Chapter 153: Visiting the Scripture Pavilion

"What do you fellow junior brothers think?"

Inside a large hall halfway up Cuihua Peak, a group of Danyuan Realm Elders were gathered together, and Longyang Zhenren spoke up.

The group remained silent, until finally Yuxuan Zhenren smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "What else is there to think? Senior Brother Biyun has truly taken a massive fall this time, even more embarrassing than Yi Zhen."

"This child Xu Chen is truly strange beyond measure; no wonder the two True Monarchs value him so highly. Our own cultivation is still too shallow!" said the Fourth Elder, Qingfeng Zhenren.

Longyang Zhenren nodded slightly and said, "Since that is the case, let us not stir up any more trouble in the coming days. Let him go to the various Scripture Pavilions to observe as he pleases; we only ask that he can settle down and help refine a few more bottles of Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill."

Yulong Zhenren said with a face full of bitterness, "That is all we can do."

Huayang Zhenren laughed, "I truly did not expect that even with Senior Brother Biyun taking action personally, he still couldn't win. But fortunately, little friend Xu is not unreasonable; the six bottles of Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill were left behind, so the Alchemy Hall isn't bleeding to the point of vomiting blood."

Longyang Zhenren lowered his eyes, his tone indifferent, "These pills of his were originally meant to be given to Yuqing Hall anyway. Forget it, this can be considered as saving some face for the Alchemy Hall. Elder Biyun is right; we are usually too utilitarian in our hearts, otherwise how could things have reached this point? For the remaining days, instruct the disciples to be quiet and stop provoking him, lest we continue to get our faces slapped."

"We obey the Sect Leader's decree!" The several Elders cupped their hands in unison to accept the order.

On Xu Chen's side, he had already followed Murong Qin to a quiet Dao Courtyard behind the Alchemy Hall.

The Dao Courtyard covered several dozen acres and was filled with various arrays radiating spirit light, with a seven-story high tower made of blue-white jade standing in the center.

This was the Scripture Pavilion of the Yuqing Hall Alchemy Hall.

The grandeur of this building alone was enough to crush the entire Taiyuan Sect.

The Scripture Pavilion was a classified and critical area for every sect, so its defenses were exceptionally strict. Apart from the various protective and warning arrays spread throughout the courtyard and the tower, several Third-Tier Spirit Beasts were kept to guard it, and there were also Elders and disciples leading teams in rotation to stand guard and patrol year-round.

Along the way, Xu Chen and the others felt no fewer than twenty Divine Senses land upon them, several of which were extremely powerful, clearly belonging to True Essence Late Stage cultivators.

Furthermore, when entering the Scripture Pavilion, there was a white-haired old Daoist at the True Essence Late Stage sitting at the entrance, personally verifying the identities of the disciples entering the Scripture Pavilion and recording their souls within a Jade Slip.

Ordinary Kaiyuan Realm disciples could generally only enter the first floor, and their time was limited to one hour each visit.

Ordinary Zhenyuan Realm disciples could enter the second floor for two hours.

Only disciples at the True Essence Late Stage or Elders and deacons with official duties could enter the third floor.

As for wanting to enter the fourth floor and above, only Elders at the Danyuan Realm or higher could do so; even Core Disciples had to obtain a personal verbal order from the Second Elder, Biyunzi.

However, almost all the valuable pill formulas and related knowledge of the Alchemy Hall were basically in the bottom three floors, covering almost all pill formulas from the first grade to the third grade.

Above the fourth floor were various pill formulas and inheritance regarding alchemy insights and realizations left behind by the Spirit Realm Great Cultivators of the Yuqing Hall throughout the ages, as well as some Magic Treasures and strange items obtained from exploring outside. These were basically irrelevant to ordinary disciples; even if they went up to look, apart from being astonished, they would gain nothing.

Although Xu Chen was curious and very much wanted to go up and see to broaden his horizons.

He thought better of it; taking too large a step makes it easy to tear one's crotch.

He could not afford to be overly ambitious right now; being allowed to view all the Spirit Pill formulas below the third grade and the thousands of years of alchemy insights and realizations of the Yuqing Hall was already very satisfying, even exceeding his expectations.

For the next three days, Xu Chen spent almost every day immersed in the Alchemy Hall's Scripture Pavilion, forgetting to eat or sleep as he examined various pill formulas and alchemy secret manuals.

His soul was now stable and his memory was superb; any pill formula he read that he felt had value, he would inevitably recite and commit to memory.

Of course, there were many regrets; these pill formulas and secret manuals could only be read and not copied, much less taken away.

But the gains from this trip would benefit him for a lifetime, enough to change his own future cultivation and the development of the Taiyuan Sect.

However, most of these pill formulas were just as Xu Chen had guessed at the beginning; while there were indeed many, the ones that could actually be used daily totaled only twenty or thirty. Many were the same or similar to those in the Taiyuan Sect, with the only difference perhaps being in the combination of Spirit Medicine and their effects.

What truly made him feel that his gains were unprecedented were the various alchemy techniques and the vast amount of reasoning and medicinal architecture regarding alchemy left behind by the cultivators of the Yuqing Hall throughout the ages. It was as if a door leading to the Dao of Alchemy had been opened for him, instantly broadening his horizons. Many areas that even the Third Elder had never understood or explored were vividly displayed before him.

Additionally, the large amount of information regarding various Spirit Medicines and some very novel and special Spirit Pill formulas also benefited him greatly, giving him a more systematic understanding of many unknown things.

For example, the application of Soul Power.

This was a complete blank in the Taiyuan Sect.

