A cook who doesn't want to be an alchemist is a bad emperor.

Chen Xia did not reply and silently recalled the two flying swords, stopping above the cave.

The big yellow dog sat cross-legged on the white jade cushion, eyes closed, showing no intention of moving.

After observing for so many years, Chen Xia discovered a very interesting thing.

The big yellow dog was particularly fond of things that could nourish the soul, such as the pure altar water lilies from back then, and this white jade cushion that the big yellow dog loved very much. Every period of time it would come to sit on the white jade cushion.

Although Chen Xia didn't know exactly what the big yellow dog was sitting for, looking at its expression, it seemed to be enjoying itself.

Perhaps this was spiritual bliss.

Chen Xia didn't interfere much. His half-lying body slowly stood up, intending to take a stroll in the Sky Pavilion to look up some pill books or recipes.

His pill refining skills had now reached a bottleneck. If he wanted to improve further, he could only make progress in other areas.

For example, changing cooking pills into refining pills.

That was changing the iron pot into a real pill furnace.

Thinking of this, Chen Xia was a little reluctant again. He was a man who cherished the past. Having to suddenly change this iron pot made him somewhat reluctant.

After all, this iron pot had helped him cook up no small number of pills. It didn't have merit but it had hard work. Chen Xia really couldn't bear to abandon it like killing the donkey after it finished grinding the mill.

So he put the plan to change the iron pot last and first made other changes.

For example, first optimizing the pill recipes, looking at the pill recipe experiences left by former pill masters, and learning from them.

He could also systematically study pill refining knowledge. This would also be very beneficial for his future pill refining.

The book said pill refiners look at three things when refining pills.

...

The pill furnace, the recipe, and technique.

Consummate technique and skill could make up for deficiencies in the other two and forcibly raise the quality of the pill.

And for the description of technique, there were five kinds.

Entry level, refined, perfect, heavenly creation.

The last one had no record in the book, only using one line to generally describe it.

"When the pill forms, the heavens turnover and the earth inverts, the sun and moon lose their light."

It sounded quite amazing, but it was unknown whether it was true or not.

The book also said each pill refiner's technique was different, judged by the effect when the pill formed.

Even if you used your feet to refine pills, as long as it could lead to anomalies in heaven and earth when the pill succeeded, that would be perfect technique.

Conversely, even if your technique was very elegant, preparation very sufficient, process very ostentatious, but the refined pill didn't even have a hint of potency, your technique would be entry-level.

Technique was judged solely by the pill formation effect, nothing else.

So Chen Xia using an iron pot to cook pills was not really wrong. As long as the effects of the pills he refined could reach perfection, then he would be a grandmaster of the Dao of Pills.

As for the levels of pill refiners, the book's description was also very direct.

Pills in the world were divided into five kinds, not much different from the grading of treasures.

The lowest were entry-level spiritual medicines, able to slightly improve strength, restore qi and blood, stir up potential, suitable for cultivators at the Grand Vehicle stage and below.

The mid-tier were called dao medicines. These had some hurdles, mainly being relatively difficult to obtain, requiring good relationships with accomplished pill refiners to have a steady source. They were suitable for cultivators at the Invert Sea stage and below.

The top tier were called grand medicines. At this level, extending life pills already had heaven-defying effects of extending life.

There were once quasi-emperor powerhouses who were grandmasters of pills themselves. They directly refined a vat of undying grand medicine and ate it like candy beans, one per day, continuously improving the effects, eliminating the body's drug resistance. They stubbornly outlived contemporary emperor powerhouses.

This was the terror of grand medicines - with the status of a quasi-emperor, they could outlive an emperor.

The supreme medicines were emperor medicines. Such pills were far too rare, possibly not even one appearing in an entire grand era.

Because the effects of these emperor medicines were too heaven-defying, truly eternal life pills, able to allow an emperor to live forever!

According to the book's records, not even one emperor medicine had appeared in this grand era. Below were a few small characters.

[If you can refine emperor medicines, or have clues, please come find me quickly. I'm at the Seventh Star of the Realms, waiting for you.]

Chen Xia wrinkled his brow and continued flipping down, where there was another note.

[For pill refiners, pill cauldrons are like uniforms for uniform lovers, shit for dogs, toilets for shit weasels - the finer the better. Want a custom pill cauldron? Come to the Seventh Star of Realms to find me.]

Chen Xia's brow furrowed even deeper. He felt this book was not very serious. Glancing at a page he hadn't noticed before, the title read:

How Pills Are Refined - Wang Yangzi

Sure enough.

It was this old rascal again.

Chen Xia shook his head and decided to put this book on the lowest shelf of the bookcase so other disciples wouldn't see it, otherwise it would lead them astray.

"Oh, you like reading Wang Yangzi's books too?"

A delighted voice sounded nearby. It was a short, elderly man with a small beard, holding a book titled Pill Refining: From Entry Level to Six Feet Under.

It was precisely the book Chen Xia had tucked away in the furthest corner of the bookcase.

"Ha, just casually looking." Chen Xia put the book deep inside the shelf and replied.

"You really have good taste!" The short elderly man gave a thumbs up, radiant, and continued,

"Wang Yangzi is the pill master I most admire. If not for being unable to get away these past few hundred years, I would have gone to the Realms to discuss pill dao with Wang Yangzi."

The little old man spoke very excitedly, his gaze looking towards Chen Xia as he curiously asked, "You're a pill refiner too, right?"

Chen Xia thought for a moment. "From a certain perspective, more like a chef."

After all, he used an iron pot.

The little old man was startled for a moment, then waved his hand. "No matter, as long as you're sincere, even a chef can become a pill refiner."

"Alright." Chen Xia nodded and there was some awkward silence.

The two looked at each other with big eyes and small eyes.

"You're of the human tribe, right?" The little old man suddenly asked another question.

"Mm." Chen Xia nodded.

The little old man immediately became excited, nodding repeatedly, "Good good! The human tribe is rarely seen nowadays. I remember the last time they came to Blue Sky Sword Sea was a long time ago. What a pity..."

"What's a pity?" Chen Xia was a bit curious.

The little old man had a regretful expression. "It's a pity they couldn't beat those ancient races, ran away midway. But it can't be helped, after all the average aptitude of the human tribe is a bit weak among the myriad races."

"However, the human tribe has one point that other races can't compare to. They resonate most strongly with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. This leads to weak average aptitude, but they can produce monsters, monsters that reach the apex of emperor. "

Within Blue Sky Sword Sea there was one human tribe emperor.

The little old man clasped his hands behind his back, hunching over, and sighed again, "What a pity Blue Sky Sword Sea hasn't produced such a figure in the last few thousand years. Perhaps we'll have to wait until the next grand era for a human tribe emperor to reappear."

After lamenting, the little old man's gaze turned to Chen Xia again as he continued asking, "You're also a disciple of Blue Sky Sword Sea, right?"

"Mm." Chen Xia's reply was very brief, and he didn't have much else to say.

The little old man carefully sized up Chen Xia twice. "Blue Sky Sword Sea is the grand orthodox sect in this region of the starry sky, it can be considered a colossus. So its disciples must have extraordinary aptitude."

"Even if you can't beat those ancient races, don't lose heart. I couldn't beat them back then either, but now I've become an elder."

"Cultivation is not just fighting and killing. There's also pill refining."

"Once your pill dao accomplishes great things, you can use pills to have others fight and kill in your stead."

"This is the dao of pills!"