Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 267 The Path of Mentorship

The Way of Master

"Therefore, after comparison, we divided the pills into three grades. The lowest grade is the Human Profound Pill. This type of pill has a large amount of residual poison and its effect is generally mediocre. It is usually made by low-level alchemists."

The main consumer groups are mercenaries, hunters, and commoners. The intermediate-level pill is the Earth Profound Pill. This type of pill has less residual poison and better effects. It can generally only be refined by intermediate or advanced alchemists. The main consumer groups are cultivators of profound arts above the Earth rank, wealthy merchants and gentry, and large clans and families.

There is also a pseudo-Heavenly Profound Pill. This pill is very similar to the Heavenly Profound Pill, but still contains a small amount of pill toxins, though not noticeable. Its effects are also much better than the Earthly Profound Pill. This type of pill is refined by grandmaster-level alchemists in the Alchemist Association. However, grandmasters capable of refining this pill are extremely rare. There are no more than ten such alchemists in the entire Heavenly Profound Continent.

"Is the Heavenly Profound Pill really that difficult to refine?"

Mo Yuming had a big question mark in his mind.

"The inability to remove the poison from pills has limited the development of alchemists and made the cultivation path of Xuan Gong practitioners on the Tianxuan Continent incredibly arduous. If someone could refine the Tianxuan Pill, they would be a savior for Xuan Gong practitioners on the Tianxuan Continent. Because with the assistance of the Tianxuan Pill, the advancement of Xuan Gong levels would be much smoother. Especially the advancement from the peak of the Earth Rank to the Heaven Rank, and the advancement of the Heaven Rank itself, are extremely difficult. Facts have proved that those cultivators who are fortunate enough to obtain the Tianxuan Pill can easily overcome such bottlenecks. It's just a pity that the Tianxuan Pill can only be found occasionally in the Domain Tomb."

The more impossible something is, the more it piques Mo Yuming's interest. Now that he has unintentionally obtained the Medicine King Cauldron, his desire to refine the Heavenly Profound Pill is growing stronger.

"When we old folks were chatting in the Valley of Heartbreak, we actually had another theory about the Tianxuan Continent. Although it wasn't proven, all sorts of signs indicated that there was an invisible suppression on the Tianxuan Continent, especially after advancing to the Heavenly Rank, this feeling became more and more obvious. It's just that none of us could find the reason for it."

Among us, Dugu Xian is undoubtedly the most talented. It only took him forty years to advance from the Heavenly Rank to the fourth level, more than thirty years to advance from the fourth level to the fifth level, and more than fifty years to advance from the fifth level to the sixth level.

Li Mubai's situation was similar. It took him about ten years to advance from the early stage of the Heavenly Rank to the fourth level, and about forty years to advance from the fourth level to the fifth level.

"Starting from the fourth level of the Heavenly Rank, the invisible pressure I felt on the path to advancement became increasingly apparent. I now have the same feeling they have," Ji Xianlin said.

"Ke Xinlan's father has advanced to the eighth level of the Heavenly Rank, and he said that the strength of the Heavenly Rank will greatly improve after reaching the eighth level." Mo Yuming thought of that terrifying person.

"He was an accident, and his improvement is closely related to the Warcraft Overlord. His kind of improvement cannot be replicated. However, Dugu Xian, Li Mubai, and I all believe that there must be a high-level pill in the Heavenly Profound Pill that can help break free from that invisible shackle. It's just that no one in our Heavenly Profound Continent can refine it, and no one knows about it."

"Does the Feather Emperor Palace possess such a pill? Or does it have the formula for such a pill?" Mo Yuming naturally thought of the super power, the Feather Emperor Palace.

"Perhaps there is a formula for such a pill, but whether such a pill exists or not, even if it does, it is probably an extremely rare and precious thing."

"Actually, it's not just alchemists who have this flaw; weapon refiners aren't much better. Take the Soul Sword you refined, for example. Even the top weapon refiners on the Tianxuan Continent would have a hard time refining it. Those high-ranking grandmaster-level weapon refiners can at most refine a high-grade magic crystal cannon. As for spiritual treasures and similar weapons, very few people can refine them. Sacred treasures and divine artifacts are even more out of the question; they wouldn't even dare to dream of them."

Currently, the vast majority of spiritual treasures and sacred treasures on the Tianxuan Continent are either inherited from ancestors or obtained from domain tombs or ancient ruins.

