Chapter 104: Tier-Two Alchemy Grandmaster

The bloodline grades of demonic beasts, from low to high, are divided into:

Impure Grade, Lower Grade, Middle Grade, Upper Grade, Earth Grade, and Heaven Grade.

Qin Ming stepped forward and picked up this rather rare gray beast egg.

Yet the very next moment.

His expression instantly froze.

Because he could clearly sense that the vitality within this beast egg was rapidly dissipating.

Qin Ming hastily circulated the "Ancient Wood Longevity Art" to heal it; as a continuous stream of vitality was infused, the condition of the beast egg began to improve.

But this merely slowed the rate at which its vitality dispersed.

To completely heal this giant crocodile egg.

Clearly still required quite some time.

Qin Ming stored this egg in his spirit beast bag, planning to make arrangements after returning.

He also collected part of the flesh and blood from that giant python, as he could not carry away the rest.

Subsequently.

Qin Ming called the three people outside the cave entrance inside.

When Wu Jiang and the others entered and saw the scene on the ground, they were all profoundly shocked.

Qin Ming had them gather the remaining giant python meat on the ground, considering it their reward.

Wu Jiang and the others were extremely excited, having not expected such an unexpected gain; this Tier-One Late Stage demonic beast meat was a valuable item.

It could fetch quite a few spirit stones in the Chu Tianhe Market.

With matters here concluded.

Qin Ming parted ways with Wu Jiang and the others, returning to Wangyue Island.

He continued to have Wu Jiang monitor and collect other spiritual materials.

As for Qin Ming, he placed that beast egg inside his cave dwelling, circulating his cultivation energy to heal it at regular intervals.

As time passed.

Two months later.

The gray beast egg had already restored its vigorous vitality, and the life signs gestating within it gradually began to stabilize.

But to truly hatch it, it seemed some more time would still be needed.

In the days that followed.

Qin Ming devoted himself to the landscapes and waters.

Every day, he was either tending to his spiritual fields, fishing in the lake, or immersed in bitter cultivation.

With the environment of a Tier-Two Middle Grade spiritual vein.

His innate spiritual plant, the Longevity Vine, was also growing slowly; invisible essence of wood and grass flowed continuously, advancing the cultivation progress of his spiritual body.

All aspects of his cultivation were advancing steadily and in an orderly manner.

Time in the Immortal Realm always passes very quickly.

Time flies.

Two years passed in the blink of an eye.

During this period.

Through Gu Qingzhao and Wu Jiang helping to collect everywhere, the progress of gathering spiritual materials for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill had already approached over ninety percent.

Only the Jade Marrow Ganoderma and the final two rare auxiliary ingredients remained missing.

Of course, among these collected spiritual herbs, a small portion lacked sufficient age, and some had already withered and died.

However, none of this was a problem for Qin Ming.

Over these past two years, unless there was something absolutely necessary to handle outside, Qin Ming was too lazy to leave the island.

Trivial daily matters were all handled by Wu Jiang running errands for him; of course, the latter had also gained considerable benefits from him in return.

Working under Qin Ming was far better than struggling on his own outside.

Wu Jiang's cultivation, which had been stagnant for a long time, had also broken through to the seventh layer of the Qi Condensation stage.

This counted as taking a major step forward.

Qin Ming heard him say that the Wu family already planned to groom him as the next family head.

Moreover, he was sharp-witted and noticed that there were still many Tier-One Upper Grade spiritual fields on Qin Ming's island.

Wu Jiang made a significant decision: he wished to take Qin Ming as his master.

And intended to rent those spiritual fields to learn spiritual planting techniques from him.

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming broke out in a sweat of embarrassment and hastily waved his hands to refuse him.

"Fellow Daoist Wu, let us forget about taking me as a master."

"However, if you wish to rent spiritual fields to farm, I can agree to that."

Hearing this, Wu Jiang felt slightly disappointed.

What exceeded Qin Ming's expectations was that.

Wu Jiang actually rented all the spiritual fields below Wangyue Island.

And paid spirit stones to Qin Ming.

Immediately the next day, he summoned a group of craftsmen to construct several simple houses by the lakeside.

As for himself, he huffed and puffed, wielding a spiritual hoe to reclaim the spiritual fields.

Qin Ming silently watched the scene below and shook his head slightly.

He hadn't expected this fellow to be the type to act immediately upon deciding, though he wondered how long this enthusiasm would last.

After finishing tilling the land.

Wu Jiang came up to the main peak, scratched his scalp, and asked somewhat awkwardly, "Fellow Daoist Qin, what kind of spiritual plant do you think I should cultivate?"

"Since Fellow Daoist Wu has no prior experience planting spiritual herbs, it would be best to start with Golden Spirit Rice," Qin Ming said with a relaxed smile, offering a suggestion.

Wu Jiang's expression brightened with joy; he nodded immediately and said, "Very well. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Qin has any spiritual seeds for sale?"

