Chapter 749: Nongqian's First Pill Refinement

The matters of the Heavenly Heart Sect are none of Chen Chuyang's concern; for now he can't handle them either. He only needs to focus on cultivation and manage his Longshe Mountain well. As for the rest, someone will deal with the Heavenly Heart Sect.

At critical moments, Chen Chuyang will take action. The Yin Gui Sect, Spirit Sword Sect, and the Great Qi Dynasty all hate the Heavenly Heart Sect intensely; they will surely spare no effort to deal with it. If they can, they will kill everyone outside the Heavenly Heart Sect.

Yin Gui Zhenren is no easy opponent. In this trip to the Qihuang Treasury, he gained a lot. At a critical moment he found Chen Chuyang to help him, and he captured the souls of many dead Strong Ones. He is likely hiding in the Yin Gui Sect, awaiting advancement; when he reaches the True Realm, that will be his day of revenge.

The White Deer King watches covetously, ready to strike at any moment. The Heavenly Heart Sect is now a fat piece of meat that everyone wants to bite.

For a thousand years, countless people have been suppressed by the Heavenly Heart Sect, and they have grown sick of it.

Having left the spirit vein core, Chen Chuyang returned to the spring's entrance. The expanded entrance is five times larger than before, covered by formations, mist enveloping everything, the rich spiritual energy making one feel refreshed; a single breath feels like soaring.

At this concentration of spiritual energy, Chen Chuyang swallowed it all in one gulp; all the spiritual energy and mist entered his body, becoming part of that golden core, nourishing his physique.

Not far away, the blood dragon fruit tree is half a meter tall, sprouting and growing higher. With the area's rich spiritual energy and sufficient spring water pipes, the changes on Longshe Mountain cause the blood dragon fruit tree to grow rapidly; in just a few days it goes from a tiny sprout to a full tree, though it hasn't borne fruit yet, that's fine.

It shouldn't take more than a few years to bear fruit; when it does, this blood dragon fruit tree will provide a solid foundation for the Chen clan's development, and Chen Chuyang eagerly awaits the moment the fruit ripens.

Then we can graft more blood dragon fruit trees. The spiritual fruit trees on Longshe Mountain are few, mostly low-grade; to advance, they need long growth, not to be rushed.

Letting the fruit trees grow freely, Chen Chuyang gave them a pat and nodded in satisfaction.

Standing on the mountain, he looked down.

With a view that makes all other mountains seem small, the mist-covered foothills are filled with countless swaying fruit trees, their branches laden with fruit.

The air is rich with a fresh fragrance; gazing at the transformed Longshe Mountain, Chen Chuyang's heart swells with pride.

"The spiritual energy concentration on Longshe Mountain is still rising, with no limit; once the spirit vein core fully merges, these concentrations will stabilize."

"The cultivation speed here will increase three- to tenfold, depending on the person and their talent."

Each person's cultivation speed differs, determined by their talent.

Chen Chuyang could feel his own changes; his body trembled with delight.

Every cell is drinking in the rich heavenly and earthly spiritual energy, his whole body relaxing, unlike before when he dared not overindulge in spiritual energy.

With one breath, heavenly and earthly spiritual energy enters his body—just that one breath absorbs one-fifth of the ambient spiritual energy.

Chen Chuyang let out a satisfied burp; with so much spiritual energy entering his stomach, he felt completely content.

"Hoo hoo hoo."

"With the rising spiritual energy concentration, my cultivation speed will increase as well; my bodily thirst is finally gone, and I no longer need to fear insufficient spiritual energy to absorb."

"The consumption of spirit stones will also drop greatly—by at least thirty percent under current conditions."

Chen Chuyang's pressure has lessened greatly; although he no longer worries about spirit stones, saving even a little helps, and his vast holdings need to be accumulated.

Many people on Longshe Mountain need support, the Chen clan's numbers are rapidly increasing, and Chen Chuyang's pressure is high; fortunately, after cooperating with Qi Ruohua, resources have multiplied many times over.

The resources obtained by the Chen clan have risen swiftly, enough to distribute.

After simply drying the water marks on his body, Chen Chuyang descended the mountain; Shang Hongxue leapt onto him again and clung to his person.

Nongqian followed behind, shy and bashful; even after seeing this scene many times, she remained embarrassed, turning her back to them.

Her eyes stayed shut, unwilling to open; after waiting a while, she finally opened them.

Shang Hongxue slid down from Chen Chuyang's body, chuckling: "Brother Chuyang, Nongqian has something to ask you."

Having said that, she pulled Nongqian to stand before Chen Chuyang.

Zhang Nongqian lifted her head, gritting her teeth: "Master, disciple..."

The words reached her lips, but she grew afraid.

Her body trembled, her expression panicked; she dared not meet Chen Chuyang's gaze.

Chen Chuyang smiled: "Do you want to try refining pills?"

Nongqian's pupils widened, then she nodded repeatedly, her head bobbing up and down.

Her thoughts were laid bare; indeed, before her master she had no secrets.

Shang Hongxue couldn't bear to watch, and quickly said: "Brother Chuyang, it's like this: Nongqian is already familiar with every spiritual herb, she's been studying pill formulas herself but hasn't tried yet; she fears failure and danger, so she wants you to supervise her."

"Nongqian's first pill refinement lacks confidence; she needs you."

"As her master, shouldn't you step in?"

One can't always be a hands-off boss, giving Nongqian a copy of the *Spirit Herb Hundred Herbs Classic* and then ignoring her completely.

Nongqian is an honest person; she truly studies on her own and memorizes.

Fortunately her memory is good; she can retain all the knowledge points, having memorized the *Spirit Herb Hundred Herbs Classic* backwards and forwards, and can skillfully apply the effects of every spiritual herb—only the final step, pill refining, remains.

This step she lacks confidence in; she dares not attempt it herself, for if she fails the outcome would be dire.

Likewise, she needs Chen Chuyang to give her some guidance; otherwise this master of hers would be utterly useless.

"Eh?"

Chen Chuyang glanced at Nongqian's cultivation—she was at the fifth layer of Qi Seed, improving rapidly; these days she hasn't been lazy, her talent is decent, and she is very diligent, making her a genius at pill refining.

From the start it's clear that pill refining requires patience, plus sensitivity to spiritual herbs, then flame control, etc.; many of these can be trained later, but some things are innate and cannot be acquired afterwards.

"You really want to refine pills?"

Nongqian nodded seriously: "Master, disciple wants to give it a try."

She bent over, bowed at a ninety-degree angle, her attitude utterly sincere.

Chen Chuyang quickly had her rise; he's free now anyway, the black mountain goat's turtle shell can be set aside for later slow refinement—the goat isn't in a hurry, this disciple has been left idle for a while and should be instructed, lest Third Uncle accuse him of irresponsibility.

"Alright, let's give it a try—start with the simplest Hundred Herbs Pill."

"You don't yet possess pill fire, so you can't directly refine medicinal pills."

"Once you've completed the Hundred Herbs Pill, as your master I will fetch a vein of earth fire for you and set up a pill refining hall; then you can directly refine medicinal pills."

Hearing this, Nongqian bowed excitedly: "Thank you, Master."

Chen Chuyang waved his hand: "This is what a master should do."