Chapter 69

Congratulations to this senior, who secured a middle-grade spiritual artifact—Son-Mother Seizing Gold Blade—with 1,500 spirit stones.

Congratulations to the Wei family of Qingshan City, who obtained the precious spirit plant Condensed Spirit Grass with 800 spirit stones—this is an essential spirit plant for Foundation Establishment Elixir!

Congratulations to the Jiang family of Fan City, who secured a Second Stage middle-grade formation—Yan Sha Subduing Thunder Formation—with 3,500 spirit stones.

As the auction continued, prices kept rising higher.

The loose cultivators in the hall gradually lost their competitiveness, as clan cultivators began to enter one after another.

"Ah."

Yunhe, sitting in the corner, secretly felt regret.

If he could obtain that set of Second Stage middle-grade formation 'Yan Sha Subduing Thunder Formation' and pass it to his Demon Beast Body, his plan to hunt Second-tier Beasts would likely become much more secure.

But unfortunately.

3,500 Low-grade Ling Stones—he simply couldn't afford them.

Even though he had accumulated considerable wealth over the years by selling talismans, spirit honey, elixirs, spirit plants, and some useless magical artifacts, it still fell short of 3,500.

Mainly because his own cultivation consumed a lot of elixirs, and attempting alchemy likewise required substantial investment.

That is, he can now draw high-grade talismans, earning a bit more.

Furthermore, his Demon Beast Body's sweeps also yielded many spirit plants of considerable age; otherwise, he might not have bothered coming to this auction at all.

He currently has less than 2,000 spirit stones on him, as well as several spirit plants each over 300 years old.

Actually, this amount of wealth is already not low for a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

However, the price of what he needs is too high.

Then several more rounds passed in succession.

He Yan Nian then brought out another set of formation plate and formation flags.

"Second Stage low-grade formation—Wu Earth Boulder Formation! Judging by the name, everyone can guess that this formation is a trapping formation, mainly for trapping and secondarily for defense, with concealment ability but no lethal effect, nor any bewildering effect; the formation master who crafted this formation artifact devoted almost all his energy to the 'trapping' character of this formation."

Only trapping?

Then the function of this formation is too single.

Most importantly, once a formation's function is too single, it is easily broken.

Perhaps its trapping effect is indeed strong enough that, relying solely on the 'trapping' character, it can reach the rank of a Second Stage low-grade formation.

But no matter how you say it, a Second Stage formation is a Second Stage formation; this prerequisite will not change.

"Wu Earth Boulder Formation, starting bid 1,000 spirit stones, each raise must be no less than 20 spirit stones!"

There were bidders, but most were just hoping to snag a bargain.

In the end, it was sold for 1,300 spirit stones.

A large auction will not have its overall process affected by just one or two items.

On the contrary, as the auction drew nearer to its end, everyone's eyes grew fiery.

Of course, some cultivators chose to leave when the auction was halfway through.

These people were mostly cultivators who had obtained what they needed.

Yunhe was one of them.

He didn't bother to see how many spirit stones the final highlight, the 'Foundation Establishment Elixir', would fetch, because no matter the price, it was already irrelevant to him—he simply couldn't afford it anyway.

Looking would only add to his worries, and besides, after the auction ended the place would be crowded and chaotic, with no knowing how many might eye him if he left the market.

Leaving early would reduce trouble considerably.

Well, after leaving the auction house, he repeatedly changed his appearance and attire, quickly looping around the market several times before departing, yet he was still spotted when leaving the market.

It wasn't people from the auction house or the market, but rather pure bandit cultivators lying in wait around the market, the kind that launch indiscriminate attacks.

Yunhe didn't want trouble, so after slightly distancing himself from those few, he escaped into the earth, restrained his breath and held his qi, thereby avoiding trouble.

If it were that cultivator from the previous auction who had offended He Yan Nian over the four-winged gold-striped bee, perhaps he would consider standing his ground to fight.

From the other party's single sentence pointing out the shortcomings of the four-winged gold-striped bee, then having what should be his companion cultivator place a bid, it is highly likely they know the spirit bee that He Yan Nian calls the 'four-winged gold-striped bee'.

What a pity.

The other party didn't come after him, and Yunhe had no intention of waiting.

All the way he flew back to Qingzong Sect.

