Chapter 36: First Rank Pill Master
At the end of each month was the time to collect the monthly allowance. After Hua Changxi, Eunuch Yu, and Yu Hui divided the pills, they quickly left Qihuang Hall. They first returned to their dormitory, locked the pills they received in their own cabinets, and then went directly to the Internal Affairs Department to collect their monthly allowance.
On the way, they encountered Du Ruo and Lu Qingluo, who had just collected their monthly allowance.
“Steward Du.”
Hua Changxi proactively greeted them with a smile.
Du Ruo glanced at her, gave a faint ‘hmm,’ and then walked straight past her and left.
Lu Qingluo looked at Hua Changxi as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself, then was pulled away by Wang Yun Chu. The others in the dormitory also hurried away.
Seeing this, Hua Changxi’s brows furrowed slightly.
She didn’t want to be friends with them, but she also didn’t want to make their relationship too strained.
Initially, Du Ruo had treated her quite well, but after she started going to Qihuang Hall to refine pills, she no longer had time to continue helping Du Ruo collect medicinal herbs and deliver them to the Second Department.
She didn’t know if it was because of this reason, but Du Ruo had become increasingly cold towards her, to the point where she now almost openly displayed her dislike.
The others in the same group were also avoiding her. When she wasn’t in the dormitory, they would chat and laugh, but as soon as she entered, they would all fall silent.
Hua Changxi detested this kind of cold shoulder treatment. Even if she didn’t care about what others thought of her, living in such an environment for a long time would greatly affect her mood.
《 Hundred Herbs Annotation》 and Pure Body Technique, she had inherited them all. Continuing to stay in the Third Department to wash medicinal herbs was no longer of much use to her. She needed to find a way to transfer to the First or Second Department to process medicinal herbs.
While contemplating these matters, Hua Changxi arrived at the Internal Affairs Department.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, Hua Changxi felt countless gazes fall upon her, accompanied by ambiguous pointing and whispering.
“It’s her. I heard she’s gotten close to Eunuch Yu from the storeroom. She goes to Qihuang Hall every afternoon and stays there all afternoon.”
“She doesn’t look old, so Eunuch Yu likes young things?”
“It’s not just Eunuch Yu; Steward Yu Hui from Storeroom Number Nine also has a taste for it.”
“Ah, Yu Hui even recognized Eunuch Yu as his godfather. Doesn’t that make them like father and son?”
“It’s better to be a woman. We work ourselves to death for a month, and it might not be as good as warming someone’s bed for one night.”
Hua Changxi hadn’t expected that just by going to Qihuang Hall to refine pills, the Labor Department would start spreading rumors about her again. This time, more people were involved than before.
The last time rumors were spread about her, it was by the female laborers of the Sixth Bureau. Female laborers still had some sense of decency and didn’t say anything too explicit.
But this time, male laborers from all three departments of the Labor Department were involved, and their words were as unpleasant and as harsh as they could be.
Hua Changxi looked at the few male laborers who were happily gossiping and speaking louder and louder, and walked towards them expressionlessly.
Seeing her approach, the male laborers showed a provocative expression and watched her with leisurely amusement, their expressions and body language mirroring those of bullies and thugs.
Hua Changxi stopped about three to four meters away from them and looked at them, saying coldly, “Those who speak ill will face retribution.”
Hearing such a weak threat, the male laborers burst into laughter. Even the others in the courtyard chuckled.
Just then, a gust of wind swept through the courtyard, followed by piercing screams echoing in the air above.
“Ah~”
“Ah~”
The male laborers’ mouths were filled with blood, their flesh around their mouths turned inside out, and their mouths were bloody and mangled. Sharp-eyed observers even saw that their tongues were covered in bloodstains.
Witnessing this scene, the people in the courtyard were horrified. There was no more talking, only screams.
“Who is causing trouble in the Internal Affairs Department?”
From the accountant’s room, a middle-aged man who looked like a steward emerged.
Pang Wei scanned the courtyard with a grim expression and sharp eyes, then strode towards the male laborers writhing on the ground.
The injuries were not fatal, but if not treated properly, their speech might be affected in the future.
Pang Wei looked angrily at the people in the courtyard, “Who did this?”
As soon as he spoke, everyone retreated, instantly revealing Hua Changxi.
Seeing Pang Wei look at her, Hua Changxi shrugged innocently and said, “Esteemed Steward, I’ve been standing here without moving. If you don’t believe me, you can ask the others present.”
Pang Wei glanced at Hua Changxi, then turned his gaze to the others.
Those who were looked at quickly said, “We didn’t see anything. Steward Niu and the others suddenly started screaming.”
Pang Wei frowned and looked at the accountant who was distributing the silver.
The accountant quickly walked to his side and whispered a few words, recounting everything that had just happened in the courtyard: “That young woman indeed didn’t move.”
Pang Wei’s brow furrowed. He looked directly at Hua Changxi. Seeing that she dared to meet his gaze, he was surprised and also angered. The pressure of a Seventh-Rank Martial Artist bore down on her.
