r18novel Chapter 81 The Secret Realm Opens, Foundation Establishment Pill Completed
Chapter 81 The Secret Realm Opens, Foundation Establishment Pill Completed
Chapter 81 The Secret Realm Opens, Foundation Establishment Pill Completed (Bonus Chapter 7.5k words, please subscribe)
The third-order divine sense array was forcibly torn open by Lin Fan and the others, and the moment they glimpsed the truth deep within the array, Lin Fan's pupils shrank, a chill ran down his spine, and a monstrous wave surged in his heart—
"If I hadn't cultivated both the physical body and the 'Refining Spirit Technique,' I would surely be dead here today!"
As the main attacker, he suffered the most violent backlash from the formation, the killing intent that was enough to shatter the soul of a True Core cultivator almost drove him to the brink of despair.
Even with all his skills, his dantian was shaking, his sea of consciousness was cracking, and even his protective spiritual light was dim.
Xu Tianyue, the pseudo-core cultivator who followed closely behind, escaped by chance because he was not locked in the core of the formation. Although he was seriously injured, his life was not in danger.
A metallic taste rose in Lin Fan's throat. He suppressed the churning blood and felt a pang of regret. If he had known that Xu Tianyue's betrothal gifts required risking his life, he would have rather broken off relations than accept this hot potato!
He found Xu Tianyue and said, "Fellow Daoist Xu, regarding the promise... I, Lin, have fulfilled it."
The injuries are extremely serious, and I need to immediately go into seclusion to heal.
Since this cave is located within the territory of the Jade Dragon Sect, I will not presume to presume to explore it myself.
Although Xu Tianyue's face was pale, a hint of wild joy flashed in his eyes.
His spiritual sense had weakened considerably, and he failed to perceive the terrifying power lurking deep within the great formation. He assumed Lin Fan was retreating due to exhaustion, and immediately cupped his hands in greeting:
"Sect Leader Lin is truly righteous! This battle has exhausted all our efforts, so the matter of the betrothal gifts is now settled."
If Sect Leader Lin hadn't been injured, I truly wanted to keep him here to explore the cave together and share its resources!
Lin Fan shook his head: "I'm afraid I'm not destined for this."
Furthermore, Lin offered a word of advice: this cave is extremely unfriendly to powerful divine senses. He suggested that when sending people to explore, it is best to keep their divine senses tightly closed, especially if there are Core Formation cultivators among them. If they indiscriminately release their divine senses to investigate, they may encounter misfortune.
Lin Fan offered one last word of advice and then left.
Upon hearing this, Xu Tianyue's brows furrowed sharply, and a shadow of malice flashed in his eyes—
"What is Lin Fan up to? Is he afraid I'll get the opportunity and is deliberately preventing me from entering the formation?"
He was naturally unaware that just moments before, when Lin Fan broke through the great formation, he had used his divine sense to peer inside, but nearly lost his life in the process.
In that instant, a terrifying devouring force erupted from the depths of the great formation, tearing at his soul like a demon, and trying to drag his entire primordial spirit out of his body!
At the critical moment, Lin Fan gritted his teeth and swung his sword to sever a section of his divine consciousness in order to escape.
In that split second between life and death, he vaguely glimpsed—
A stone tortoise statue, as large as a mountain, stands coldly deep within the secret realm, its empty stone eyes seemingly piercing through the void, staring indifferently at him.
Lin Fan was terrified, but he could roughly guess how Qin Chengcheng's soul had been dealt with. It was most likely due to a third-tier soul cultivator hidden in this cave.
And the old tortoise in front of us may not actually be a tortoise in its soul.
Lin Fan felt he couldn't afford to offend them, so he simply ran away.
Xu Tianyue eventually listened to the advice.
After all, a significant portion of the Foundation Establishment cultivators who rushed in during the second wave were killed or wounded.
The lives of the cultivators of the Jade Dragon Sect are precious, so they naturally cannot rush in recklessly.
After thinking it over, he reported it to the sect and then switched the great formation to a semi-open state.