Just as if nothing had happened, he once again fell into that dull cultivation.

Five years later.

Inside the alchemy chamber.

Bang!

A thick white smoke rose from the alchemy furnace tinged with a hint of purple-gold; Yunhe, sitting before the furnace with his eyes tightly closed, felt his eyelids twitch slightly before slowly opening.

Gazing at the alchemy furnace before him, he calmly waved his hand to lift the lid, and a rich medicinal fragrance spread.

The next moment, several elixirs flew out and landed in his palm.

The round elixirs were like pearls, each plump and round, their surfaces flowing with strange yellow patterns, numbering as many as eight!

However, as the yellow patterns on the elixirs gradually settled, two of the elixirs instantly turned dim in color, and another elixir developed fine dense cracks on its surface; with a slight 'shush' sound, these two elixirs scattered apart, turning into a handful of black powder.

"One furnace yields eight qualified elixirs, two subpar, and one waste."

Yunhe moved his lips and spoke softly.

He took two small jade bottles from his storage bag, placed the qualified and subpar elixirs separately, then scattered the powder from the wasted elixir into the alchemy furnace as nourishment for the next alchemy session.

The elixir he refined is called 'Ear Origin Elixir', a top-grade first-tier elixir needed by late-stage Qi Refining cultivators for their cultivation; although it is not as effective as the 'Spirit Supplement Elixir' for cultivation, this elixir also has the function of slowly enhancing the cultivator's physique, so the relative strength of their effects depends on the user's needs.

"Too bad it came too late." Yunhe gave a light laugh.

Now his cultivation base has already reached the pinnacle of Qi Refining.

Elixirs for advancing one's cultivation in the Qi Refining stage are now useless to him.

But no matter what, being able to achieve such a success rate in refining a first‑grade top‑tier elixir, he deserves the title of "First‑Grade Top‑Tier Alchemist".

He lightly pinched his fingers.

Only then did he realize the years had slipped away.

"Has five years already passed?"

Now his Cultivator Body is also already thirty‑seven years old.

His actual age is thirty‑seven, his nominal age thirty‑eight, about thirty‑nine, nearly forty, approaching forty‑five, rounding up he's almost fifty!

"For an ordinary person, that's already entering middle age."

He jokingly made the calculation.

But for a cultivator, thirty‑seven years old is not considered old, and for him who possesses over five hundred years of lifespan, it's even less so.

"It took ten years, from a cultivator who knew nothing about alchemy to now being a first‑grade top‑tier alchemist; such a rate of progress should also be considered quite fast among alchemists, right?"

"It's also because I squandered spiritual plants and herbs without regard for cost."

Of course, divine sense assistance is even more important; perhaps there is also a hint of his talent influencing it.

"Since the success rate for refining a first‑grade top‑tier elixir is already fairly good, we can now start attempting to refine a second‑tier elixir to prepare for the 'Foundation Establishment Pill'."

The formula for a second‑tier elixir is hard to find.

Fortunately, he has it.

He took out from his storage bag a sheet of paper as thin as gold foil, on which was recorded an elixir specially used to feed spiritual beasts—the Feed Pill!

When he first obtained this formula, he knew nothing about alchemy; moreover, the formula did not indicate what tier it was, and based solely on the spiritual herbs listed he could not determine what tier of elixir it is.

But as he became familiar with alchemy, with the herbs and plants, and with medicinal theory and properties, he realized that the "Feed Pill" recorded on this formula actually belongs to the upper second tier!

Just as he realized this was a second‑tier formula, Yunhe was still quite excited, and he studied the spiritual herbs and plants recorded on it by consulting various materials.

But gradually, Yunhe discovered something was off.

Therefore, the spiritual herbs engraved on this formula are too many!

Moreover, some of them he could not even find in the Qingzong Sect's Qi‑disciple‑accessible texts that he could consult by merit!

Only later did he realize.

This is actually a formula for a single herb that can be upgraded and substituted!

What does "upgradable substitution" mean?

Take the "Foundation Establishment Pill" formula as an example: there are two ways to refine it, either using pure spiritual herbs or substituting the main ingredient "Meat‑Jade Lingzhi" with a demon beast's inner core.

And the formula for this "Feed Pill" is the same.

However, it is not a simple substitute like the "Foundation Establishment Pill"; it is an upper‑tier replacement!

