May I seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, and live a long and prosperous life.

About a day later, the large ship passed through the interdimensional passage and slowly entered the Azure Netherworld Cultivation Realm, landing directly above the square of the Heavenly Evolution Sect.

This passage between the two realms was originally located in the square of the Tianyan Sect. It was reinforced by successive Golden Core True Monarchs, making it extremely stable.

A group of monks were also waiting in the square.

Feng Xuzi and the other law enforcement cultivators led the rest of the group out of the large ship.

After Feng Xuzi and the others handed over the newcomers to the waiting cultivators, they began to assign them to their respective groups.

There were relatively few new recruits this time, only about twenty. Only two new recruits with the three spiritual roots were approved to become outer disciples. The rest of the new recruits were assigned as miscellaneous disciples of the sect.

Ultimately, Li Heng was assigned to the alchemy room as a menial disciple.

Before leaving, Feng Xuzi glanced at Li Heng, his eyes filled with sympathy and pity.

In his view, the work of a servant in the alchemy room was the most tiring and least rewarding job, and only disciples with the worst aptitude and no powerful connections would be assigned to such a place.

And don't expect those alchemists to be happy and reward you with some cultivation pills, that's impossible! The entire sect is in dire need of cultivation pills right now, and every single pill has to be handed over to the sect, there's simply no way there could be any extra.

The other outer disciples looked on with pity when they saw Li Heng assigned to do odd jobs in the alchemy room.

In places like alchemy rooms, highly poisonous substances are often used. People with insufficient cultivation will have their lifespan shortened if they are exposed to them for a long time. This is why there is often a shortage of servants in alchemy rooms. Basically, none of the servants in alchemy rooms have a long lifespan.

Feng Xuzi shook his head and left.

In his eyes, Li Heng would at most reach the third level of Qi Refining in his life, destined to be a menial servant for the rest of his life, and might even die of old age one day. He was worlds apart from an outer disciple like himself, and it seemed that the two would never cross paths again.

……

An outer disciple led Li Heng to a pill-refining room in the Tianyan Sect.

Inside the alchemy room, an elderly man with gray hair and a stubble beard was intently staring at the large, ancient black alchemy furnace in front of him.

The flames in the alchemy furnace were blazing, and the old man would occasionally throw some alchemy materials into the furnace. Two young disciples were assisting him; these two disciples were the old man's alchemy apprentices.

The old man was named Zheng Bingwen. He was an experienced alchemist and a senior alchemist in the outer sect, with a cultivation level of the late stage of the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Although he had very poor talent and no hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, his status in the sect was equivalent to that of a cultivator at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.

Seeing that Zheng Bingwen was refining pills, the outer disciples immediately signaled Li Heng to keep quiet, and the two waited quietly by his side.

About half an hour later, a loud bang came from the alchemy room, followed by an angry voice.

"Damn it, another batch of failed pills! What went wrong? What a waste of all those precious and rare materials I used! Not a single one turned out well. These top-grade Qi Gathering Pills are really hard to refine!"

Zheng Bingwen was cursing loudly, while the two alchemists assisting him were at a loss, looking nervous and afraid to breathe loudly for fear of provoking the old man's anger.

The outer disciples were furious when they saw the old man fail to refine the pills, and they didn't want to go in and provoke him.

However, the sect's mission also needed to be completed, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go in, respectfully bowing to the old man:

"Elder Zheng, you mentioned some time ago that the previous alchemy room servant had retired due to old age and needed to return to his hometown, so a new alchemy room servant was needed. Now the sect has reassigned a servant disciple to you, the one next to me, his name is Li Heng."

Immediately, the outer disciples gave Li Heng a meaningful look, and Li Heng quickly stepped forward and respectfully said, "Disciple Li Heng greets Elder Zheng."

Zheng Bingwen was furious at the moment, but out of consideration for the sect's reputation, he did not immediately lose his temper. Instead, he glanced at Li Heng impatiently.

