The black medicinal liquid in the pot bubbled as it emitted steam, gradually becoming lighter and lesser with Lin Xiaoguai’s constant stirring until it finally cleared completely, revealing the dregs of the used medicinal ingredients at the bottom of the pot.
She exhaled, turned off the heat, and took out a filtering cloth while demonstrating, "The next step is the final one. We need to filter out the dregs from these medicinal liquids before they cool and solidify into an ointment, and then transfer it into the containers we need."
She secured the filtering cloth over the mouth of the pot and then poured the medicinal liquid into the wooden square boxes she had prepared beforehand. By the time she finished pouring the liquid, the first box of ointment had already completed cooling and solidifying.
"I’ve said everything that needed to be said before. If any of you still harbor a glimmer of hope, I don’t mind if you follow my process and try it out to see if you can succeed," she said, her heart greatly relieved.
In fact, despite her confident explanations earlier, she had essentially been bluffing.
It wasn’t that she was lying—her nose could indeed accurately identify the quality of medicinal ingredients. However, when it came to making medicines, she didn’t need to be concerned about so much because she operated entirely on spiritual power.
Although one couldn’t possess powers beyond those of their designated plane, spiritual power was an exception. In the Alien Civilization, every occupation relied on spiritual power; it played an indispensable role across all industries.
Of course, that’s not to say spiritual power had no offensive capabilities, but that was a very rare talent. She remembered what 001 had mentioned once; it seemed to be related to differences in spiritual origin. Typically, individuals who could cultivate spiritual power into an offensive form were notably sharp and aggressive in personality—some even suffered from psychological distortions akin to mental illnesses. In the Alien Civilization, almost everyone had spiritual power, but those who could use it as a means of attack were truly one in a million.
Clearly, Lin Xiaoguai did not possess that kind of talent. Of course, even if she did, she probably wouldn’t be able to cultivate it as long as she remained on Earth.
However, she wasn’t completely without merit. According to 001, her spiritual origin was also exceptionally excellent, with expansiveness and resilience a hundred times that of an ordinary person, making her the most suitable candidate to become a master of the Life Professions.
Her talent was a major reason why she was able to have the Life Profession System recognize her as its master.
Spiritual power indeed brought her many conveniences: while gardening, she could untangle plant roots without any damage, control the moisture content in the soil over a small area, and accelerate the plants’ absorption; when making jewelry, spiritual power compensated for her lack of physical strength as a woman, allowing her to handle carving, cutting, and inlay work with ease; during cooking, it helped her control the ingredients and the heat precisely, without any mistakes; and with sewing and embroidery, it alleviated fatigue in her eyes and wrists, letting her control her stitches more accurately, making her more efficient than any embroidery lady.
But if truth be told, spiritual power was of the greatest help when making medicines. On a normal day, she didn’t need any tools to make medicines—just with spiritual power alone she could take care of everything. Extraction, fusion, what was a complex process in the hands of other pharmacists needed only these two steps with her. Of course, it couldn’t be denied that this method of using spiritual power alone to make medicines greatly tested her control over it, but it also provided her with substantial training.
Only she knew how challenging it was for someone like her, who was accustomed to using spiritual power for everything, to follow standard procedures as she had today, testing her reflexes. Even if the use of spiritual power left no traces, the pressure in her heart was immense.
Although success was unlikely, people like Li Chengxue planned to give it a try regardless; otherwise, they would not be able to accept defeat.
Lin Xiaoguai didn’t mind, gesturing for them to proceed and then standing beside Shen Chi.
"That was great," Shen Chi whispered to Lin Xiaoguai, leaning close to her ear in admiration.
This was the first time he had seen Wanwan make medicine. As the saying goes, a man who is serious is most handsome, and likewise, a serious woman is most beautiful. Although he had seen her serious side before, no matter how many times he witnessed it, her dazzling presence unfailingly captured his attention right away.
His voice was low and lingering, causing Lin Xiaoguai’s ears to abruptly turn red, with a light pink rising to her cheeks. She stealthily glanced at the pharmacists to see they were all completely focused on their medicine making and then breathed a sigh of relief.
Two hours later, the four pharmacists looked dejectedly at their own pots, containing a black liquid nothing like the clear medicinal liquid Lin Xiaoguai had; their spirits sank.