That is to say, when refining the "Feed Pill", if the main ingredient is "Meat‑Sweetgrass" it becomes a low‑grade second‑tier elixir; if it is "Jade‑Blue Aconite" it becomes a high‑grade second‑tier elixir; if it is "Dragon‑Blood Ginseng" it becomes a low‑grade third‑tier elixir.

Although the auxiliary ingredients also vary to some extent, the most important factor of an elixir is still the main ingredient.

At this point, Yunhe finally understood why the Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator who died in the mountain cave had treasured this formula so much.

Because it is not merely a formula for a low‑grade second‑tier elixir!

Of course, for Yunhe at present, a low‑grade second‑tier elixir is exactly what he needs for practice.

The main ingredient for the "Foundation Establishment Pill" is hard to find, but this "Meat‑Sweetgrass", while not cheap, is relatively much simpler.

"Whether the plan below is feasible depends on whether the Demon Beast Body can hunt a Second‑tier Beast."

Yunhe closed his eyes again.

As a first‑grade top‑tier alchemist, refining a second‑tier elixir is not impossible, but the success rate is extremely low.

But if he tries many times, even if the success rate is low, there will eventually be a successful pill!

"But I have already prepared enough."

Huanhu Dao.

"Those remaining that cannot be refined—must we break through the Second‑tier Beast level?"

The Demon Beast Body lying on the ground opened its eyes; the strand of essence blood wrapped in the Three Yang Heavy Water inside it had already been halved.

But after that, no matter how hard he tried, he could no longer digest it, so he guessed his body had become saturated.

After all, his Demon Beast Body originally was nothing more than an ordinary Turtle.

However, refining nearly half of the essence blood also gave him great benefits.

The greatest help to him undoubtedly comes from the Cultivator Body's divine sense and the Demon Beast Body's demon sense.

"The demon sense has a range of ten zhang, and it is not the weak kind like that of the Linghenclam."

"But for the Demon Beast Body, perhaps the bodily changes are even greater than the demon sense."

He gently touched his head.

On it there were two protrusions, as if something were about to grow out.

This is only an external change.

"With the Three Yang Heavy Water forging the body, plus the purification of essence blood, my current body might even have a chance to hard‑resist a Second‑tier Beast."

After continuously collecting lesser yang, true yang, and ending yang waters, his Three Yang Heavy Water has undergone a second refinement, and its effects are more pronounced both in body‑forging and against enemies.

"Perhaps once the Three Yang Heavy Water is refined to the extreme, when it is released it might truly melt an enemy's body in an instant."

He walked toward the outside of the cave dwelling.

At this moment, inside the Demon Beast Body's cave dwelling, the spiritual energy is extremely dense; under the effect of the Gathering Spirit Pearl, the spiritual energy continues to gather, albeit more slowly, but such dense spiritual energy is also one of the reasons his Cultivation Base has risen so quickly.

From the demon beast's perspective, his Cultivation Base's increase is absolutely exaggerated.

After all, although demon beasts have long lifespans, their Cultivation Base rises slowly, which is one of their characteristics.

He arrived at Huanhu Dao.

The bright sunshine made him so comfortable that he unconsciously narrowed his eyes; in the light mist, it seemed to temper the dense spiritual energy, refreshing his spirit.

"Roar—"

A rough voice spread out; the birds and beasts in the woods behind were startled and scattered, and on the lake surface several frightened fish floated up, stunned.

Very quickly.

Accompanied by a rustling sound, and bubbles rising on the water surface.

Ni Qiu, Black Fish, Blue Water Crocodile, and Linghenclam floated to the lake surface.

Behind him.

A several-meter-long giant red-bellied snake, an azure-feathered swallow draped in bright blue-green feathers, a white ape king covered in white fur, accompanied by a little ginseng sprite blinking its eyes.

These are the subordinates he has tamed over the past few years in order to search for spiritual plants and also to track down some second-tier beasts.

Otherwise, how could he alone find so many spiritual plants, and how could he pinpoint a second-tier beast likely to have condensed an inner core?

Even some tasks can be safely entrusted to these subordinates; his cultivation time is very precious.

Moreover, among beasts there is far less deceit and scheming than among human cultivators.

His gaze swept over the gathered beasts.

"To be safe, let's start with that guy."

(End of chapter)