Chapter 181: Chapter 180: You Want to Practice Alchemy? (Asking for Subscriptions)
He thought that with a middle-grade trait, there would be no more low-grade pills.
Unexpectedly, there was still a ten percent chance?
Fortunately, it was only ten percent. Even if refining ten batches of pills, there might not be a single low-grade one.
Moreover, the probability of producing high-grade or above had increased from ten percent to twenty percent.
Don’t underestimate this mere ten percent increase; it actually doubles the chance.
With a Level 3 Pill Formation Trait, the success rate of pill formation was sixty percent. Even if they were all middle-grade Qi Blood Pills, worth only 30,000 yuan, this was already quite good.
But if a high-grade pill appeared, it would be worth 20,000 yuan. If two high-grade pills appeared, they would be worth more than 10,000 yuan each, and that’s not even considering the middle-grade Qi Blood Pills that would form.
"If I’m not mistaken, reaching the Great Success Realm should result in middle-upper grade pills, right?"
A look of anticipation appeared in Chen Fan’s heart.
He added some experience points.
This time, he needed 2000 experience points!
He glanced at his over 6500 experience points. If he added these 2000 points, he would only have about 3000 left.
"I wonder if these 3000 points will be enough,"
Chen Fan found the situation both amusing and frustrating. Both the Thirteen Grand Protectors’ Cross Training and the Soul-Annihilating Finger were lacking only the final realm, and he originally thought 7500 experience points would be more than enough.
Who would have known that alchemy would turn out to be such an experience-consuming skill?
If it still wasn’t enough, he would have to allocate these 3000 experience points to the other two skills.
He added the remaining 1999 points.
A segment of memory flashed in his mind. Though the information was scant, it was still enlightening like a sudden revelation.
[Qi Blood Pill Alchemy: Great Success (0%), Trait: Pill Formation Level 4, Middle-Upper Grade]
[Middle-Upper Grade: Refined pills have a sixty percent chance of being middle-grade, a thirty percent chance of being high-grade, and a ten percent chance of being top-grade.]
Seeing this, Chen Fan let out a long breath.
At last, no more low-grade pills.
And the chance of high-grade pills had also increased from twenty percent to thirty percent.
If you count the ten percent chance for top-grade pills, the actual probability is forty percent.
Don’t underestimate this mere ten percent: even a single top-grade pill could equal the combined value of all the other pills in that batch.
"In this case, refining an elixir in the future will always yield at least one top-grade Qi Blood Pill, though the number is very rare and insufficient to supply as merchandise."
Chen Fan looked at the Pill Formation Trait,
If it advanced one more level, it would be a one hundred percent success rate for pill formation.
Moreover, the middle-upper grade trait would become high-grade!
He took a deep breath.
Will 3000 experience points be enough?
Unless there were unexpected circumstances, it should be, but what if it wasn’t?
Feeling optimistic, he added one more point.
He immediately felt a sense of relief.
Not a bit more or less, it exactly increased his skill level by one three-thousandth, which was enough.
He added the remaining experience points.
A flash of insight struck his mind.
An unprecedented feeling surged in his heart.
[Qi Blood Pill Alchemy: Perfection (not upgradeable), Trait: Pill Formation Level 5, High Grade]
"High Grade!"
Chen Fan’s breathing quickened.
[High Grade: Refined pills have a sixty percent chance of being high-grade, a thirty percent chance of being top-grade, and a ten percent chance of being middle-grade.]
Seeing the trait description, Chen Fan was delighted and speechless.
A thirty percent chance for top-grade pills, nearly a one-third probability, was already very good.
Besides, there was a sixty percent chance for high-grade pills.
As for the ten percent chance for middle-grade pills, it wasn’t a big deal; even if they appeared, it didn’t really matter.
Because top-grade and high-grade pills are very valuable.
Even if there was a ten percent chance that no pills formed, it wouldn’t matter.
Chen Fan calmed down.
Could it be that the high-grade trait also has room for improvement?
He felt it was very likely.
There might even be an ultimate trait that could produce a high probability of top-grade pills and a very low chance of high-grade ones.
The question is, how should the upper limit of this alchemy skill be improved?
Chen Fan frowned slightly.
Generally, martial arts evolve from basic martial arts.
But for alchemy, he had never heard of basic alchemy.
"Forget it, I’ll ask others when the time comes."
Anyway, he couldn’t hide the fact that he would be refining pills soon, and there was nothing to conceal.
He opened his phone, entered the guild mall again, and found the section for medicinal herbs. After a quick search, he had a clear idea.
Generally, just counting the cost of herbs, refining a batch of Qi Blood Pills costs about 20,000 yuan.
A low-grade Qi Blood Pill has a market price of 1,000 yuan, meaning that even if all the pills in a batch were low-grade, it would still be a loss.
For each batch of pills, there must be at least four middle-grade ones to break even.
And to achieve this, an alchemy skill must be at least at the Small Success level or Entering the Hall level.
This shows that learning alchemy is a costly endeavor for the average person!
But conversely, if one reaches the Entering the Hall level, or even the Great Success Realm, one can almost make money lying down.
Just refining one batch would cover the costs, and at most, one would only need to stoop to pick up money.
