Chapter 742: Refining swords and crafting talismans, mentoring the younger generation, and once again creating the Nascent Soul Pill

Three months later!

In the most tranquil place on Mount Daqing, everything was a scene of bustling activity.

"Qi Yi, add the Ice Soul Cold Marrow!"

"Yes!"

Qi Yi leaped up, holding a jade bottle, and pointed the mouth downward toward the large gray cauldron.

As spiritual power was channeled, puffs of white smoke immediately emerged.

Amidst that white smoke, the Ice Soul Cold Marrow fell into the Hunyuan Cauldron.

Qi Yi silently calculated the amount in his heart...

"Enough!"

Luo Chen, standing to the side, gave a reminder. Qi Yi also felt the amount was just right and hurriedly withdrew his hand.

"Adding cold marrow as an ingredient will drastically change the temperature inside the cauldron. If you want the medicinal efficacy to continue rising and fusing, you must increase the fire. You should step back first, lest you be injured by my True Fire."

Luo Chen gave a word of caution, and the Withered-Glory True Fire suddenly erupted.

Qi Yi retreated cautiously to the back, watching every one of Luo Chen's movements with full anticipation.

It was very clear that Luo Chen also had the intention of mentoring him, occasionally speaking up to tell him about certain details.

"When refining high-grade elixirs, the requirements in every aspect are extremely high. The refining equipment, the strength of the elixir fire... even the cultivator's own magic power are all closely related to it. When I refined the Nascent Soul Pill back then, my cultivation base was only at the late Core Formation stage, so it took a very long time; it was ground out bit by bit with painstaking effort. Now that my cultivation base is higher, I can save quite a bit of time."

"With your alchemy, your foundation is actually already very solid. The main reason you are unable to stably refine third-tier elixirs lies in two points. First, you haven't refined a strange fire, and second, your spiritual power is insufficient. The former is easy to solve; just seek precious spiritual wood as a substitute, and supplement it with fire-controlling and fire-gathering arrays to resolve it. You should pay attention to the latter, and temper your own spiritual power."

"Do not think that tempering spiritual power is unimportant; this also relates to your future Core Formation Dao!"

"I have gained some insights from tempering magic power in recent years and have written a book, 'Tempering Spirit Art'. After I finish refining the Nascent Soul Pill, you can take it to study."

Qi Yi listened earnestly, both admiring that Luo Chen had refined a fourth-tier breakthrough pill during his Core Formation stage, and finding some of his own shortcomings through Luo Chen's words.

When he heard that Luo Chen was going to pass on a secret technique for tempering spiritual power to him, his joy was even more evident.

First, he thanked Luo Chen, and then Qi Yi asked curiously: "The previous few times, we all failed; will we be able to succeed this time?"

Luo Chen was constantly monitoring the situation inside the Hunyuan Cauldron, his face reflected a deep red by the majestic Withered-Glory True Fire.

Facing Qi Yi's question, his expression was calm.

"Regardless of success or failure, we must give our all every single time!"

"If one day you think your alchemy level is sufficient and you become relaxed and careless when refining elixirs, then the charred, fishy, and foul smell of the failed elixir will be a mockery of you."

"Only by being sufficiently focused every time, and having the final fragrance of the elixir permeate the air, will you not let down all the sweat and effort."

"Watch closely! Next is the most important stage of adding the three main ingredients; I will not explain it to you again. How much you can learn depends on your own comprehension."

As he finished speaking, Luo Chen threw out a fourth-tier Purple Monkey Flower from his hand.

His ten fingers danced like butterflies as he began to quickly form seals.

As magic power surged, streams of alchemy techniques poured out from his hands, continuously breaking down and melting the Purple Monkey Flower suspended in the air.

A patch of purple mist appeared, dreamlike and illusory, gradually sinking into the Hunyuan Cauldron.

Qi Yi held his breath, not daring to even breathe loudly as he watched this scene, as if he wanted to firmly imprint every one of Luo Chen's steps into his heart.

Several days later.

Boom!

Luo Chen landed gracefully, a look of satisfaction appearing in his eyes.

Qi Yi, who had kept watch for several days, had bloodshot eyes at this moment. "Grand Supreme Elder, did we succeed?"

Looking up at the gray cauldron, Luo Chen smiled slightly.