Hearing this, Qin Ming straightforwardly sold him both the Golden Spirit Rice seeds and the Spirit Rain Technique.

Wu Jiang took the spiritual seeds, brimming with delight, and went off to begin sowing.

Seeing Wu Jiang's high spirits, Qin Ming felt as though he was seeing his own former self.

After all, farming was still very hard work.

During this period, Wu Jiang's Dao companion, Mu Ruyin, also frequently came over to visit him.

She was carrying a large belly, suggesting she was with child.

It seemed that while Wu Jiang worked diligently tilling the fields by day, he had also been no less diligent in his labors by night.

He was indeed a diligent person.

Qin Ming, for his part, was also trying every possible means to inquire about the whereabouts of the final three spiritual materials needed to refine Foundation Establishment Pills.

However, he had not managed to find any news regarding the spiritual materials for Foundation Establishment.

But in the process.

He had actually managed to gather all the materials required to refine Age-Retaining Pills.

This was because he already possessed the most crucial primary ingredient: royal jelly.

The Age-Retaining Pill was also a second-rank pill; aside from the fact that the required spiritual materials were extremely difficult to find, the difficulty of refining it was comparable to that of the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Like the Longevity-Extending Pill, this elixir always attracted a certain segment of the cultivation community who flocked to it eagerly.

There were not many second-rank alchemists capable of refining Age-Retaining Pills.

Considering all these factors, the price of the Age-Retaining Pill could be said to be exceptionally exorbitant.

This time, Qin Ming had prepared enough materials for eight doses of Age-Retaining Pills.

Inside the cave dwelling.

Qin Ming calmed his mind and stilled his breath, banishing all distracting thoughts.

Today.

He would use these second-rank Age-Retaining Pills to break through to the realm of a second-rank Grand Alchemist! With only eight chances, otherwise he would have to spend a very long time gathering spiritual materials again.

Qin Ming took out a purple pill furnace and placed it before him.

He arranged all the spiritual materials on the table beside him.

Then, with a thought, a cluster of ice-blue spiritual flame appeared in his palm.

It transformed into a blue firebird, dancing lightly.

He formed a hand seal and pointed; the Devouring Spirit Poisonous Flame drilled beneath the pill furnace and began to swallow and spit blue flames.

Subsequently.

Following the refinement steps for the Age-Retaining Pill, Qin Ming activated the technique, decomposing the spiritual materials, refining the medicinal embryos, and configuring the medicinal liquid.

Every procedure proceeded in an orderly manner.

Finally, he reached the steps of merging the medicinal liquid and condensing the pill.

Just as usual.

Qin Ming activated the Pill-Merging Technique to separate and recombine the medicinal essence.

Puchi!

A dull, muffled sound rang out.

A wisp of black smoke rose from the pill furnace before him.

The first attempt had failed, as expected.

Qin Ming's expression remained as calm as still water; he began clearing the medicinal dregs from the furnace and prepared for the next refinement.

The sounds of failed pill refinements continued to emanate from within the cave dwelling.

Until, when refining the very last furnace.

Qin Ming gazed at the single remaining portion of spiritual materials.

His face could no longer maintain its composure.

He had not expected the difficulty of refining the Age-Retaining Pill to far exceed his imagination.

However, he could no longer afford to worry about that.

Immediately adopting a mindset of normalcy, he began refining the final portion of spiritual materials.

Two incense sticks later.

Jiu! A crisp chirp erupted from within the pill furnace.

Inside, white misty vapors swirled, filled with spiritual energy.

A rich pill fragrance, refreshing to the heart and spleen, flooded his nostrils.

"A second-rank spiritual pill, it's done!"

Joy overwhelmed Qin Ming's face; he immediately raised his hand and beckoned.

Six spiritual pills, white as jade, fell into his hand, emitting a soft fluctuation of spiritual essence.

These were the legendary Age-Retaining Pills.

At the same time.

This also meant that Qin Ming had henceforth broken through into the ranks of a second-rank Grand Alchemist.

A tier-two alchemist, even in a scattered cultivator metropolis like Canghai Cloudmarsh Fairy City,

numbered only a mere handful.

One could count them all on a single hand.

Their esteemed status was thus imaginable.

Since he could already refine Youth-Preserving Pills, Foundation Establishment Pills were naturally no challenge.

Qin Ming took out a Youth-Preserving Pill, pondered it for a moment, then swallowed it like a sugar bean.

He felt an extremely gentle warm current spread throughout his entire body.

Qin Ming smacked his lips, took out a bronze mirror to check himself, and murmured, "There's nothing particularly special about this feeling!"

Having become a tier-two grandmaster alchemist,

Qin Ming began to contemplate his next moves.

"My strength is now incomparable to what it once was."

"It is time to go to Canghai Cloudmarsh Fairy City and plan for the final step of Foundation Establishment."

"I might as well visit Gu Qingzhao to repay that favor."

(End of Chapter)