On Yaoyue Island.
A young man in a moon-white Daoist robe moved his hands in flurries like darting swallows, his magic power surging like a tide.
Under his complete and focused control, medicinal herbs poured into the giant cauldron, as numerous as stars in the night sky and blossoms in a meadow.
With no one to assist him, he bore the immense burden entirely alone—one could well imagine the staggering difficulty.
Rumor had it that whenever major alchemy sects undertook pill refinement on such a massive scale, they spent ages in meticulous preparation. During the refinement itself, they relied on arrays, numerous low-tier alchemists, and experts of various specialized crafts to assist them.
When Azure Pill Valley refined the Nascent Soul Formation Pill, for example, they mobilized five Tier 3 alchemists, thirty seasoned Tier 2 alchemists, and a grand Azure Pill Co-Refining Array—all working under the direction of Qingdanzi, a Tier 4 alchemist, to complete the feat.
For Luo Chen to attempt such an undertaking single-handedly struck the world as utter madness.
Yet Luo Chen alone knew that he possessed the necessary foundation.
Whether it was his Great Perfection mastery over every fundamental branch of alchemy, or his Great Perfection technique in refining True Flame Pills, both were more than enough to support him at this stage.
Most importantly, the Hunyuan Cauldron—a supreme treasure of alchemy—was his natal magic treasure, nurtured painstakingly over many years. He could command it at will, and any shift within it was caught by his senses the instant it occurred.
Because of all these factors, he dared to take this step.
Expanding the cauldron had been an unavoidable necessity. Mass pill refinements on this scale were simply beyond the capacity of small vessels only one or two zhang tall.
Of course, doing this made many things difficult to conceal.
Then again...
There was no need to conceal anything!
Here, he was king!
Even if someone managed to peek and copy a trick or two, he didn't care in the slightest.
When it came to passing down knowledge, Luo Chen had always been rather generous. From his humble beginnings at Dahe Mill to his rise in Tianlan Immortal City, he had rarely been stingy with his craft outside of the core secrets, willing to share various methods with others.
After all, once others learned them, they would develop their own insights and innovate upon them. He could then learn those back and rely on the proficiency panel to push them to the pinnacle. In that exchange, the greatest beneficiary was always him.
The refinement on the island proceeded in an orderly manner under Luo Chen's control.
An increasingly scorching heat radiated outward, forcing the waiting apothecaries in the surroundings to back away one after another. Under the blistering temperature, the very air seemed to twist and warp.
Thousands of cultivators looked on from afar at the man commanding heaven and earth above, his every gesture flowing like drifting clouds and flowing water. The looks in their eyes had changed considerably.
No longer was it pure dread and fear.
A few measures of reverence had crept in.
When a person possessed supreme mastery over a craft, then no matter how scheming and treacherous their nature, or how tyrannical their conduct, onlookers could not help but show three parts respect for their skill.
Even so...
A few sharp-eyed onlookers caught the shifting expressions on Luo Chen's face through the distorted air.
At times he looked pleased, at times furrowed in confusion; now hesitating and cautious, now surging boldly forward. Toward the end, every single mudra he formed appeared exceptionally solemn.
Had some not assumed their eyes were playing tricks, they might have even suspected that Demonic Lord Qingyang had broken out in a sweat.
Naturally, there were murmurs about these details. Yet regardless of the chatter, as time passed, Luo Chen's refinement progressed steadily forward at an undeniable pace.
One day, two days, three days...
Cultivators along the lakeshore came and went, dispersing and gathering again. Aside from those with a genuine passion for alchemy, the rest could not remain watching the entire time. Still, everyone understood the staggering toll such prolonged refinement took on one's magic power and the heavy burden it placed on the soul.
Because of this, the reverence of the Flying Swallow Archipelago's cultivators toward Luo Chen grew even deeper.
Only now, without experiencing battle, had they personally witnessed his might!
It was a gentle display of sheer foundation!
Bare, yet magnificent!
At last, half a month later.
A long whistle echoed across the ten-li tranquil lake, churning up countless golden ripples, and every gaze snapped to the exact same spot.
Midair, the white-robed, red-faced young man held a green gourd in one hand while plucking at the empty air with the other, shouting aloud:
"A hundred batches have formed, the time is now."
"Come forth!"
The next instant, streaks of flowing light shot from the Hunyuan Cauldron like shooting stars.
Each was vivid crimson like agate. Shimmering together, they resembled meteors soaring into the sky, rushing toward the young man.
His fingers tapped repeatedly, plucking stars and gathering moons like an immortal, funneling streak after streak of meteoric light into the green gourd.
One, two, three... At first glance, they seemed countless.
Yet the senses of cultivators were exceptionally sharp. Since Luo Chen made no effort to conceal them, the Foundation Establishment figures quickly tallied the number.
