To refine the Body Tempering Pill, one must first increase the success rate of the Battle Strength Pill to over 80%. Only then would he have a chance to successfully refine a few Body Tempering Pills with a sufficient supply of raw materials. If he were to attempt such a difficult pill now, his success rate would be zero.
To improve alchemy, one must progress step by step. He couldn't even fully master the Battle Strength Pill, let alone refine more difficult pills; it would be a fool's dream. His alchemy skills needed to improve before he could attempt it. Reckless refinement would only waste his time.
Therefore, Qin Feng directed the Red Alert soldiers to practice body tempering techniques while he regrouped and continued alchemy.
He had now successfully refined one Battle Strength Pill, and his experience had greatly increased. With a little more effort, he would soon be able to refine Body Tempering Pills. His Red Alert legion's strength would increase even more rapidly after taking Body Tempering Pills.
Thus, another two days passed.
Qin Feng finally succeeded in refining a batch of Battle Strength Pills. A batch contained 100 pills, and he succeeded in making 80 of them.
However, the grade was still very low, with only 1/10 of the normal medicinal effect.
Yet, this was already remarkable. His understanding of alchemy had deepened, and his grasp of timing, location, and heat control had become more precise. Qin Feng believed that with a sufficient supply of raw materials, he would soon be able to perfectly refine the Battle Strength Pill.
His current supply of raw materials was dwindling. Just then, the two guards arrived again with dozens of carts.
Upon seeing Qin Feng, they spoke with beaming faces, "We have settled all the payments for the goods as per your instructions, and they have collected all the surrounding medicinal materials. Now, all towns within a hundred-mile radius are out of the medicinal materials you need. If you wish to continue purchasing, there will be an additional fee, as they will have to collect from further towns! The transportation losses and expenses will increase. Do you still wish to continue acquiring these medicinal materials?"
Qin Feng nodded and said, "Of course. I want as much of the medicinal materials on the list as available. Simultaneously, I have another list of medicinal materials to give you. For this newly supplemented list, I will offer triple the price. I want whatever is available."
Hearing of such significant profit, the eyes of the two guards lit up. They patted their chests and said, "Rest assured, anything you instruct, we will handle with utmost care. With such great profit, I believe those people will search desperately. Just give us the list, and we will immediately issue instructions for them to search everywhere."
Qin Feng nodded and handed the prepared medicinal material list to one of the guards. This list contained the raw materials for refining the Body Tempering Pill. As the Body Tempering Pill was of a much higher grade than the Battle Strength Pill, these raw materials were even more precious. However, Qin Feng believed that gathering these raw materials would not be an issue in this world, as it was a world of cultivation.
These were also raw materials for cultivation pills, and they would certainly exist in this world.
Indeed, after looking at the medicinal material list, one of the guards nodded and said, "These medicinal materials are very precious, but if you acquire them at triple the market price, they can be found. We will handle this matter for you. However, please keep in mind that these raw materials are not easy to find, and the quantity may be much less than the list you gave us previously. We might not be able to deliver a dozen or even dozens of carts at once!"
Qin Feng nodded and said, "It's alright. Do your best, and bring whatever you can."
After speaking, Qin Feng purchased another kilogram of Ambergris from the shop and handed it to the two guards. "Exchange these for money, and settle my accounts. Collect as many of the listed medicinal materials as possible!"
Upon seeing such a large amount of Ambergris, the two guards almost drooled on the ground. They had never seen such immense wealth before. They patted their chests and said, "Rest assured, leave this matter to us, and we will definitely satisfy you."
With that, the two immediately went to handle the business.
Qin Feng, on the other hand, received dozens of carts of alchemy raw materials. As long as all these raw materials were refined into Battle Strength Pills, his alchemy skills would greatly improve. He believed that once all these raw materials were refined, he could attempt to manufacture Body Tempering Pills, and even higher-grade pills, he could touch the threshold of refinement.
His strength could also advance further.
...
In a magnificent grand hall, an old man had a huge alchemy furnace placed before him. His eyes were tightly closed, and he held a special seal in his hand, muttering incantations as if reciting some sort of spell.
The blue flame in the alchemy furnace alternated between fast and slow, its rhythm very peculiar. If one observed closely, they would find that the rhythm of the flame actually corresponded to the words the old man uttered, as if the flame in the furnace was controlled by the old man.
As the temperature of the flame rose, it gradually changed from blue to white, and the seals in the old man's hands kept changing, his words becoming increasingly rapid.
Suddenly, the old man's eyes snapped open, a golden light shooting out. He shouted, "Halt!"
The huge alchemy furnace before him seemed to be struck by lightning. The lid suddenly flew off, and a wisp of white smoke drifted out.
A faint medicinal fragrance filled the entire hall.
Outside the hall, two young disciples ran in, their eyes shining. They said, "Congratulations, Master! You have successfully refined this batch of Celestial Venerable Beauty Pill. With this batch of pills, our sect's status will be even more stable."
The old man stroked his white beard and nodded slightly, "This is nothing. I refine a batch of Celestial Venerable Beauty Pill every year; I am already very familiar with it. There is nothing to congratulate."
As soon as the old man finished speaking, one of the disciples scratched his head and said, "Master, something strange has happened recently. I don't know if I should tell you!"
The old man's eyebrows twitched, and he said, "What strange thing? Tell me, it's very boring to refine pills and medicine in this alchemy room every day. If something interesting happens, wouldn't that be great? Speak quickly!"
Hearing this, the disciple nodded and said, "Master, it's been very strange these past few days. The person responsible for delivering our medicinal materials has never come. They are already seven days late, which has never happened before. I specifically sent someone to inquire about the person delivering the medicinal materials, and I heard that he has already sold the medicinal materials. He said that if we want to purchase them, we must increase the price by double!"
Hearing this, the old man stroked his beard and asked in surprise, "Does he not know who we are? How dare he break the agreement and not deliver the medicinal materials? Isn't he afraid of being implicated, afraid of retaliation?"
The disciple nodded and said, "The person we sent also explained the consequences to him, but that person said that he has sold the medicinal materials to others these past few days and the profit he gained is enough for him to live without worry for the rest of his life. If we don't reason with him and increase the price, he won't sell the medicinal materials to us. Even if we cause trouble for him, he doesn't care; he will ask the town mayor to be his arbiter."
Hearing this, the old man smiled and then said faintly, "Interesting."