Chương 146: A Pill For The Future

Huaijin produced a jade box he had prepared earlier and began carefully harvesting the Golden Yang Flowers. As a Tier 2 upper grade alchemist, he had long since mastered the subtleties of spiritual herb properties. The harvesting proceeded without a hitch. A quarter of an hour later, three Golden Yang Flowers were safely secured within the jade box. Huaijin swept his gaze across the stone chamber one final time, searching every corner. At the roots of the Golden Yang Flowers, he spotted something, leftover seeds!

He selected three and planted them in the spirit field. Then, with nothing left to attend to, he departed the chamber. By now, Huaijin's cultivation had reached the late stages of Tier 2. When he found some free time, he intended to investigate the location marked on the map. As for the inner reaches of the Purple Dusk Mountain Range, Huaijin could come and go freely through most of it by now. So the return journey was quiet and uneventful. He traveled at breakneck speed, quickly arriving back at Purple Cloud Peak.

There, in the spirit field he had opened up long ago, he sowed the Golden Yang Flower seeds. Zhang Rende and the other two often spent their spare moments cultivating additional plots on Purple Cloud Peak as well. In those fields, Huaijin planted Tier 2 spirit rice. The remaining space held the various spiritual herb seeds he had collected over time. A hundred years from now, this entire stretch would be transformed into a flourishing spirit herb garden.

"Send word back to the family. Within ten years, gather the complete ingredients for two more Foundation Establishment Pills," Huaijin instructed before sealing himself in seclusion. The Zhang family had already collected the materials for one Foundation Establishment Pill. And the Golden Yang Flowers in Huaijin's possession were now picked. Even with the protection of the jade box, their medicinal potency would begin to fade after a decade.

So it was imperative to acquire the remaining ingredients within that window. Given the Zhang family's current influence, completing the purchase would take only two years at most. Huaijin had steeled himself for the task ahead. His cultivation chamber was fully prepared. —— A Tier 2 upper grade alchemy furnace stood at the center, crimson flames roaring hungrily beneath it. The fire source was Tier 2 upper grade spirit wood, Red Maple Wood, blazing with densely concentrated fire.

Huaijin also channeled an unending stream of fire power from his palms, supplementing the heat. First, he laid out all the herbs required for the Foundation Establishment Pill. Then he began refining them one by one, reducing each to liquid essence. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. The process unfolded with remarkable ease. Buoyed by his powerful spiritual sense, Huaijin navigated every step with effortless precision.

He manipulated over a dozen streams of liquid essence, carefully combining them according to their individual properties and optimal fusion timing. Even though Huaijin had refined Tier 2 upper grade pills more than a dozen times before, he still felt a knot of tension in his chest. He had mentally rehearsed these exact steps no fewer than dozens of times. Despite the pressure, his hands remained rock-steady. Everything moved forward without a single misstep.

Half an hour later, the many liquid essences inside the furnace had merged into a single cohesive mass under Huaijin's direction. All impurities had been incinerated by the blistering heat. As time wore on, the concentrated essence of the spiritual herbs began to reveal itself. At this moment, Huaijin directed his spiritual power to gently envelop the mass, easing it toward the cooler edge of the furnace. He held the surrounding temperature steady, preserving the liquid's medicinal potency.

Then he retrieved a Tier 2 upper grade spirit beast core. It was fire-attributed. In life, the beast had been at the eighth level Tier 2 beast. Huaijin had deliberately passed over the Tier 2 perfection stage Frost Dragon Tortoise. A core at the eighth level was more than sufficient. The energy within a perfection stage core was simply too dense, he feared he might not be able to rein it in. He focused his will and began refining the core. Time crept forward.

Impurities within the spirit beast core were steadily burned away, and the core's size gradually diminished. A full hour later! The once-hardened core had melted into a pool of shimmering liquid essence. Inside it surged fierce, blazing energy, laced with the lingering savagery of the beast's former life. Huaijin felt no urge to rush. He advanced with methodical calm, step by measured step.

Throughout the cave dwelling, strands of spiritual energy drifted in from every direction, flowing into the alchemy furnace like tributaries into a river. As the moments passed, the wildness within the liquid essence was entirely refined by Huaijin's careful handling. All became tranquil and balanced. Working with divided attention, Huaijin used his spiritual sense to gradually draw the beast core liquid and the herbal liquid together.

For an instant, the two liquids threatened to rebel, surging with violent resistance. But Huaijin's spiritual sense was overwhelming, he clamped down and steadied them. Progress continued without interruption. Time flowed onward, and finally the two liquids fused into one. Huaijin's alchemy techniques were polished to a mirror shine. He wove sealing inscriptions in an unbroken stream, coaxing the merged liquid toward its final transformation. Slowly, the liquid began to solidify.

Huaijin tracked the energy pulses within the forming mass with razor-sharp attention. Then, without warning, in a moment of perfect clarity! His spiritual power lashed out like a blade, bisecting the mass cleanly in two. In the same moment, Huaijin's formidable spiritual sense wrapped around both halves. The temperature inside the furnace spiked once more. Torrential energy scoured away the final traces of impurity. Within the furnace, the two liquid masses gradually condensed, taking on a rounded, pill-like shape.

A rich medicinal fragrance began to diffuse through the air. The flame energy in the furnace dimmed and died. Two pills shot out and hovered in Huaijin's palm, spinning in a lazy dance. They were pure white, with two pill markings etched across their surfaces. The medicinal power radiating from them was potent beyond measure. Huaijin breathed in the fragrance and smiled. The Foundation Establishment Pill, he had done it.

From this day forward, the Zhang family possessed the ability to produce Foundation Establishment Pills. From this day forward, the family's peak Qi Refining cultivators would never again be shackled by a lack of Foundation Establishment Pills. Huaijin produced two jade bottles and sealed the pills within. With the bottles' containment, the pills' potency would remain undiminished for at least two decades. Elated by his success, Huaijin emerged from seclusion. Yunli and Wujian had already sensed his presence.

Before he had entered seclusion, they had known exactly what he intended to attempt.

"Second Brother… did it work?" Yunli's voice trembled with barely contained excitement. Huaijin's face broke into a broad smile. He gave a firm nod.

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!" Wujian's delight spilled out freely. A Tier 2 upper grade alchemist capable of refining Foundation Establishment Pills was nothing short of extraordinary. And his success rate was staggering, he had succeeded on the very first attempt! Given Huaijin's terrifying talent, future failures would be few and far between. A stable, reliable source of Foundation Establishment Pills was something even Purple Mansion powers coveted, let alone Foundation Establishment forces.

After all, only by producing a steady stream of Tier 2 cultivators could a family ever hope to produce a Purple Mansion cultivator. At present, the Zhang family boasted nine Tier 2 cultivators. But their cultivation levels were severely imbalanced. Huaijin was the sole late stage cultivator. Zhang Lixian stood alone at the mid stage. The remaining seven were all at the early stage. Ultimately, the Zhang family's rise had simply been too fast, too recent.