A total of four hundred and twenty-seven pills formed!
Such a quantity shook the entire audience.
What was more, every single pill remained at the high-grade tier.
A rich pill fragrance permeated heaven and earth.
Under this dense aroma, even the spiritual vegetation on the island underwent subtle changes. Water-attribute plants grew listless and wilted, while fire-attribute plants spread their leaves wide, greedily drinking in the fragrant air.
Breathing in the pill scent, the Foundation Establishment True Cultivators along the lakeshore looked at one another, their eyes filled with disbelief!
Over four hundred Tier 3 high-grade pills!
Setting aside their medicinal potency, if one calculated by the normal market rates of the Northern Sea cultivation world...
A bottle of ten Tier 3 low-grade pills alone cost at least three thousand spirit stones, while mid-grade pills doubled that.
As for high-grade...
Pardon, but there was a price with no supply!
Such pills generally appeared only at grand auctions, high-tier black markets, or barter trades between senior cultivators. If one truly had to set a price, a bottle would easily fetch ten to twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones!
By that calculation, Demonic Lord Qingyang's half-month of refinement had consumed a hundred batches of ingredients worth three hundred thousand spirit stones. In the end, he had yielded over four hundred pills, all high-grade, commanding a total value of roughly five hundred to eight hundred thousand.
Deducting the material costs, in just a mere half month, Demonic Lord Qingyang had earned two hundred to five hundred thousand spirit stones.
No, wait!
He had incurred no costs at all—the clans had provided all those herbs for free.
In other words, it was pure profit!
Once they worked out the math, everyone swallowed hard, their eyes blazing with greed.
Yet when Luo Chen's mild gaze swept across them, it felt like icy rain pouring over their heads, washing away every trace of greed in an instant.
What a joke—that was Demonic Lord Qingyang!
Who would dare plot against him?
Even so, they had finally witnessed the outrageous profits of pill refinement! They had seen firsthand the wealth an alchemist could harvest!
There was nothing more to say: once they returned, they would do everything possible to nurture alchemists of their own. Even if they couldn't reach Demonic Lord Qingyang's level, wouldn't half his skill still leave them swimming in wealth?
The crowd lingered by the shore, reluctant to leave for a long time.
On Yaoyue Island, the nine-zhang cauldron had already shrunk.
Demonic Lord Qingyang's figure was nowhere to be seen.
Wisps of white mist drifted from the island, gradually spreading over the ten-li tranquil lake and shrouding the islet at its center.
***
Qingyang Hall.
Luo Chen walked toward the front of the hall with somewhat unsteady steps.
Before he stepped inside, laughter drifted from the soul banner leaning beside the entrance.
"Luo Chen, you were sweating bullets, weren't you?"
The remark was not without reason.
Because he had to focus entirely on refining the pills, he naturally could not maintain the composure he had cultivated over so many years. That was why he had appeared "flustered" in the eyes of the gathered cultivators.
Luo Chen rolled his eyes and said with utter confidence, "It was fine. Everything was within my calculations!"
Han Zhan chuckled, choosing not to call his bluff.
Luo Chen paused, his gaze seeming to pierce the soul banner to see Han Zhan's remnant soul hidden within.
He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately said nothing and strode inside.
Sensing that hesitation, Han Zhan fell silent as well, only murmuring quietly as Luo Chen entered, "Congratulations!"
Luo Chen gave an acknowledging grunt, stating that he intended to rest thoroughly and that no one was to disturb him. Han Zhan naturally took note.
This rest lasted three full days and nights.
When he awoke, Luo Chen rubbed his head, still feeling drowsy and painfully bloated.
This was the aftermath of refining a hundred batches at once.
Processing so many ingredients in a single attempt and simultaneously manipulating so much medicinal essence to fuse into pills was an immense challenge for any alchemist's soul.
Even though Luo Chen believed his soul foundation was now no weaker than that of any mid Gold Core cultivator, even a mid Gold Core expert would find such a feat difficult to pull off!
That Luo Chen had succeeded was largely due to his terrifyingly vast alchemy experience.
Inside the bedchamber.
A trace of regret surfaced on Luo Chen's face.
If only Nether-Passage Pills were still effective.
Alas, there were no 'ifs.'
Ever since forming his Core, he had possessed no pills that could expand his soul foundation. Soul growth relied entirely on the honing of years, the breakthrough of realms, and the modest enhancements of the *Micromote Origin Art*—nothing else.
This was precisely why Luo Chen had hesitated when looking at Han Zhan.
The Falling Cloud Sect excelled in puppet arts and was thoroughly versed in spirit-refining techniques!
