Approximately six hours later, nine golden elixirs appeared within the Haotian Cauldron, with waves of medicinal fragrance wafting out, filling the entire Alchemy Room with a mysterious scent. When the fragrance reached its peak, Lin Feng suddenly slapped the Haotian Cauldron, and in an instant, nine vivid golden trails shot through the air!

He lifted his hand and captured the nine golden cores in front of him. As he looked at the nine suspended Earth Dragon Heart-Cleansing Pills in the air, Lin Feng began to appraise their quality. Although they seemed flawless on the surface, he felt that something was still missing!

"What exactly is missing?"

Without storing the nine Earth Dragon Heart-Cleansing Pills in a jade bottle, Lin Feng furrowed his brow and murmured to himself. The whole process was strictly according to the alchemy prescription, albeit with some experimental techniques that shouldn’t have affected the quality. Yet at this moment, it was evident there was an issue!

"Boss, could it be an issue with Yuan Energy? I may not know alchemy, but I know that other alchemists have abundant Yuan Energy. They even need to ensure high concentrations of Yuan Energy around them during the process. I’ve seen other alchemists struggle, swallowing elixirs to restore energy during pill refinement..."

Tangyuan, standing by, watched the entire process and shared its thoughts, believing there was no apparent issue. If any problem existed, it might be that the pills didn’t absorb enough Yuan Energy during the roasting process, similar to a child born prematurely without sufficient nutrients, leading to congenital deficiencies!

"Snap!"

Upon hearing Tangyuan, Lin Feng’s eyes lit up. Tangyuan’s point made sense. On Earth, this wasn’t necessary for pill refining. He had merely stabilized the situation without overthinking. With Tangyuan’s reminder, he instantly understood the rationale!

Standing where he was, Lin Feng began pondering other issues. Why did the Soul Shattered Pill require so little before? Could it be that in the Myriad Heavens Divine Realm, Desolate Grade pills required energy supply, while those below didn’t worry as much?

Thinking this, he immediately recalled the process of refining the Soul Shattered Pill. As he finished his recollection, Lin Feng became increasingly convinced of the possibility. Reflecting on these matters, he frowned. If his suspicions were true, any further refinement of Desolate Grade pills would necessitate setting up energy formations. As for Grand Quality pills, the required energy would be even greater, meaning great expense to continually refine pills!

Slightly squinting, Lin Feng collected the nine Earth Dragon Heart-Cleansing Pills and the Haotian Cauldron, gesturing to Tangyuan, who immediately leapt onto his shoulder. Gathering the surrounding formation, they headed towards the door of the Alchemy Room.

Upon opening the door, Lin Feng spotted a young child, around ten years old, not far from the entrance. Lin Feng smiled calmly and walked over.

"Is Elder Chu here?" Lin Feng asked with a smile, looking at the child.

The child, previously bored and daydreaming, was snapped back to reality upon hearing Lin Feng’s voice. Recognizing Lin Feng, he immediately said, "Alchemist Lin, Elder Chu is here. He instructed me to take you to him as soon as you came out!"

"Alright, please lead the way!" Lin Feng nodded slightly and replied casually.

Upon hearing this, the child promptly led Lin Feng ahead, maneuvering through twists and turns towards the auction house’s underground. After roughly a tea break’s time, the child stopped and pointed to a door ahead, saying to Lin Feng, "Alchemist Lin, Elder Chu is inside. You can go in; I am not allowed to enter."

Lin Feng, hearing the child’s words, didn’t say more, heading straight for the door while the child retraced his steps...

"Creak!"

Lin Feng pushed open the door, greeted by a soft light. Not far off, Elder Chu was sitting by a table, intently observing an artifact atop it.

"Taoist Friend Lin, you’re done? So fast!" Elder Chu, upon hearing the door, turned to see Lin Feng and exclaimed disbelievingly. He had given Lin Feng so many alchemy prescriptions and spiritual medicine, yet Lin Feng was already done? How was this possible!

"No, there were some unexpected issues." Lin Feng waved his hand, dismissing the notion.

"Unexpected?" Elder Chu, puzzled by Lin Feng’s mention of an unexpected issue, gestured for Lin Feng to sit down and elaborate.

