Unicorns

For several days, Li Jiye hunted low-level demonic beasts and harvested magic cores while looking for various herbs that could be used to refine pharmaceutical potions. Fortunately, there were many demonic beasts and potion resources in the Demonic Beast Mountain Range. After a few days, he managed to collect lots of medicinal materials that could be used to not only refine body-building potions, but also energy-replenishing ones.

At this time, he was meditating in front of the stone cauldron he had polished.

He held three medicinal materials of different colors in his hands. They consisted of a pale green bellflower, a dark gray moss, and a red starflower.

The three plants each represented different elements, but if mixed together, they could be compounded and used to recharge the energy of the elements.

He had tried to refine the energy-replenishing potion several times but didn't succeed even once. Upon closer observation, pungent powders that had burned into coke were scattered around him, accompanied by some viscous liquid with an unknown composition.

"It can't be… The pharmacist's analytical skills should allow me to analyze the ingredients of the body-building potion. I couldn't have used the wrong medicinal materials… Is it because the stone crucible is too crude?"

After several failures, he decided to slow down his actions. At this time, the medicinal materials left could only be used for refining three body-building potions, and he didn't want to use them up for nothing.

"But I heard that higher-level pharmacists can even refine medicine out of thin air… It's definitely not because of the utensils…"

Thinking of this, he carefully classified the medicinal materials in front of him. Then, he picked out a set to refine the energy-replenishing potion.

He was about to start refining the potion again. If he failed again, he would wait to consult someone in Glimmer City. After all, he had personally picked the herbs and was reluctant to see the fruits of his labor go to waste.

With the sound of flint sparking, some of the dried grass under the stone crucible once again raised a ball of flames. He held his breath with rapt attention and squeezed the softest bluebell among the three herbs and gently twisted it with his fingertips. The fresh medicinal scent wafted out along with two drops of dark green, and the sap of the bellflower immediately fell into the cauldron.

The sap of the bellflowers was very heat-resistant. Two drops of the medicinal liquid fell into the hot crucible, and it immediately awoke their medicinal properties. Li Jiye clearly smelled the herbal scent that was spreading and quickly looked to the two remaining medicinal materials, his outreached hand suddenly stopping.

In the previous failed attempts, he had placed the starflower into the cauldron according to the results of the analysis, waiting for its elemental energy to be completely integrated into the bluebell sap before putting it into the moss. But now, he thought for a moment and retracted the hand that had reached out for the starflower.

"The starflower belongs to fire, and although the sap of the bellflower is heat-resistant, the temperature of the medicinal solution will rise to a new level after adding the starflower. The elemental forces will go against each other… This might be the reason for the failure of my previous attempts…"

"Regular pharmacists often have precise rulers and measuring cups to measure medicinal materials when refining pharmaceuticals, but I don't have those two things at hand now. I can only add them according to my instincts… Maybe I can replace the starflower with the moss. Would the order of addition make the elements complement each other more smoothly?"

Lost in thought, he bit his lip and then squeezed a pinch of the dark gray moss before putting it into the crucible. The crucible sizzled, and he finally observed the two medicinal materials mixing together perfectly.

The bluebell sap, which was originally a turquoise color, merged with the moss and immediately became a little dull in color. Overjoyed, Li Jiye watched as the liquid gradually spread. Two drops gradually dripped into the bottom of the entire crucible. In the next second, he picked up the starflower and placed it into the crucible.

The starflower instantly turned into a few scarlet rays of light when it was heated up. He had suffered a lot trying to refine the starflowers in all the previous tries. As soon as it was added to the cauldron, it immediately changed back to bluebell juice to produce an elemental dissolution. In response, the Fire and Wind elements merged in coexistence. In the previous few trials, every time he reached this step, a slight explosion would be provoked, and the medicinal materials in it would be consumed along with it.

But this time, after the starflower melted into the bottom of the cauldron, it was surprisingly quiet. Li Jiye's thoughts shifted, and his eyes lit up when he roughly realized what was happening.

"The Earth properties of the moss made the Wind and Fire Elements condense. Although the normal order of addition is probably the same as before, compared to when pharmacists are refining medicines, it'll need some kind of neutralizing agent that I'm not equipped to deal with at the moment… Heh, I didn't expect this random trial to actually help me discover a method to refine my potions."

Thinking about how lucky he was, he couldn't help but feel overjoyed when the liquid medicine in the cauldron gradually changed from a pungent, spicy scent to the light medicinal fragrance that he was very familiar with.

"No pain, no gain! Haha! The alchemy and the cultivation processes complement each other. Now that I've figured out how to refine pharmaceutical potions in a short period of time, given the right opportunity, I can easily beat the game and emerge victorious with my replication skill!"

When the flame at the bottom of the cauldron gradually extinguished, Li Jiye eagerly reached out to touch the liquid inside with his fingertips. Then, he tasted the liquid, and his eyes lit up.

"That's strange… My liquid medicine seems a little better than the ordinary ones sold outside. Could it be because no neutralizing agent was added?"

He proceeded to pour all the liquid in the cauldron into an empty bottle and was about to strike while the iron was hot and refine another batch of medicine when he heard footsteps come from behind him.

This sudden turn of events shocked him. He was still deep in the Demonic Beast Mountain Range at this time, and although it wasn't the hinterland, there were still many monsters around. Thus, he felt the necessity to beware his surrounding environment, and the sudden sound of footsteps only made him immediately vigilant.

"Could a demonic beast be advancing on me?"

His thoughts ran wild, and a turquoise glow appeared at his legs.

But before he was ready for battle, a four-hooved creature with a pure white body emerged slowly from the cluster of dense trees. It had a single horn glowing in rainbow colors.

Li Jiye was first lost in astonishment and then was awestruck seeing an extremely rare Tier 3 Unicorn in front of him.

A Unicorn was usually regarded as a symbol of auspiciousness. Once, a lord of a small town had led his subordinates into the Demonic Beast Mountain Range to look for this extraordinary creature, only to return empty-handed. This creature had only ever appeared in books, and Li Jiye never imagined being able to witness a live one today.