Otherworlders surfaced! The Dual Pill Refining Method

"Baka!"

"Chu Zhou, you pig! I'll kill you."

With a thought, Dongye Tian left the Dou Qi Continent and returned to his home on Blue Star.

He immediately took out his phone and called the people in charge under him. "You idiots still haven't found that Qing slave Chu Zhou?"

"I don't care what methods you use! Find him immediately and send a strike team to kill him! Bakayaro!"

Dongye Tian thought that if Chu Zhou died, the Firmament Ledger might choose a new "first place."

After issuing all sorts of orders, Dongye Tian began calling his father and various high-ranking officials.

What he didn't know was that shortly after he left, someone from the Yao Clan came looking for him at his residence.

"He really isn't here." The Yao Clan expert narrowed his eyes. "We had someone watching him the entire time, yet he vanished without a trace. It seems the intelligence was correct. This Dongye Tian must be an Otherworlder. We'll have to treat him more cautiously."

The Soul Clan, the Gu Clan, and the other great Emperor Clans, along with some of the continent's top powers, had learned of the situation not long after the people of Blue Star arrived and launched corresponding investigations.

By now, the factions with powerful experts overseeing them had worked out some patterns concerning the Otherworlders. They knew that these people seemed to be "immortal" and could also randomly acquire certain identities.

Different factions had different attitudes toward the Otherworlders. The Hall of Souls, for example, had begun openly recruiting them, while the Pill Tower subjected them to extremely strict screening.

Having one's identity as an Otherworlder exposed came with both advantages and disadvantages.

The Yao Clan's upper echelons mostly regarded the Otherworlders with rejection and wariness.

The people of the Yao Clan placed enormous importance on their bloodline and considered Emperor Clan bloodlines superior to all others. They likewise thought little of the Otherworlders.

But the Otherworlders' origins were mysterious, and they themselves were unable to openly reveal them, which made the various major factions eager to investigate.

Perhaps the secret behind the disappearance of the Dou Di lay hidden there?

Meanwhile, within the Spirit Clan's Spirit Realm.

Admiration appeared on Qin Han's face. "He's improving his cultivation and his Alchemist rank at the same time, yet he's still progressing so quickly. Truly impressive. I wonder when I'll get to meet him."

Qin Han belonged to the Huaxia military. He had originally kept a low profile, but when he broke through to Dou Zhe, he awakened an Ice Spirit Physique. The senior members of the Spirit Clan's bloodline descendants recognized his potential and placed him among their promising recruits for cultivation.

With the Spirit Clan's tiered resource support, along with resources provided by his country, his cultivation had now reached Nine-Star Dou Zhe.

By his estimate, he would be able to break through in roughly ten more days. He hadn't expected Chu Zhou to beat him to it again.

No one had been able to find Chu Zhou on Blue Star, and the same held true on the Dou Qi Continent. However, through intelligence gathered and compiled by various countries' networks, they could confirm that he wasn't in the Central Plains and hadn't joined any top-tier faction, or even a first-rate one.

Despite having backgrounds and resources in both worlds that fell far short of theirs, he was still ahead of them. That was genuine ability.

Alchemy, in particular, stood out. Qin Han deliberately collected intelligence for his country, so he knew a great deal.

Most Alchemists could only attempt to refine a Grade Three Pill after reaching Dou Shi. A cultivation method, talent, and guidance from a teacher were all indispensable.

The very best could refine a Grade Four Pill at the Dou Shi level, making them truly outstanding. A Fifth-grade Pill, however, could only be attempted after reaching Da Dou Shi.

Yet Chu Zhou had refined a Grade Three Pill shortly after breaking through to Dou Shi. His talent was undoubtedly off the charts.

"With so many rewards from the Firmament Ledger piling up, we'll surely meet at the summit one day."

Qin Han's heart burned with excitement as his competitive spirit as an elite soldier surged.

In different places, different people entertained different thoughts.

Within Huaxia, the prevailing attitude toward Chu Zhou remained one of recruitment.

