After figuring out what she should do next, Han Yue gathered all the members of Baiyue the following day and told them about the Zen Heart Pill's effects.
As a reward, anyone among them who reached Nine-Star Dou Ling within three years would receive a Zen Heart Pill from the organization.
Of course, they would have to prepare the medicinal herbs themselves, but they would not need to offer anything extra to persuade Wu Bai to refine it.
Han Yue did not deliberately tell them to spread the news far and wide. Instead, she let it circulate naturally, which would make it more credible.
With all these matters left to Han Yue, Wu Bai continued refining pills.
After seven straight days, Wu Bai finally stopped.
It was noon when Wu Bai stepped onto the second-floor balcony to take stock of the fruits of his week's labor.
"Among the sixth-grade pills, I refined fifteen Dou Ling Pills, ten of which belong to the elders. I can use the remaining five myself or trade them. Pills that improve one's strength are a harder currency than gold coins on the Dou Qi Continent."
"Five sixth-grade healing pills, the Spring Rejuvenation Pills. With these five pills on hand, Yue'er's and my chances of staying alive have improved by far more than a little."
"Five sixth-grade Zen Heart Pills, for extended cultivation in the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower without worrying about fire poison eating away at me. Really, I should have refined more than five. I don't plan to leave before reaching Dou Emperor, but my supply of medicinal herbs is nearly exhausted."
"Next are the fifth-grade pills. I refined eleven Qi Cultivation Pills. I should have prepared twenty, but again, I didn't have enough medicinal herbs."
"The fifth-grade Azure Origin Pill can aid Dou Zong experts in their cultivation. It's rather extravagant for a Dou Wang expert to take one, but what can I say? I'm an alchemist."
"Still, there are only three. Not enough medicinal herbs..."
After finishing his inventory, Wu Bai wrote out a list of medicinal herbs. He would sort it out properly over the next few days and purchase everything he needed in one go.
Putting the pills and the list of medicinal herbs into his Storage Ring, Wu Bai yawned.
He leaned back into a reclining chair to bask in the sun. Its gentle warmth washed over him, making his eyelids grow heavier.
"The rest can wait until tomorrow. Right now, I need some sleep. This sunshine feels so good..."
With that murmur, Wu Bai fell into a deep sleep.
Twenty-five sixth-grade pills and thirteen fifth-grade pills. An alchemist who had only recently advanced to Tier 6 might not have been able to finish all these pills even in a month.
Wu Bai had refined them all in just a week, and every pill was of above-average quality.
Still, refining pills for such a long stretch had taken a considerable toll on his energy.
If his soul power had not far surpassed that of others at his level, he would have collapsed long ago.
Sleep was the best way to restore his energy.
His surroundings were quiet and peaceful, without any clamor. Only an occasional breeze slipped in, kissed Wu Bai's cheek, then shyly fled.
As the sun sank in the west, those breezes grew bolder and began giving Wu Bai lingering kisses.
Perhaps those breezes had become too forward, for the sleeping Wu Bai slowly began to stir.
Half asleep and half awake, Wu Bai felt as though he had become the eye of a typhoon in his sleep, sweeping up everything around him.
He spared nothing in his surroundings, sucking in whatever he touched with a tempestuous rush.
Only after waking did Wu Bai discover that his soul power seemed to have grown a little stronger.
And in his perception, some unnoticed changes seemed to have taken place around him.
"It's spiritual energy. Some spiritual energy has become mixed into your soul power, boy."
The Yellow Springs Demon Saint spoke at just the right moment. Sensing Wu Bai's confusion, he emerged to clear it up.
"This state you're in now is something countless Tier 7 Alchemists can only gaze toward, never reach. Compared with theirs, your soul has already undergone a fundamental change."
"The amount of spiritual energy within your soul power is steadily increasing. Though the process is slow, it's all moving you toward the Spirit Realm."
"By my estimate, after you advance to Dou Emperor-even if things go a little slowly-you'll be able to enter the Spirit Realm before reaching Dou Zong. That is the realm of a Tier 8 Alchemist."
"The Spirit Realm? A Tier 8 Alchemist? That soon?"
Wu Bai froze. He was genuinely stunned, because he had only become a One-Star Dou Wang a week ago!
"What can I say? You were born with extraordinary talent, boy."
The Yellow Springs Demon Saint laughed. "Heaven has treated me well! Not only did it bring me back to life, it even gave me such an outstanding disciple. Hahaha..."
Once the Yellow Springs Demon Saint finished laughing, Wu Bai scratched his head. "Teacher, could you tell me what makes the Spirit Realm different?"
"Hmm, well, it's actually easier to explain in terms you alchemists use."
The Yellow Springs Demon Saint thought for a moment and came up with a more readily understandable explanation.
"Below the eighth tier, the higher a pill's grade, the greater the disturbance it causes upon completion, and the more immense the energy it contains."
"Among first- through seventh-tier pills, some lower-tier pills aren't necessarily inferior to those a tier above them. Take strength-enhancing pills such as the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill and the Three-Pattern Clear Spirit Pill."
"In fact, if some lower-tier alchemists are in good enough condition, they can even refine pills a tier above their own level."
"But none of that holds true at the eighth tier. No seventh-tier pill, however powerful its effects, can compare to a genuine Eighth-Tier Pill."
"The reason is simple: sentience."
"Seventh-tier pills have no sentience. No matter how much energy they contain or how powerful their effects are, without sentience, they remain lifeless pills, not living beings."
"Eighth-Tier Pills possess sentience. It is this added sentience that grants them all manner of miraculous effects and makes them no different from true living beings."
"To refine an Eighth-Tier Pill, your soul power must enter the Spirit Realm. Only a Spirit Realm soul can bestow sentience upon a pill, allowing it to reach the eighth tier and become a true living being."
"Beyond that, once you reach the Spirit Realm, your soul power will no longer be like a heap of loose sand. You'll then condense your soul manifestation and gain considerable combat capabilities."
"Do you still remember how, two years ago, you couldn't even deal with a single Dou Ling despite having soul power comparable to that of a Tier 7 Alchemist?"
"That won't happen once you reach the Spirit Realm."
"With a proper Soul Dou Technique, you could severely injure even a Dou Zun expert if you caught them off guard. However, soul power is fragile. If it suffers damage, repairing it is troublesome. That's why I don't recommend using your soul power to fight before it reaches Heaven Realm Great Perfection."
"I forgot to tell you about the soul realms. From highest to lowest, they are the Emperor, Heaven, Spirit, and Mortal Realms. The Mortal Realm is where the souls of the vast majority of living beings remain for their entire lives. From insignificant Tier 1 Alchemists to high-level Tier 7 Alchemists, all of them have Mortal Realm souls..."
When discussing matters of the soul, the Yellow Springs Demon Saint explained in exceptional detail.
After listening to his teacher's explanation, Wu Bai asked curiously, "Teacher, do you have any Soul Dou Techniques?"
"What do you think?"
The Yellow Springs Demon Saint did not answer directly. Instead, he returned the question with a faint, knowing smile.
Before you continue