"Alright, I understand. As a servant in the alchemy room, you should know your place. Don't do things you shouldn't do, understand? I need a servant who is law-abiding and follows the rules. I'm always fair in rewards and punishments. Good work will be rewarded, and bad work will be dealt with ruthlessly!"

"I understand, and I will certainly behave myself and do my best to carry out the tasks assigned by Elder Zheng."

Zheng Bingwen nodded, his anger subsiding a little: "Hmm, be quick-witted. Now, first dispose of the waste pills, then clean up the furnace and the surrounding area. That's your task for today."

Li Heng tentatively asked, "Elder Zheng, is that discarded pill useless? Isn't it a pity? After all, you spent a lot of precious materials and effort to refine it."

After hearing this, Old Zheng let out a cold laugh:

"What a pity? If it's a pity, then eat it. Don't blame me for not being clear; eating it will reduce your lifespan by at least thirty years. Do you dare to eat it? Even if this useless pill still has a quarter of the effects of a Qi Gathering Pill, it's still a poisonous pill that depletes your lifespan. What's there to regret? Just throw it away!"

The two alchemists chuckled to themselves, laughing at Li Heng for being a country bumpkin with no knowledge, who didn't even understand the common sense that discarding pills would greatly deplete one's lifespan and was completely unsuitable for consumption.

Li Heng was overjoyed upon hearing this, thinking to himself:

"A discarded pill will consume a large amount of lifespan, but it has a quarter of the effect of a top-grade Qi Gathering Pill? Isn't that a good thing? It's truly a godsend!"

He feigned surprise, saying, "Ah, a discarded pill is so poisonous? It can reduce one's lifespan by thirty years? That's too toxic! What old man would dare to eat it if he didn't want to die? Thank you for the warning, Elder Zheng. Otherwise, if I had accidentally ingested a discarded pill, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

When Old Zheng heard Li Heng's flattery, his expression softened considerably, and he said arrogantly, "Heh, what kind of guidance is this? The Dao of Alchemy is incredibly profound; you have a lot to learn in the future."

Once the outer disciples saw that the person had been delivered, they bowed to Zheng Bingwen and then returned home.

"Elder Zheng, you and your two senior brothers must be tired after refining the pills. Please go and rest. I can handle things here. I will do my best to clean the alchemy room spotless, as you instructed!"

Zheng Bingwen was pleased by Li Heng's high emotional intelligence speech, and even forgot his anger from the failed alchemy attempt.

He nodded, adopting a teacherly demeanor, and said, "Yes, your name is Li Heng, right? I'll remember that. Do a good job!"

The two alchemists breathed a sigh of relief, secretly praising Li Heng for his tactful words, which allowed them to go and rest as well.

Before the menial tasks were assigned, these jobs had to be done by the two of them. Not only were they tiring, but there wasn't much reward either.

They dared not even touch those useless pills, fearing that it would shorten their lifespan. Now that a reliable and hardworking handyman had come, their lives would be much better.

After the three left, Li Heng happily wrapped up all the discarded pills and put them in his pocket.

This time there are ten discarded pills, enough for him to cultivate for a long time. You have to know that these are discarded pills of top-grade Qi Gathering Pills. Even if the effect is only a quarter of the original pill, it is still very good.

Ordinary inner disciples don't enjoy the same treatment as Li Heng; they're already considered very fortunate to have access to intermediate-level Qi Gathering Pills.

The effect of the intermediate-grade Qi Gathering Pill is much worse than that of the top-grade Qi Gathering Pill, about one-thirtieth of the effect.

Even a discarded top-grade Qi Gathering Pill is 7.5 times more effective than a mid-grade Qi Gathering Pill, a blatant and overwhelming defeat.

Originally, these top-grade Qi Gathering Pills at the Qi Refining level were intended for use by the Qi Refining prodigies, Foundation Establishment True Persons, and Golden Core True Monarchs' core Qi Refining descendants within the sect.

Moreover, they can only receive one pill per month at most. In terms of actual benefits, they are still inferior to Li Heng, who can currently enjoy the effects of ten waste pills without fear of their side effects.