Chapter 36: Failed Refinement

As soon as the Soul Nourishing Pill entered his stomach, he felt a sudden warmth spreading through his heart, making his entire body feel cozy and relaxed.

He felt a particular sense of "expansion," yet upon checking his body, no physical changes were apparent.

Chen Lin felt a surge of joy in his heart.

It seemed this pill truly could nourish and strengthen the soul. Since he didn't actually need to split his soul, the medicinal power wouldn't be dissipated; instead, it was all being absorbed by him.

He knew nothing at all about soul-related knowledge; he only knew it was beneficial, but he didn't know the specific advantages.

However, it didn't matter—as long as there was a benefit, it was fine.

Steadying his mind, Chen Lin followed the instructions in the Soul-Splitting Secret Technique, putting on an expression of agony to feign injecting soul power into the talisman, and continued the refining process.

Outside the courtyard.

Lu Li stared unblinkingly into the room. Every move Chen Lin made tugged at his heartstrings, and his palms clenched instinctively.

The Soul-Binding Talisman was truly vital to him, and it was extremely difficult to refine.

There weren't many talisman masters he could find, because even with Soul Nourishing Pills, the process would still cause irreversible damage to the soul. Those well-known grand talisman masters would absolutely refuse to undertake such a task.

If he failed to obtain the Soul-Binding Talisman, his treasure could not be restored to use, which would drastically reduce his strength.

At this critical moment, a drop in strength was equivalent to an increased chance of death.

"Whoosh!"

A burst of black fire erupted from the talisman paper in front of Chen Lin, marking yet another failure.

Lu Li's eyes looked as if they were about to spit fire.

Ye Jingyun glanced at him. She said nothing but pressed down on her flying sword to prevent him from losing control in a rage and harming Chen Lin.

Chen Lin’s face, however, remained expressionless.

This failure was within his expectations, as he had not followed the standard refining methods to trace the talisman runes.

He had never intended to actually refine the talisman!

Even someone blessed with great fortune couldn't succeed every single time; occasional failures were bound to happen.

Since he was unwilling to waste his own things, he could only waste someone else's. Lu Li, this sucker, was the perfect target.

With Ye Jingyun there, the other man couldn't do anything to him. He would be leaving this city in a few days anyway; he didn't need to care about some damn "Five Great Families."

Furthermore, he had already eaten the Soul Nourishing Pill and couldn't spit it out. Although a mid-grade flying sword was tempting, it wouldn't contribute much to his strength growth, as he was not a sword cultivator focused on sword control.

While thinking this, he attempted to refine several more times.

Without exception, they all ended in failure.

Looking at the empty bottle of talisman ink, Chen Lin put on a look of disappointment and helplessness, then slowly stood up.

By this time, Lu Li, who had been closely monitoring the situation, had already rushed into the room, his eyes erupting with a palpable killing intent!

"I am sorry. I have failed your expectations, Fellow Daoist Lu, but I truly did my best."

Chen Lin assumed a weakened state, his body swaying slightly as he gave Lu Li a bitter smile.

"You are seeking death! Do you know how many spirit stones these materials cost me? Do you know the value of a single Soul Nourishing Pill? Are you doing this on purpose? I'll take your life!"

Under the weight of immense disappointment, Lu Li exploded instantly, pointing his flying sword and shooting it toward Chen Lin's face!

However, just as the flying sword was activated, it was caught by an illusory, earthy-yellow giant hand, which let out a series of mournful cries.

"What is the meaning of this, Fellow Daoist Lu? My disciple already stated before that success could not be guaranteed. Moreover, the Soul-Binding Talisman is a talisman with an extremely low success rate; failure is normal. For you to attempt murder to vent your anger shows a complete lack of respect for me, Ye Jingyun!"

Ye Jingyun's voice was cold. As she spoke, she withdrew the spell she had cast, and Lu Li's flying sword fell to the ground with a clatter.

