This Junior Sister is a bit Introverted

Rinne POV:

Third day of the trial.

In the hidden cave, Rinne spent the entire day working meticulously, refining the supplementary materials needed for the Verdant Meridian Pill.

Although she had successfully refined a 1st-grade healing pill and a Qi Refining Pill, these were relatively simple processes for a novice. Those pills were easy and required little more than basic techniques and precision. The Verdant Meridian Pill, however, was a 5th grade pill, a high-level product that even seasoned alchemists found daunting. Its creation required immense precision and control over spiritual energy, something Rinne currently lacked.

Therefore, she needed to take some additional steps.

The process began with Rinne preparing 15 bottles of Green Neutralizer, a mixture made from common plants that held minimal medicinal power but possessed excellent balancing properties. She carefully selected a variety of plants with mild, neutral energies.

Rinne worked with precision, crushing and soaking the plants in water. Each batch required delicate control to ensure the plant essence merged with the water correctly, forming the green liquid. The liquid slowly turned a light, translucent green as it absorbed the plant properties.

After a few hours, she had 15 bottles of the green substance lined up before her, each glowing faintly. This was the base for her next task—creating the various supplemental solutions that would later be used in the Verdant Meridian Pill refinement process.

'Not bad, this should stabilize the more temperamental ingredients later on.'

It was a common misconception that the field of Alchemy only used plants as materials.

What the Alchemists refined was not plants, but the energy and medicinal properties within the materials, not exclusive to plants.

Rinne gathered everything—the spiritual beast carcasses left over from the battle, the blood of specific creatures, dragonfly wings, butterflies, and even worms. Each material contained unique properties she needed to extract and condense into solutions.

The various solutions she made does not have any name and they were not included in any book. This method was her own invention, designed to compensate for the spiritual energy control she couldn’t yet perform. She named her solutions simply: Solution A, Solution B, and so forth, up to Solution H.

Traditional alchemists do not need those things as they could manage everything in a single cauldron with their spiritual energy. Meanwhile, Rinne’s process was much more laborious, involving multiple stages and painstaking observation.

The Process of Creating Solutions A to H:

1. First, she started with Solution A.
   She poured in some of the green neutralizer and added finely ground butterfly wings. Butterfly wings, while fragile, held slight medicinal effects that could soothe volatile energies.
   The neutralizer ensured their properties wouldn't dissipate during the refining process. She allowed the mixture to simmer slowly, stirring at calculated intervals. Once the color shifted to a delicate blue, she knew the solution was ready.
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2. Next was Solution B, which involved spiritual beast meat, a potent and volatile ingredient.
   She threw small chunks of the meat into the cauldron with a mixture of the green neutralizer and herbs that could stabilize the overwhelming energy it held.
   As the heat activated the meat's essence, the surface of the liquid bubbled vigorously, threatening to explode. Rinne quickly adjusted the temperature, maintaining a fine balance, until the mixture darkened to a deep amber.
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3. Moving on to Solution C, Rinne worked with the blood of a specific creatures, one known for its regenerative properties.
   She handled this process with care, knowing that blood was trickier to refine.
   Mixing it with the neutralizer and a hint of dragonfly wing dust, she observed the swirling red liquid. It thickened into a syrupy consistency after several hours, forming a deep crimson solution.
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4. Solution D was a blend of worms and moss.
   They were seemingly innocuous ingredients but ones that carried hidden medicinal strength when refined properly. She crushed the worms and mixed them with the green neutralizer and moss, heating them in the cauldron until the liquid turned murky.
   It took considerable effort to keep the balance just right—if the moss overpowered the worms, the entire solution would be useless. But after precise adjustments, a soft green solution emerged.
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5. The creation of Solution E was simpler.
   It was using only common plants with healing properties, mixed in with a few drops of Solution A to enhance its effects.
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6. Similarly, Solution F and Solution G each used a blend of insect-derived materials and plant essences. These required repeated heating and cooling cycles to draw out the right medicinal components.
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7. Finally, Rinne created Solution H, which was the most complex of all.
   It required a small amount of spiritual beast blood mixed with rare herbs and a few drops from her previous solutions.
   The process took hours, with Rinne meticulously adjusting the temperature and observing every minute change in color and consistency. At last, the liquid turned into a vibrant gold, shimmering under the soft glow of the cauldron fire.
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After a full day of intense work, Rinne stood back and examined her progress. Before her, eight bamboo bottles sat neatly on the ground, each containing one of the Solutions A to H she had painstakingly refined.

"Not bad for someone without spiritual energy. But the real test begins tomorrow."

With the day’s work done, Rinne allowed herself a brief moment of satisfaction. She had managed to refine the solutions necessary for the process ahead, overcoming challenges that even seasoned alchemists would hesitate to attempt without the right spiritual abilities.

And then, the fourth day.

After a night of rest, Rinne woke early, prepared to face the most daunting part of her endeavor: refining the Verdant Meridian Pill. She sat cross-legged before her stone cauldron, mentally preparing herself for what was to come.

'Even a real alchemist would sweat refining this pill. But I don’t have the luxury of spiritual energy right now. I’ll have to rely on these crude methods,'

She spread out her tools and materials on the ground.

