Chương 24: The Foundation Establishment Pill

Wang the Pockmarked felt his courage surge the moment his patron appeared. His eyes gleamed with a venomous light as he began to weave a distorted narrative of the preceding events, his voice dripping with feigned grievance.

"Senior Brother Duan, you must bring this man to justice! If such insolence goes unpunished, how am I to maintain any semblance of order among these subordinates?" Duan Zhonghua's expression hardened, his features clouding with a cold, predatory intensity. He cast a chilling glance at Wang Bin and spoke with a voice like grinding stone.

"Negligence during duty is a grave sin. If these spirit herbs were damaged, even your life would not suffice as compensation. From this moment forth, you are expelled from the Hundred Herb Valley. Pack your belongings and vanish immediately."

"Senior Brother Duan, this man is an old acquaintance of mine. Our meeting today was merely a brief exchange between friends. Is such a draconian punishment truly necessary for so minor an offense?" Reyn's face darkened, his voice low and measured, carrying a subtle edge of warning.

"Heh, Junior Brother Reyn, it is not that I refuse to grant you face," Duan Zhonghua replied with a thin, mocking smile.

"It is a matter of duty. Before our Master entered secluded cultivation, he entrusted the management of all valley affairs to me. If any oversight occurs under my watch, the consequences are mine to bear. The matter is settled; there is no need for further words." Sensing he had reclaimed the upper hand, a flicker of smug satisfaction danced in Duan Zhonghua's eyes. He stood tall, relishing the exercise of his temporary authority.

"And if I refuse to agree?" Reyn asked, his face a mask of cold indifference. Duan Zhonghua's eyes narrowed into slits, his demeanor turning icy.

"I fear, Junior Brother, that you simply do not have the standing to make such demands." The air between them grew heavy, the atmosphere thick with a suffocating tension as they stood locked in a silent confrontation. Suddenly, Reyn let out a soft, mirthless laugh. He turned to Wang Bin and said calmly, "Return to the Outer Sect for now. Focus on your cultivation. I believe it won't be long before you find your way back here." Wang Bin nodded, his eyes shimmering with gratitude.

Though he harbored little hope of returning to the prestigious valley, the fact that Reyn had gone to such lengths for a mere laborer moved him deeply. Once Wang Bin departed, the crowd of spectating Outer Sect disciples quickly dispersed, leaving only Reyn and the two elites behind. Duan Zhonghua, believing he had secured a decisive victory in front of Ji Yueli, couldn't hide his arrogance. He chuckled softly.

"Junior Brother Reyn, shouldn't you be in your medicinal garden practicing your arts? What brings you back to the Hundred Herb Valley today?" Reyn met Duan's gaze with an unreadable expression. Had it not been for the necessity of concealing his true strength, he would have struck this man down where he stood. Instead, he spoke tonelessly.

"I returned today to borrow a Foundation Establishment Pill from the Pill Room. Since you are here, it saves me the trouble of seeking permission elsewhere. Pray, lead the way so I may take the pill." The Hundred Herb Valley maintained a Pill Room where Dan Chenzi kept various medicines for his disciples to study and use as references for their own alchemy. This was Reyn's true objective.

"A Foundation Establishment Pill?" A flash of genuine surprise crossed Duan Zhonghua's eyes. The Foundation Establishment Pill was one of the most notoriously difficult Grade 2 pills to refine. It required thirteen different spirit herbs, and while the ingredients themselves weren't impossibly rare, the success rate was abysmal. Even Dan Chenzi himself only boasted a fifty percent success rate.

As the eldest disciple, Duan Zhonghua's alchemy had long reached Grade 2, allowing him to craft various pills for Foundation Establishment cultivators, yet this specific pill remained beyond his grasp. It was only recently, after breaking through to the 8th level of Qi Condensation and gaining new insights into the Dao of Alchemy, that he felt ready to try again. He had come to the Pill Room today for the exact same reason—to study a finished product. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road.

If you see it on Amazon, please report it. He was joined by Ji Yueli, a genius recognized as a once-in-a-century talent. Not only was her cultivation speed terrifying, but her alchemical talent was equally peerless; in just six months, she had reached Grade 2 and was also preparing to attempt the Foundation Establishment Pill. It was natural for these two leaders of the younger generation to seek such a challenge. But Reyn? A man with no spirit root, a commoner who managed a derelict garden?

It was doubtful he had even crossed the threshold of basic alchemy, yet he dared to covet a Foundation Establishment Pill. A sneer formed on Duan Zhonghua's lips, and even Ji Yueli showed a faint trace of surprise before her face returned to its usual porcelain stillness.

"Junior Brother, you truly are extraordinary," Duan Zhonghua mocked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"To think that despite having no spirit root, you possess such hidden talent in alchemy that you are already confident in refining a Foundation Establishment Pill. I suppose you intend to dazzle us all at the sect's alchemy examination in a few months. However, your timing is poor. Master left only three Foundation Establishment Pills in the Pill Room. Our Third Junior Brother, Hei Shi, took one recently, and the remaining two were taken by myself and Junior Sister Ji just moments ago.

It seems you will have to wait." Reyn's brow furrowed. Without a sample to analyze, his cultivation schedule would be thrown into complete disarray.

"In that case, I shall take my leave," Reyn said, wasting no time. If the pill wasn't here, he would find another way to procure one.

"Wait. If Junior Brother Reyn truly needs it so urgently, he may have mine." Ji Yueli spoke suddenly, her voice cool and ethereal. Ignoring Duan Zhonghua's darkening face, she reached into her storage bag, retrieved a small jade vial, and tossed it toward Reyn. Reyn caught it mid-air. His Divine Sense swept over the contents, and a flicker of genuine relief touched his eyes. After a moment of hesitation, he cupped his fists.

"My thanks, Senior Sister. Within three months, I, Reyn, shall return this pill to you." With those words, he turned and strode away.

"Junior Sister Ji, why would you give it to him?" Duan Zhonghua hissed, his face contorted with frustration.

"Reyn is a talentless mortal! There is no way he can refine such a pill..."

"Senior Brother Duan, I have matters to attend to. I shall take my leave," Ji Yueli interrupted him coldly.

"Furthermore, please refer to me as Junior Sister Ji from now on." She walked away without a second glance, leaving him standing there in stunned silence. Duan Zhonghua's face turned a sickly shade of purple. He stood frozen for a long moment before letting out a low, guttural snarl and storming off in the opposite direction. Back within the secret medicinal garden in the mountain interior, Reyn held the Foundation Establishment Pill in his palm.

He submerged his entire consciousness into the pill, using his Divine Sense to dissect its medicinal structure. The pill was a chaotic symphony of thirteen different spirit herbs, their interactions ten times more complex than those found in Spirit-Gathering or Spirit-Condensing Pills. He pushed his mind to the limit until a dull throb started behind his eyes, only then managing to fully memorize the intricate web of medicinal properties.

After consuming a few recovery pills to soothe his mental fatigue, Reyn began to visualize the process repeatedly, ensuring no detail was overlooked. An hour later, he opened his eyes, his spiritual energy and mental focus restored to their peak. Nodding in satisfaction, he arranged his pre-prepared ingredients before the cauldron. With a flick of his wrist, he injected a stream of True Essence into the furnace.

His expression became one of absolute focus as he began feeding the herbs into the flames one by one, his Divine Sense monitoring every microscopic shift in the volatile medicinal essence. As time bled away, a rich, medicinal fragrance began to waft from the cauldron, signaling the final stage of formation. But just as the pill was about to solidify, a muffled thud echoed from within the furnace—the unmistakable sound of alchemical failure.