The story had to be reversed back to yesterday night. It was right after Chen Tu discovered something odd about the Five-Colored Spiritual Grains.

(Did nobody notice something like this before?)

Chen Tu asked himself. Thanks to the heightened Spiritual Sense after half a cycle of the Sun and Moon Condensation Art, he could observe the Spiritual Energy hovering around the grains. And through this discovery, Chen Tu noticed that out of the thousand or so grains in that portion, a small number of them are no longer "alive."

Of course, when this [living] concept was applied to these seedlings, they were no longer capable of sprouting. Although the existence wouldn't cause further damage to the final product, there's always an "if" moment applied.

This discovery gave Chen Tu a creative idea. Since the first part of the Pill Formula was to remove the impurity from the Five-Colored Spiritual Grains, does that means it was actually a process of removing these dead grains?

To confirm his hypothesis, Chen Tu used his Spiritual Energy instead. Using Alchemic Refinement Flame on these grains was quite a waste, but he had no better choice at this time and convenience. Plus, all it cost him was some Spiritual Energy.

As long Chen Tu circulates another cycle of Sun and Moon Condensation Art, won't that cover everything?

(My guess was correct! The first step's true intention is really directed at the dead grains! Additionally, burning the husk from the rest of the grains was just a part of the process...)

The discovery allowed Chen Tu to understand deeper into the whole process. Once correctly conducted, this first step would help remove all the pointless elements from the Five-Colored Spiritual Grains before moving on to the second step.

An interesting part quickly followed after the grains were bathed in the Alchemic Refinement Flame. They started to express a gentle life force. And only one answer was acceptable at this stage.

The grains had started to sprout. And the reason for it is likely because of the flame's intensity. Very often, due to time restrictions, an alchemist would quickly move to the next step to avoid losing too much medicinal efficacy in between the steps.

But in this case, the more the grains were allowed to spout, the better yield would be when executing the second part of the refining process. The same is also applicable to the Hundred-Year Mountain Yam. Still, due to the greater risk of wasting this ingredient, Chen Tu simply nourishes it gently with the Alchemic Refinement Flame.

The effect on them was obvious. Furthermore, this discovery allowed Chen Tu to skip the first step of the process. Of course, this means more preparation is required before the refinement process.

This discovery brings Chen Tu back to the current time.

After the cauldron finally contained enough heat, Chen Tu tossed both ingredients inside and controlled the sweating process skillfully. His Spiritual Energy is akin to his immaterial hand, stirring the ingredients and applying the flame more evenly.

The collected amount of starch droplets was half a portion more than before. Furthermore, the pool of watery concoction has a hint of sweet aroma, similar to a pot of piping hot rice.

The first and second parts of the refinement process were done with distinction. As for the third and fourth parts of the process, it naturally went on without difficulty.

This time, the thick concoction was enough to fill five gaps in the mold. Because Chen Tu wasn't in a hurry, he gave himself ample time to rest before continuing with the next set of ingredients.

Also, thanks to the large number of shaping molds provided in the room, Chen Tu had no reason to wait in between. Alternating between rest and work, Chen Tu efficiently refined fifteen sets of ingredients before returning to the room.

Instead of going straight to the Supply Office with belongings on his left and right, Chen Tu made a trip back to his room first. After leaving things he had no use for, Chen Tu made his way to the Supply Office.

The one who attended to him was someone else today. And to that worker's surprise, Chen Tu came to deliver seventy Grain Pellets he had refined himself. The total should be seventy-five, but Chen Tu wasted a set after trying something new.

"Please wait for twenty minutes. I'll be right back." said the worker before he walked away with seven pill bottles.

Using this opportunity, Chen Tu moved around the Supply Office and inspected the available assignments. He was initially skeptical because his cultivation was simply at the third level. Even the weakest adult out there would reach this cultivation strength when they're about to turn twenty.

Obviously, Chen Tu was mistaken. Although the third level in the Body Tempering Layer is very common, they're still in high demand. Of course, the number of jobs Chen Tu was qualified for is limited to certain tasks.

Still, their reward is quite plentiful.

Even the cheapest job assignment had a reward of ten Spiritual Replenishing Pills. And the requirement was to collect several Spiritual Herbs.

"Chen Tu?" his name was called as Chen Tu was about to check another job nearby. After finding out the person that called for him, Chen Tu made his way to him and was directed to the table area.

"Junior Chen Tu. If I may ask, are you the one that refined the Grain Pellet?" the worker asked. It appears that only two boxes were in use today.

"Yes, senior. All the Grain Pellets I brought here were refined by myself." Chen Tu answered. After all, he had no reason to refuse to answer.

"Alright. I'll announce the result of our findings. Out of the seventy pills from you, sixty of them met our standard requirement. As for the remaining ten..." Chen Tu smiled while listening to the worker's answer.

But he had no idea that the remaining ten pills were a flop.

"The remaining ten pills appeared to be below our required standard. Hence, we could only pay you 32 Spiritual Coins for everything. You can also opt to bring the two lower-standard pills back to be traded later, or left them with the office." the worker continued.

(Huh? There are actually no Two-Star Pills among them?)