Chapter 53
Translator: T_Fan
Three days later.
The Pill Recipe Pavilion of the Inner Alchemy Court.
Lee Hyun slowly examined the inheritance list hanging on the wall.
The Pill Recipe Pavilion was much smaller than the Inner Pavilion of the Scripture Pavilion. Instead, the listings were divided according to the grade and effects of each pill, with the qualifications required to view each pill recipe written alongside them.
His gaze stopped on one wooden plaque.
「Foundation Establishment Pill.
Tier 2 pill recipe.
Available for viewing only to alchemists of Tier 2 or higher recognized by this sect.
240 contribution points.
Unauthorized transmission prohibited.」
‘So they really do have it.’
Lee Hyun held out his identity token to the cultivator in charge.
“I would like to view the Foundation Establishment Pill recipe.”
The cultivator placed the identity token on a formation plate. Three layers of flame patterns lit up, and Lee Hyun’s affiliation and alchemist qualification appeared in midair.
“Fellow Daoist Li Dongsan of Yanxia Peak, I see. You have not held your Tier 2 alchemist qualification for very long, have you?”
“That is correct.”
“You are qualified to view it. However, simply reading the pill recipe does not mean you will be entrusted with refining it.”
“I understand.”
After deducting the contribution points from his identity token, the cultivator pointed toward a small stone chamber farther inside.
“Go to the third inheritance chamber.”
…
Clack.
The stone door closed.
Lee Hyun picked up the jade slip resting on the stone platform and pressed it to his forehead.
「Foundation Establishment Pill recipe, quantities for one furnace batch.
All ages listed below refer to medicine age.
One Spirit-Storing Ginseng root, 250–470 years.
One Jade-Condensing Grass plant, 230–460 years.
One Fire-Heart Orchid plant, 220–430 years.
Twenty-six additional auxiliary medicinal ingredients…」
There were three main ingredients, followed by twenty-six kinds of auxiliary medicinal ingredients.
‘Spirit-Storing Ginseng?’
Lee Hyun’s attention stopped on the familiar name.
He carefully examined the explanation concerning Spirit-Storing Ginseng first.
The Spirit-Storing Ginseng used in the Foundation Establishment Pill had to be more than 250 years old. It required a far older root than when used for a Barrier-Breaking Pill, but it was not a different variety.
‘Spirit Fields No. 2-1 through No. 2-5 are all Spirit-Storing Ginseng fields!’
Pleased, Lee Hyun went through the remaining ingredients one by one.
There were many kinds of auxiliary ingredients, but they were all commonly traded spirit plants. There was no need to grow them himself when he could simply buy them at a cultivator market.
The problem was the three main ingredients.
First, Spirit-Storing Ginseng was a medicinal ingredient whose entire root was used. Fortunately, his own spirit fields already contained plenty that were suitable.
Jade-Condensing Grass was a spirit plant that formed a jade-colored bulb underground. The greater its medicine age, the more medicinal potency condensed within the bulb, and alchemy required one complete plant with both bulb and roots intact.
In other words, every furnace batch consumed an entire Spirit-Storing Ginseng root and an entire Jade-Condensing Grass plant that had each been cultivated for hundreds of years.
Jade-Condensing Grass was also cultivated in the sect’s spirit fields, but it took a long time to develop sufficient medicinal potency.
‘I should get some seeds for this and plant them too.’
Fire-Heart Orchids were different.
They were spirit plants with fine red streaks along the inner surfaces of their petals, and the medicinal potency required for the Foundation Establishment Pill gathered within those streaks. However, that medicinal potency formed only after absorbing the earth qi found in a particular secret realm.
There had been cases where mother plants were successfully transplanted and kept alive outside, but no matter how long they were cultivated, they could never develop the same medicinal potency as those grown inside the secret realm. The Danxiao Sect harvested mature Fire-Heart Orchids by the roots from a place under its control called the Huatian Secret Realm, using them to supply the amount needed for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, but the yield was extremely low.
‘So this is what Senior Brother Fang was talking about.’
After committing all the relevant information to memory, Lee Hyun examined the alchemy sequence.
From preparing the medicinal ingredients, through detoxification and Refining, Ingredient Combining and Pill Condensation, all the way to the warm nurturing immediately before completion.
