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Chi Yu retracted her jade slip, cast a **cleanse spell** to tidy up her **blast-ridden cave**, and plucked out a few singed red feathers from her head before transforming into her original form. Then, brimming with **righteous fury**, she **soared toward the alchemy hall**.

A **streak of red light** cut across the sky as she landed outside the alchemy chamber and **stormed toward Qin Shu's room**. Many people saw her arrival.

When Qin Shu noticed **Chi Yu's missing signature red feather**, she glanced at her own broken hairpin and **immediately understood**.

Chi Yu saw Qin Shu staring at her **scorched head**, and for a moment, she felt a little **self-conscious**—like she had just **exposed a personal failure**.

**Who would've thought she'd manage to burn her own feathers while refining pills?!**

Then, she caught sight of **Qin Shu's bright-eyed gaze**.

Before she could react, Qin Shu **leaned in excitedly and whispered**,

**"Senior Sister, did you... also blow up your furnace?"**

Chi Yu immediately picked up on the key word: **"also"**. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she turned to **stare at Qin Shu**.

**"Junior Sister, don't tell me you—"**

Qin Shu **nodded solemnly**, letting out a sigh.

**"Five furnaces... completely obliterated."**

Hearing this, **Chi Yu's expression instantly softened**, as if she had just found a **long-lost family member**. She **grabbed Qin Shu's hands tightly** and exclaimed,

**"Shu'er! What did you do after that?! I've already blown up three furnaces! I even sent out an anonymous message on the sect's transmission network, but no one gave me a proper answer!"**

Qin Shu replied,

**"I went to Second Senior Brother for help. He said it was an issue with my furnace."**

After thinking for a moment, she **pulled Chi Yu over to sit in front of her own furnace** and said,

**"Senior Sister, try using mine. Maybe your problem is the same as mine?"**

Hearing this, **Chi Yu finally felt a bit more at ease**. She sat down in front of **Qin Shu's furnace**, took a deep breath, and prepared to channel her **spiritual energy**.

Just as she was about to start, a **sudden thought struck her**, and she turned to **solemnly declare**,

**"Junior Sister, don't worry. If I blow up your furnace, I'll definitely replace it with a better one."**

Qin Shu **laughed**.

**"Senior Sister, don't worry. If it explodes, we'll just go to Master for a solution together."**

Chi Yu **closed her eyes and began channeling her energy**.

A **blazing surge of fire spiritual energy** rushed into the furnace. Compared to **Qin Shu's**, Chi Yu's flames were **even more intense**, scorching the surroundings with **scalding heat**.

Even though Qin Shu was **sweating**, she **remained completely focused** on monitoring the furnace's interior, observing the way the medicinal plants **reacted to the extreme temperatures**.

**BOOM!**

Another **detonation** rang out, but instead of **blowing up**, the furnace's contents had been **completely incinerated**—not a trace of the herbs remained.

Chi Yu opened her eyes slowly. Just as Qin Shu was about to **comfort her**, she was met with a **thrilled expression**.

**"Junior Sister! I didn't blow up the furnace this time!"** Chi Yu beamed.

Qin Shu: **"..."**

Well... that's **some kind of progress**, she supposed?

Through her observations, Qin Shu realized that **Chi Yu had an extremely low success rate in forming pills**.

It wasn't that **her flames weren't strong enough**—rather, it was the opposite. **She lacked a wood spiritual root**, making it difficult for her to control the **delicate balance of alchemy**.

It made sense why **most great alchemists needed both fire and wood attributes**.

**But that doesn't mean it's impossible!**

In her past life, she'd seen plenty of **students with no natural talent** excel by simply **memorizing formulas and drilling techniques**.

**No such thing as an unsolvable problem—only lazy students!**

Qin Shu **patted Chi Yu's shoulder reassuringly** and said,

**"Senior Sister, don't worry. I know what's wrong now. This time, slowly channel your fire energy. I'll tell you when to stop."**

Chi Yu, reassured by **Qin Shu's confidence**, nodded seriously and sat back down.

Qin Shu handed her **another set of ingredients** for **a batch of replenishing pills**.

Chi Yu started with **a small burst of fire energy**, just as **Qin Shu instructed**.

As the **furnace heated up**, Qin Shu channeled a small **amount of wood energy**, carefully monitoring the reactions inside.

**"A little more... a little more... stop! Perfect!"** Qin Shu directed.

Chi Yu **immediately stabilized the flames**, keeping them at a steady temperature. The **red-gold furnace glowed intensely** under her unique fire energy.

Qin Shu guided her through **each step**, helping her **control the heat and timing** as they processed **one herb at a time**.

Finally, after several steps, **all the medicinal liquids merged into one**, and Qin Shu **excitedly urged**:

**"Senior Sister, quick! Form the seal—it's time to solidify the pills!"**

Chi Yu swiftly formed the final **alchemy hand seals**, and the **furnace's temperature gradually dropped**.

Qin Shu pulled back her **wood energy**.

Chi Yu opened her eyes, locking eyes with **Qin Shu's bright, encouraging smile**.

**"Senior Sister, open the furnace!"**

Chi Yu, **nervous but excited**, bit her lip and nodded.

She **cast a spell**, causing the furnace's lid to lift. **Five pills** shot into the air.

However, instead of normal-sized pills, **they were much smaller**—only the size of a **black sesame ball** or a **tiny herbal pill**.

Chi Yu's expression darkened.

**"...Did I fail?"** she asked uncertainly.

Qin Shu **picked up one of the tiny pills**, examined it for a moment, then **popped it into her mouth without hesitation**.

A **wave of warm, nourishing energy surged through her meridians**.

She closed her eyes to **fully experience its effects**.

When she opened them again, Chi Yu **was staring at her expectantly**.

**"How is it?!"**

Qin Shu **flashed a thumbs-up**.

**"Incredible! Senior Sister, these pills are compact, but they work just as well!"**

Chi Yu still **wasn't convinced**, so Qin Shu encouraged her:

**"Try one yourself!"**

After some hesitation, Chi Yu swallowed one and **instantly felt the medicinal energy spread smoothly through her system**.

The effects were **just as potent as normal pills**, but...

**"Why are they so small?"** she frowned.

Qin Shu pondered for a moment before **explaining**:

**"I think it's because your fire energy is too intense, refining the ingredients down to an extremely pure essence. But that's not a bad thing!**

**They're more compact and easier to store. You could package them in bottles of twenty and sell them to high-level cultivators—they take pills by the bottle anyway, so this format might actually be more convenient for them!"**

Chi Yu nodded thoughtfully, but her expression soon turned troubled again.

**"But Junior Sister, I can't always rely on you to help me sense the herbs. I don't have a wood spiritual root, so I can't tell when the process is complete."**

Qin Shu simply smiled.

**"You don't need to! Senior Sister, did you pay attention to how long each step took? How much time was needed to refine each herb? How long it took for them to fuse?"**

**"As long as you remember that feeling, you'll be able to refine pills on your own!"**