Chapter 417: Automatic Pill Refining Machine
The Qi Refining Stage cultivators competed first. As Sword Sovereign watched, he chatted with Jiang Li: “Sect Master Bai Hongtu seems quite fond of classification systems. I heard he once proposed dividing pills into nine grades from first to ninth, with first being the highest and ninth the lowest. But for some reason, the idea was later abandoned.”
“The reason is simple. Pill grades are determined by efficacy, but some pills are hard to classify. Take the virility pills produced by the Joyous Sect – they can be used by everyone from Nascent Soul cultivators down to Qi Refining practitioners. Would you rate them as ninth grade or fifth grade?”
“Virility pills?” Sword Sovereign was unfamiliar with the term.
“Oh right, in your era they were called Joyous Pills.”
“Then there are antidote pills that can cure all poisons below the Core Formation Stage – also difficult to grade.”
“Or take the Nine Revolutions Immortal Pill – highest grade, most toxic, instant death for whoever consumes it.”
Sword Sovereign asked another question: “What about grading by difficulty of refinement?”
“Good question. In your era, a pill’s usefulness probably correlated with refinement difficulty. But times have changed.”
Jiang Li pointed at Su Wei: “See that person called Su Wei? He started this trend. He created a pill called Qi Absorption Pill that requires eighty-one days of refinement, over ten precious main ingredients, and thousands of supplementary ingredients, with pill tribulation lightning upon completion.”
“With such astonishing refinement, what are its effects?”
“Increases a Qi Refining cultivator’s chance of successful Foundation Establishment by twenty percent.”
“What?” Sword Sovereign thought he misheard. Given the complex process, he would have believed it could help Divine Transformation cultivators break through to Unity Stage.
And you’re telling me this is for Qi Refining practitioners?
“He created the Qi Absorption Pill not for consumption but to show off – efficacy was secondary.”
“Later, Sect Master Huang Chengdan of the Spirit Herb Sect, not to be outdone, also created a pill with extremely complex refinement but effects worse than drinking plain water.”
“Their rivalry spawned numerous similar pill formulas.”
“Eventually, the alchemy community coined a term to describe their behavior.”
“What is it?”
“Watered-down formulas.”
“…”
On the competition grounds, numerous junior alchemists from the Qi Refining Stage showcased their skills, demonstrating innovative pill refinement techniques before the veteran masters to gain attention.
The Spirit Herb Sect hosted this event, providing each participant with non-sentient pill furnaces for the competition. However, some took alternative approaches, refusing to use the provided furnaces.
Jiang Li noticed one junior alchemist using a nuclear-powered induction cooker for pill refinement – an import from Mingzhong World.
“Ten grams of luxuriant leaf flower, sixteen point eight grams of dried sandworm… put into the blender, start, pour powder into pot…” The junior alchemist muttered each step, following the procedure methodically. Though rigid, the results were unexpectedly good.
Jiang Li nodded slightly: “Qi Refining cultivators have weak cultivation and struggle with flame control. This induction cooker solves that problem.”
“Moreover, alchemists must multitask – controlling flame temperature while adding ingredients. This is too difficult for Qi Refining practitioners. The induction cooker eliminates this issue.”
“Quite innovative.”
Besides induction cookers, others used rice cookers, nuclear-powered pots and various other kitchen appliances imported from Mingzhong World, all achieving excellent results.
Though these methods clashed with the traditional aesthetics of Nine Provinces, their effectiveness matched Jiang Li’s analysis perfectly.
The traditional pill furnace user ultimately took first place, while an exceptionally talented orthodox junior alchemist placed second. Third place went to the induction cooker user.
Remarkably, the third-place contestant’s innate alchemy talent was merely average at best.
Sect Master of Spirit Herb Sect nodded approvingly – this third-place contestant was one of their disciples, proving that inadequate talent could be compensated with external tools.
The Spirit Herb Sect never pursued first place – their goals were sales volume and pricing.
Using induction cookers and rice cookers for pill refinement meant drastically reduced training costs for junior alchemists and increased pill production. In the low-end market, Alchemy Peak stood no chance against them.
During the Foundation Establishment competition, one alchemist unveiled an unprecedented device.
“Behold, this Automatic Pill Refining Machine was jointly developed by our Luban Sect and a pharmaceutical corporation from Mingzhong World. Simply input the ingredients, and it automatically produces pills.”
The alchemist demonstrated by inserting materials. After a slight vibration, the machine spat out black pills one after another – faster than any alchemist or furnace present.
“Observe – this produces Foundation Consolidation Pills with over forty percent ingredient utilization. Further development could increase this ratio.”
The veteran alchemists were astonished. Forty percent utilization was impressive for Foundation Establishment level refinement.
“Pfft, soulless machine production,” some veterans scoffed, considering this method a betrayal of alchemy’s essence.
Though given the contestant was from Luban Sect to begin with, they likely never cared about alchemical purity – profit was their motive.
One veteran inspected the product: “Standard Foundation Consolidation Pills. Advantages are speed and labor savings.”
Some veterans began considering whether this machine could be widely adopted across Nine Provinces.
Su Wei looked amusedly at the Spirit Herb Sect Master: “Old Huang, how come your sect didn’t invent this first, letting Luban Sect take the lead?”
“You think I never considered it? While Luban Sect’s machine is efficient, how does it cultivate true alchemists?”
“Its applications are limited – incapable of complex refinements. Widespread adoption would reduce alchemist numbers. Over time, with fewer senior alchemists, who would refine high-grade pills?”
“I permit Qi Refining practitioners to use induction cookers because they genuinely don’t need flame control yet. By Foundation Establishment, they naturally overcome this issue. At Core Formation, they abandon technological aids entirely, returning to traditional cultivation methods.”
Though the Spirit Herb Sect competed on price, as alchemists they still pursued higher refinement arts. They believed over-reliance on automation would constrain their development.
Frowning, the Sect Master acknowledged his principles were sound, but Luban Sect’s invention seriously threatened their market dominance. He currently lacked countermeasures.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” sighed the Sect Master. Connecting with other worlds brought both opportunities and challenges – maintaining their core values amid technological disruption was difficult.
His words earned Su Wei’s newfound respect.