"The batch of medicinal materials given by the Shenfu Sect had been stockpiled for too long, so the medicinal efficacy is inevitably sparse. Next, it must be simmered with elixir fire for a few more days to condense the medicinal efficacy before the furnace can be opened. However, based on my judgment, there is a nine-out-of-ten chance that this will result in a successful elixir!"

Once these words were spoken, Qi Yi couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Having endured for such a long time, his appearance had become quite haggard.

Refining high-grade elixirs, even if just learning and acting as Luo Chen's assistant, was too difficult.

However, through this process, he had indeed learned quite a lot. As long as he digested it well later, his alchemy would definitely have a qualitative improvement!

"You are also tired; go and rest for two days!"

Qi Yi nodded subconsciously, but then had a second thought.

"I'll stay and watch the fire!"

Luo Chen smiled.

"No need, there is someone else to do the fire-watching."

As he spoke, crisp footsteps came from the corner.

Qi Yi looked up and saw the Red Dog puppet, which he had previously assumed was just a chore-doer for moving medicinal materials, walk silently to the bottom of the Hunyuan Cauldron.

He saw spiritual light erupt from its body, and then both hands spat out a wisp of Withered-Glory True Fire.

Supplemented by the wood prepared in advance, the fire beneath the Hunyuan Cauldron was maintained at a certain level.

Qi Yi was full of surprise; this puppet could actually help watch the fire?

"With the Red Dog here, there's no need to worry about changes in the elixir fire," Luo Chen said with a smile, his eyes full of confidence.

Inside the Red Dog puppet was his strongest first split soul; what he knew, the Red Dog also knew. Combined with the Withered-Glory True Fire, this place was almost equivalent to him watching the fire personally, so no mistakes could happen.

Then, Luo Chen took out a green-skinned gourd from his storage ring and handed it to Qi Yi.

"This is Soul-Calming Powder, a third-tier soul-nourishing spiritual medicine. Taking it when a cultivator is extremely fatigued can not only restore the soul but also slightly strengthen your spirit. It was originally a core elixir of the Yaowang Sect; Elder Fu gave me the recipe, and I hastily refined some. Take it, consume it, and get some rest!"

Qi Yi took the gourd curiously; he didn't even know when Luo Chen had refined this spiritual medicine.

Could it have been during the stage of preparing the medicinal materials?

But Soul-Calming Powder was a famous third-tier miracle drug. Had the Grand Supreme Elder's alchemy reached such a level that he could also produce third-tier elixirs with ease?

"Thank you, Grand Supreme Elder, for the reward!"

After bowing respectfully to express his thanks, Qi Yi left the alchemy room.

After he left, Luo Chen stared at the Hunyuan Cauldron for a while longer, confirming that the Red Dog puppet could control the situation, before leaving the alchemy room and returning to his own sleeping quarters.

He first glanced at his storage ring.

The raw materials Elder Fu had given him still had a full thirteen portions left!

However, after deducting the other Five-Element Lotus Platform he had kept privately, in reality, only three portions of raw materials could be used to refine the Nascent Soul Pill.

"Keep them; it's fine to refine them during leisure time."

Luo Chen didn't care much about the Nascent Soul Pill; he already had two in stock!

They were high-quality Nascent Soul Pills that hadn't been used back on Long Yuan Island in the North Sea, and had been nourished to the mid-fourth-tier level through the Dragon-Nurturing Basin!

If this time was also successful, according to past experience, he estimated he could produce about ten more.

Elder Fu's minimum requirement was two; as for the maximum, it wasn't mentioned, so everyone understood it in their hearts.

When the time came, Luo Chen would be a bit more generous and give the other party three or five, and he would still have plenty left for himself.

These "conscience-defying" deductions were all the foundation for the future Luotian Sect!

Fourth-tier Nascent Soul Pill!

He was also hoarding a batch of third-tier Liquid-Condensing Pills that helped with Core Formation, refined on Long Yuan Island, which originated from the inheritance of the Heaven-Refining Demon Lord!

Plus the Emperor Flowing Pulp that Luo Chen already mastered, which helped with Foundation Establishment!

And, the complete set of Spiritual Root Pill recipes he had comprehended in the Alchemy Realm, which could allow mortals without spiritual roots to have the qualifications for thirty years of Qi Refining cultivation!

