Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Chapter 204 Foundation Establishment Pill Elixir Formation_2

When he opened his eyes, seven more days had passed, and the alchemy room was once again filled with the fragrance of elixirs.

As the final moments approached, Zhao Sheng couldn't help but feel nervous, so much so that he activated his two great talents consecutively twice.

With his talents enhancing his abilities, the last step of Solidifying the Pill went exceptionally smooth.

Bang!

Finally, the Nine Dragon Tripod emitted a humming sound, and the Golden Burning Spirit Flame retracted back into the wall of the tripod.

Then, the lid of the furnace flew up,, with bursts of the heartening aroma of apples wafting ceaselessly from within the furnace.

"Success, this time it's truly a success!"

Unable to contain his excitement, Zhao Sheng reached out, and two wine-red Spirit Pills, the size of grapes, abruptly leaped out of the pill furnace and swiftly fell into the palm of his hand.

Although these two Spirit Pills were merely Low Grade Foundation Establishment Pills, their significance was monumental. They signified that Zhao Sheng had become a rare true Second Order Foundation Establishment Alchemist.

From this day forward, his status within the Spring and Autumn Alliance would surely skyrocket, and he was bound to become an extremely sought-after "almost Grandmaster" of the Alchemy Dao on Nine Virtuous Isle.

A full quarter of an hour passed before Zhao Sheng's emotions fully stabilized.

Once he had collected the elixir pills, fatigue overwhelmed him.

After nearly twenty arduous days of alchemy, Zhao Sheng was severely mentally drained, so he simply went to sleep right there in the alchemy room.

He slept for a full two days and one night.

When he awoke, he felt mostly refreshed, and Zhao Sheng calculated the time, finding that just one day shy of a month had passed.

Now that he had successfully concocted the Foundation Establishment Pills, he saw no reason to waste more time here.

Zhao Sheng got up and left the alchemy room, then went to the spirit field and cast a few spells of the Spirit Rain Skill. After seeing that the Spiritual Medicines in the field were growing robustly and in good condition, he tidied his appearance, changed into a brand-new robe and left the Bei Mansion Cave Heaven.

...

Two days later, Zhao Sheng returned to Treasure Medicine Pavilion and had a secret half-hour meeting with Jin Dancheng.

After he left, Jin Dancheng was all smiles, with no trace of the somber look that had come from worries about the shop closing down.

His subordinates, seeing this change, asked him what had made him so happy, but Jin Dancheng just smiled mysteriously and said not a word.

Elsewhere, on Day Island, the Red Light Tower once again welcomed a mysterious guest.

In the same elegant private room as during their last encounter, Hong Yuanliang, the shopkeeper of the Red Light Tower, saw Zhao Sheng's "unhappy" expression and subconsciously concluded that his alchemy attempt must have failed.

Following conventional wisdom, a Pill Master would not expect to successfully concoct a Foundation Establishment Pill without failing ten or eight times; that would not be considered failure.

After all, what true Foundation Establishment Alchemist wasn't made from a mountain of Spirit Stones?

However, Hong Yuanliang couldn't have been further from the truth, as the person before him was a "chosen one". He was simply being deceived.

"Mr. Dragon Carp, there's no need to be discouraged. Foundation Establishment Pills are not so easily concocted," Hong Yuanliang said dryly, offering Zhao Sheng a word of comfort, before suddenly changing the subject,

"By the way, I wonder what brings you here today?"

Zhao Sheng put away his "dejected" expression and spoke firmly, "I would like to try a few more times. I wonder if what Mr. Hong said last time about a threefold discount was true."

Hong Yuanliang confidently replied, "It's true, I never speak lightly. Not only do I have Thousand-Pattern Star Algae Fruit, but also all other accompanying medicinal materials. How many sets would you like? Do you want them processed or in their natural state?"

"Three Thousand-Pattern Star Algae Fruits and three sets of other Spiritual Medicines. I don't trust anyone else's processing, just give me them in their natural state. How many Spirit Stones in total?" Zhao Sheng immediately responded.

