It took the fifteen people Lin Hui summoned more than an hour to slowly roll the pot of medicinal paste into pills.
The resulting pile varied wildly in size; the large ones resembled glutinous rice balls, while the small ones were the size of peanuts. Lin Hui frowned just looking at them.
In the courtyard, Lin Hui inspected the sect disciples who had lined up after finishing their task. The group looked back at him eagerly, obviously curious about the purpose of these pills.
"This is the Cloud Water Pill. It can accelerate the progress of Body Tempering, and its effects stack with the medicinal solutions used by your three branches. But because this is the first refinement, who among you is willing to test its efficacy?" Lin Hui spoke frankly.
"Temple Master, may I ask if there are side effects?"
Among the group, an older man with a furrowed brow stepped forward and cupped his fists.
"The only side effect is diarrhea. You’ll be weak for two days," Lin Hui answered.
"Then I’ll do it!" The man said in a deep voice, picking up a pill and examining it. "One pill at a time, right?"
"Correct. What is your name?" Lin Hui nodded in appreciation. Naturally, the first person brave enough to respond had to be rewarded heavily.
"Disciple Xu Songnian. I was originally of the Black Dragon Branch, but I have recently switched to cultivating the Seven-Section Swift Sword," the man answered seriously. He then shoved the pill into his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed.
"A bit salty, spicy in the mouth. Aside from that, no other sensations." He gave a serious evaluation.
"The medicine needs half an hour to take effect. Wait to the side for now. Xu Songnian, was it? If the efficacy meets the requirements, you will be exempt from Body Tempering medicine fees for one month regarding the Cloud Water Pills produced hereafter. Of course, if the effect is poor, you can switch back to the medicinal powder you used before," Lin Hui smiled.
"Many thanks, Temple Master!" Xu Songnian was overjoyed.
This scene made the others somewhat restless.
One month of Body Tempering medicine fees was no small amount. Calculated based on the original regimen of the Black Dragon Gate—taking medicine at least three times a month at fifty thousand coins a dose—that was a saving of one hundred and fifty thousand!
For disciples from ordinary backgrounds, this was undoubtedly a huge sum.
Immediately, a second person stood up to test the medicine.
This time, it was a young woman sporting twin tails. Her features were regular, but she gave off an air of natural absent-mindedness. Her complexion was relatively dark, and her hands were rough, evidently from frequent manual labor at home.
"Temple Master, my name is Luo Qianshui! I’ll try it too!"
The girl shouted it like a slogan. Without even looking at the pills, she grabbed a handful and shoved them toward her mouth.
"Just one!"
Lin Hui’s eyes were sharp and his hands even quicker. He moved so fast that the bystanders felt nothing but a gust of wind brush past. For a split second, the Temple Master’s figure blurred before solidifying once more in his original spot.
Four pills vanished from Luo Qianshui’s hand, leaving only the single one she successfully shoved into her mouth.
"Huh?" Luo Qianshui chewed on air for a moment, dazed, before looking up at Lin Hui. Only then did she react, understanding she was meant to eat only one.
"Good kid." Lin Hui nodded with satisfaction. Although she was a bit reckless, she was a good disciple. At least when something came up, she dared to charge forward regardless of the consequences.
After Xu Songnian and Luo Qianshui, the others looked at each other. Two more people successively walked out to test the medicine. After that, no one else stepped forward.
Lin Hui waited patiently.
Half an hour passed quickly. Apart from his face turning slightly red, Xu Songnian showed no abnormalities. Luo Qianshui, on the other hand, was sweating slightly and seemed somewhat hyperactive, but otherwise suffered no side effects.
The two quickly attempted to cultivate their specialized martial arts. Xu Songnian practiced the Seven-Section Swift Sword, while Luo Qianshui unexpectedly practiced the Clear Wind Sword Technique.
After three rounds of Body Tempering cultivation, expressions of surprise appeared on both their faces.
