Seeing Lin Hao return, the steward asked, "Young Master Lin, is there anything else?"
"I want to refine pills in the Alchemy Hall. I wonder if such a request is too much?" Lin Hao thought for a moment. Apart from the Alchemy Hall, there were not many places in the entire Flowing Cloud City where one could refine pills.
"This... I'm afraid it's not appropriate." The steward spoke, then looked at Bai Qiu.
"Young Master Lin, the Alchemy Hall can indeed be used for refining pills, but the price is not low, and there's no guarantee of success. You must consider this carefully." Bai Qiu thought that Lin Hao wanted the alchemists of the Alchemy Hall to refine pills for him, so she said this.
"Didn't you say earlier that our Alchemy Hall's refining skills were not up to par? Now you want to refine pills?" The woman stared at Lin Hao, her voice cold and mocking.
Lin Hao was helpless. He was just stating the facts, but it was better to avoid such remarks in the future to prevent offending people.
Upon hearing the woman's words, the steward and Bai Qiu frowned slightly.
In Flowing Cloud City, no one could surpass the Alchemy Hall's refining skills. Otherwise, how could the Alchemy Hall be established here?
Today, a young man actually said that their refining skills were not up to par, which indeed made them unhappy.
Bai Qiu was even more displeased. This person first sold the original *Feng Lei Zhang* to the auction house, and now he was saying that the Alchemy Hall's refining skills were not good. Truly despicable.
...
"Young Master Lin, please leave. I'm afraid the Alchemy Hall cannot meet your requirements." Bai Qiu waved her jade fan, issuing an expulsion order.
"Do not misunderstand. I want to borrow your alchemy furnace and essence fire. I will naturally pay for the use. If the refining fails, it will be my own responsibility, and it will have nothing to do with the Alchemy Hall." Lin Hao said.
"You are going to refine it yourself?" The steward and the woman in plain clothes thought they had heard wrong. He actually wanted to borrow the alchemy furnace to refine pills...!
"That's right. I have some knowledge of alchemy, so I will refine the pills myself. I only need to borrow the alchemy furnace and essence fire." Lin Hao nodded.
"Can Young Master Lin refine pills?" Bai Qiu was taken aback. Whether it was alchemy or poison refining, both were incredibly complex. Just memorizing the theoretical knowledge was extremely difficult.
"I have some knowledge, so I want to give it a try." Lin Hao smiled.
"Since Young Master Lin insists, the Alchemy Hall does have a precedent for lending the furnace for refining. It will cost five thousand silver taels." Bai Qiu did not object.
"Fine, then I'll trouble Miss Bai Qiu." Lin Hao agreed readily. He had already bought ten thousand silver taels worth of materials, so five thousand taels for the rental fee was not a big deal.
"Hmph... Overestimating yourself. From my perspective, the ten thousand silver taels worth of materials will be wasted." The woman in plain clothes sneered.
Even she could not complete the refining process alone. How could a young man succeed? Knowing a little and becoming arrogant, thinking one is proficient, such people are not uncommon.
Lin Hao did not care what others thought; he just needed to do his own thing.
The steward stayed in the hall, while Lin Hao followed Bai Qiu and the woman in plain clothes to the back chamber.
After a few moments, a faint medicinal fragrance wafted towards them.
Soon, the three entered a secret room. An alchemy furnace was already open, with a wisp of mist floating above it, and the fragrance was overwhelming.
The alchemy furnace was as tall as a person, made of ancient bronze, with essence fire burning below it.
In the secret room stood a tall woman with a refined and mature appearance.
"Qiu'er, why have you come?" The woman saw Bai Qiu and hurried forward.
"Aunt, this is Young Master Lin. He wants to borrow the alchemy furnace and essence fire to refine pills himself." Bai Qiu's lips parted slightly.
Refine pills?
Upon hearing Bai Qiu's words, the tall woman immediately sized up Lin Hao, feeling even more surprised.
This young man did not look like an alchemist, and he did not have the scent of essence fire or medicinal fragrance that usually clung to those who refined pills for a long time.
If Bai Qiu's young man could refine pills, the woman was not too convinced.
...
"Boy, this is my master, Bai Ruoshuang, a master alchemist." The woman in plain clothes looked at Lin Hao, speaking proudly.
Upon hearing this, Lin Hao nodded and smiled, "Greetings, Senior Ruoshuang. I am Lin Hao. Today, I want to borrow the alchemy furnace and essence fire."
"Since Qiu'er brought you here, you can give it a try." Bai Ruoshuang did not believe that this young man could really refine pills, but since Bai Qiu brought him, there was no reason to refuse.
"Thank you." Lin Hao bowed in gratitude, then walked to the alchemy furnace, opened the lid, and scooped half a spoon of pill liquid into it.
Next, Lin Hao crushed three taels of spirit grains, two taels of blood green, and a *Huiyuan Pill* into powder, mixed them with the pill liquid, and placed them in a specially made pill container, which he sealed perfectly with a pill cloth and gently placed inside the alchemy furnace.
"Ridiculous. I don't see your techniques as proficient. You will definitely fail." The woman in plain clothes observed for a moment. Seeing Lin Hao seal the pill container completely, she thought he did not know how to refine pills.
Lin Hao ignored the woman and stood up, closing the furnace lid tightly.
Next, Lin Hao lit the essence fire. For the first half-hour, it was just a small flame, very weak.
"Wasting resources... Three taels of spirit grains and two taels of blood green are all wasted... Those are worth ten thousand silver taels, and a *Huiyuan Pill* is worth at least one medium-grade spirit stone!"
The woman in plain clothes sighed and shook her head repeatedly.
