Qing Yun chuckled. "See? I told you giving those pill formulas to Xiao Jin wouldn't make you lose anything. So, what do you think now? Your so-called 'trash formulas' turned into this. Convinced yet?"
Man Sen glared at him.
Trash formulas? Seriously?
But...
When he thought about the simplified versions Yun Jin had made, how the spiritual herbs were now fewer yet more efficient, and how the pill's medicinal power could be drawn on and paused at will...
He couldn't deny it.
Her versions were leagues stronger than the ones he'd spent decades perfecting.
A wave of frustration hit him. The formulas he'd once guarded like priceless treasures suddenly felt like, well, actual trash.
"If I didn't have your original versions, Martial Uncle, I wouldn't have been able to improve them," Yun Jin said. "You gave me the foundation and the direction."
Qing Yun raised an eyebrow. Was his disciple always this smooth-tongued?
Yun Jin looked completely calm.
Please, she'd always been good at this.
Man Sen's mood visibly brightened. His eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Sect Master Yun, earlier you said there were two methods?"
That was right—this was only the first one.
What about the second?
Yun Jin smiled. "The first method only extends a pill's lifespan, but it still costs quite a bit. The second method, though, is what'll truly spread the combat alchemist system far and wide."
Man Sen's heartbeat quickened.
To truly spread it across the world? Even better than the first idea? Just how earth-shattering could it be?
He didn't even dare to breathe too loudly, afraid to interrupt her thoughts.
"If we only improve the pills themselves," Yun Jin continued, "then anyone can use them. That doesn't make it a unique combat path for alchemists."
Man Sen nodded quickly.
That was true. His original goal had been to increase the fighting power of alchemists. Yun Jin's first idea helped all cultivators who used storage-type pills, but it didn't belong exclusively to alchemists.
"There are three thousand Daos in this world," Yun Jin said calmly. "Among them, there must be one called the Dao of Alchemy. But tell me, does the Dao of Alchemy only mean making pills?
The strength of an alchemist lies in understanding the essence of all things, in combining materials that seem unrelated, and creating something wondrous out of them. It's a fascinating field, one that studies composition, properties, structure, and transformation. If we were to give it another name, we could even call it... chemistry."
"Chem... what?" Man Sen and Qing Yun both looked blank.
Yun Jin coughed lightly. "Never mind the name, that's not the point. What matters is that alchemists must clearly understand what sets us apart from other cultivators—and use that to our advantage."
Both nodded earnestly.
Yun Jin thought for a moment before speaking again. "I think we can create an entirely new secret art. One that allows alchemists to cultivate, in addition to their core, another special pill inside their body—a Medicine Pill."=
This Medicine Pill can develop in different ways. Some focus on healing, some on offense, some strengthen the soul, and others the body. To form one, an alchemist must have deep knowledge of a specific pill type. Then, using their understanding as guidance, they draw spiritual energy into their body and condense it into a Medicine Pill.
This Medicine Pill acts like a renewable, internal version of a storage-type pill. Once its power runs out, it naturally regenerates. Its energy can be used for oneself or others.
As an alchemist's understanding of matter deepens, the Medicine Pill can evolve.
For example, it might start as a first-rank Healing Medicine Pill. But with more study and insight, it can transform into a second-rank, then a third-rank version, growing stronger each time.
In this way, not only will we have combat-type alchemists, but also support-types and healing-types. Alchemists will gain countless new paths, truly becoming independent cultivators who can stand on their own.
And if an alchemist grows powerful enough, they might even control multiple Medicine Pills. And maybe one day, someone will master all types of Medicine Pills. Then that person will have truly grasped the Dao of Alchemy itself."
As she spoke, both Qing Yun and Man Sen's faces lit up.
A Medicine Pill?
If something like that really existed, then alchemists would become walking treasure troves of pills! Compared to Man Sen's original vision, this new system was countless times stronger.
Man Sen jumped up, his eyes burning. "I get it! This time, I'll enter seclusion for a thousand years! If I can't figure it out by then, I'll stay in for ten thousand more! If that still doesn't work, I'll leave the research to my descendants! Even if it takes millions of years, my bloodline will definitely perfect this secret art!"
Qing Yun gave him a look. "Junior Brother, wake up. You don't have a Dao companion, and you don't have any descendants."
Man Sen froze.
Right. That... was a problem.
He looked devastated. "Then what should I do? Fine, I'll go take in a few disciples right now, tell them to keep researching generation after generation—"
He was about to storm off to recruit disciples when Yun Jin calmly took out another jade slip. "No need. I just thought about it a bit more and figured it out. Master, Martial Uncle, take a look."
"...What?"
Man Sen didn't dare take it. He stared at her, dumbfounded. "You... already created it? Did you start working on this when you were still in the womb?"
Absurd. Completely absurd.
But honestly, that explanation made more sense than anything else right now.
Yun Jin shook her head seriously. "No, I only came up with the idea when I got this mission. Luckily, it wasn't too complicated, so I created it while I was explaining it."
Silence.
Man Sen said nothing. Qing Yun had no words either. He'd thought nothing Yun Jin did could surprise him anymore. But she just kept proving him wrong.
"You're not going to look?" Yun Jin asked, puzzled.
She'd spent a lot of Emotional Value creating that, after all. It wasn't easy inventing a whole new system from scratch.
"We'll look..."
Both of them poured their spiritual sense into the jade slip.
A moment later, they wore identical looks of awe.
Yun Jin's ideas were insane.
And somehow, she actually had the ability to make those insane ideas real.
This new secret art was called the Medicine Pill Codex. When cultivated to the peak, four great Medicine Pills would orbit the dantian, each radiating power strong enough to destroy heaven and earth.
If someone ever reached that level, they might truly touch the essence of the Dao of Alchemy itself.
No one in this world had ever done it.
But now, with this secret art, Yun Jin had pointed out a clear new path for every alchemist to follow.