To avoid Paimon making the Traveler beat him up, Ryan decided to hide in Jueyun Karst for the next few days until things blew over.
However, he had nothing to do, and since his trip to Liyue had been quite fruitful, he decided to start refining pills immediately.
But he didn't rush to use the best materials; instead, he took out the Geo Archon divine power ore Zhongli had given him and examined it.
Xiao grew six centimeters after taking the Growth Pill, but the pill could only make a person grow seven centimeters more in their lifetime, so he might suddenly grow one centimeter at some point and then be gone... Therefore, the Longevity Pill was one of Ryan's refining goals.
However, he hadn't refined pills for many days, so Ryan decided to refine a simpler one-star pill to warm up, to avoid wasting the divine power ore for nothing.
"Master, have you shed your fur recently? Could you give me one?"
After making his decision, Ryan quietly approached Cloud Retainer, who was enjoying watching the fish.
"?"
"My feathers have all turned colorful, and you're still thinking about them?"
"These few were lost to me by your Senior Uncle Li Shui two days ago. Although they are not as good as This Immortal's feathers, you can take them for now."
Cloud Retainer tilted her head, then pulled out two black-brown bird feathers from who knows where and handed them to Ryan.
"No, Master, you're not of the same element, I can't use them... If it's really not possible, I'll refine a Hair Growth Pill for you as compensation, okay?"
Ryan accepted the two feathers but still didn't give up.
"You child... Even if This Immortal didn't lose all her feathers worrying about you, you'd pluck her bald sooner or later."
"Take it. Go back and refine it properly. Don't waste it and then come back to This Immortal for more."
Seeing this, Cloud Retainer reluctantly pulled out a feather.
The color of the feather was not colorful, perhaps she had saved it from before.
"Hehe, thank you, Master~"
Ryan happily took the feather and scurried back to refine pills.
Back in his cave dwelling, Ryan immediately began refining.
Using Cloud Retainer's feather, combined with the hair from his own tail.
To avoid the effects of the Qilin Pill, Ryan specifically avoided the blue hairs, only plucking the white tail hairs.
Although it would hurt, his tail now possessed the power of the Qilin, zombie, and yaksha, so plucking a few hairs was clearly not a big deal.
And so, Ryan began refining the Growth Pill once again.
[Growth Pill (1 Star): After consumption, one can grow three centimeters taller, but cannot grow naturally for the rest of their life. Can be rainbow-plated.]
A day later, a pill still emitting a golden glow landed in Ryan's hand.
"Huh... Why are there side effects? Is it because my tail was affected by the Qilin Pill?"
Noticing that the effect of this Growth Pill was different from before, Ryan was a little surprised.
However, since it could be rainbow-plated, Ryan decided to rainbow-plate it first to see.
After all, there was a precedent last time where the pill's effects drastically changed after rainbow-plating.
Thinking of this, Ryan picked up the pill and temporarily left his cave dwelling, heading to a more open area for rainbow-plating.
"Hmm?"
Arriving at the foot of the mountain, Ryan suddenly noticed the tombstone he had erected for "Rem" earlier.
He leaned in for a closer look and saw a large purple Electro Slime, surrounded by a large number of ants.
However, the ants were not foolishly trying to attack a monster; instead, they were worshipping it like subjects.
The large Electro Slime had its back to the ants, its gaze fixed on a fox statue made of stones in front of it.
Seeing this scene, Ryan curiously squatted down nearby, wanting to see what was happening.
Upon closer inspection, Ryan found that in the middle of the ant colony, there was a red fire ant from who knows where, which had already been subdued by other ants and was pressed behind the large Electro Slime, unable to move.
Then, a disturbance suddenly broke out in the ant colony, and a golden-patterned ant, carrying a small white ant with wings that could fly, burst into the scene, seemingly trying to rescue the red fire ant.
Just as they were about to succeed, the large Electro Slime turned around.
Sizzle—
A tiny bolt of lightning shot out from the large Electro Slime, hitting the golden-patterned ant that was trying to rescue the red fire ant.
Subsequently, the large Electro Slime bounced and hopped towards the golden ant, its body radiating lightning.
However, in the next second, the large Electro Slime, which had jumped into the air, was grabbed by Ryan's hand by the little tuft on its head and lifted up, its expression instantly turning into this: (＞_＜)
"I knew something felt missing; turns out it was a guy to help me through the tribulation."
Ryan, holding the large Electro Slime, nodded in sudden realization.
Last time he rainbow-plated a pill here, a large yellow Electro Slime generously helped him by absorbing a bolt of tribulation lightning.
Now, a large purple Electro Slime had respawned by the roadside—wasn't this fate's arrangement?
Thinking this, Ryan carried the large Electro Slime to an open area.
"Heavenly Tribulation as a chisel..."
Then, Ryan began to rainbow-plate the pill.
The commotion of the lightning tribulation was not small, and Cloud Retainer on Mt. Aocang naturally noticed it.
However, this time she did not approach, only watching from afar on the mountaintop, as she had witnessed Ryan's growing strength.
As lightning flashed in the sky, the Electro Slime held in Ryan's hand struggled frantically.
"Don't be afraid. I plan for long-term development. From now on, you'll be my exclusive tribulation-absorbing Slime."
Ryan let the pill float in front of him, while he embraced the Electro Slime with both hands, speaking as he looked up at the sky.
Rumble—!
The next moment, the tribulation lightning struck Ryan, absorbed by him and the Electro Slime together.
Ryan's body had been strengthened after absorbing some emotions from the Exuvia and Osial last time, so he wouldn't be incapacitated after taking a single bolt of lightning like before.
Moreover, he was holding an Electro Slime to help absorb the power of the lightning.
After one bolt of lightning fell, the patterns on the purple Electro Slime's body glowed a light purple, and Ryan could even feel its soft body expand slightly.
"It seems it's not enough... You also need to become stronger."
Feeling that the Electro Slime in his arms seemed to be at its limit, Ryan had no choice but to throw it aside, out of the range of the lightning tribulation.
Rumble—
Without the Electro Slime's assistance, the next bolt of tribulation lightning instantly made Ryan's hair stand on end.
"Immortal Art, Senior Uncle, possess me!"
Thus, relying on his now stronger endurance, Ryan withstood a few extra bolts of tribulation lightning and easily passed this lightning tribulation.
[Growth Pill (1 Star · Rainbow): After consumption, rapidly grow three centimeters taller, and can continue to grow throughout the rest of one's life, accumulating a maximum increase of seven centimeters, but cannot grow naturally for the rest of one's life.]
After being plated with a rainbow glow, the pill's effects appeared in Ryan's mind.
"It still has this effect..."
"Huh, could it be..."
Ryan thought of something and quickly took out another pill.
[Sweet Sweet Pill (1 Star): After consumption, restores a certain amount of maximum HP. May have an advanced effect, causing one to emit the sweet scent of sweet flower, attracting surrounding mosquitoes and insects.]
As Ryan had guessed, the pill's effects appeared in more detail in his mind.
"Indeed, it's not that the refined pill is different from last time, but rather that my eyes can now discern more detailed effects..."
"That is to say, that Growth Pill originally had the effect of preventing natural growth after consumption."
...