Everyone knew that the fire in the early stages of refining should be strong; otherwise, there would be no need for essence fire. But Lin Hao did the opposite, using only a small flame. How could he refine pills?
After a while, Lin Hao turned the small flame into a raging fire, the flames growing stronger.
Bai Qiu stood beside Lin Hao, watching his every move.
Although she was the steward of the Alchemy Hall, she was just a manager appointed by the Bai family and did not know how to refine pills herself.
"Aunt, Young Master Lin's method of refining pills is completely different from yours. I think he really doesn't know how to refine pills." Bai Qiu looked at Bai Ruoshuang and spoke softly.
Before Bai Ruoshuang could speak, a strange smell wafted out from the alchemy furnace.
This smell was very pungent, making people cover their noses involuntarily.
...
Bai Qiu and Bai Ruoshuang exchanged glances, both shaking their heads. This refining attempt was clearly a failure.
"Is this the pill you refined? All those precious materials are wasted, with a total value exceeding one medium-grade spirit stone." The woman in plain clothes covered her nose with her sleeve and sneered.
But these materials belonged to Lin Hao, and it had little to do with the woman in plain clothes.
Lin Hao did not say much, a hint of joy appearing on his face. When the alchemy furnace had completely cooled down, he opened the lid.
"Pill refined. Thank you for lending me the alchemy furnace and essence fire." Lin Hao took out the pill container and thanked Bai Qiu and Bai Ruoshuang.
"Pill refined?" Upon hearing this, the three present were all puzzled. How could it be refined?
"Ha ha... Why don't you open the pill container and see first." The woman in plain clothes stared at the pill container in Lin Hao's hand.
"Alright." Lin Hao nodded and slowly lifted the pill cloth.
At the same time, an extremely strong medicinal fragrance suddenly surged out from the pill container.
The previous pungent smell was instantly dispelled, replaced by the medicinal fragrance.
"Rebirth Spirit Root Pill!" Bai Ruoshuang immediately recognized the snow-white pill, as clear and bright as jade.
Lin Hao smiled slightly, without hesitation, and directly swallowed the Rebirth Spirit Root Pill.
The woman in plain clothes was stunned, unable to believe it.
Bai Ruoshuang, shocked, immediately asked, "Young Master Lin... What was the reason for using the small flame earlier?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Hao was generous with his knowledge: "Although the small flame is weak, it can heat the furnace. Refining pills is a gradual process. If you use a strong flame from the beginning, it will be too hasty, and the success rate will be much lower."
"Is there also a method to increase the success rate...?" Bai Qiu's body trembled. Now, she looked at Lin Hao with a different gaze.
"Refining pills is a complex process, and I only have a basic understanding... The fifteen thousand silver taels I owe today, I will definitely repay within seven days." Lin Hao looked at Bai Qiu and Bai Ruoshuang, then left the Alchemy Hall.
After Lin Hao left, Bai Qiu looked at Bai Ruoshuang and asked, "Aunt, what is the grade of the pill Young Master Lin refined?"
"Fourth-grade Earth-grade pill, corresponding to the fourth level of the Earth Gate, the Rebirth Spirit Root Pill..." Bai Ruoshuang spoke.
"Grades of pills are divided into Earth-grade and Heaven-grade... Only Heaven-grade pills are considered true treasures. Fourth-grade Earth-grade is not rare." Bai Qiu pondered for a moment and said.
"Although that's true... that boy is indeed remarkable, with a profound understanding of alchemy." Bai Ruoshuang nodded.
"Even Aunt thinks so..." Bai Qiu was slightly surprised.
"His alchemy skills are no less than mine, and he must have a high-level mentor. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to refine pills alone at this age..." Bai Ruoshuang admitted that her alchemy skills were among the best in Flowing Cloud City, yet today she was willing to admit defeat to a young man.
"Earlier, Young Master Lin sold the original *Feng Lei Zhang* to the auction house. Bai Xiaoxiao will definitely submit the original to the family to gain favor..." Bai Qiu suddenly remembered the auction house incident and frowned.
"The original *Feng Lei Zhang*?!" Upon hearing this, the woman in plain clothes felt uneasy. She had just mocked Lin Hao, and now she wanted to find a hole to hide in. This person was not just a Lin family disciple...
"Qiu'er, if that boy can be recruited, it would be best. But no matter what, don't give Bai Xiaoxiao a chance..." Bai Ruoshuang said with deep meaning.
...
At this moment, Lin Hao had already left the Alchemy Hall and was heading back to the Lin family.
When he returned to the bamboo courtyard, it was already completely dark. Lin Hao sat on the bed, absorbing the power of the Rebirth Spirit Root Pill.
By midnight, Lin Hao's already shattered spirit root began to heal slowly with the power of the pill.
The spirit root had already been partially repaired by the mysterious black marsh within his body, so the damage was not severe.
Today, with the absorption of the Rebirth Spirit Root Pill, the spirit root was repaired quite quickly. By the third watch, it was completely restored.
"Phew..." Lin Hao exhaled a breath of turbid air, and his body excreted a lot of turbid waste fluid.
"The spirit root is finally restored. The next step is to rebuild the Earth Gate spirit body." Lin Hao muttered to himself, then fetched some water to wash his body and changed into a new set of white clothes.
The sun rose in the east.
Early in the morning, Lin Hao's door was knocked on incessantly.
Opening the door, a young man in a tight-fitting outfit stood outside.
"Lin He?"
Seeing the visitor, Lin Hao was somewhat surprised.
"Brother Hao, you have quite the nerve."
The young man sneered and swaggered into Lin Hao's room.