Nighttime.
Qin Gengyun returned home.
Qiu Zhihe had already cooked porridge and brought it out from the kitchen.
Qin Gengyun silently lowered his head to drink the porridge, ultimately feeling uneasy in his heart. He explained to Qiu Zhihe about how the Pavilion Master extended a connection to the Celestial Pill Pavilion and was planning to supply pills for the Zhenyang Sect's Northern Wilderness Trial.
He wasn't jealous, just frustrated with his own mediocre talent. If he had become an Alchemist two years earlier, perhaps he could join in the excitement by now, earn a thousand Spirit Stones, and start living a good life early.
Qiu Zhihe listened, showing no reaction, and simply asked:
"Why prepare so many pills for the Northern Wilderness?"
Qin Gengyun explained, "The environment in the Northern Wilderness is harsh, miasma is rampant, and there are countless vicious beasts and Spirit Corpses. Naturally, lifesaving pills and Talisman Paper must be prepared."
Qiu Zhihe shook her head, "The Northern Wilderness is full of culinary delights, and not harsh at all."
Qin Gengyun tried to speak, but he couldn't understand the 'culinary delights everywhere' conclusion she drew.
At this moment, Qiu Zhihe pulled out three stalks of Clear Spirit Grass, "Here."
Qin Gengyun hurriedly took them, upon close inspection, the Spiritual Energy in these three stalks was even stronger than the previous one, he exclaimed in delight:
"Taoist Friend Qiu, you actually cultivated three stalks at once?"
Qiu Zhihe glanced at him, and suddenly said, "Even an Alchemist with mediocre talent should be able to refine five bags of Clear Wind Powder from a single stalk of Clear Spirit Grass."
Qin Gengyun froze, reading undisguised disdain from her cold gaze.
Last time, he only refined two bags from one stalk of Clear Spirit Grass. He hadn't expected to be looked down upon by Qiu Zhihe.
Qin Gengyun stood up abruptly and headed to the kitchen:
"Taoist Friend Qiu, watch closely, this time I will surely manage to refine five bags from each stalk!"
"Wait."
Qiu Zhihe stopped him:
"Wash the bowls first."
"..."
After washing the bowls, Qin Gengyun immediately began refining pills.
For two consecutive days, he worked at the Spirit Pill Workshop during the day and returned home at night to eat and refine pills, without any time for Dual Cultivation.
The second day at noon, Qin Gengyun excitedly ran out of the kitchen, shouting towards Qiu Zhihe who was sitting at the bedside:
"Taoist Friend Qiu, I refined a total of thirteen bags!"
Qiu Zhihe lifted her head to look at him, Qin Gengyun continued:
"I refined five bags from each of the first two stalks. Due to insufficient Spiritual Power, the last stalk yielded two fewer bags, but this is only my third time refining pills! It's pretty good already, right?"
Ordinary first-tier Alchemists don't have high pill formation efficiency; refining three bags from one stalk of Clear Spirit Grass is considered good.
This is only achievable by experienced Alchemists.
Qin Gengyun, having only refined pills for the third time, managed to yield ten bags from two stalks, a reason to be proud.
It was also a response to Qiu Zhihe's previous disdain towards him.
Qin Gengyun looked at Qiu Zhihe triumphantly, waiting for her reaction.
Unexpectedly, Qiu Zhihe silently stood up, her figure exquisitely outlined beneath a blue jacket skirt and black gauze clothing. Her chest revealed a small fragment of tempting fair skin as she expressionlessly pulled out five more stalks of Clear Spirit Grass from her sleeve.
Qin Gengyun was stunned, "When did you cultivate so much Clear Spirit Grass again?"
"In my previous small sect, even the worst first-tier Alchemist could refine at least twenty-five bags of Clear Wind Powder from five stalks of Clear Spirit Grass."
Qiu Zhihe looked at Qin Gengyun indifferently, the disdain in her icy almond eyes unabated.
"..."
