After Shenhe found her job, Yun Xu didn't idle either, beginning to refine pills, practice his spear, and cultivate simultaneously.
With another month of diligent effort, the star swallowing cauldron had expanded to a considerable size. With a bit more effort from Yun Xu, it would soon be able to accommodate the Dragon Pill for re-refinement.
At that time, perhaps the Dragon Pill could transform from a nascent pill into a complete one.
However, Yun Xu was also delving deeper into the Nine Revolution Alchemy Method, doing so by extensively acquiring sweet flowers.
This led to Lumine, the professional sweet flower gatherer, visiting Yun Xu's home every other day, always bringing a large pile of sweet flowers.
Yun Xu didn't value money much, and given the efficacy of the Sweet Sweet Pill, as long as the sales volume wasn't overly exaggerated, the price wouldn't be low. So, he always bought Lumine's sweet flowers at a higher price, making her beam with joy.
For Lumine, selling sweet flowers to Yun Xu brought in significantly more income than taking commissions at the Adventurers Guild. She now regarded Yun Xu as her personal god of wealth, having converted all the spiritual fields in her Serenitea Pot to grow sweet flowers. With the Serenitea Pot's catalytic, the maturation speed was astonishing, allowing for harvests every three days.
And by virtue of his insane consumption of sweet flowers, Yun Xu had gained a general understanding of his Nine Revolution Alchemy Method.
He had tried placing two identical Sweet Sweet Pills together for refinement, but it resulted in immediate failure.
[Unsweet Pill (1-star · Waste Pill): After consumption, one will no longer be able to taste sweetness until bitterness is tasted.]
Yun Xu then gave this pill to Lumine, telling her to use it to trick Paimon. Paimon now loved eating the Sweet Sweet Pills Lumine got from Yun Xu; they tasted even better than candy beans.
After several more attempts, Yun Xu reached a conclusion: to refine a pill using the Nine Revolution Alchemy Method, there must be three identical pills.
Whether the quantity was too small or the pills were different, they could not be refined by the Nine Revolution method, only into pills with new effects.
Therefore, if Yun Xu wanted to refine a top-quality Nine-Cycle Sweet Flower Pill, he would need a staggering 6,561 ordinary Sweet Sweet Pills.
Fortunately, for Sweet Sweet Pills, Yun Xu could fill the furnace with sweet flowers, spend a day refining, and produce dozens of pills at once.
Thus, after unremitting efforts, Yun Xu finally obtained a... [Seven-Turn Sweet Sweet Pill (3-star): After consumption, restores a large amount of maximum HP, but has a chance to emit a sweet fragrance that can tempt intelligent beings. Those tempted will commit suicide at the consumer's feet, transforming themselves into nutrients for the consumer to absorb, and can be 'plated'.]
Having obtained such a Sweet Sweet Pill, Yun Xu was truly tired of refining them and decided to take a break.
During the refinement of Sweet Sweet Pills, many individuals appeared that could be 'plated', but since they were all destined to be used as materials for the Nine Revolution Alchemy Method, Yun Xu had never taken them to be 'plated'.
But now that he had stopped refining pills, Yun Xu decided to 'plate' this Seven-Turn Sweet Sweet Pill.
And this would be the first time Lime would resist the lightning tribulation for Yun Xu since he transformed into a dragon due to the Dragon Pill.
Although Mt. Tianheng was an excellent location for undergoing tribulation, Lime, as a dragon-shaped creature, was a bit too conspicuous. So, Yun Xu decided to set the 'plating' location at Cuijue Slope.
That place was where Jingxu Nine Pillars stood, but it was merely an ancient ruin, close to Jueyun Karst, completely uninhabited, so there was no need to worry about disturbing the populace.
Before setting off, Yun Xu informed Shenhe and Lumine, who had just arrived to deliver sweet flowers.
Thus, Shenhe, Lumine, and Paimon all decided to go together to watch Yun Xu undergo tribulation for the pill.
Lumine and Paimon's mindset was similar to last time; they even went directly to buy a large amount of popcorn and drinks.
Shenhe, on the other hand, was worried, so she requested a day off from Wanmin Restaurant.