He could more or less understand the earlier parts. But once the number of medicinal ingredients increased and the process reached the stage of handling several different medicinal potencies at once, he keenly realized that reading the words and actually carrying them out were two entirely different matters.
According to the pill recipe, even while adjusting the fire control for one medicinal ingredient, the states of all the other ingredients continued to change. The smallest difference in an earlier step affected both the subsequent distribution of medicinal strength and the amount of firepower required.
‘The difficulty of refining this is in a completely different league from the other pill recipes I’ve seen so far….’
For now, Lee Hyun focused on engraving the contents accurately into his mind. His memory itself surpassed that of mortals, but the pill recipe was both complex and extensive.
…
After leaving the inheritance chamber, Lee Hyun did not immediately leave the Pill Recipe Pavilion. Instead, he examined the listings again, this time looking for pill recipes that used spirit plants familiar to him as ingredients.
Normally, he had no way of knowing which pill recipe a particular ingredient was used in, but he did have a few clues.
The Tier 2 Bone-Forging Powder recipe immediately caught his eye. He already knew that the Bone-Rot Flowers growing in his spirit fields were used in it, so this recipe was certainly worth viewing.
Next was the Tier 2 Poison-Warding Pill recipe. He also knew that one of the spirit plants he had already cultivated, the Purple Poison Orchid, was used in it, so he decided to view that one as well.
The last thing he searched for was the Spirit-Calming Pill. Long ago, Senior Brother Lu Baishan of Qinghe Valley had told him that Yin Soul Grass was an ingredient in Spirit-Calming Pills.
However, there was no pill recipe called the Spirit-Calming Pill in this Pill Recipe Pavilion.
It was possible that Yin Soul Grass was used in some other pill recipe, but he could not blindly spend his contribution points viewing every recipe in sight.
‘The Tier 2 Bone-Forging Powder and Tier 2 Poison-Warding Pill recipes are already more than enough of a haul.’
Lee Hyun viewed those two pill recipes in turn as well. They required far fewer contribution points than the Foundation Establishment Pill recipe, so the cost was no great burden.
…
A few days later.
Danxiao Immortal City.
This place, practically the Danxiao Sect’s cultivator market, had a hall called the Spirit Materials Hall.
Large and small pots and wooden crates were lined up in front of it, each bearing a wooden plaque listing the variety, medicine age, and suitable cultivation environment.
Lee Hyun slowly looked around inside. Among the spirit plants used in the Foundation Establishment Pill and the other pill recipes he had newly viewed, he intended to buy those whose seeds or young seedlings were available.
He did not intend to grow every spirit plant required by his newly acquired pill recipes.
Once some varieties reached the age required by the pill recipe, leaving them to grow even older provided little additional benefit, so there was no real advantage in using his own spirit fields to cultivate them.
Increasing the number of spirit plant varieties he personally grew too much would only make the spirit fields harder to manage.
Timing every harvest to the proper medicine age, replanting afterward, and separately preserving the necessary parts was also more troublesome than it seemed. Now that he was not short on spirit stones, there was no reason to put himself through all that trouble.
Lee Hyun crossed most of the varieties off the list in his mind.
‘Let’s only plant things that become more valuable the longer they’re left to grow.’
He approached a late Qi Refining cultivator tending a table farther inside.
“I’d like some Jade-Condensing Grass seeds.”
“Have a look.”
The cultivator brought out a thin wooden box with seeds neatly arranged inside.
Lee Hyun examined the life force within each seed in turn.
“I’ve heard that an aged bulb only fetches its full value if it has no blemishes. Is there anything in particular I should watch out for while growing them?”
“Jade-Condensing Grass is not difficult to cultivate. Keep the soil from drying out, but do not allow water to pool and rot the bulb. Give the roots plenty of room to spread, and once planted, it is best not to move them unless necessary.”
“Would they still be useful if cultivated for more than five hundred years?”
“My apologies. This humble Junior does not know that much. But judging from the characteristics of Jade-Condensing Grass, one cultivated beyond five hundred years may become a Tier 3 spirit plant.”
When Lee Hyun nodded, the cultivator cautiously added,
“Senior, are you aware that Jade-Condensing Grass with a low medicine age is not particularly useful? It is a variety that must be cultivated for a long time before it becomes valuable.”
