Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Chapter 287 – Pill Refining

Aiko rubbed her head. It seems like she still can't one-up the all-powerful Mei.

That was fine for the time being, since it seemed like Mei was back to her normal self.

'But to think I would have to sacrifice my body...' Aiko was naturally exaggerating, as she was not fond of tickling. For some reason, Mei would always punish her by tickling.

"Now it's your turn to make a Pill." Mei finished explaining her class and a small smile formed on her lips.

Aiko sighed. She watched the whole process, but just because she watched it, didn't mean she would be able to recreate it.

Unfortunately, no matter how much Aiko whined, Mei would not let her leave at this point.

There was also a conversation with the Grandmaster about her ways, but Aiko ignored it. She didn't see anything wrong with what she was doing. Wasn't it better to have a happy and smiling Mei? Aiko believed that to be the case and no one would be able to convince her otherwise.

Aiko took the Herbs and sorted them, looking to see if they were the right kind and usable. She already spotted one Herb that couldn't be used since its roots were chewed by parasites. She replaced that Herb for the same kind, but with intact roots.

It was important to look at the Herbs carefully. It was important that the whole Herb would be intact and healthy, just because you use leaves of the Herb, didn't mean that the Herb can have messy roots. Roots provided nutritions, stem would distribute them and leaves would convert it into energy, in this case Qi.

So just because you find a Herb with intact leaves that are used for something, that doesn't mean you could neglect the roots or other parts of the Herb.

That was why Alchemy was all about the memory. You needed to remember countless Herb. How they look, smell and feel, in order to pick the right Herb for the right Pill.

Just because two Herbs look extremely similar, doesn't mean that they are the same. One of them could be poisonous, or have the opposite energy/element.

This would mess up the entire process and could cause the death of the Pill Refiner.

That's why most Pill Refiners are also Alchemists, but they should be called Herbalists. Alchemist is the title only for someone who was able to also grow the Herbs and keep them healthy throughout the process.

Unfortunately, Cultivators with their endless pride ignored that rule and loftily called themselves 'Alchemist'.

Aiko took the Herbs into her hands. These Herbs were not affected by outside energies, so it was fine, but she needed her Divine Sense for future inspections.

The Herbs looked fine and to the touch; they also felt natural.

Unfortunately once Aiko sniffed them, she realised that they were not fine, or rather this was a whole different Herb, so she had to replace that Herb again.

Mei nodded happily and picked up a very smooth brush. She would naturally reward Aiko for her good work.

Aiko was startled when she felt someone playing with her tails and looked back.

Mei was gently smiling combing the tip of the tail.

"What is it?" Aiko asked.

"A reward for good work." Mei giggled.

"But I want candies for a reward..." Aiko pouted. She was not satisfied with this.

"You need to look presentable to others." Mei said somewhat sternly.

Aiko tilted her head. "But why? Isn't Mei enough for me?" Since she was not allowed to have candies, Aiko would naturally revolt.

Mei pinched Aiko's cheek. "You little rascal, don't think I don't know what you are doing!" Mei shook her head. "If you are more presentable, then you can get more Herbs from others during exchanges." She somewhat understood Aiko's materialistic nature.

"Ohhhhh." Aiko nodded, understanding what Mei thought. This was a good idea, but there was one small problem.

[Blessing of #### Luna]
[####]
[1st Effect: Your beauty increases as you take care of your Tails. (Beauty*TailNumber*CareModifier*Beast Rank)]
[2nd Effect: You will obtain a Tail Storage. The size of this storage depends on how you take care of your Tails. ((Beast Rank 100m3)*TailNumber*CareModifier)]
[3rd Effect: ???]

Aiko didn't like the first effect, but she liked the second one a lot.

'Portable Storage...'

[2nd Effect: Special Effects; Can Store Living. Living beings are not frozen, they need to consume food in order to survive inside. The atmosphere inside depends on the place where you are located (Snow region = cold, Mountains = cold and windy, volcano = windy and hot, etc.). ??? ??? ???]

'These are god-damn good effects.' Aiko nodded, no wonder that she found that 'water' inside her tails. Her tails sucked it up!

But Aiko still frowned. 'Can't I disable the first effect...?' Aiko questioned.

[This is a gift from another Universe, it's impossible to disable.]

'... Fuck you.' Aiko immediately pulled up her middle finger.

[That is impossible.]

'..............' Aiko gave up refuting the system, since it seemed like she would be taken the wrong way.

'What else can you tell me?' Aiko asked.

