Of course, being too well-protected could also lead to a spoiled and willful personality.
This Supreme Elder must have done a good job educating Song Qiaoqiao, without spoiling her excessively.
After some analysis, Fang Yun had a clearer understanding of his senior sister, Song Qiaoqiao.
"Junior Brother, let's go. We can refine the Qi Nourishing Pills."
"Senior Sister, I appreciate the kind offer, but I can handle refining the Qi Nourishing Pills myself."
No matter how kind Song Qiaoqiao's intentions were, he would refuse this kind of help under any circumstances.
'Song Qiaoqiao's actions are basically stealing my Talent Points!'
And besides, he knew his current Alchemy Talent was two-star!
"You don't have to worry about me, Junior Brother. I have time today, and I don't have any tasks from the Elders." Song Qiaoqiao remembered what had happened last time.
Looking at Song Qiaoqiao, he knew his situation was difficult to explain, and he had no intention of explaining it. This had nothing to do with her personality.
'A person with a cheat going around telling everyone about it? Fang Yun wouldn't do something that stupid.'
"Say, Senior Sister, are you trying to compensate me for your earlier lack of consideration?" Fang Yun asked tentatively after a moment of silence.
She froze for a moment, realizing he had seen right through her, and nodded in embarrassment.
"If you really want to compensate me, Senior Sister, there is another way."
"Go on, Junior Brother. What did you have in mind?"
"Lend me one hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones. I'll do my best to pay you back within six months to a year, and you can't charge me any interest during that time."
'With a Supreme Elder for a great-grandfather, being an Inner Sect Disciple of the Celestial Cloud Sect, and also an Alchemy Master...'
'...it shouldn't be hard for someone like her to take out one hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones.'
Fang Yun desperately needed the start-up capital.
Using eight Lower Grade Spirit Stones to buy three sets of materials for refining Qi Nourishing Pills was still not nearly enough for him.
He needed more Spirit Stones so he could refine Upper Grade Qi Nourishing Pills in less time and use them for his own cultivation.
Based on how they were grown and cared for, Spirit Plants were divided into three quality levels. Pills also had three grades: Lower Grade, Middle Grade, and Upper Grade.
In his cultivation plan, Fang Yun never intended to use Lower or Middle Grade pills.
He had too much to do every day; Lower and Middle Grade pills could hardly meet his cultivation needs. Upper Grade pills had the best and purest medicinal effects, and they could be refined and absorbed much faster.
And that speed was exactly what Fang Yun needed.
"Huh?" Song Qiaoqiao was stunned again.
"Is it inconvenient, Senior Sister?" Seeing her expression, he thought, 'She might not have one hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones on her.' "If a hundred is too many, fifty is fine. Or even twenty..."
"That's not what I meant, Junior Brother." Song Qiaoqiao cut him off, taking out one hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones as she spoke. "I was just surprised that the compensation you wanted was to borrow Spirit Stones. Also, this is the first time anyone has ever asked to borrow Spirit Stones from me."
'Who would dare borrow Spirit Stones from you, the great-granddaughter of a Supreme Elder, unless they were certain they could pay it back quickly?'
A year was the longest term Fang Yun could possibly ask for.
The longer he took to repay it, the better it would be for him while he was still getting on his feet.
"Thank you, Senior Sister!" Fang Yun put the one hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones into his Storage Pouch. "Senior Sister, I'll take my leave."
After thanking her, Fang Yun immediately took his leave.
Time was precious, so he didn't stay to chat any longer with Song Qiaoqiao.
"Do you know the way, Junior Brother?"
"This time, I do."
"Oh."
Watching Fang Yun leave in a hurry, Song Qiaoqiao stood there for a moment.
'What a strange Junior Brother...'
Without dwelling on it, Song Qiaoqiao then headed in the direction of the Dan Cloud Pavilion.
Of all the senior and junior brothers she knew, Fang Yun was the strangest; his way of doing things was completely different from theirs.
The Alchemy Rooms on Dan Cloud Peak were located below.
All he had to do was follow the steps down to the end.
"Steward, I'd like to rent a low-grade Alchemy Room."
The Steward opened his eyes and glanced at Fang Yun. Third-level Qi Refining, and an unfamiliar face.
'Without a doubt, he's a novice alchemist.'
He quickly said, "There are two low-grade Alchemy Rooms left, Number Four and Number Seven. Which one do you want?"
"Number Seven."
"Alright. A low-grade Alchemy Room costs one Lower Grade Spirit Stone per day. If you exceed one day, you'll be charged for a second day, no matter by how much. Even if it's just for a moment, you'll have to pay another Lower Grade Spirit Stone. Mind the time."
"Thank you for the reminder, Steward."
"Will you be paying with Spirit Stones or Contribution Points?"
"Spirit Stones." As he spoke, Fang Yun placed a Lower Grade Spirit Stone on the table.
After the Steward took the Spirit Stone, he gave him a light green Token engraved with 'Lower Seven'. On the back of the Token was a symbol of a Pill Furnace.
He entered the low-grade Alchemy Room.
The first thing Fang Yun felt was the heat.
It was much hotter inside than outside, due to the connection to the Earth Fire.
Fire Method Alchemy was the most common and widely used Alchemy Technique; the vast majority of pills could be made using this method.
In *Preliminary Understanding of Alchemy*, other alchemy methods were not explained in detail; the main focus was on Fire Method Alchemy.
Fire Method Alchemy requires a flame, and Earth Fire is the flame most commonly used by Alchemy Masters in sects.
If a sect was too weak and had no Earth Fire Vein, then its members and Loose Cultivators alike would most commonly use Wood Fire.
Wood Fire couldn't be produced by burning ordinary wood; it required Spirit Wood.
When using Wood Fire for alchemy, the fuel was another expense.
Besides Earth Fire and Wood Fire, Demon Fire and Ghost Fire could also be used for alchemy. However, these flames were ineffective for refining most common pills. For certain specific pills, on the other hand, the results were astonishingly good. The True Flame of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator practicing a Fire Attribute Skill, or the Pill Fire of a Core Formation Cultivator, were also excellent choices for pill refining. But as for the flame most suited for alchemy, that would be one born from heaven and earth itself...
'Two-star Alchemy Talent, please don't let me down.'
Fang Yun thought to himself as he laid out the materials for refining the Qi Nourishing Pill.
He laid all the materials out in front of him for easy access when he began refining the Qi Nourishing Pill.
He took out the Pill Formula for the Qi Nourishing Pill for one last look. After putting the Pill Formula away, Fang Yun activated the switch on the Alchemy Furnace and released the Earth Fire.
The size of the Earth Fire could be controlled by a device on the side.
'To start the furnace for a Qi Nourishing Pill, this temperature should be just right.'
This was his sharp intuition, a result of his two-star Alchemy Talent.
He would follow his intuition without hesitation while refining this first batch of Qi Nourishing Pills.
Although he didn't know the specific effects his two-star Alchemy Talent would bring, he knew it wouldn't lead him astray.
The process for refining a Qi Nourishing Pill:
First, process the Eight-corner Root, followed by the Wind-facing Grass.
The most crucial step in the middle was adding the Qi Nourishing Grass and making sure to properly handle this main Spiritual Material.
Finally, after processing the Wulong Beans and the Little Pure Flower petals, was the step of fusing the medicines into a pill.
One set of materials for a Qi Nourishing Pill could produce a maximum of five pills.
And the normal price for a single Lower Grade Qi Nourishing Pill was one Lower Grade Spirit Stone.