Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid

"Old me is an alchemist, and not a low-ranked one at that. You two are fortunate to have encountered me." Yao Lao grumbled somewhat gloomily, then glanced at Zhang Tian and immediately began scolding him.

"How are you a master? He hadn't even reached the Dou Zhe realm, yet you dared give him medicinal pills—and Grade 2 Pills at that. If I hadn't been inside his body, he would have died who knows how many times already."

Zhang Tian gave an awkward smile. He was no alchemist, so how could he have prepared things so thoroughly? Still, he had deliberately chosen some relatively mild pills for strengthening the foundation and replenishing vitality for Xiao Yan.

"There was truly no other way before. Does this old gentleman have a way to help Xiao Yan?" Zhang Tian deliberately gave Yao Lao an opening, asking with an earnest expression.

At that, Yao Lao revealed a smug grin.

"Of course I have a way. Back when I roamed the continent, I created a pill formula myself. You won't find a second copy anywhere on the entire continent. It is called Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, and it is perfectly suited for nourishing Xiao Yan's body."

To Yao Lao, the refining method was far too simple; he could recite the formula casually from memory. Since he had created it himself, even if it was only for foundation establishment, it was certainly no ordinary thing.

Zhang Tian was delighted. As expected, he had finally obtained Yao Lao's Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. Its effects were extremely potent, allowing Xiao Yan to soar through four stages of Dou Qi in a short time.

"However, you'll have to prepare the medicinal ingredients yourselves. I had originally planned to fleece little Yan." Yao Lao suddenly showed a wicked grin.

"As a Dou Ling, you should have a bit of wealth, shouldn't you?"

"Please tell me, Yao Lao." Zhang Tian did not mind. He had prepared quite a few medicinal ingredients over the years. In the Original Work, these things had only cost a little over a thousand gold coins. Zhang Tian refused to believe Yao Lao would raise the price on him.

"Three stalks of hundred-year Purple Leaf Orchid Grass, two Bone Cleansing Flowers over twenty years old, and one first-tier wood-element Magic Core." Yao Lao seemed to have long prepared the list and immediately began naming his price.

"Damn, it really is..." Zhang Tian's voice caught. He had clearly overestimated Yao Lao's integrity; the old man had directly multiplied the price several times over.

"So this is the guy who egged Xiao Yan on to pursue Yun Yun. Acting without the dignity of his age." Zhang Tian sighed inwardly and drew a black mark beside Yao Lao's name in his little notebook.

"Damn it, old man, why don't you just rob us?" Xiao Yan was dumbfounded as soon as he heard it. The medicinal herbs were manageable, but the Magic Core alone would cost at least a thousand gold coins. Altogether, it came to four or five thousand gold coins—enough for a family of eight to live comfortably for a lifetime.

"Others couldn't buy the spirit-nourishing liquid I prepare even if they had money. It can rapidly increase your Dou Qi, and you can't bear to spend even this much?"

"Teacher..." Xiao Yan only had a little over four hundred gold coins on him. Clearly, he could only rely on this teacher of his.

"It's fine. I have all the ingredients here except for one Magic Core. We can just go take one from the Xiao Family Treasury later." Zhang Tian coughed lightly, looking amusedly at Xiao Yan's miserable little face.

"Teacher, thank you." Xiao Yan was immediately deeply moved. A first-tier Magic Core only cost four or five hundred gold coins, meaning Zhang Tian was paying nine-tenths of the expense out of his own pocket. It truly moved him immensely.

"It's nothing, it's nothing. It's what I should do." Zhang Tian laughed heartily and waved his hand carelessly.

If spending money could get Xiao Yan to the Dou Zun realm, Zhang Tian would immediately become a bandit.

"Open the bundle I gave you." After thinking for a moment, Zhang Tian recalled that he seemed to have stored some medicinal ingredients in it.

"Yes, Teacher." Xiao Yan obediently opened the bundle. A rich medicinal fragrance wafted out. Five purple, orchid-shaped medicinal herbs emitted a faint aroma, and there were more than a dozen Bone Cleansing Flowers, along with many other herbs Xiao Yan could not recognize.

"Three-hundred-year Purple Leaf Orchid Grass and forty-year Bone Cleansing Flowers. What do you think, Yao Lao?"

