Chapter 606: Cannot Tolerate

Even the fireworks of the mortal world can be unreliable.

Little Wei Yuan fully followed the smoke's suggestions in his second round of alchemy, yet ended up with only nine pills—just a single-vein Spirit Pill. The drop from his first attempt was so drastic that Little Wei Yuan could hardly believe it.

Considering the celestial spiritual energy and fortune added, these pills should've been worth at least a hundred thousand silver taels; yet Little Wei Yuan didn't even triple his investment.

Little Wei Yuan immediately began reflecting: why had he accepted every single suggestion from a group of people who had never even brewed a pill before?

Though most of their advice was usually correct, mistakes still occurred—and this time, errors dominated, accumulating small faults into one colossal blunder.

The smoke also engaged in self-reflection, producing several conclusions: incomplete data, erroneous information, herbal quality deviations beyond normal limits, insufficient furnace inspection frequency, inaccurate detection results, and the Creator Immortal's complete inaction.

Little Wei Yuan scrutinized it all and found the smoke had admitted zero fault—blaming everything else, especially that final line, which was the perfect finishing touch.

Little Wei Yuan fell silent, ordered a re-summary—the outcome unchanged. He ordered another summary—still unchanged.

After a moment of deep thought, Little Wei Yuan revised the task: improve the alchemy process. This time, the task proceeded with extraordinary ease, and in an instant, over a hundred flaws were identified.

Little Wei Yuan carefully cross-checked each item, pondered deeply, and finally realized the core issue: he had overmodified the original alchemy process—even tampered with the pill formula itself.

Every formula Xu Xu Henshui provided was the result of centuries, even millennia, of meticulous research by the Creation View—there was virtually no room for improvement.

The reason Little Wei Yuan had repeatedly achieved astonishing results was twofold: first, his ultra-fine control and real-time adjustments, achieving microscopic-level alchemy—something no Form Phase alchemist should ever possess; second, the addition of fortune, combined with his own supreme fortune, allowing him to seize the very essence of creation.

But this time, innovation went too far—even the formula was tweaked, so such a result was hardly surprising.

In an activity as profound, precise, and strictly judged as alchemy—seizing the essence of heaven and earth—Little Wei Yuan finally saw the smoke's limitations: it was not omnipotent.

Having identified the root cause, Little Wei Yuan canceled all formula modifications and instead strengthened precise control and optimization of the alchemy process. Only after thoroughly understanding each herb's specific effects would he consider revising the formula.

By the time this system was fully implemented, more than a day had passed. Xu Xu Henshui somehow learned the news and raced back, arriving just in time before Little Wei Yuan opened his third furnace.

Xu Xu Henshui gripped Little Wei Yuan's hand, earnestly consoling him: "It's normal for alchemists to suffer misfortune; luck like yours is rare." He then revealed he had brought enough herbs from Benshan to fuel four more furnaces, ready to work alongside Little Wei Yuan.

Little Wei Yuan gladly agreed, and once again, they labored side by side in alchemy.

Seven days later, Xu Xu Henshui successfully opened his furnace, yielding one two-vein pill, one single-vein pill—nine in total. Bathed in the stunned gazes of his fellow disciples, Xu Xu Henshui felt he had grasped the true essence of the Immortal Path: clarity of mind indeed produces Immortal Pills.

Little Wei Yuan's side remained silent—this round took over twenty days before he quietly opened the furnace and collected the pills. Xu Xu Henshui sensed the pill aura and rushed to the alchemy chamber, where he saw Little Wei Yuan open the door, releasing a calm, balanced fragrance.

Little Wei Yuan stepped out empty-handed, lost in thought, murmuring: "I understand…"

Xu Xu Henshui knew he shouldn't ask—but his mouth betrayed him: "What do you understand?"

Little Wei Yuan spoke solemnly: "This formula is truly profound. Once fully mastered, even ordinary results should be single-vein Spirit Pills. I still produced one without any vein at all—my skill is inadequate; I shame the formula Master Yu gave me!"

As he spoke, Little Wei Yuan stepped aside, revealing the chamber's interior. On the table lay a tray, neatly arranged in a circle: six two-vein pills, six single-vein pills, surrounding a single, veinless, bald pill at the center.

Xu Xu Henshui wanted to slap himself—why had he opened his mouth?

Though Little Wei Yuan no longer produced the miraculous three-vein Immortal Pill, the overall quality and consistency of his output had clearly ascended to a new level. In terms of the Great Sun Radiance Pill alone, only a handful of Imperial Alchemists at the Creation View could match this standard.

Yet Little Wei Yuan felt he still had untapped potential—he hadn't even touched the formula yet.

So Xu Xu Henshui returned to Benshan. Before leaving, Little Wei Yuan asked for more herbs—but Xu Xu Henshui's face was expressionless: "All herbs are used up. Benshan has no stock. If you want to brew again, grow your own Yangyang grass yourself."

Little Wei Yuan sighed, forced to open his fourth furnace alone. Before opening it, he announced: any Taichu Palace disciple who had served in Qingming for three full years could purchase one Great Sun Radiance Pill at half price—up to a single-vein Spirit Pill. The price: sixty thousand silver taels—just four-tenths of market value.