Just as Yun Xu was leading them out the door, they encountered Hu Tao at the entrance of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
When she heard Paimon explain that Yun Xu was going to perform getting struck by lightning, her eyes immediately lit up, and she insisted on going to watch.
That wasn't enough; she quickly called Zhongli and Ruo Li to join them.
In her words, a grand event like an Adeptus undergoing tribulation was something mortals might not be lucky enough to witness even once in their lives, so it absolutely couldn't be missed.
"Sigh, go, all of you go, and don't you dare come back! You only know how to leave me at home to clean..."
The dialogue device continued its daily chores and grumbling.
"Hehe, Traveler, Xiao Paimon, can you share some of that popcorn with This Master?"
Near Cuijue Slope, Hu Tao secretly sidled up to Lumine and Paimon.
"No problem, we prepared a lot."
Paimon and Lumine had prepared quite a bit, and upon hearing Hu Tao's request, they took out some and shared it with her.
Hu Tao thanked them, then took the popcorn back to share with Zhongli and Ruo Li.
The group stayed at high points on the outskirts of Cuijue Slope, with only Yun Xu alone in the open space in the middle of Jingxu Nine Pillars.
However, few noticed that on a distant pillar, the figure of a green-haired young man had appeared at some unknown time.
After a brief preparation, Yun Xu took out the Seven-Turn Sweet Sweet Pill.
Pills refined by the Nine Revolution method also had a characteristic: with each revolution, a pill pattern would appear on the pill. Its shape was like the primordial chaos, indistinguishable between clear and turbid, its color hazy and shimmering, as if it might disappear from sight in an instant.
However, since the initial pill had no pill pattern, the Seven-Turn pill only had six pill patterns.
"Heavenly Tribulation as a chisel, Nine Heavens Thunder forging profound light."
As Yun Xu chanted the incantation, the originally clear sky instantly darkened, a cold gale swept through, and flashes of heavenly light constantly leaped within the oppressive thunderclouds.
The others felt nothing, but only Zhongli looked up at the sky with a solemn expression.
This incantation seemed to mobilize the will of heaven and earth... Just as Zhongli's expression grew solemn, Yun Xu took out another pill and swallowed it himself.
This was also something he had tinkered with again over the past two months, originally intending to make delicious snacks for Lime, using electro crystals as ingredients.
[Battery Pill (1-star): After consumption, it can absorb electricity and release it at a stable voltage, but the stored electricity will gradually dissipate. If no electricity is stored for a full day, the pill's effect will be lost.]
Since it was a one-star pill, it couldn't absorb much electricity, but for Yun Xu, it still alleviated some of the burden.
Rumble—!
Then, under the expectant gaze of Lumine, Paimon, Hu Tao, and Ruo Li, a tribulation lightning bolt struck, engulfing Yun Xu, who was protecting the pill.
When the tribulation lightning dissipated, Yun Xu was largely unharmed, save for his hair being slightly singed.
"I'm leaving it to you, Lime..."
After enduring several bolts of tribulation lightning with the pill, Yun Xu felt he was nearing his limit, but he didn't, as usual, invite General Taiyuan of the Teng Snake to possess him. Instead, he released Lime from his qiankun bag.
Roar—Roar—!
With the emergence of the thunder dragon, Lime immediately let out two excited dragon roars towards the sky, the deafening roars echoing through the surrounding mountains and startling countless birds.
The tribulation lightning about to fall in the sky paused, then the nearby thunderclouds began to gather, and the lightning within them became even more violent and restless. Although no lightning struck down, a halo of light could already be seen around the dark clouds.
The lightning in Teyvat is usually divided into two types: purple and light blue. Light blue lightning is purely natural, unrelated to elemental power, while purple lightning, though also natural, is formed by the catalysis of Electro element.
But now, the lightning brewing in the dark clouds had turned red, as if it were a true divine punishment.
"?"
"Lime, you stupid Slime, did you just curse it?!"
Seeing this, Yun Xu, who had just consumed an ordinary Sweet Sweet Pill to recover from his injuries, widened his eyes and spoke to Lime.
"Gawu?"
Lime, with his head tilted back, froze for a moment, then looked down at Yun Xu blankly, his 0-shaped eyes, just like a Slime's, blinking dazedly...