Chapter 107. Rank 8 [7]
"Any progress with what I asked?"
Lin Zhaoyue asked eagerly, her eyes shining with anticipation.
Lin Xuan glanced at the rows of jade bottles neatly arranged across the table before slowly shaking his head.
"None."
Lin Zhaoyue’s brows immediately furrowed.
"That’s strange..."
She folded her arms and began muttering to herself.
"How is it that you can only refine Pure Quality pills? It doesn’t make any sense."
She lowered her head, sinking into deep thought.
Beside her, Lin Zhaoxi blinked in confusion.
She tilted her head to one side before slowly tilting it to the other, trying to understand what Lin Zhaoyue was thinking so seriously about.
After staring for a while, she quietly gave up.
She turned toward Lin Xuan instead.
"Uncle."
Her eyes landed on the countless bottles covering the table.
"Do you have something I can eat?"
Lin Xuan chuckled.
"I do."
As he reached toward a nearby cabinet, he casually opened the system panel.
———————————————————
Name: Lin Zhaoxi
Realm: Seventh Layer of the Body Tempering Realm
Martial Spirit: Eighth-Grade Mortal Rank
———————————————————
A look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face.
"You’re already at the Seventh Layer of the Body Tempering Realm."
Lin Zhaoxi scratched her cheek shyly.
"I’ve been cultivating every day."
Lin Xuan nodded approvingly before suddenly pausing.
I could’ve simply checked her cultivation with my divine sense.
He inwardly clicked his tongue.
I’m starting to be more dependent on the system.
Shaking his head, Lin Xuan walked over to the shelves and picked up several bottles of Pure Quality Body Tempering Pills.
After a brief moment of thought, he also gathered ten complete sets of Qi Refinement Pills and placed everything on the table.
At that moment, Lin Zhaoyue suddenly looked up.
"Father."
Lin Xuan turned toward her.
"Have you ever considered intentionally sabotaging yourself?"
Like any ordinary cultivator, Lin Xuan blinked in disbelief.
"...Huh? You want me to deliberately fail?"
Lin Zhaoyue nodded with complete confidence.
She desperately wanted her father to start producing ordinary pills.
No matter what medicinal pill Lin Xuan refined, the result was always of Pure Quality.
Even more astonishing was the fact that he possessed a perfect success rate.
To date, he had never failed a single refinement.
Such a feat was unheard of in the world of alchemy.
For any other alchemist, those achievements would have been the greatest blessing imaginable.
For the Lin Family, however, they had gradually become a problem.
Their stockpile of Pure Quality pills had already reached an alarming amount.
If they released all of them onto the market at once, the rarity that made Pure Quality pills so valuable would inevitably diminish.
What was once regarded as a priceless treasure could eventually become commonplace.
Furthermore, demand simply couldn’t keep pace with their supply.
Apart from the imperial family, there wasn’t a single force within the Loushi Kingdom wealthy enough to purchase their entire stockpile.
Even the recently concluded auction had demonstrated that fact.
The Pure Quality Golden Core Pills had sold for extraordinary prices, but that was only because there had been three bottles available.
If Lin Xuan continued refining at his current pace and flooded the market with hundreds of bottles, even the wealthiest clans would eventually reach their limits.
In the end, the Lin Family didn’t need more Pure Quality pills.
What they truly needed were ordinary middle-Grade and high-Grade pills that could be sold consistently to cultivators throughout the kingdom.
Peak Grade pills were considered extravagant by most forces and Pure Quality pills were treasures that should rarely appeared on the market.
The quality of medicinal pills was commonly divided into five grades: Low, Middle, High, Peak, and Pure.
Above Pure Quality would be Pill Clouds, but such pills existed only in ancient legends, so most cultivators regarded them as nothing more than myths.
Lin Zhaoyue looked at her father expectantly.
"Father, have you ever tried refining ten cauldrons at the same time?"
Lin Xuan stared at her.
"...Ten?"
She nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes! Or even twenty!"
Her eyes sparkled as she explained her reasoning.
"If your attention is divided between so many cauldrons, there’s no way you’ll be able to maintain perfect control over every single one."
She spread her hands confidently.
"Surely you’ll burn a few batches, and the successful ones should end up as High Grade or Middle Grade instead of Pure Quality."
She smiled brightly.
"Isn’t that exactly what we need?"
Lin Xuan’s eyelids twitched.
He had never imagined someone would one day encourage him to refine worse pills.
Most alchemists spent their entire lives trying to improve their success rate and pill quality.
His daughter, meanwhile was earnestly teaching him how to become a worse alchemist.
Lin Zhaoxi, who had been quietly listening from the side, tilted her head in confusion.
"Sister Zhaoyue..."
She looked between the father and daughter.
"Are... are you telling Uncle to make bad pills on purpose?"
Lin Zhaoyue immediately corrected her.
"Not bad pills."
She raised a finger.
"Sellable pills."
Lin Xuan couldn’t help but laugh.
Only his daughter could look at a table filled with priceless Pure Quality pills and complain that they were too difficult to sell.
Still, the more he thought about it, the more ridiculous the idea sounded and yet it also made a strange amount of sense.
Lin Xuan considered the proposal for a moment before giving a small nod.
"...Alright. I’ll give your idea a try."
Lin Zhaoyue’s eyes immediately lit up.
"Great! Let’s get to it!"
Lin Xuan could only smile helplessly before shaking his head.
"Not right now. The herb stock has already been exhausted."
Without the necessary medicinal herbs, there was nothing for him to refine.
He turned toward Lin Zhaoxi instead and placed several jade bottles into her hands.
"These are Pure Quality Body Tempering Pills and these are Qi Refinement Pills."
His expression became a little more serious.
"Remember to take them according to your cultivation realm. The Body Tempering Pills are for now and the Qi Refinement Pills are only to be used after you’ve broken through."
Lin Zhaoxi obediently accepted the bottles.
"I understand, Uncle."
Before she could even put them away, Lin Zhaoyue suddenly reached over and snatched the Qi Refinement Pills from her hands.
"Xiao Xi."
She hugged the bottles protectively.
"Big Sister Yue will keep these safe for you."
She nodded solemnly.
"That way you won’t accidentally eat the wrong pills again."
Lin Xuan immediately caught the final word.
Again?
He looked toward his daughter in surprise.
Seeing his questioning gaze, Lin Zhaoyue let out a helpless sigh.
"Xiao Xi once sneaked into my room and ate a Qi Refinement Pill."
Lin Xuan’s eyes widened slightly.
"She swallowed a Qi Refinement Pill?"
Lin Zhaoyue nodded.
"Fortunately, I happened to be nearby." She shot Lin Zhaoxi a stern look. "If I hadn’t been there, you would’ve exploded into a shower of flesh and blood."
"Hehe..." Lin Zhaoxi let out a sheepish laugh, having no idea how dangerous her actions had been.
Lin Zhaoyue could only sigh. The sternness in her eyes gradually faded as she turned toward the little girl, her voice becoming noticeably gentler.
"You’re a good girl now, aren’t you?"
She smiled warmly.
"You’ll listen to Big Sister Yue from now on, right?"
Lin Zhaoxi immediately nodded with a bright, innocent smile.
"Yes, Big Sister Yue!"