That is, the entrances and exits of the great formation are guarded by cultivators of the Jade Dragon Sect. Outside cultivators can enter to explore, but they must register when entering and exiting and their storage bags will be checked. Of the treasures they find, 80% must be handed over to the Jade Dragon Sect, and the individual can keep 20%.
After many cultivators died in the first wave, the policy lost its luster for a time. Although those cultivators were greedy for money, they were also afraid of death.
Everyone knows that exploring the great formation is certain death, so no one would be foolish enough to go in.
Xu Tianyue had already planned ahead. He first pretended to be generous and adjusted the profit-sharing ratio to 30/70. Then he carefully selected several disciples of the Jade Dragon Sect, including the junior warriors whom Zhao Tieshan had once mentored, and ordered them to enter the battle in public.
The original plan was to secretly slip a few rare treasures into a storage bag when these people went into battle, staging a "surprise gain" to lure those greedy rogue cultivators to come one after another.
But man proposes, God disposes—after Zhao Jingwu stepped into the third-order mist array, he was like a fish in water, leaving the other cultivators behind in the blink of an eye.
He kept his divine sense closed the entire time, relying solely on his strong physique of copper skin and iron bones to force his way through several divine sense killing arrays, and finally reached the edge of a spiritual herb garden.
Finally, he gritted his teeth and took a bolt of lightning, snatching a fruit that shimmered with a moist, spiritual light from the array's restrictions.
When he staggered out of the battle, all that could be seen was that his left cheek was charred black, his right arm was covered in blood, and wisps of smoke were rising from his hair.
But those eyes were frighteningly bright—the three-hundred-year-old pure water-elemental spirit fruit in his palm was the core ingredient for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill!
This one fruit alone is worth more than 1,500 spirit stones!
In the past, such materials were monopolized by large forces such as sects, and even small Foundation Establishment families rarely obtained them.
But at this moment, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Zhao Jingwu so easily obtained such a great benefit.
This immediately ignited emotions!
"A 300-year-old pure water-type spirit fruit of superior quality, priced at two thousand spirit stones!"
Before he finished speaking, he waved his sleeve, and six mid-grade spirit stones landed in front of Zhao Jingwu with a "clang".
"According to sect rules, the reward is 30%!"
The onlookers immediately began to breathe heavily, their eyes blazing with greed—six hundred spirit stones!
This is equivalent to half a year's income for an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator!
Several rogue cultivators at the late stage of Qi Refining even had their Adam's apples bobbing as they stared intently at the spirit stone, their eyes burning with desire and their breathing heavy.
Zhao Tieshan also asked Zhao Jingwu to give a public introduction to the situation inside.
"After entering the secret realm, remember not to release your divine sense indiscriminately, otherwise you will easily trigger the formation's attack. The divine sense attack of this formation has a specific pattern - you will encounter a divine sense attack every thousand feet you advance."
Furthermore, the deeper one goes, the stronger the attack becomes, making it more dangerous than the outer perimeter.
It is recommended that you prepare sufficient protective artifacts for your soul, in case of unforeseen circumstances.
Remember, when exploring in the fog, it's best to rely solely on your visual perception and minimize the use of magical powers, especially your divine sense.
My knowledge of the situation in the secret realm is limited.
Currently, only the outer perimeter of a medicinal garden has been explored, where second-tier spiritual herbs are abundant. Whether third-tier spiritual herbs exist deeper within is still uncertain. The medicinal garden is protected by a powerful lightning-attribute restriction.
I took a hit head-on earlier and only suffered minor injuries, but if you all want to break through the formation, please act according to your abilities.
As for the other areas of the grand formation, and the location of the core cave, I have not yet ventured there; the decision is entirely up to you.
These words were spoken sincerely and honestly, and the eyes of the onlookers gradually lit up with fervent light.
The initial fear of the unknown realm has now been replaced by concrete risks and rewards.
Now that we know the key focus of this third-tier grand formation,
Then naturally, there are corresponding solutions.
Just as everyone hesitated, a second-tier puppeteer suddenly stepped forward, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, and volunteered: "I am willing to enter the formation and explore!"