"Now that you mention it, there's some truth to it. But even so, shouldn't those great families and the Feather Emperor Palace, which have been passed down for thousands of years, know some inside story? Shouldn't they have some understanding of this phenomenon? But it seems no one has mentioned it." Mo Yuming had collected a large amount of meteorite iron, waiting to forge a divine weapon, but Ji Xianlin was now telling him that, let alone divine artifacts, no one had even forged a high-level spiritual weapon. Those on the continent who possessed divine weapons all obtained them through other means.

“There are definitely people who know what’s going on, but this information is all controlled by the higher-ups of those great families. They won’t disclose it to the outside world. Just like our Ji family, which is also a great family with a long history, even I, as the former successor of the clan chief, was not told about some of the clan’s traditions before I took office. There are also some forbidden areas that I cannot enter,” Ji Xianlin said.

"It seems there are still many unsolved mysteries in this world! Some things can only be discussed and acted upon after all the grandfathers return. I really hope they can come back soon!"

"The five-year agreement will soon be reached, and I estimate that many will return early, just like me. At least a few were originally within the territory of the Long Kingdom. This internal strife will definitely prompt them to return ahead of schedule."

"Alas, just as you said, Xiao Xiao just sent me a message saying that an old woman led more than a dozen family descendants into the Great Xia Empire at the border between Xijing and Liangzhou. Later, when they were registering at the Liangzhou garrison, they met Lord Shun, who was stationed there, and learned that she was the Si family's grandmother. Now, Commander Jiang is sending people to escort them to Shangyuan City."

"Old Lady Si is indeed a Da Chi person, and her home seems to be in Tokyo. It's very likely that the war has already broken out in her hometown, so in order to escape the war, she moved her whole family to Da Xia. After all, the reputation of the Da Xia Empire has already spread throughout the Long Kingdom!"

"Grandma Si Rongnong's family has more than a dozen members, so let's arrange for them to live in the Shangyuan New District. I'll send a message to Su Yangyan right now and have him make the arrangements. There are a few villas there that have just been built and haven't been sold yet," Mo Yuming said excitedly.

"From now on, all families who move to Daxia will be resettled in the Shangyuan New District, which will make things easier."

"Master Ji, let's go to the Alchemist Association in Jingzhou City and see if we can get anything out of them."

“Very well, the Alchemist Association of Jingzhou City is quite reputable, after all, Jingzhou City is one of the few cities famous for its medicinal herb trade,” Ji Xianlin readily agreed.

After unexpectedly acquiring many precious medicinal herbs, Mo Yuming was eager to visit the Alchemist Association to see just how valuable these herbs were and what kind of pills they could be refined into.

After leaving the city lord's mansion, the two arrived at the Alchemist Association located in the center of Jingzhou City.

They were greeted by a young girl who immediately recognized Mo Yuming and quickly led him to the VIP room.

"Young master, did you come to the Alchemist Association to sell spirit fruits, or do you have any other needs?" the young woman asked respectfully after serving them spirit tea.

"You know me?" Mo Yuming found it strange that the girl asked him this.

"Hehe, I saw you in the hall a month ago when you were selling the Ultimate Maple Leaf Fruit, so I know you."

"Oh, is that so? I have some questions I'd like to ask that alchemist Yu from last time. I wonder if he's available?"

"Okay, I'll contact him for you right away, but Master Yu is quite busy, so I don't know if he'll be able to spare the time."

After the maid left, Mo Yuming and Elder Ji drank tea in the main hall while watching the crowds coming and going. Although most of the pills contained poison, many people were still buying them, especially healing and detoxifying pills. Most of the buyers of these cheap pills were hunters and mercenaries who frequently went out hunting, as well as some less capable explorers.

These people frequently encounter accidental injuries, and using elixirs for healing and detoxification is the quickest and cheapest method. It's much cheaper than consulting a pharmacist or shaman. As for the aftereffects of erysipelas, they have no choice but to endure the pain and let it slowly dissipate. If it cannot be completely eliminated, they can only leave the erysipelas remaining in their bodies and accept it.

"I apologize for being late, young master! I just finished refining a batch of pills. I've kept you waiting!"

Master Yu hurriedly walked out of the inner gate of the Alchemist Association.

"It's nothing. I just happened to be passing by. My grandfather heard that I know a master alchemist, so he asked me to accompany him to pay him a visit!"

Ji Xianlin exchanged a few polite words, which immediately put the alchemist in a good mood. The alchemist returned the greeting with a smile and invited them to visit his alchemy room.

Master Yu held a high position within the association. He possessed a private alchemy room, a large space containing a six-foot-tall square cauldron in the center. Beneath the cauldron, a fire-gathering array was in operation, with two twelve- or thirteen-year-old alchemy students using their profound skills to activate it, continuously gathering fire elemental energy. Fiery red energy erupted from the center of the array, directly scorching the alchemy furnace.

