Chapter 78 - 70: Junior Ji, You Wouldn’t Want...

Chapter 78: Chapter 70: Junior Ji, You Wouldn’t Want...

"I never used to understand why some people get addicted to raising flowers and plants, but now I finally get it. Watching the flora gradually brim with life under your own care truly gives you a great sense of accomplishment."

Inside the cave dwelling, Lu Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead as he gazed at the Cyan Cloud Apricot Tree in front of him with immense satisfaction.

[Cyan Cloud Apricot Tree (100 Years)]

[Grade: Excellent (Upper Limit: 800 Years)]

[Effect: Can gather Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power and purify the surrounding environment]

The Cyan Cloud Apricot Tree, which originally only had a "Good" grade, had directly advanced to the "Excellent" tier after Lu Chen targeted its cultivation using the Lotus Mark. This not only made the tree’s appearance look more harmonious and full of natural beauty, but it also increased the Spiritual Power concentration within Lu Chen’s cave dwelling by about ten percent, yielding immediate effects. As a result, the Experience Points he gained from a single day of daily Cultivation in his cave dwelling leaped to an astonishing eighty points.

Moreover, as the age of the Cyan Cloud Apricot Tree increased, the Spiritual Power concentration in his cave dwelling would rise even further, providing long-lasting benefits.

Although Lu Chen really wanted to further improve the tree’s grade, it was no longer something he could accomplish through simple Spiritual Power grooming. Instead, he would need to use some rather precious Heavenly and Earthly Treasures. Naturally, Lu Chen couldn’t produce such Heavenly and Earthly Treasures at the moment, so the "Excellent" grade was already his absolute limit.

"However, with this experience, I have a deeper understanding of the Lotus Mark’s Effect. So, neither the position nor the color of the Lotus Mark is immutable; they both change according to the subject’s condition. Furthermore, the smaller and lighter the Lotus Mark is, the smaller the weakness in that area.

"As expected, treating the Lotus Mark purely as a combat tool would severely underestimate the value of this Pupil Skill. Its utility outside of battle is by no means inferior to its use in combat!

"With this successful experiment, perhaps I can try collecting more precious Heavenly and Earthly Treasures to cultivate them myself in the future. After all, besides a Heavenly and Earthly Treasure’s age, its Quality is equally crucial. Using high-Quality Heavenly and Earthly Treasures in Alchemy will not only yield Elixirs with much better Effects, but the success rate will also be significantly higher."

At this thought, Lu Chen suddenly remembered the trial given to him by his master, Spirit Fire Taoist. The condition was that once he possessed the ability to independently refine Foundation Establishment Stage Elixirs, he would be promoted to a True Disciple. Lu Chen didn’t find it surprising that Spirit Fire Taoist had proposed such a trial. After all, Danyang Peak placed the utmost importance on a Cultivator’s Alchemy abilities. If a True Disciple couldn’t display sufficient Talent in Alchemy, even if their Cultivation aptitude was decent, they wouldn’t be able to convince the masses.

While Lu Chen wasn’t in a hurry to become a True Disciple, he was extremely interested in refining Foundation Establishment Stage Elixirs. Among the three Foundation Establishment Stage Pill Formulas that Spirit Fire Taoist had given him, one Elixir was absolutely priceless to Lu Chen.

[Pill Formula: Nourishing Essence Pill]

[Refinement Requirements: Basic Alchemy Skill reaches Great Success; Cultivation reaches the Foundation Establishment Stage or possesses Abnormal Fire Divine Techniques]

[Effect: Depending on the Elixir’s Quality, grants a minimum of 500 Experience Points. Maximum of one pill can be consumed daily.]

Consuming a single Nourishing Essence Pill would grant a minimum of 500 Experience Points. For Lu Chen, who needed massive amounts of Experience Points, this was undoubtedly one of the most urgently needed Elixirs right now. Moreover, the requirements for refining the Nourishing Essence Pill weren’t too harsh. Although he hadn’t yet reached the Foundation Establishment Stage in his Cultivation, he had mastered the Purple Mist Divine Fire, an Abnormal Fire Divine Technique, fulfilling part of the conditions to refine the Nourishing Essence Pill.

Therefore, the only obstacle preventing Lu Chen from refining the Nourishing Essence Pill was the Level of his Basic Alchemy Skill.

"It seems I’d better focus on Alchemy for the time being to raise the Level of my Basic Alchemy Skill as quickly as possible. As long as I can independently refine the Nourishing Essence Pill, my speed in acquiring Experience Points will skyrocket. Furthermore, while leveling up my Alchemy Skill, I can conveniently complete Sect quests to earn Contribution Points, preparing myself to exchange for new Divine Techniques in the future..."