Qin Gengyun's chest fluctuated, he abruptly grabbed the five stalks of Clear Spirit Grass and furiously marched into the kitchen, poking his head out to say to Qiu Zhihe:
"Taoist Friend Qiu, your skirt today is a bit tight, especially around the belly, it's bulging!"
He then retracted his head, focusing on pill refining.
Qiu Zhihe expressionlessly sat down, touching her belly quietly a moment later, murmuring:
"Am I really getting fat?"
For several consecutive days, Qin Gengyun continued his routine of working during the day and refining pills at night.
On the third night, at 7 p.m.
Laughter echoed from the kitchen as Qin Gengyun emerged with twenty-five bags of Clear Wind Powder:
"Taoist Friend Qiu, what do you think?"
Qiu Zhihe was sitting at the table, sipping porridge. For the past two days, she hadn't added any meat to the porridge and only drank half a bowl each meal.
She glanced at the Clear Wind Powder in Qin Gengyun's hands and replied mildly:
"Just five stalks of Clear Spirit Grass refined over three days, too slow."
"..." Qin Gengyun had nothing to say, his excitement dwindled significantly, and he sat down silently, drinking the porridge.
After dinner, the floating feeling in his heart had completely dissipated.
I've only refined the lowest tier of first-tier pills, do I have any reason to be complacent?
The path is long and difficult, only by seeking it up and down can the Grand Dao be reached!
Qin Gengyun stood up and solemnly cupped his hand toward Qiu Zhihe:
"Thank you, Taoist Friend Qiu, for your reminder."
Qiu Zhihe walked straight to the bed, speaking flatly:
"Go wash the bowls, then rest."
Qin Gengyun agreed quickly, washing the bowls; meanwhile, the candle in the house had already been blown out by Qiu Zhihe.
The beauty in bed was covered with a quilt, her hair loose and cascading like a waterfall over her delicate curves, exuding a unique allure in the darkness.
For these past few days focusing on pill refining, there had been no Dual Cultivation for five days.
Qin Gengyun approached the bed, softly spoke, "Taoist Friend Qiu, tonight let's... huh?"
Before he could finish, he was already dragged up.
...
[Marriage Emotion: 15/100. Stage of Marriage Emotion: Distant, still needs adjustment. Bonus: 1]
[Gained Cultivation Points: 3]
...
Thirty-five breaths later.
Qiu Zhihe turned her back, no longer working.
Qin Gengyun lay sprawled on the bed, phantom text appearing before his eyes:
[Name: Qin Gengyun]
[Life Span: 35/40]
[Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Third-Layer, 11/500]
[Skill: First Tier Alchemist, 29/200]
[Spirit Root: Fire Series Lower Grade Spirit Root (45/100), Ice Series Lower Grade Spirit Root (51/100)]
[Available Cultivation Points: 15]
Five instances of Dual Cultivation provided a total of 15 points, increasing both Fire and Ice Spirit Roots by 8 points.
Qin Gengyun again allocated all 15 points to the Alchemist progress, changing his attribute panel:
[Skill: First Tier Alchemist, 44/200]
Getting closer to the Realm of Second Tier Alchemist, at the same time, these days of focused pill refining also increased his experience in the Alchemy Dao considerably.
Now, he could very steadily refine five bags per stalk with a stable pill formation rate.
Only the speed of pill refining still needs improvement.
But this progress is unimaginable for an ordinary first-tier Alchemist.
Qin Gengyun turned to look at Qiu Zhihe's back.
As it turns out, being able to enhance so quickly within just a few days is not unrelated to the Spirit Grass provided by Qiu Zhihe and her encouragement to focus on pill refining.
Even when my mindset inflated previously, Qiu Zhihe was prompt to deflate it.
It's indeed true that one should marry a wise woman!
However, why can an ordinary cultivator easily take out a bronze furnace?
And why can she, merely a first-tier Spirit Plant Master, easily cultivate so much high-quality Clear Spirit Grass?
This wife whom I married without spending a penny on bride price seems to hide many more secrets.
In the future, I'll have to delve deeper.
Nevertheless, she's never harmed me and continuously helps and encourages me.
The road ahead is open, with a virtuous wife at home, that's all I need.