"Boss, how did you end up in such a state?" Du Feng could not help but exclaim in shock when he saw how weakened Lin Tian looked. After all, Lin Tian's talent was extraordinarily formidable. Though they had not met for some time, Du Feng had still heard many stories of Lin Tian's exploits throughout the Xuanwu Sect.
Moreover, while others did not know that Lin Tian was Wu Xuan, Du Feng was fully aware of it. By all logic, although Xuanwu Valley was dangerous, Lin Tian should have been able to handle it with ease.
"It's nothing—just ran into two particularly troublesome spirit beasts," Lin Tian replied with a helpless wave of his hand. Even for him, facing such opponents had been no easy task.
"Boss, these are Spirit Restoration Pills I refined myself. You should take them quickly." Du Feng hurriedly produced a pill bottle and offered it to him.
"The medicinal efficacy of Spirit Restoration Pills isn't enough to treat my injuries." After taking a brief sniff, Lin Tian handed the bottle back. Because his spiritual energy was unusually pure, his body's requirements for pills far exceeded those of ordinary cultivators. To other outer disciples, Spirit Restoration Pills might be precious healing medicines, but to him, their effect was negligible.
"Then I don't have any other healing pills on me," Du Feng said awkwardly. With his current level of alchemical skill, being able to refine Spirit Restoration Pills at all was already an achievement. Anything beyond that was beyond his reach.
"That reminds me—I have several spiritual herbs for refining Grand Spirit Restoration Pills. If possible, could you help me refine a few?" As Lin Tian spoke, several medicinal ingredients appeared in his hand. Before leaving the Xuanwu Sect, his master had given him no shortage of healing materials, but since he was not an alchemist, he had stored them all in his spatial ring.
Although Lin Tian already understood the method for refining the Grand Spirit Restoration Pill, there was still a subtle difference between artificer fire and true alchemical flame. For that reason, he had postponed refining pills himself. His original plan had been to consult the Alchemy Peak after the trial, but since he had encountered Du Feng here, it made more sense to let Du Feng attempt it instead.
"Boss… I'm afraid I can't do that." Upon seeing the herbs in Lin Tian's hand, Du Feng's face filled with unease. Though he had studied at the Alchemy Peak for some time, his talent in alchemy was clearly limited. Refining Spirit Restoration Pills was already a struggle—Grand Spirit Restoration Pills were beyond even his imagination.
"If I remember correctly, the alchemical flame required for Spirit Restoration Pills and Grand Spirit Restoration Pills should be of the same grade. If you can refine the former, why can't you refine the latter?" Lin Tian asked in confusion.
"The refinement of Grand Spirit Restoration Pills is far more difficult than that of Spirit Restoration Pills. I can barely manage the latter as it is. There's no way I could succeed with the former." Though saying this filled Du Feng with embarrassment, he had no choice but to be honest.
Hearing this, Lin Tian frowned—not because Du Feng lacked the ability, but because of his defeatist attitude. A cultivator should press forward relentlessly. Yet Du Feng's mindset was so negative that true progress would be impossible.
"Relax. With me watching over you, are you really afraid you won't succeed?" Lin Tian said, striking a confident pose. Though he was admittedly ignorant when it came to alchemy, after studying the refinement method for the Grand Spirit Restoration Pill, he firmly believed that if the process were followed like a set of experimental steps, success was inevitable.
"Boss… you don't actually know how to refine pills, do you?" Du Feng asked skeptically, casting him a sidelong glance. After entering the Xuanwu Sect, Du Feng had paid close attention to Lin Tian. Though he knew Lin Tian learned quickly, he could not recall Lin Tian ever studying alchemy.
"What do you know? Do I need to inform you of everything I'm capable of?" Lin Tian retorted, his face flushing crimson at having been exposed.
"Alright, then." Seeing Lin Tian's insistence, Du Feng could only comply helplessly. Spiritual energy surged forth, forming a pill furnace out of pure energy. The moment Lin Tian saw this, his eyes widened in shock.
He had heard that Alchemy Peak possessed a unique technique known as forming a furnace on the spot, but witnessing it firsthand was still astonishing.
"Alright, begin condensing the alchemical flame and place the herbs inside," Lin Tian said, handing over the materials.
"Boss, the furnace needs to be warmed first," Du Feng reminded him gently. In pill refinement, one must first adjust the furnace's temperature with alchemical flame before adding the herbs.
"Oh? Is that so?" Fighting the urge to crawl into a hole, Lin Tian stiffened and said, "I just wanted to test whether you're meticulous enough in your alchemy. Not bad—you pass."
"Boss, maybe we should forget it," Du Feng said helplessly. "These herbs are extremely valuable. Wasting them like this wouldn't be right."
Hearing this, Lin Tian forced an awkward smile. Of course he knew how valuable the herbs were—but wasn't this all to help build your confidence? I'm already forcing myself through this, and now you're backing out?
"Wasting them? What are you talking about? Are you saying you don't trust me?" At this point, retreat was no longer an option for Lin Tian.
"It's not that—I'm just afraid of ruining these precious herbs myself," Du Feng replied with a sigh.
"Don't worry. With me here today, you will definitely succeed in refining the Grand Spirit Restoration Pill," Lin Tian declared, patting his chest with absolute confidence.
Of course, his confidence did not come from faith in his own abilities—but from the simple fact that he had more than enough herbs to spare.