certain he could elevate his alchemy skills.
However, accepting these tasks now would be somewhat risky. Even if Chen Fei had studied these recipes in the past, his success rate would likely be low due to his cultivation level at the time.
“Thank you for the reminder,” Chen Fei said with a slight smile.
It was clear that he couldn’t accept these tasks at the moment. He hadn’t even seen the recipe for the Spirit Snow Pill. But this was only temporary. Chen Fei was eager to improve his proficiency with alchemical recipes.
Fifteen minutes later, Chen Fei left the Alchemist Alliance, handed over the waist badge to Chi Defeng, and specifically instructed him to start collecting the ingredients for the Flying Ascent Pill. Then, Chen Fei returned to the Primordial Sword Sect.
Upon returning to the sect, Chen Fei went straight to the Sutra Library.
Every disciple he encountered along the way paid their respects to him, showing their admiration. Chen Fei nodded in response to each one.
“The recipe for the Spirit Snow Pill? We have it. Please follow me, Master Chen,” a disciple of the Sutra Library said in a low voice.
The title “Master” was a mark of respect for Chen Fei because he currently held a minor position within the sect, that of the Master of Wind Hall.
However, the Wind Hall no longer held any real power. During the heyday of the Primordial Sword Sect, it might have played an important role, but now it was just a memory.
After a short while, Chen Fei transcribed the recipe for the Spirit Snow Pill and left the Sutra Library.
When Chen Fei advanced to the Aperture Tempering realm, the sect had given him a lump sum of contribution points to use when he wanted to exchange for martial techniques. Therefore, exchanging for the recipe posed no financial pressure for him.
Back in the courtyard, Chen Fei carefully studied the recipe for the Spirit Snow Pill. Compared to pills for refining the body, like the Flying Ascent Pill, the recipe for the Spirit Snow Pill was undoubtedly much more complex.
Even with Chen Fei’s current alchemical skills, he couldn’t grasp it immediately upon seeing it. He would need to personally attempt the refinement several times to get a feel for it.
However, spirit herbs were expensive, and attempting refinement meant a risk of failure, which would result in the destruction of the herbs. This was a financial burden, especially for independent cultivators.
Among rogue cultivators, it was rare to come across top-notch alchemists because the conditions did not allow for it.
“[Alchemy Technique: Spirit Snow Pill (Not Proficient)]”
“Discover the alchemy technique, spend 100,000 silver taels to simplify the Spirit Snow Pill?”
The 100,000 silver taels for simplification were much more affordable compared to martial techniques. However, Chen Fei’s current funds, both in his pocket and on the panel, didn’t add up to 100,000 taels.
He had only recently returned, and while he had been refining pills consistently, he had accumulated just over 20,000 taels. With the leftover amount from before, he still had a significant shortfall.
Considering his current alchemy speed, it would probably take him about two months to accumulate the required 100,000 taels.
Simplifying one alchemical recipe meant Chen Fei would have to wait another two months. On top of that, he hadn’t simplified the Soaring Heaven Technique, and he hadn’t even started organizing the Dragon Suppressing Elephant scraps. He had a pile of martial techniques waiting to be refined, so it was understandable that Chen Fei was feeling impatient.
“1 can’t wait that long. 1’11 sell some less important spirit herbs for cash.”
Chen Fei didn’t hesitate. He thought about the gifts he had received recently, and with a flick of his hand, several spirit herbs appeared in his hand.
Initially, he had planned to use these herbs to refine pills for personal consumption. But now, he had a better option, and there was no need to stick to his previous decision.
An hour later, Chen Fei returned to the courtyard with over 100,000 taels of silver on his panel and a large bag of herbs in hand.
“Simplifying the Spirit Snow Pill… Simplification successful… Spirit Snow Pill —> Flying Ascent Pill!”
The simplification went as expected, and the Flying Ascent Pill appeared like nested dolls. Chen Fei had predicted this outcome, which was why he had instructed Chi Defeng to start collecting the ingredients for the Flying Ascent Pill.
Although it required longer-aged herbs that were somewhat challenging to obtain due to control by other sects’ medicinal shops, Chen Fei was willing to pay a premium for them now.
He didn’t before because the cost-benefit didn’t make sense. His focus was on increasing his proficiency with the Spirit Snow Pill.
However, relying solely on Chi Defeng’s purchases wasn’t enough. Chen Fei decided to use his own contribution points to exchange for the required materials from the Treasure Depository.
Compared to spirit herbs, aged medicinal materials were significantly cheaper, but they still required contribution points.
Gaining contribution points within the sect wasn’t easy, and Chen Fei had never thought of using them to exchange for materials before refining and selling pills because it wouldn’t yield much profit and would consume a lot of time and effort.
Now, Chen Fei was passionately refining pills, diligently managing the fire and the furnace. Once he reached a perfect level of proficiency with the Spirit Snow Pill, he could start taking tasks from the Alchemist Alliance.
A perfect-level Spirit Snow Pill had a chance to produce four pills in one furnace, although it wasn’t entirely stable. However, it was much better than most sixth-grade alchemists.
With this, Chen Fei could earn 3,000 contribution points for each furnace and occasionally get an extra Spirit Snow Pill. The contribution points from the Alliance could be used to exchange for the materials needed for the Flying Ascent Pill, creating a closed loop.
Twenty days passed in the blink of an eye, and Chen Fei had reached a mastery level of proficiency with the Spirit Snow Pill. Half of the contribution points that the sect had given him had already been spent.
Chi Defeng’s collection of medicinal materials went smoothly because they were purchased at a substantial premium. The medicinal shops were willing to supply a portion of the materials each day at this price.
However, the profit margin for selling pills made from these expensive materials was thin compared to the Flying Ascent Pill.
But Chen Fei didn’t mind; this investment was insignificant to him.
In those twenty days, in addition to significant progress with the Spirit Snow Pill, Chen Fei also improved his proficiency with the Zhongyuan Sword, though he was still some distance away from mastering it.
The Qianyuan Sword was still absorbing spirit materials and required more time to become a spiritual weapon.
The Soaring Heaven Technique was progressing slowly since it hadn’t been simplified yet, and in recent days, its progress had stabilized at a certain rate. At this rate, it would take more than a decade to master the technique fully.
Furthermore, it was crucial that his future comprehension speed didn’t slow down; otherwise, the time required would continue to lengthen. It was even possible to get stuck at a certain point, unable to progress further.
This was a common scenario for the majority of martial artists. Not every martial technique could be mastered to the highest level. Getting stuck was perfectly normal.
Three months later, the Zhongyuan Sword reached mastery level, and the Spirit Snow Pill finally achieved perfect proficiency..