Chapter 461 - 433: Refining the Upper Element Pill

Chapter 461: Chapter 433: Refining the Upper Element Pill

Li Yuan purchased two more batches of deep-sea Spiritual Materials from Zhou He, then headed north, retracing his steps.

By the time he returned to Mist Forest Marketplace, it was the evening of the third day.

The Marketplace hadn’t changed much. Business at Yuanming Studio was growing steadily. Ji Wenchuan had followed his arrangements from before he left, handling daily restocking, inspections, and bookkeeping; everything was in perfect order. A few more shops had opened in the new district, and the foot traffic on the streets was a bit heavier than it had been half a month ago.

"Weapon Pavilion has released two batches of exploration-type Magical Artifacts, all specifically designed for the terrain at Skeleton Ridge," Ji Wenchuan said, opening the account book in his hands. "Sales of Antitoxic Pills, Breaking Charms, and reconnaissance-type Spirit Talismans are triple what they were last month."

Li Yuan nodded without asking any further questions.

The situation at Skeleton Ridge was only going to get more heated. The Abyss Sect’s formation-breaking team had arrived, the Evil Slaying Sect’s undercover agents were pulling back but wouldn’t disappear, and on the righteous path’s side, there was still that Golden Core Cultivator of unknown origin monitoring things in secret. The eyes of all the major powers were fixed on that Tier Three Top Grade Restriction.

Breaking this Tier Three Restriction would cause a massive disturbance, so no one dared to act rashly.

Of course, they probably all knew of each other’s existence and were just turning a blind eye.

Just then, a Market Steward suddenly arrived.

"Pavilion Master, someone is here requesting a pill refinement."

"What pill?"

"An Upper Element Pill." The Market Steward handed over a formal request card.

"The client’s surname is Sun, Mid-stage Foundation Establishment. He says it’s for his grandson to achieve Foundation Establishment, and he has prepared all the main ingredients. He’s been staying at an inn in the north of the city for three days, waiting for the Pavilion Master to return."

The Upper Element Pill was a type of Foundation Establishment Pill. For most Pill Refiners, it had a significant failure rate and was quite costly.

But with Li Yuan’s current Tier Three Alchemy, enhanced by a series of permanent entries like "Pill Principle Comprehension" and "Pill Fire Condensation," refining this kind of pill was no longer a difficult task.

"Send him in."

An hour later, Ji Wenchuan led an elderly-looking Cultivator into the stone house.

The elderly Cultivator surnamed Sun looked to be at least over two hundred years old. A Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation at his age wasn’t considered particularly high, but his aura was steady, and his bearing showed he was a man who had seen the world.

"Pavilion Master Li." The old Cultivator Sun clasped his hands in a salute, his tone sincere. "I am Sun Pingyuan. I heard the Pavilion Master is an expert in the way of Alchemy and have come to make a special request. My grandson is twenty-seven this year. He reached Qi Refining Perfection three years ago and has built a solid foundation. All he lacks is the boost from an Upper Element Pill."

"Did you bring the ingredients?"

"I did." Sun Pingyuan took a sealed Spirit Wood box from his storage bag, opened it with both hands, and laid out the ingredients inside one by one on the stone table.

Three stalks of Foggy Grass.

Two Earth Spirit Fruits.

One Jade Marrow Mushroom.

Li Yuan’s gaze swept over the ingredients on the table, and he nodded slightly.

When his gaze fell upon the two Earth Spirit Fruits, Li Yuan paused for a moment.

His entry perception had triggered within a three-foot range.

The signal was coming from the Earth Spirit Fruit on the left.

’It won’t affect the refinement.’

’I have a spare Earth Spirit Fruit in my storage bag that I bought earlier. I can just swap out this one with the entry.’

"The quality of the ingredients is quite good." Li Yuan retracted his gaze and looked at Sun Pingyuan. "After the successful refinement of the Upper Element Pills... how many do you need, Fellow Daoist Sun?"

"I’ve already spent all my savings accumulating the main ingredients. One will be enough," Sun Pingyuan said, rubbing his hands together.

Li Yuan nodded. Since he was providing all the main ingredients, taking only one pill meant there was no additional alchemy fee.

After sending Sun Pingyuan off, Li Yuan closed the stone door.

He first took out a spare Earth Spirit Fruit from his storage bag, placing it on the right side of the table next to the ordinary one Sun Pingyuan had provided. Then, he picked up the Earth Spirit Fruit with the entry on the left.

A panel popped up.

[Equipped: Earth Spirit Fruit (Intact)]

[Equip Entry Preview: Earth Spirit’s Breath (White) — Increases condensation of Earth Element Spiritual Power by 10%.]

[Permanence Condition: Reach Great Success in an Earth Element Cultivation Technique.]

’A white entry. The condition for permanence is reaching Great Success in an Earth Element Cultivation Technique.’