[As this gift can't be disabled, other beings also can't interfere with it.]

'What does that mean...?' Aiko tilted her head.

[As long as the being that gave you this gift lives, you will always be able to use this gift. No matter where you are or what kind of restrictions are imposed on you.]

'Hooooooo~' Aiko was pleasantly surprised. This would mean that if there was a restriction on Treasures, she could still use her Tails as storage space!

Aiko nodded happily, this would help her in the fact that she didn't need to carry that many Storage Rings. Moreover, she could actually store living beings, which was simply amazing!

Aiko let Mei play with her tails, but she still warned Mei. "I also want other rewards." She pouted.

Aiko couldn't say up front why she didn't want it, since it might encourage Mei to mess with Aiko.

"Yes, yes." Mei giggled. It was fun seeing this kind of Aiko, but Mei also wondered why Aiko pointed her middle finger up to the sky.

Mei gently brushed Aiko's tail, while she kept working on the Herbs.

Aiko then took her Yang Knife and sliced the Herbs according to the instructions.

She failed a few times, before finally achieving a good result.

Mei was satisfied with this tempo and didn't disturb Aiko.

The Herbs were sorted and sliced, now she needed to heat up the Pill Cauldron, so that the Herbs wouldn't stick to its walls.

The heating was difficult as Aiko always had trouble adjusting the intensity of the flames, so it was only natural that she would mess the Pills up.

That didn't discourage Aiko and she kept going.

Mei now paid more attention to Aiko, normal Pill Refining Disciples would be taught the basics and they would have to figure out the rest, but Mei didn't like that.

If those Disciples messed up the order or anything, the Pill Cauldron would explode and hurt or kill the Disciple.

Every Sect was losing valuable talent thanks to them being assholes.

That is also one of the reasons why Mei pressured Aiko to learn Alchemy, as there are not many Alchemists in the Immortal World.

That means that once they ascend, they would not be oppressed by the different factions. This would allow them to pick and choose the factions as they wished!

The Cauldron was pre-heated.

"You can always use a drop of water and see if it's pre-heated correctly. Different Herbs will cause different reactions, but for this one, the water drop should shatter and roll around in small pieces." Mei explained slowly and gently behind Aiko.

Aiko... didn't like this position. Mei's breath tickled her ears, making focus difficult.

Aiko dropped a few drops inside, but they just started boiling.

"The temperature is not correct." Mei said, while she would help Aiko to the best of her abilities; she would also let Aiko figure things out.

Aiko nodded and tried to gently raise the temperature.

Mei returned to combing her tail gently with a frowning face. 'Your tails are so messed up...' She couldn't believe how much dirt and other questionable things were stuck in her tails.

Aiko waited and waited. This was just some random Pill Cauldron, so it was not high in quality, but that also meant that Aiko didn't need to worry about the Spirit Stones. Even if she blew it up, it would not cost them much to replace it and this would also teach Aiko to treat her tools gently.

Mei nodded in satisfaction and Aiko dropped more water inside.

"By the way, why are we heating it without the lid?" Aiko asked.

"The temperature is easier to adjust like this, as once you close the lid, the adjustment becomes much more difficult." Mei explained.

"... But wouldn't it be easier if I started with a closed lid?" Aiko asked.

"No, because you can't test the temperature with the water if you start with a closed lid. You need more experience to guess the state of the Pill Cauldron." Mei also added. "Water contaminates the insides, which is not a problem for what we are currently doing, but once you achieve greater mastery..." Mei narrowed her eyes. "You should aim for Perfect Grade Pills."

Aiko nodded. It would take her a long time to achieve that, so she didn't need to worry about that for the time being.

"So now I dump the first Herb and..." Aiko said out loud, as it was easier to remember the steps.

"Count your breaths." Mei finished for Aiko, since she noticed how cautious and focused she was.

Aiko threw the first Herb inside. It glided around, which mesmerized Aiko.

"You need to close the lid." Mei warned and Aiko was startled.

Aiko closed the lid and she could immediately hear the fizzling sound.

"Count your breaths." Mei understood Aiko's curiosity, so she assisted her fully.

Aiko counted 34 breaths. She then opened the lid and only ash blew outside.

"You have counted 38 breaths, so the Herb burned into ash." Mei explained what happened to the startled Aiko.

"That can happen?!" Aiko never saw this reaction and she believed that she would just slightly 'overcook' the ingredient and not just straight up ruin it!

"You will need to prepare the first Herb again and try again." Mei smiled. This was like when she started Pill Refining...