In this way, Luo Chen had collected all the main breakthrough elixirs for the human race from Qi Refining to Nascent Soul.

If supplemented with corresponding cultivation-type elixirs of various tiers, the overall cultivation would be even more unobstructed.

Luo Chen had also almost collected the auxiliary elixir recipes for the path of soul refining.

Tongyou Pill, Soul-Calming Powder, Great Soul Pill!

If he could obtain the first-tier Soul-Calming Incense recipe from the Yaowang Sect, or the refining method for the Fierce Spirit Incense created by the Fragrance Master of the Hundred Flowers Palace back then, it would be even better.

"With these few sets of systematic elixir recipes, supplemented by the spiritual plant cultivation method, the large amount of spiritual soil in the Penglai Eight-Corner Pavilion, and the large number of Dragon Earthworms on Black King, I can completely establish an alchemy sect comparable to the Yaowang Sect."

"In terms of body refining, there are Wang Yuan and me, as well as outstanding younger generations like Ceng Yilong, so it is completely possible to reproduce the glory of the ancient body refiners."

"If Qin Yuanjiang is smart enough to master the puppet path, combined with my soul-refining elixirs and soul-refining cultivation methods, perhaps there is also a chance to replicate the path of the Luoyun Sect."

"I have also gained some insights into the path of casting. Before Duan Feng died, he also left a decent casting foundation for the Luotian Sect; if..."

One thought after another emerged, representing one beautiful future after another.

Luo Chen didn't even want to return to the Central Plains to be a guest elder of the Star Gate.

Rather than living under someone else's roof, how could it be more wonderful to dominate a region and leave behind one's own inheritance?

But soon, Luo Chen cut off these thoughts.

To achieve the ideas above, too many things were needed.

A vast and boundless region rich in resources, and it must possess a fourth-tier or higher spiritual vein!

A large number of excellent disciples!

And a sufficiently stable situation!

These things, for the current Luo Chen, were all unattainable.

Rather than fantasizing, it was better to improve his own strength in a down-to-earth manner.

Fame, prestige, those were soft power.

Cultivation base, magic power, divine abilities, and methods—these were the hard power that would allow him to roam freely and stand tall in this chaotic world!

After resting for a while, Luo Chen began his cultivation in the sword path.

He had collected seven strands of Red Firmament Qi above the Azure Void himself, and Elder Fu had given him another three.

If he could refine them all, he could step into the first stage of the "Thousand Firmaments and Ten Thousand Transformations Sword Scripture," which would also give him one more means to deal with enemies.

He must not be slack!

Luo Chen took out a strand of Red Firmament Qi, opened his mouth to inhale, and stored it in his chest and abdomen.

The Yuantu Sword lay horizontally across his knees, and following Luo Chen's rhythmic breathing and swallowing, it began to echo with that Red Firmament Qi.

His whole person also became increasingly sharp and piercing amidst this echo, making people afraid to look directly at him.

"Uncle-Master, this is the third batch of talisman skins."

In a large hall, Ceng Yilong walked in hurriedly with people.

He first bowed respectfully to the tall black ape, then signaled for the disciples behind him to put down the talisman skins.

A dull sound rang out, accompanied by a fishy smell.

The Black Ape Luo Chen walked to the pile of animal skins that were more than a person tall and checked them carefully.

One of the disciples introduced from behind: "This batch of talisman skins is all made by Shenfu Sect cultivators using the skins of various demonic beasts; the tiers are around the second tier, and the attributes vary. According to your requirements, we tried our best to select fire-attributed ones, but there are still quite a few of other attributes mixed in."

The Black Ape Luo Chen nodded.

This was the only drawback of using animal skins to make talisman skins; the attributes would be limited by the attributes of the demonic beast's own body.

However, for him, it was not a problem.

His main body could convert magic power attributes, and he was extremely proficient in various Five-Element spells, so he could completely utilize these talisman skins.

His Black Ape puppet clone only needed to study the talisman-making method and master the theory; when the time came, the main body would come to perform the actual operation.

After a round of inspection, Luo Chen straightened his waist with satisfaction.

"You've worked hard making these trips; just go find Yang Pingdu to collect your rewards."

