Elder Monkey hurriedly looked towards Ye Qiu. He heard a “boom” as the Demon Emperor Bell landed on the ground, and Ye Qiu withdrew the strange fire.
At the same time, Ye Qiu waved his palm, and a sheet of light covered the bell mouth, suppressing the fragrance of the pills.
“Sorry for keeping everyone waiting.”
Ye Qiu’s voice was not loud, yet it stirred up a tremendous storm in the hearts of all the elders.
Keeping us waiting?
From the start of pill refinement until now, it had only been a little over a quarter of an hour. Was this called keeping us waiting?
Did he have some misunderstanding about time, or was he showing off to us?
For a moment, all the elders were speechless.
“Nonsense!”
Elder Monkey suddenly rebuked him and said, “Ye Changsheng, although you have the Emperor-level strange fire and the Demon Emperor Bell to assist you, in the path of pill refinement, haste makes waste. You must proceed step by step.”
“Blindly pursuing speed will not only reduce the quality of the spiritual pills but also waste the spiritual medicines.”
“Although I only asked you to refine one Profound-level upper-grade Rejuvenation Pill, with the spiritual medicines you used, it would have been entirely possible to refine many more Profound-level upper-grade Rejuvenation Pills.”
“Tell me, how many did you refine?”
Ye Qiu smiled, deliberately keeping them in suspense, and said, “Elder Monkey, why not take a look yourself?”
Unbeknownst to him, in Elder Monkey’s eyes, Ye Qiu’s smile appeared frivolous.
Elder Monkey was the strongest alchemist in the demon race. He had immersed himself in the pill dao for over a thousand years and knew very well that to become an outstanding alchemist, one must rid oneself of impetuosity and restlessness.
“Ye Changsheng, I remind you once again: the pill dao is different from cultivation. Pursuing speed is very bad.” Elder Monkey did not move from his spot.
“I will certainly engrave Elder Monkey’s teachings in my heart.” Although Ye Qiu was polite in words, his face was full of smiles, which made Elder Monkey feel he was being perfunctory.
“Hmph.” Elder Monkey gave a cold snort.
“Brother Ye, I am a bit curious. How many Rejuvenation Pills did you refine?” Elder Sheep asked.
Ye Qiu said, “Since Elder Sheep is curious, why not take a look yourself?”
“Alright, I will look.” Elder Sheep moved and instantly appeared in front of the Demon Emperor Bell. He stretched his head to peer inside.
“This…”
Elder Sheep’s heart pounded wildly. He took a deep look at Ye Qiu, then quickly concealed the shock in his eyes and turned back to ask, “Old Monkey, if it were you refining pills with the same spiritual medicines, how many Rejuvenation Pills could you produce?”
Elder Monkey said proudly, “I am a Heaven-level alchemist in the Divine Passage realm. Using the same spiritual medicines, without any effort, I could refine twenty-three Profound-level upper-grade Rejuvenation Pills.”
Elder Sheep asked again, “If you suppressed your cultivation to the Cave Heaven peak, how many Rejuvenation Pills could you refine?”
Elder Monkey thought for a moment and said, “I should be able to refine five Rejuvenation Pills.”
Only five?
Elder Sheep curled his lip.
“Old Sheep, why are you so full of nonsense today?” Elder Monkey asked, “Tell me, how many Rejuvenation Pills did Ye Changsheng refine? One, or two?”
Elder Sheep said, “Do you not have eyes yourself? Why ask me? Just look and you will know.”
“But Old Monkey, I advise you not to look.”
“I worry your heart cannot take it.”
“What do you mean? Could it be that everything he refined is waste?” After saying this, Elder Monkey walked towards the Demon Emperor Bell. As he passed Ye Qiu, he pointed at him and said with disappointment, “You, ah, your talent is good, but you are too eager for quick success.”
“As the saying goes, haste makes waste, and this is even more true for pill refinement.”
“Although a lot of spiritual medicines were wasted today, it has taught you a lesson. In the future, remember that pill refinement requires a calm and steady heart. Let this time count as accumulating experience for you…”
As Elder Monkey spoke to this point, he stretched his head to look inside the Demon Emperor Bell. In the next second, his whole body trembled.
“This, this… how is it possible?”
