Intermediate Alchemist

Qin Ming was lost in wild thoughts.

"Of course, there are conditions to passing this art on to you."

"But I won't tell you what they are just yet," Su Yuqing said noncommittally.

How could Qin Ming let such a heaven-sent opportunity slip by? Once this village was passed, there would be no such shop again.

He immediately nodded and agreed. "Rest assured, Brother Su. I definitely won't pass it on. Anything within my ability, I can agree to."

Only then did Su Yuqing break into a smile.

He took out a set of formation arrays from his Storage Bag and enclosed the two of them within it, then passed the entire mnemonic formula of the Yin-Yang Separation Spirit Control Art to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming focused his mind and carefully recited it over and over, until he had memorized the art in its entirety without missing a word.

As Su Yuqing taught him, Qin Ming grew more astonished the more he heard. He could not help but marvel that Su Yuqing truly was a heaven-gifted genius.

His monstrous talent in alchemy was by no means mere bragging.

One incense stick later.

Qin Ming had fully digested the art.

"That's all there is to it. If you gain the ability in the future, you can improve upon these insights yourself."

"Now, refine a batch of Spirit Gathering Pills for me to see." Su Yuqing wore the air of someone testing Qin Ming.

Qin Ming nodded.

He took a deep breath and emptied his mind. The full text of the alchemy art surfaced in his thoughts.

In an instant!

Qin Ming opened his eyes, and the Yin-Yang Separation Spirit Control Art was immediately put into use. He distinctly felt that everything, from refining the medicinal embryos to the final fusion of the spirit herbs, had become incomparably smooth and seamless.

Watching from the side, Su Yuqing could not help but click his tongue. "This is damned strange. Could this kid's soul power really be this strong?"

The most crucial moment arrived.

The spirit herbs within the pill furnace began to fuse and take shape, but if this trend continued, another batch of ruined pills would emerge.

Qin Ming concentrated his mind and hurriedly employed the pill-fusing technique from the art.

The medicinal liquid that had already begun to fuse inside the pill furnace separated once more. The spirit herbs within seemed to be controlled by an invisible hand, continuously separating and recombining according to Qin Ming's will before finally merging together perfectly.

Chirp!

The pill furnace let out a joyous, crisp cry!

Waves of rich pill fragrance drifted forth.

"It worked!" Qin Ming's face lit up with delight, and he was beside himself with excitement!

Su Yuqing also revealed a smile of approval.

Within the pill furnace, six azure spirit pills bobbed up and down.

Qin Ming beckoned with a hand, and the six Spirit Gathering Pills flew into his palm. His luck was exceptionally good this time; two of them were dark azure Superior Spirit Gathering Pills.

"Hehe, congratulations, Brother Qin, on successfully breaking through to Intermediate Alchemist."

"Since you can already refine Spirit Gathering Pills successfully, I imagine other mid-grade pills won't pose much difficulty for you either." Su Yuqing's words carried his recognition of Qin Ming.

Qin Ming put away the pills and gave Su Yuqing a deep bow, thanking him from the bottom of his heart. "Many thanks to Brother Su for teaching me this art."

Only after using this alchemy art himself did he understand how significant it was.

"Ah, cut it out. You'll definitely have to fulfill your promise someday anyway. Neither of us owes the other anything." Su Yuqing waved his hand.

"Besides, I decided to teach you this art only because I saw that your divine soul was extraordinarily powerful. Otherwise, even if I taught it to you, it would still be useless."

"Enough of that. Since you've succeeded in refining pills, have a drink with me."

Qin Ming smiled freely and replied, "Sure. Today, we won't go home until we're drunk."

"But let me use up this last batch of materials first."

Two incense sticks later.

Another burst of pill fragrance wafted out.

Qin Ming had become even more proficient, and his pill success rate was considerably higher than before.

This batch yielded a full ten Spirit Gathering Pills, four of which were Superior quality.

Qin Ming was in high spirits.

After cleaning the Alchemy Room.

The two began drinking Spirit Wine in the courtyard.

