Qi Yuan's eyes could see hidden information.
In an instant, the flaws in the pill recipe were laid bare before him.
Moreover, the method to improve it appeared right away.
Of course, this improvement was not the optimal solution.
If the recipe were shown to him again tomorrow, a new improvement would appear—and the results would be even better.
It was just that for the same object, he could only view its hidden information once a day.
The Seven Colors Fire Refining Art he practiced had gone through continuous revisions this way.
Yet even so, the technique still had massive problems.
"There are quite a few problems with this Origin Nourishing Pill recipe," Qi Yuan answered bluntly.
Zhuge Miao's eyes lit up with anticipation. "Please enlighten me, Junior Brother."
"Replace the zhuhuang with glossy privet."
"Glossy privet?" Zhuge Miao was somewhat bewildered.
What he had wanted to know most was what was missing, yet Junior Brother Qi Yuan had jumped straight to altering the recipe.
However, recalling his last discussion with Qi Yuan, the latter's unorthodox and imaginative train of thought still left him in awe.
Back then, Qi Yuan had helped him considerably.
Besides, he was the one asking Qi Yuan for help; even if he had doubts, he had to keep them to himself.
Just then, Zhuge Miao sensed something and said, "Hold on a moment, Junior Brother Qi Yuan. I have an incoming transmission."
"A phone call?" Qi Yuan said offhandedly. "Go ahead and take it."
Phones hadn't been invented in the cultivation world, but transmissions existed.
Cultivators could use transmissions to contact one another.
However, such transmissions had distance limitations; the farther the reach, the steeper the price.
Furthermore, upon entering certain secret realms, they lost all efficacy.
As such, not every cultivator could afford them.
"Junior Brother, what is it?" Zhuge Miao lowered his voice as he answered the transmission.
"The recipe? Complete? You found it?"
"No need. Stay out of this."
Over the transmission, Zhuge Miao had initially looked pleased, but upon hearing his junior brother's subsequent dissuasion, annoyance flared on his face.
Cutting the transmission off, he turned back to Qi Yuan and calmed his mood. "Please continue, Junior Brother."
"The missing ingredient is yanggu. However, yanggu is inherently yang-natured, which causes a clash. It can be replaced with xiaotai flowers for better results." Having said his piece, Qi Yuan held out his hand. "Where is the Foundation Establishment spiritual item?"
Zhuge Miao was still digesting Qi Yuan's words. Hearing him ask for the spiritual item, he quickly took out a piece of jade bamboo.
The bamboo was mostly purple, resembling violet jade, with only a touch of translucent white at the joints.
"This is the Amethyst Jade Bamboo, an eighth-grade Foundation Establishment spiritual item."
Foundation Establishment spiritual items had distinct grades: lower three grades, middle three grades, and upper three grades.
As for what lay within or above the upper three grades, legendary higher ranks were said to exist.
The higher the grade of the spiritual item, the better the result of Foundation Establishment and the greater the cultivator's potential.
Of course, the cultivation world was a place of miracles and serendipity.
Nothing was absolute.
There was no hard rule dictating that using a lower-grade spiritual item for Foundation Establishment meant being stuck at a certain realm for life.
Even so, every Foundation Establishment spiritual item was of immense value.
Eighth grade belonged to the lower three grades.
Yet even then, most ordinary Qi Refinement disciples of the Divine Light Sect couldn't afford an Amethyst Jade Bamboo even if they emptied their entire life savings.
The fact that Zhuge Miao could offer it as a reward was proof of his wealth.
Such was the gap between a head disciple and an ordinary disciple.
Naturally, even Zhuge Miao felt a twinge of heartache parting with it.
Zhuge Miao added, "The grade of this Amethyst Jade Bamboo is on the lower side. If you aren't in a rush, Junior Brother Qi Yuan, you could gather more spirit stones and combine them with the bamboo to trade for a higher-grade spiritual item."
While the Amethyst Jade Bamboo was priceless to ordinary disciples—who would eagerly use it to establish their foundation once their spiritual energy reached Qi Refinement Perfection—for the head disciples of the various peaks, using a lower-grade item was somewhat substandard.
Zhuge Miao himself, for instance, had established his foundation with a fifth-grade Dragon Seeking Ruler, an item of the middle three grades.
Qi Yuan accepted the Amethyst Jade Bamboo and nodded. "Mm."
The Amethyst Jade Bamboo was not his first choice of spiritual item anyway.
Even if he didn't use it in the future, he could exchange it for spirit stones.
Although he was the eldest senior brother of Seven Colors Peak, he was... truly poor.
Compared to the head disciples of the other peaks, the difference was night and day.