Elder Monkey seemed to have received a tremendous shock. His eyes even turned red.
“Old Monkey, what is wrong with you?” Elder Bear felt something strange, came to the Demon Emperor Bell, and stretched his head to look.
“Holy shit!” Elder Bear exclaimed in shock, looking at Ye Qiu in disbelief.
Seeing this scene, the little white fox was filled with curiosity.
From the beginning, she had full confidence in Ye Qiu and believed he would certainly succeed. However, seeing Elder Bear’s exclamation aroused some doubt in her.
“Elder Bear is usually very steady. What is wrong today?”
With three parts doubt and seven parts curiosity, the little white fox walked to the Demon Emperor Bell.
Immediately after, her beautiful eyes widened suddenly. She finally understood why Elder Bear had such a strong reaction.
At this moment, inside the Demon Emperor Bell lay seven round Rejuvenation Pills.
Each Rejuvenation Pill was as large as a hen’s egg, entirely emerald green, with a smooth and round surface without the slightest flaw. Moreover, every Rejuvenation Pill had five pill patterns.
Although the little white fox was not skilled in pill refinement, as the supreme of the demon race, she had seen many high-level spiritual pills and knew very well what five pill patterns meant.
“Six pill patterns are Heaven-level lower-grade, while five pill patterns are Earth-level ultimate-grade.”
“Ye Changsheng, I truly did not expect that on your first pill refinement, you would produce Earth-level ultimate-grade Rejuvenation Pills.”
“Congratulations.”
The little white fox’s face was full of excitement, as if she were even happier than if she had succeeded in refining them herself.
The other elders who remained in place, upon hearing the little white fox’s words, looked at Ye Qiu in shock, then quickly gathered around.
“Kid, how did you do it?” Elder Monkey asked.
He had thought Ye Qiu’s pill refinement had failed, but unexpectedly, they were Earth-level ultimate-grade Rejuvenation Pills, and five of them.
This meant Ye Qiu had extracted all the essence from the liquid medicine without wasting a single bit.
Most crucially, Ye Qiu had succeeded on his first attempt without any failure.
Elder Monkey had refined pills for many years. Even at his most proficient, for an Earth-level alchemist to produce Earth-level ultimate-grade Rejuvenation Pills, it would not be as easy as it was for Ye Qiu.
Of course, Elder Monkey could also produce seven Earth-level ultimate-grade Rejuvenation Pills, provided he did not suppress his cultivation and went all out.
Ye Qiu said, “I just followed the pill refinement steps.”
Elder Monkey felt another wave of gloom upon hearing this. Back then, to refine a single Earth-level ultimate-grade pill, he had exploded the furnace over five thousand times.
“Worthy of Brother Ye. An extraordinary achievement. On your first pill refinement, you advanced to Earth-level alchemist. Congratulations.” Elder Sheep offered congratulations, then asked, “Old Monkey, I remember when you advanced to Earth-level alchemist, you were already eight hundred years old, right?”
In the past, Elder Monkey often boasted that he had become an Earth-level alchemist in only eight hundred years, which made him quite proud. But now, hearing Elder Sheep’s words, he wanted to spit blood.
Damn it, mentioning my sore spot while praising Ye Changsheng. Why rub salt in my wound?
His heart is punishable!
Elder Monkey glared fiercely at Elder Sheep.
Ye Qiu said, “At first, I planned to refine twenty Heaven-level lower-grade Rejuvenation Pills. Later, I felt I could try, so I refined seven Earth-level ultimate-grade Rejuvenation Pills.”
“However, it is still not perfect enough.”
“It seems I need to practise more diligently in the future.”
Elder Monkey praised, “Ye Changsheng, it is right to think this way…”
Before Elder Monkey could finish, Ye Qiu added, “Today is my first time using strange fire for pill refinement, so I am not yet proficient. Otherwise, with those spiritual medicines, I am confident I could refine ten Earth-level ultimate-grade Rejuvenation Pills.”
“As for speed, it could be faster too. Half a quarter of an hour would be enough.”
“Elder Monkey, I pass this test, right?”
After Ye Qiu finished speaking, he received no response. He turned his head and saw Elder Monkey clutching his chest, half-squatting on the ground as if suffering a heart attack.
