The rock in Zi Linling's heart finally settled after hearing Yi Ran's words. She let out a sigh of relief and said sincerely, "Thank you!"
A pang of sadness struck Yi Ran, and she stared at Zi Linling blankly. "Mistress, say that again when you've completely remembered us!"
Zi Linling awkwardly cupped her ears. Even with her sharp tongue, she didn't know how to respond at that moment.
Never mind, since Xue Ying's side had been arranged, she might as well stay and refine pills with peace of mind.
Since this was once her spatial artifact, it should be safer than Zi family's Luoyu Pavilion.
At the very least, she wouldn't have to worry about being interrupted while refining pills, thus failing her efforts.
With that thought, Zi Linling took out the medicinal herbs from her Jiu Ling Ring and began to meticulously organize them.
She had no intention of going into the bamboo house. Instead, she chose a spot beneath the Bodhi tree and set up her alchemy furnace.
In this way, the Bodhi tree's effect would allow her to concentrate more easily and increase the success rate of pill formation.
Watching her produce medicinal herbs in various ways, Huang Yi and Yi Ran's eyes gleamed.
With their eyesight, how could they not recognize that Zi Linling was using a spatial ring?
It seemed that although Zi Linling could not cultivate for the time being, she had already encountered some fortuitous encounters.
The surprise in their eyes was evident.
They knew that with Zi Linling's abilities, no matter when or where, or how harsh the environment, she could always rise from adversity with astonishing talent.
Zi Linling finished organizing the medicinal herbs and then noticed the two of them staring at her intently.
Being so intelligent, she immediately guessed their thoughts.
Zi Linling had never intended to hide the existence of the Jiu Ling Ring from Huang Yi and Yi Ran.
So, she smiled faintly and said, "It's called the Jiu Ling Ring, a spatial ring I obtained by chance."
Huang Yi nodded and said, "Mistress is still as capable as before!"
Yi Ran, however, frowned and said, "Mistress, it's best not to expose the fact that you possess a spatial ring to outsiders, lest you invite the doom of death."
Yi Ran said this because she had stayed in the Goddess Temple for the past hundred thousand years and could see and hear things outside through the Five-Colored Stone.
Therefore, she knew that for the past thousand years, no powerhouse with spatial attributes had appeared outside, making spatial rings extremely precious.
Huang Yi, on the other hand, had not been outside for a hundred thousand years, and her knowledge was still stuck in that era.
A hundred thousand years ago, geniuses emerged in endlessly, and powerhouses with spatial attributes were everywhere. Therefore, at that time, spatial rings were merely storage tools and not particularly valuable.
Thus, she said dismissively, "Sister Yi Ran, aren't you being a bit alarmist? It's just a spatial ring, how could it be so serious as to invite the doom of death?"
Yi Ran gave Huang Yi a cold glare and reprimanded, "What do you know! Do you think the world now is the same as it was a hundred thousand years ago?"
Although Huang Yi was a little afraid of Yi Ran's stern face, she still retorted unconvincingly, "Isn't it?"
Yi Ran said coldly, "I think your brain has rusted from staying in the Goddess Hall, and you don't even understand the principle of decline after prosperity. No powerhouse with spatial attributes has appeared in the world for a thousand years. Do you think spatial rings are precious?"
Huang Yi suddenly realized and looked at Zi Linling with some concern, saying, "Mistress, if that's the case, you must not expose the Jiu Ling Ring!"
Zi Linling's heart warmed, and she nodded. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I won't expose the Jiu Ling Ring until I have powerful strength."
Just as Yi Ran was about to speak, she suddenly frowned and disappeared.
Her sweet voice echoed from the Goddess Hall, "Mistress, you and Huang Yi refine pills here. I need to return to the Goddess Temple to handle some matters."
Zi Linling had already finished organizing the medicinal herbs and was about to light the fire to warm the furnace. She was startled again by Yi Ran's sudden movement.
However, when she heard Yi Ran's words, she calmly continued to light the fire.
Huang Yi's expression remained unchanged throughout. She was already accustomed to Yi Ran's sudden disappearances.
As for Yi Ran returning to the Goddess Temple to handle matters, she was not worried. With Yi Ran's abilities, no one could harm her.
Furthermore, without spatial power, no one could enter the vast formation based on the Five-Colored Stone, let alone discover the Goddess Temple.
Moreover, within the statue of the Goddess in the Goddess Temple, there were still trump cards left by their Mistress from a hundred thousand years ago, which absolutely did not allow outsiders to act recklessly in the Goddess Temple.
Therefore, Huang Yi focused her attention on assisting Zi Linling with refining pills.
Zi Linling outwardly warmed the alchemy furnace at a leisurely pace, but in her heart, she meticulously recalled the parts about the Muscle-Shaping Pill and Marrow-Washing Pill from the "Great Dao Alchemy Scripture" she had obtained in her previous life.
After confirming that there were no omissions, she slowly put the medicinal herbs into the alchemy furnace, carefully observing their changes and adjusting the temperature of the furnace fire.
Although the "Great Dao Alchemy Scripture" detailed methods for refining pills without spiritual power, she realized how difficult it was in practice.
Just refining the first type of medicinal herb took Zi Linling a full hour, during which she failed no less than ten times.
She secretly felt fortunate that she was refining ordinary medicinal herbs at the beginning. If it had been the six main ingredients, she would have been heartbroken!
However, after the first successful refinement, Zi Linling gained experience. Therefore, when refining the second type of medicinal herb, the time was reduced by one-third, and the number of failures decreased to eight.
With the experience of the first two, refining the third type of medicinal herb became much more manageable.
Half an hour later, she had finished refining the third type of medicinal herb, and this time, the number of failures was reduced to five.
Then, her technique became more and more proficient, her success rate increased, and the time required became shorter and shorter.
For the fourth medicinal herb, it took two periods of time, with three failures.
For the fifth medicinal herb, it took one period of time, with one failure.
For the sixth medicinal herb, it took half a cup of tea, and it was successful on the first try.
After that, Zi Linling rarely failed in refining; it was almost always successful on the first try.
Even so, it took Zi Linling a full three days to refine all the ordinary medicinal herbs.
Next came the refinement of the six main ingredients. Zi Linling decided to rest for half a day before continuing.
Huang Yi had wanted to help Zi Linling with her phoenix fire, but ordinary alchemy furnaces could not withstand the power of phoenix fire, so she could only watch anxiously from the side.
It had to be said that refining pills was an extremely soul-consuming endeavor.
At this moment, Zi Linling was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep under the Bodhi tree.