After the second refinement process and around two hours later, the Golden Rune Protecting Body Elixir was finally made. Faint cracking sounds could be heard coming from inside the pill furnace.
It was as if some hard object was hitting the inner walls of the furnace.
"Chu Feng, are you making a Talismanic Elixir?" Niu Baotian had been watching by the side, assisting Chu Feng.
To outsiders, it seemed like Niu Baotian was guiding Chu Feng in alchemy.
Little did they know, Niu Baotian was actually taking this opportunity to stealthily learn Chu Feng’s alchemy techniques.
Niu Baotian’s heart had long been filled with stormy waves of astonishment. He had already held Chu Feng’s abilities in high regard, but he never expected Chu Feng to be capable of making Talismanic Elixirs as well.
Last time, Chu Feng had given him two Flame Burst Pills to sell on his behalf. He had been wondering who had made those two Flame Burst Pills?
He was even more convinced that Chu Feng had an expert backing him.
Now, witnessing Chu Feng make a batch of Talismanic Elixir with his own eyes, he finally realized. It seemed that the two Flame Burst Pills had also been made by Chu Feng himself.
Niu Baotian knew everything there was to know about Sword King Mansion. If there really was an expert supporting them, they wouldn’t let the Mansion decline without taking action.
Such an expert would have likely stepped in to help Sword King Mansion long ago.
What Niu Baotian was now more interested in, was exactly where Chu Feng had learned such profound alchemy skills.
When Chu Feng opened the furnace lid, streaks of dazzling golden light crisscrossed and shot out, looking incredibly beautiful.
Other than the two that were ruined during the inscription process, all of them turned into elixirs, totaling four.
If it were traditional Elixir, one batch could yield ten elixirs. However, Talismanic Elixirs required higher standards in every aspect and contained more energy. Therefore, even if all the Elixirs in a batch were successfully made, the most you could get was six.
For Elixirs like the Flame Burst Pills, the number was even fewer—in a batch, there would only be three.
"Is this, could this be the mythical Golden Rune Protecting Body Elixir?" Niu Baotian had some discernment and recognized the elixirs within the furnace.
Chu Feng smiled slightly and nodded, placing all of them into a copper box that had been prepared earlier.
Gold can cut through jade and destroy wood, hence jade boxes and wooden boxes cannot store Golden Talismanic Elixirs. They must be kept in copper boxes.
Iron boxes are prone to rust and can contaminate the elixirs, thus they are also unsuitable.
A copper box is the most economic and practical option.
Niu Baotian’s eyes were wide open, his face showing a thickness of astonishment. If it was just an ordinary Golden Talismanic Elixir, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
As far as he knew, the difficulty of making Body Protection Elixirs was nearly ten times higher compared to ordinary Golden Talisman Elixirs.
Golden talismans can be broadly divided into several categories, with the type that strengthens the body being the easiest to comprehend. This aligns with the primary attribute of gold due to the metal’s own extreme hardness.
More difficult are the sharp-edged types of golden talismans, which are a bit challenging.
The hardest to make are the body protecting types, which form a layer of flowing armor on the body’s surface—this is extremely difficult.
Chu Feng paid no heed to Niu Baotian’s shock or exaggerated expression. After a short rest, he began making the second furnace of elixirs.
Having faced humiliation at the Golden Talisman Sect Store, Chu Feng didn’t wait for another day to take revenge — he intended to slap the insult right back at them.
In the blink of an eye, another two hours had passed.
Chu Feng worked into the night and finally finished making two furnaces of Golden Rune Protecting Body Elixirs, his face revealing a trace of satisfaction.
Waves of fatigue washed over him, and after returning to Sword King Mansion and taking a quick bath, Chu Feng fell into a deep sleep.
He had a sweet, delightful dream where he once again saw the black-clothed woman.
In the dream, after a tender moment with him, she looked at Chu Feng unwillingly, her face streaked with tears, and walked away bit by bit.
"Don’t go..." Although Chu Feng didn’t know her name, she had long been etched into the depths of his heart, and he believed she felt the same.
He desperately tried to sit up to hold on to her.
