The introduction of the Vitalizing Red Lingzhi was like the spark that had lit the oil. An explosion happened that rung loud and wide. Had it not been for Lin Mu being in the ground, he would have likely been knocked back.
"Did the refinement fail?" Lin Mu questioned.
"Observe," Xukong replied.
~swish~
The sound of wind could be heard as the smoke was rapidly dissipated. Shaoyan Qianyu was standing there with a protective barrier glowing over her body. The Dark Iron cauldron was also undamaged. It was as if the explosion was all bark and no bite.
~DENG~
A loud sound was heard again, as Shaoyan Qianyu slapped the lid of the cauldron back on it.
~shua~
She made a few hand seals and runes started appearing around the cauldron before illusory chains were formed around it. These chains locked the lid of the cauldron tightly, preventing any fumes from escaping.
~phew~
After the cauldron was successfully sealed, she took a breath of relief and wiped the sweat off from her forehead.
"The Vital Guardian Pill is still difficult for me even after so many years ~Sigh~ thankfully the most risky part is over. Now just to let it congeal for the coming days and hopefully it is ready before Bilao's tribulation." Shaoyan Qianyu muttered to herself.
Lin Mu's ears perked up after hearing her words, and he finally understood why she had made this. But then this presented another question to him.
"Wait, a minute… she's the peak master of the Herb peak, so why did she make a pill for Alchemist Bilao? Shouldn't this be the duty of the pill peak?" Lin Mu wondered.
No matter how much effort he put in thinking about the reason, Lin Mu couldn't find one.
~Sigh~
"Seems like I'll just have to find out about it, eventually. No use wasting more time here." Lin Mu muttered to himself before leaving the residence of the Peak master Shaoyan Qianyu.
This time he used Fade and directly went a long enough distance such that he was directly out of the compound. Once he appeared outside the things became easier for him. Even though Lin Mu had ended up spending quite a lot of time there, he had also learned quite a bit.
Lin Mu pulled out the records he had collected till now and searched for the information about the Vital Guardian Pill that Shaoyan Qianyu had talked about it. A couple of minutes later Lin Mu found out its uses and properties.
The Vital Guardian Pill was a rather unique pill that had both defensive and healing properties. Shaoyan Qianyu's intentions were for Alchemist Bilao to take this pill so that he would have an easier time withstanding the heavenly tribulation.
Everyone knew that the Tribulation lightning was one of the most deadly powers in the world and its strength was fierce. The Vital Guardian Pill would defend against its power and the medicinal effects would heal the injuries that were caused in the process.
It was a high grade pill, which meant that its effectiveness was the same as that of the Four Vessels restoration pill or even greater. If alchemist Bilao were to take it, his chances of surviving the heavenly tribulation would be far better.
"Hmm… seems like the Tri Cauldron peony sect is really enthusiastic about Alchemist Bilao's breakthrough. Though I wonder if this is the attitude of all the people in the sect or just a few of them like this woman.
With this out of the way, Lin Mu put the records away and went down the peak. His next target was the Pill peak, and there were multiple locations he needed to check there as well. Unlike the herb peak, the pill peak had two different vaults there along with two pill repositories.
Lin Mu reached the pill peak's base after half an hour and started moving upwards. Unlike the herb peak, there were no large fields of herbs here. Instead of that, there were multiple residences built along its sides.
These residences had a few things in common, such as a small herb garden in which the disciples planted the herbs that they regularly needed and a pill refinement room. The pill refinement room could be easily noticed due to the long chimneys that were attached to the roofs.
The creation of alchemical pills was no easy process, and even an experienced alchemist would make mistakes often. This would result in explosions which would release some that sometimes had corrosive and toxic properties.
Thus in order to get rid of those, these chimneys were built on the top. But in the case of Peak Master Shaoyan Qianyu's residence, Lin Mu did not see any chimneys like these. What she used was of a much better quality.
Instead of a chimney to expel the smoke and fumes, her residence used specialized formations that not only dispelled the smoke but even detoxified it. This was not something that the sect could build for every disciple, and neither would they be able to afford them.
Lin Mu curiously observed a few disciples that were refining alchemical pills. The difference between them and the peak master Shaoyan Qianyu was like the difference between heaven and earth. Not only was their control of Qi flame worse than Lin Mu who had barely even used it, but their spirit sense control was also mediocre.
Comparing the performance of the peak master and these disciples would probably be an insult to the peak master. Lin Mu didn't spend much time in this, seeing that he would not have any gains and directly went to the first pill repository.
This was actually located quite close to the base of the peak and a couple of long lines of disciples could be seen next to it. There was a mixture of both outer court and inner court disciples in the line.
After listening to their conversation, Lin Mu discovered the reason for the lines. There were two types of lines for each of the outer court disciples and inner court disciples. One type was those disciples who had come to buy alchemical pills, while the second type was of those that came to sell them instead.