Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

"More than five thousand?"

Gou An's pupils contracted slightly, his face filled with shock.

"That's right." Wu Yazi nodded frankly and explained with a smile, "So don't feel bad. He's not targeting you on purpose. All the alchemists in Wan Dan Hall are controlled by him in this strict way."

"But this is just too outrageous..." Gou An still couldn't understand: "Such standards are simply nitpicking, utterly inhumane!"

Wuya chuckled and gestured to the stone table and benches in the courtyard: "Don't rush, sit down and talk slowly. I happen to have a jar of spirit wine hidden here, let's drink and chat."

Gou An was feeling troubled, but he did not refuse and sat down to drink with Wu Yazi.

As Wu Yazi poured wine for Gou An, he slowly recounted the past: "Actually, when I first came to Dantang, my situation was exactly the same as yours."

"Back then, I would refine twenty Transformation Pills every day, but seventeen or eighteen of them would be returned each time, and very few were up to standard."

At this point, Wuyazi picked up his wine cup, smiled bitterly, and drank it all in one gulp: "When luck is bad, an entire batch of twenty pills will be rejected by him, not a single one left."

"And now?" Gou An quickly asked.

Toothless smiled with relief: "I'm much more skilled now, and I only return twelve or thirteen a day."

"puff!!!"

Gou An spat out the spirit wine he had just taken a sip of, his face filled with astonishment.

This kind of progress can hardly be called progress!

"Fellow Daoist, drink slowly!" Wu Yazi laughed heartily, then said seriously, "It's not that Huang Pingzi is too harsh, but rather that the quality of the pills we demon alchemists produce is simply lacking."

"Impossible!" Gou An immediately waved his hand in denial, his tone certain: "I know my own alchemy skills, there's absolutely no problem with this batch of pills."

"Oh?" Wuyazi's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked casually, "May I ask, fellow Daoist, with your exceptional alchemy skills, from which school did you study?"

"This..." Gou An paused slightly, "What does this have to do with lineage?"

I figured everything out on my own, so where did I find a mentor?

"It is of great importance." Wu Yazi nodded seriously and said frankly, "I only secretly learned my alchemy skills from a wandering old Taoist priest back then, and I only scratched the surface."

"I have been in human form for one or two decades now, and only now can I barely begin to understand the Dao of Alchemy."

"We were self-taught, relying entirely on trial and error. We usually felt good about ourselves, but in reality, our methods were crude and full of loopholes."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wuyazi took out a Transformation Pill of excellent quality from his sleeve and gently placed it on the stone table: "Take a look at this one."

Gou An looked down and saw that it was also a Transformation Pill. He immediately became curious, picked it up, and examined it closely: "Who made this pill?"

"The chief alchemist of the front courtyard, the Nine Furnaces True Man."

With a hint of admiration in his eyes, Wu Yazi said, "This is a true Golden Core expert who has been deeply involved in alchemy for over five hundred years. He is the pillar of our Wan Dan Hall."

"The pills he refines are flawless. You might as well take out your own pills and compare them; the difference will be immediately apparent."

Gou An was unconvinced and immediately took out his defective pills that had been returned and compared them with each other.

Upon seeing this comparison, he was instantly speechless.

The elixirs refined by the Nine Furnace Immortal are warm and translucent in color, round and full, with a mellow and lingering medicinal aroma, and each layer of medicinal power is condensed to the extreme.

The pills he refined were far inferior in appearance, luster, and the concentration of medicinal fragrance.

Just like a top chef's carefully prepared delicacy, it is worlds apart from a novice's rough and unpalatable meal that is barely edible. The color, aroma, and flavor are completely different.

Gou'an suddenly felt enlightened.

His alchemy skills were entirely derived from the "Miscellaneous Records of a Hundred Elixirs" left behind by the True Man Fuhai, and he learned and explored them entirely on his own.

However, Master Fuhai was merely a half-baked rogue cultivator with mediocre alchemy skills, and the miscellaneous records he left behind could hardly be considered top-tier inheritances.

With such rudimentary scriptures and self-taught learning, how much skill can one achieve in just a few years of practice?

The reason I had always felt good about myself was simply because I had never seen the top level before and had nothing to compare it to.

Seeing his relaxed expression, Wu Yazi continued to comfort him: "You don't need to be discouraged. Master Wenxu knows that our methods are crude, but he still recruits us with high prices, simply because alchemists are extremely scarce in Wan Yao City."

"Although there are many human alchemists, few are willing to come here."

"More importantly, the Transformation Pills we refined have extraordinary uses."

At this point, Wuya pointed to the sky with a solemn expression.

"What do you mean?" Gou An quickly asked.

"All the pills we refine must be handed over to the City Lord of Ten Thousand Demon City, who is also the Demon King who guards this place."

Wu Yazi said in a low voice, "The three major alchemy halls in the city have a fixed quota every month, and they must hand over the full amount of pills on time."

"The Demon King will have people specially cultivate a large number of low-level demon beasts, and use the transformation pills we refine to help them transform into human form, so as to continuously fill the city's low-level laborers and maintain the operation of the City of Ten Thousand Demons."

"That's why the standards for pills are so strict. If the pill's potency is unstable, its quality is poor, or the demon beast's transformation is incomplete, the success rate will be too low. If we anger the Demon King, our entire Pill Hall will be punished, and no one will get away with it."

After saying this, Wu Yazi filled Gou An's cup with spiritual wine again.

Gou An picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. The anger and frustration that had been building up in his heart dissipated completely, and he finally understood the crux of the matter.

Now it seems that his alchemy skills were indeed only at the beginner level, barely enough to refine pills into something palatable.

Such a crude product, if truly intended for the use of the Demon King, would certainly not be worthy of being presented in a prestigious manner.

"But you can rest assured," Wuyazi said gently, "Although part of your monthly salary will be temporarily deducted for substandard pills, it will be reimbursed every two months."

"Just focus on refining the pills, and slowly hone your techniques and improve your skills."

Gou An smiled with relief, raised his cup towards Wu Yazi: "Thank you for your guidance and clarification, fellow Daoist. I'll toast you!"

"Sure! Let's drink!"

The two demons exchanged a smile, raised their cups to clink, and drank the spiritual wine in their cups.

From that day on, Gou An completely devoted himself to honing his alchemy skills.

During the day, he would stay at the alchemy room with peace of mind, refining the Transformation Pills according to the prescribed amount. While waiting for the furnace fire to quench the pills, he would take the opportunity to go to the front yard under the guise of taking a stroll and observe the entire process of alchemists refining pills.

The techniques of alchemy, the control of fire, and the combination of spiritual materials are all intricate. The resulting pills have a rich aroma and concentrated medicinal power, far surpassing those that Gou An could produce on his own.

Gou An felt a strong sense of loss.

In terms of physical combat and brute force, the demon race has a natural advantage.

In terms of alchemy skills, cultivation methods, and sophisticated techniques, the demon race is like a newly enlightened barbaric savage, while these orthodox human cultivators are Homo sapiens who have already entered civilization.

This is not a difference in cultivation level or combat strength, but a technological gap that has accumulated over time and been passed down through generations, making it difficult to overcome.