The Merit Hall of the Luotian Sect had long since changed hands.

It was no longer Sima Wenjie from back then, but Yang Pingdu, who had joined the Luotian Sect halfway.

He was not a powerhouse cultivated by the Luotian Sect itself, but had joined with his own skills; he had no backers within the Luotian Sect, so he did his best to be impartial.

Even if he offended everyone, it could be seen as offending no one.

Having him as the head of the Merit Hall was the most appropriate.

When Ceng Yilong was about to take people away, Luo Chen suddenly called out to the cultivator who had just introduced the talisman skins to him.

"You stay!"

Everyone was a bit surprised, but didn't dare to ask anything more.

After everyone left, Luo Chen looked at the young man in front of him whose outline was somewhat familiar.

"You are Qu Jiu, right!"

Qu Jiu was caught off guard; he hadn't expected the Grand Supreme Elder to actually know him.

If one really wanted to talk about it, the Grand Supreme Elder was not only their sect's ancestor but also his master's ancestor.

Keeping him behind at this moment, could it be because of his father's affairs?

Unexpectedly, Luo Chen started talking about another matter.

"You are not interested in alchemy, but just now you were like a treasure trove regarding these talisman skins; it seems you have quite an understanding of this talisman path!"

Qu Jiu was stunned, then said somewhat bashfully: "Because of my mother, I am quite curious about the talisman path, so I learned some."

"Oh? Mi Li?"

"Yes, before my mother passed away, she left me a peace talisman. Later, in a battle with a demonic beast, that peace talisman saved my life. I asked the sect elders and only then learned that it was a third-tier defensive talisman that she had used her connections to ask the Shenfu Sect powerhouse, Elder Ye, to draw personally."

Qu Jiu spoke of the past with a look of reminiscence, a smile appearing on his face unconsciously.

Then, he returned to the main topic.

"Since then, I have become interested in talismans. This is a skill that is both convenient and powerful; the key is that it can also protect those close to you when you are not around."

The Black Ape Luo Chen nodded stiffly and said slowly: "The talisman path is indeed like this; although it cannot directly improve a cultivator's strength, it can help us in various aspects."

This understanding was also something Luo Chen had comprehended through his study of talismans these days.

Talismans can not only be used for fighting but can also be applied to various aspects.

The most important thing is that it is very difficult for cultivators to climb to higher realms; once they encounter a battle and consume a large amount of magic power, recovery becomes very long.

If one can infuse the magic power that is not used in daily life into talismans to replace the consumption during battle, it can indirectly help the cultivator's cultivation.

Of course, being overly obsessed with talisman making is naturally undesirable.

He looked at the talented Qu Jiu, and for some reason, felt quite close to him in his heart.

After pondering for a moment, the Black Ape Luo Chen said in a low voice: "From now on, follow me to learn talisman making!"

Qu Jiu was stunned, not having reacted yet.

"Grand Supreme Elder, I..."

"Just call me Master Ancestor."

Patting Qu Jiu's shoulder with a hard palm, the Black Ape Luo Chen said so.

His current talisman-making level, in the system's evaluation, had just barely stepped into the third tier and couldn't be considered very powerful.

But teaching Qu Jiu was more than enough.

Now that he had a large number of talisman skins, he could accumulate proficiency; one could imagine how fast Luo Chen's talisman-making skills would improve next.

Qu Jiu following him to learn and receiving his guidance would definitely be better than him pondering alone.

"I will first test your foundation in talisman making, and then..."

Just as the Black Ape Luo Chen was saying this, his voice suddenly stuck.

He looked up, looking far away in the direction of his main body.

"Did it really succeed?"

"Then it seems the day for Elder Fu to come is also fast approaching!"

Once Elder Fu arrived, the news of the successful refining of the fourth-tier elixir would definitely not be hidden from others.

In this way, it would confirm that what Luo Chen said at the Nascent Soul Ceremony back then was not empty talk.

He indeed possessed the Grandmaster realm of refining a hundred elixirs and knowing everything!

Then those powerhouses who were still holding their ground but had a strong demand for elixirs would definitely not be able to sit still.

"The main body's leisurely days are coming to an end."

"I hope the new people who come knocking can bring some different elixir recipes!" ===== CHAPTER 743 =====