Wind Mansion First Success

"Boom!"

With a muffled sound, the pill furnace shook and then fell silent. Lifting the lid, nine perfectly formed pills met his eyes.

A rich aroma of pills wafted over, refreshing and invigorating. A proud smile spread across Long Chen's face.

He reached out and took one pill in his hand. It was smooth and round, emitting a faint glow, with a layer of subtle patterns on its surface.

"Although the Pill Patterns are faint and the color isn't vibrant, and some of the pill's spirituality is lost, it can barely be considered a Mid-grade Pill."

This was the first Mid-grade Pill Long Chen had refined. It was important to remember that improving pills depended on multiple factors like the furnace, the Pill Fire, and Soul Force, all of which were indispensable.

Currently, Long Chen's Soul Force was fine, but his pill furnace was too inferior, and his Pill Fire... was even less to be mentioned.

Using an ordinary first-grade pill furnace and the worst Pill Fire to refine a Mid-grade Pill, it was likely that only a monster like Long Chen, who had merged with the soul of a Pill Emperor, could accomplish this feat in the entire alchemy world.

He had refined over twenty furnaces in one go, yielding more than a hundred low-grade Wind Mansion Pills, which now lay quietly in Long Chen's ring.

Long Chen had secretly inquired about the outside situation midway. Li Hao had been killed, so naturally, no one could find Long Chen.

The imperial capital had also posted a bounty for the arrest of Li Hao's killer, but it was all show and no substance, and the matter soon faded.

Long Chen sneered inwardly. Even if they were going through the motions, they should at least go through the whole act. Were they treating him like an idiot?

A prince was killed under mysterious circumstances, and it was just dropped? This was too blatant!

Although he understood the situation, Long Chen did not dare to act rashly yet. He had to protect himself before he possessed absolute strength.

His father was currently guarding the frontier and had no idea what the situation was on his end. According to the usual practice of the Phoenix Cry Empire, the families of all generals serving outside were not allowed to leave the imperial capital. To put it bluntly, they were being held hostage.

Long Chen was completely unaware of his father's situation. He only knew that his father had never been by his side since he could remember.

As he grew older, the once bustling Marquis's mansion gradually became deserted, and fewer and fewer people visited during festivals.

Ever since the Long family had declined years ago and their status in the imperial capital had diminished, Long Chen had become a target for other young nobles.

The Marquis Zhenyuan remained silent about all this, and Long Chen couldn't help but feel a little dissatisfied with his father, only to be sternly reprimanded by his mother.

After waking up this time, Long Chen finally realized that something was wrong. He had been too naive before.

His father's repeated refusal to be summoned must have had his reasons; it couldn't have been solely due to the intense frontier war with the barbarians.

Once or twice might be understandable, but refusing summons for so many years had already caused many princes and marquises in the imperial capital to harbor dissatisfaction towards Long Tianxiao.

There were even rumors circulating in secret that Long Tianxiao intended to rebel, but no matter how wildly these words spread, there was never any response from Long Tianxiao's side.

It wasn't until three years ago that the Royal Family stopped summoning Long Tianxiao, but the Long family's situation worsened.

First, the Long family's stipends were withheld. Without any source of income, the Long family suddenly fell into dire straits. Then came the constant provocations from the other princes towards Long Chen.

Especially after Long Chen was injured this time, and that old man managed to cheat the Long family out of so much money, Long Chen finally became vigilant.

This was a slow process of pushing him and his mother to a dead end, with the sole purpose of forcing Long Tianxiao to yield. However, Long Chen had no idea what secrets lay behind it.

But one thing was certain: there was someone behind this, locked in a power struggle with his father, and that person was very strong.

"I'll worry about that later. A hungry wolf will eventually show its fangs. What I need is to improve my strength."

Long Chen briefly instructed Bao'er before entering seclusion. The prototype of the Wind Mansion Star had already been condensed, and the rest was simple; he just needed to continuously absorb the medicinal power.

The Wind Mansion Star was beneath Long Chen's feet. As he continuously absorbed the medicinal power of the Wind Mansion Pills, it began to grow rapidly and expand.

