It wasn't a proper crucible, after all, so there was no telling what the results would be.
Fortunately, they were fine.
Three Mana Points per second, lasting ten seconds.
According to the appraisal, that was only two points less per tick than the crucible-brewed version.
Not as good as the original, but for people with low mana pools, it was still a godsend.
And most importantly, the soup pot produced volume.
One soup pot plus one tin bucket yielded 400 test tubes per batch. Add the crucible's 200, and a single batch came to 600.
That meant 1,200 per day.
And if she counted the 1,000 potions produced by the hundred enamel mugs? That was 2,200.
Terrifying!
Just thinking about it was terrifying!
Eyeing her fleet of pots and mugs, Lan Qingyou clicked her tongue in secret.
Lan Qingyou: "Got any spare test tubes?"
Shang Chuan: "Some, but they're all used — secondhand. I'm washing them now."
See? See!
Now that was professionalism.
Lan Qingyou: "How many?"
Shang Chuan: "1,530 total. 1,120 cleaned, 410 still unwashed."
Lan Qingyou: "Send me the clean ones first."
Shang Chuan: "Prices have gone up. A few merchants are driving them higher."
Lan Qingyou: "I'll pay one extra base unit per tube."
With that, Lan Qingyou checked the current price, added one extra unit to each, and threw in a few Apprentice-Level Mana Potions as a bonus for the washing effort.
This was work she would have had to do herself; now that someone else was handling it, she wouldn't be stingy.
Shang Chuan: "Done."
Test tubes in hand, Lan Qingyou began processing the freshly brewed potions.
The mana potions were easy enough — just filter and bottle. Even with different potency grades it was fine, as long as she filtered the higher-quality batch first to avoid cross-contamination.
But processing the enamel-mug potions nearly drove her mad.
To prevent contamination, every time she switched to a different potion, every tool that had touched the previous one — the filter, the wine dispenser, the funnel, the cheesecloth, the slotted spoon — had to be scrubbed clean.
Starting at five in the afternoon, Lan Qingyou didn't finish bottling the enamel mugs' contents until well after dark.
"Crude Strength Potion (E-)"
"Effect: Increases Strength by 2 for 60 minutes."
"Description: A potion that's neither a success nor a failure — the kind that makes you want to critique it but leaves you unsure where to even begin."
"Crude Agility Potion (E-)"
"Effect: Increases Agility by 2 for 60 minutes."
"Crude Stamina Potion (E-)"
"Effect: Increases Stamina by 2 for 60 minutes."
"Crude Spirit Potion (E-)"
"Effect: Increases Spirit by 2 for 60 minutes."
"Of course. If it isn't brewed in a proper crucible, the appraisal is going to dock points no matter how perfect the process is."
Looking at the results on the Small Screen, Lan Qingyou sighed.
Then she placed another test tube onto the screen — this one filled with a pale yellow liquid.
"Crude Sluggishness Potion (E-)"
"Effect: Reduces the target's Agility by 1 for 10 seconds upon impact."
"Description: A potion that's neither a success nor a failure — the kind that makes you want to critique it but leaves you unsure where to even begin."
So the effect was two points weaker than what the potioneering texts described.
Essentially a "better than nothing" product — but Lan Qingyou didn't mind.
The enamel mugs had always been intended for practice.
Any potion or magical brew she hadn't made before would get a trial run in one of these cups first, so she could get the feel for it before scaling up to the crucible.
That's right.
This was Lan Qingyou's secret weapon — combat potions.
Even though she was already doing her best to avoid being found or followed, she still had zero combat ability.
The Sluggishness Potion changed everything.
If she ever encountered an enemy, she could chuck a volley at them, then use her aerial mobility to escape far more easily.
And if she combined it with the Moonbright Stone Dagger's +30 Strength bonus, a counterattack wasn't out of the question.
Her earlier plan of brewing two batches a day, though, was probably dead on arrival.
One batch was exhausting enough. Two would leave no time for studying — she'd just collapse into bed the moment she was done.
With three pots now producing 600 potions per batch, there was no need to push that hard.
She'd been forcibly transported to another world — running a 24/7 grind wasn't exactly sustainable. Better to take it easy.
With that thought, Lan Qingyou took the test tube of Agility Potion she'd just appraised, the remaining unbottled Agility Potion from its enamel mug, and the Crude Sluggishness Potion, and poured all of them out at the base of a tree outside — destroying them on the spot.
After all, for the foreseeable future, the Sluggishness Potion was her lifeline.
Even though the Agility Potion only added a single point, it wasn't entirely harmless to her — if someone used it against her, it would slightly counter the Sluggishness Potion's effect.
Only by ensuring the Agility Potion never reached the market could Lan Qingyou feel truly safe.
As for the rest of the potions — everything except the +50 mana Apprentice-Level version went up for sale.
Attribute potions were listed at a 1:10 ratio, and the +30 mana potions at 1:30.
The +50 mana potions were reserved entirely for trades.
Plenty of people had been out gathering all day, and she still needed to acquire blueprints.
In the end, Lan Qingyou netted ninety kilograms of herbs, a bookcase blueprint, and a distiller blueprint, after which she closed the herb-for-potions trade listing.
Ninety kilograms of assorted herbs was more than enough — completely, utterly enough.
At a daily consumption of six kilograms, she had supplies for a full half-month.
"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! This time she's selling the +30 mana potions!"
"Huh? Not +50?"
"She must have seen our discussion yesterday. +50 was way too much for people with low Spirit like us. +30 is perfect — that's exactly what I can use."
"For real. My Spirit is only 2, but a +30 potion doesn't sting as much to drink."
"As long as you time it right, the mana recovery won't overflow."
"Can't believe she's this considerate. I'm literally crying."
"You guys are only talking about mana potions? Did nobody notice the attribute potions?"
"Plus one stat point? What's there to discuss."
"Probably just her practice runs, like the old +10 mana potions. Notice she's not even selling those anymore."
"She's putting even these up for sale? Is she that desperate for materials?"
"Not really — they're weak, sure, but usable. Especially for someone with low Spirit like me."
"All I'll say is they're cheap. Ten base units. Even someone with 1 Spirit can pop a Spirit Potion and cast Gathering Skill to harvest 20 base units of materials. Instant return on investment."
"Calculator Bro is back, but this time I'm with you. I'm buying one just to taste what magic feels like. I've been forcibly isekai'd — if I don't at least try magic, what's the point?"
"Hahaha, good point. It's just ten units. I'm buying a Strength Potion too — that'll put me at 10 Strength."
"What the hell! Peak human! What did you used to do for a living?"
"Butcher. Also took out a few people on the side."
"...Sorry. My mistake for asking."
Pfft!
Lan Qingyou couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Sure, District 666 was Villain Valley, but the people here were genuinely entertaining. Their banter was top-tier.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Just then, Lan Qingyou's friends list lit up.