But no matter what, I can’t move, as if I’ve been hit by an immobilization spell.
In front of the black-clothed woman, there’s a dark abyss, yet she still doesn’t stop, continuing forward.
"Be careful..." Chu Feng exerts all his strength to shout, but his throat feels choked, unable to make a sound. He can only watch helplessly as she falls into the abyss. "Don’t..."
Chu Feng suddenly cries out, and abruptly wakes up from the dream.
By now, daylight fills the sky, and he’s drenched in sweat.
"It was just a nightmare, a false alarm! I hope she’s safe and sound! Someday, when I’m strong enough, I will find her!"
"Then, I will never let her leave me again!"
In Chu Feng’s mind emerges the stunningly beautiful face of the black-clothed woman. Lin Yuxin is extremely pretty at the Alchemy Academy, even referred to as the flower of the academy. But compared to the black-clothed woman, she pales in comparison.
After washing up, a servant brings breakfast, much more abundant than before.
It seems that Chu Feng’s gift of ten thousand silver taels to his brother and sister-in-law has eased the economic crisis at Prince Manor. It also improved the food at Sword King Mansion.
Chu Feng quickly finishes breakfast and takes with him two boxes of newly refined Golden Rune Protecting Body Elixirs, ready to go out and turn them into cash.
Chu Feng is very confident in his own elixirs, certain that they will fetch a high price.
While passing through the front hall, his brother and sister-in-law are eating breakfast.
"Greetings to senior brother and sister-in-law!"
Chu Feng hurriedly goes forward to pay his respects.
"Third brother, be careful when you go out! Prince Liu Mansion suffered a big loss last time; they might seek revenge against us." Chu Jianlan advises Chu Feng like a caring father.
"Little uncle, try to come back early these days! It’s easy to dodge open spears but hard to guard against hidden arrows. The people from Prince Liu Mansion are not only bad but also very sinister!" The sister-in-law also earnestly instructs.
"I’ll be careful!" Chu Feng nods repeatedly in agreement, his gaze sweeping over the breakfast on the table, which is just a few plain steamed buns and a bit of sauce. It’s extremely simple.
Much poorer compared to the breakfast Chu Feng is eating.
A pang of sadness wells up in Chu Feng’s heart, along with a strong surge of warmth. The love his senior brother and sister-in-law have for him is truly great.
They scrimp and save for themselves, yet they are incredibly generous toward Chu Feng.
"Senior brother, sister-in-law, please eat well! Soon, Sword King Mansion won’t be short on money!" Chu Feng feels a prickle in his eyes, tears about to flow. He quickly lowers his head "I’m off!"
After saying this, he quickly leaves Sword King Mansion.
An individual who has lived for thousands of years, yet moved to tears – who says the Alchemy Venerate is heartless?
After stepping out of Sword King Mansion, Chu Feng heads straight for the auction house.
On one hand, after the last transaction, he has become familiar with the people at the auction house. On the other hand, he’s been humiliated in the Golden Talisman Sect Store, naturally unwilling to sell the Talismanic Elixirs to the Golden Talisman Sect again.
Chu Feng believes that as long as he takes out the nine newly made Golden Rune Protecting Body Elixirs and puts them up for sale,
the Golden Talisman Sect Store won’t be able to sell their Body Protection Elixirs anymore.
Upon entering the auction, the old man who appraised his elixirs last time spots him immediately.
"Hey, young man, are you here to sell elixirs again?" The Puppet Elixirs Chu Feng brought for auction last time caused a stir in the Jianyun Dynasty. The appraiser, having made a tidy sum in appraisal fees, has a deep impression of Chu Feng.
Chu Feng smiles and nods, seeing that there are several people waiting in line to have their elixirs appraised, he has no intention of cutting in line.
Prepares to stand in line at the back.
"Hey, a distinguished client like you, why queue at all! Come over here, I’ll give you priority appraisal!" The appraiser holds considerable authority and directly signals Chu Feng to come, indicating he doesn’t need to queue.
The others look somewhat dissatisfied, but the appraiser glares at them, "If anyone here has the same level of strength as him, you’re equally exempt from queuing."