Those close to Pang Wei, unable to withstand the pressure, fell to their knees with thuds.
Hua Changxi, however, showed no reaction and remained standing still, her expression unchanged.
Pang Wei’s eyelids twitched upon seeing this.
If she was unaffected by his pressure, could her martial arts cultivation be even higher than his?
Although Hua Changxi showed no outward reaction, she was contemplating inwardly.
The last time Eunuch Yu released his pressure, she was also unaffected. This time, she was again unaffected. Both instances were enough to prove that the internal energy of martial artists had no effect on her.
This discovery made her very happy. In the future, when facing martial artists, as long as she didn’t engage in close combat, even a Grandmaster would likely be unable to do anything to her.
Pang Wei looked at Hua Changxi with increased caution and pointed at the male laborers still writhing on the ground, asking, “Why do you think they were injured?”
Hua Changxi answered very readily, “They must have faced retribution. I’ve read in storybooks that in the eighteen levels of hell in the underworld, there’s a level called the Hell of Uprooted Tongues, which punishes those who insult others and speak ill.”
Hearing her answer, the people in the courtyard once again retreated in unison, and a trace of fear appeared in their eyes as they looked at Hua Changxi.
It was because they had also spoken ill of her just now, they were just not as arrogant as the people on the ground.
Pang Wei was almost certain that the injuries of the male laborers on the ground were caused by the young woman in front of him, and this young woman didn’t seem to be trying to hide it.
Without making any moves, she caused several grown men to be injured simultaneously. These men were all martial artists. Was it due to the external release of Gang Qi?
The external release of Gang Qi was something only Eighth-Rank Martial Artists could achieve.
Was this young woman an Eighth-Rank Martial Artist?
An Eighth-Rank Martial Artist working as a laborer?
Pang Wei couldn’t discern Hua Changxi’s depth and didn’t want to offend her. Naturally, he wouldn’t cause a stir for a few male laborers he didn’t know. He waved his hand, signaling for the still screaming male laborers to be taken away, then said to the others in the courtyard, “Alright, nothing else is happening.”
After saying that, he returned to his room.
The people in the courtyard looked at Hua Changxi, and no one dared to move.
People living at the bottom are very sensitive to danger. Even if they didn’t know what had happened, their intuition told them that the injuries of those male laborers were definitely related to Hua Changxi.
Hua Changxi ignored the others and walked directly to the window for collecting monthly allowances, collected her two taels of silver, and then strode out of the Internal Affairs Department.
As soon as she left, a wave of sighs of relief echoed through the Internal Affairs Department.
Hua Changxi returned to the Sixth Bureau in a bad mood. If she hadn’t gained her fortuitous encounter today, she feared she would have had to endure such scandalous gossip with humiliation.
As she passed by the ditch, Hua Changxi noticed that the female laborers of the Sixth Bureau were all secretly observing her. It was then that she realized that the rumors about her must have been circulating for quite some time.
Perhaps her direct action of teaching someone a lesson last time had scared the female laborers of the Sixth Bureau, causing them to refrain from speaking ill of her to her face. Coupled with her focus on refining pills, she hadn’t noticed such an obvious matter.
It wasn’t until she went to collect her monthly allowance today that she discovered she had become the gossip of the entire Labor Department.
However, this incident also reminded her that the Labor Department was full of prying eyes. Even though she had tried her best to avoid people every time she went to Qihuang Hall, she was still seen.
In the future, she had to be more careful than careful in her actions!
Hua Changxi returned to the dormitory. Since her tasks were completed and she didn’t need to go to Qihuang Hall to refine pills, she lay on her bed and began to cultivate with her eyes closed.
In the evening, when the other roommates returned, they saw Hua Changxi ‘sleeping’ and all of them quietly lowered their voices, even Wang Yun Chu did so.
It was clear that they had already heard about what happened in the Internal Affairs Department.
What they heard was a version that had been distorted several times. Although Hua Changxi hadn’t made a move, the people spreading the rumors said she had, beating those male laborers until they peed their pants, directly crippling their tongues, and that those men were about to become mute.
Before, they thought Hua Changxi was bold enough to teach someone a lesson in the Sixth Bureau, but they didn’t expect her to dare to act in the Internal Affairs Department, and even beat male stewards and male laborers.
Such a person was not to be trifled with!
Within two days, the news even reached the Apprentice Hall, which was across the plaza.
As soon as Lu Qingling heard about it, she immediately came to the Labor Department and repeatedly warned Lu Qingluo to absolutely avoid any involvement with Hua Changxi.
“Someone who offends everyone like this, no matter how capable they are, cannot establish themselves in the Medical Affairs Department.”
Yu Hui from the storeroom also heard about this. Knowing that his subordinates were spreading gossip about his godfather and Sister Changxi, he was furious.
However, it was difficult to intervene or explain such matters, so he could only comfort Hua Changxi verbally.
On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Laba Festival, Hua Changxi was in Qihuang Hall Number 9, selecting usable medicinal herbs from a pile of discarded ones when Yu Hui suddenly ran in.
“Sister Changxi, look quickly, what is this?”