With a flick of his sleeve, two puppets landed on the ground—a defensive Xuan Turtle puppet with a metallic sheen in its shell, and a spirit-detecting rat puppet with darting, darting eyes.
"Brilliant! Using puppets to scout ahead!" one of the onlookers exclaimed, slapping his thigh in surprise.
This action was like a wake-up call, and several beast tamers were immediately inspired, summoning their contracted spirit beasts.
Suddenly, a flash of spiritual light appeared on the front lines, and six or seven figures, accompanied by various spirit pets, disappeared into the mist.
The crowd outside the formation held their breath in anticipation.
Half a day later, the fog churned, and five figures staggered out—seven people went in, and two were killed.
Among the survivors, three could not hide their joy and were secretly exchanging their spoils with the Jade Dragon Sect steward;
Although the other two looked pained, probably because they had lost their spirit beasts, their expressions gradually relaxed after exchanging their spoils.
As news of the successful exploration of the secret realm spread, the number of cultivators coming to explore increased daily.
As the restrictions on exploring the third-order mist array gradually loosened, Xu Tianyue, a pseudo-core cultivator from the Jade Dragon Sect, profited handsomely during his year-long stay in the outer perimeter.
However, this period of good fortune did not last long. A year later, the Vice Sect Master of the Jade Dragon Sect, a True Man of the early Core Formation stage, personally took charge of the situation, forcing Xu Tianyue to step down to a secondary position and making it difficult for him to gain any further control over the core interests.
Even so, the profits over the year amounted to a staggering twenty to thirty thousand spirit stones.
Through continuous exploration, the general situation of the secret realm has gradually become clear.
The Jade Dragon Sect began dispatching its elite warriors to investigate the great formation.
However, the Misty Realm is vast, and the Jade Dragon Sect alone cannot explore it completely in a short period of time. Therefore, it still allows outside cultivators to participate in the exploration.
The only change is that the profit-sharing ratio has been adjusted from 30/70 to 20/80.
It is only open to cultivators of specific professions such as body cultivators, puppeteers, and beast tamers.
That year, Chen Yi stayed quietly in the market, neither envious nor impatient, and did not venture into the secret realm at the bottom of the lake.
After initial exploration, the Jade Dragon Sect has renamed it a secret realm, suggesting it might be a secluded retreat of an ancient sect from thousands of years ago.
With its pure spiritual energy and abundant resources, this place, apart from being less favorable to magic power and divine sense, is worthy of being called a late-stage third-tier secret realm.
If it weren't for the Jade Dragon Sect's vice sect leader's stubbornness and his attempt to enter once, only to be blasted out and severely injured, he might have even wanted the entire Jade Dragon Sect to go in and explore.
One day, Chen Yi was brewing tea in the courtyard when he suddenly heard a crisp "ee-yah" sound.
Turning my head, I saw a small, exquisitely beautiful child crawling on the bluestone slab using both hands and feet.
The little girl had a round face like a full moon, and her big, dark eyes blinked. When she saw Chen Yi, she grinned with her toothless little mouth.
"Mingyue has gotten fatter again," Chen Yi teased the little girl with a smile.
Old Hu asked Chen Yi to help prepare a tonic soup for mortals to open their meridians, which the little girl ate very well.
The reason she was able to grow so strong in this spiritual environment was partly due to Chen Yi's help in absorbing the spiritual energy residue in her food, and partly because her meridians were naturally unobstructed, allowing her to absorb some spiritual energy.
For ordinary mortals, spiritual energy, a small amount is very beneficial, but over time, they will become too weak to tolerate it, depleting their vital energy and affecting their lifespan.
"Old Hu is lucky. Mingyue is probably a seed of spiritual roots, and her talent is likely not low."
Chen Yi smiled and made his judgment.
Hao Youren nodded repeatedly, his gaze towards the little girl filled with goodwill.
Old Hu laughed heartily: "We ordinary people, all from humble backgrounds, have come this far, all for this kid!"
She was born with an affinity for spiritual energy; she's destined to suffer far less than us!
