The time it took to refine a Sixth-Grade pill was much longer than Qin Tian had anticipated.From eleven in the morning until nine at night, for a full ten hours, Dongfang Mingyue remained completely focused. Pale green spiritual energy, like a living entity, wrapped around the Pill Tower, precisely controlling the tempering and fusion of each medicinal ingredient, all the way to the final delicate polishing when the pill took shape, without a moment's distraction.Phew! When the final step was completed, the lid of the Pill Tower slowly opened, and # Nоvеlight # a scorching wave of air, carrying a rich medicinal fragrance, instantly burst forth. The temperature of the entire alchemy room suddenly soared, and even tiny specks of spiritual energy light floated in the air.A smooth, round pill flew out from the cauldron, glowing with a faint starlight and radiating a lustrous sheen on its surface.Dongfang Mingyue, quick-witted, swiftly took out a white jade bottle to catch it, then sealed the bottle tightly, locking in the medicinal properties without allowing a single trace to escape."Miss!" Xiaoyu ran over quickly, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the white jade bottle in Dongfang Mingyue's hand, her voice full of excitement, "I knew you would succeed!"It's important to know that even the most experienced Sixth-Grade alchemists never achieve a 100% success rate when refining Sixth-Grade pills. For skilled practitioners refining familiar formulas, the success rate is usually between 40% and 60%. Even after hundreds of repetitions, exceeding 80% is extremely rare.There are too many variables involved: even with the same type of medicinal ingredient, different plants will have subtle differences in their medicinal properties, and these tiny differences, when multiple ingredients are combined, can trigger a chain reaction, requiring the alchemist to make real-time adjustments based on years of experience and exquisite skill.Furthermore, the intensity of the heat, the rhythm of spiritual energy infusion, and even the temperature and humidity of the alchemy room can significantly affect the breakdown and fusion of medicinal properties.It is precisely for this reason that in the alchemy profession, two spiritual energy attributes are most compatible with the path of alchemy: one is wood-type, which can precisely break down the essence of medicinal ingredients and promote gentle fusion of medicinal properties; the other is fire-type, which can precisely control temperature to firmly manage the entire process of pill formation.And the top representatives of these two schools are the empire's two great sacred blood families: the Oriental Family and the Xiao Clan.Dongfang Mingyue smiled at the words, her fair cheeks flushed a faint red from prolonged exposure to high temperatures, like a begonia flower touched by morning dew, exuding both the pure brightness of a young girl and a vibrant, lively energy."Hmm, it was indeed very smooth this time," she murmured, gently caressing the white jade bottle, then thoughtfully added, "And I always feel that the Spirit Gathering Cauldron seems to have changed a bit; the efficiency of spiritual energy conduction is a little stronger than before."After three years of working with this cauldron and hundreds of refining experiences, she was intimately familiar with its characteristics, to the point where even the most subtle changes could not escape her perception.It was impossible for the Spirit Gathering Cauldron to change without reason; the only possibility was the lingering influence from Qin Tian's repair.Thinking of this, Dongfang Mingyue looked up and softly called out to the empty room: "Mr. Qin Tian, are you there?""I am."No sooner had his voice fallen than a subtle ripple appeared in space, and Qin Tian's figure suddenly materialized before the two of them, still dressed in black, his posture as tall and straight as a pine tree.Xiaoyu instinctively shivered—although she already knew Qin Tian possessed spatial abilities, every time she saw him appear so mysteriously, she couldn't help but be surprised."Sister Dong, is something wrong?" Qin Tian asked.Dongfang Mingyue looked at him, her tone softening slightly: "Mr. Qin Tian, from now on, you can just call me Mingyue. There's no need to be so formal."Qin Tian pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Alright, Miss Mingyue." Seeing that he still maintained a certain distance, Dongfang Mingyue didn't dwell too much on the address. Instead, she handed him the white jade bottle, her eyes sincere: "Mr. Qin Tian, this Star Marrow Barrier-Breaking Pill is for you. If you hadn't discovered the problem with the Pill Tower in time and helped me repair it, this pill would never have been refined, and I wouldn't be able to participate in tomorrow's competition. This is a small token of my appreciation; please, you must accept it."Qin Tian looked at the earnestness in her eyes, thought for a moment, and didn't decline further. He reached out and took the white jade bottle: "Then I thank you, Miss Mingyue.""I'm the one who should be saying thank you," Dongfang Mingyue smiled gently.Qin Tian held the white jade bottle in his hand, secretly sighing with emotion—a Sixth-Grade pill was already extremely valuable, almost priceless on the market, not to mention a rare pill like the Star Marrow Barrier-Breaking Pill, which could help a Sixth-Order Spiritual Energy Practitioner break through bottlenecks.If it were in the Military Department Treasury, it would be worth at least tens of thousands of military merit points, and ordinary people, even with money, would find it very difficult to acquire.With his talent, there was no bottleneck within the Sixth-Tier for him, but his subordinates would certainly encounter them, and by then, this pill would come in handy.This gift was truly significant.His gaze swept over the ring on Dongfang Mingyue's right index finger, and he suddenly spoke a reminder: "Miss Mingyue, I suggest you don't leave the Pill Tower in the alchemy room tonight."Dongfang Mingyue immediately nodded. Since someone could sneak into her private alchemy room and damage the Pill Tower without her knowledge, it meant this place was no longer safe."I'll put the Pill Tower into my spatial