Seeing that the time was about right, Qin Ming bid Su Yuqing farewell and left.

Upon returning to the Secluded Cool Abode.

Qin Ming took out the Spirit Gathering Pills he had refined that day, an inexplicable excitement gleaming in his eyes.

"My mana cultivation should catch up."

Back then, Qin Ming had been left with no choice. Limited by his spiritual root aptitude, he had switched to the body-refining path to gain strength as quickly as possible and secure resources for his cultivation.

"The facts proved that it was the right choice. In just over two years of body refinement, I gained strength comparable to Qi Refining completion."

"If I were still painstakingly cultivating the Evergreen Skill every day, then even with pill assistance, if the quantity wasn't enough, I'd still be stuck in Qi Refining Mid Stage like a prisoner."

"Eating Superior Spirit Gathering Pills every day would be more than the Spirit Stones in my pocket could bear."

"Now that I can refine mid-grade spirit pills, I can fully produce and sell them myself."

"Even the spirit herbs for refining Spirit Gathering Pills can all be grown by myself. Only a few supplementary ingredients need to be bought from Juxuan Pavilion."

"The cost is extremely low, saving a great deal of Spirit Stones."

"From now on, there'll be no problem even if I eat Spirit Gathering Pills as meals."

"And after becoming an Intermediate Alchemist, the speed at which I accumulate wealth will increase tremendously."

At the thought of this.

Qin Ming promptly sat down on the meditation cushion in the quiet room.

He first took out a Superior Spirit Gathering Pill and swallowed it.

Pure Medicinal Power began flowing through his limbs and bones.

Qin Ming began circulating the Evergreen Skill, completing heavenly cycles and refining this Medicinal Power into his own Evergreen Mana.

Gradually, the mana within his dantian grew considerably.

Once the Medicinal Power of that Superior Spirit Gathering Pill had been fully digested and absorbed.

Qin Ming took out another Superior Spirit Gathering Pill and swallowed it again.

The cycle repeated.

One Superior Spirit Gathering Pill after another was consumed in unbroken succession.

After all six Superior Spirit Gathering Pills had been consumed, Qin Ming swallowed another five Common-quality Spirit Gathering Pills in succession.

The current market price of a Superior Spirit Gathering Pill was around one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones each, while a Common Spirit Gathering Pill cost around sixty-five Spirit Stones each.

This single cultivation session alone had consumed pills worth nearly over a thousand Spirit Stones.

Finally.

The mana in Qin Ming's dantian, accumulated through his daily efforts and piled up by a vast quantity of pills, began to burst forth like a breached dam.

He hurriedly extended his spiritual sense and guided this violent mana with all his strength, accelerating it through the cultivation art's heavenly cycles.

Time slowly passed.

Until the middle of the Tiger hour.

Boom!

Newborn Evergreen Mana flowed like rivers pouring into lakes and seas, endlessly expanding and surging into his dantian.

"I finally broke through!"

"The fifth layer of the Qi Refining Stage."

Qin Ming opened his eyes and ended his cultivation.

After carefully sensing the mana within his body.

Qin Ming could barely contain his excitement.

The mana in his dantian had actually grown by more than double once again.

His current mana level far surpassed cultivators of the same rank.

"As long as I refine large quantities of Superior Spirit Gathering Pills."

"At this cultivation speed."

"Late Qi Refining will surely be within reach before long."

Qin Ming pondered for a while.

Perhaps he truly could deepen his cooperation with Mirror Snow Pavilion. After all, its influence could not be underestimated, stretching throughout the Southern Wilderness Cultivation Realm.

While it would make it easier to obtain higher-level channels of information, he could also seek out cultivation resources.

Naturally, this had to be under circumstances he could fully control.

"Mm, tomorrow I'll go to Juxuan Pavilion to sell the Qi Gathering Pills and exchange them for some supplementary ingredients for refining Spirit Gathering Pills."

PS: Thanks to all fellow Daoists for your monthly votes and recommendation votes.