Chapter 80 – Dual Focus, Double the Pill Refining Speed!

Jin Congxue listened and nodded, then said:

“The yield of first-order exotic metal is considerably higher, and the price is much cheaper. The market price is only one-tenth that of second-order exotic metal, averaging around 5,000 yuan per kilogram, with a cost price of 4,000 yuan per kilogram.”

After speaking, Jin Congxue handed over a palm-sized piece of metal.

Su Xing took the first-order exotic metal and immediately noticed it was significantly lighter.

He used the simulator to measure its energy and discovered that this 100-kilogram piece of exotic metal contained 2,000 points of simulation energy.

By that calculation, the energy yield of first-order exotic metal was essentially 200 yuan per point of simulation energy.

Su Xing thought it over. As things currently stood, white-grade equipment remained the lowest-cost method of obtaining energy, but exotic metal’s cost was already not far behind, and it was far more convenient for purchasing large quantities at once.

Su Xing quickly made his decision. He would continue primarily purchasing white-grade equipment while acquiring small amounts of exotic metal on the side. Once his energy needs grew, exotic metal might be able to replace it entirely.

So Su Xing said:

“Xue’er, this second-order exotic metal should be barely enough for me to forge an alchemy furnace, but I’m afraid it won’t last long before it burns out… If I could get third-order exotic metal, that would be ideal!”

Jin Congxue thought for a moment after hearing this, then said:

“Third-order exotic metal is the primary material for crafting epic-grade equipment. It’s far too precious—you’d only find it at auctions, and the prices are steep… I’ll keep an eye out for information on that for you.”

“But if you need it, I do have quite a few channels for obtaining first and second-order exotic metal.”

Su Xing nodded helplessly and said:

“In that case, let’s use the second-order exotic metal to forge the alchemy furnace for now. If I remember correctly, the Jin Commerce Group has several master smiths who can handle it. I’ll have to trouble you again…”

Jin Congxue shook her head lightly, indicating it was no trouble at all. Su Xing quickly sketched out a blueprint based on the alchemy furnace design he had always used, asking Jin Congxue to have two new alchemy furnaces forged for him.

After finishing their meal, the two flirted and bantered for a while longer before Su Xing returned to school.

Taking advantage of the moment when no one was around, Su Xing entered the Blessed Spirit Field.

First, he converted the newly acquired 120,000 pieces of white-grade equipment into energy, providing him with a total of 630,000 energy points. Adding the nearly two million points he had remaining from before, Su Xing’s energy reached 2.63 million points.

On the afternoon of February 18th, New Era 2024, Su Xing promptly initiated his twenty-fourth simulation.

“Begin simulation!”

Su Xing silently intoned.

【Ding! This simulation costs 2,400 energy points. Remaining energy: 2,633,333 points. Remaining simulations: unlimited.】

【Simulation begins!】

【Drawing a white talent costs 100 energy points, a green talent costs 1,000 energy points, a blue talent costs 10,000 energy points. Would you like to draw?】

“Draw a blue-grade talent!”

Su Xing did wish he could draw an even higher-grade talent—purple, for instance—but the problem was that his assets weren’t sufficient. The simulator simply didn’t offer that option!

【Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained the blue talent: Buddhist Dharma Mastery!】

【Buddhist Dharma Mastery】: You possess exceptional spiritual aptitude. Should you embark upon the path of Buddhist cultivation and sever all worldly desires, you may become a living true Buddha.

The moment Su Xing saw the newly drawn blue talent, black lines appeared across his forehead. “Damn it, am I really this fated with those bald donkeys? This is the second Buddhist talent I’ve drawn!”

Su Xing let out a sigh. Although he knew that among cultivators there were Buddhist practitioners, abandoning all worldly desires and being unable to drink wine or eat meat really didn’t sit well with him.

Su Xing would rather be a transcendent, solitary sword cultivator than become a bald donkey.

After sighing, Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulation panel.

【Within the Blessed Spirit Field, you became aware that you were in a simulation.】

【You thought of the talent you had just drawn and hurriedly pulled out a mirror to check your hair.】

【Fortunately, your hairstyle remained as flowing as ever. It seemed this talent would not affect your appearance.】

【You first took out the Shennong Spirit Cultivation Technique, found the seeds for the Spirit-Gathering Flower within it, and planted them. Afterward, you carefully tended to them every day.】

【Over the following week, you continued refining pills daily while also advancing your cultivation. At this point, the spiritual energy within the Blessed Spirit Field was still fairly abundant, sufficient for your daily cultivation needs.】

【One week later, Jin Congxue delivered the two completed alchemy furnaces. You were thrilled and eagerly tested out their refining capabilities.】

【When you first attempted to split your focus between two tasks, you made frequent mistakes. The speed of refining two furnaces simultaneously was actually slower than refining with just one.】

【But after a month of practice, your pill refining speed improved rapidly.】

【Half a year later, you could already refine two furnaces of pills simultaneously without the slightest hindrance. You noticed a new skill called Dual Focus had appeared on your panel, which excited you greatly.】

【One day, Wang Qingxuan sought you out. After one night, you joined the Advent Cult.】

【In the second year, after spending three months as an ordinary member, you had already earned the Advent Cult’s trust. You then deliberately revealed a hint of your pill refining skills, catching Protector Shadow’s attention.】

【You earned Protector Shadow’s appreciation. She promised that as long as you refined pills for the cult each month, you would become an Elder-level figure within a year.】

【Looking at Protector Shadow’s seemingly loyal and devoted demeanor, you were already rolling your eyes internally. The crafty little woman was quite the actress—no wonder no one in the entire Advent Cult had ever suspected her.】

【However, you didn’t expose her directly. Instead, you continued refining pills.】

【Because you had mastered the art of Dual Focus and could refine two furnaces of pills simultaneously, your refining efficiency soared. At your speed, you could produce over two hundred Organ Tempering Pills or Essence Nurturing Pills per day.】

【Unfortunately, Protector Shadow only provided you with just over three hundred sets of medicinal ingredients each month. You needed at most half a month to refine over three thousand pills. After deducting ninety percent as your cut, you supplied the cult with just over three hundred substandard Essence Nurturing Pills each month.】

【You spent the remaining time advancing your own cultivation.】

【In the third year, your cultivation progressed even further. You sensed that you were not far from the second level of the Nascent Soul stage. But the bad news was that the spiritual energy within the Blessed Spirit Field had also thinned considerably. You estimated the remaining spiritual energy would sustain your cultivation to at most the third or fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage.】

【Fortunately, the Spirit-Gathering Flowers you had previously planted had matured. All three Spirit-Gathering Flowers survived. You carefully observed the area around the flowers and indeed noticed that the concentration of spiritual energy near them was significantly higher.】

【You finally confirmed that Spirit-Gathering Flowers could indeed produce spiritual energy. However, with only three Spirit-Gathering Flowers, the improvement to spiritual energy was far from satisfactory. You estimated that you would need to plant at least several dozen Spirit-Gathering Flowers to maintain a balance of spiritual energy income and expenditure in the Blessed Spirit Field.】

【Unfortunately, the Shennong Spirit Cultivation Technique contained very little information on Spirit-Gathering Flower propagation, so you could only set aside this method of replenishing spiritual energy for the time being.】