If one reaches the Perfection Realm, ten pills, if all calculated as high-grade, would be worth 200,000 yuan, a tenfold profit!
If lucky enough to produce a top-grade Qi Blood Pill, the profit could instantly increase fivefold. To be honest, a thirty percent chance is quite substantial.
Chen Fan glanced at his remaining contribution points, which were close to 2 million. Buying resources at 20,000 yuan per batch without any discounts, he could buy 200 batches.
Successfully, he could produce 2,000 high-grade Qi Blood Pills!
Even though he was currently a Two-Star Member and could get a 20% discount, buying 2,000 high-grade Qi Blood Pills would still cost 3.2 million contribution points!
But his own refining cost how much?
200,000 contribution points.
A sixteenfold difference!
"Indeed, doing it yourself is the best way to ensure plenty."
Chen Fan nodded in satisfaction.
He decided that in the future, not just Qi Blood Pills, but also True Qi Pills, he would buy the pill formulas and herbs himself and refine them.
The significant contribution points saved could be used to purchase cultivation technique weapons.
Before buying, however, he made a phone call.
"Hello?"
Sun Wei’s voice came from the phone, "Is this Brother Chen?"
He sounded apprehensive.
Because of the previous incident, the group chat was in an uproar.
Chen Fan certainly must have seen it, and that’s why he was calling him.
Being wronged was one thing, but Chen Fan was skilled and was therefore suspected.
He felt very uneasy about it.
"It’s me, President."
Chen Fan smiled and said, "I have a question for you."
"Ah?"
Sun Wei was momentarily stunned and then said, "Go on."
"President, does our branch have an alchemy furnace?"
Chen Fan asked.
If not, he would need to buy these pieces of equipment, which would cost tens of thousands of contribution points.
"You mean the alchemy room? Yes, we have one."
Sun Wei responded without thinking, then suddenly realized something and asked in surprise, "Brother Chen, are you planning on refining pills?"
"Yes, President."
Chen Fan laughed, "I just bought the Qi Blood Pill Alchemy technique and thought it didn’t look too difficult. So I plan to give it a try. It seems more economical to refine them myself than to buy them from the guild."
"It’s definitely more economical."
Sun Wei hesitated for a moment and then said, "But that’s only if you can successfully refine them. To be honest, a few years ago, when our branch had more members, someone tried refining Qi Blood Pills. The money was spent like water, and finally, even when a batch of Qi Blood Pills were successfully refined, it turned out to be less cost-effective than buying directly from the guild."
His words obviously contained a warning.
This was one of the better outcomes.
Though that person incurred losses, his talent was recognized by the headquarters, and he was brought there for training.
It’s said that over the years, he has been able to refine high-grade Qi Blood Pills, with the headquarters getting nearly half of their supply from him.
Many others who attempted to refine Qi Blood Pills were lost to obscurity.
Eventually, they obediently went to hunt Fierce Beasts for contribution points.
"It’s okay, President. I just want to give it a try. A batch of herbs only costs 20,000 contribution points. Even if I fail, it’s not that big a deal."
Chen Fan said.
"That’s true."
Sun Wei nodded.
Two mere thousand yuan was nothing for Chen Fan, who hunted a high-level Fierce Beast like it was child’s play.
"Alright, Brother Chen, you can use the alchemy room anytime you want. We don’t have many members, and no one else refines pills, so there won’t be any competition."
"Thank you, President."
Chen Fan said gratefully.
It had to be said, the guild provided substantial resource support.
Not to mention the alchemy room, just having so many herbs available was already difficult.
"By the way, Brother Chen..." Sun Wei hesitated.
"What’s up?"
Chen Fan asked curiously, "Is there something you want to tell me?"
"Yes, it’s about the group chat."
Sun Wei finally decided, "Don’t take what they said to heart; they don’t know the situation and act based on their own assumptions."
"Ah?"
Chen Fan was puzzled.
"What group chat, and what did they say?"
"?"
Sun Wei was momentarily dazed, then suddenly realized that Chen Fan might not have seen the group chat?
"It’s nothing, nothing."
He hastily brushed it off with a laugh, "Brother Chen, it’s great that you want to refine pills. Alchemists are very profitable and can gain recognition from the headquarters, potentially leading to entry into a major city like Jiangnan."
"I see."
Chen Fan smiled, "I’ll do my best."
"Yes, do your best, Brother Chen. I have high hopes for you."
After hanging up the phone, Sun Wei breathed a sigh of relief, then showed a helpless smile.
Well, he had been thinking about how to bring it up with Chen Fan.
It turned out that Chen Fan hadn’t even been paying attention to the group chat.
That was good; he could use the time spent on the chat to do something productive.
Nonetheless, Chen Fan’s sudden interest in alchemy surprised him.
"I wonder, can Brother Chen successfully refine pills? It’s a pity I don’t understand alchemy, or I could help him."
Then a thought struck him.
Oh,
he might not understand alchemy, but he could seek advice from Zhuo Jun?
Back when Zhuo Jun was around, they had a good relationship, and Sun Wei had helped him a lot with contribution points for buying herbs, applying for headquarters subsidies, and even out of his own pocket.
They kept in touch over the years.
If he swallowed his pride and asked for a bit of guidance, it shouldn’t be too hard, right?