Seeing this, Chen Xuan began his secluded cultivation.

With the Floating Cloud Trial concluded, he had been rewarded with ten bottles of top-grade Tier 1 Qi Gathering Pills, which he naturally intended to use in their entirety.

The Qi Gathering Pill was a type of elixir perfectly suited for increasing the spiritual power of cultivators in the Qi Gathering Realm.

Each bottle contained ten pills, meaning he had one hundred in total.

Chen Xuan took out a bottle, poured out a single pill, and swallowed it.

He wanted to see what effect the pills would have while he practiced the Flowing Cloud Technique in the cultivation room.

The pill entered his stomach.

Its medicinal power instantly transformed into spiritual energy, which began to be absorbed by the Flowing Cloud Technique and converted into Chen Xuan's own spiritual power.

[Your technique "Flowing Cloud Technique" is cheering!]

[It's fired up! Give it a few more!]

Chen Xuan hesitated for a moment upon seeing this.

Logically speaking, even with low-grade Qi Gathering Pills, a cultivator would still need some time to refine them.

He hadn't expected to digest the medicinal power almost instantaneously.

However... the Flowing Cloud Technique shouldn't be trying to sabotage him, and he truly felt that the pill had been fully refined in the blink of an eye after entering his stomach.

Chen Xuan continued to take the pills.

He consumed them one by one, waiting until he felt the medicinal power within his body had been fully absorbed before taking the next.

For the period that followed, he digested them as soon as he swallowed them.

Good heavens, this cultivation process was far too easy.

Pill after pill was consumed.

Chen Xuan's cultivation base began to skyrocket.

Fifth level of Qi Gathering!

Sixth level of Qi Gathering!

Seventh level of Qi Gathering!

Before he knew it, all ten bottles of top-grade Qi Gathering Pills had been consumed.

At the same time, Chen Xuan's cultivation had jumped directly from the fourth level of Qi Gathering to the seventh.

Popping pills is actually this satisfying... I really must learn alchemy.

Chen Xuan couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

He hadn't expected that after his technique gained sentience, it would be of such immense help in refining medicinal pills.

But this was normal; if the Flowing Cloud Technique could help Chen Xuan reach the third level of Qi Gathering in just three months at Hundred Herb Valley, it would be strange if it slowed down now that the spiritual energy was denser and he had top-grade pills.

His temporary cultivation boost came to an end.

Chen Xuan took out the Mystic Spirit Armor, refined it, and put it on.

Next, it was time to learn the art of alchemy.

Chen Xuan stood up and left his residence.

Library Pavilion.

This was the Library Pavilion atop Danxiao Peak; it did not house any techniques or Daoist arts, but was filled entirely with books and jade slips related to alchemy.

To master alchemy, he first had to find some basic books to study on his own.

Otherwise, even if he went to the Lecture Hall, he wouldn't understand a thing.

Inside the Library Pavilion, all the books and jade slips on the basics of alchemy were kept in the same area, which made it convenient for disciples to study.

After entering, Chen Xuan began to read.

He opened a basic volume titled Introduction to Pill Fire.

[Your Daoist art "Purple Imperial Dragon Flame" is learning Introduction to Pill Fire.]

Chen Xuan: "?"

Wait a minute... hiss... no way...

Chen Xuan suddenly thought of something: the Purple Imperial Dragon Flame now possessed sentience, and alchemy required the use of pill fire.

So... he didn't need to learn alchemy at all; the Purple Imperial Dragon Flame could learn it instead?

He realized that this possibility was very high.

However, if it wanted to learn, he still had to come and read the books.

After all, the Purple Imperial Dragon Flame couldn't read the books itself.

Regardless, he would just have to try it and see.

Chen Xuan patiently began to study the Introduction to Pill Fire.

After Chen Xuan finished reading the Introduction to Pill Fire.

[Your Dao technique "Purple Imperial Dragon Flame" has mastered Introduction to Pill Fire.]

Chen Xuan felt a surge of insights regarding flame control techniques and the judgment of heat intensity.

It really worked.

This cheat of his was truly useful.

Chen Xuan proceeded to borrow several books from the Library Pavilion.