“Do not worry. I know what I am buying.”
“In that case… the seeds are three low-grade spirit stones each.”
“That is not cheap for a seed.”
“For some reason, demand is fairly high.”
Lee Hyun paid ninety low-grade spirit stones and bought thirty Jade-Condensing Grass seeds. It was an almost negligible sum for him.
***
Ten days later.
Tunnel No. 3.
Buzzzzz–
As Lee Hyun entered the cavern, golden balls of fur flew toward him from every direction.
“Yes, yes. Have you all been well?”
Chirp! Chirp chirp!
Several landed on his shoulders, while a few others clung to the hem of his robe.
Of them all, the three fellows with especially powerful auras naturally claimed Lee Hyun’s head and the backs of both hands. Whenever other fuzzbees approached, they even raised their short forelegs to shove them away.
They were the fellows that had broken through to Tier 2 spirit insects.
Lee Hyun lifted the fuzzbee perched on the back of his hand and brought it before his eyes.
The flow of spiritual power within it was considerably more stable than before. When it had first broken through, only the energy inside its body had grown stronger, but now that strength seemed to flow naturally all the way into its wings and short legs.
“You are Tier 2 spirit insects now… so what are you actually good at besides eating and sleeping?”
Chirp!
The fuzzbee stiffened its antennae.
“Don’t take it the wrong way. Let’s see what you can do.”
Lee Hyun pointed toward a stone pillar on the opposite side of the cavern and sent a simple command through the Spirit-Nurturing Seal.
He told it to fly to the pillar and return.
Buzz!
The streak of gold vanished from the back of his hand.
By the time the delayed sound of its wings brushed his ears, the fuzzbee was already rounding the stone pillar on the far side.
“Oh….”
Before Lee Hyun could even hold out his hand, the fellow landed on top of his head.
Chirp chirp!
The other two immediately took flight as well.
Three streaks of golden light shot across the cavern. They banked around the pillars, passed through cracks near the ceiling, then circled Lee Hyun as though competing to overtake one another.
He focused his divine sense and examined their movements.
Even when they abruptly stopped or changed direction after flying at high speed, their bodies barely wavered.
“A Qi Refining cultivator probably wouldn’t even be able to see you clearly.”
Chirp!
The fuzzbee that returned first rubbed its forelegs together atop Lee Hyun’s finger. The other two settled beside it in a row and waved their antennae.
Somehow, they looked rather proud of themselves.
…
After inspecting the irrigation reservoir and the existing spirit fields, Lee Hyun looked for a suitable place to create a new spirit field.
Jade-Condensing Grass preferred shade and soil that did not dry easily. As long as its bulbs were not submerged in water, it did not seem difficult to manage, provided he set up the drainage properly.
‘Near Spirit Field No. 3-1 should work.’
As Lee Hyun walked along the familiar passage, a wooden plaque embedded in the wall caught his eye.
「Spirit Field No. 3-1」
It was where he had planted the Ringless Divine Tree.
Lee Hyun casually glanced inside, then suddenly stopped.
“Hm?”
Something was protruding from the black soil.
A single dark blue-green stem stood upright on its slender body. At its tip, two seed leaves smaller than his fingernail had unfolded opposite each other.
Lee Hyun immediately approached, crouched down, and activated the Aura-Reading Art.
A faint trace of life force extended from the two seed leaves down the stem and into the soil. At its end, the shell of the seed that had remained closed for so long had split apart on both sides.
“It sprouted…?”
It really had.
Lee Hyun took the spirit field ledger from his storage pouch and placed a finger on the page where he had recorded the sowing date.
‘It’s already been about forty-one years.’
Whenever he visited the tunnel over all that time, he had only checked that some life force remained. Since there had been no visible changes, he had not expected much.
And yet it had finally sprouted!
Lee Hyun reached out to touch the soil beside the stem, then stopped.
‘Better not mess with it for no reason.’
Under the sowing record in the ledger, he wrote down today’s date.
「Germination confirmed.」
After staring at it for a moment, he added another line.
「Two seed leaves.」
“Haha.”
He could not help laughing.
Lee Hyun remained seated there for a while, gazing at the tiny sprout.