Seven days later, Long Chen was consuming pills like he was eating. The Wind Mansion Star beneath his feet, which had been the size of a soybean, had grown to the size of a dragon's eye, as if a brand-new space had been opened up beneath him.

After the Wind Mansion Star grew to the size of a dragon's eye, its external appearance no longer changed. As he continued to absorb medicinal power, countless fine patterns appeared on the Wind Mansion Star, and it actually began to slowly rotate.

"Boom!"

With an explosive sound, after the last Mid-grade Wind Mansion Pill was absorbed, the previously lifeless Wind Mansion Star beneath Long Chen's feet finally stirred, madly absorbing the Spiritual Energy from its surroundings.

"Yes, it's finally successful!"

Long Chen roared, feeling the rotation of the Wind Mansion Star beneath him, his entire being filled with power.

"However, this is just the successful condensation. According to my memories, each star must undergo the Starry Sky Nine Transformations to be considered complete.

My Wind Mansion Star has just been condensed. If we go by external standards, I don't know if it counts as Qi Gathering First Heaven."

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

He threw three consecutive punches, the whistling wind deafening. The walls vibrated intensely, almost collapsing.

Without using any Spiritual Energy, his physical strength alone possessed such might.

Long Chen was overjoyed. Although it was a bit arduous and the progress was slow, the power was truly formidable.

It was only the First Heaven, yet he was now countless times stronger than when he had sent Shi Nian flying with a single punch that day.

"Heh heh, if I keep this up, I'll be able to go find my future wife soon," Long Chen chuckled, thinking of Meng Qi's face, his heart filled with fervor.

But then he remembered that "Brother Qi Shi" and Long Chen snorted coldly. "Next time I see you, if I don't beat the shit out of you, you won't know why flowers are so red."

Suddenly, Long Chen slapped his forehead. He was so engrossed in cultivation that he forgot today was the day to go to the Imperial Academy.

Seeing that the sky was just beginning to brighten, he quickly changed into a new set of clothes and headed straight for the Imperial Academy. The look of ecstatic joy never left Long Chen's face along the way.

He was pleasantly surprised to discover that the Wind Mansion Star within him could store a vast amount of Spiritual Energy. In the future, he wouldn't have to worry about insufficient Spiritual Energy during alchemy and constantly consume pills.

During his previous duel with Li Hao, Long Chen had activated the combat skill Ox Power, which was incredibly powerful and crippled Li Hao with a single punch.

But that punch had almost drained all his Spiritual Energy. Now, he no longer had to worry about that problem.

Sensing the Spiritual Energy within his Wind Mansion Star, he conservatively estimated it was enough to activate the Ox Power over ten times. This was the difference after truly stepping into the Wind Mansion Star.

Most importantly, with his cultivation increased, the strength of his physical body also rapidly grew. Although he hadn't tested it, he knew it must be astonishingly powerful.

While he was excitedly thinking, the grand gates of the Imperial Academy were already close at hand. Upon entering the gates, the usual routine applied: head straight to the Hall of Literature.

As soon as he entered the Hall of Literature, the normally boisterous hall fell silent due to Long Chen's arrival.

Li Hao's death still made it difficult for many to accept. All the young lords had basically attended the battle that day and personally witnessed Long Chen's domineering punch. The young lords who often mocked Long Chen couldn't help but feel a chill of fear.

"Haha, Brother Long!"

Fatty Yu and the others were overjoyed to see Long Chen arrive and quickly surrounded him.

"Brother Long, you're looking more energetic than ever!"

"Brother Long, please have a seat."

"Brother Long, have some tea."

"Brother Long, let me give you a shoulder rub."

Long Chen laughed and cursed, "Cut the useless flattery. Get me something to eat; I haven't had breakfast yet."

Long Chen found a corner to sit down, and Fatty Yu had already brought over the pastries. The few of them watched Long Chen with eager eyes.

Long Chen was indeed hungry. For the past few days, he had basically been eating Pills and was about to vomit. He grabbed some pastries and began to eat heartily.

After eating for a while, Shi Feng also arrived. Long Chen beckoned to Shi Feng.

Shi Feng walked up to Long Chen, who handed him a jade bottle and said, "Take this. Before long, you will become the new generation's Blood Condensation Realm expert."

