Chapter 28: Hu's Astonishment

This is heaven-defying—these two mutated pills are simply unparalleled! The Mutated Blood Replenishing Pill and the Mutated Qi Gathering Pill are not merely ten times better than the supreme grade; they're at least twenty times more effective, if not more. Wu Tian glanced at the supreme-grade Blood Replenishing and Qi Gathering Pills he had just refined. Compared to the divine-grade pills, the supreme ones were as distant as heaven and earth.

Blood Replenishing Pill (Mysterious Grade, Supreme): Instantly restores 200 points of health, then recovers health at a rate of 6 points per second for 20 seconds; cannot be used in a severely injured state.

Qi Gathering Pill (Mysterious Grade, Supreme): Instantly restores 200 points of true energy, then recovers true energy at a rate of 6 points per second for 20 seconds; cannot be used in a severely injured state.

Even just in terms of restoring health and qi, the divine-grade is far superior to the supreme-grade. Most crucially, the divine-grade pills can be used even when severely wounded—something the supreme-grade cannot do. In other words, as long as you’re not dead, swallowing these pills means you can immediately recover your health or qi—something even the supreme-grade pills cannot achieve.

And there’s an even more astonishing aspect: the mutated pills come with additional effects. The Blood Replenishing Pill directly boosts attributes, serving as a real-life Berserker Pill. After taking it, one’s combat power is at least doubled for half an hour—utterly monstrous. As for the Qi Gathering Pill, it’s practically a portable qi reservoir, and it even boosts defense—just as outrageous.

No wonder these are called mutated pills—their properties have mutated as well. Pills meant to restore health and qi have been turned into berserker enhancers; Wu Tian felt there was truly no one else like himself.

What delighted Wu Tian wasn’t just that he had refined mutated pills—the system had also given him a wealth of extra rewards: Luck +5, 5,000 experience points, 10 points for the system shop, an increase of 10 to the Instant Kill value, and 50 points of proficiency in alchemy. Each reward was significant, especially the increase in Luck, which made Wu Tian especially curious.

He checked his stats—his Luck had increased from 50 to 55. Wu Tian didn’t fully understand what Luck did, as it was too abstract. Fortunately, the system had a consultation function, so he sent a message:

“What is the purpose of Luck?”

“Luck: Increases the player’s chances of success, for example, the probability of monsters dropping rare equipment, or the success rate of alchemy. The higher the Luck, the greater the likelihood of unexpected events.”

Suddenly, Wu Tian understood. No wonder he had managed to refine mutated pills—it was the effect of his Luck, which had triggered the mutation. Now it had increased by another 5 points, meaning the probability of such events would be even higher in the future. The thought alone was exhilarating.

“The supreme-grade Blood Replenishing and Qi Gathering Pills, as well as the divine-grade ones—I wonder how much they’re worth. Let’s go check out Ji Min Apothecary. Still, rare things are precious—I’d be a fool to sell them all.” After fiddling throughout the night, Wu Tian left, wholly satisfied.

The night’s work had nearly depleted Wu Tian’s qi, but he was reluctant to use his own pills. Upon arriving at Ji Min Apothecary, he called out to the shop assistant, “Hey, bring me a big pot of Qi-Gathering Tea!”

The assistant’s face turned the color of a pig’s liver when he saw Wu Tian and replied with a wry smile, “Young Master Wu, my apologies—the Qi-Gathering Tea at Ji Min Apothecary was all finished last time when you drank it.”

“All finished? Last time I only had a tiny bit—how is it all gone? Hmph, your apothecary is really stingy, not even willing to bring out a few tea leaves for your distinguished guests—so miserly!” Wu Tian pouted as he spoke.

“Young Master Wu, you’re a valued guest of Ji Min Apothecary; how could we not treat you well? The tea at the front really is gone, but this is from my private stash. Since you’re here, I certainly won’t be stingy!” Hu, the resident alchemist, emerged from the back room, holding a small packet of tea leaves.

“Wang San, brew a pot of tea for Young Master Wu.”

“Yes, Master Hu.”

“Young Master Wu, I assume you’ve succeeded in your pill refinement this time?” Hu asked with a smile, looking at Wu Tian. Though his dealings with Wu Tian had been few, he had a hunch that whatever Wu Tian produced would certainly be extraordinary.

“Master Hu, your eyes are truly sharp—indeed, I’ve brought some fine pills for you to see. Do you have time?”

“This way, Young Master Wu. Let’s discuss it privately in the back room.”

Wu Tian followed Master Hu into a private room. Wang San brought in a large pot of tea, which Wu Tian began drinking without ceremony.

“So, Young Master Wu, what kind of pills did you bring today?” Master Hu asked expectantly, eyes fixed on Wu Tian.

After downing a cup, Wu Tian poured himself another and took out a supreme-grade Blood Replenishing Pill and a supreme-grade Qi Gathering Pill. “Take a look—what do you think these are?”

Master Hu accepted the pills, examined them carefully, and sniffed lightly. After a moment, his eyes widened. “Mysterious-grade Blood Replenishing and Qi Gathering Pills, both of supreme quality! They’re even more potent than the usual supreme-grade pills!”

“Good eye. To let you truly understand their quality, I’ll let you sample them—free of charge,” Wu Tian said with a grin.

“May I really?”

“Of course.”

Master Hu carefully placed one pill in his mouth. As soon as it touched his tongue, his eyes widened further and he couldn’t wait to try the other.

“Marvelous! Absolutely marvelous! These are truly the finest Blood Replenishing and Qi Gathering Pills I’ve encountered in decades!” Master Hu exclaimed, slapping his thigh.

Wu Tian took another sip of tea, then said, “Master Hu, I’ve refined ten of each pill. Name your price.”

“On the market, supreme-grade Blood Replenishing and Qi Gathering Pills go for 5,000 silver each. Yours… at least 8,000 per pill,” Master Hu replied after some thought.

“Eight thousand each—not bad.” Wu Tian nodded with a smile, then took out one of the mutated Blood Replenishing Pills and placed it on the table. “Master Hu, if the supreme-grade Blood Replenishing and Qi Gathering Pills are worth eight thousand each, what do you think these two are worth?”

Seeing the two pills on the table, Master Hu drew in a sharp breath.

“Are these… also Blood Replenishing and Qi Gathering Pills?” Master Hu asked incredulously, uncertain.

“Indeed, but of even higher quality than supreme—divine-grade,” Wu Tian replied with a smile.

“Heavens! Even higher than supreme? Forgive my ignorance, but in all my decades I’ve never seen pills of such quality! Even without tasting them, I can feel the immense spiritual power within—and it seems there are other effects as well!” Master Hu was at a loss for words—divine-grade pills were simply unheard of.

Wu Tian pointed at Master Hu with a laugh and took another sip of tea. “As you said, these two pills do have additional effects—and they are indeed powerful!”