Chapter 5: Successfully Refining Pills

The next morning, at the Lin Family's Merit Hall.

Over a dozen people gathered in the first-floor hall of the Merit Hall, consisting of men, women, elderly individuals, young people in their twenties, and middle-aged women. All were members of the Lin family, exchanging merit points or various materials for tool refining and talisman crafting.

A young man in a blue robe took out several spiritual herbs, a monster core, and various parts of a monster's body from his storage bag.

An elderly man in a white robe efficiently examined the materials, while three young men recorded the transactions in a thick book with a greenish cover adorned with intricate symbols.

The elderly man was Lin Shixin, the head of the Merit Hall and a peak Qi Refining stage cultivator, over ninety years old.

Lin Shixin had overseen the family's treasury for more than forty years, known for his extensive knowledge and fairness. He was responsible for collecting and distributing various cultivation resources.

As Lin Shixin checked the items, he loudly announced:

"Two Golden Flower Herbs, eight merit points each, totaling sixteen merit points. Three Wind Spirit Herbs, six merit points each, totaling eighteen merit points. One Jade Hua Ginseng, five merit points."

"One mid-tier first-grade monster core from a Three-Eyed Wolf, eighteen merit points. Four claws from the Three-Eyed Wolf, twelve merit points. One monster eye, five merit points. One Three-Eyed Wolf pelt, eight merit points. Totaling eighty-two merit points."

The young man in the blue robe was excited and said, "I'd like to exchange for three Spirit Essence Pills, one Detoxification Pill, one Rejuvenation Pill, and one top-tier first-grade attack talisman."

"Three Spirit Essence Pills, eight merit points each, totaling twenty-four merit points. One Detoxification Pill, twelve merit points. One Rejuvenation Pill, eight merit points. One top-tier first-grade attack talisman, fifteen merit points. Totaling fifty-nine merit points, leaving twenty-three merit points."

The young man handed over his family token to Lin Shixin, who cast a few spells, updating the balance to thirty-five points. A red light flashed as the numbers disappeared.

The young man received his token and exchanged items, bowed, and left the Merit Hall.

The family had established a comprehensive exchange system, where one merit point equaled one lower-grade spiritual stone.

Exchanging materials and pills from the family treasury followed market prices. However, selling materials to the family was calculated at seventy to eighty percent of the market price since the family needed to make a profit.

For example, the Golden Flower Herb the young man brought in could fetch ten lower-grade spiritual stones at the market, but only eight within the family exchange.

After the blue-robed young man left, more family members came to sell or buy items, making the Merit Hall a bustling place.

Among the crowd, Lin Tianming, dressed in a green robe, made his way through. Having managed to produce a flawed Bigu Pill yesterday, he intended to check if there were any alchemy furnaces available at the Merit Hall today.

After greeting his peers and elders, he approached Lin Shixin and bowed.

"Grandson Tianming greets Tenth Grandfather."

Lin Shixin chuckled, "What do you want this time, just say it."

"Tenth Grandfather, do we have any alchemy furnaces? I'm learning alchemy, but I don't have a furnace or herbs. I'm here to see what's available."

Lin Shixin replied, "The family has only four furnaces. The only mid-tier second-grade furnace is used by your grandfather."

"The high-tier first-grade furnace was taken by your Thirteenth Uncle, Lin Xingsheng. Now, we only have two mid-tier first-grade furnaces left."

He took out two furnaces and placed them on the counter.

One was a fiery red furnace with three legs and four ears, called the Four Symbols Furnace. It was once a high-tier first-grade furnace but had degraded, likely damaged during a battle.

Though downgraded, it was still better than a regular mid-tier first-grade furnace and could be quite useful if repaired.

The other was a blue furnace, three feet tall, covered in runes, called the Qinglan Furnace, also a mid-tier first-grade furnace left by an ancestor.

"The Four Symbols Furnace requires 150 merit points, and the Qinglan Furnace requires 120 merit points. Which one do you want?"

Hearing the prices, Lin Tianming was taken aback. Even with the thirty-five spiritual stones and three Spirit Essence Pills his mother gave him, plus his own spiritual stones, he couldn't afford even half of a furnace.

Realizing today's goal of getting a furnace was out of reach, Lin Tianming smiled wryly.

"Tenth Grandfather, I can't afford a furnace now. My merit points and spiritual stones aren't enough. I'll just exchange for some Bigu Pill herbs to practice refining."

Bigu Pill required eleven common herbs, each costing three merit points. Each set of herbs could refine three batches of Bigu Pills.

