This Junior Sister is a bit Introverted

On the third day, Rinne found herself inside her hiding cave, staring at the crude stone cauldron in front of her.

She had spent the entire night carving this cauldron from a large boulder, using her worn-out knife as a chisel. Normally, such a knife wouldn’t have lasted long under such intense use, but Rinne had a trick up her sleeve.

Through the knowledge she had acquired from countless sword cultivators, she managed to condense a sliver of sword intent, infusing the knife with a sharpness that made it cut through the stone like it was mere mud.

The process was taxing, however, and it drained her mental strength significantly. Each strike of the knife against the stone resonated in her mind, echoing the disciplined focus of a blade master, but it came at a steep cost. By the time she finished carving the cauldron, her mind was reeling from exhaustion.

In the end, she was forced to consume the healing pills she had obtained as a reward from the second trial just to keep herself from collapsing. Although healing pills were very valuable to some people, but to Rinne, this type of pill was no big deal and she could refine them at any time, as long as the ingredients and tools were available.

One by one, the pills disappeared into her mouth, mending the mental strain, but by the time dawn approached, her supply was depleted.

Rinne sighed as she wiped the sweat from her brow, her gaze fixed on the completed cauldron and the stone stove she had crafted alongside it. Relief washing over her despite her exhaustion. 

'At least it's done,'

The cauldron, while crude, would serve its purpose, and the stone stove was sturdy enough to hold it in place.

However, the next problem loomed before her—fire.

As a 7 year old without any cultivation, starting a fire to properly heat the cauldron was an insurmountable challenge, but Rinne had anticipated this. The previous night, she had devised a plan that she now intended to put to the test.

Taking a jar of thick tree sap, she began to draw a medium-sized formation on the ground, her strokes precise and deliberate. The sticky sap was an effective substitute for ink, and it adhered well to the cave floor. At the center of the formation, she placed a fireball talisman, positioning it carefully.

The formation she drew was similar in design to the blood talisman she had used earlier, meant to extract spiritual energy from an external source. This time, the target she chose for extraction was a Qi Gathering Pill, also a reward from the second trial.

Once the formation was complete, Rinne placed the Qi Gathering Pill at a specific point in the design, leaving one line of the formation deliberately unconnected. She took a deep breath before connecting the final line, knowing that this was a make-or-break moment.

As soon as the last line was connected, the formation activated. A low hum filled the cave as the Qi Gathering Pill's energy was drawn into the formation, triggering the fireball talisman at its center. The talisman flared to life, and a ball of fire burst into existence above the stove.

Rinne’s eyes widened slightly as she saw the flame. The experiment was a success, but the fire was larger than she had anticipated. It roared hungrily, the heat radiating fiercely through the cave.

She acted quickly, stomping down on the edge of the formation to sever the last line. The formation dimmed immediately, but the fireball talisman continued to burn. Rinne gritted her teeth as she hurried to put out the fire, using a combination of dirt and the last dregs of tree sap to smother the flames.

It took time and effort, but eventually, the fire was extinguished. Rinne slumped back, breathing heavily as she surveyed the scene. The part of the cave where she had chosen to conduct the experiment was charred, but thankfully the area had good air circulation. Otherwise, she might have risked oxygen poisoning or even worse.

'One fireball talisman and one Qi Gathering Pill, wasted... But at least the experiment wasn’t a total failure.'

Rinne leaned back against the cave wall, her mind already working on a new plan. The idea of using the fireball talisman was sound, but the execution needed refinement. The problem was controlling the fire’s intensity—a task made difficult without proper cultivation to guide the talisman’s power.

'Perhaps… I can adjust the formation to regulate the flow of spiritual energy, or maybe I can find another source of fuel that's more stable.'

Rinne needed only one test and trial to grasp the nature of the problem. The fire's uncontrollable intensity and the inefficient use of resources had highlighted a critical flaw in her approach. Recognizing this, she resolved to dive deeper into her understanding of formations and alchemy.

She closed her eyes and entered her soul library once again, a vast mental repository where she stored the knowledge and memories she had acquired from others. Her consciousness sifted through the memories of countless formation masters, studying their techniques, theories, and methodologies. However, she knew that the knowledge of formations alone wouldn’t be enough. She needed to integrate this with her understanding of alchemy, adjusting the designs to accommodate the delicate processes involved in pill refinement.

Days seemed to pass as she immersed herself in study, carefully analyzing and cross-referencing the information. Yet, in the real world, only a short nap had passed. When she awoke, a wave of intense pain washed over her.

"Ugh, the price of knowledge..."

The headache was far more excruciating than before, a stark reminder of the toll this deep dive into her mind had on her body. Rinne clenched her teeth, willing herself to endure the pain. After a brief moment of rest, she gathered her strength and prepared to put her new plan into action.

First, she drew another formation on the ground, meticulously inscribing each line with the tree sap. This formation was designed to isolate the fire, preventing it from spreading and ensuring a constant, controlled temperature. She also added a crucial feature, a mechanism to turn the fire on and off at will, a failsafe to prevent another disaster like the last time.