"Brother Chen, the secret realm at the bottom of the lake has been making headlines lately. Many people have gone in and obtained great opportunities. I heard that a guy at the eighth level of Qi Refining went in twice and collected most of the materials for Foundation Establishment Pills."
You're now at Qi Refining Level 7... huh?
Brother Chen, when did you start practicing Qigong? No way!
This surge of magical power... is he close to reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining?!
After sensing Chen Yi's cultivation level, Hao Youren's voice clearly changed tone.
"Brother Chen, that's not fair of you! Didn't we agree to relax and recuperate instead of working hard at cultivation? How come you've been secretly cultivating and your cultivation level is almost catching up with mine?"
Hao Youren's tone was somewhat sour.
"It was just good luck. Business has been pretty good lately. I made special spiritual food for two big customers, and I reaped quite a bit of benefits. My cultivation has even improved a little."
You are naturally no match for Fellow Daoist Hao.
"Don't worry, my cultivation will slow down later on. Anyway, I have no hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, so what difference does it make whether I reach the seventh, eighth, or ninth level of Qi Refining?"
Chen Yi smiled modestly and explained.
Hearing that Chen Yi's words made sense, Hao Youren breathed a sigh of relief. If Chen Yi, this lazy cook, really surpassed him in cultivation, then all his years of hard work would feel like feeding dogs.
but,
He looked at Chen Yi suspiciously again, still feeling somewhat uneasy.
"Brother Chen, are you really not going to attempt Foundation Establishment? There are quite a few opportunities in that Lake and Sea Secret Realm, why don't you give it a try?"
"My cultivation is shallow, and I have neither puppets to protect me nor spirit beasts to assist me. If I rashly enter the secret realm, I may not be able to protect myself."
In my opinion, exploring this secret realm is not something that can be done overnight. It would be more prudent to wait for predecessors to figure out the situation before seeking out safer places to pursue some small opportunities later.
"Now that I'm running this shop with Lao Hu, the customer traffic is decent and the income is stable. Living a peaceful life like this is not so bad."
Chen Yi shook his head again, his meaning clear: he was not going.
Seeing that Chen Yi truly didn't want to take the risk, Hao Youren stopped trying to persuade him. Chen Yi's cultivation had already reached the ninth level of Qi Refining; in recent years, he had outwardly focused on running his shop and maintaining his network of connections.
Privately, he and his friends had ventured into the bottom of the lake and the forest of demonic beasts many times, gaining much and making rapid progress in their cultivation.
Now that I see the hidden paradise at the bottom of the lake, I'm also eager to go in and explore.
Old Hu gave up his attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage because he had a child, while Chen Yi was too timid to go into the water.
He is not even 35 years old yet, and he has already reached the ninth level of Qi Refining. This is considered extremely talented among rogue cultivators, and many of them want to try to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Alright, then I won't force you, Brother Chen. In a few days, I plan to explore that secret realm with some friends."
Brother Chen, how much Pure Spirit Meat Jerky do you have left? Could you please not sell any this month and reserve twenty catties for me?
Hao Youren finally revealed his purpose: he wanted to buy some dried meat. The dried meat made by Chen Yi was an excellent supplementary food for cultivators on expeditions; it not only replenished physical strength and blood, but also had a small healing effect.
This was made by Chen Yi by combining the properties of demon beast meat with a specific spiritual liquid.
During the refining process, he absorbed all the conflicting elemental energies within, retaining only the pure energy portion and a small amount of healing water and wood elemental energies.
Therefore, it is very popular among explorers.
Chen Yi could earn three times the profit from this dried meat alone.
To avoid being targeted, he controlled the production scale, limiting supply to only twenty per month.
Even so, this one item alone can bring in two hundred spirit stones a month.
Seeing that Hao Youren had made such a request, Chen Yi nodded in agreement.
A month later, Hao Youren brought 600 spirit stones and bought 20 catties of dried meat.
"Fellow Daoist Hao, please keep this wristband. It's a small token of my appreciation for helping me conceal my whereabouts last time."
Chen Yi also privately gifted Hao Youren a leather wristband with a lightning protection array carved by Chen Yi himself, a small gadget Chen Yi was experimenting with.