"Sigh." Thinking of something, Zhuge Miao said, "Junior Brother Qi Yuan, if you hadn't offended your master, you would probably have a middle-grade or even high-grade Foundation Establishment spiritual medicine by now and stepped into the Foundation Establishment realm."
A hint of regret laced Zhuge Miao's tone.
In his view, Qi Yuan was truly reckless to the extreme, daring to offend even the Peak Master of Seven Colors Peak.
After all, even the Sect Master of the Divine Light Sect treated her with immense reverence.
Zhuge Miao had once heard his master mention that the Divine Light Sect originally had only four peaks. But when Ruan Yixi arrived, an extra peak was added: Seven Colors Peak.
That peak now had a history of a thousand years.
This implied that the Peak Master of Seven Colors Peak had likely lived for over a millennium.
A lifespan of a thousand years required at least the Divine Infant realm.
An expert like that could walk unhindered across all of Great Shang.
By becoming Ruan Yixi's disciple, Qi Yuan had latched onto the thickest of thighs!
Yet Qi Yuan had been blinded by lust and provoked Ruan Yixi's wrath.
Every single resource had been cut off from him.
His current plight could only be described as miserable.
Had Zhuge Miao been in his shoes, he would have wailed and prostrated himself before his master long ago to apologize.
Qi Yuan, however, showed no intention of apologizing whatsoever.
Still, remembering that Qi Yuan belonged to the Obsession lineage made it easier to understand.
Cultivators of that lineage were unrestrained, and their thought processes were anything but normal.
Hearing Zhuge Miao's words, Qi Yuan's gaze softened. "I didn't say anything wrong, so why should I apologize?"
Cold sweat trickled down Zhuge Miao's back.
"Junior Brother Qi Yuan, drop the subject!"
He was terrified that Qi Yuan would say something outrageous again and offend the aloof, cold fairy atop Seven Colors Peak.
If that brought trouble down upon his own head, it would be a disaster.
Qi Yuan smiled faintly. "You're all afraid of Ruan Yixi, but I'm not. Because she's my..."
"Stop talking!" Zhuge Miao's heart leapt into his throat, and he rushed to cut Qi Yuan off.
Otherwise, if that supreme figure on Seven Colors Peak took offense, there would be hell to pay.
Qi Yuan said no more. Bidding Zhuge Miao farewell, he tugged his kitchen cleaver along and continued on his stroll.
Zhuge Miao let out a breath of relief.
Fortunately, nothing had happened.
Just then, an anxious voice called out, "Eldest Senior Brother, did you trade for it?"
Dressed in a green cloth robe with a gourd hanging at his waist, Xu Langhu rushed over with hurried steps.
As he spoke, he pulled out a yellowed piece of paper.
"This is a pill recipe I picked up by chance in the market today. It's identical to the Origin Nourishing Pill recipe you found in the secret realm, Senior Brother, so I contacted you right away."
Xu Langhu handed the recipe to Zhuge Miao. Seeing that the Amethyst Jade Bamboo was no longer at Zhuge Miao's waist, he cried out in anguish, "Eldest Senior Brother, we already have the recipe here! Why did you still trade with Qi Yuan? Qi Yuan doesn't even belong to our Divine Medicine Peak. What ability does he have to help you assess a pill recipe? He probably hasn't gotten far. I'll chase after him right now and demand the Amethyst Jade Bamboo back!"
Xu Langhu rambled on, completely oblivious to the darkening expression on Zhuge Miao's face.
"I conducted a transaction with Junior Brother Qi Yuan. What right do you have to judge it? Besides, even if Junior Brother Qi Yuan couldn't help me, so what? I was willing to do him a favor."
The transmission Zhuge Miao had received earlier had been from Xu Langhu.
At the time, Zhuge Miao had already learned that his junior brother had the complete recipe, and he had the opportunity to call off the deal, yet he chose not to.
"Eldest Senior Brother..." Xu Langhu said uneasily, "I was only worried you would come away empty-handed. Fortunately, I obtained the complete recipe. You once saved my life, Eldest Senior Brother, so I offer this recipe to you."
He stopped mentioning Qi Yuan.
In his mind, how could Qi Yuan possibly understand pill recipes?
He himself had studied medicine on Divine Medicine Peak for a decade and still couldn't complete an incomplete recipe. Could Qi Yuan really do it?
Zhuge Miao took the recipe. "I will examine it and compare it against what Junior Brother Qi Yuan said, then brew a few cauldrons of the Origin Nourishing Pill."
"That would be a waste of ingredients," Xu Langhu muttered under his breath, clearly convinced that Qi Yuan's method wouldn't produce any Origin Nourishing Pills at all.
Chapter 7