In front of her were the substitution materials she had collected over the first two days—common ingredients that she was using in place of the rare, expensive herbs in the original recipe. The solutions she had created the previous day—Solutions A to H, stood ready, their contents glowing faintly in the dim light of the morning.

While an experienced alchemist could refine everything in a single cauldron, Rinne had to separate each step, breaking down the process into multiple stages to ensure nothing went wrong.

In addition, the recipe she was using required substitution materials, and this increased the complexity. Each ingredient needed to be separately refined into a solution to mimic the medicinal properties of the original materials, with the small use of Solution A to H facilitating this intricate process.

After hours of effort, she had successfully produced five key solutions, each representing one of the vital ingredients of the original recipe:

1. Thousand-Year Green Lotus Solution.
   The first material she worked on was the solution for the Thousand-Year Green Lotus. Rinne placed all 15 stalks of finely ground Hundred-Year Spirit Grass into the cauldron, accompanied by Solution A, designed to stabilize the medicinal essence. She carefully adjusted the flame beneath the cauldron, raising the heat just enough for the grass to break down.
   As the liquid started to bubble, she added small drops of Solution B to enhance the healing properties, her eyes sharp on the changing hue of the mixture. Hours passed, but finally, the liquid turned a vibrant green, indicating a successful refinement. Rinne sighed with relief, scooping the liquid into a bamboo bottle.
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2. Jade-Leaf Vine Solution.
   Next, Rinne worked on the solution for Jade-Leaf Vine, using a mixture of finely sliced Ironback Creeper and Solution C. She stirred the mixture carefully, watching as the liquid began to bubble vigorously. Rinne adjusted the flame, her hand hovering over the cauldron, ready to intervene.
   When the liquid reached critical temperature, she added drops of Solution D to reduce the volatility. The liquid slowly settled, turning into a deep green hue. Rinne scooped the mixture into another bottle.
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3. Emerald Heart Ginseng Solution.
   The solution for Emerald Heart Ginseng was next, 105 finely sliced Mountain Moot Ginseng mixed with Solution E.
   Rinne sat back, watching the ginseng dissolve slowly. After what felt like hours, the liquid turned into a thick green solution, and Rinne scooped it into another bottle.
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4. Verdant Soul Sap Solution.
   For the Verdant Soul Sap solution, she used 250 drops of Wood Essence Resin.
   The liquid was thick and sticky, so Rinne added Solution G to help thin the liquid. She monitored the liquid closely, stirring it slowly as the heat gradually melted it down. Then she added Solution H, which helped stabilize the energy within the liquid. After several long hours, the originally thick liquid finally broke down into a smooth green liquid.
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5. Evergreen Pearl Mushroom Solution.
   The final was for the Evergreen Pearl Mushroom solution, using 48 Mossy Cap Fungus, Solution A and Solution C. 
   Within a few hours, the mushroom essence turned into a rich green solution. Rinne scooped it into another bottle and let out a sigh of relief.
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With the five key solutions ready, Rinne set about preparing for the actual refinement of the Verdant Meridian Pill.

The process was long and laborious. Unlike a true alchemist who could control the entire refinement through spiritual energy, Rinne had to rely on careful timing and manual adjustments.

"This is the part where most alchemists would start showing off. I don’t have that luxury,"

One by one, she added the five solutions into the cauldron.

As they mixed, she carefully monitored the temperature, pressing the stirring symbol in the cauldron at precise intervals to prevent the mixture from separating. Once they completely mixed, she added small doses of Solution A to H, each designed to maintain balance and enhance the medicinal properties of the final pill.

The cauldron bubbled and frothed, the mixture thickening and turning a deep shade of green. Rinne’s eyes never left the cauldron, her hands steady as she adjusted the temperature and added ingredients at just the right moments.

"Come on, just a little more…"

As time went by, her intense focus was unbroken, even as the outside world turned to night. With a day that was three times longer than the modern world, time felt prolonged and tiring.

Finally, the mixture was ready for the last stage: Pill Condensation.

Rinne gently tapped the symbols carved into the stone cauldron, her fingers moving deftly over the surface. The medicinal paste inside thickened and started to form into small, round shapes.

"Careful, careful…"

She murmured, her attention fully on the pills taking form.

As time passed, the paste solidified further, until the first pill emerged, glowing faintly green. One by one, the cauldron ejected more pills, each of them similar in size and shape. After what felt like an eternity, Rinne held her breath as she caught the final pill.

15 mid-grade Verdant Meridian Pills.

Rinne was a little disappointed as she saw the green pills in her hand.

"They’re not even high-grade... For all that effort, the result is barely passable. Still, it’s better than nothing."

These pills, though acceptable given the circumstances, were far below the standards she had grown accustomed to from her vast alchemy knowledge.

Worse yet, she could sense traces of harmful substances within the pills—an unavoidable result of using such an unusual array of ingredients, many of which weren’t meant for consumption. 

'I need to expel these impurities later with a Marrow Washing Pill.'

She thought as she carefully sealed the pills into the green bottle, which was used to store the Healing Pill from the second trial completion reward.

Exhausted, but somewhat satisfied, Rinne leaned back and let out a long sigh. The day had come to an end, and she had successfully refined the Verdant Meridian Pill using her own unconventional methods.