Troublemaker’s Guide to Immortality

The formula for Bu Tian Pill lay on the table, its aged parchment spread out carefully by Yue Zhao.

Yun Jin silently whispered, "System, scan."

[Scanning... Tier Seven Pill: Bu Tian Pill. Required Ingredients: Mingxin Fruit, Bailing Leaf, Tianyuan Grass...]

Line after line appeared, listing a staggering fifty-four ingredients in total.

Without a doubt, this was the most complex pill formula Yun Jin had ever encountered.

Just the auxiliary spiritual liquids alone required five separate types. The other ingredients included spirit herbs representing all five elemental attributes. Not only would this make the refining process intricate, it would also be extremely difficult.

Yun Jin's gaze immediately moved to the final button on her panel.

"Simplify."

It was grayed out.

She could not activate it using basic simplification attempts. To force simplification, she would need to use advanced ones.

She converted all her points into advanced simplification attempts, leaving her with 60 total.

Taking a deep breath, Yun Jin asked, "System, what conditions must be met to refine Bu Tian Pill?"

The response came swiftly.

[Host is currently at Tier 3, Golden Core stage. Normally, Tier 7 pills require a Tier 7 alchemist to have a reliable chance at success. To refine the Bu Tian Pill, host must meet two conditions: One, simplify the pill formula to a perfected state. Two, maintain spirit power at Nascent Soul level throughout the refining process. These conditions will grant a 70% success rate.]

Yun Jin frowned slightly.

Even with both conditions fulfilled, the success rate was only seventy percent.

To be safe, she would need at least two full sets of ingredients.

Seeing Yun Jin's frown, the others grew nervous.

Was it truly too much of a stretch to attempt a Tier 7 pill?

Then, as they watched her anxiously, Yun Jin spoke calmly. "I have about a seventy percent chance. Senior brother, we'll need at least two sets of ingredients to improve our odds."

"Oh... understood," Yue Zhao answered reflexively. Then, realization hit. He stared at Yun Jin in disbelief.

Did she say seventy percent?

"Junior sister, did you just say—" Si Wanning jumped in.

"Seventy percent," Yun Jin repeated. Her tone was even. "It's not high, but it's the best I can manage right now."

She was confident the system had already optimized everything to its limit. With her current cultivation, this was likely the maximum probability.

Yet, Yue Zhao and the others exchanged glances as if they had misheard.

Seventy percent... and she said it wasn't high?

Yun Jin refocused on the system's requirements.

The second condition, she believed she could manage.

She had gained insight into the overlapping tide-like intent within the Azure Lotus Sword Art. If she applied that concept to her spiritual energy, she could stack waves of power, pushing her strength temporarily to the Nascent Soul level.

The only catch was that she had limited reserves. Refining a Tier 7 pill took a long time, and maintaining high spirit output required constant replenishment. She would have to prepare a large stock of spirit-recovery pills to use during the process.

That part seemed solvable.

Which left the first problem: perfecting the formula.

"System, how many advanced attempts would it take to perfect this formula?"

[Due to the high tier discrepancy, perfecting this formula will require 100 advanced simplification attempts.]

Yun Jin narrowed her eyes.

She had 60. She needed 40 more.

Only one month remained. She would have to close that gap, and fast.

Without a perfected formula, she couldn't determine which ingredients were optional. That made preparations more difficult.

"Senior brother, how many of these ingredients do we already have?"

Yue Zhao focused. After a careful comparison, he replied, "The Bu Tian Pill's reputation precedes it. I've been collecting certain known ingredients over the years. After the recent purchases from the Hundred Herb Pavilion, we now have forty-three out of fifty-four. Eleven are still missing."

He listed the forty-three on hand.

Yue Zhao felt tense.

If Yun Jin was capable of refining the pill but failed due to a lack of ingredients, he wouldn't forgive himself.

He quickly added, "I'll try to gather the rest. Now that we know exactly what we're missing, we can work faster."

Yun Jin nodded. "Good. Let's collect as many as we can. There's also the possibility we won't need all fifty-four. If we have seeds instead of full herbs, bring those too. We can plant and force-grow them. There might still be time."

Yue Zhao nodded solemnly.

"I'll help too," said Si Wanning. "I've heard someone mention this Blue Smoke Herb. I'll handle that."

Yusong Nian also studied the list. His gaze fell on the Sinking Gold Fruit. "I'll search for this one."

He clearly had a lead.

There was no time to waste.

"Alright," said Yue Zhao. "We'll each take a target. Let's get the rest of the ingredients no matter what."

Everyone agreed and quickly scattered.

Now, Yun Jin's top priority was bridging the simplification gap.

She pondered her options.

She was already a Tier 3 alchemist but had yet to take the formal exam.

Should she make a public appearance again in the marketplace?

No, that would be unwise.

Too many eyes were already on her. If her identity was exposed, she might not be in danger, but she could never return to the Tianxing Sect.

Hmm... maybe a heart-to-heart with Ye Danxia to encourage her into another foolish endeavor?

Yun Jin filed that under "backup plans" and kept thinking.

Suddenly, a crisp alert echoed from her panel.

Emotional Value had arrived.

Yun Jin blinked. "???"

What was happening?

She hadn't revealed anything publicly yet.

Sure, Emotional Value trickled in now and then, but never this concentrated.

It kept coming.

Ding, ding, ding.

Over and over, until it finally slowed... after granting her 10 additional advanced attempts.

Even more shocking, every single one had maxed out at [+500 Emotional Value.]

All of them. Every single one.

There were only three explanations:

One, each donor's emotions were incredibly intense.

Two, they were all blessed with high fortune.

Three, their cultivation levels were extremely high.

The higher someone's power, the more Emotional Value they could produce under the same emotional stimulus.

"System, where did these values come from?"

[Source: Xuandan Gate, one of the Four Great Holy Lands.]

Yun Jin: "???"

The Four Holy Lands?

Xuandan Gate?

Why in the world were they feeling such strong emotions about her from so far away?

Meanwhile, inside Xuandan Gate, silence reigned...