Chapter 50: It Turns Out My Persistence and Effort Were Not Enough

Cao Xuan’s gaze was focused; he didn’t even notice that he’d gained another chance at the lottery.

“Qianru, watch closely. The most crucial step in refining the Foundation Establishment Pill is coming up. You need to seize the right moment to merge all the medicinal liquids and then wrap them with the long-lasting celestial dew.”

“Once this step is complete, it’s just a matter of a strong fire to condense the liquid, and then separating out the pills!”

He taught Chen Qianru with the same care and seriousness that Senior Brother Yang Fan and numerous other alchemists had shown him. One must know, only a prodigy like himself, who made refining so comfortable for the masters, would be allowed to hear such explanations. Even then, most masters would only give a rough overview, never sharing their closely guarded techniques and details.

But Cao Xuan was not so secretive. For a fairy who had surpassed ninety points in favorability and was completely loyal to him, what need was there for concealment?

Cao Xuan taught with earnest dedication, and Chen Qianru listened intently. Still, unlike him, she lacked the profound insights granted by the consummate “True Explanation of the Dao of Alchemy,” which served as a solid foundation and made everything easier to learn.

Though Chen Qianru had some knowledge of pharmacology, she certainly didn’t possess Cao Xuan’s ability to draw inferences and grasp concepts with such ease. So, even though Cao Xuan explained every step in detail, she only felt as if she had grasped the essence.

Her eyes: “I think I understand.”
Her mind: “Ha! You must be joking.”

Indeed, as she handled the herbs while listening to the explanation, because she was preparing the ingredients for Cao Xuan, that task took priority. Seven-tenths of her concentration went into the preparation, and only three-tenths were left to remember Cao Xuan’s key points.

She believed that as long as she remembered the essentials, she could ponder them slowly later on—no harm done. For now, the most important thing was watching Senior Brother Cao refine the pills.

“Rise!”
“Separate!”

With a low command, Cao Xuan gathered his true essence and sent it into the cauldron, shaking open the lid. The medicinal liquid soared upward, condensing in midair and absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy, then was guided by his power to begin the pill separation.

Each pill corresponded to a portion of the liquid. In his mind, Cao Xuan carefully distinguished between them.

But since this was his first time refining this pill, he lacked experience both in controlling the heat earlier and now in separating the pills.

With a series of crisp sounds, the pills fell swiftly—ten Foundation Establishment Pills in all.

Cao Xuan took a glance inside. Unlike others, he didn’t need to examine each one; his natural affinity with plants and herbs allowed him to instantly discern their quality.

“Seven lower-grade Foundation Establishment Pills, three middle-grade—not bad. Compared to the Cleansing Spirit Pills, this is already quite good.”

When he’d refined the Cleansing Spirit Pills, he’d barely managed to produce ten lower-grade ones, which was already a decent result. Now, with his cultivation at the tenth level of Qi Refinement—one tier above the norm and almost at Foundation Establishment—he was more than capable of refining Foundation Establishment Pills.

“The powder of the Jialan Flower can be processed a bit faster, but the petals of the Wubulan Orchid may need more time...”

Cao Xuan immediately sat down to reflect and summarize, handing the freshly made pills to Chen Qianru as he did so.

She had intended to refuse, but seeing Senior Brother Cao deep in thought, she didn’t dare interrupt and quietly accepted them.

“So this is Senior Brother Cao? His very first attempt at Foundation Establishment Pills yields ten in one go—what an incredible talent for alchemy.”

Chen Qianru suddenly understood why he was so wealthy; his family must surely be a clan of alchemists.

As an apprentice in alchemy, she’d done her homework. Though she’d never actually worked alongside an alchemist before, she’d heard how difficult it was to produce ten pills in a batch.

The Six Arts of Immortal Cultivation refer to the six major disciplines outside of mere cultivation: alchemy, artifact forging, talisman creation, array formation, beast taming, and spellcraft.

In the Azure Cloud Sect, only after reaching the fourth level of Qi Refinement and becoming a full outer disciple could one learn these Six Arts.

The “Azure Origin Sword” that Fang Baiyu studied, as well as Cao Xuan’s own “Heavenly Gang Movement Steps,” “Azure Dao Sword,” and “Golden Body Shield,” all belonged to the final category, spellcraft, which was the most widely practiced of the Six Arts.

This was because spellcraft was an essential means of self-protection on the road to immortality—everyone had to master it.

The other five arts—alchemy, forging, talisman crafting, and so forth—were equally vital, but they demanded even more talent from cultivators. Not only could they benefit oneself, but they could also aid others, making them lucrative pursuits.

Chen Qianru believed Cao Xuan must come from a family of alchemists precisely because of the difficulty in learning these arts. Even Fang Baiyu had spent half a year just to reach a modest proficiency in the “Azure Origin Sword.”

In Chen Qianru’s eyes, even if Senior Brother Cao had been exposed to alchemy since childhood, half a year ago his cultivation wouldn’t have allowed him to refine pills. So, the only explanation for his generosity in gifting so many resources to Lin Miaoxuan and herself was that he came from immense wealth.

But now, Chen Qianru’s beautiful eyes sparkled with admiration. Even if one set aside his family background, Senior Brother Cao could establish his own alchemist dynasty.

After his reflection, Cao Xuan reopened the cauldron and resumed his pill refining.

With each subsequent batch, as he refined his technique and drew on his master-level skills, the resulting pills were almost all of the highest grade. Only the earliest batches contained a few upper-grade pills due to uneven distribution of medicinal properties.

From dawn until dusk, ten batches produced a hundred pills. After careful selection, eighty were top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills, and ten were upper-grade. As for the first batch—seven lower-grade and three middle-grade—they had already been returned to the system’s storage, converting into seventy lower-grade and thirty middle-grade pills.

Cao Xuan thought for a moment, then took out two porcelain bottles, filling them with five upper-grade and one top-grade pill, and handed them to Chen Qianru.

“The quality of the first batch was average. When you reach the ninth level of Qi Refinement, use these two bottles to break through—one is upper-grade, the other is top-grade.”

Lin Miaoxuan would also receive the same number of pills. It wasn’t that Cao Xuan was unwilling to give more; any extra would be pointless.

At this moment, his system’s storage was filled with Foundation Establishment Pills, and he sighed—without triggering a critical hit, was he really supposed to eat all these as daily food?

Previously, with a fourfold tempered spiritual root, forming a foundation was theoretically impossible, so he would have wanted as many pills as possible, just like Master Han.

But now, with ninefold tempered roots and the tenth level of Qi Refinement, even a single lower-grade Foundation Establishment Pill would see him through—let alone a top-grade one.

After their alchemical work, the two spent some time warming their bond. Cultivating affection, after all, requires constant interaction.

With the system’s support, Cao Xuan decided that unless the system offered a rebate, he would not actively pursue the other Six Arts. Human energy is limited, and the road to immortality is arduous enough; with the system’s help, he’d only just reached the tenth level of Qi Refinement.

Clearly, he still hadn’t worked hard enough. In someone else’s hands, perhaps they’d have become immortal by now!