[Sect Quest: Refine 100 Qi Gathering Pills (Repeatable)]

[Time Limit: Half a year]

[Quest Reward: 100 Sect Contribution Points, 500 Experience Points]

[Current Number of Qi Gathering Pills: 35/100]

With Lu Chen’s current success rate in refining Qi Gathering Pills, if he handled the Alchemy personally, he could stably yield between twenty and thirty Qi Gathering Pills per in-game day. It would only take three in-game days to complete the Sect quest and exchange it for a decent amount of rewards. However, if he chose to idle refine Elixirs, his Alchemy efficiency would plummet drastically. He would only get around ten Qi Gathering Pills a day.

Based on the quest rewards, a single Qi Gathering Pill roughly equated to five Experience Points. It wasn’t even as much as what he gained from idle Cultivation. Besides, if he only focused on Alchemy and not Cultivation, it would be hard to explain to others why his Cultivation progressed at such a rapid pace.

Because of this, Lu Chen hadn’t chosen to idle refine Elixirs recently, focusing instead on his daily Cultivation.

"Even though I can use Experience Points to directly upgrade my Alchemy Skill Level, it’s better to save as many Experience Points as possible. For now, I’ll head to the main hall to refine more Elixirs, and then gradually spend my Experience Points on my Alchemy Skill. This way, I can raise my Basic Alchemy Skill’s Level without appearing too abrupt; it’s the most secure approach...

"But constantly using the main hall’s Alchemy Furnace isn’t a long-term solution. I’ll go see Master later and see if the old man can reward me with a Pill Furnace. After all, relying solely on my own saved Contribution Points, I really won’t be able to afford an Alchemy Furnace worth thousands anytime soon..."

Although it was a bit shameless, Lu Chen had made up his mind to squeeze another wave of Gold Coins out of his master, Spirit Fire Taoist!

At the exact same time Lu Chen got up to head toward the main hall of Danyang Peak, Ji Chang was cornered in his own cave dwelling by two True Disciples from other peaks.

"Senior Brothers, what is the meaning of this?"

A Sword Cultivator wearing the Disciple’s Attire of a Sword Concealment Peak True Disciple stepped forward. He stared at Ji Chang with hostile eyes and said, "Junior Ji, after the joint efforts of the male disciples across the various peaks recently, we’ve discovered that it was exactly after you and a certain junior brother from Danyang Peak visited Spirit Fire Junior Martial Uncle that the Sect Leader promoted the Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique throughout the entire Sect.

"As long as you tell us exactly who that Danyang Peak junior brother is, not only will we let you go right now, but we’ll also give you some special rewards as compensation. We guarantee you’ll be satisfied. But if you want to remain stubborn and resist to the end, then I’m sorry... Junior Xue!"

"Understood!"

Ten Thousand Talisman Peak’s True Inheritance, Xue Youqing, who stood beside Sword Concealment Peak’s True Inheritance, Yi Hanqing, nodded. He then pulled an envelope from his Storage Pouch.

Looking at this exceptionally familiar envelope, Ji Chang seemed to suddenly recall something. His pupils instantly shrank, his face turned deathly pale, and he began to sweat profusely.

Xue Youqing opened the envelope, cast a teasing glance at Ji Chang, and then began to read aloud. "To Junior Sister Li Garden of Ten Thousand Talisman Peak. It has been over a month since we parted at the Main Peak Elder’s sermon. Lately, whenever I, Ji, recall the scene of discussing the Dao with you under the moonlight, my thoughts inevitably flutter, leaving me in no mood for Alchemy. Perhaps this is..."

"Stop, stop reading!" Ji Chang roared, clapping his hands over his ears. He fell to his knees through gritted teeth, his eyes hollow and his face ashen.

He thought, "Brother Xue, you really deserve to die! Where on earth did you get the love letter I sent to Junior Sister Li? If you spread the contents of this love letter throughout the Sect, wouldn’t my reputation within the Sect be completely ruined?!"

Looking at the utterly defeated Ji Chang, Yi Hanqing smugly snatched the envelope from Xue Youqing’s hand, squatted down, and looked at him. He asked in a deep, magnetic voice, "So, Junior Ji? You probably don’t want the contents of this letter... to be known by all the Sect’s disciples, right?"

He thought, "Damn it!!!"

Listening to those whispers that sounded straight out of the Demon Dao, Ji Chang was instantly caught in a fierce internal struggle. On one side was his promise to his junior brother, and on the other was his reputation within the Sect.

He thought, "This really is... an obvious choice at first glance!"

He raised his head, looked resolutely at Yi Hanqing and Xue Youqing, and said with unwavering resolve, "You two Senior Brothers might as well give up! I will absolutely never betray Junior Lu!"

"Huh?!"