Lin Feng walked over to Elder Chu’s side. Without speaking, he presented the nine flawless Earth Dragon Heart-Cleansing Pills to Elder Chu, saying, "I only made one batch this time, then came to see you."

Elder Chu, receiving the Earth Dragon Heart-Cleansing Pills and observing them, was puzzled by Lin Feng’s slow pace in pill refinement. Lin Feng had been at it for nearly a month, yet had only refined one batch; despite their flawless quality, the speed was astonishingly slow—even typical Desolate Grade alchemists wouldn’t take so long!

Curious, Elder Chu carefully examined the flawless Earth Dragon Heart-Cleansing Pills, then frowned, asking, "Taoist Friend Lin, these Earth Dragon Heart-Cleansing Pills seem strange, though flawless, something seems lacking."

"Elder Chu, I’d like to ask if in the Myriad Heavens Divine Realm, alchemists need energy provision for refining pills above Desolate Grade, whether it’s self-supplied or aided by elixirs or formations?" Lin Feng asked Elder Chu directly, seeking to verify his hypothesis.

Upon hearing Lin Feng, Elder Chu slapped his forehead in realization, apologetically stating, "I forgot you are an Ascender. Here, alchemy for Desolate Grade pills indeed requires energy supplementation. As other alchemists say, the higher the grade, the more energy needed. I’ve never witnessed it myself, but this oversight is entirely my fault!"

Apologizing to Lin Feng, Elder Chu felt extremely awkward. This oversight was entirely on him, as almost all alchemists understood these requirements; Lin Feng, being an Ascender, might not. The absence of this knowledge led to unforeseen complications. Had Elder Chu remembered, these issues might have been avoided!

However, Elder Chu’s gaze towards Lin Feng was filled with astonishment. Lin Feng, with limited Yuan Energy, hadn’t enough for the pills’ absorption. How Lin Feng managed to refine the Earth Dragon Heart-Cleansing Pills—unlikely even if Lin Feng was drained dry!

"It’s exactly so!"

Upon hearing Elder Chu, Lin Feng nodded, confirming the problem arose during refinement due to the lack of energy. He then told Elder Chu, "While I can refine Desolate Grade pills, without supplementing the energy myself, I used a Spirit Gathering Array with Yuan Stones to attract and replenish surrounding energy. But as you’ve seen, although these look like flawless Earth Dragon Heart-Cleansing Pills, they aren’t truly so."

Hearing this, Elder Chu nodded. Knowing Lin Feng’s current capabilities precluded sufficient energy supply for the Earth Dragon Heart-Cleansing Pills, using formations was logical. Suddenly, his eyes lit up—if he knew the cost of Lin Feng’s energy-supplementing formation, wouldn’t greater expenses be worthwhile for true flawless quality pills!

Thoughts of this made Elder Chu excited, inquiring, "Taoist Friend Lin, could you tell me what formations are needed for a Spirit Gathering Array?"

"Yuan Stones! During my previous formation setup, I used nine pieces, having limited Yuan Stones with me." Lin Feng replied without hiding anything.

"Nine Yuan Stones?" Elder Chu’s eyes gleamed at Lin Feng’s words. He asked, "How many Yuan Stones would it take, according to your estimation, to truly refine these Earth Dragon Heart-Cleansing Pills to a flawless quality?"

Realizing Elder Chu’s intent—to provide ample Yuan Stones for true flawless pills—Lin Feng pondered momentarily, then said, "I estimate about a hundred Yuan Stones for the Earth Dragon Heart-Cleansing Pills. Moreover, I suggest not refining in the city due to its sparse energy; finding a dense energy location would make everything easier!"

"Just a hundred Yuan Stones?" Elder Chu laughed at Lin Feng’s price; a hundred Yuan Stones for nine flawless-grade Earth Dragon Heart-Cleansing Pills was nothing. As for Lin Feng’s suggestion to refine pills where energy was abundant—easily doable, with such a place already within the auction house, previously Elder Chu’s cultivation site!

With this thought, Elder Chu immediately said to Lin Feng, "Taoist Friend Lin, forget about the Yuan Stones; I only ask if given the appropriate place and enough Yuan Stones, can you refine true flawless quality pills, not just Desolate Grade, but even Grand Quality?"

"Should be possible!" Lin Feng answered instantly without hesitation.