If silver was insufficient, credit was allowed—repay within five years. No interest, but you must continue serving in Qingming for another five years. The pills could not be resold—only for personal use. When he heard this, Ren Ren Suxing, who had been buried in cannon-tube production, suddenly flashed with sharp intent—his entire aura changed.

Similar reactions came from Jianmu Hall, Tiangong Hall, and Xuanming Hall—the earliest Taichu Palace disciples in Qingming. Many were nearing their three-year mark. Their hopes of forming a Form had seemed dim—but now, hope had emerged.

The Great Sun Radiance Pill could be taken repeatedly, once every three years. Even the most mediocre Taichu Palace disciples had at least a 20% chance of forming a Form. If they took one single-vein Spirit Pill each time and tried three times, their chance of breakthrough rose to over 60%.

If a Form breakthrough failed, each attempt inflicted serious bodily damage, and the heavenly tribulation grew stronger each time. Most cultivators could endure only four or five attempts—and the final one had to be reserved for just before natural death.

News spread rapidly through Qingming. Soon, every Taichu Palace disciple knew Little Wei Yuan held roughly a dozen single-vein Spirit Pills—and even a few two-vein ones.

They dared not dream of two-vein pills, but those with decent family backgrounds all sent letters home, begging their clans to raise every silver tael possible—ready to apply the moment their service term ended. Families with means even planned to buy three pills at once—exhausting their lifetime quota.

Amid their joy, disciples inquired among themselves and learned Little Wei Yuan was still brewing—Great Sun Radiance Pills would not run out. Their hearts calmed.

Sun Yu and Yu Yu Zhizhuo, who arrived first in Qingming, were geniuses in Taichu Palace. Xu Xu Henshui was no different. The Old Taoist Who Weeds the Fields was merely weak in combat—everything else, he excelled at. Just keeping several Spirit Beasts perpetually content was no ordinary feat.

Yet beyond them, dozens of Taichu Palace disciples had quietly labored across Qingming since its early days. As Qingming stabilized and Xu Xu Henshui arrived, dozens more disciples gradually came.

Later, Huang Yun Master Fenhai Zhenjun passed away here, and over a dozen disciples from Jianmu Hall arrived in Qingming.

Now, over a hundred Taichu Palace disciples resided in Qingming. Yet the vast majority remained obscure; only a rare few ever shone.

!

Little Wei Yuan could finally do something for these ordinary disciples—add a sliver of hope to their Dao paths.

Over the next month, Little Wei Yuan opened two more furnaces, exhausting all herbs Xu Xu Henshui had left, and finally exhaled in relief.

He had now readjusted the alchemy process: standard time per furnace rose from seven to twenty-one days; standard yield increased from eight to twelve pills—and even ordinary alchemists now had a good chance of producing one or two veined Spirit Pills.

After collecting the pills, Little Wei Yuan spent three full days compiling and analyzing all data from this period, producing an extremely detailed alchemy strategy—optimizing the Great Sun Radiance Pill process comprehensively, without altering the formula.

Having completed this, Little Wei Yuan submitted the strategy through the Merit Hall. Without doubt, for the next thousand years, the entire Taichu Palace would benefit from this strategy—producing countless True Persons.

Stepping out of the alchemy chamber, Little Wei Yuan felt light as air. Indeed, time vanished in the pill room—unconsciously, three months had passed.

During alchemy, Little Wei Yuan had not idled—he used the Dao Foundation warriors traveling across Qingming to monitor its entire progress.

To some unenlightened disciples, Little Wei Yuan's eyes seemed everywhere—always the feeling that an older brother watched them. And indeed, the older brother watched them constantly.

Little Wei Yuan ordered Cui Yu to form thousands of scout cavalry, dressed in the Mietian Gang's attire, patrolling in squads of dozens across a thousand li around Qingming, expelling the Witch Clan and small factions seeking to settle here.

In Little Wei Yuan's eyes, the thousand-li zone around Qingming was his domain—and this was an immediate matter. He would not permit others to establish roots here.

The Witch Clan was manageable; the human petty factions were the real nuisance—slipping through cracks, full of schemes. Those who came to the Western Regions to survive were all rebels and scoundrels—without exception.

Little Wei Yuan didn't need to speak to know their thoughts: they believed Qingming would inevitably expand to this land. They'd endure the harsh decades ahead, then claim the land as fertile territory once the border expanded.

After decades of cultivation here, they'd have leverage to bargain with Little Wei Yuan—ideally, establishing a state within a state, living free and easy forever.

If it had been half a year ago, before the Yu Kingdom attacked, Little Wei Yuan would have welcomed such people—he'd have grabbed every straw floating by.

But now, after defeating the Yu Kingdom at the cost of a million lives, Little Wei Yuan would not allow these people to come and pluck the fruit.

The Mietian Gang's name says it all: those who follow me prosper; those who oppose me die—again and again. For small clans and factions, there were only three choices: leave, join, or die.

Under heaven, is there any land without an owner?

(End of Chapter)