"Finally, it worked..."
At this sight, a smile appeared on Zhou Qing's face.
Although refining his first batch of Second-Tier Pills amounted to no more than a few lines of illusory text in the simulation for him,
within the simulation, it had taken more than three months, over twenty furnace explosions, and more than ten batches of waste pills.
And that was with over a hundred years of accumulated alchemy experience from two simulations behind him.
For many alchemists, the gulf between a High-Grade Pill Master and a Second-Order Alchemist was a heavenly chasm they could never cross.
"A Second-Order Alchemist!"
Zhou Qing nodded slightly.
This was his first craft to reach the second order, and it was even the Alchemy Path, the craft with the broadest demand.
Granted, among the hundred arts of cultivation, there was no clear hierarchy of superiority or inferiority. Every craft's legacy would sing its own praises.
But in terms of influence, the Alchemy Path could certainly rank among the top three, and might even contend for first place.
At last, I have something to stand on at the Foundation Establishment Realm...
Zhou Qing felt thoroughly at ease.
After entering the Foundation Establishment Realm, Zhou Qing's cultivation expenses had clearly far exceeded those of the Qi Refining Stage.
For the past three months, he had sustained himself entirely by refining the spoils from his earlier purge of rogue cultivators into pills, then selling them for spirit stones.
If he still failed to become a Second-Order Alchemist, Zhou Qing would have to consider other ways to earn spirit stones.
Merely refining mid-grade and high-grade pills could not cover Zhou Qing's expenses at the Foundation Establishment Realm.
The pill toxin bane talent allowed Zhou Qing to ignore most pill toxin buildup and take pills frequently, but that also meant his expenses increased further.
Now that he had become a Second-Order Alchemist, none of that mattered anymore.
In any gathering place for cultivators, a Second-Order Alchemist held considerable weight.
In Market Districts such as Black Mountain and Listening Rain, a Second-Order Alchemist was qualified to negotiate terms with the market district's master.
If a Foundation Establishment cultivation lineage had a Second-Order Alchemist in residence, it would generally never suffer a gap in its succession of Foundation Establishment fighting strength.
Even in Azure Moon Immortal City, a Second-Order Alchemist enjoyed a rather elevated status.
In his second simulation, when Zhou Qing visited the alchemist Zhao Kan, numerous cultivators had been waiting in line, including quite a few at the Foundation Establishment Realm.
[After becoming a Second-Order Alchemist, you spent a few days consolidating your skills. Once you had refined several more batches of Second-Tier Pills, you left your cave abode and headed for the Pill Hall.] [The Pill Hall was the largest alchemist organization in Azure Moon Immortal City, much like the Pill Alliance of Black Mountain Market.] [The Hall Master of the Pill Hall was a Third-Order Alchemist and Azure Moon Immortal City's appointed alchemist, whose influence extended throughout the Primordial Origin Domain.] [You went to the Pill Hall, naturally, to join it.] [It was pleasant to enjoy the shade beneath a great tree. In the cultivation world, cultivators with backing and those without were two entirely different kinds of cultivators.] [After joining the Pill Hall, you would not only gain its backing but could also use its influence to build connections of your own.] [During your second simulation, the Pill Alliance of Black Mountain Market had been a great help to you.] [Moreover, joining the Pill Hall was also preparation for the Azure Moon Pool slots opening in just over a year.] [At the very least, with the Pill Hall behind you, you would be able to compete for an Azure Moon Pool slot on somewhat fair terms.] [Before long, you arrived in the central district of Azure Moon Immortal City.] [This district spanned only several dozen li, but its spiritual energy concentration far exceeded that of both the inner and outer city.] [The Pill Hall was located here.] [You entered the Pill Hall, and a female Foundation Establishment cultivator approached you.] ["I came to..."] [You gave a general explanation of your purpose.] [In this simulation, you again used the alias Wang Lin. Your disguised appearance and bearing were equally unremarkable: a middle-aged man with a round face and a yellow beard.] ["Pill Master Wang, you should know that joining our Pill Hall..."] [The