Senior Sister Dan thought for a moment and nodded solemnly. It seemed there indeed were quite a few things that needed to be disposed of.
“Would you like to go and keep a few for yourself then, Junior Sister?”
The female cultivator who had asked shook her head. “No need for me. They don't last long at all; it's practically a waste of time. I suffered quite a loss the first few times. It's just that some other disciples wanted them, so they asked me to look into it.”
“In that case, just tell them to come to my place to pick them up. It'll save me the trouble of dealing with them.”
“Sure, thank you, Senior Sister Dan.”
Jiang Lu quickened her movements upon hearing this. In a short while, she had sorted the remaining spiritual plants into their respective baskets.
She walked over and said to the two, “Senior Sisters, I've sorted the rest of the spiritual plants as well. Please double-check them.”
The two nodded, scanning the spiritual plants with their divine sense.
After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Lu looked at them and asked, “Senior Sisters, I heard you mentioning earlier that you have some unused cauldrons to dispose of. May I ask what one needs to do to get one?”
Hearing this, the two couldn't help but look deeply at Jiang Lu. These apprentices indeed had some ambition. Still, this wasn't a bad thing. Those cauldrons were going to be thrown away anyway, so there was no harm in giving them to her.
Without caring whether Jiang Lu could actually refine elixirs yet, Senior Sister Dan was only too happy to have someone help dispose of them. She nodded and said, “You want them too? If you're done with your work for now, you can come with me to collect them.”
Jiang Lu nodded immediately. Of course she had time—and even if she didn't, she would make time.
“I have time, Senior Sister.”
Today, only the disciples from Alchemy Courtyard No. 1 and Courtyard No. 2 had come to collect spiritual plants; the other courtyards were scheduled for later. Her other chores could wait until she returned, and she could just let Master Wen know beforehand.
She followed the two to Alchemy Courtyard No. 2. From the outside, the courtyard looked no different from the others, but as she walked inside, the entire estate was divided into three sections, and the overall building area was significantly larger than the other residences.
The central section served as the storage area for spiritual plants. The other two sides were the alchemy rooms. Looking from the courtyard toward the alchemy rooms, she could see massive elixir cauldrons lined up inside.
Many disciples were busy in front of the cauldrons. Perhaps because they were enclosed by barriers, she couldn't hear any sound coming from within, making the surroundings feel quiet and serene.
“Wait here for a moment, Junior Sister. I'll be right back.”
“Yes, Senior Sister Dan.”
Standing below the steps, Jiang Lu focused her gaze on the refining disciples. Lighting the furnace, channeling the spiritual fire, throwing in the herbs... She found herself completely mesmerized.
However, different disciples followed different steps, and she only grasped a general idea. When she eventually refined elixirs herself, she would still need to pay close attention to the key control points.
When Senior Sister Dan came out of the room, she saw Jiang Lu staring intently at the alchemy rooms. She tilted her head and glanced over but didn't see anything unusual. Thus, she spoke up, “What are you looking at, Junior Sister Jiang? Come on, I'll take you to get them.”
“Alright, Senior Sister Dan.”
Her train of thought interrupted, Jiang Lu saw that Senior Sister Dan was already standing beside her.
She followed Senior Sister Dan behind the spiritual plant storage room, turning twice before arriving at a relatively secluded building. These rooms were used to store damaged supplies.
Senior Sister Dan pushed the door open, revealing about a dozen elixir cauldrons of various sizes inside, their surfaces somewhat dirty.
“These are the ones. They all have varying degrees of damage. Although they can still be used, they easily degrade the quality of the refined elixirs. Still, if you patch them up a bit, they're good enough to refine some basic elixirs. They're quite decent for disciples who are just starting to learn alchemy, and the main benefit is that they don't cost any spirit stones. However, if you truly want to refine high-quality elixirs, you'll still need to buy a proper cauldron.”
Seeing Jiang Lu's slightly overwhelmed expression, she pointed at the cauldrons on the floor. “You can pick two, Junior Sister Jiang.”
Jiang Lu nodded, then squatted down to inspect them one by one. There didn't seem to be any obvious differences; the damaged parts were likely invisible to the naked eye.
She eventually chose two cauldrons that looked relatively pleasing to her eye and cradled them in her arms. “Thank you, Senior Sister Dan.”
Senior Sister Dan nodded and instructed Jiang Lu on how to channel spiritual energy to open and close the cauldrons.
When not in use, an elixir cauldron could shrink to the size of a palm for easy storage. When in use, channeling spiritual energy into it would expand it to the desired size, making it easier to match one's height for refining elixirs.
Jiang Lu carried the two cauldrons back to her courtyard, placed them on the table, and finished processing the remaining spiritual plants. She then returned to her room, took out the spiritual plants from her basket, and began processing them.
She plucked away the withered leaves. Then, a wisp of green spiritual energy emerged from her fingertips. The energy entered the spiritual plant, traveling up from the roots and stems before emerging through the veins of the leaves, carrying a trace of sap with it.
These were the impurities useless for refining elixirs, which would otherwise affect the medicinal efficacy during the refining process.
After processing the spiritual plants and setting them aside, she placed a cauldron on the floor and channeled her spiritual energy. The cauldron gradually expanded. She closed her eyes and carefully sensed any abnormalities within the cauldron, quickly discovering a hairline crack near the bottom. When the spiritual fire burned inside, heat would easily escape, making it difficult to control the temperature.
“If only I could cultivate divine sense right now. A simple sweep of my divine sense would reveal all these abnormalities. Unfortunately, one needs to reach the mid stage of Qi Condensation to cultivate it.”
She rubbed her finger over the crack. The damage wasn't too severe; she just needed to find some materials to patch it up.
But as Senior Sister Dan had said, if she wanted to refine high-quality elixirs, she would eventually need to purchase an undamaged cauldron.
After putting away the spiritual plants and the cauldrons, Jiang Lu finally sat down to meditate and cultivate...
Pop—
A crisp sound echoed from within her body. Jiang Lu slowly opened her eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air. Sensing the abundant spiritual energy filling her body, she smiled slightly.
Wonderful!
She had finally broken through to the second layer of Qi Condensation!
Walking out into the courtyard, she saw Master Wen approaching with a smile on his face. “Girl Jiang, you're out!”
Jiang Lu nodded and asked, “Master Wen, did something good happen? You seem to be in a great mood.”
Master Wen gave her a knowing wink. “Hehehe, Girl Jiang, it really is good news! But it's for you young folks.”
“Oh?”
“A small secret realm has appeared to the east of our Xijiang City. It's restricted to cultivators below Foundation Establishment. With my mediocre talent, there's no need for me to go and take risks. But you're still young, so you can go and give it a try. If you decide to go, you can join the team organized by the Medicine King Pavilion, or you can go on your own—just let us know in advance.
“The elder of the front hall just announced that if any of you wish to go, you just need to make up for the resources missed during your days of absence based on your contribution to the pavilion when you return. I asked around for you; this small secret realm will remain open for a month at most. When you return, you'll only need to pay one hundred low-grade spirit stones or hand over resources of equivalent value.”
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