Chapter 102: Second-grade Pill Furnace (6th Update)

According to Xu Chen's own judgment, if he cultivated normally, it would likely take at least half a year to reach the late stage of the Kaiyuan Realm.

But if he could truly complete Foundation Establishment at sixteen, he would likely break the cultivation record of the Great Song Immortal World since its inception.

The youngest Zhenyuan Realm cultivator Xu Chen had met so far was Lan You.

When the two were trapped in the underground cavern, although they did not exchange many words, Lan You still voluntarily mentioned that she had completed Foundation Establishment at twenty; such age and cultivation level were considered top-tier talent even in Yuqing Hall.

And her Master, Yulong Zhenren, possessed equally heaven-defying talent, also completing Foundation Establishment at twenty and stepping into the Danyuan Realm before forty.

However, the higher the realm, the slower the progress of cultivation.

Even with Yulong Zhenren completing Golden Core at such a young age, it would take him at least fifty more years to reach the late stage of the Danyuan Realm, and he would only have a chance at Spirit Transformation Infant after passing the age of one hundred.

And this was all the best-case scenario, assuming cultivation went smoothly without any setbacks; in reality, there was not a single cultivator in the entire Great Song who had achieved Spirit Transformation before the age of one hundred.

When Danchenzi achieved Spirit Transformation, he spent over thirty years just in the late stage of the Danyuan Realm; he should be nearly one hundred and fifty years old this year, yet his talent was already that of a top-tier genius.

Xu Chen was even vaguely afraid that with such a large dantian, it would take ten times the time and energy compared to others to accumulate enough to reach the state of Golden Core after Foundation Establishment; if that were the case, perhaps he would never be able to step into the Danyuan Realm before he died of old age.

Therefore, the Blue Jade Bead brought him an unprecedented opportunity, but it was also an ancient pit; one knows the warmth and coldness for oneself, and only he knew the joy and bitterness, the happiness and sorrow, that came after this change.

But regardless, the appearance of the Blue Jade Bead had completely changed his life, making it entirely different from before, with his path to the Dao filled with hope and light.

Although Spirit Liquid was an extremely scarce treasure, as long as one had money, anything was possible; drinking it like water was not out of the question.

Therefore, in order to earn money and pave his own long-life path filled with happiness and sunshine, Xu Chen decided to go find the Third Elder and formally begin learning alchemy.

However, before going to practice alchemy, he decided to go find Seventh Senior Sister first.

His pill furnace had exploded during his last attempt at alchemy, and he did not want the Third Elder to go to the expense of giving him a first-grade pill furnace; after all, a first-grade pill furnace was too trashy and was no longer worthy of his genius-like, strong soul.

Ever since she peeked through the door crack to eavesdrop on Xu Chen repairing Zhao Xuan's meridians last time, Seventh Senior Sister had not dared to appear in front of Xu Chen for several days.

Zhao Xuan was the same; after being startled by Seventh Senior Sister, she had also been hiding in her own small courtyard for the past few days, burying her head in cultivation and not going out. Even when Xu Chen went to talk to her, she hid behind the door like a frightened kitten, not daring to come out.

Xu Chen was naturally also a bit embarrassed.

Although the two had done nothing, after all, it was hard to explain being a lone man and woman on a bed being eavesdropped on, so he had only gone to see her once and had not gone again.

But an ugly daughter-in-law must eventually meet her parents-in-law.

A second-grade pill furnace magic treasure was definitely worth Xu Chen paying a visit.

Furthermore, when it came to getting rich, having a thin skin wouldn't work; being shameless was the essence.

Xu Chen met Seventh Senior Sister Qu Mei in the small courtyard on the south side of Zhaoyang Peak.

However, Qu Mei had a strange smile on her face that made his hair stand on end and left him feeling restless, so he didn't dare to chat much and stated that he had come to get the pill furnace.

Qu Mei's gaze was like a comb, scanning him up, down, left, and right countless times before she finally took out a bronze-colored pill furnace and threw it to him, saying, "Originally, I was planning to send you the pill furnace the night you returned!"

