Spirit Ascending Pill

Bang—

"Cough, cough—Another failed batch. Why did it even explode this time?"

Xiao Li was covered in soot. Something had gone wrong during the pill fusion just now, ruining the pill and causing an explosion. If not for the Blue Flame Cauldron's sturdy quality, his face being blackened would have been the least of his problems.

"Eldest Brother Xiao Li, do you need to refine pills to break through to the Dou Ling realm? Teacher said that taking pills for a long time would make one's Dou Qi unstable and weaken one's foundation," Yun Yun said worriedly.

"I refine my own pills and eat them myself. How could that make my Dou Qi unstable? Cultivating by absorbing World Energy is absorbing energy, and taking pills is also absorbing energy. So why would only the latter make it unstable?

Besides, even if it did become unstable, I have ways to solve it. Yun'er, you should cultivate diligently, or you won't be able to catch up to me~"

Xiao Li held nothing but contempt for that theory about pills making one's foundation unstable.

Absorbing World Energy to cultivate did not make one unstable? Were medicinal ingredients not Heavenly Treasures? Did they not contain tremendous amounts of energy? Alchemists removed the impurities from medicinal ingredients and condensed them into pills. How was that any worse than absorbing Dou Qi on one's own?

Then how could the Alchemists across the continent be doing so well? They might as well all cultivate bitterly. Why eat pills at all?

Why refuse to eat pills and rely on grinding away with time to cultivate? Wasn't that just making trouble for oneself? Did they not know that time was the most precious thing?

As for foundations, even a Dou Zong with an unstable foundation was stronger than a Da Dou Shi with a solid foundation, wasn't he? Or did you also have a Heaven Rank Dou Technique that let ghosts possess you?

Xiao Li took the failed pills out of the medicine cauldron, cleaned its interior, then looked to the side.

"Tsk, there are only two portions of ingredients left. I've already wasted three portions. It's only a Grade 5 Pill, so why is it so easy to fail?" Xiao Li said speechlessly.

The pill Xiao Li was currently refining was called the Spirit Ascending Pill, a Grade 5 Pill. When taken by a Dou Ling, it could raise their cultivation by two stars.

Xiao Li was refining it as insurance for himself. Normally, advancing from Da Dou Shi to Dou Ling was not much of a problem, but if there was insufficient energy, the advancement could fail.

Xiao Li was currently in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, where Fire Attribute World Energy was not particularly abundant. If he were in the Tagor Desert, he would have chosen to break through on the spot.

Breaking through in the Magical Beast Mountain Range was not impossible, but Xiao Li was worried that his Earth Rank Cultivation Method would attract powerful Magical Beasts while absorbing World Energy. To be safe, he decided to swallow a pill and break through.

By taking a pill, he would not need to absorb a massive amount of World Energy and cause unnecessary disturbances.

"Let me look over the pill recipe and notes again. Where did I go wrong just now?" Xiao Li opened the Spirit Ascending Pill recipe and the alchemy notes Old Wang had left behind, beginning to examine what mistakes he had made during the refinement.

After inspecting them carefully, Xiao Li finally discovered his problem. During the condensation process for the Spirit Ascending Pill, the heat could not be too intense. If it was too strong, the Embryonic Pill would be unable to withstand it and explode.

"No wonder they say the pill condensation process cannot be rushed. So that's how it is. Then let's continue!"

Xiao Li put away the notes and pill recipe, adjusted his breathing for a while, then resumed refining pills.

During his fourth attempt at refining the Spirit Ascending Pill, Xiao Li's technique was more practiced than in the previous three attempts. Sure enough, failure was the mother of success; every failure prepared the way for the next success.

Inside the Blue Flame Cauldron, at the center of the purple flames, the Blue-Green medicine liquid gradually condensed into the shape of a pill. Xiao Li lowered the heat and gently nourished the pill with a milder flame. The pill gradually became fuller.

Xiao Li was extremely exhausted by now. Refining a Grade 5 Pill was quite taxing for him at his current level, especially the final pill condensation process, which tested one's concentration more than anything else.

"Yun'er, Qi Returning Pill! Ice Heart Pill!" Xiao Li shouted. Yun Yun, who had nearly dozed off beside him, immediately perked up.

Yun Yun quickly poured out a Qi Returning Pill and an Ice Heart Pill from the Jade Bottle beside her, then hurried to Xiao Li's side and fed them to him.

