"Place another bet?"
Upon hearing Mu Jinyu's words, Jian Ruyan's heart violently leaped, and a wave of nervous anticipation washed over her.
Although she believed it was impossible for Mu Jinyu to concoct top-quality pills within half a year, just like she had thought yesterday that it was impossible for him to learn alchemy in a day, what if he succeeded again?
What if such a miracle happened again?
Jian Ruyan, having been fooled once, naturally wouldn't be deceived a second time, and she shook her head, "No, I will not bet anymore."
"Afraid of losing?" Mu Jinyu taunted.
Jian Ruyan pursed her lips, her expression cold, "Say whatever you like, I'm not betting anymore."
Mu Jinyu felt secretly proud inside, "Just with your capabilities, you still want to shake my confidence?
Thinking this way, Mu Jinyu didn't bother to argue with Jian Ruyan anymore and turned to look at Su Zijin. He then handed her the last two Minor Nourishing Yuan Pills, "Mom, you are almost reaching the Half-Step Divine Realm now. Taking these two pills should help you break through to the Divine Realm."
"Okay." Su Zijin nodded, her eyes filled with relief as she looked at Mu Jinyu.
Her talent was quite good, but she was ultimately much older than Gu Xiyan and the rest. Thus, even as Wen Rou had broken through to the Divine Realm early, and Gu Xiyan and Jian Ruyan closely followed, she always fell a bit short, never managing to break through to the Divine Realm herself.
Now, her pace of cultivation was on par with that of Yu Linglong, Lin Qiaoxia, and Xu Qingya, who also started cultivating late.
This was a significant hit to her.
And the fact that Mu Jinyu gave her the Minor Nourishing Yuan Pills before his wives showed that he still had some conscience and hadn't forgotten his mother after getting wives.
This made Su Zijin very relieved.
Of course, if Mu Jinyu could only produce these two Minor Nourishing Yuan Pills, she certainly wouldn't just accept them with a smile, knowing that it was usually the wives that would stay by Mu Jinyu's side in the long run, not herself. She wouldn't selfishly obstruct her daughters-in-law's path to cultivation.
But because Mu Jinyu could still concoct more Minor Nourishing Yuan Pills, Su Zijin didn't hesitate or insist that Yu Linglong and the others should take the pills first.
Mu Jinyu said, "Mom, just take them, and I will act as your protector."
"Well... Okay."
Su Zijin hesitated before nodding.
She had originally planned to take the pills after watching Mu Jinyu successfully concoct more Minor Nourishing Yuan Pills. But since Mu Jinyu had said this, she hesitated and, not wanting to crush his confidence, nodded in agreement.
Then, Su Zijin sat down cross-legged on the ground and swallowed one of the Minor Nourishing Yuan Pills.
Although the pill had been successfully concocted and its appearance was fairly good, it hadn't been tested yet, so in Su Zijin's mind, she felt she was taking a significant risk by being the test subject.
After taking the Minor Nourishing Yuan Pill, Su Zijin instantly felt a powerful medicinal strength coursing through her body.
Seeing this, she dared not let her mind wander and quickly started to circulate the cultivation technique taught by Mu Jinyu, guiding the formidable medicinal strength through her meridians, spreading to her limbs and bones, and striking at her energy channels!
Time slowly passed.
While protecting Su Zijin, Mu Jinyu saw a faint dragon pattern appear on her forehead.
"This must be the Dragon Clan's bloodline of the Su Family, right?"
Mu Jinyu muttered to himself as he watched the scene.
Jian Ruyan also fell into deep thought.
Wondering what exactly this bloodline power represented?
"Boom!"
At that moment, everyone present noticed that Su Zijin's momentum was rapidly rising as she began to assail the Divine Realm. The Heaven and Earth Vitality flowed continuously towards Yinlong Mountain, gathering a vortex of Elemental Qi right above her head.
"It has begun."
Gu Xiyan and several other women were tense with anticipation, hoping to witness their mother-in-law successfully entering the Divine Realm.
