24 It ate my pill!

An Bing Qing who was full of anticipation was bathed by cold water when she saw a pill cauldron on a white jade pedestal in the middle of a circular open field. As she stepped in, a wall of lush greenery closed her way of retreat; she got a little nervous at this sight.

She heaved a sigh and strode forward to the pill cauldron.

She came to a stop and surveyed it, "It is a one-earth cauldron; am I supposed to refine a pill? But… what kind of pill could it be?"

In her contemplation, she touched the lotus-shaped slit carved on its cold surface.

"Crackle", the pedestal below the pill cauldron shook with her action, making her took a step back.

A black and rectangular pattern shone on the pedestal and nine sets of five kinds of herbs were presented before her.

She approached again and said while nodding her head, "So, I am supposed to refine the one-earth Energy Recovery Pill and I have nine attempts". This pill was one of the many pills whose grade differed according to the main ingredient's age; the Seven Elements Spirit Flowers were only ten years old.

She waved her wide sleeve and took eight of the sets into her qiankun bag.

She looked at the set and then towards the cauldron and said with ponder, "Sigh, I hope this place isn't as annoying as the black leather book. I passed the writing test that was at the end of it; but when it asked for a pill of my own refinement, it didn't accept it, even if it was a high-quality two-earth Pill". She gave a pause and shook her head, adding, "I can only be glad that it is a book and not a teacher. If it had asked me to perform one of treatments that even until now I simply can't execute, I wouldn't have had a speck of hope".

She sighed and lit her flame to warm the pill cauldron. This cauldron was strange; it took her almost an hour to warm it. She pressed her lips but didn't fret because of it.

This refinement was harsh, she felt as if she was refining the herbs of a three-earth pill or even worst, as though she had come back in time when she just started to learn the path of pill making.

'Sigh. Bing Qing, you just relax and focus. You have refined these herbs countless times in the past and screwed up many more times the pill forming part. There's nothing to be worried about'. She encouraged herself. She couldn't help but think about the past; her alchemy hadn't been cost-effective at the beginning. It was only when her cultivation was raised to certain point that she had become consistent, but she had been around thirty at that time and it wasn't something extraordinary at all; much less with her laughable cultivation.

Hour after hour passed and five crystalline liquids were dancing and mixing inside the pill cauldron now. An Bing Qing was tired, sweat oozed from her jadeite forehead; her rosy lips were pale and she pressed them together into a line.

Less than an hour went by and the pill finally began to take form.

There wasn't a strong pill fragrance while it was condensing as it only was a one-earth pill; but those with a sharp nose would have been able to smell one. The pill forming was going well.

A long time later, a popping sound was heard coming from the pill cauldron. She gave a weak smile with this sound, 'A success!' she thought before letting herself fall to the ground. She was feeling as though all her energy has been drained from her body, leaving only an empty shell, 'This refinement was harsher than the one of a three-earth pill; the Blood Detoxification Pill didn't leave me this tired. I can't even feel my limbs'. Still, after a couple of minutes, she sat in the lotus position, 'Tsk, I must steady my breath'.

At length, she got up and stretched her body with a mirthful smile. Though she was happy, she wasn't in a hurry; the pill wasn't going to run away, after all.

She reached for the yellowish pill inside the pill cauldron and her eyes widened as they caught sight of the circular pill pattern's colour, "It's a white pattern, am I seeing wrong? Is it not supposed to be red? Do I have achromatopsia?"

She blinked a couple of times and answered to herself, "That can't be. The pill is obviously yellow and the surroundings are green while the almost hidden sky is blue". As she mumbled, her hand suddenly went loose and she almost dropped the pill, "Oh, I remember now". She heavily patted her forehead and the sound was so loud that she didn't hear a slight creaking sound coming from the white jade pedestal.

To confirm her thoughts, she took out her black leather book and flipped its pages until she saw the drawing of a pill, she exclaimed, "I knew it! The pill pattern that this book shows is white; I can't see the first door's books but they also described it like this. So, there are really pills with white patterns. Then, a pill can also have a purple-coloured one without being a five-earth pill but because its quality is top grade and…"

It wasn't a wonder she was being slow to remember this. She could accept the uncommon ways of treatments she had come in touch as she had put them in practice and obtained good results, but she had never seen such pattern colour; therefore, she had put that information as questionable as she hadn't been able to prove it.

This corroboration was so striking to her that she read again the book. It was a quick read and she soon came to the last page where it said, '-Place below a pill of your own refinement'. When she read it, she unconsciously moved her eyes to the pill she was holding.

She mused for a moment before saying as she placed the pill on the page. "I have gotten disappointed many times already; one more time it won't hurt me anymore".

As soon as the pill touched the paper, it was swallowed.

"Huh?! It ate my pill!"