Crying for help

"Disciple can only make White Root Pill Potions. No matter how much I try, I keep failing." Wei Ren explained.

"Don't worry. I will be observing this time. I only want to know how good your Qi control is." Lu Sheng laughed. He knew that Wei Ren was nervous. So he calmed him down.

He had some ingredients left to make two Pill Potions. He cleaned the Black Heaven Pill Cauldron in a very practiced manner.

Lu Sheng nodded slightly when he watched Wei Ren's actions. Just his handling of the Pill Cauldron told him that Wei Ren didn't waste his time at the sect. He must have spent a lot of time concocting pills.

He lit up the flame. Black Heaven was twice the size of the cauldron he normally used. Its smooth jade-like surface was like a mirror. It took less than a minute for it to heat up.

Wei Ren threw in the ingredients one by one. The stench of the Pill Cauldron suddenly flared up. This stench was actually not that bad. It just smelled like an impure medicine. All the ingredients inside the Pill Cauldron were scared of this stench. Their individual auras were completely suppressed by the stench. Making it easier to finish the first phase of concoction that is making a Pill Mixture.

"So this is what Master meant by suppressing intoxication effects." All plants have medicinal power. Some are poisonous, some are intoxicating. Because of this, plants acquire a will of their own. They resist the process of Pill Concoction. Getting turned into a Pill is basically a form of death for them. Taming these types of plants is very important before concocting a pill. Black Heaven served this exact purpose.

The time it took him to make a Pill Mixture was cut in half. The ingredients didn't pose any resistance at all. The stench suppressed the medicinal power of the plants.

"Good. Now start the Pill solidification." Lu Sheng said as he observed the Pill Cauldron.

"Yes Master." Wei Ren acknowledged.

His face tensed up. Even though he went through this same process hundreds of times, he was still nervous to do it in front of Lu Sheng.

"Merge!" He gave a low shout and began merging the Pill Mixture.

Rainbow coloured liquid inside the Pill Cauldron started churning like a maelstrom. It slowly lost its colour and became completely white. Soon, a misshapen, fist sized Pill was left in the Pill Cauldron.

Wei Ren breathed a sigh of relief. At least he would be able to make a Pill Potion if the concoction failed.

Lu Sheng watched quietly as Wei Ren concocted the pill.

"The temperature is turning down…"Lu Sheng suddenly interrupted him.

"Huh?"

"Oh no…" As soon as he heard Lu Sheng's words he woke up from his thoughts. He was too worried about failure which caused him to lose focus.

He turned the heat up and stabilized the Pill Cauldron.

He was at a critical juncture. This is where he failed every time. His pill would collapse and turn into a Pill Potion on its own. No matter how many changes he made, he always succeeded in making a Pill Potion but never a Pill.

"I hope Master can help me understand this." He said to himself and began the final step.

"Condense."

Chaotic medicinal aroma filled the dimly lit room. Wei Ren's serious face was shining because of the flame dancing in front of him.

His fist sized pill started to become smaller. This was a sign of Pill Condensation.

Poof!

Grey smoke left the Pill Cauldron and filled the room.

"It failed." Lu Sheng said him in doubt. He was observing every little thing Wei Ren did. He didn't notice any abnormalities while he was condensing the pill. So why did the concoction fail so abruptly?

As expected there was a pure white Pill Potion settled at the bottom. Wei Ren was not at all surprised. He collected the Pill Potion into a vial and handed the vial to Lu Sheng.

"A Pill Potion? But you didn't even turn down the temperature. The concoction should have failed." He asked while holding the Pill Potion in his hand.

"This is the problem I have been facing Master. My Pill Concoction fails every time and a Pill Potion is formed instead. I think Master should test the Pill Potion I just made." He respectfully answered and explained his troubles.

Lu Sheng opened the vial and dropped the Pill Potion into his mouth. As soon as the Pill Potion hit his white eyes widened slightly. He looked at Wei Ren with surprise.

"80 percent potency!" The amount of surprise on Lu Sheng's face was not as much as he had imagined. Old Dwarf Gu Ping went ecstatic when he saw His Pill Potion. But his Potion didn't faze his Master that much.

"This explains the sudden failure of your concoction." Lu Sheng laughed when he realised the reason Wei Ren failed to make the Pill.

"It does?"

"Yes. Wei Ren, do you know what the potency of your Potion actually means?" Lu Sheng asked him with a smirk.

"Disciple understands that it means that my potion has 80 percent potency as compared to a pill which has 100 percent potency." He told him what he knew.

"Wrong. This is not what Pill Potency means."

"..." Wei Ren listened quietly.

"Alchemy is an art which uses the natural ingredients of the world to make useful Pills and Potions. When we harvest medicinal plants we immediately store them to prevent them from losing their medicinal power. During Pill Concoction, we are bound to lose some of the medicinal power of the ingredients we use. An Alchemy Grandmaster will try to minimise the loss of medicinal effects of his ingredients. But even he wouldn't be able to completely store all the medicinal power into the pill. There is not a single person in this world who can make a pill with hundred percent potency. The pills we make have about ninety percent of the medicinal power of the ingredients. Pill Potions on the other hand have even less." Lu Sheng explained in his kind voice and looked at Wei Ren's captivated face. He learnt something truly important today.