However...
Just as Su Zijin's momentum had climbed halfway, it suddenly paused and then began to fall back, showing signs of stabilizing into the Half-Step Divine Realm.
Seeing this, Mu Jinyu knew that the Minor Nourishing Yuan Pill was indeed insufficient for Su Zijin's assault on the Divine Realm; she quickly took the last Minor Nourishing Yuan Pill she had just set aside, walked over, and, opening her mouth, stuffed the elixir inside.
The elixir melted upon entering her mouth.
Immediately, Su Zijin's momentum, which had been receding like a tide, reignited furiously with added vigor, surging wildly once more!
In just a few moments, Su Zijin had broken through the shackles of the Divine Realm, successfully making a breakthrough.
"That's wonderful."
When Gu Xiyan and Wen Rou saw this, they were invigorated, unable to resist clenching their fists and swinging them forcefully.
Time slowly passed, and another dozen minutes went by.
Finally, Su Zijin had completely refined and absorbed the residual power of the Minor Nourishing Yuan Pill, solidifying her status thoroughly within the Divine Realm.
Seeing this, Mu Jinyu muttered, "It seems that even a fine quality elixir, which only retains thirty percent of the medicinal strength, is quite effective, isn't it?"
"Of course," Jian Ruyan replied, "otherwise, why do you think the alchemists who can make Three-Pattern Pills in the Kunlun Ruins are called masters?"
"Don't look down on fine quality elixirs; they only succeed in locking down thirty percent of the spiritual medicine's strength, but actually, this thirty percent is still much stronger than gnawing on raw spiritual medicine."
"Because during the alchemic process, the powers of those spiritual medicines perfectly merge together, amplifying their effects. In contrast, most people who eat raw spiritual medicine cannot refine and absorb its power completely, and most of that power eventually exits the body with the dregs."
"Hmm, I understand; it seems top-quality pills are indeed challenging," nodded Mu Jinyu.
Realizing the effectiveness of fine quality pills, Mu Jinyu understood how difficult it was to add each additional pattern to a pill.
As they conversed, Su Zijin's aura finally stabilized. She suddenly opened her eyes, and then, opening her mouth, let out a long breath.
"Huff..."
This breath was long and steady, shooting out straight as an arrow, solidifying like a band of silk, and only entirely disappearing after a full minute.
"Is this what the Divine Realm feels like?"
Su Zijin stood up, clenched her fists, and savored the marvelous feeling of being a Divine Realm Warrior.
The world appeared clearer in her eyes, and she could also feel that she could manipulate nature's spiritual energy at will.
It was entirely different from before she had stepped into the Divine Realm.
"Mom, how does it feel?" Mu Jinyu asked with a smile.
Su Zijin nodded, "It feels great, really great."
As she spoke, she couldn't help but pat her chest, feeling a sense of after-the-fact fear, like she had survived a great peril, and said, "I didn't die; that's wonderful..."
"???" Mu Jinyu was baffled and said, "Mom, what do you mean by that? Do you think there was something wrong with my pill?"
Su Zijin gave Mu Jinyu a look and said, "Of course! Your pill wasn't tested; who knew if it might have hidden risks? I was taking a huge risk in being your test subject just now."
Mu Jinyu was speechless and said, "Mom, aren't you trusting me too little? How could I possibly give you something problematic?"
Not wanting to hurt Mu Jinyu's feelings, Su Zijin explained, "It's not that I don't trust you, but I don't trust that unfamiliar pill formula. What if there was something wrong with the formula?"
Mu Jinyu rolled his eyes, wanting to say that he was a Divine Doctor, thoroughly knowledgeable about the medicinal properties and combinations, and how could he not know the effects of these spiritual medicines in pill making!
But seeing Su Zijin's expression, he didn't bother to explain further and nodded, "Alright, alright, this time I was careless. Next time, I will do experiments first to ensure there are no issues before letting you take anything."
"Caution is never a mistake," Su Zijin advised.