Plans for Alchemy

The two played a board game beneath a tree by the lake.

Zhou Ning asked whether his fishing was still going smoothly. Xu Qinghou immediately grew smug and told him the trick to their fishing.

Yuan Dahu had learned a Law Technique called Spirit Planting and used it on several strong, ferocious Fuluo Eels. Afterward, he could track the fish within a certain range.

It was mating season, and male Fuluo Eels would gather large groups of females around them. The fishermen took the opportunity to follow and net them, bringing in a substantial haul. They no longer had to work as hard as before and only needed to take turns keeping watch on the islands.

That was why Xu Qinghou had the leisure to play today. He only had to head out when something happened.

Zhou Ning was quite surprised to hear it. The method really was ingenious.

He truly could not look down on the people of the world. Even among a small group of retainers, there were talented individuals.

Xu Qinghou went on to talk about the cultivation war outside.

He said indignantly, "The Jade Countenance Sect's elders are utterly useless. The Lei Household actually lured a whole group of them to their deaths!"

It turned out that after the Jade Countenance Sect's water veins were damaged, they had indeed carried out their plan for revenge. They had selected a group of elite disciples and sent them, led by an elder, to launch a sneak attack on the Lei Household's Lightning-Attracting Tower.

Many of the Lightning Element materials produced by the Lei Household were refined using the lightning tower. Once the Lightning-Attracting Tower was destroyed, the Lei Household would surely be at a disadvantage.

Who could have expected that the Lei Household had foreseen this? They had sent people to strengthen the surrounding arrays and had also planted numerous Thunder Explosion Pearls in ambush.

That group of Jade Countenance Sect disciples had been blown to ashes, with only a handful escaping.

Zhou Ning was taken aback. How did he remember Xu Qinghou being certain a month ago that this was an excellent plan?

"Why do you say it was the elder's fault?" he asked.

Xu Qinghou answered with complete conviction, "The Jade Countenance elder had no talent for command. He should have had the disciples retreat a hundred feet first, then attack with Law Artifacts and talismans. Wouldn't the Lei Household have been helpless?"

Zhou Ning: "..."

He asked, puzzled, "Why do you hate the Lei Household so much?"

"The Lei Household's cultivators are crude and overbearing!" Xu Qinghou changed tack, a sympathetic look appearing on his face:

"The Jade Countenance Sect, on the other hand, is mostly made up of female cultivators. Their beauty is unmatched in Chen State's cultivation world, and they're also skilled in water techniques and alchemy. They have both beauty and talent."

Zhou Ning was immediately filled with righteous indignation. "The Lei Household really is ruthless!"

He also took the opportunity to ask about the Lei Household, particularly the Thunder Explosion Pearls.

They were a unique weapon of the Lei Household. The Lightning-Attracting Tower's array drew down lightning, which the clan's Lightning Element cultivators then suppressed and sealed into special materials, creating Thunder Explosion Pearls.

Thunderstorm Pearls were immensely powerful, far surpassing ordinary talismans.

If a first-tier Thunder Explosion Pearl exploded, even a Late Qi Refining cultivator caught off guard by the blast would be blown to ashes.

The second tier was meant for the Foundation Establishment Realm. As for the third tier, none were in circulation. Otherwise, the Lei Household would be more than a Core Formation Aristocratic Clan.

Zhou Ning silently committed this to memory. If he ever made an enemy, he must never give them a chance to throw one.

At night, in a small courtyard by the lake.

After completing a Greater Celestial Circuit, Zhou Ning opened his eyes from cultivation.

The Ginseng-Nurturing Pill really is effective. If I can keep taking it, I can complete the Qi Refining First Layer in half a year.

As for breaking through to the Qi Refining Middle Stage, three years will probably be enough.

By then, the stone cube in his mind would be nearly full, and he would immediately enter the Land of Wei again.

I wonder what realm a Cultivation Method from the Land of Wei has to reach to defeat a Foundation Establishment cultivator from Chen State?

Late Qi Refining?

Zhou Ning had yet to see a Foundation Establishment cultivator in action.

Even so, he did not want to fight cultivators like that.

Wouldn't it be more satisfying to use a higher realm to firmly suppress someone at a lower realm?

He pondered, I discussed quite a few ideas about alchemy with Scholar Xu today. The groundwork is more or less laid.

Zhou Ning took out the Jade Slip containing the He Household's alchemy inheritance and thought, To cultivate in comfort, raise my status, and obtain pill resources, I have to learn alchemy.

He sent his Divine Sense into it. The alchemy heart method was called the [Divine Cauldron Inner Landscape Scripture].

He immersed himself in it, and after a long time, silently recited:

Do not refine in the furnace; first cultivate within the spirit. Let Divine Sense be the cauldron, thought the fire, and the mind the medicine...

This method was profoundly ingenious. It required one to first work through the process a hundred times, then, once there were no mistakes, fire up the furnace and refine the pills in one smooth effort.