Buzz–
A fuzzbee took off from his shoulder and hovered near the seed leaves.
“You have to protect this fellow well. Don’t let any spirit insect touch it.”
Chirp!
…
Lee Hyun cleared out a cavern near Spirit Field No. 3-1 and prepared Spirit Field No. 3-2 for the Jade-Condensing Grass.
Following the method he had been told at the Spirit Materials Hall, he tilled the soil deeply and dug shallow waterways along the edges. He also made a separate drainage channel to carry away excess water.
After leaving plenty of space for the bulbs and roots to grow, he planted the thirty Jade-Condensing Grass seeds one by one.
Next, he connected bamboo pipes leading from the existing irrigation reservoir in the upper section, then installed basic formation inscriptions that sensed the moisture in the soil as well as a Water-Drawing Inscription on the reservoir side.
‘I’ll probably have to experiment a little to figure out the watering interval…’
For now, he set the new spirit field’s watering interval to roughly match the other fields and added a note to the ledger. Once he accumulated more records while coming and going from Tunnel No. 3, he should be able to determine the proper watering method.
「Spirit Field No. 3-2」
Once he installed the wooden plaque as well, everything was finished.
***
One year later.
A rumor spread across Yanxia Peak that Tan Yunsheng would personally refine Foundation Establishment Pills.
That evening, on the day Lee Hyun heard the news while preparing medicinal ingredients in the communal Alchemy Hall, Eldest Senior Brother Tao Wenqian came to Qingyu Ravine.
“Junior Brother Li. Have you ever viewed the Foundation Establishment Pill recipe?”
“I viewed it last year.”
“Excellent. Master is looking for disciples to assist him.”
Lee Hyun looked up.
“May I participate?”
“He needs someone to inspect and prepare the medicinal ingredients. I told him you could be trusted with that much. I haven’t said so before, but I’ve watched you work in the communal Alchemy Hall a few times. I have never seen a Junior Brother as steady and skilled as you. You almost give the impression of an experienced alchemist….”
“Haha… thank you.”
“In fact, only disciples whose viewing of the Foundation Establishment Pill recipe has been officially verified may assist or observe. We’ll check the Pill Recipe Pavilion’s records tomorrow, so bring your identity token.”
Pill recipes had to be formally viewed by paying contribution points. The contribution points spent by disciples were an important source of income for the sect, and that income was directly tied to the shares received by the Golden Core Elders. Because of that, it was forbidden to transmit an inheritance to a disciple who had not viewed it, even under the pretext of assisting with alchemy.
Of course, inheritances not possessed by the sect were a different matter. For example, the Flame-Threading Art Lee Hyun had received in the past was a technique absent from the Danxiao Sect’s Scripture Pavilion, something Tan Yunsheng had personally acquired and kept.
Lee Hyun nodded.
“I’ll be prepared.”
…
The next day.
An alchemy chamber deep within Yanxia Peak.
When Lee Hyun arrived, Tao Wenqian and several other Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters were already inspecting the medicinal ingredients.
At the center stood a purple pill furnace taller than a person. Formation inscriptions that drew up earth fire were engraved beneath its three legs, while clear water flowed slowly through narrow grooves extending across the floor.
Tao Wenqian handed Lee Hyun two jade trays.
“Junior Brother Li, take care of these auxiliary medicinal ingredients. First check for any hidden damage or loss of medicinal potency that cannot be seen from the outside. If there are no problems, prepare them according to the marked quantities.”
“Understood.”
Lee Hyun examined the auxiliary medicinal ingredients on the trays with the Aura-Reading Art. He had handled them before, and they had been stored well.
He drew a thin knife, and his hands moved smoothly without pause.
Slice. Slice.
He neatly removed the soil clinging to the surface and trimmed away damaged fine roots.
While Lee Hyun prepared the medicinal ingredients, the other disciples finished their respective tasks as well. Tao Wenqian repeatedly checked the condition of the three main ingredients, while Fang Jiyun inspected the connection between the pill furnace and the earth-fire formation.
In front of Tao Wenqian lay a thick Spirit-Storing Ginseng root, a Jade-Condensing Grass plant with a jade-colored bulb, and a Fire-Heart Orchid with vivid red streaks. It was Lee Hyun’s first time seeing a real Fire-Heart Orchid, so his gaze lingered on it for a moment.