Based on his previous life's electromagnetic theory, combined with the five elements of spiritual power in the cultivation world, and his current high-level second-tier array formation knowledge, Chen Yi designed a disposable lightning-attracting and lightning-repelling wristband.
It has a good magnetic repelling effect on most second-order lightning strikes.
Of course, this thing is disposable and can only be used once.
Therefore, Chen Yi did not put it out for sale yet, thinking that he would let Hao Youren try it out first.
I also returned the favor from last time.
Three days after Hao Youren bought the things and left...
Chen Yi received a message from Qingfeng City.
【Fellow Daoist Chen, Master is preparing to start refining Foundation Building Pills this month. Please go to Qinglin Pill Pavilion as soon as possible to wait for the start of the process.】
Upon seeing the news, Chen Yi's expression shifted. "They actually started the furnace ahead of schedule?"
He knew that alchemists like Master Qiu, who were close to the third rank, had countless people seeking their pills every day, and that each batch of pills he refined followed a strict order.
He rarely bothered to refine Foundation Establishment Pills, which were relatively low-level second-tier pills for him. He only agreed to refine them because Qin Chengcheng had used her connections to ask him to.
The initial plan was for two or three years, but it's only been a little over a year, and they've already started production ahead of schedule.
There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.
Moreover, it was something Chen Yi was unaware of. If he didn't know about it, it meant he wasn't qualified to know, which wasn't a good thing for Chen Yi.
"It's a pity that Qin Chengcheng has lost her memory and now treats me like a stranger. Otherwise, I would have definitely taken her with me this time when we open the furnace."
"If I'm the only Qi Refining cultivator, I'll be powerless to control the situation if something goes wrong."
But things had come to this point, and Chen Yi had no other choice. At least he had the chance to obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill, a resource that other rogue cultivators would risk their lives for.
That same day, Chen Yi bought a flying boat ticket and headed to Qingfeng Immortal City.
Two days later, the majestic city wall came into view.
The three-tiered phoenix tree supported the sky with a cloud of spiritual mist, and in the hazy glow of the sunset, the procession entering the city resembled a long, winding dragon.
Chen Yi paid 10 spirit stones at the city gate and queued up to register to enter the city.
This time, he went directly to Qinglin Dange, retrieved his invitation certificate at the entrance, and was then led by one of Master Qiu's disciples to a side hall to stay in.
"You wait here. The Pill Pavilion doesn't allow Qi Refining cultivation; it will interfere with Master's alchemy."
I'll call you when it's your turn to start.
The disciple was also a cultivator in the early stage of Foundation Establishment. He left behind only one sentence and an empty futon before departing.
"They won't even allow cultivation? A mere Qi Refining stage cultivator's breathing exercises can interfere with a near-third-tier alchemist's pill refining?"
Chen Yi thought to himself that it was best to listen to others and not cause trouble on their turf.
Chen Yi didn't practice Qi cultivation, but fortunately, he carried a lot of demon beast materials and other array materials in his storage bag.
These are all resources he accumulated over the past year of running his shop, as well as small items he secretly acquired through private exchanges with Zhao Jingwu and other independent cultivators.
Chen Yi set up a protective array in his private room to prevent divine sense from spying on him.
This formation has a single function: if any external entity attempts to probe its divine sense, the formation will crumble like a balloon at the slightest touch.
Even those with third-order divine sense are no exception.
If one senses that the defensive formation has been withdrawn, nothing will happen.
This was also a gadget that Chen Yi developed himself. It was fragile, but it was very effective at preventing counterfeiters from entering.
Sure enough, on the very night Chen Yi set up the formation, a pseudo-Core Formation level divine sense swept over, and then Chen Yi's formation shattered, emitting a beeping warning sound.
Chen Yi was fiddling with array-related objects on the table when he heard this, so he quickly looked up.
The divine sense seemed to realize it was in the wrong and withdrew immediately.
"The near-third-tier divine sense of the Pill Mansion must be that old geezer, Alchemist Qiu. He never shows himself when guests come; he prefers to hide in the back and spy."