But every country outside Huaguo now made killing Chu Zhou its first priority. This was the struggle between great powers!

Every country understood that today's geniuses would become tomorrow's powerhouses, strategic weapons for their nations. The other side's geniuses had to be destroyed.

Meanwhile, discussion exploded in the Dou Qi Continent's Chat Channel and across Blue Star's major online platforms.

[Chu Zhou again. He really is the Firmament Ledger's illegitimate son.]

[I was wondering why the great Chu Zhou had been quiet for three months. Turns out he was saving up for something huge.]

[I don't know how impressive reaching Dou Shi is. Every country has plenty of High-Rank Dou Zhe now, while I'm just a nobody at the Dou Qi stage. Can someone with a big dick explain how impressive third-rank alchemy is?]

[I don't know the specifics. All I know is that the leader of the faction I joined is a Dou Ling, and he's extremely polite to a Second-Rank Alchemist. The Grade Two Pills that alchemist refines account for seventy percent of the business in the town's markets.]

[I don't know either. I'm in the southwestern Central Plains. A spoiled rich Da Dou Shi bullied a Third-Rank Alchemist from the Pill Tower here. Before long, a bunch of Dou Ling showed up to teach him a lesson. That Da Dou Shi's teacher was a Dou Wang, so those Dou Ling called in several Dou Wang too.]

[Holy shit, so the great Chu Zhou can already call in Dou Wang for help?]

[That's not how it works. The Pill Tower is powerful enough that a Third-Rank Alchemist has backing and can build a huge network of connections. But there's never been any news of Chu Zhou joining a major faction, so he must be relying on himself. Still, he's definitely impressive. I'd say at least Dou Ling, or even Dou Wang, would be happy to befriend him. Da Dou Shi would be sucking up to him.]

[Could Lord Chu Zhou establish a faction? I'll be the first to sign up. Please protect me.]

[Great Chu Zhou, take a look at my selfies. I can be your maid, or even mistress number thirty.]

[Isn't the scariest part that Chu Zhou hasn't exposed his identity on Blue Star? That means he hasn't received any official support and broke through to Dou Shi purely with resources from the Dou Qi Continent!]

[Baka, how does Huaguo have someone this talented?]

[Ssibal, he's from our Korea.]

[...]

By now, with the Chat Channel serving as a platform where anyone could speak without restrictions, many things were no longer secrets.

Whether they had Spirit Beast Meat to eat on Blue Star made an enormous difference to Blue Star's cultivators.

Having Spirit Beast Meat meant making progress on both fronts.

Combining the Dou Qi Continent's cultivation methods and combat skills with Spirit Beast Meat was like having a weaker version of unlimited pill consumption. Their strength and cultivation levels rose quickly.

But if they couldn't eat meat on Blue Star, while cultivating on the Dou Qi Continent also drained their mental energy, they could end up neglecting one side for the other and losing out on both.

Those supported by various countries, major corporations, and wealthy financial dynasties could focus entirely on cultivation on the Dou Qi Continent while also eating Spirit Beast Meat on Blue Star. Naturally, they cultivated quickly.

Chu Zhou was an exception, and the only exception who outperformed all those privileged elites.

"I've become an oddity on the Dou Qi Continent now. Xiao Yi Xian really can fulfill her wish by following me."

In a room in the rear courtyard of Wutan City's Mittel Auction House, Chu Zhou clicked his tongue in wonder after receiving his rewards.

The favored profession on the Dou Qi Continent was the Alchemist. They refined medicines rather than pills, though most of their work did involve making pills.

The Dual Pill Refining Method he had now obtained, however, was a broad road forward, a method from the Great Thousand World.

The Great Thousand World had Spirit Array Masters, with Battle Array Masters as one of their branches.

The Great Thousand World also had Pill Refiners, and Alchemists were considered one of their mainstream branches.

This Dual Pill Refining Method was a method of comprehending the Dao.

Once someone became sufficiently familiar with refining a particular medicine, they could produce it through pill refining instead.

What was the difference between refining pills and refining medicines?