Chapter 274: No One Said You Had to Swallow a Pill Whole

After sending away the unreliable Immortal Elder Changcun and the especially unreliable Bai Hongtu, Jiang Li finally contacted the Chiwu Furnace.

“You want me to teach this kid how to refine a Nourishing Pill? Hahaha, Human Sovereign, you really have a good eye—no, a good eye for furnaces!” The Chiwu Furnace was so delighted that its lid flew up with a clatter when it saw Jiang Li had chosen it instead of Su Wei.

It felt this was a historic moment proving it had surpassed Su Wei.

Certified by the Human Sovereign.

The jade-carved, adorable young boy was puffing away, polishing the Chiwu Furnace without saying a word.

“This one’s also a Fusion Stage expert?” Yu Feng had never seen a talking pill furnace and thought it was some eccentric powerful cultivator in disguise.

“It’s just a furnace. A top-tier Dao Artifact—the Chiwu Furnace.”

“Top-tier Dao Artifact?” Yu Feng sucked in a sharp breath, clearly inexperienced. He’d only heard that Fusion Stage cultivators in the Tongu World might wield one Dao Artifact. As for what they looked like, he had no idea.

“I didn’t even know Dao Artifacts could talk.”

“…Are you blind groping an elephant? A talking Dao Artifact is the exception—most are lifeless objects.”

“Blind groping an elephant?”

“Never mind. It’s a Nine Provinces idiom—has a story behind it you don’t know.”

“Little one, come! I’ll teach you how to refine Nourishing Pills. I guarantee I teach better than that Su Wei guy!”

Half an hour later, Yu Feng held a hefty Nourishing Pill in both hands, speechless.

This Nourishing Pill wasn’t quite what he’d imagined. It looked… kinda big.

Yu Feng measured it—it was as big as his head.

Yu Feng hesitated, starting to doubt his alchemy skills. He had followed the steps exactly, so why did he end up making a ball?

“Senior Jiang, did I mess up the refining?”

“You did it perfectly. This is the best Nourishing Pill.” Jiang Li kindly explained, “Ordinary Nourishing Pills can only be consumed up to fifty pills. Beyond that, taking more has no effect.”

“But this Nourishing Orb—uh, Pill—counts as a hundred regular ones. Eating this is like taking a hundred Nourishing Pills. It breaks the fifty-pill cap.”

“I get the logic… but how do I eat this thing?”

Jiang Li offered a constructive suggestion: “No one ever said you have to swallow a pill whole. Use a spoon and scoop it.”

Today was truly eye-opening for Yu Feng. He had not only seen a talking spirit treasure but now was also scooping medicine with a spoon.

Eating a watermelon?

Maybe this kind of thinking—unbound by convention—is exactly why the Nine Provinces World is stronger than the Tongu World. While eating the Nourishing Pill with a spoon, Yu Feng reflected on his home world’s shortcomings.

He had to admit, the Chiwu Furnace had a more flexible mindset than Su Wei. The Nourishing Pill refined using its method was truly effective—every bite made Yu Feng feel his spiritual power grow.

Yu Feng exclaimed, “I’ve already reached minor perfection of early Foundation Establishment!”

Jiang Li never understood how the Tongu World divided its cultivation stages. Wasn’t it overly complicated?

Yu Feng couldn’t handle more than half the pill. Holding his stomach, he said he couldn’t eat anymore.

It was more than eating half a watermelon.

“You can eat more tomorrow. It won’t affect the result,” Jiang Li said. Normally, cutting a pill would cause the medicinal properties to evaporate. But this one didn’t have that issue—its effects remained sealed and stable.

…

“Master, try this. It’s a byproduct I got while refining pills. Tastes great.” Yu Feng held out a bowl and offered it to Daoist Tongchen.

Daoist Tongchen reprimanded him, “Such a young age and already straying—wasting your innate talent in the Dao of Talismans to learn alchemy. Without pill recipes, how do you even refine pills?”

In the Tongu World, pill recipes were strictly guarded, passed only between master and disciple. They were never shared with outsiders. Even for something like a Nourishing Pill, alchemists were reluctant to share the recipe.

And as recipes were passed down, their contents got altered.

As a result, the market was flooded with Nourishing Pills of vastly different quality.

Even Nascent Soul cultivator Daoist Tongchen only had a few very basic recipes, like for Nourishing Pills and Foundation Establishment Pills, which he had traded for using talismans.

“Seems like you don’t have any decent recipes either. Take these—gifts from some of my old friends.” Daoist Tongchen gave Yu Feng the few remaining pill recipes in his possession, after glancing sideways at him.

Yu Feng took the recipes and skimmed them—they were all the same basic formulas the Chiwu Furnace had already taught him.

He handed the bowl to Daoist Tongchen. “Thank you, Master. Please try this—it’s really good.”

“For the sake of your filial piety, I’ll give it a try.” Daoist Tongchen took a sip, found the flavor decent, and downed the whole bowl.

“This thing…” Daoist Tongchen’s eyes widened suddenly. To his surprise, his internal injuries were beginning to heal. The effect was faint, but undeniably real.

“What pill did you refine to produce this?!” Daoist Tongchen asked, excited.

“Nourishing Pill.” Yu Feng took out the half-eaten Nourishing Pill.

“…Are you sure you weren’t scammed?” Daoist Tongchen wondered if his good disciple had been tricked by someone.

But the bowl of “byproduct” had real effects on his body.

“Master, don’t worry. Alchemy won’t distract me from the Dao of Talismans. Alchemy’s just a side path—Talismans are my main path.”

“Good. It’s good that you understand this. Still, you can be a bit more attentive with alchemy. This bowl of water tasted quite good. I liked it. If you ever make something similar again, bring me some.”

“Yes.”

So-called “byproduct” was just something Yu Feng made up. The bowl of water had been specially refined to heal Daoist Tongchen’s injuries.

He hoped his master would fully recover. A healthy Nascent Soul cultivator who was skilled in talismans would be an incredible force.

…

“Senior Sister, are you in?” Yu Feng ran to Wu Lian’s courtyard.

“What’s wrong?” Senior Sister Wu Lian finished cultivating and came out of her room.

“Since you gave me that little pill furnace, I couldn’t wait to try it and see if I could refine anything.”

He scratched his head sheepishly. “I failed. The pill didn’t turn out.”

Wu Lian comforted him. “It’s normal to fail the first time. Don’t be discouraged.”

“Even though I failed, I still got something good.” Yu Feng pulled out a gourd of pills, sounding slightly proud. “These are companion pills—not very medicinal, but really sweet.”

Hearing they were sweet, Wu Lian’s heart stirred. “Let me try. So sweet!”

She was astonished—this was exactly what she had tried to make with her pill furnace and failed. She never expected her Junior Brother to succeed.

Jiang Li thought, Of course it’s sweet. Yu Feng made it with sugarcane.

“If you like them, they’re all yours, Senior Sister.” Yu Feng gave her the gourd and all its contents.

“Really?” Wu Lian had a tiny moment of joy, though she kept a straight face and formally admonished him.

“Remember, alchemy is for relaxation. Don’t waste your talent in the Dao of Talismans.”

“Got it.” Yu Feng nodded obediently.