Chapter 26: First Attempt to Refine
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
It was nighttime and the moonlight was like the billowing waves.
At this time, Mu Ruyue was panting and sweating profusely in her bedroom in the west courtyard of the Mu Residence. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and gazed at the medicinal herbs filling the table before she smiled in satisfaction.
In a few hours, she had finally upgraded all the medicinal herbs to the age limit. But nourishing them with qi really consumed her strength. And with her current strength, she could only raise 50-year-old medicinal herbs to 100-year-old at most.
Any more than that and there won't be enough.
"50 stumps of these century-old herbs will be sold, and the rest will be used to refine pills."
As she spoke, she had already taken out the cauldron she had purchased at the market today.
Now, what she was about to refine was a Human rank, low-grade Youth Rejuvenation Powder, which was also the most common of all elixirs.
Whoosh!
With a snap of her fingertips, a cluster of flames ignited from her fingertips, and with another snap, the flames leaped towards the cauldron and sizzled up.
The red burning flames illuminated Mu Ruyue's fair face. Although she was still young, at her age, she already revealed a beauty that could overturn a country, surpassing Mu Ting'er.
Since it was Mu Ruyue's first attempt at refining, it didn't take long for the flames to dwindle and the century-old herb in the cauldron was wasted…
"Failed? Then try again!"
Mu Ruyue sneered. She hadn't known what giving up was for as long as she could remember.
Whoosh!
The flames rekindled once more, burning intensely under the cauldron.
This time, having experienced failure, her control was much more proficient…
Throughout the night, Mu Ruyue spent her time with one failure after another, with the century-old medicinal herbs reduced into a pile of ashes next to her. And Yan Jin couldn't resist cringing a few times watching her.
Spendthrift! This woman is clearly a spendthrift!
Those were century-old herbs, not some weeds. How could she have wasted a bunch without a care in the world? He might as well have eaten them and converted them into power.
It wasn't until dawn lit up the sky that Mu Ruyue succeeded in refining the Youth Rejuvenation Powder.
She studied the elixir in her hand and furrowed her willow brows with discontent. "It actually took me an entire night to refine a Human rank, low-grade elixir. It seems that I still need to be proficient in terms of alchemy."
If anyone had heard her words, they would've really wanted to strangle this woman to death.
She had learned to refine a Human rank, low-grade elixir overnight without guidance. Then how were alchemists, who had to spend three days and nights even under the tutelage of their masters, supposed to live?
Even the most outstanding alchemist in the history of the continent took two days for his initial refining attempt.
Of course, Mu Ruyue's fast speed was inseparable from her abnormal mental strength and a heap of century-old herbs for her to waste. It was well-known that the older the medicinal herbs were, the less difficult it would be for an alchemist to refine medicine.
"Girl." Yan Jin yawned, opening his hazy eyes. "Is it dawn already?"
"Yan Jin, I need to go to the herb shop."
Mu Ruyue tightened her grip on the Youth Rejuvenation Powder in her hand and her eyes flickered a few times. The previous time, she only had a 100-year-old herb, so naturally she didn't care. But this time, she had to make sure she was unrecognizable to anyone.
An innocent man could become guilty of a crime for treasuring a jade ring. She had tasted this truth in her previous life.
The bustling streets, the shouting of hawkers one after the other, and occasional steeds galloping past stirred a buzz in Feng City.
On the streets of Feng City was a petite young girl wearing a conical bamboo hat, who stepped into the most popular herb shop. Without saying a word, she tossed a package in front of the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper was startled and opened the package with a frown. But upon seeing the contents, he could no longer calm down.
"T-These are century-old herbs? There are probably dozens of them here, right?"
Although century-old medicinal herbs weren't as rare as millennium-old herbs, they were still very precious, not to mention that there were 50 stumps of century-old herbs here. The shopkeeper, who had seen much of the world, was still amazed at the magnitude of this supply.
"Miss, are you sure you want to sell these century-old herbs?" The shopkeeper swallowed hard and looked at Mu Ruyue in disbelief.
Since the girl had covered her face with a conical hat, the shopkeeper could only identify the mysterious person in front of him as a young woman from her voice. Of course, being able to take out so many herbs to sell in one go meant this woman wasn't an ordinary citizen at the very least.
But what made the shopkeeper curious was how exactly she had obtained these 50 stumps of century-old herbs…
"Yes." Mu Ruyue nodded gently, her dark eyes under the hat unruffled. "In addition, I also have a Youth Rejuvenation Powder."
"A Youth Rejuvenation Powder?"
The shopkeeper was gobsmacked. Although this Youth Rejuvenation Powder was a Human rank, low-grade elixir, alchemists were well-respected on this continent. He naturally didn't dare to belittle those who could take out such items for sale.
"Miss, I can give you 100 gold coins for each of these 50 clumps of herbs. As for the Youth Rejuvenation Powder, you need to ask our Hui Chun Hall's alchemist to appraise the quality and calculate the price according to the quality. If Miss trusts our Hui Chun Hall, how about leaving the Youth Rejuvenation Powder with us for the time being and come back tomorrow to collect the money?"
Mu Ruyue swept a glance motionlessly at the shopkeeper and after a long contemplation, she said, "I certainly trust the excellent reputation of Hui Chun Hall. In that case, I'll make another trip tomorrow."
"Well then, thank you, Miss."
The shopkeeper was relieved and instructed his subordinates to fetch the gold coins and handed them to Mu Ruyue personally. Mu Ruyue, who accepted the gold coins, didn't linger and left the place right after…
"Century-old medicinal herbs, hehe. I didn't expect to have so many century-old medicinal herbs all at once." The shopkeeper laughed and picked up a strain of herb randomly. However, his smile froze in an instant, his eyes widening in consternation as if he had seen a ghost.
Seemingly unable to believe his eyes, he hurriedly flipped the other herbs over, and although it wasn't quite obvious, at the bottom of each herb, there was an obscure, tiny, cyan sword-shaped mark.
"A-Aren't these our Hui Chun Hall's herbs? But I know all the herbs in Hui Chun Hall. It seems there aren't so many century-old herbs nor has there been a robbery, so how did they end up in her hands? By the way, I remember a young girl who bought a hundred strains of 50-year-old herbs. I hand-picked them myself, so they're still fresh in my mind. But how did 50-year-old herbs turn into 100-year-old herbs?"
Yes, they were indeed the herbs he sold.
But what the hell was going on here?
"This won't do. I'd better ask Master Wu Yu for an audience; this is too unbelievable."
50-year-old herbs had turned into 100-year-old herbs in just a few days. How could the shopkeeper not be shocked? Master Wu Yu must be informed of this matter.
-- Gift
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