With a dark expression, Lu Li summoned his flying sword from a distance and slowly retreated out of the door. Then, laughing out of pure rage, he said, "Fine, fine, fine! Ye Jingyun, I hope you can remain this stubborn forever!"

With that, he spread his form and flew out of the courtyard.

Seeing the opponent retreat without a fight, Chen Lin breathed a sigh of relief.

His cultivation was too low to discern Lu Li's exact level. He feared that if the man was also at the ninth level of Qi Refinement, or even more powerful than Ye Jingyun, she might not be able to protect him at the cost of her life.

If that happened, he would have to summon Yu Yuehai.

"Thank you for your assistance, Fellow Daoist Ye!"

Chen Lin walked forward and bowed respectfully to Ye Jingyun.

This bow was sincere.

Although he hadn't figured out her motives, she had indeed been looking after him quite well, even more attentively than Yu Yuehai.

Ye Jingyun smiled slightly and teased, "What? Now that the danger has passed, you no longer recognize me as your master?"

"Ah!"

Chen Lin was stunned.

He had thought her words about being master and disciple were merely an excuse to prevent Lu Li from attacking him. Could she actually be serious?

His eyes flickered slightly; for a moment, he couldn't grasp her true intention.

However, he immediately bowed even more deeply. "Disciple greets Master!"

Since she had said it, whether it was a joke or a genuine intention, he had to solidify the relationship.

Even if his age was nearly that of her father, and even if they were both in the Qi Refinement stage, he had to accept this master.

One more connection meant one more hope of survival; nothing else mattered.

Regarding Chen Lin's formal act of apprenticeship, Ye Jingyun neither accepted nor rejected it; she simply turned around and returned to Yu Yuehai's room.

Chen Lin stood there for a while before returning to his room with a contemplative expression.

He sat in silence for a while longer, still unable to decipher Ye Jingyun's thoughts.

She clearly had an agenda; otherwise, there would be no need for her to care for him so much. But since she wouldn't explain, he had no way to guess and could only take things one step at a time.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, he began to focus on refining the medicinal power of the Soul Nourishing Pill.

He had never even heard of this pill before; its value must be high, and he couldn't let it go to waste.

After refining the pill, he felt a sudden sense of refreshment, as if his entire being were floating.

However, this feeling did not last long, and he soon returned to normal.

After checking and finding no physical changes, he began to continue refining Enlightenment Pills and Thunderbolt Beads.

He had originally planned to refine some Primordial Pills, but he hadn't bought enough materials for ten batches. He couldn't refine them with his actual skill, so he had to give up on that.

The materials for Thunderbolt Beads, however, remained very cheap, so he had bought a large quantity.

Moreover, as the number of refinements increased, he actually succeeded a few times without relying on his talent-based abilities.

"Could it be that eating too many Enlightenment Pills has made me more perceptive?"

Chen Lin, who had been completely disappointed in his own aptitude, couldn't help but feel an extraordinary surge of joy.

In addition to the increased success rate, his understanding of the principles behind the Thunderbolt Beads was growing deeper. He could even modify and simplify the formations, even managing to overlay two balanced formations on a single set of materials to make them more stable.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

"Is it possible to use a finished Thunderbolt Bead as a material to re-refine an even more powerful, stacked version of the Thunderbolt Bead combination?"

This thought sent a jolt through Chen Lin's body. He immediately took out several Thunderbolt Beads and a pile of neutralizing materials.

After pondering carefully in his mind for a while, he felt that theoretically, there should be no problem.

Thunderbolt Beads utilized the impact between materials to produce an explosion; a finished Thunderbolt Bead could be viewed entirely as a set of unstable materials. He just didn't know if the formation-stacking method he had researched could maintain the stability of such intensity.

As for the correct refining method, there should be no issue.

He could just follow his previous technique, which he had already mastered through repetition.

The rest would have to be left to his talent.

(End of Chapter)