Chapter 304: The Great Pill Disassembly Technique
So it turns out that even Real Person Yuyao from the Holy Land of Jade Pool could have a moment where it seemed she'd been kicked in the head by a donkey.
Dan Yun stared at Real Person Yuyao, and that was the only thought running through her mind.
Everyone knew that pill refining materials were basically spiritual herbsâonly in rare cases would you need spirit liquids or special minerals.
Even if Yuyao had brought a rock, it would've made more sense.
But this? A bag of strange-smelling snack food?
She might as well just call Dan Yun an idiot to her face.
"Real Person, I feel I should remind youâitâs pointless to try and fool me with random food."
Dan Yun pointed to the spicy strips on the ground and sneered:
"Just because you say itâs the Flavor Dragon Spicy Strip doesnât mean it is. If I try refining it, never mind whether I can make a top-grade or even celestial-grade Primordial Heaven-Mending Pill, let me just askâyou, would you dare eat it?"
Real Person Yuyao went quiet for a moment.
Dare she eat it? Sureâafter all, it did taste surprisingly good.
But was this thing really the Flavor Dragon Spicy Strip? She wasnât certain herself. Wasnât that exactly why she came to Dan Yun for confirmation?
"I had people search every corner of the Cangyun Realm, and the only thing named Flavor Dragon Spicy Strip was this."
Yuyao pointed at the brand name on the package and continued:
"Maybe your Heavenly Fate Calculation was off? Maybe this Flavor Dragon Spicy Strip isnât actually a spiritual herb. Why donât... you try divining it again?"
Dan Yun let out a cold laugh. She didnât really want to waste her effort on another calculation.
But on second thought, maybe she should. For one, it might lower Yuyaoâs guard, and twoâit might help Yuyao realize just how brainless she was being.
"Fine. Iâll divine it again."
Dan Yun picked up two strips from the floor. A cold gleam flickered in her eyes as a mysterious light began to glow faintly in her pupils.
This time, the purpose was just to verify whether this was the real Flavor Dragon Spicy Strip, so the energy cost wasnât as steep as a full-blown search.
The result soon appeared in Dan Yunâs mind.
Her usual calm and disdainful expression froze up, and her elegant brows furrowed tightly.
Yuyao noticed her constipated look and couldnât help but ask:
"Well? Is this Flavor Dragon Spicy Strip really the one you were looking for?"
Dan Yun was silent for a long while, staring at the oily red strip in her hand, eyes full of disbelief and confusion.
Eventually, she gave a stiff nod, the corner of her mouth twitching.
"...It... It really is."
"There we go!" Yuyao beamed inwardly.
She didnât care why the Flavor Dragon Spicy Strip wasnât a spiritual herb. All she knew was that Dan Yun could now refine at least a top-grade Primordial Heaven-Mending Pill. That was enough.
Even if this thing turned out to be a piece of dog sh*tâso what?
As long as it helped her ascend, sheâd still eat it.
"Dan Yun, now that you have all the missing ingredients, how long until the top-grade pill is ready?" Yuyao asked, barely able to hide her impatience.
"Three days," Dan Yun replied coolly. "Come pick it up then."
"Hahaha! Good!"
Yuyao was overjoyed.
"Dan Yun, rest assuredâonce the top-grade pill is done, Iâll let you and your daughter leave the Holy Land of Jade Pool safely. If you manage to refine a celestial-grade pill, you can take your pick of elder seats in the sect!"
She promised again.
Compared to last time, she even sweetened the deal.
But Dan Yun only gave her a faint look and shook her head.
"If I succeed in refining a top-grade, or even celestial-grade pill, all I ask is that you let me and my daughter leave the Holy Land of Jade Poolâand swear a blood oath never to bother us again."
Yuyaoâs face darkened at that.
Did she think the Holy Land of Jade Pool was some kind of backwater dump?
It was the most sought-after sect in the Cangyun Realm. Cultivators would kill to get in.
Ungrateful!
She was furious inside, but still managed to nod on the surface.
"Fine."
Yuyao left.
She left behind over ten bags of Flavor Dragon Spicy Strips, saying Dan Yun could ask for more if needed.
Dan Yun still frowned, holding one of the bags, turning it over and over in her hands, more confused the longer she stared.
Sheâd refined pills her whole life. Any material placed in her handsâshe could basically tell at a glance how to use it, its properties, and how it would interact with other herbs.
But this thing?
She couldnât see through itâreally couldnât.
"Aspartame, Carrageenan, Sodium Benzoate, BHA..."
Dan Yun muttered each ingredient out loud as she read the label, her brain getting more scrambled the further she went.
"What are these things?
Are they even native to the Cangyun Realm?"
But the phrase "ingredients list" she could at least vaguely understand.
With the advantage of her Spirit Eyes, she could analyze information faster than others.
Even obscure ancient textsâshe could slowly figure out their meanings.
"This food seems to be made of all the items on this list⊠Just a snack, and itâs got over a hundred ingredients?! Aside from sugar, oil, salt, and chiliâI've never seen the rest!"
Dan Yun popped a strip into her mouth.
As a top-tier Pill Cultivator, her tongue was one of her sharpest tools.
Things invisible to the eyeâshe could often detect through taste. At her level, she could reverse-engineer 90% of pills just by sampling them.
"Tssâ The taste... is really something."
Dan Yun didnât practice strict Fasting, so she found it quite tasty.
But what caught her attention moreâ
Was that she couldnât reverse-engineer this snackâs recipe.
"Maybe I should try using Masterâs divine technique?"
Dan Yun tossed the strip into her Pill Cauldron, placed her hands beneath it, and released her pill fireâa searing blaze that filled the entire underground chamber with heat.
One of her cultivation techniques was a long-lost secret artâThe Great Pill Disassembly Technique.
This technique could deconstruct a pill and reduce it to its original raw materials.
The more ingredients used, the higher the cost and pressure of the technique.
Since Flavor Dragon Spicy Strips contained over a hundred ingredients, she had to break them down bit by bit.
And so she didâfor an entire day.
After over ten rounds of medicinal supplements, her Spiritual Energy was completely drained.
She had long since run out of the strips Yuyao first gave her.
To get enough material, sheâd gone back and asked for many more.
Now, over a hundred packs had been completely broken down.
The entire underground chamber was thick with the odd, spicy strip aroma.
But in the end, she had extracted over a hundred types of powdered crystals.
She sorted them and placed them into porcelain bottles.
Then began testing each powder one by oneâ
Determining their general properties.
"Aspartameâadds sweetness to pills. Doesnât have the sour aftertaste of sugar, more of a cloying, almost bitter sweetness..."
"Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoateâthese two reduce a pillâs rate of decay."
"Erythrosineâused for coloring."
"Carrageenanâhelps form the pill more easily, but doesnât alter its medicinal effects."
"Butylated Hydroxyanisoleâstabilizes fats in the pill, making it keep longer."
...
Over a hundred ingredients.
Dan Yun's pale fingers gently brushed the rims of each bottle, like she was reciting sacred scriptures.
The light in her eyes grew brighter and brighter.
At the same time, so did the killing intent deep in them.