But Rinne wasn’t satisfied with just controlling the fire. She also incorporated a spiritual qi gathering formation into the design. This new addition would allow the formation to absorb the surrounding qi, using it to fuel itself, which meant she would only need to expend one Qi Gathering Pill for the entire operation.

Yet, there was still more work to be done.

'Now, is the main event.'

Rinne retrieved the stone cauldron from her spatial bag and placed it before her.

With a worn-out knife in hand, she began to inscribe three formations on the surface of the stone cauldron. The first formation was meant to strengthen the cauldron, enabling it to endure intense heat and spiritual energy, while preventing medicinal energy from seeping into the stone.

Once that was completed, Rinne moved on to the next stage.

She carefully inscribed another formation on top of the first, one designed with a far more complex function. This second formation was intended to regulate the flow of spiritual energy within the cauldron based on the temperature, the intensity of the medicinal properties detected inside, and to prevent the loss of energy through evaporation, even without a lid. And then the third formation, a self-cleaning function to maintain it after each use.

In simple terms, Rinne had attempted to create a cauldron that could self-adjust to the various conditions of the medicinal materials within it.

She knew that her current state: powerless, without the ability to control spiritual energy, left her at a significant disadvantage. She was no longer the formidable evil cultivator with unmatched power, but a little girl who was still a mortal.

If she couldn’t control the spiritual energy herself, then the cauldron would have to do it for her.

Of course, Rinne was fully aware that each pill recipe had different procedures and conditions. Attempting to create a cauldron that could self-adjust for every possible recipe was impossible with her current resources and knowledge. Therefore, she added another feature to the formation, a set of symbols that acted as buttons.

These symbols would allow her to turn the different functions of the formation on and off at the appropriate times, giving her a degree of manual control over the process.

'Good, I hope this will work.'

Satisfied with her work, Rinne stepped back to admire the intricate design she had etched onto the cauldron. The symbols and lines intertwined seamlessly, a testament to the fusion of her acquired knowledge and personal ingenuity. She placed the cauldron on the stone stove, carefully positioning the fireball talisman underneath it. The formation on the ground surrounded the setup, ready to be activated.

But before attempting to refine the Verdant Meridian Pill, Rinne decided to test her creation with something simpler, a basic healing pill. She knew that if this first attempt failed, it would be better to ruin a less valuable set of ingredients than the precious materials she had painstakingly gathered for the Verdant Meridian Pill.

With a deep breath, Rinne touched the symbol that activated the fireball talisman. The formation hummed to life, and the talisman ignited, producing a controlled flame that enveloped the base of the cauldron. She watched closely, her hand hovering over the other symbols, ready to adjust the formation as needed.

An hour had passed, and the refining of the healing pill had gone smoothly. Rinne observed the cauldron closely, watching as the medicinal ingredients mixed and merged together. The time had come to condense the mixture into a pill shape. With a careful tap on the symbol representing pill condensation, she watched as the blend of medicinal ingredients absorbed into a single point, rounding itself into a large pill.

Judging by the potent aroma that filled the cave, it seemed to be a top-grade pill. However, upon closer inspection, Rinne frowned. Although the medicinal properties were mostly correct, the pill was so large that it would be difficult to consume. This was a failure, despite the initial success.

'The pill’s size needed to be much smaller and more manageable.'

Rinne quickly identified the issue: she should have adjusted the portion control during the condensation phase to maintain the pill’s size. It wasn’t a significant setback, though; she could fix it by carving additional formation lines that would inject the medicinal mixture only until the pill reached a certain size threshold.

With that in mind, Rinne stopped the formation and set to work on reworking the cauldron. She meticulously carved the new formation lines, tweaking the design to prevent the earlier mistake from happening again.

On her third attempt, she decided to refine a Qi Refining Pill. The process unfolded as smoothly as before, her adjustments working as intended. When the pill condensation process began, she watched as the pills were ejected one by one after reaching the precise size she had calibrated. This time, she produced ten middle-grade pills, a clear improvement in terms of control and accuracy.

However, she couldn’t help but sigh at the results.

'This is not what I hoped.'

Although the pills were well-formed and evenly sized, they were only middle-grade. The force used to condense the pills had been insufficient, resulting in the medicinal properties inside each pill being less compact than she’d hoped. Additionally, the stone material of the cauldron caused some loss of medicinal potency during the refining process.

Once again, Rinne found herself hesitating. Should she risk refining the Verdant Meridian Pill under such imperfect conditions, or wait until she could join a sect and borrow their alchemy room? But it didn’t take her long to make a decision.

"Proceed, I must proceed."

Even if she waited to join a sect, she knew she wouldn’t be able to use this method in their alchemy room. It was unlikely any sect would allow an unknown outer disciple to draw unrecognized formations in their alchemy room, much less permit modifications to their cauldrons. Moreover, there was the looming threat of the yearly assessment, where being discovered without spiritual roots would be a significant risk.

Rinne gritted her teeth. Continuing with her current setup might result in lower-quality pills, and there was no guarantee of success. But it didn’t matter. At worst, she would have to take multiple doses as long as the pills generated even a thread of spiritual root.

And if the pills failed entirely, she could always gather the materials again and start over.