The Art of Creation
"It's formed!"
With the help of reference instructions, operating the water-fire Pill Furnace is not difficult.
Aside from exploring one's own Law Power perception, Zou Bugui by one's side is like having a living instruction manual.
The Water-Fire Pill Furnace had Zou Bugui's hands for decades, and he had also refined a huge amount of pills in the Zhu Jiuyin Underground Palace. Zou Bugui was extremely familiar with the Water-Fire Pill Furnace and could control it at will.
Aside from not having integrated the Realm Technique and not having cultivated to the True Self Realm, Zou Bugui has almost no other shortcomings in controlling the Pill Furnace.
"Your alchemy skills have indeed surpassed mine!"
On his first attempt, Zhang Xuezhou successfully produced thirty-six low-grade Qi and Blood Creation Pills by steadily controlling the water-fire Pill Furnace, drawing Zou Bugui.
"My alchemy skills are only so-so, the main thing is that this furnace works well," Zhang Xuezhou said. "I should be able to master it after a few more tries!"
Before even adding the Tai Sui (a type of medicinal ingredient), Zhang Xuezhou had already produced pills in batches and quantities. Although the quality was somewhat low, it was the first time in Zhang Xuezhou's history of alchemy.
He didn't put much effort into alchemy; he benefited more from the advanced materials and instruments available. Zhang Xuezhou was also quite adaptable to semi-automatic Pill Furnace.
This is similar to how they are used to driving electric cars, but they can still drive Qin Meng's gasoline car normally after finding it. Once they get familiar with it, they can quickly get the hang of it. Ordinary Alchemist are like riding bicycles. It takes a long time to adapt to changing Pill Furnace, and they may even find it difficult to use water and fire Pill Furnace because of their high efficiency in alchemy.
Zhang Xuezhou pinched the pill and sniffed its aroma.
"Good!"
A voice came from mid-air, Zhu Jiuyin's true form, a dragon, raised its head.
He took a deep breath, and apart from the Qi and Blood Creation Pill in Zhang Xuezhou's hand, he absorbed the remaining thirty-five pills into his Zhu Jiuyin, and then gave his evaluation.
"It's just that the heat control is a little lacking," Zhu Jiuyin. "If only the quality could be improved by one level!"
"Improving quality isn't difficult," Zhang Xuezhou said. "As long as you have a thousand-year-old Tai Sui, I can not only refine a mid-grade Qi and Blood Creation Pill for you, but also a high-grade one!"
"Oh, can Tai Sui improve the quality of elixirs?" Zhu Jiuyin asked curiously.
"We Yin-Yang School have always believed that Tai Sui can bring good results," Zhang Xuezhou said.
"Knew!"
Zhu Jiuyin nodded and did not ask any further questions. After all, Zhang Xuezhou's words were clearly from his heart. He would most likely attribute the success of the elixir to Tai Sui, and the failure to the elixir to Tai Sui not playing its role.
"This is the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture Pill Formula you requested. Using it with the pills refined from it will make your cultivation twice as effective!"
Zhu Jiuyin spat out a jade tablet, which fell like a streak of light.
Zhang Xuezhou reached out and grabbed the jade tablet. More than a hundred characters immediately came into view, but what made Zhang Xuezhou's eyes narrow slightly was that this jade tablet looked too familiar. Its shape seemed to correspond to some kind of lock, or perhaps a token.
"It looks a bit like the key to the main hall of Zixiao Palace?"
The main hall of Zixiao Palace cannot be entered at will; it requires the Jade Ruyi of the Yuanshi Celestial Venerable to open the door. If there are any living beings in the main hall, the Jade Ruyi will be ineffective and entry will be impossible.
The jade tablet and the jade ruyi are completely different in shape, but they are made of the same material and have a very special shape. The jade faintly shines with purple light, just like the jewel in the main hall of Zixiao Palace. This easily reminds Zhang Xuezhou of the token and the key.
"I'll refine a Qi and Blood Creation Pill for you first. If refining too many makes my mind numb and the success rate of pill formation decreases, I'll switch to a different type of pill!"
A thought flashed through Zhang Xuezhou's mind, and he raised the jade tablet, extending his hand to signal a response.
His attitude pleased Zhu Jiuyin greatly, and he let out a soft "hmm" before closing his eyes.
"His Majesty is very satisfied with you!"
Zou Bugui knew all too well how His Majesty treated people; Zhang Xuezhou's words had truly touched His Majesty's heart.
This is our normal way of doing things!
Zhang Xuezhou responded seriously, while Rong Tianding, who was helping out, knew perfectly well that Zhang Xuezhou was using the medicinal herbs from the Xieluosi River Holy Land for practice.
The process of refining Zhu Jiuyin's Qi and Blood Creation Pill involved the use of many medicinal herbs collected by bird demons, while the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture, failed several times due to the scarcity of medicinal herbs.