Chen Yi's goodwill towards Master Qiu plummeted.
After realizing he had been exposed, Master Qiu, who was in the spiritual vein room of the cave, immediately withdrew his divine sense, his old face slightly flushed, and he cursed inwardly.
He just wanted to see what Chen Yi was doing and whether he had any powerful connections, but he didn't expect to be exposed so easily.
Afterwards, Chen Yi re-established this fragile defensive array against divine sense.
After that, no more divine senses came to probe.
Chen Yi then took out the rare materials one by one and placed them in his palm.
The system's power spreads like a spider web, subtly drawing away the energy and spirituality from the materials.
With each wisp of energy absorbed, the copper bones within his body emitted a subtle hum, and the dark gold patterns on the surface of his bones deepened further.
Five days later, Chen Yi was informed that Master Qiu was preparing to start refining pills and was asked to observe from a corner of the alchemy hall.
In the courtyard, Master Qiu prepared a futon for Chen Yi.
In the adjacent elegant room, a spirit-gathering array was set up, along with rattan chairs and a place to set out fruit platters and pastries.
A young man in brocade robes was swaying back and forth, while an old servant at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage attended to him from the side.
At his feet lay a gray squirrel, its body resembling that of a mink, with a long tail, lively eyes, and a striking silver stripe on its back.
"Xiao Chen."
Before we begin the alchemy process, there are a few things I need to tell you. The materials for this Foundation Establishment Pill are quite precious, and they were provided by you and Young Master Qi together. You provided the majority of the materials, so you both have priority in selecting the pills.
I have already informed Young Master Qi of this.
Are you alright?
Chen Yi shook his head and said no, the materials for the Foundation Establishment Pill were all arranged for him by Qin Chengcheng, and it was Qin Chengcheng who did him a favor by inviting this highly experienced alchemist.
Chen Yi was unaware of the specifics, and since Qin Chengcheng wasn't present, he could only nod in agreement.
It seems he has the right to choose Dan first, so the situation is not bad. Could it be that he is wrong?
"Furthermore, let me make this clear beforehand: high-quality pills are difficult to refine, let alone complex pills like the Foundation Establishment Pill. Even I, an old man, only have a 50% chance of producing a high-quality one. If I fail, please don't blame me."
Chen Yi quickly said he dared not.
"There is one more thing to explain,"
Master Qiu stroked his white beard, his gaze shifting between the two men.
"The main ingredients of this batch of pills have been tempered by the Cold Marrow Spirit Liquid brought by Young Master Qi, so the quality of the pills should be improved by half a grade."
Young Master Qi spent a considerable amount of money on this, therefore the dregs from the alchemy must be collected by him to feed his spirit pets—this matter had already been agreed upon.
Although this statement was made to inform, its tone left no room for doubt.
Chen Yi lowered his head and remained silent, but out of the corner of his eye he saw the young man in brocade robes with a slight upturn at the corner of his mouth, his fingertips idly stroking the silver tail of the spirit rat.
"It will take me about three days to refine the pills. During this time, you may only observe with your naked eyes and are not allowed to use your divine sense to investigate, so as not to interfere with my pill refining."
Chen Yi and that young master Qi nodded in agreement again.
Thus, Master Qiu entered the alchemy room, set up an array to isolate spiritual senses, lit the furnace fire, and began refining elixirs.
Chen Yi sat on the futon, unable to cultivate or consume demon beast meat or mineral materials for cultivation, so he watched Master Qiu refine pills through the array.
He didn't use his Heavenly Eye at first; he simply watched as the alchemist processed dozens of different materials, using various techniques to remove impurities and extract the essence, transforming them into primordial liquid.
This method is somewhat similar to how he uses the system to process the different attributes of spiritual power in demonic beasts individually.
Now that his spiritual awareness has improved, he can control the system to selectively absorb energy of different attributes from the outside world.
This can be considered as progress from automatic to manual, and from passive to active.
Chen Yi observed Master Qiu's alchemy techniques, pondering to himself:
With my current level of mastery over spiritual power, I should be able to achieve something if I were to switch to alchemy.
