C43 Ten Thousand Years

Before he could even gather his wits, the Spiritual Plants in the cauldron had already liquefied. They hadn't turned into the burnt residue he had expected.

"How can this be?" Elder Miao felt overwhelmed by the day's revelations.

"There's nothing impossible about it. If you integrate the medicinal cauldron into your being, you can achieve this too."

Yun Haoyan was a man of few words, but unknown to others, he had endured countless hardships in his past life to attain his current level.

In that life, he lived in the Pill Room, his days and nights spent in the company of the medicinal cauldron.

He knew every inch of the cauldron intimately, having spent ten thousand years perfecting his craft.

Over those millennia, the cauldron became an extension of himself, and the Spiritual Plants, his sole focus.

Ultimately, he shattered his limits and ascended to become a Pill Monarch, leaving the world in awe.

His innate talent was modest at best, and he even refrained from awakening his innate abilities on purpose. Once he merged with the cauldron and the Spiritual Plants, talent became inconsequential.

I am the pill, and the pill is me.

"Condense!" The flames under the cauldron snuffed out, and the pills took shape.

"Open the cauldron!" Yun Haoyan commanded, his voice calm.

It was a scene he had witnessed countless times over ten thousand years—nothing out of the ordinary for him.

"Okay." Snapped out of his stupor by the command, Miao Hujin fumbled to lift the cauldron's lid.

"One, two, three... nine."

"One, two, three... nineteen, twenty."

"Good heavens! Twenty pills in total, each one perfect."

Elder Miao stared at Yun Haoyan, astounded, and questioned:

"Young Master Yun, how did you manage this? Isn't it an accepted truth that a single Spiritual Plant can yield only ten pills?

How did you defy such a well-established principle?"

It was common knowledge that one could only refine a maximum of ten martial arts-enhancing pills from a single Spiritual Plant.

"Because of speed!" Yun Haoyan asserted with unwavering confidence.

"Fast?"

"Yes, fast," Yun Haoyan confirmed with a nod.

"Do you realize that every step, whether dissolving the Spiritual Plant or purifying it from impurities, wastes the plant's medicinal essence? Only with sufficient speed can you preserve the essence and refine the greatest number of pills."

"Fast?" Elder Miao pondered. "How can I achieve your level of mastery?"

"Achieve my level?" Yun Haoyan chuckled at the question. "It's not hard. Refine like this for ten thousand years, and you'll get there. But the sad truth is, there's only one God Level innate ability in alchemy. Even if you ascend to the Pill Emperor status, acquiring the Pill God Body is beyond reach."

"Ten thousand years? Pill God Body?" Elder Miao was lost.

Yun Haoyan shook his head, snapping out of his reverie. "Enough of that. Let's focus on how you can become a Pill Emperor."

Elder Miao straightened up, his respect for Yun Haoyan deepening. Whether or not Yun was a Divine Alchemist, he was certainly at the Pill Monarch level. To receive guidance from such a figure was a fortune he must have cultivated in a past life.

"The obstacle to becoming a Pill Emperor is your shaky foundation. You need to strengthen your basics. Once you can perfectly refine all pills below sixth grade, ascending to the Pill Emperor realm will be effortless.

"And remember, when refining pills, never rely on your innate ability," Yun Haoyan advised calmly.

"Yes!" Miao Hujin nodded earnestly. "If I fail to reach the Pill Emperor after your mentorship, I'd be better off dead."