"The effect is much easier than before. It should be possible to increase Body Tempering to about seven or eight times a day!" Xu Songnian spoke up.
"How many times did you temper your body a day before?" Lin Hui himself maxed out at ten times a day, but he didn't know the limits of the others well.
"Five times. Because it’s easy to make mistakes with the Force Nodes, leading to Body Tempering failure. On average, I have to practice many times to succeed once," Xu Songnian answered.
"Then why do you feel you can increase the number of sessions?" Lin Hui pressed.
"It feels like... when exerting force during sword practice, it’s much more relaxed. A single practice session doesn’t seem to require as much mental and physical energy," Xu Songnian explained.
Lin Hui asked Luo Qianshui for her impressions, and the answer was largely the same.
Finally, after comparing the effects on the other two volunteers, he confirmed that the Cloud Water Pill was successfully developed.
To further verify its efficacy, Lin Hui distributed the first batch of over two hundred pills randomly to disciples of the three branches. Three days later, he received a massive amount of feedback, all reporting that the pill significantly increased the success rate of Body Tempering.
With the results in hand, Lin Hui felt joy in his heart. He immediately announced that this pill would become the primary Body Tempering resource of the Clear Wind Sword Sect, listed as a sect inheritance. Subsequent refinement would be the responsibility of the medical apothecary, Chen Meng.
Having handled this, Lin Hui threw himself into the matter he really wanted to delve into—refining aphrodisiac pills.
….
Three Suns Powder, Toppling Dragon Pill—after careful testing, the difficulty of refining these two prescriptions was far greater than the Cloud Water Pill, which had no hidden traps.
Just as he was preparing the ingredients to attempt the new prescriptions, intelligence from the guards reached the Lin Manor.
"What? The Wang family's Second Young Master went to find Ah Hui?!"
Lin Shunhe trembled all over upon hearing the news.
He had only this one son. Although his second wife, Liu Shenglan, was due to give birth soon, the gender of the child was still unclear. If it were a girl, Lin Hui would remain his only son. Consequently, he was usually extremely attentive to Lin Hui’s safety.
"Yes. When this subordinate discovered it, I sensed something was wrong and rushed back to report immediately. That Wang Yueheng moved too quickly; I’m afraid not only we, but many Inner City great clans as well, failed to react in time."
A masked man dressed in gray-white colors resembling the mist reported the situation to Lin Shunhe.
"However, when this subordinate subsequently chased after them, I discovered that Young Master Hui did not have a conflict with Wang Yueheng. Instead, they got along harmoniously and reached some kind of cooperation."
"That’s good..." Lin Shunhe let out a long sigh of relief. "If something really went wrong, it would be hard for me to handle on this end..."
Behind him, Elder Du nodded slightly.
"Although the Wang family isn't considered a top-tier clan in the Inner City, they have many assets in the Outer City and are not easily moved. Moreover, a high-tier Called One... relying on our current power, would be difficult to deal with."
"Yes... At this level, I didn’t expect Ah Hui to have already reached such heights..." Lin Shunhe sighed. "It seems that even if his upper limit has already been set, the influence he now wields is enough to draw the attention of Inner City forces."
"Since nothing happened, there is no need to worry too much. Master is about to merge with the Imitation Evil Weapon. At that time, you will directly possess Void Force comparable to a high-tier Called One. Once the Outer City Hall is established, the power you can mobilize will be far beyond what a mere Wang family Outer City force can compare to," Elder Du said calmly.
"But what if someone from a higher level of the Wang family comes?" Lin Shunhe frowned.
"Then it wouldn’t be Outer against Outer. Higher up, naturally, there is Lord Black Face to handle it. A mere Wang family is not a big problem." Elder Du's face remained impassive.
"Then I’m relieved..."
Lin Shunhe asked this, hoping to judge from Elder Du's reaction whether the organization behind them could truly protect his family. Elder Du's answer indeed settled his heart quite a bit.