“Is everything ready?”
“Yes, Master.”
Tan Yunsheng examined the ingredients separated onto the trays one by one. When he reached the auxiliary ingredients Lee Hyun had prepared, his hand paused for a moment. He picked up a thin slice and held it against the light before speaking with interest.
“Hm? The youngest is remarkably good at preparing medicinal ingredients. That is unexpected.”
“Thank you.”
Tan Yunsheng sat down in front of the pill furnace.
“Once the alchemy begins, do not extend your divine sense into the pill furnace without my permission. You may observe the flow from outside.”
“We will remember.”
Tan Yunsheng lightly raised a hand.
Hummmm–
The formation inscriptions on the floor lit up one after another.
Earth fire rose from the burner and enveloped the bottom of the pill furnace. Red light climbed along its legs, and the patterns engraved across the furnace’s surface emerged one by one.
Clack.
The lid opened and hovered in midair.
As Tan Yunsheng moved his fingers, the medicinal ingredients on the jade trays flew into the pill furnace in a predetermined order.
At that moment,
Fwoosh–
The flames inside the pill furnace split apart into strands as fine as thread.
‘The Flame-Threading Art.’
It was a technique Lee Hyun had learned as well.
Of course, the flame threads wielded by Tan Yunsheng before him were incomparably more precise than Lee Hyun’s own. Lee Hyun might have lived for a long time, but he had only learned the Flame-Threading Art recently.
Tan Yunsheng’s Flame-Threading Art was exceptionally profound, making it mesmerizing to watch.
Beside a brightly blazing flame thread passed another whose glow was barely visible. Though they crossed close enough to seem on the verge of touching, their flames never merged or wavered.
Novice alchemists primarily refined pills by heating the lower portion of the pill furnace, but at Tan Yunsheng’s level, it seemed some alchemists instead manipulated the fire directly within the upper part of the furnace like this.
Rustle.
One of the first medicinal ingredients placed inside broke down.
The impurities were pushed toward the wall of the pill furnace, while the refined medicinal strength condensed into a clear liquid and gathered in one place.
Without pausing, Tan Yunsheng handled the remaining medicinal ingredients one after another. As more ingredients were introduced, the flow became so complex that merely watching it made Lee Hyun dizzy, while Tan Yunsheng’s fingers moved too quickly for the eye to follow.
Just before medicinal liquids of different properties merged into one, portions of the churning liquid would suddenly turn clear for the briefest instant.
Ssssss–
The rippling surface soon settled calmly.
‘Calling this precision measured in seconds wouldn’t even do it justice….’
Even as dozens of medicinal ingredients constantly merged and separated, tracing dazzling trajectories, not once was the overall flow interrupted.
‘This is really difficult….’
Lee Hyun was busy enough simply following the order written in the pill recipe.
It was true that he himself had once diligently practiced refining Barrier-Breaking Pills. But Lee Hyun had always made only simple pills whenever he needed them, so the level of alchemy Tan Yunsheng was displaying came as a profound shock.
…
Two shichen (about four hours) later.
The medicinal potencies of the three main ingredients and the auxiliary medicinal ingredients finally fused into one.
The medicinal strength gathered inside the pill furnace was dense and heavy. Even after forming a single mass, multiple colors continued to cross through its interior.
Tan Yunsheng formed a hand seal with both hands.
Hummmmmm–
The merged medicinal strength split apart once more into five portions.
The flames surrounding each portion rotated in a circle. When Lee Hyun concentrated, he noticed slight differences in the movements of all five sets of flames. Tan Yunsheng was independently adjusting each one according to the condition of the pills undergoing Pill Condensation.
Once the rotation of the medicinal strength stabilized, the lid hovering in midair slowly descended.
Clack.
The pill furnace closed.
The inside was no longer visible, but Tan Yunsheng’s hands did not stop even as the warm nurturing continued. Lee Hyun tried to take in every last one of those minute changes.
…
How much time had passed?
The flow of spiritual power inside the pill furnace suddenly began to fluctuate violently.
At that moment, Tan Yunsheng flicked a finger and the lid opened.
Flash!
Brilliant radiance erupted from inside the pill furnace.