ring," she said, her fingertips moving slightly as she took out a few less valuable items. Her spatial ring had limited capacity, and to fit the Pill Tower, she had to clear some space first, which was why she had previously kept the cauldron in the alchemy room.The Pill Tower's control over personnel entry and exit was already strict, and the floor where the private alchemy rooms were located was even equipped with comprehensive surveillance and manned 24 hours a day.Yet, despite this, the Pill Tower had still been tampered with, which meant that the saboteur most likely came from within the Pill Tower itself.The people here could no longer be fully trusted.Originally, she had intended to report the situation to the Pill Tower's director and investigate the saboteur's identity, but at this moment, that thought was completely suppressed. Moreover, she already had a vague suspicion of who it might be."Alright, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave," Qin Tian said. "If Miss Mingyue needs help, just call my name as you did just now." Before his voice faded, his figure once again vanished amidst spatial fluctuations.Dongfang Mingyue organized the items in her spatial ring, then activated her spiritual energy, slowly drawing the Spirit Gathering Cauldron into the ring."Xiaoyu, let's go too.""Okay!"The two walked out of the Pill Tower side by side and boarded the private aircraft waiting outside.The aircraft slowly ascended, flying towards the hotel. Not far behind it, two inconspicuous aircraft quietly followed, maintaining a safe distance and silently guarding.In the shadows by the Pill Tower's entrance, a pair of eyes watched the departing aircraft, pupils slightly constricted, a flicker of uncertainty and surprise in them, as if calculating something."Useless! All of you are useless!"Inside a luxurious room, the woman in purple furiously smashed an expensive celadon vase to the ground, shards scattering everywhere.She pointed at the bowed man in front of her, her voice so sharp it almost cracked: "How much effort did I put in to get you all placed in the Pill Tower, and you can't even handle such a small matter!"The man kept his head bowed, his fingertips white from clenching, his heart filled with grievance and confusion.He had clearly followed instructions, sneaking into Dongfang Mingyue's private alchemy room late at night and carving a crack in the bottom of that green cauldron. With such damage, it would have been impossible to refine a Sixth-Grade pill.But the surveillance footage wouldn't lie: from morning till night, Dongfang Mingyue stayed in the alchemy room for a full ten hours, not stepping out of the room once; when she finally emerged, there was a faint smile on her face, clearly indicating a successful refinement.He couldn't figure out what went wrong and could only let the furious woman vent, not daring to utter a single word of defense."Useless!" Dongfang Xi was enraged, grabbing a jade goblet from the table and smashing it fiercely towards the man's head.The jade goblet shattered, and several sharp ceramic pieces embedded in the man's hair, yet he merely reached up silently to pluck them out, not even daring to frown."Get out! Get out of my sight!" Dongfang Xi clutched her chest, breathing heavily, the fury in her eyes almost overflowing."Yes," the man replied in a low voice, his footsteps as light as a cat's, as he cautiously retreated from the room, afraid of further angering this elder sister.Slam! As soon as the door closed, Dongfang Xi grabbed a Glass ornaments (glass ornament) from the table and threw it to the ground. Her once beautiful face was now twisted with a hint of madness, and her exquisite makeup was tinged with ferocity from her rage.She was jealous of Dongfang Mingyue, so jealous it was driving her insane.That bastard, who didn't even know who her father was, was merely a collateral branch of the Oriental Family, yet she always surpassed Dongfang Xi in the alchemy she was most proud of.Whenever outsiders mentioned "the alchemy genius of the Oriental Family," everyone first thought of Dongfang Mingyue, not her, the legitimate eldest daughter.She didn't understand, why?In terms of effort, she spent no less time in the alchemy room than Dongfang Mingyue; in terms of resources, which of the spiritual plants, Pill Tower, or pill formulas the family gave her wasn't the best?Yet, despite all this, she still couldn't catch up to Dongfang Mingyue. The other woman seemed born for alchemy, able to refine higher quality pills even with the most ordinary ingredients.Even in terms of appearance, Dongfang Mingyue's pure and bright, spirited look was more appealing than her own carefully crafted glamour.The alchemy elders in the family always had "Mingyue is the hope of the Oriental Family" on their lips; the higher-ups of the Alchemy Association openly and secretly indicated that they favored Dongfang Mingyue to win the Starry Sky Cup championship, and after a few years of advanced study at the Imperial Star headquarters, she might even become the youngest Seventh-Grade alchemist.And her?Everyone thought she was "talented, but a bit inferior to Dongfang Mingyue," and she was even rarely mentioned.This comparison was like a poisonous thorn, piercing Dongfang Xi's heart day and night.Since everyone thought Dongfang Mingyue would win, she was determined to destroy this "given" outcome!To damage Dongfang Mingyue's Pill Tower, she had paid a huge price to bribe a director of the Pill Tower, allowing her subordinate to sneak into the alchemy room.Last night, her subordinate had even reported, "Mission accomplished, Dongfang Mingyue definitely won't be able to compete tomorrow." But what was the result?Dongfang Mingyue not only stayed in the alchemy room for ten hours but also didn't report any anomalies to the Pill Tower—this was completely unlike what should happen if the Pill Tower had been destroyed!"A bunch of useless trash!" Dongfang Xi gritted her teeth, her nails digging deeply into her palm. She stared at the dark night sky outside the window, a ruthless glint flashing in her eyes:"Dongfang Mingyue, just you wait. This competition isn't over yet; who will stand victorious in the end is still uncertain!"

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