"Cousin, are you really going to practice this magic?" Rong Tianding asked in a low voice.
"The Great Wilderness Creation Scripture is quite good. In the future, if we team up, we won't have to fear suppression from other cultivators, and we can help each other out!"
Hearing Zhang Xuezhou spouting nonsense again, Rong Tianding found it hard to find anything to say.
But knowing that Zhang Xuezhou wouldn't do anything dishonest, he felt very at ease and cherished the fortuitous opportunity to come to this secret place with him.
This place not only boasts a Spiritual Qi environment, but also a continuous supply of medicinal herbs that are dried in the underground palace. Hundred-year-old herbs are considered the lowest grade here.
With a casual touch, Rong Tianding could pull out a pile of medicinal herbs that were hundreds of years old.
If His Majesty eats meat, they can drink some soup along with him. Even if they don't get to eat any, it's not wrong to stuff a few pieces into their pouches.
Only a small portion of the thousands or tens of thousands of pills needed would be enough to meet Rong Tianding's needs for combat, and even his future needs to reach the Sole Self Realm. However, Rong Tianding felt that Zhang Xuezhou did not lack these pills, and it seemed that he had other pursuits in bringing him along.
Rong Tianding thought for a while, but couldn't quite figure out Zhang Xuezhou's intentions. This place wasn't exactly a convenient place for communication, otherwise Zhang Xuezhou wouldn't have responded to him so perfunctorily.
"I didn't feel anything Great Wilderness Creation Scripture," Rong Tianding continued, "It's like I've cultivated a skill, but I don't know how to use it!"
"This skill can only be felt during a magical battle. You haven't realized its wonders yet since you're not fighting anyone. I survived by chance in my early years thanks to this skill!"
Zhang Xuezhou responded in a mumbled manner, while his hands and feet moved with measured speed and deliberation.
Whether the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture is a factor in the quick-learning of the Yang Soul Transformation Technique can be determined simply by testing, and there is no risk to Zhang Xuezhou in practicing this technique.
This doesn't mean Zhang Xuezhou's abilities are different now, but rather that he still has Ren Anran as a fallback plan.
Once Ren Anran's Yang Soul enters this world, his soul imprint will inevitably be removed.
If Ren Anran cannot travel into this world, Zhang Xuezhou feels that the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture imprint on his soul needs to be deepened, not removed.
This might be the only possible imprint he has with two-way coordinate manipulation; he would find it difficult to find other powerful cultivators Changkong Technique Method to help him.
"The Great Wilderness Creation Scripture more than just the conveniences you imagine. It is an unparalleled art of creation, and even I have not yet figured out its limits!"
Perhaps unable to bear Zhang Xuezhou's nonsense below, Zhu Jiuyin, with his eyes Zhu Jiuyin, remained silent for a while. When the second batch of pills was ready, he couldn't help but speak up to inform everyone, and then spat out a beam of golden light.
There are no weak techniques that can be taught with golden light, and ordinary Technique Method are not worth concentrating on repeatedly to cultivate them into a tangible form.
It is evident that Zhu Jiuyin spent a very long time studying the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture, just like the Technique Method that the Emperor was skilled in. Only through years of cultivation and focused mental inscription can one transmit the magic by uttering golden light.
Zhang Xuezhou reached out and touched it, only to feel the contents of a gentle stream beginning to flow into his mind.
This content is almost entirely different from the introductory text that Zhu Jiuyin taught in his early years.
In his early years, Zhang Xuezhou repeatedly failed to cultivate the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture, while Wu Chao repeatedly broke through barriers and ascended. He once doubted whether he had any talent for cultivation.
In retrospect, Zhang Xuezhou was greatly misled by Zhu Jiuyin's teaching methods.
As for Wu Chao, Zhang Xuezhou wouldn't compare himself to a prodigy like Wu Chao.
Perhaps Wu Chao discovered that the content taught by Zhu Jiuyin was incorrect, and thus corrected it before practicing. Or perhaps Wu Chao had the ability to absorb information whole, and could still succeed in practicing even if the explanation was incomplete.
"I will guide you through the sixth level by imprinting your mark. The seventh level depends on your cultivation by consuming elixirs. What follows depends on whether you clearly understand whether you choose to cultivate and whether you can reach the deeper levels!"
"Good!"
Zhang Xuezhou focused intently on the contents within the golden light, which continuously solidified into his understanding, thus imprinting itself on his memory.
A quick read-through is unlikely to provide a deep understanding, but Zhang Xuezhou is certain that the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture is indeed closely related to the cultivation of Yang Soul, and may even involve the Great Dao of Yang God mentioned by Zhu Jiuyin.
When he agreed to Zhu Jiuyin's request, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but want to see how Zhu Jiuyin cultivated the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture and what direction he was taking this scripture in.