From what he knew, the sect's Three Arts and Two Techniques had been obtained by their founding ancestor from a secret realm. Practiced over time, they could steadily strengthen the soul. Precisely because of this, Falling Cloud Sect cultivators could manipulate numerous puppets of higher realms than themselves, pulling off the feat of fighting above their cultivation tier.
If he could learn the Three Arts and Two Techniques from Han Zhan, he could surely patch up this "shortcoming."
Yet obviously...
How could the core legacy of a sect be lightly offered to an outsider?
After hesitating, he had held his tongue to avoid the awkwardness of a refusal.
Shaking off his regret, Luo Chen adjusted his mood, fetched the green gourd from his storage ring, and took inventory.
Four hundred and twenty-seven high-grade True Flame Pills!
This figure fell short of what he had envisioned.
Based on his success rates across proficiency tiers, he ought to achieve at least a fifty percent success rate for high-grade pills at Great Perfection. With the assistance of his natal magic treasure, that rate should have been even higher. Even if not six or seven hundred pills, it should have remained above five hundred.
Yet the final tally was only four hundred and change...
After a brief silence, Luo Chen arrived at an answer.
It was likely because this was his first time attempting a hundred batches at once, and unfamiliarity had taken its toll. Handling so many ingredients simultaneously made some scrambling inevitable, and sweating bullets was understandable enough. A few more attempts would smooth things out.
Stowing the green gourd away, Luo Chen spat out the Hunyuan Cauldron and examined it closely.
In the end, he nodded in satisfaction.
It was truly worthy of being one of Azure Pill Valley's three great cauldrons, capable of refining its own quality through daily alchemy.
After a single mass refinement of a hundred batches, immense quantities of pill qi had merged into the cauldron, endowing it with peerless fire power. Minerals that had previously remained unrefined had begun to fuse completely into the metal. The work of half a month surpassed half a year of ordinary grinding!
*If this continues, in ten years at most, the Hunyuan Cauldron might reach its limit of nurturing, casting off all impurities to attain the absolute peak of a high-grade magic treasure.*
*There is no formal category for a supreme-grade magic treasure, but given this treasure's inherent foundation—born as a high-grade piece—shedding all its impurities would practically make it one!*
Pleased, Luo Chen put the Hunyuan Cauldron away.
Continue refining?
Naturally, that was out of the question.
His soul could not bear it, and his magic power required time to recover. He would rest for half a month first.
Of course, that half month would not go to waste. Many preparations had to be completed before his departure, not just stocking up on cultivation pills.
After washing up, Luo Chen enjoyed a hearty meal served by Cheng Haixin. Then, as his body digested the rich blood food, he read through records detailing the customs and geography of the Northern Sea.
Reading was a good habit he had maintained for years. Even here in the unfamiliar territory of the Northern Sea, he had not abandoned it whenever conditions permitted.
Many things required firsthand experience to truly grasp, but many others could be learned beforehand through books written by predecessors, allowing one to handle situations with poise when encountering them later.
True breadth of knowledge was never confined to traveling ten thousand li; reading ten thousand scrolls was equally a shortcut.
After finishing a volume of the *Annals of Feileng City*, Luo Chen headed to the side hall.
"Senior, I've come to study formations again."
From within the eerily dark side hall, a three-inch figure drifted out.
Han Zhan looked at Luo Chen in surprise. "You've completely mastered those Tier 1 formations?"
Luo Chen smiled freely and waved his hand.
Various basic materials floated out of his storage ring. As he placed them along specific trajectories and infused magic power, lines of radiant light instantly illuminated the floor.
A Tier 1 Fire-Gathering Formation!
It was not particularly complex, but laying it down so effortlessly and seamlessly without the slightest hesitation was genuinely astonishing.
After his initial shock, Han Zhan gave Luo Chen a deep, contemplative look before gesturing.
"Come inside!"
"I may not be a top-tier formation master, but Tier 1 through Tier 3 formations come easily to me, and I know a bit about several Tier 4 formations as well."
"Your foundation is solid, and you have the cultivation of the Gold Core stage. Learning the basics of each tier shouldn't pose much difficulty."
Han Zhan was a Grand Supreme Elder of the Falling Cloud Sect. Aside from his Nascent Soul cultivation, he specialized primarily in puppet arts, with formations as a secondary craft. Combining the two, he had created the Two Instruments Five Elements Sword Formation that had pressed Wolf Emperor Aoxiao into such dire straits!
Luo Chen's foundation in formations originated with Min Longyu, and he had later been tutored for a time by Fu Jiusheng. Now that he had Han Zhan as a companion, he was not about to pass up the formations the man possessed.
The Falling Cloud Sect's Three Arts and Two Techniques were sect heirlooms beyond his reach, but Han Zhan would not be stingy with common formations. Mastering them one by one would prove immensely useful to Luo Chen in both cultivation and combat.