Xu Chen caught the pill furnace and laughed dryly, "Seventh Senior Sister, listen to my explanation; actually, I was helping Senior Sister Zhao clear and repair her meridians..."

"Pfft!" Qu Mei showed a face full of disdain, curled her lip, and waved her hand, "Explanation is just cover-up, and cover-up is the truth; I don't want to listen to your sophistry!"

Xu Chen stuffed the pill furnace into his Storage Bag and said with a serious and righteous expression, "Seventh Senior Sister, you really misunderstood. This is also unfair to Senior Sister Zhao. I was truly helping her repair her damaged meridians, and the effect was very good. If Seventh Senior Sister doesn't believe me, I can help you clear yours as well..."

"Get lost~ If you spout nonsense again, I'll beat you to death..."

In the south mountain courtyard of Zhaoyang Peak, Seventh Senior Sister Qu Mei's heaven-shaking roar suddenly erupted. Almost simultaneously, there was a loud bang, followed by Xu Chen's pig-like scream. A figure was seen flying into the air, being knocked away and crashing heavily into a cluster of flowers and plants. Immediately after, Qu Mei pounced over with bared fangs and brandished claws. Xu Chen scrambled up and fled in a sorry state, not daring to look back as he headed toward the Danyuan, while a voice drifted from afar.

"Seventh Senior Sister, spare me! I won't dare to do it again!"

"Hmph, consider yourself lucky to run fast. If you dare to say such things again, I'll beat you until even the toads all over the mountains won't recognize you!"

More than a dozen Divine Senses swept over in a chaotic mess, and upon seeing Qu Mei with her willow eyebrows raised and her energy in a violent state, they all vanished without a trace in an instant.

Not long after, in a nearby courtyard, Zhao Xuan also snuck out and headed toward the Danyuan.

Qu Mei stood on the roof, watching her sneaky appearance, and couldn't help but reveal a smile on her face. She curled her lip and spat, "Two cowardly fellows, daring to do it but not daring to admit it; I still have to be the peacemaker."

Zhao Xuan was truly embarrassed.

Ever since she returned from Xu Chen's place that night, she had been hiding in her own small courtyard like a frightened little rabbit, not daring to go out, and even more afraid of seeing Seventh Senior Sister.

She knew very well what everything that happened that night meant for her.

Although Xu Chen only gave her a short repair of less than twenty breaths, after making her experience a torment that pierced to the bone, the benefits she gained were simply indescribable.

She discovered that not only were her damaged meridians completely cleared and repaired, but they were even more robust, and her dantian had expanded by nearly double.

Along with that, her soul had also grown significantly, almost reaching the state of the late Kaiyuan Realm.

But the biggest change was her body; her internal organs, bones, and flesh seemed to have been tempered from the inside out with Spirit Medicine, becoming as if made of ice and jade, and becoming extremely tough.

This was an all-around transformation of her entire being, from soul to body. It could be said that it had increased her talent by nearly double out of thin air. With this foundation, her future cultivation would be smooth sailing, and Foundation Establishment and Golden Core were almost a certainty.

But what surprised her even more was that she discovered her originally plain chest had actually grown quite a bit.

In their daily jokes, the look in Xu Chen's eyes when he looked at her chest was something no woman could endure; it seemed as if he felt nothing, yet it was filled with disappointment and regret.

She still remembered Lan You, who had returned with Xu Chen; that plump appearance made her both jealous and angry, as well as inferior and helpless.

Perhaps if she let Junior Brother help a few more times, maybe it could grow that big too.

Although that process was painful to the point of wanting to die, in order to let Junior Brother look at her a few more times and like her a little more, she felt all the pain and effort were worth it.

But while pleasantly surprised, she also felt very uneasy and even terrified.

She did not know where Xu Chen had obtained such an incredible ability.

If such a heaven-defying method were to spread, it might not be a good thing for Xu Chen and could bring unexpected trouble and disaster.

Therefore, she decided to keep this secret hidden, and she could not even tell her Master, Xuanchen Zhenjun.

