Back home, Nie Kong immediately began cultivating the "Wood-Sun True Spirit Art." After restoring his spiritual power, he deployed the "Pill Cauldron Phantom Body" to refine the "Purple Li Pill." By rushing the refinement now, allowing the little fellow to rest for ten hours until late at night, he could manage another batch.

Just as Nie Kong had anticipated, refining the "Purple Li Pill" using the body transformed into a pill cauldron by the little fellow was indeed much easier. Relying on the psychic link between him and his pet, the entire process of alchemy flowed like running water, incredibly smooth. The speed at which the medicinal properties fused was nearly twice as fast as it had been in the secret chamber.

In less than ten minutes, a perfectly round "Purple Li Pill" was successfully forged. At present, Nie Kong couldn't immediately judge the quality of the spirit medicine just by its scent, unlike Nie Xingyun and Lian Tianxin. However, based on his estimation, the medicinal property fusion degree of this Purple Li Pill should have reached ninety-five percent.

This was even after Nie Kong intentionally caused a small disturbance at the very moment the "Purple Li Pill" was about to finalize. Otherwise, even if this batch didn't quite match the fusion degree of the "Spring Rejuvenation Dew" he had sold previously, it would have reached ninety-seven, or perhaps even ninety-eight percent.

With one Purple Li Pill refined, Nie Kong did not pause but immediately took out the second batch of herbs for the pill. An hour later, the medicine bottles he had prepared were successfully supplemented with five more "Purple Li Pills," both exquisite in color and shape. A dense medicinal fragrance permeated the entire room.

Outside, the heavy snow continued to fall, blanketing the ground in a thick layer.

Hua Mei went out even less frequently. Except for necessary trips to buy groceries, she spent most of her time carving at home, her fingers often freezing until they were as red as carrots.

Nie Kong felt a pang of heartache and intended to persuade her to rest for a while. But then he reconsidered; since she couldn't cultivate, carving provided her with some measure of joy. Thus, he indulged her whim, only taking time to make a trip to the center of Jiyang City. Taking advantage of the lull in the searches by the Spirit Treasure Pavilion and the Nie Family, he bought a radiant device and a new spirit card. Then, Nie Kong spent two thousand gold coins on a heater to ensure Hua Mei wouldn't freeze at home.

The heaters in this world were remarkably simple; essentially, they were blocks of Fire Stone inscribed with spirit patterns. No matter what attribute of spiritual power was channeled into them, they could continuously emit heat for over ten hours. These items were typically crafted by low-level Spirit Engravers practicing their art.

Seeing Nie Kong spend a hefty sum on such a commonplace item, Hua Mei felt extremely reluctant. Yet, given her gentle nature, once Nie Kong had purchased it, she wouldn't dream of sending it back. From that moment on, however, every time she met Nie Kong, Hua Mei’s gaze would often be evasive, and her face would inexplicably flush.

Knowing Hua Mei was intensely shy, Nie Kong paid it no mind. Days passed amidst the monotony of cultivation and alchemy, enveloped in an atmosphere that was only slightly ambiguous.

Six days later, in the afternoon, in the secret chamber behind the Alchemy Hall.

"Are all of these what you refined over these six days?"

Looking at the five small medicine bottles lined up on the table, Nie Xingyun and Lian Tianxin exchanged astonished glances. These five bottles contained "Purple Li Pills," ten pills per bottle, totaling exactly fifty pills—a quantity perfectly matching the raw materials Nie Kong had taken from the secret chamber six days prior.

This implied that, within those six days, Nie Kong had consecutively refined the "Purple Li Pill" fifty times, achieving success on every attempt without a single failure. That wasn't all; the most crucial point was that the fusion degree of the medicinal properties within the bottles all lay between ninety-three and ninety-five percent.

"Yes."

Nie Kong nodded helplessly. Had he known Nie Xingyun and Lian Tianxin would be so astonished, he shouldn't have brought out all the refined spirit medicine at once.

"Hm?"

Lian Tianxin suddenly snatched up one of the bottles with surprise.

Nie Xingyun instinctively asked, "What is it?"

Lian Tianxin didn't answer immediately. Instead, he brought his nose close to the bottle's mouth and sniffed several times in succession, his expression instantly becoming agitated. "Correct! Correct! Ninety-six percent! There is actually a 'Purple Li Pill' here with a ninety-six percent fusion degree!"

"What?"