Record of Hundred Herbs, Spiritual Herb Manual, Comprehensive Understanding of Medicinal Properties, True Interpretation of Flora, Cloud Sea Pill Canon: First Volume, and Collection of Common Pill Recipes.

Mastering a craft was never a simple matter.

These were the most fundamental books recommended by Danxiao Peak for disciples wishing to learn alchemy; including the Introduction to Pill Fire, there were seven books in total.

And these were merely the introductory foundation.

Chen Xuan brought the books back to his residence.

Then, he began to flip through them.

He tested it by not reading carefully, merely skimming through them roughly.

[Your Dao technique "Purple Imperial Dragon Flame" has mastered Record of Hundred Herbs.]

The contents of the Record of Hundred Herbs were all imprinted into Chen Xuan's mind.

It really worked.

Time to grind.

[Your Dao technique "Purple Imperial Dragon Flame" has mastered Spiritual Herb Manual.]

[Your Dao technique "Purple Imperial Dragon Flame" has mastered Comprehensive Understanding of Medicinal Properties.]

[Your Dao technique "Purple Imperial Dragon Flame" has mastered True Interpretation of Flora.]

[Your Dao technique "Purple Imperial Dragon Flame" has mastered Cloud Sea Pill Canon: First Volume.]

[Your Dao technique "Purple Imperial Dragon Flame" has mastered Collection of Common Pill Recipes.]

[Your Dao technique "Purple Imperial Dragon Flame" has successfully mastered First-Rank Alchemy.]

[You have successfully mastered First-Rank Alchemy.]

It had only been a short half-hour.

The Purple Imperial Dragon Flame had completely mastered the contents of these books, and knowledge related to alchemy was flooding into Chen Xuan's mind.

In just half an hour, Chen Xuan had become an alchemist.

Moreover, he was not merely a First-Rank Low-Grade Alchemist, but a First-Rank Peak-Grade Alchemist.

With the current capabilities of the Purple Imperial Dragon Flame, combined with his cultivation already at Late-Stage Qi Gathering, he was already capable of attempting to refine First-Rank Peak-Grade Pills.

Chen Xuan went out once again.

Now that he had mastered alchemy, he naturally needed to purchase some materials to officially begin refining pills.

If he had enough pills, he could quickly raise his cultivation to Qi Gathering Perfection and prepare to break through to the Spirit Sea Realm.

This time, Chen Xuan left Danxiao Peak and arrived at Cloud Sea Peak.

Cloud Sea Peak did not belong to the Nine Firmaments, yet its importance was no less than the nine peaks.

The Sect Main Hall, the sect plaza, the important Dao Technique Pavilion and Technique Pavilion, as well as the Pill Hall, Artifact Hall, and Contribution Hall were all situated on Cloud Sea Peak.

This peak was located at the very front of the sect, and not far to the north at the foot of the mountain lay the main gate of the Cloud Sea Sect.

To the east, south, and west of the mountain base, a Sect Market had been established, encircling Cloud Sea Peak.

Chen Xuan's destination for this trip was the Sect Market located there.

The Cloud Sea Sect's market was vast and bustling; one could use the sect's Contribution Points or the hard currency, Spirit Stones.

Chen Xuan had no Spirit Stones, but he did have plenty of Contribution Points.

After arriving at the market, Chen Xuan found a shop that sold spiritual herbs.

The owner of the shop was a middle-aged man.

"Senior Brother, I need to purchase some materials for Qi Gathering Pills."

Chen Xuan entered and spoke to the shop owner.

In the Sect Market, those who operated the shops were all disciples of the Cloud Sea Sect.

"How many does Junior Brother need?"

The middle-aged man asked.

"Let's start with fifty portions."

Chen Xuan thought for a moment before speaking.

If everything went smoothly, a single set of materials could yield up to twelve top-grade Qi Gathering Pills.

He was currently at the seventh level of Qi Gathering, and based on the cultivation gains from the pills he had consumed previously, he estimated that he would need another thirty bottles of pills to reach Qi Gathering Perfection.

In other words, he would need three hundred top-grade Qi Gathering Pills.

Calculating based on this quantity, he actually only required twenty-five sets of materials.