Cultivating Immortality Begins with Acting as a Girl Chapter 157

“The Pill Cauldron Hall’s alchemy room requires the screening of waste pills to select recoverable pills that still possess medicinal properties. The minimum requirement is an (initiate) in the Spirit Nurturing Qi Technique, capable of sensing spiritual energy. The remuneration is one spirit stone every twenty-four hours.”

Song Ling’s gaze stopped at this task.

It wasn’t that he was attracted by the remuneration of one spirit stone every two days, but rather he was thinking that even if the waste pills from the alchemy room were (waste), they should still contain some residual spiritual power. Otherwise, there would be no need to specifically find someone to screen them. If so, could he directly use the panel to extract the spiritual source from them?

Thinking this, Song Ling immediately went to one of the desks on the north side of the main hall to accept the task.

When Song Ling expressed his intention, the person looked at Song Ling with a strange expression and said:

“Are you sure you want to take on this waste pill screening task?”

“Is there a problem, Senior Brother?” Song Ling blinked, looking like an innocent young girl.

“Although this waste pill screening task offers generous remuneration among low-difficulty tasks, the working environment is very poor. Many waste pills still contain a large amount of toxicity, and there are examples of people accidentally poisoning themselves. I see that you, Junior Sister, are fair and delicate; you might not be able to handle such rough work. How about considering another one?”

The deacon in charge of managing task acceptance said.

Song Ling feigned consideration for a moment, then said with a firm tone:

“Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother. I’ve decided to try it first. If I can’t even endure this little hardship, I’m afraid I won’t be able to go far on the path of cultivation in the future.”

“Alright, since you’ve already decided, I won’t try to dissuade you.”

The deacon nodded, took out a wooden token from a drawer beneath the desk, drew something on it with a faintly glowing fingertip, then handed it to Song Ling, saying, “This is your credential for accepting the task and claiming your remuneration in the future. Be sure to keep it safe; just show it when you go to the Pill Cauldron Hall.”

“Thank you, Deacon.”

Song Ling took the wooden token and put it into his storage bag.

…

After leaving the Jianzhang Hall, Song Ling went straight to the Pill Cauldron Hall.

The Pill Cauldron Hall was also on the main peak, not particularly far from the Jianzhang Hall. Song Ling walked through pavilions and towers for about two incense sticks’ worth of time before arriving in front of the Pill Cauldron Hall.

Compared to the bustling Jianzhang Hall, the Pill Cauldron Hall could be described as sparsely populated, with only a few disciples occasionally entering and exiting.

Song Ling stepped into the Pill Cauldron Hall and was immediately enveloped by a faint medicinal fragrance. He looked around and saw that the hall was simply furnished, with various alchemy diagrams hanging on the walls. Each diagram revealed profound alchemy principles.

There was no one on duty in the hall, so Song Ling had to follow the instructions on the wooden token and came to the backyard of the alchemy room.

This place was completely different from the solemn scene in front, appearing quite chaotic. Medicinal ingredients were piled up like mountains, and various medicinal dregs and instruments were scattered everywhere. The air was filled with a pungent smell.

In the middle of the courtyard, there was a huge alchemy furnace, over one zhang tall. At this moment, a white-haired old man was intently staring at the alchemy furnace, his right hand seemingly performing hand seals, his brows sometimes relaxed, sometimes tightly furrowed.

Song Ling was about to step forward to greet him when he was stopped by another young man in the courtyard.

“My master is at a critical moment in refining pills; do not disturb him.” The young man’s eyes were bright. “My name is Deng Lixin. If you, Junior Sister, have anything to say, just tell me.”

“Greetings, Senior Brother Deng.”

Song Ling first bowed, then took out the task wooden token obtained from the Jianzhang Hall and said, “My name is Shen Shaohua. I have accepted the task of screening waste pills in the alchemy room, and that is why I have come.”

Deng Lixin raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, his expression a little surprised, and said:

“This is not an easy job. I see that you, Junior Sister, are so dignified and beautiful, with fair skin. You must have grown up in a life of luxury. This waste pill screening work might be a bit tough for you. Are you sure you want to do it?”

As soon as Deng Lixin spoke, Song Ling knew that he had not heard of the infamous reputation of Princess Zhaoyang, otherwise, he would not have reacted this way.

But this was normal. After all, he was just a newly initiated disciple. Even with the identity of a princess of the Zhao Kingdom and a perfect score in the assessment, he was just an insignificant character to those senior brothers and sisters who had already embarked on the path of cultivation.

“Senior Brother Deng, I am sure I want to do it.” Song Ling’s exquisite face was full of seriousness.

“Alright, follow me.”

Deng Lixin led Song Ling through the messy courtyard to a rather simple room.

Pushing open the door, there were several large wooden boxes inside, filled with various waste pills. The air was filled with a mixed scent of medicinal fragrance and a burnt smell.

At the same time, two young men working in the room immediately stood up and bowed respectfully to Deng Lixin: “Senior Brother Deng!”

Deng Lixin nodded slightly, “This Junior Sister Shen has accepted a task from the Jianzhang Hall and is here to screen waste pills with you. Both of you teach her well.” With that, he turned and left, leaving Song Ling and the two young men.

“Greetings, two Senior Brothers. May I ask your names?” Song Ling curtsied, asking with a slight smile.

“I’m Wang Mang, and he’s Liu Jizi.”

One of the slightly darker-skinned youths said with a smile.

“So it’s Senior Brother Wang and Senior Brother Liu.”

After some pleasantries, Song Ling asked, “Two Senior Brothers, I have a doubt. Aren’t waste pills already full of toxins and useless to cultivators? Even if some still have medicinal properties, they should be unusable. Why go to such great lengths to screen them out?”

Wang Mang patiently explained:

“Junior Sister Shen, you might not know this, but although cultivators cannot consume waste pills, those with residual medicinal properties can be used to make pill mud. This pill mud can serve as an auxiliary material for adjusting heat and medicinal properties during alchemy, and it can also play a crucial role in refining certain special pills. For example, when refining some pills that require a balance of multiple medicinal properties and do not demand high material purity, pill mud can work wonders, greatly reducing the difficulty and failure rate of alchemy.”

“Additionally, pill mud is a favorite snack for many spiritual beasts and often helps to soothe their emotions.”

Liu Jizi added, “Not only that, the process of screening waste pills itself is a form of training for our alchemy skills. By identifying residual medicinal properties in waste pills, we can learn the changing characteristics of different medicinal ingredients during the alchemy process, as well as how to judge the success or failure of alchemy through subtle differences. This greatly benefits the improvement of our alchemy level.”

Song Ling looked at Wang Mang and Liu Jizi, a hint of admiration flashing across his face:

“So that’s how it is. This path of alchemy is indeed profound. Even tiny waste pills have such intricacies. Senior Brother Wang, Senior Brother Liu, you truly have taught me a lesson.”

Both of their faces flushed slightly, and they repeatedly waved their hands:

“It’s nothing. As disciples of the Pill Cauldron Hall, these are just basic things we should know.”

“Both Senior Brothers are truly humble!” Song Ling said with a beaming smile.

…

———————

I have a cold and a fever, and I typed out two chapters in a daze.

I originally wanted to rest, but then I remembered that today is Saturday, and many of my readers finally have a holiday to play on their phones. I didn’t want to disappoint everyone, so I gritted my teeth and typed…

I wish everyone a happy weekend.