"I'll exchange for ten sets of Bigu Pill herbs."

He handed over his family token, and within moments, the merit points were reduced to zero.

Since Lin Tianming hadn't reached the fifth level of Qi Refining, he couldn't take on family tasks to earn merit points or spiritual stones. The thirty points on his token were a gift from his mother, Ren Yuxuan.

Ren Yuxuan had four spiritual roots, was fifty-three years old, and at the seventh level of Qi Refining. Knowing her chances of reaching Foundation Establishment were slim, she saved most of her resources for Lin Tianming and Lin Xingrong's cultivation.

In the cultivation world, if a cultivator couldn't reach Foundation Establishment by seventy, it became increasingly difficult with age.

Qi Refining cultivators had a lifespan of around 120 years. Once past middle age, their vitality declined, making Foundation Establishment more challenging.

Most family members, if they hadn't reached the ninth level of Qi Refining by fifty, would conserve resources for the more talented next generation.

The Lin family rarely married before forty unless the person had poor talent or lacked ambition, ensuring the limited resources were best utilized for nurturing the next generation.

Lin Tianming's parents didn't have great spiritual roots. His father, Lin Xingrong, had four spiritual roots, was fifty-five, and at the ninth level of Qi Refining. His mother, Ren Yuxuan, also had four spiritual roots, was fifty-three, and at the seventh level.

Ren Yuxuan had saved resources for over ten years since Lin Tianming's birth, supporting both him and Lin Xingrong's cultivation.

Without her support, reaching the peak of Qi Refining would have been very difficult for Lin Xingrong alone.

With his token's merit points now zero, Lin Tianming stored the ten sets of Bigu Pill herbs, bade farewell to Lin Shixin, and headed to the Alchemy Hall.

Within half an hour, Lin Tianming was before his grandfather, Lin Shigong.

"Grandfather, I've exchanged for ten sets of Bigu Pill materials. I need to use the Samsung Furnace as I couldn't afford a furnace myself."

Lin Shigong, without hesitation, handed over the furnace and gave a few words of advice before leaving the alchemy room.

Lin Tianming didn't rush to start refining but spent half a day meditating and adjusting his state.

Inside the alchemy room, Lin Tianming cast several spells on the furnace, summoning the ground fire, and controlled the heat, warming the furnace for a quarter of an hour.

He carefully added the herbs one by one, purifying them with his spiritual sense.

After a quarter of an hour, he opened the lid, and a fragrant aroma filled the room. One Bigu Pill floated inside.

Overjoyed, Lin Tianming took out the pill and examined it. It was indeed a complete Bigu Pill.

With plenty of herbs left, he continued refining, swallowing the pill to eliminate his hunger from the past half day.

Two hours passed, and he completed the first set of herbs. The first batch yielded one pill, the second batch failed, and the third batch yielded one pill. Overall, he was quite satisfied.

Having used up all his spiritual power and overextended his spiritual sense, he had to meditate and recover before continuing.

Half a month flew by. Lin Tianming emerged from the alchemy room, having exhausted all the herbs.

The effort paid off. After numerous attempts, his success rate with the last few sets of herbs exceeded sixty percent, producing three to five Bigu Pills per batch.

Over the half month, he refined thirty batches from the ten sets of herbs, yielding thirty-nine pills. After consuming one, he had thirty-eight left.

He found his grandfather, Lin Shigong, returned the Samsung Furnace, and reported his results.

Lin Shigong was shocked, then burst into laughter, "Heaven blesses our Lin family, heaven blesses our Lin family..."

"Kid, you can barely be considered a low-tier first-grade alchemist now. Since you've been so diligent, I'll reward you. Give me your family token."

Lin Tianming handed over his token. Lin Shigong took out his own, and with a few swipes, Lin Tianming's token now had 200 merit points.

Lin Shigong said, "Go exchange for the Four Symbols Furnace at the Merit Hall. It will help you refine pills faster."

"When you can refine mid-tier first-grade pills, I'll ask your Third Grandfather to help repair the Four Symbols Furnace. If we have the materials, it might even be upgraded to a second-grade furnace."

Lin Tianming thanked his grandfather and left.

After half a month of intense alchemy practice, his spiritual power and spiritual sense were greatly exhausted. Refining three batches required half a day of meditation to recover. Despite the fatigue, his cultivation level and spiritual sense had steadily improved, nearing the fifth level of Qi Refining.

With three Spirit Essence Pills left, Lin Tianming planned to enter seclusion, determined not to emerge until he broke through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.