Hua Changxi turned to look and saw a basket of Spirit Origin Grass in Yu Hui’s hand. She immediately stood up and walked over quickly, “Brother Yu, where did you get this spiritual grass?”
Seeing that Hua Changxi indeed cared about this medicinal herb, Yu Hui immediately smiled and said, “This is medicinal herb sent from the Three Forked Medicine Valley. See if it’s still usable.”
Hua Changxi nodded with a smile, “It’s usable.”
This batch of Spirit Origin Grass was much plumper than the last, and it hadn’t completely withered yet.
Yu Hui breathed a sigh of relief, “It’s good that it’s usable.”
During this time, he had been trying to find ways to make amends to Hua Changxi, as scandalous gossip of that nature was too detrimental to a young woman’s reputation.
Yu Hui watched Hua Changxi carefully place each herb into a water basin and grumbled, “The herb pickers from the Medicine Valley are becoming more and more careless. These herbs are always withered when they are delivered.”
Hua Changxi smiled, “If they weren’t withered, I wouldn’t be able to get this kind of medicinal herb.”
Yu Hui nodded, “That’s true. Sister Changxi, I’ll keep an eye on it next time. As soon as this kind of medicinal herb arrives at the storeroom, I’ll save it for you.”
Hua Changxi quickly thanked him, “Thank you, Brother Yu.”
Yu Hui said, “I still have work to do at the storeroom, so I’ll be going now.”
After he left, Hua Changxi put aside the discarded medicinal herbs and began to focus on processing the Spirit Origin Grass.
To her excitement, at least half of the spiritual energy was preserved in this batch of Spirit Origin Grass.
This time, she followed the steps of the inherited knowledge for refining First-Rank Pills for washing, processing, grinding, mixing, pill formation, and sealing, using spiritual energy throughout the entire process.
As ten small white pills, the size of a little finger, appeared neatly in Hua Changxi’s sight, a clear and ethereal voice sounded in her mind.
『Shen Nong’s Alchemy Inheritance Activated』
Immediately after, Hua Changxi’s mind was filled with all the pill formulas for First-Rank Pills required by cultivators. Then, another line of text appeared in her vision.
『First-Rank Alchemist（Low-grade Pills）: Refined 1 furnace 1/10』
“Shen Nong’s Alchemy Inheritance.”
Hua Changxi was a little stunned.
Shen Nong.
This was something she was very familiar with. In her previous life, she was born in the Shennongjia region of China. Her family was a prominent traditional Chinese medicine family in Shennongjia, passed down for dozens of generations, and they always claimed to be descendants of Shen Nong.
Hua Changxi had always thought that her medical skills inheritance was due to that altar, but now, she was a little unsure.
It couldn’t be helped; Shen Nong’s inheritance and that altar were too incompatible. However, the Little Bird Breathing and Exhalation Method she cultivated did fit well with the altar.
Hua Changxi pondered. She had gained an opportunity at the altar, but that opportunity should have only been the Little Bird Breathing and Exhalation Method. As for Shen Nong’s Alchemy Inheritance, it was highly likely due to her being a transmigrator.
She couldn’t confirm this matter, but regardless of how the inheritance came about, it was beneficial to her and harmless.
Hua Changxi didn’t delve deeper. She efficiently put the Spirit Origin Pills into porcelain bottles and began refining the next batch.
There were a total of ninety-six Spirit Origin Grass plants in the basket. Due to the significant loss of spiritual energy, Hua Changxi ended up working through the night and successfully refined sixteen batches.
When the number of refining times exceeded 10, the text in her vision changed: 『First-Rank Alchemist（Mid-grade Pills）: Refined 11 furnaces 11/100』
Low-grade Pills had become Mid-grade Pills!
Hua Changxi compared the Mid-grade Pills from the last six batches with the Low-grade Pills from before and found that in appearance, the Mid-grade Pills were rounder and fuller.
Because it was dawn, Hua Changxi didn’t have time to test the medicinal efficacy of the Low-grade and Mid-grade Pills. She quickly went to the storeroom to collect medicinal herbs for washing, completed her day’s tasks, and then eagerly returned to her dormitory to taste the pills.
Hua Changxi first swallowed a Low-grade Spirit Origin Pill. The pill melted in her mouth, and a warm current like a flood instantly swept through her entire body.
It took Hua Changxi three hours to refine the Spirit Origin Pill before she opened her eyes with a bright gaze.
Digesting and absorbing one Low-grade Spirit Origin Pill could increase her Spiritual Energy Points by 50, equivalent to ten days of her regular cultivation.
Without even having dinner, Hua Changxi put a Mid-grade Spirit Origin Pill into her mouth. Four hours later, she opened her eyes again.
This time, the light in Hua Changxi’s eyes was even brighter and more excited than before.
One Mid-grade Spirit Origin Pill could actually increase her Spiritual Energy Points by 100!
She had refined a total of 100 Low-grade Spirit Origin Pills and 60 Mid-grade Spirit Origin Pills this time. With these pills, could she enter the next realm?