But in the Yuqing Hall, Soul Power pills were an entire series, an accumulation passed down for thousands of years. Although some were completely incomprehensible for the time being, he believed that with these theoretical foundations, he would be able to truly utilize Soul Pills in the future to start exploring methods, and perhaps he might find a path to refine medicine using Soul Pills.

Furthermore, apart from common Spirit Pills for improving cultivation, supplementing Qi, strengthening the soul, tempering the body, and advancing in rank, there were also some strange and peculiar pill formulas.

For instance, there was a type of Spirit Pill called a Ghost Pill. This Spirit Pill was extremely miraculous and could be used to attract wandering yin spirits—what mortals commonly call ghosts. Once a yin spirit was attracted by the Spirit Pill, it would be sucked into the pill to form a Ghost Pill. This Ghost Pill could actually be refined and absorbed for its Soul Power to strengthen a cultivator's soul.

However, the formation of such Ghost Pills required extremely harsh conditions, and there were also some sequelae. It was said that after absorbing too many yin spirits, although one's cultivation would grow very quickly, the cultivator's aura would slowly become rather dark—a state commonly known as "ghostly." Moreover, it would be terrifying when undergoing tribulation; the power of the lightning tribulation would be unprecedentedly strong, leaving one with a slim chance of survival.

There had once been a cultivator in the Yuqing Hall who specialized in using Ghost Pills for cultivation and even succeeded in Spirit Transformation, becoming a legendary figure named True Monarch Ghost Spirit.

Xu Chen had asked Lan You, and it was true that the Yuqing Hall had once had such a True Monarch Ghost Spirit, but his later whereabouts were unknown; it seemed he had gone missing.

Additionally, there was another type of pill called a False Golden Core.

This Spirit Pill was not a common one, but rather a pill treasure refined from a Third-Tier Demon Beast's inner core using various arrays, which could be stored in the dantian. This allowed a Zhenyuan Realm cultivator to exert the strength of a Danyuan Realm powerhouse in a very short time.

During the time the False Golden Core was effective, the cultivator was a true and genuine Danyuan Realm powerhouse; whether in aura or strength, there was no difference at all.

However, the sequelae of this Spirit Pill were even more terrifying. Using it was almost the same as suicide; once the medicinal effect of the Spirit Pill was exhausted, the cultivator's meridians would shatter and their dantian would explode. Even if they didn't die, they would definitely become a complete cripple.

These pill formulas were strange and peculiar, and they were also marked as forbidden pill formulas. Lan You and the others explained that disciples of the Yuqing Hall were not allowed to refine or use these formulas.

But in reality, from Xu Chen's perspective, the predecessors who invented these pill formulas were the true geniuses, because these Spirit Pills, while seemingly inconceivable, were actually astonishingly useful.

For example, the Ghost Pill: many cultivators with poor aptitude who had no hope for longevity could specialize in refining pills to capture yin spirits for cultivation, which was not a bad path to longevity.

The False Golden Core, a type of Spirit Pill that killed upon consumption, had even more heaven-defying effects. If one encountered an enemy they could not deal with, it was the best means of fighting to the death.

Especially for Xu Chen himself, he was even somewhat eager to try.

Because under the transformation of the white mist from the Blue Light Treasure Bottle, his body had long since surpassed that of cultivators of the same rank. He was completely like a freak; his soul, dantian, meridians, and physical body were all strengthened several or even ten times over.

He felt that once he succeeded in Foundation Establishment, he would likely be able to undergo another round of strengthening through the white mist. With such a perverted body, perhaps he could fully withstand the impact of a False Golden Core, forcibly increasing his cultivation without suffering too many sequelae in the end.

Of course, there was still a great risk.

But for Xu Chen, it was also the best life-saving method when facing a mortal crisis.

Therefore, while these strange and peculiar Spirit Pills broadened Xu Chen's horizons, they also greatly increased his interest. In particular, he spent a full two hours memorizing every word of the False Golden Core formula.

Apart from studying at the Alchemy Hall's Scripture Pavilion during the day, when Xu Chen returned to Lan You's small courtyard at night, he would have Ling Shuang, Yu Qingxuan, and the others deliver a large amount of various First-Tier and Second-Tier Spirit Medicines, and he and Lan You would close the doors to refine pills.

Of course, the success rate was not very high; generally, one batch was successful out of three portions of Spirit Medicine. He would refine three batches a night, and then keep the surplus Spirit Medicine for himself.

Yu Qingxuan and the others never asked; they just delivered a large amount of different Spirit Medicines every day according to Xu Chen's requirements. When they came to deliver meals in the morning, Xu Chen would give them three bottles of Spirit Pills with a pale face—though sometimes there were only two.

These various Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pills would soon be sent to the Elder Hall, naturally making the group of old fellows grind their teeth in frustration.

Because the pills Xu Chen refined were a mess, not of uniform medicinal properties, and were all made from common first-grade pill materials, yet their medicinal effects were not only significantly improved, approaching the efficacy of second-grade pills, but what was most incomprehensible was that each type of pill had a trace of white cloud-pattern aura, which could strengthen the soul and reinforce the meridians and dantian, and also had the effect of tempering the body.

This kind of miraculous alchemy method is simply inconceivable.

Yet the effects of the medicinal pills are truly and undeniably surprising.

Because of this, the group of Elders found it even harder to let go of their curiosity regarding Xu Chen's mystery; they very much wanted to split him open to take a look, but hindered by the immense pressure from the two True Monarchs of Yuqing Hall and Xuanchen Zhenjun, they had no choice but to forcibly suppress this curiosity.

(End of this chapter)