360 - Rebirth of a Star: Another Day, Another Drama

Chapter 360: The Frenzy of Alchemy - I'm No Longer the Resentful Senior Sister! Two months had passed, and a small alchemy shop quietly opened in Bailing City within the Lower Immortal Realm. Although the shop had been operating for only a short time, it had quickly gained significant repute. The fame was not due to the rarity or high grade of the pills sold there since the shop only sold Yellow Tier pills, with not a single Mystical Tier pill in stock. Yet, this did not deter customers from flocking to the store. The main reason was the discovery that the quality and efficacy of the pills sold were top-notch. Even though both might be Yellow Tier pills, there are differences—the number of pill lines, the intensity of the pill aroma, and the effects after consumption. Everything was of the highest quality, with the effects potentially doubling those found in similar market varieties. Furthermore, the prices remained unchanged. The demand was overwhelming since, in these times, one sought value for money when purchasing alchemy products. "Boss Ye, do you really not sell any Mystical Tier pills here?" a man asked with a smile at the window of the shop, addressing a beautiful woman dressed in blue inside. She waved her hand dismissively, "No, no, only Yellow Tier pills here, nothing else." Disappointed yet resigned, the man left, knowing the answer would still be the same. After he left, Ye Ling Long glanced at her inventory, her pleasant voice musing, "These pills are selling faster and faster lately. Am I pricing them too cheaply?" "I told you they were priced too cheaply! These pills are crafted by me, sold at market price! I protest!" A boisterous voice resonated as a small phoenix composed of ice-blue flames flew out from beneath the counter. "Xiao Huang, I mentioned before, didn't I? We had to start with lower prices because we weren't well-known. Otherwise, who would buy them?" She responded sheepishly. The owner of this alchemy shop was indeed Ye Ling Long, who had left Xiong Fei’s mountain. After Feng Li's breakthrough, she, along with Feng Li, Xiao Hei, and Xiao Huang, had arrived in Bailing City. With Qian Jun’s brief introduction, it became clear that the entire Immortal Realm was divided into three realms: the Lower Immortal Realm, Medium Immortal Realm, and the Upper Immortal Realm, arranged in ascending order of status. Despite living in the Immortal Realm, Qian Jun had always been in the Upper Immortal Realm with its owner, thus knowing little about the Lower Immortal Realm. A fact Ye Ling Long found hard to accept was that the treasures of Emperor Changling, which Qian Jun knew of, were mainly in the Upper Immortal Realm, with scarcely any in the Medium Immortal Realm. It was like having a huge inheritance you could never claim, utterly frustrating. The path from the Lower to the Upper Immortal Realm was daunting—requiring spaceships to traverse chaotic space currents first to the Medium Immortal Realm and then to the Upper Immortal Realm—a journey demanding countless celestial crystals. And currently, Ye Ling Long was as penniless as could be. Her only celestial crystals were the two hundred lower-grade ones gifted by Xiong Fei, which she had kept aside from the ones left to Ling Yun at Yun Hai Tower. Although this was a considerable sum in the Lower Immortal Realm, it was but a drop when compared to the cost of passage to the Upper Immortal Realm. With no other recourse, she had to find a way to earn celestial crystals since moving without them was near impossible. Among the most lucrative ventures was indeed alchemy, renowned for being both a profit and resource-intensive profession. Back in the lower realms, she had always admired alchemists for their wealth, quite unlike her own destitute Liuli Sword Sect. So, she decided to give it a go and started focusing on alchemy. Earlier, she had thoroughly studied the notes left by Fu and was already well-versed. The primary obstacle had been the lack of suitable flames since, with her Ice Soul Physique, ordinary alchemy flames or beast fires and spirit flames were unusable. However, with Xiao Huang, these problems were easily resolved. At first, she didn’t overreach and began with Mortal Tier pills. In the lower realms, all pills from one to nine stars were collectively termed mortal-grade, and these were of little use to immortals, who could naturally advance to a higher physique under the influence of spiritual energy. Although useless to immortals, these ordinary pills served as good practice. After diligently crafting pills from first to ninth star, Ye Ling Long felt prepared to tackle elementary Yellow Tier pills, known in the lower realms as tenth-grade pills. On a sunny afternoon, brimming with confidence, she entered the alchemical laboratory she had rented at great expense, ready to create her first Yellow Tier pill. An hour later, there was a loud explosion. Yes, she blew up the furnace. In Feng Li's mocking laughter, Ye Ling Long, driven by perseverance, re-entered the lab. Thus began her explosive journey. For some time, fellow alchemists in adjacent rooms heard the constant explosions from her lab. Unaware that it wasn’t fireworks, they witnessed time and again the explosions that heralded Ye Ling Long’s alchemical attempts. After her tenth explosive mishap, the room finally emanated a refreshing pill fragrance—on the eleventh try, she succeeded. Hearing the absence of further explosions, a neighboring alchemist sighed, "Finally, no more explosions. This alchemist girl surely isn’t suited for alchemy. An elementary Yellow Tier pill takes ten attempts—a terribly low success rate." Unbeknownst to him, Ye Ling Long had never before in her life made a single pill and had only started two days prior. To go from novice to crafting Yellow Tier pills in two days was beyond genius. After successfully crafting her first elementary Yellow Tier pill, she experimented with other variations and soon turned her focus to intermediate Yellow Tier formulas. Once again, the familiar sound of explosions echoed in the alchemy lab. Thankfully, the ginseng doll in the spatial domain continued diligently cultivating immortal herbs, or else even the largest fortune couldn’t sustain such losses. Fortunately, once Ye Ling Long mastered crafting various intermediate Yellow Tier pills, she began generating income. While mortal-grade pills had no takers, Yellow Tier pills remained mainstream, with huge demand in the Lower Immortal Realm. Initially, Ye Ling Long sold her creations through stores and, after accumulating enough celestial crystals, rented a small shop to sell directly. By infusing diluted spiritual spring water into the pills during crafting, Ye Ling Long improved both their efficacy and yield—producing more pills per batch than usual. Consequently, she amassed a decent amount of spirit stones, and her skill in alchemy steadily improved. As she proficiently crafted various advanced Yellow Tier pills, Ye Ling Long celebrated achieving her tenth advanced Yellow Tier pill today.