Long Chen's voice was not loud, but Fatty Yu and the others heard it clearly and were so shocked they couldn't utter a word.

Shi Feng was also greatly surprised. He hurriedly opened the jade bottle, and a potent Pill aroma wafted out, revealing a round Pill within.

"What is this?"

Long Chen smiled faintly and uttered three words: "Condensation Pill."

Others might not know what a Condensation Pill was, but Shi Feng, being at the eighth level of Qi Gathering, knew it was a treasure that cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Gathering dreamed of.

The Condensation Pill was a Pill for advancing from the Qi Gathering Realm to the Blood Condensation Realm. It contained a large amount of energy that could help one break through quickly.

Most importantly, the Condensation Pill only targeted the Qi Gathering stage and had no impact on future cultivation.

However, Condensation Pills were extremely difficult to refine, with a very high failure rate. Especially at the final stage of Pill formation, the failure rate was a nightmare for Pill Masters.

An ordinary Condensation Pill cost over a million Gold Coins, and even then, it was hard to find.

A million Gold Coins was an astronomical sum for Shi Feng, who was not well-off. He had never dared to even think about it.

"Long Chen, this..."

"What 'this' and 'that'? Take it. When I take things from you, I never hesitate. Don't be so sentimental," Long Chen interrupted with a wave of his hand.

Shi Feng nodded. At this moment, any words would be excessive. He forcibly suppressed his excitement and said, "Okay, I'll take it immediately after I advance to the ninth level of Qi Gathering."

"No need. Didn't you see the patterns on it? Go back and take it immediately. You'll definitely advance to the Blood Condensation Realm soon," Long Chen said with a smile.

Shi Feng then noticed a faint pattern on the Pill. He almost cried out in shock. This was actually a Mid-grade Pill, which cost several times more.

"Hurry up and put it away. We're brothers; we don't need to say useless things," Long Chen said.

Shi Feng's eyes reddened as he carefully put the Pill away. This brotherhood with Long Chen moved him more than the Pill itself.

"Brother Long!"

"Lord Long!"

"Grandpa Long!"

"..."

Although Fatty Yu and the others didn't know what a Condensation Pill was, they knew that Pills were treasures. For a moment, they stared at Long Chen like hungry wolves, their eyes turning blue.

Long Chen felt goosebumps from their calls and quickly told them to stop. "Don't worry, I said I'd take care of your matters, and I will."

The reason they couldn't cultivate was that their Spiritual Roots were too poor, making it impossible for them to sense true qi.

Others might be helpless, but who was Long Chen? He had merged with the memories of a Pill Emperor. If he couldn't even handle this, how could he be called a Pill Emperor?

"Here, one bottle for each of you. Three drops daily. Abstain from meat, alcohol, and sex. You'll see results in seven days and can enter Qi Sensing within half a month. As for how long it takes to enter Qi Gathering, that depends on your personal effort."

Long Chen threw each of them a bottle filled with medicinal liquid, which he had personally concocted.

The medicinal liquid was not precious. For people with such poor Spiritual Roots, it could barely improve their Spiritual Roots. However, Long Chen was not a god, and the degree of improvement was limited.

It was no problem for them to enter the Qi Gathering Realm, and with good luck, they might even enter the Blood Condensation Realm. But going any further was absolutely impossible.

However, for Fatty Yu and the others, it was already an unimaginable treasure. They nervously looked at the bottles, wishing they could drink a drop right now.

"Brother Long, if we can cultivate, will it be detrimental to you?" Fatty Yu, despite his plumpness and large head, had a decent brain capacity. He was the first to consider the potential problem.

If Long Chen truly had a way to improve them, these good-for-nothings, it might bring him unfavorable attention. If someone with malicious intentions targeted him, it would be troublesome.

Fatty Yu meant to ask if they should help Long Chen keep it a secret. Unexpectedly, Long Chen laughed and said, "It's nothing. These medicines are all from Master Yun Qi. Whoever wants them can go and curry favor with Master Yun Qi."

"Master Yun Qi?"

The few of them were greatly surprised. Just as they were about to ask if Long Chen was joking, a sound of footsteps approached. They turned around, and their faces turned pale with alarm.