And what happened just now finally gave her an excuse to see Xu Chen and talk to him about this matter; at the same time, she also wanted to ask about the situation and why he had been beaten so miserably by Seventh Senior Sister.

The Third Elder was in the pill room studying pill formulas, holding a Soul Bead in his hand; it seemed he was still trying to crack the method of using Soul Beads as medicine that Xu Chen had mentioned earlier.

Seeing Xu Chen run in as if chased by a dog, he put down the Soul Bead and Jade Slip with a strange expression on his face and said, "You finally decided to come to this old man's Danyuan."

Xu Chen was extremely embarrassed and quickly bowed, "After the disciple returned, I discovered that my realm seemed to have loosened, so I cultivated for a few more days. Today, I came specifically to report to the Third Elder."

The Third Elder smiled and said, "Cultivation is indeed a major matter. However, since you are here, there is no need to rush to learn. This poor Daoist wants to watch you refine a furnace of pills from start to finish with my own eyes, so I can be clear about your current alchemy methods and habits, which will facilitate teaching according to your aptitude. Your Jiu Shixiong is impatient and does things in a sloppy manner, which is why he has achieved nothing after learning for several years. This poor Daoist hopes you can truly learn some skills and become a pillar of our Taiyuan Sect in the future."

Xu Chen could only bite the bullet and agree, sitting down next to the Third Elder.

The Third Elder flicked his hand gently, and seven or eight common medicinal herbs fell down. Xu Chen knew at a glance that these were materials for refining Small Yuan Pill, so he did not stand on ceremony, flipped his hand to take out the pill furnace he had just obtained from Seventh Senior Sister, and after activating it, it landed on the ground with a 'clang'.

"Eh, where did you get this Pill Furnace?" Third Elder asked with a face full of surprise.

"Reporting to Third Elder, I just got this from Seventh Senior Sister!" Xu Chen answered honestly.

Seventh Elder nodded with a strange expression and said, "So it was given by Little Mei. Very well, this Pill Furnace is quite good; it was used by your Fourth Senior Brother back in the day. Now that it has fallen into your hands, it cannot be considered a pearl covered in dust. I hope you will use it well."

Xu Chen was stunned and said, "So it is Fourth Senior Brother's Pill Furnace; why did it end up in Seventh Senior Sister's hands?"

Before Third Elder could speak, a gentle voice came from outside the door: "Fourth Senior Brother was also Third Elder's Disciple and had a very strong talent for alchemy, but ever since Fourth Senior Brother went missing, this Pill Furnace has remained in Seventh Senior Sister's hands for eight years."

"Senior Sister Zhao, why have you come as well?" Xu Chen was both surprised and happy.

Zhao Xuan's cheeks burned as she lowered her head to bow to Third Elder, then said in a low voice, "I heard just now that you were beaten out by Seventh Senior Sister and was afraid you might be injured, so I came to check on you."

Xu Chen said with a wry smile, "Seventh Senior Sister was just trying to scare me; she didn't actually hit me, though my backside does hurt a bit from the fall. Perhaps Senior Sister can help me take a look later."

Zhao Xuan's face turned bright red, and she dared not respond, instead shooting him a fierce glare. Third Elder's face twitched as he listened, and he waved his hand, saying, "Since Xuan'er is here, sit down and watch as well. You have learned quite a bit of alchemy knowledge from this old man in the past, so you can help Chen'er more in the future."

"This Disciple obeys!" Zhao Xuan rolled her eyes at Xu Chen once more, gathered her skirt, and knelt beside the Pill Furnace.

With his elder present, Xu Chen knew when to stop joking, so he composed himself, focused his Divine Sense into the Pill Furnace, and began outputting Yuan Qi to activate the Array within the furnace. Once everything was ready, he used a sweep of Yuan Qi to toss all the materials for refining the Small Yuan Pill into the Pill Furnace, and without adding any Spirit Stone, he directly ignited the Yuan Qi flame to begin refining the medicinal herbs.

(End of chapter)