Nie Xingyun started, snatching the bottle from Lian Tianxin’s grasp almost like a robbery, inhaling sharply through his nose several times. A moment later, the look Nie Xingyun gave Nie Kong was a mixture of wonder, fierce excitement, and a sliver of disbelief, his face gradually taking on the flush of a drunkard.

Being stared at intensely by the two old men with the gaze of hawks watching chicks, Nie Kong forced a smile. "Masters, there’s no need for such a reaction. It’s just one ninety-six percent 'Purple Li Pill.'"

Seeing Nie Kong's nonchalant, dismissive demeanor, Nie Xingyun felt like spitting blood. His small eyes bulged, and he huffed indignantly, "Little fellow, what do you mean, 'just' and 'merely'? Ninety-six percent! Ninety-six percent! Do you even know what that signifies? Hmm? Hmm?"

Lian Tianxin was equally unable to contain himself, gesticulating wildly, "Since antiquity, the fusion degree achieved by most Medicine Kings refining Grade Two spirit medicine rarely exceeded ninety-three to ninety-six percent, and the instances of hitting ninety-six percent were pitifully rare. You, a mere Grade Two Spirit Alchemist, can refine 'Purple Li Pills' with a ninety-six percent fusion degree? If this news got out, how are the other spirit alchemists supposed to live?"

"Ahem!"

Nie Kong coughed dryly. In truth, he didn't find ninety-six percent particularly difficult to achieve. Had he not tampered slightly during the final moments of spirit medicine fusion, most of these "Purple Li Pills" could have surpassed ninety-six percent. If he had accidentally created a ninety-nine percent "Purple Li Pill," wouldn't his two masters be ecstatic enough to jump to the heavens?

Nie Xingyun suddenly recalled a critical question and asked urgently, "Kong'er, which pill cauldron did you use to refine the 'Purple Li Pills'?"

"This one."

Nie Kong pulled out the three-finger-wide small pill cauldron from his robe, smiling. "For my current cultivation level, controlling the large cauldron is a bit strenuous; using this small one is much easier. However, it isn't successful every time. In between refining the Purple Li Pills, I also refined some Spring Rejuvenation Dew a few times, but their fusion degree was quite ordinary." Nie Kong subtly gave his masters a heads-up, ensuring that a failure in front of them wouldn't raise suspicion.

Nie Xingyun snatched the cauldron, and with Lian Tianxin’s head pressed close to his, they scrutinized it repeatedly. "Last time you refined Spring Rejuvenation Dew in the Spirit Medicine Hall, you used this cauldron, and you achieved ninety-five percent then. Now, using this very cauldron, you've produced a top-grade ninety-six percent one. In my opinion, this little thing seems quite ordinary?"

Of course, it was very ordinary! Nie Kong chuckled inwardly. The cauldron he presented was not the one transformed from the Purple Luo Phantom Incense, but one specially commissioned last month.

After a long while, their excitement finally calmed, and they returned the small pill cauldron to Nie Kong.

Lian Tianxin sighed, "Nie Kong, your refining efficiency is incredibly fast, and your fusion degrees are frighteningly high. If you could maintain this level when refining higher-grade spirit medicine, that would be truly wonderful." His words came from the heart; if higher-grade spirit medicines could achieve this fusion degree, then even if he and Nie Xingyun were gone, or if they failed to find a cure for their ailments, Nie Kong—this bottomless pit—could exchange spirit medicine for enough herbs to sustain them.

"Enough about that now," Nie Xingyun said. He pulled a red calling card from his robes and smiled. "Little fellow, you’ve arrived at the perfect time. Come, take a look at this."

"An invitation?"

Nie Kong was stunned...

... P: A major setting bug appeared in the previous text (the setting stated that advancement in major realms could only be achieved through arduous cultivation and enlightenment, yet the previous martial disciple was written as being forcefully elevated to the Spiritual Perception realm using medicine). No reader noticed this until I was organizing the manuscript today; I probably would have missed it entirely otherwise. I'm dying of embarrassment.

If some friends feel dissatisfied with the book and want to vent, they should direct their criticism toward this contradictory bug. With solid evidence, I won't even have room to argue back, ha ha. That's how you pinpoint the crucial issues. If people seize upon plot points that are generally fine, then invent interpretations, ignore clearly stated details, or even comment without having truly read the work—that's utterly unproductive. Therefore, to prevent later readers from forming preconceived notions, any such comments will be deleted going forward. Please excuse this. Naturally, any comments that are well-reasoned and do not involve personal attacks, even if critical, will be retained.

Finally, the section of flat plot is drawing to a close. Tomorrow marks the prelude to the climax...

... .