"What you are doing is very similar. Your Pill Concoction didn't fail. It just ended. Since your Pill Potion has eighty percent potency, it means you are able to use eighty percent of the medicinal power of the ingredients. This is usually only possible with pills, because pills are more condensed. But you can do the same job with a Pill Potion." He added one more line with a small chuckle.

"What!" He couldn't believe what he had just heard. He moped for days when he was concocting Pills. He couldn't find any solution. Lu Sheng cures his problem in seconds.

"The shape of the medicine does not matter as long as it can encapsulate all the medicinal power of the ingredients. A pill is just a solidified medicine. Most Alchemists can make medicines with only ninety medicinal power. This means they waste ten percent of the ingredients. You are just a few steps away from making a perfect medicine."

"A perfect medicine…"

"Yes. Don't focus on making a perfect pill. I bet you can increase the potency of your Potion until it becomes as potent as an actual pill."

Lu Sheng's words enlightened him. He was pursuing the wrong path. This is the difference between a beginner and a veteran.

"But how do I increase the potency?" He asked Lu Sheng.

"Refine your Qi controlling skills. Most of the medicinal power was lost when you started to merge the Pill Mixture. This is happening because you haven't been cultivating for long enough. Just be patient and practice." Lu Sheng advised him like one would advise their own child.

He remembered Mei Rong's words. She said that Lu Sheng was very gentle and kind. He trained them diligently and helped them throughout the way.

"So how will I know whether I have become a Tier One Alchemist? I heard from Elder Sister Rong that to qualify as a Tier one Alchemist, one has to successfully concoct a Tier One Pill." This was another problem. How would he judge his Alchemy Tier, if he couldn't concoct pills.

"If you can make a Pill Potion with ninety percent potency, I will reward you with a Tier One Alchemy robe." Lu Sheng waved his long sleeve and said.

"Regarding your Mission Assignment Competition, General Tian and I have talked about this. Your fighting skills are still far too lacking. For now join your Elder Brothers and Sisters in Rescue and Support Infantry. Together, the five of you can concoct medicines faster for the army." Lu Sheng suddenly assigned him his job.

Silence.

Wei Ren was speechless. He spent the last six months training like a maniac. He learned a powerful Divine Art and also became an alchemist. He came here with the intention to join the battle, but he was cast away as soon as he joined the fray.

"I know you don't want to do this. But General Tian has made up his mind. If you don't like this decision. Go and talk to him." As he finished explaining, Mei Rong walked in with a tray.

"Rong'er, take Wei Ren to meet with your Elder Sect Disciples. You can leave the tea here." He was sending both of them away.

Wei Ren walked dejectedly out of Lu Sheng's residence with Mei Rong. Strangely she didn't say a word.

They walked out of the residence and the medicinal garden. When they were a few hundred metres away from Lu Sheng's residence, she finally spoke.

"This is for deceiving me!" She bellowed loudly and arched her slim waist backwards. She lifted her leg high in the air. Her robe fell and her milky white leg became visible. Without wasting another second she dropped her leg. It came thundering down on him. Luckily he noticed earlier and was able to dodge the attack. A blue flash left her leg when he kicked.

Even though it was dangerous, he feasted his eyes when her long leg was about to fall on his head.

"She imbued Qi in her attack!!" Wei Ren's heart skipped a beat. She truly wanted to hurt him.

"Elder Sister Rong please understand. I didn't want to deceive you. I had to. My hands were tied." He tried to talk some sense into her.

But nothing changed her mind. Her beautiful lips were pressed together. She bit her lower lip and charged forward with even more speed. Clearly she used a footwork technique to increase her speed. Her River Formation cultivation base was at full display. There was no way Wei Ren would be able to escape this calamity.

"Somebody help me!! She is trying to kill me." He cried loudly to draw attention from other people. Normally this area is bustling with soldiers. But today it was completely empty. Maybe soldiers were prohibited from going near Lu Sheng's residence.

In the state of panic, he completely forgot that he had a Divine Art up his sleeve. He didn't use the Thunder Walk to run away.

Maybe there was some part of his mind that wanted to get beaten up by this girl.

He cried for help as Mei Rong leaped into the air charged forward.

She twisted her waist mid-air and spun like a top.

The tip of her foot landed on something he cherished more than his life.

If someone were to see the two of them, he or she would notice a boy laying on the ground, holding his crotch and crying loudly and a girl standing over his body looking like a valiant warrior.

(Special thanks to my dear readers. These are the names of top readers whose support is motivating me to continue writing:- (Read carefully. Your name might be in this list)

Transcedent

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I am truly sorry if I spelt your username wrong. It is very hard to type usernames. I hope your cultivations are going smoothly. My Dao of Writing is supported by all of you. please give the novel a good rating. I would be in eternal debt if you could give your precious reviews to invite more readers to our world.

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