’My Heavy Earth True Skill is at Tier Two Perfection, far beyond Great Success. The condition has long been met.’

[Earth Spirit’s Breath (White) has become a permanent entry.]

A phantom image of the Earth Spirit Fruit flashed in the equipment slot before vanishing, turning into a white speck of light that merged into his body.

The condensation of his Earth Element Spiritual Power increased by ten percent. Combined with his existing Earth Element entries like "Heavy Earth Amplification," his control over Earth Element Spiritual Power deepened once more.

He set up the Pill Furnace.

He had long since memorized the formula for the Upper Element Pill.

Foggy Grass as the base, Earth Spirit Fruit as the catalyst, and Jade Marrow Mushroom as the harmonizer. The order in which these three main ingredients were added and the control of the heat were a great test for any ordinary Pill Refiner—the spirituality of the Foggy Grass was extremely volatile. Adding it too early would result in an insufficient concentration of the medicinal liquid, while adding it too late would cause it to conflict with the properties of the Earth Spirit Fruit.

But in Li Yuan’s hands, these difficulties were practically nonexistent.

"Pill Fire Condensation" allowed for an absurdly precise level of temperature control within the furnace. "Pill Principle Comprehension" gave him an intuitive grasp of medicinal property changes. And his "Alchemy Insights" made every step of the refinement process feel natural and smooth.

The ingredients were added to the Pill Furnace in sequence.

Two hours later, the lid of the Pill Furnace was lifted.

Four round, amber-colored pills lay quietly at the bottom of the furnace. Their pill patterns were clear, and their medicinal fragrance was rich.

’Success.’

Four Upper Element Pills, all of middle-to-top quality. One of them had the densest pill patterns and the most potent medicinal power; it was the Top Grade pill of this batch.

Li Yuan picked up the Top Grade Upper Element Pill, and the moment his fingertip touched it, his entry perception triggered.

’But I’ve already made the Upper Element Pill’s entry permanent. Equipping it again won’t stack the effect.’

He set this Top Grade Upper Element Pill aside.

Li Yuan put the remaining three pills into his storage bag.

The next day, Sun Pingyuan arrived on time to collect the pill.

Li Yuan handed over the pill. After inspecting its quality, Sun Pingyuan was overjoyed and left, thanking him profusely.

The stone house fell silent once again.

Li Yuan sat at the stone table, contemplating the three Upper Element Pills in his storage bag.

’Upper Element Pills are a type of Foundation Establishment Pill; they’ll always sell in the Loose Cultivator market. But selling them individually would be too much of a waste.’

’I could hold an auction.’

’Mist Forest Marketplace is now large enough to support a medium-sized auction. The number of Loose Cultivators keeps growing, and their spending power isn’t weak.’

’But three Upper Element Pills alone aren’t enough to carry an auction. I’ll need a few more items of significant value to serve as headliners.’

Li Yuan rummaged through his storage bag.

’I’m not short on items. I have more than enough to put together an auction list.’

’I’ll arrange the specific preparations later.’

Li Yuan put away his storage bag and turned his attention back to his Cultivation.

The two miniaturized Spirit Veins he had refined on the periphery of his Dantian awakened simultaneously.

They weren’t vast and majestic like external Spirit Veins, but more like two internal water veins flowing close to his body, slowly breathing in and out Spiritual Qi along secondary meridians before being drawn into the main meridians for refinement.

Li Yuan sat cross-legged in the stone house, circulating the Cold Stream Skill.

The Tier One Top Grade Water Element Cultivation Technique began to circulate, driven by his Golden Core Stage Spiritual Power. The Water Spiritual Power in his meridians cycled like the tides. The two Spirit Veins inside his body continuously supplied Spiritual Qi, and the "Water Vein Insight" permanent entry made its absorption precise and efficient.

This method didn’t require him to seek out external spirit vein nodes or deploy his grotto-heaven space. As long as his portable grotto-heaven remained equipped, these two refined Spirit Veins were essentially always attached to him, ready for use at any time.

Three days and nights passed, and Li Yuan had not moved an inch from his seated position in the stone house.

In the lulls of his cultivation, Li Yuan split off a Divine Sense Line to circulate the Profound Nether Killing Skill.

The blue permanent entry "Dark Demon Concealment" increased his Demonic Qi capacity and power by thirty percent each, and with the Profound Nether Killing Skill at Great Success, the efficiency of his Demonic Qi circulation was extremely high.

Under the enhancement of his "Demon Essence Incarnation," the Spiritual Qi in Li Yuan’s body was continuously converted into Demonic Qi.

The patterns of faint light on the surface of the Middle Grade Demon Qi Golden Core in his Dantian deepened another layer after three days of continuous tempering. The lines of the patterns grew closer together, their color becoming deeper and darker.

He was getting closer and closer to the threshold of the Mid-stage Golden Core.