Hearing this news, Zhou Xun wasn't surprised at all.
Wang Erniu has a High-Grade Spirit Root, and for the Four Great Clans, there's absolutely no chance they'd let him go.
Aside from joining one of the Four Great Clans, he has no other choice.
The one marrying Wang Erniu is named Lin Xue'e.
She is the niece of the Lin Family's Patriarch, the cousin of the eldest daughter of the Lin Family, undoubtedly a legitimate daughter of the Lin Family.
However, this second young lady of the Lin Family doesn't have great talent, she has a Low-Grade Water Spirit Root.
Her status is high, but her aptitude is poor, which makes her a perfect match for Wang Erniu.
And for Wang Erniu, joining the Lin Family and gaining their support, with his High-Grade Spirit Root, reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage is highly likely in the future.
Even the True Pill Realm is not out of reach.
The legitimate daughter of the Lin Family recruiting a husband is known throughout Red Leaf Square.
The Lin Family's two legitimate daughters have many admirers in Red Leaf Square.
The eldest daughter of the Lin Family is a prodigy, and the noble young masters in Red Leaf Square wouldn't even dare to dream of her.
The second daughter of the Lin Family is different; she has the same extraordinary beauty, but her talent is merely average, making her an excellent choice for the family's main wife.
No one expected that this second daughter of the Lin Family would not marry a noble young master, but instead recruit a rural boy as a husband.
"Erniu, congratulations!" Zhou Xun sincerely congratulated.
...
Seven days later, Wang Erniu gets married.
On the wedding day, drums and gongs resounded, creating a vibrant atmosphere.
On that day, all the Lin Family's stores offered a ten percent discount as a sign of celebration.
At the wedding banquet, there were hundreds of members from big and small branches of the Lin Family present.
On Wang Erniu's side, aside from his master, only the quasi-apprentices from the Pill Treasure Pavilion were present.
Zhou Xun was even seated at the main table due to Wang Erniu declaring him as his older brother, sitting alongside the high ranks of the Lin Family together with his master.
During the banquet, Zhou Xun was elegant and articulate, neither arrogant nor servile.
He was much admired by the Lin Family's upper echelon, who inquired about his background.
After the wedding feast, Zhou Xun sought out Wang Erniu alone and gifted him a copy of "Bedroom Skill."
Causing Wang Erniu to blush profusely.
Zhou Xun saw this and left with a loud laugh.
...
After Wang Erniu got married, he moved out from Zhou Xun's Alchemy Room.
As a son-in-law of the Lin Family, he certainly couldn't be treated poorly.
He was provided with a separate Advanced Alchemy Room, which only a Genuine Alchemist is qualified to use.
And through the manipulation of Steward Lin, no new person moved into Zhou Xun's place, so Zhou Xun was able to solely occupy an Alchemy Room by himself.
Drawing much envy from others.
...
Time flew by, and four months passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, they learned all the basic theories of refining Basic Elixirs.
Next comes the actual practice.
The one instructing them was none other than the eldest daughter of the Lin Family.
This time, what they needed to refine was the Grain Avoidance Pill.
The method of refining the Grain Avoidance Pill is simple, and the materials are cheap.
Spirit Rice, and even Spirit Grain Skin, can be used as the main material for refining.
It's suitable for beginners to practice with.
In the Alchemy Room, Zhou Xun sat in front of the ancient bronze-colored Pill Furnace.
Holding a Token used to control the Earth Fire.
He slowly injected Spiritual Power into the Token, and a crimson flame suddenly rose; this is the first step in refining elixirs, warming the Pill Furnace.
Next is processing the materials, he carefully took out a large bag of Spirit Rice, and slowly fed it into the Pill Furnace handful by handful at a certain pace.
The Spirit Rice, through the refinement of the flame, exuded a unique fragrance, filling the air and soothing the mind.
Gradually, the flame in the furnace began to change, from red to light red, then from light red to golden yellow. Each change in color represents a change in the flame's temperature, a very important step in the alchemy process.
The final step is to condense and collect the pills.
Zhou Xun formed a hand seal and chanted under his breath.
This is the most common Condensing Pill Formation Technique, suitable for refining Basic Elixirs.
A spell was cast onto the Pill Furnace, and the liquid medicine formed from the Spirit Rice inside quickly took shape.
The liquid medicine was divided into nine parts, gathered together, and gradually wrapped into a ball.
Soon, a fragrance of elixirs began to spread; this is the sign of an imminent Success Pill, and at this point, the pill's success rate is already as high as ninety percent.
At the last moment of forming the pill, Zhou Xun seemed to remember something.
He immediately stopped the input of Spiritual Power to the Token.
Without the control of the Token, the Earth Fire burst upward suddenly.
Only heard a puff sound inside the Pill Furnace, the elixir about to form suddenly scattered, turning into a wisp of blue smoke.
Alchemy failed!
Zhou Xun walked out of the Alchemy Room, looking dejected and somewhat gloomy.
When he came out, there were already quite a few people outside, all with heads bowed, obviously all of them also failed in refining.
"Failing the first time is normal, Brother Zhou, don't take it to heart!" At this time Wei Shangyi came over to comfort Zhou Xun.
"I succeeded in refining!" Suddenly a joyful voice was heard.
Only to see the door of an Alchemy Room opened heavily, and out walked a person holding a dull-colored pill, it was Wang Erniu.
Lin Xueying glanced at it and coolly said:
"Too much Elixir Poison, barely counts as an Inferior Pill! But for your first refinement, it can be considered talented!"
Elixirs refined by alchemists are generally classified by their quality upon emergence as Waste Pills, Inferior Pills, Genuine Pills, and Premium Pills.
Waste Pills refer to elixirs that are completely ruined; although they have the shape of a pill, they have completely lost their medicinal efficacy and can only be discarded as waste.
Inferior Pills are inferior elixirs that retain some medicinal efficacy but contain a large amount of Elixir Poison, they can barely be consumed, and loose cultivators in the outskirts of Red Leaf Square consume this type.
Genuine Pills are the most common elixirs sold in major stores, retaining complete medicinal properties and having Elixir Poison controlled to a very low level.
Premium Pills are refined through extraordinary performance by alchemists and have effects beyond the elixir's original potency.
For a Spirit Gathering Pill, which can help a Middle-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator progress.
Genuine Pills generally have a thirty percent breakthrough probability, while Inferior Pills have only a twenty percent or even ten percent chance.
Whereas Premium Pills can have a forty or even fifty percent probability.
Wang Erniu managing to refine an Inferior Pill on his first attempt already shows exceptional talent.
Even Lin Zhishan's first attempt at Alchemy resulted entirely in Waste Pills.
When everyone finished and Lin Xueying answered all their questions, she was about to leave.
"Alright, keep practicing, the Earth Fire in the Alchemy Room will remain available!"
"If you have any questions, ask me during the next class!" With that, she drifted away.
"Big brother, I did it!" Wang Erniu still retained a youthful spirit, his face full of excitement.
"Didn't expect your Alchemy Talent to be so outstanding too, Erniu!" Zhou Xun genuinely felt happy for him.
"Yeah, Erniu, you're really impressive!" The others also gathered around, each one offering praise.
Everyone knew that Wang Erniu had a high chance of becoming a Foundation Establishment Cultivator in the future.
Wei Shangyi was also among this group.
Currently, amongst the group at Pill Treasure Pavilion, he was quite inconspicuous.
His Alchemy Talent was quite average.
After chatting briefly, everyone dispersed, returning to the Alchemy Room to continue practicing.