It was completely different from the alchemy methods Zhou Ning had heard of before.

He had asked about alchemy at Cuiwei Lake. To become an Alchemist, one first had to learn to blow up furnaces.

After blowing up several hundred, if one had talent, practice would make perfect, and one would naturally become an Alchemist.

The resources consumed in the process were staggering. Even with the Su Household's wealth, training an Alchemist was painfully expensive, so they generally chose to hire Alchemists as guest elders.

Zhou Ning held the Jade Slip, unable to put it down. "This method is good. It saves money!"

He guessed that because resources were scarce in the Land of Wei, people could only push themselves desperately to improve their skills, honing their techniques to a divine level.

He studied the method for a while, then looked at the alchemy experience accumulated by the He Household.

It began with an account by the He Household's ancestor:

"After several years of refining pills, I am well versed in medicinal principles and have written an excellent formula of my own."

Below that, the handwriting changed.

"He took it and died."

"The ancestor tested the method on himself and died a worthy death, but the path must not end. I shall take up the remaining pages and complete them."

After that, the handwriting kept changing.

"Watch me complete these remaining pages, carry on what our forebears left unfinished, and open a grand path for future generations."

"Hee-hee, the old thing is finally dead. Behold this young lady's original method!"

"I was wrong... Father, Mother, I can finally come see you."

Distinguishing medicinal properties from poisons, completing Pill Formulas, recording the heat required, correcting oversights, developing Divine Sense...

The He Household's forebears proceeded with caution at every step. When fathers died, sons carried on; when elder brothers passed, younger brothers took their place, generation after generation.

There was no world-shaking talent, nor was there an inheritance that fell from the heavens.

They simply pressed on, one after another exhausting their lifespans, generation after generation laboring to refine and perfect it.

At last, in the thirteenth generation, they built up the [Divine Cauldron Inner Landscape Scripture], complete with Pill Formulas, medicinal principles, experience... everything one could need.

Zhou Ning sighed. For some reason, the Jade Slip in his hand felt much heavier.

The He Household hasn't had it easy either. No wonder they place such importance on their alchemy inheritance.

Even so, after I reach Foundation Establishment, I should still go to their door and ask for their Foundation Establishment Realm alchemy inheritance.

Zhou Ning had not forgotten the sight of the He Household's Purple Mansion cultivator taking He Zhuoran away.

He Zhuoran had probably known all along of the risk that Gazing Immortal Port would be destroyed. That was why he had agreed to exchange the alchemy inheritance, having in fact decided that Zhou Ning was certain to die.

But Zhou Ning had not quite died, and had instead come out ahead.

Although he had the [Divine Cauldron Inner Landscape Scripture], most of its Pill Formulas came from the Land of Wei. If he wanted to refine pills in this world, he still had to collect formulas for some commonly used pills, such as Qi-Benefiting Pills and Spirit Essence Pills.

After all, once he became an Alchemist, he would have to follow local custom and use pills familiar to the public to open up a market.

Fortunately, formulas for such widely circulated pills were not rare. On the contrary, they were everywhere.

What was truly rare was an alchemy inheritance containing techniques for controlling fire, purifying ingredients, condensing pills, and heart methods.

For example, the Divine Sense Pre-Refining Method in the [Divine Cauldron Inner Landscape Scripture].

First, I'll buy some ingredients for the simplest Qi-Benefiting Pills.

As for the fire for alchemy... Zhou Ning pointed a finger and drew a flame from his Dantian. He changed it into various shapes and freely controlled its temperature, and it remained alight for a long time.

He clicked his tongue in wonder. It was a kind of flame he had instinctively mastered after becoming a Qi Refining cultivator in the Land of Wei.

The [Clear Flame Heart Method] he had cultivated before, though a Fire Element Cultivation Method, had no such wondrous effect. It could only produce single-use Fire Bullet Techniques.

Only after advancing to Foundation Establishment could one produce a flame called Innate True Fire for refining pills.

Zhou Ning had a suspicion that Qi Refining cultivators from the Land of Wei were somewhat like a weakened version of Foundation Establishment cultivators in this world.

In Chen State, if an ordinary Qi Refining Realm cultivator wanted to refine pills, they had to rely on earth fire or a Fire-Gathering Array.

To avoid drawing attention, he likewise had to follow local custom, set up a Fire-Gathering Array, and lay the groundwork for his journey into alchemy.

First, I'll go to Luyou Island in the middle of the lake to buy materials and openly show that I, Zhou Ning, am preparing to refine pills. Afterward, I'll conceal myself and go to Forget-Return Market outside to purchase ingredients in bulk.

Zhou Ning had not wanted to do things this way, but he feared that suddenly becoming an Alchemist would attract the attention of high-realm cultivators.

What a nuisance.

I'll just endure it a little longer. The good days are still ahead!