The light faded in an instant, but in that fleeting and mysterious glow, Lee Hyun felt as though he could sense a trace of profound mystery.
A moment later, five ivory-colored pills flew out and landed on a jade tray.
Lee Hyun’s gaze locked onto the pills.
Blue pill markings traced their surfaces. Their medicinal fragrance was subtle, but the medicinal strength condensed within them was anything but faint.
He still did not know exactly what level of achievement was represented by pill markings appearing on the surface of a pill, but there was no doubt that what lay before him were genuine Foundation Establishment Pills.
After inspecting the pills one by one, Tan Yunsheng handed them to Tao Wenqian.
“Have them undergo pill inspection and deliver them to the pill storehouse.”
“Yes.”
While Tao Wenqian prepared to seal them, Tan Yunsheng looked around at his disciples and spoke.
“If there is anything you are curious about, ask.”
The moment those words left his mouth, Lee Hyun and several other disciples began firing questions at him.
…
That night.
After returning to Qingyu Ravine, Lee Hyun did not go straight to bed. Instead, he sat at the table.
He took out a blank sheet of paper and wrote down everything he had seen that day without leaving anything out. Yet the more he organized his notes, the more keenly he realized that he had understood less than half of Tan Yunsheng’s handling.
“Hmm….”
Lee Hyun made several marks on the paper.
‘I’ll have to ask him during the next lecture!’
…
From then on, whenever Lee Hyun had an opportunity to assist with alchemy, he participated without fail, observing every movement of Tan Yunsheng’s hands and recording it all.
…
Lee Hyun also selected a combat technique from the Inner Pavilion of the Scripture Pavilion.
《Condensed-Essence Grasping Hand》.
It resembled a technique once used by one of the two Foundation Establishment alliance elders who had fought him on Chiyao Island, an island of the Qingchao Merchant Alliance in the southern part of the Lan Kingdom.
The technique formed a gigantic hand from the condensed spiritual power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Since it could shape spiritual power directly without relying on a separate magic tool, it seemed highly versatile.
…
Time continued to pass.
The Jade-Condensing Grass in the tunnel sprouted and gradually grew more leaves. After several years, small bulbs began forming beneath the soil. However, they still had a long way to grow before they possessed enough medicinal potency to be useful in a Foundation Establishment Pill.
The Ringless Divine Tree was especially slow.
Even the next year, and the year after that, the changes were so slight that Lee Hyun could only notice them by comparing the tree against the records in his ledger.
Whenever Lee Hyun visited the tunnel, he would inspect the spirit fields and fuzzbees, refill the irrigation reservoir, linger for a while in front of the Ringless Divine Tree, and then leave.
***
In the tenth year after he successfully reached Foundation Establishment.
The cultivation chamber at Qingyu Ravine.
Hummmm–
The spiritual qi drawn in by the Qi-Gathering Formation seeped into Lee Hyun’s body.
Whoooosh–
The flow beneath the Sea of Qi Acupoint completed one great revolution.
The liquid true essence filling his lower dantian settled more heavily, and the spiritual pressure surged upward. Unable to withstand that force, the layer blocking his path was pushed aside from within.
Thump.
The hem of Lee Hyun’s robe fluttered lightly.
A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes.
“I did it!”
He had reached Foundation Establishment Stage 2.
More precisely, his lower dantian had reached Foundation Establishment Stage 2. He still had to raise the rest of his entire body to Foundation Establishment.
Lee Hyun took a wooden board from his storage pouch.
【Age: 1,450 years】
【Realm: Foundation Establishment Stage 2 (lower dantian)】
【Spiritual Power: 1,376 → 1,396】
Lee Hyun nodded as he looked at the newly carved characters.
“Hehe.”
…
A few days later.
A red paper crane appeared before the waterfall at Qingyu Ravine.
The paper crane circled the edge of the Cloud-Barrier Abode-Guarding Formation, then unfolded on its own, transforming into a voice-transmission talisman that clung to the formation’s barrier.
“Hm?”
Sensing the disturbance in the formation, Lee Hyun gestured, and the voice-transmission talisman flew inside. When he unfolded it, Eldest Senior Brother Tao Wenqian’s voice emerged.
[Master has issued a summons. All disciples under him are to come to Yanxia Peak.]
‘What’s going on…?’
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