For an ordinary person, pushing a single craft to its pinnacle already marked them as a genius. If they took up auxiliary skills, even a prodigy like Han Zhan could only earn the description of "knowing a bit."
Yet Luo Chen was different!
With his proficiency panel, and with his alchemy currently having reached a ceiling, pursuing formations carried a high probability of reaching a profound level. Furthermore, he had realized long ago that the essence of formations lay in tracing and repetition—and repetition aligned perfectly with the core nature of the proficiency panel.
Luo Chen looked forward to it!
Perhaps one day, he might truly become a master of formations.
***
Half a month later.
Across the ten-li tranquil lake, the white mist parted once more.
The nine-zhang cauldron stood atop the central islet again.
This time, more than half of the onlookers had disappeared, but the crowd now included many young Qi Refinement cultivators. Clearly, the various clans intended to seize the opportunity of observing Luo Chen's refinement to nurture their own alchemists.
Luo Chen made no move to chase them away. Before beginning, he simply instructed Cheng Haixin and his named disciple of recent years, Xu Muxian, to watch attentively.
What followed was the same process as before. Only this time, Luo Chen was far more composed, spared the embarrassment of breaking into a sweat. Familiarity bred ease, after all!
Refining a hundred batches at once was hardly an insurmountable feat under the mastery of Great Perfection.
And so, after half a month, the familiar scene of gathering pills played out once more. Even having seen it once, the onlookers were still struck with awe, and many wore expressions of sheer reverence.
***
Half a month of refining, half a month of rest.
Time slipped by, and after six months, the stockpiled herbs gathered for Luo Chen by the Flying Swallow Archipelago were finally exhausted.
Luo Chen's reserve of True Flame Pills had reached an unprecedented three thousand five hundred!
As for why there were so many?
Starting from the third attempt, he had kept his success rate above fifty percent!
By the fourth, he yielded five hundred and fifty pills.
The fifth yielded five hundred and ninety.
The sixth reached six hundred and thirty.
Combined with his earlier stock, the total reached three thousand five hundred!
Such impressive subsequent yields were only natural. Once Luo Chen mastered the rhythm of large-scale refinement and grasped its essence, combined with the Hunyuan Cauldron's capacity to enhance both pill grade and yield, such a bountiful harvest followed as a matter of course.
With this, his pill reserves were completely prepared.
The next step was to venture out, find that special location, and refine Black Emperor Paste to assist his body refinement.
***
On this day.
At Flying Swallow Wharf, seven cultivators saw him off with deep respect.
Looking increasingly weathered, Cheng Dou carefully gave instructions to his elder kinsman Cheng Ji, casting glances toward Luo Chen that held hints of delight.
Luo Chen was departing, and before leaving, he had lent Yaoyue Island to Cheng Dou to attempt his breakthrough to the Gold Core stage. This was something Cheng Dou had yearned for over many years. After several years of cultivating the *Qingyang Pill Classic*, he was on the verge of reaching minor accomplishment. Supported by a Tier 3 spiritual vein and his peak Foundation Establishment cultivation, the Gold Core stage was well within reach!
Cheng Haixin stood beside Luo Chen with a look of worry. "Is it truly necessary to visit the Xuanyan Sea Domain?"
Luo Chen glanced at her, and the woman lowered her head, offering no further dissuasion.
Only Luo Chen's calm instructions sounded in her ears.
"Xu Muxian's alchemy has reached Tier 1, but his foundation remains shaky. The pill recipe I gave him is rather intricate. Provide him with all the herbs delivered by the clans and let him practice more."
"Also, your Cheng family intends to marry a daughter to Xu Muxian to seal an alliance. I have no objection, but before he reaches Foundation Establishment, his primordial yang must not be broken."
"Lastly, speed up the collection of ingredients for the Starry Sky Pill."
Cheng Haixin nodded, engraving every instruction firmly in her mind.
She asked in a hushed voice, "Should we continue inquiring about those three herbs as well?"
"Yes, keep searching. The moment news surfaces, report it to me immediately. If you can secure them, do so; if not, wait for my return!"
"This concubine will remember!"
With everything settled, there was no reason to linger.
Luo Chen glanced over the Cheng family cultivators, the young Xu Muxian waiting by the wharf, and the Flying Swallow cultivators watching from the distance, offering a faint smile.
He leapt aboard the Cheng family's beast-hunting ship.
Cheng Ji, the Cheng family's seasoned navigator, shouted at the top of his lungs, "Set sail!"
The great vessel slowly surged forward. Beneath the water, five Blue-Ringed Giant-Fanged Sea Snakes escorted it, swimming in formation.
Ahead of them, a massive, pitch-black flood dragon rolled through the water, churning up countless waves as it charged at the very forefront of the ship!
Chapter 541