After Xiao Li swallowed the two pills, his exhausted soul instantly cleared, and his previously insufficient Dou Qi was restored.

"Phew~" Yun Yun wiped the sweat from her forehead. These past few days, she had been assisting Xiao Li with his alchemy, giving him Qi Returning Pills whenever his Dou Qi was insufficient and Ice Heart Pills whenever his soul became fatigued.

Yun Yun did not dare relax for even a moment. Xiao Li was someone she had only managed to build a friendly relationship with after great difficulty. The Misty Cloud Sect's future development would depend on him, and even she herself would have to rely on him in the future.

Though Yun Yun was young, she understood some matters between adults. Disciples from the sect had also tried to court her, but Yun Yun ignored them all. How could the sect's great affairs be delayed by romantic entanglements?

Later, she had attended some gatherings with her teacher, Yun Shan. Quite a few families had wanted to arrange marriages with her in order to attach themselves to the Misty Cloud Sect.

Yet Xiao Li felt different to her. Although she could sense his gaze often sweeping over her body, Yun Yun did not find it unpleasant, because Xiao Li would say such things openly.

Xiao Li: "Yun'er is so beautiful that she reminds me of the softest cloud atop a mountain peak—yet this cloud makes one want to reach out, pluck it down, and hide it in one's arms to admire alone."

When Yun Yun heard that, the tips of her ears immediately turned red. She had naturally heard sweet words before, but none had been as well-spoken as Xiao Li's. More importantly, Xiao Li was the one saying them.

Yun Yun currently had no intention of choosing a partner. The sect had yet to rise, and as the Young Sect Master, she ought to set an example. How could she be swayed by romantic feelings?

But if she had to say it, Yun Yun preferred Xiao Li's type: handsome and dignified, with impressive cultivation, someone who spoke frankly about everything and never beat around the bush. Yun Yun felt that her man ought to be like that.

Yun Yun herself hated cowardly men who acted like clingy followers, could not speak their minds, and loved to beat around the bush. What kind of man was that? (Yes, I'm talking about you, Gu He!)

(Author: Damn, why does that feel like she's talking about me too? Sob, sob, brothers, that was a critical hit.)

Weng—

A considerable energy fluctuation spread from within the Blue Flame Cauldron.

"It's about to form! Oh heavens, it really is a Grade 5 Pill! A Rank 5 Alchemist not yet eighteen years old!" Yun Yun cried out. However, her hands did not stop moving as she hurriedly took out an empty Jade Bottle.

"Open!"

Xiao Li used Dou Qi to open the Blue Flame Cauldron. A Blue-Green pill the size of a Dragon Eye flew out from the medicine cauldron, wrapped in purple fire.

The moment the pill emerged, it released waves of extraordinarily rich Medicinal Fragrance. Moreover, the fragrance carried a faint pale-green hue that filled the entire cave.

"This is the phenomenon that only appears when pills above Grade 4 take shape!" It was Yun Yun's first time seeing the phenomenon of a Grade 5 Pill.

"Phew, I finally succeeded. This Beast Flame still isn't strong enough. I really want Heavenly Flames." Xiao Li was so exhausted that he lay down immediately.

Yun Yun put the Spirit Ascending Pill into the Jade Bottle, then walked over and sat beside Xiao Li. "If you need anything when searching for Heavenly Flames in the future, you can come find me at any time."

"Oh? What if that Heavenly Flame already has an owner?" Xiao Li said with a smile.

Yun Yun thought for a moment, then said firmly, "Then we'll kill that person and seize the Heavenly Flame. On the Dou Qi Continent, strength is supreme. Seizing things by force happens every day. For you, I wouldn't mind doing such a thing."

Xiao Li looked puzzled, as though he were meeting Yun Yun for the first time. "Huh? I thought you'd be too righteous to do something like taking things by force, and that we'd go look for Heavenly Flames elsewhere. I didn't expect you to be so aggressive. Have I become the conservative one?"

Yun Yun pouted. "Do I look like such a stubbornly old-fashioned person? I'm not that old-fashioned. Opportunities are equal before everyone. Whoever takes one gets it. If someone lacks the strength, they can't blame anyone else."

"I actually got lectured by a little girl like you. Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Yun Yun said angrily, "I'm not little! I'm only one year younger than you. By the way, Li~ when are you planning to advance to Dou Ling?"

Xiao Li sat up. "I'll recover for three days, then break through. I'll have to trouble Yun'er to stand guard for me."

"Small matter."