However, alchemy requires memorizing the properties of hundreds of spiritual materials and mastering the methods of combining various ingredients, which requires a huge amount of time to study.
Right now, I have to study array formations and cultivate my body, so I really don't have the energy to delve into alchemy.
Perhaps it's not too late to make plans after I've achieved success in my cultivation and my lifespan has greatly increased.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
That morning, the fire in the alchemy furnace gradually subsided, and wisps of refreshing alchemical fragrance wafted out from the furnace cracks.
Chen Yi only took a light sniff and immediately felt his mind clear and the magical power in his meridians become more active.
With a slight thought, he quietly activated his [Heavenly Eye] supernatural power.
The array's spiritual light surrounding the alchemy furnace gradually became transparent, revealing the scene inside.
Three embryonic pills, each the size of a pigeon egg, floated in the rising medicinal vapors.
Two of them shimmered with a lustrous blue light, and their spiritual energy fluctuations were almost identical.
The other one, however, had a restrained brilliance, with faint spiritual light flowing between its patterns, and its energy fluctuations far exceeded those of the other two.
Chen Yi's heart skipped a beat; it was either two inferior pills or one superior pill.
It will either be two genuine pills and one premium pill.
If it is the latter, then Master Qiu's title of Grandmaster of Alchemy is indeed well-deserved.
Just as Chen Yi was secretly admiring, Master Qiu suddenly fluttered his sleeves and cast a complex incantation into the alchemy furnace. The spiritual light inside the furnace immediately surged violently like boiling water, and the originally clear medicinal energy suddenly became turbid.
A short while later, fine beads of sweat appeared on the old man's forehead, and he finally made a hand seal to open the furnace.
"boom!"
Three beams of spiritual light burst forth from the cauldron and were steadily guided into the jade plate by Master Qiu's profound magical power.
In the cyan jade plate, three pills spun rapidly.
One of the pills stopped first, emitting black smoke, and then its entire body turned black, emitting an unpleasant burnt smell. Upon closer inspection, the pill patterns on it had actually become only two and a half lines.
Master Qiu showed a regretful and heartbroken expression.
The other two beads spun for a long time before stopping, releasing a rich fragrance and displaying four neatly arranged red patterns.
At this moment, Young Master Qi and the old servant at the peak of Foundation Establishment had already stood up and were standing in the courtyard.
Chen Yi had also stood up, watching nervously.
Master Qiu turned around and showed the jade plate to Chen Yi and the other two through the array, while saying regretfully:
"I haven't refined Foundation Establishment Pills for many years, and my skills are rusty. I only managed to produce two genuine Foundation Establishment Pills and one defective one."
I'm sorry to disappoint you both.
As he spoke, he completely disregarded Chen Yi's reaction, casually using his magic to fling the charred, discarded Foundation Establishment Pill into the mouth of the Spirit Devouring Rat beside Young Master Qi.
The Soul-Devouring Rat leaped into the air, opened its mouth, and swallowed the food. Then it landed back on Young Master Qi's shoulder, revealing a satisfied expression.
Young Master Qi smiled and stroked its fur.
Then, Master Qiu looked at Chen Yi:
"Fellow Daoist Chen, these two genuine Foundation Establishment Pills, one for you and one for Young Master Qi, you can choose first."
Chen Yi stood rooted to the spot like a clay statue, not even his clothes trembling slightly.
Under the illumination of the Heavenly Eye, the spiritual light within the object called the "waste pill" shone like the bright moon in the sky, while the two so-called "genuine" pills in front of me were nothing more than the glow of fireflies.
That so-called "waste pill" was clearly a high-quality pill!
His eyelids drooped slightly, locking all the turmoil in the deepest part of his eyes.
The [Turtle Breathing Technique] within his body was quietly circulated to its maximum, and his heart rate was controlled at the same level as usual.
He contained all his anger and mental fluctuations within his body, not letting a single trace escape.
Even if a Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator were to use their divine sense to investigate at this moment, they would only think that this was a "foolish" Qi Refining junior cultivator.
(End of this chapter)