You promised yourself to be a caged bird, but you became the supreme young master?

"Once you begin, calm your mind and concentrate, and follow the instructions in the book. Don't think that you are special and can surpass your teacher before you have even mastered the basics."

Without a foundation, this is impossible.

It's perfectly normal to fail once more; even talented individuals often need dozens or even hundreds of failures to get the hang of it.

A clear, ethereal voice quietly offered a reminder.

"Senior, you also understand the art of alchemy?" Lu Heng asked softly.

"I have a little knowledge of it, but thousands of years have passed and the methods of alchemy used back then have not kept up with the times. They are probably outdated."

The ethereal voice answered calmly.

"What level is 'somewhat knowledgeable'?" Lu Heng wondered.

"Back then, I dabbled in alchemy out of interest, but I only reached the fourth level of alchemy."

The ethereal voice remained calm, revealing that the other party was not proud of it, or even indifferent, finding it commonplace.

Lu Heng's lips twitched involuntarily. Fourth-order alchemy level, that's a level higher than a True Immortal Refining God, even if it's a few thousand years later, it's still a bit outdated.

However, he definitely possesses at least a third-tier level of alchemy skill.

You should know that there isn't a single third-tier alchemist in the entire Qinghe City!

Even a second-tier alchemist can easily become a respected guest of the city's major families.

He had always been the one to turn the tables on others since he came into this world, but this time he was the one who got the short end of the stick.

Without much thought, Lu Heng regained his composure. The principle behind making spiritual food was simple yet profound: it involved refining spiritual rice through qi and blood or spiritual power.

Then it is made into spiritual food that can sustain and even enhance the daily cultivation of cultivators in the Body Refining Secret Realm.

One serving of low-grade spiritual food requires 1 jin of spiritual rice to make. The amount of spiritual rice required doubles for each additional grade.

Compared to a serving of low-grade spiritual food that only requires 1 jin of spiritual rice, the highest-grade spiritual food requires a full 8 jin of spiritual rice per serving.

However, in the outside world, 8 catties of spirit rice is completely insignificant compared to the price of a top-grade spirit food.

Lu Heng only spent five taels of gold to buy a 100-jin bag of spirit rice, which is equivalent to half a spirit coin.

Theoretically, it's enough to make 12 servings of top-quality spiritual food with some left over.

If Lu Heng remembered correctly, although he had never bought it, even in the outer courtyard's dining hall, a serving of top-grade spiritual food cost three taels of gold.

Lu Heng was too lazy to calculate the price difference; he just felt helpless.

It can only mean that capital comes into the world dripping with blood and filth from head to toe, from every pore.

Although this world is still in ancient times, its inflation is even worse than that of the previous world.

Of course, it may not be possible to calculate it so directly. It should be noted that after the appearance of spiritual food, it has in fact completely replaced pills in the body refining secret realm.

Aside from certain first-tier pills that offer exceptional value or have special effects, the rating of a first-tier alchemist usually depends on their ability to produce spiritual food.

Even a first-grade alchemist wouldn't dare say they could consistently produce top-quality spiritual food.

Being able to achieve this level can even qualify one as a near-second-tier alchemist.

Top-grade spiritual food can not only serve as a resource for cultivation, but it can even help with breakthroughs.

In the era when elixirs were prevalent, this was comparable to a top-grade first-tier elixir, and could be considered a near-second-grade elixir.

Furthermore, the cost difference is immeasurable.

Naturally, it is not easy to make.

A second-tier alchemist who can consistently produce high-quality pills would rather not bother making top-grade spiritual foods that have extremely low cost-effectiveness than any other type of pill.

Therefore, it is not unreasonable for top-grade spiritual foods to be sold at high prices.

………………

Mobilizing his own vital energy and using the vessel gifted by the Internal Affairs Hall as a medium, Lu Heng held his breath and focused his entire being on making his first spiritual food.

Ten minutes later, Lu Heng reluctantly let go and looked at the spirit rice in the dish, which had lost its spiritual energy due to the failed refining process. He then chose to pour it into a bucket that had been prepared in advance.

Unsurprisingly, the first attempt at making spiritual food ended in failure.

He wasn't some alchemy prodigy who could learn something quickly and master it in no time.

However, Lu Heng was not disappointed. Instead, he looked at the panel and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Although it was somewhat expected, it was still a pleasant surprise that the panel included the branch of alchemy techniques such as the making of spiritual food.

Lu Heng

[12 years old]

Life Rank: One

[Cultivation Realm: Body Refinement Level 6 (Perfect State)]

[Destiny: Chosen One]

[Talent: Innate Physique (Partial Awakening), Void Bloodline (Partial Awakening)]

[Technique: Basic Body Refinement Method (Minor Success 1700/3000)]

Basic Swordsmanship (Proficient 496/1000)

[Spiritual Food Making (Beginner Level 10/100)]

Evolution Points: 0/300 (After reaching the maximum value, it cannot be accumulated, but can unlock one life leap)

(Evolution points can only be accumulated through daily settlements)

Lu Heng looked at the "Spiritual Food Making (Beginner 10/100)" that appeared in the cultivation technique section of the panel.

Unexpectedly, just one failed attempt at making spiritual food earned him 10 points of proficiency!

What does this mean?

It's important to understand that improving one's skills is not as complicated as cultivating one's character.

Furthermore, there is no limit to the number of times spiritual food can be made each day.

As long as I have the time and energy, I can keep going.

Lu Heng had originally prepared himself to go through hundreds of failures before he could even begin to learn "Spiritual Food Making".

But unexpectedly, he was able to master it in just ten tries!

It sounds rather ordinary; compared to the legendary figures in alchemy in those books and biographies, this prodigy is utterly insignificant.

With that level of talent, it would be common for someone to improve their first-order alchemy skills to perfection in a single day.

But it's also important to know that...

The goal of mastering the panel is to snowball into the late game.

The improvement is already so terrifying even before you've even mastered the basics of "Spiritual Food Making." The efficiency of improvement will be further optimized as your proficiency increases, which is simply unimaginable.

Even in swordsmanship, the superiority of his proficiency was already evident.

However, compared to other things, Lu Heng discovered that the panel proficiency might actually be most advantageous in terms of cultivation skills.

"Young man, is one failure enough to discourage you?" A clear, ethereal voice appeared.

If that's the case, the ethereal voice might start to question whether its decision to make the deal was wise.

"No, not at all." Lu Heng smiled and continued making his second and third spiritual food.

He failed nine times in a row, but he didn't pause at all, his expression remained unchanged, and there was no emotional fluctuation.

The remnant soul, observing from the shadows, nodded secretly.

Failure is the mother of success. Although there are no two identical sayings in this world, the principles are universal.

For the vast majority of people, only by enduring loneliness and being able to withstand failure can they succeed.