female Foundation Establishment cultivator gave you another look. From your introduction just now, she knew you possessed the skills of a Second-Order Alchemist.] [Joining the Pill Hall naturally required a test of alchemy skills, to prevent fish eyes from passing themselves off as pearls.] [Under the female Foundation Establishment cultivator's guidance, you entered a secluded chamber and successfully refined a batch of Second-Tier Pills under the eye of a Second-Order Alchemist.] ["Pill Master Wang, our Elder Wu would like to meet you..."] [The female Foundation Establishment cultivator who had first greeted you now regarded you much more warmly.] [The alchemy test had proven your second-order mastery of the Alchemy Path, which would make you highly sought after anywhere.] ["Elder Wu..."] [You naturally knew who Elder Wu was.] [The master of the Pill Hall spent most of his time in seclusion, contemplating the Alchemy Path.] [Its two deputy masters also largely ignored mundane affairs, only showing themselves at critical moments.] [Thus, the entire Pill Hall was essentially managed by four elders.] [Elder Wu was one of these four elders.] [Before long, you met Elder Wu.] [Elder Wu was over a hundred and fifty years old, with graying temples and a faint sense of life's vicissitudes in his gaze.] ["Pill Master Wang, as an independent cultivator, it must not have been easy for you."] [Elder Wu asked calmly, his gaze scrutinizing you as he spoke.] [You knew very well that joining the Pill Hall required not only a test of your alchemy skills, but also an examination of your origins.] [Put simply, they needed to see whether your background was clean.] [If you were on the Primordial Origin Domain's wanted list as a fugitive cultivator, even second-order alchemy attainments would not allow you to join the Pill Hall.] [Such cultivators had generally committed major crimes. No organization would feel safe employing them.] ["Indeed..."] [You nodded slightly.] ["Several decades ago, I obtained a legacy left behind by an unnamed alchemist. Only through good fortune did I manage to enter the ranks of second-order alchemists..."] [You added further details to your identity.] [This was also an explanation you had prepared beforehand.] ["I see."] [Elder Wu nodded slightly, then said, "Pill Master Wang, would you mind channeling a strand of mana into this piece of jade...?"] [Elder Wu turned his right hand over, and a palm-sized stone appeared before you.] [He did this to check whether you were on the Primordial Origin Domain's wanted list.] [The mana signature of every fugitive cultivator on the wanted list had been recorded.] [A cultivator's appearance could be changed, and Foundation Establishment cultivators could even use their powerful spiritual senses to possess another body.] [Their mana signature, however, was extremely difficult to change.] [The vast majority of Foundation Establishment cultivators were incapable of starting their cultivation over.] [Thus, a cultivator's mana signature was an important criterion for determining their true identity.] [You glanced at the jade and, without hesitation, channeled a strand of mountain sea mana into it.] [Elder Wu took a look and was largely reassured about your identity.] [Your mana signature did not match that of any currently wanted fugitive cultivator.] [Moreover, Elder Wu sensed that your mountain sea mana was substantial and pure. You clearly followed an orthodox path, which made you all the more trustworthy.] ["If you have no objections, Pill Master Wang, you can become a guest alchemist of our Pill Hall right now..."] [Elder Wu said this at once. A Second-Order Alchemist joining the Pill Hall could become a guest alchemist after passing its various examinations and tests.] [Guest alchemists of the Pill Hall enjoyed numerous benefits. First was their cultivation residence: each could have a Pill Tower of their own, along with several Qi Refining Stage maidservants.] [Guest alchemists of the Pill Hall could also purchase many restricted resources through the Pill Hall's channels.] [For example, spirit herbs such as mystic yin grass and mystic yang fruit, the main ingredients of Foundation Establishment pills, were monopolized by the major powers. Ordinary cultivators could not buy them even if they wanted to.] [Finally, guest alchemists belonged to the Pill Hall's upper ranks and represented its honor.] [With the status of a Pill Hall guest alchemist, you would generally have no need to fear for your life, so long as you did not openly oppose a Core Formation adept.]