There was nothing unusual in the preliminary stages. The key lay in condensing and forming the pills. Time was limited, and no one could control ten cauldrons at once.1

“Master Mao, can we possibly produce 5,000 pills from fewer than 20,000 herbs?” Sang Yan inquired, her face etched with worry. Theoretically, if one could maintain a perfect success rate, there would be a 90% likelihood of producing 5,000 pills.1

However, even Master Mao could only guarantee an 80% success rate, leading to a daily occurrence of failed pills. Typically, each cauldron would yield between ten to fifteen pills, with the quality left to chance. In the most favorable circumstances, fifteen high-quality pills would be produced. But in less ideal situations, only ten high-quality pills would be made, with the remainder being of inferior quality.0

In the worst-case scenarios, half of the fifteen pills would be spoiled and would have to be thrown away. As a result, the Treasure Pill Pavilion discarded a vast number of pills each year.0

Elder Wen was attempting to put Liu Wuxie in a difficult position by misrepresenting the value of the herbs, leaving even Master Mao uninformed. These herbs were priced at 20,000 spirit stones, assuming a 100% success rate, a feat that was realistically unattainable.0

The...0