Zhang Tian gave Yao Lao a teasing look. Yao Lao was slightly surprised, then glanced at the medicinal ingredients in the bundle and looked at Zhang Tian with a trace of shock.

"These are... Purple Orchid Lotus, Blood Essence Seed, Crimson Essence Seed, Yellow Lotus Essence..." Yao Lao stared at the dozen or so scattered varieties of medicinal herbs in the bundle, feeling utterly incredulous.

Together, these medicinal herbs were worth at least ten thousand gold coins. Moreover, when ordinary people obtained such herbs, they either sought an alchemist to refine them into pills or consumed them themselves. Who would preserve them like Zhang Tian did?

"Could Xiao Yan be this guy's illegitimate son?" An absurd thought arose in Yao Lao's mind.

He threw that thought out of his head. If Zhang Tian had not appeared to be only seven or eight years older than Xiao Yan, he truly would have suspected that Zhang Tian had been leaving lovers everywhere.

"With these medicinal ingredients, I can also refine several batches of Small Revitalizing Pills and Greater Purple Spirit Pills." A faint smile appeared on Yao Lao's aged face as well.

They smoothly obtained a wood-element Magic Core from Xiao Zhan.

Inside the quiet room, Yao Lao picked up a stalk of three-hundred-year Purple Leaf Orchid Grass. With a slight surge of spiritual power, a bone-white flame burst to life.

As the flame twisted slightly, the temperature throughout the room rose a little. Xiao Yan watched the scene curiously, and Zhang Tian was no exception. Despite having lived two lives, he had never seen an alchemist refine pills before.

Yao Lao's technique left Zhang Tian full of admiration. As expected of the Medicine Venerable renowned across the continent. His control over projecting Dou Qi outward was exceptionally precise, and Zhang Tian benefited greatly from watching it.

Yao Lao's expression remained calm, entirely unmoved by the outside world. Yet from the faint upward curve of his lips, it was clear that the old fellow was quite pleased with himself.

Almost instantly, the Purple Leaf Orchid Grass melted beneath the flame, burning into a small mass of pale purple liquid. Yao Lao swiftly picked up several more stalks of Purple Leaf Orchid Grass. Apparently intending to show off before the master and disciple, he was preparing to drastically shorten the refining time in one go.

Several stalks of Purple Leaf Orchid Grass melted at once, causing the purple liquid to grow somewhat larger. Under Yao Lao's continual tempering flames, the liquid steadily shrank. After the Bone Cleansing Flowers and Magic Core were added, their originally violent medicinal properties were purged clean by Yao Lao in mere moments, as though they had never existed.

The Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid was not pill-shaped, but rather a mass of emerald-green liquid containing enormous energy.

"Do I drink it directly?" Xiao Yan rubbed his hands together, looking somewhat impatient.

Smack. Zhang Tian slapped Xiao Yan on the head.

"You definitely can't drink this thing directly. Unless you want to die."

Yao Lao said with a smile, "Go ahead and drink it if you want to die. With meridians like yours, you'll immediately become a genuine cripple."

That smiling expression sent a shiver down Xiao Yan's spine. Yao Lao stopped teasing him and flicked his finger. The emerald-green Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid in his hand fell into a large basin of clean water in the room, and the clear water visibly turned green.

"From now on, soak in Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid to nourish your body. In less than a month, you'll reach the Sixth Stage Dou Qi." Yao Lao showed no fatigue at all after finishing. Xiao Yan immediately removed his clothes, entered the wooden tub, sat cross-legged inside, and formed a hand seal.

"Hiss, this hurts way too much." Xiao Yan's brows drew tightly together, and an expression of intense pain appeared on his little face.

Yao Lao let out a wicked chuckle, as if he had anticipated this outcome long ago.

"It's good that it hurts. Looks like the medicinal ingredients your master provided are especially potent."

The effects of this batch of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid were at least three times stronger than normal. If Xiao Yan had shown no reaction, Yao Chen would have suspected Zhang Tian's medicinal ingredients had expired.

Watching Xiao Yan grit his teeth and persist with cultivation despite the pain, Yao Lao nodded in satisfaction, then began refining Small Revitalizing Pills and Greater Purple Spirit Pills once more.