Dan Tong already possesses the strength of the seventh or eighth level of the Human Rank. To reach the seventh or eighth level of the Human Rank at such a young age is already quite remarkable; he is at least a genius among the best.

The cauldron glowed slightly red from the spiritual fire. The alchemy process was over, but Master Yu continued to have the two apprentice alchemists warm the cauldron, aiming to maintain a constant temperature so that it wouldn't need to be reheated for the next alchemy session. This would save a lot of time. The two apprentices took turns operating the fire-gathering array, which served as a good opportunity to hone their profound cultivation. They could balance work and practice.

After exchanging a few polite words, Mo Yuming got straight to the point:

"Master Yu, does the association have Heavenly Profound Pills that can help Earth-rank cultivators advance to Heaven-rank?"

"The key to breaking through the bottleneck and advancing to the Heaven Rank in the Earth Rank is the Transformation of the Star. Whether the Transformation of the Star is perfected directly affects the advancement. Therefore, there are several kinds of pills that can help cultivators advance from the Earth Rank to the Heaven Rank. Although the effects of each pill are different, they are all the same and can greatly help cultivators break through the bottleneck."

These pills are the Qi-Strengthening Pill to enhance spiritual power, the Spirit-Nourishing Pill to stabilize the mind and spirit, and the Meridian-Protecting Pill to repair the body's meridians.

When breaking through from Earth Rank to Heaven Rank, one will encounter the following situations:

One type is where the cultivator's foundation is weak, and their spiritual energy is insufficient to sustain the breakthrough, leading to exhaustion midway. For such cultivators, the main solution is to prepare several Qi-stabilizing pills before the breakthrough to replenish their spiritual energy in time.

Another reason is that some cultivators have weak willpower and are prone to being unable to concentrate. Therefore, when preparing to advance, they need to take the Mind-Nourishing Pill to stabilize their mind.

Another type is cultivators who have good talent and advance quickly, but lack rigorous training, have poor external martial arts physique, and are relatively fragile in terms of meridians and body. Such people are prone to ruptured meridians and damage to their bodies when advancing, so they need to use elixirs to strengthen their body's meridians and protect their meridians.

The association possesses all these types of pills. The association sells the common Earth Profound Pills, while the better ones, approaching the Pseudo-Heavenly Pill, are only available in small quantities at the association headquarters. However, if you desire Heaven Profound Pills, you will likely be disappointed. Even the chief alchemist at headquarters cannot refine such pills. Even if a few were obtained through other channels, they would remain with the association and not be sold.”

Master Yu Dan told Mo Yuming everything in one go.

"Why can alchemists on our Tianxuan Continent only refine pseudo-Tianxuan pills at most? Is there some limitation, or is it because the quality of the medicinal materials is not up to standard? I heard that the Feather Emperor Palace has top-notch alchemists. Does the Feather Emperor Palace have Tianxuan alchemists?"

Master Yu Dan glanced at Mo Yuming with a serious expression and replied:

"Even the alchemists of the Feather Emperor Palace are no match. The main reason for refining the Heavenly Profound Pill is not the level of cultivation. Although the quality of the medicinal materials has a certain impact on the alchemy, as long as you carefully select them and grasp each step carefully, the chance of success will be much higher. With the same medicinal materials, the pills refined by a Grandmaster will be at least Earth Profound level pills."

However, other alchemists might only be able to refine pills at the level of the Human Profound Pill. This is mainly due to the alchemist's understanding of the medicinal properties of the herbs and their control over the heat during refining. The difference between pills refined with top-grade spiritual herbs and those refined with ordinary herbs lies only in their efficacy; pills refined with superior herbs are several times, even hundreds of times, more potent than those refined with ordinary herbs. However, they still cannot eliminate the possibility of pill toxicity.

I believe the quality of a finished elixir primarily depends on the refining technique and the control of heat during the extraction of medicinal herbs. Even master-level alchemists, whose profound cultivation isn't exceptionally high, are able to refine pseudo-Heavenly Profound-grade elixirs mainly due to their refining techniques. Without exception, all master-level alchemists have a good teacher, inheriting many secret methods unknown to outsiders.

This is also the biggest obstacle to the stagnation of alchemy techniques in the Tianxuan Continent, where alchemy factions are numerous and the art remains unchanged. Each faction operates independently, with little communication.

I believe that as long as everyone sets aside their sectarian biases and exchanges techniques more, the refining of Heavenly Profound Pills may be limited by certain conditions, but apart from that, refining high-grade Earthly Profound Pills and pseudo-Heavenly Profound Pills will not be a problem.