"When will the Imitation Evil Weapon be delivered?"
"Still about two months. The transport route is too long; patience is required," Elder Du answered.
"As soon as possible..."
Lin Shunhe hadn't expected his son to be even more capable of causing trouble than he imagined—to actually attract a high-tier Called One. Fortunately, no conflict arose; otherwise, he would have had to go to the Inner City to seek out You Ying.
After waving away the subordinate, Lin Shunhe walked alone down the corridor to the small courtyard where Liu Shenglan resided.
Sunlight sprinkled down hazily through the mist, forming substantial pillars of light in the courtyard.
Liu Shenglan was half-lying under a large scholar tree, reclining on a rattan chair covered with a white wool blanket, sleeping soundly on her side. A book of poetry she had been reading lay by her hand; it seemed she had been reading slowly before drifting off.
Lin Shunhe walked up and gently tucked the blanket around her. He lowered his head and kissed her forehead.
Unexpectedly, Liu Shenglan woke up just then, reaching out to embrace him and actively returning the kiss. Their movements were extremely gentle and practiced; clearly, this was not the first time they had been this intimate.
While the couple shared this moment, two figures stood at a window in a room across the courtyard.
Liu Wujun and Liu Xiao watched the scene quietly through the gap.
The warm tranquility made Liu Xiao, who was currently undergoing the Divine Sound test, unknowingly calm down.
"Really nice... Perhaps Mother was right. This time, Uncle Lin and her... it really was the correct choice," Liu Xiao said softly, a trace of envy flashing in her eyes.
"Perhaps. There is nothing in the world that is immutable," Liu Wujun answered. "That kid from the Wang family came looking for trouble again. I just received news that he went to find our stepbrother, Lin Hui."
"Does he have a death wish?" A trace of cold killing intent flashed in Liu Xiao's eyes.
"I checked through special channels in advance. He went over to seek cooperation. The result was okay. Although I arrived a bit late, as long as he wasn't there to cause trouble, there was no need to pay him any heed," Liu Wujun answered softly.
"That kid only knows how to copy his sister, yet can't learn the essence of it. He’s entirely a fake-smiling fool. Why didn't you just cripple him and make him roll back to the Inner City?" Liu Xiao said coldly. "Anyway, as long as a high-tier Called One has one breath left, they can recover."
"I originally prepared to do exactly that. As long as this kid dared to cause trouble, I would have directly intercepted and crippled him. However, I didn't expect that in the end, not only did he avoid conflict, but he also reached a cooperation with Lin Hui. This time, Wang Yueheng's attitude was actually quite decent," Liu Wujun said calmly. "He has made some progress compared to before."
"That’s good. Although it doesn't matter if Lin Hui dies or not, Uncle Lin would definitely be heartbroken. If Uncle Lin is heartbroken, it will definitely affect Mother..." Liu Xiao closed her eyes and turned to leave. "I’m going to cultivate."
"Mn, I’ll guard you from outside. If there's a situation, call me immediately," Liu Wujun exhorted.
"Okay."
….
Time slowly moved forward.
With the aid of the Blood Seal's special effect, Lin Hui successfully produced a few batches of the other aphrodisiac prescriptions after consuming several hundred thousand coins' worth of ingredients.
Toppling Dragon Pill and Three Suns Powder, combined with All-Essence Powder—he had enough to make up a month's portion for consumption.
After ensuring he had enough pills to guarantee his own long-term usage, Lin Hui once again projected his gaze onto the Blood Seal.
Wild Wind Plains.
Lin Hui stood in the wind and snow, holding his sword, gazing at the massive gray wall-like mist zone in the distance.
The air today was exceptionally clear, making the high and boundless gray wall of the mist zone exceptionally visible.
From afar, through the drifting snow powder, he could see a team preparing to enter the mist zone. They wore thick cotton clothes and leather garments, followed by ox carts transporting loads of heavy goods.
One of the leaders seemed to be explaining something to the group.