"A total of twenty-one thousand Spirit Stones! Just give me twenty thousand, and you can keep the change," Hong Yuanliang said without hesitation.

"Very well, your kindness is noted, Mr. Hong. I shall repay it in the future," said Zhao Sheng.

With that, Zhao Sheng took out a small pile of Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag and poured them onto the table.

As Hong Yuanliang sensed the Pure Yin Spiritual Energy emanating from the Spirit Stones, his eyes widened in surprise, "Pure Yin Spirit Stones? Quite the item! Are you sure you want to part with them?"

"After all, they are only Spirit Stones, what is there to hesitate about?" replied Zhao Sheng, his tone indifferent.

Spirit Stones have attributes, divided into the Five Elements and Yin and Yang, with the Yin Yang ones being particularly rare. The price of those of the same grade can be three to eight times higher than regular Five Elements Spirit Stones.

The high price is secondary, the key issue is that it's not available in the market.

Zhao Sheng used Pure Yin Spirit Stones to settle the account, which was both a display of financial strength and a gesture of returning favors.

With this move alone, Hong Yuanliang couldn't help but take a fresh look at him, once again raising his valuation and truly placing him on the list of important customers.

After collecting the Spirit Stones, Hong Yuanliang suddenly slapped his forehead and abruptly said, "I almost forgot. Taoist friend, weren't you looking to buy Primordial Heavy Water? Our establishment has just had some transported in from the sect. How many drops would you like?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng's eyes lit up, and he immediately responded, "The more, the better!"

"Primordial Heavy Water is extremely valuable. A drop of spirit water, weighing a thousand catties, costs at least ten thousand Spirit Stones, no bargaining. After the fifth drop, we do not accept Spirit Stones, only an exchange for a treasure of equivalent value."

Hong Yuanliang spoke very seriously, but when Zhao Sheng took out a stack of Second Order Blood Melting Talismans from his Storage Bag, his demeanor changed dramatically, and he could barely contain his excitement.

"Dragon Carp Taoist friend, if only you had said you had these things earlier. I might have been able to procure even more Primordial Heavy Water for you."

In the Blood Demon Sect, Second Order Blood Melting Talismans were as good as gold.

With so many cultivators practicing the Blood Soul Scripture, talismans that could accelerate the melting of essence blood were always in short supply. Especially the Second Order ones, each of which would cause a frenzy among Foundation Establishment Blood Cultivators.

Even with his past life experience, Zhao Sheng was still somewhat surprised to see Hong Yuanliang so excited.

Seeing this, he relaxed and spoke generously, "Start with five drops of Spiritual Water. The rest we'll exchange with Blood Melting Talismans—how many for one drop?"

Hong Yuanliang cleverly counter-asked, "I have eighteen drops of Primordial Heavy Water. A minimum of thirty talismans for one drop. How many Blood Melting Talismans do you have, Taoist friend?"

"Fifteen for one drop, in exchange for three drops. If we have a deal, there will be more to come."

"Deal!"

"..."

Two cups of tea later, a beaming Hong Yuanliang earnestly saw Zhao Sheng to the door. He watched him leave before returning to the Red Light Tower with a face full of joy.

Two days later, news suddenly spread throughout Elixir Fire Square that Treasure Medicine Pavilion would be closing temporarily for a while, and the reopening date was uncertain.

Upon hearing this news, those with cunning thoughts immediately ran to inform Ge Chen with "good tidings."

Instead of being pleased to learn about the Treasure Medicine Pavilion's closure, Ge Chen's frown deepened.

He felt like he was experiencing the emptiness of punching into the air, as if his opponent had fallen before he even exerted any effort, which was nothing like what he had expected.

Not satisfied, Ge Chen immediately instructed his men, "Go find out what that Zhao has been up to these past few days. Make sure you investigate thoroughly."

His subordinates left to carry out the orders, and Ge Chen's face showed a look of loathing.

However, a month went by, and Zhao Sheng's cave mansion remained tightly closed and never opened.

He might have been in closed-door cultivation, he might have gone traveling, or he might have intentionally changed his appearance to avoid Ge Chen's scrutiny.

But whichever possibility it was, they all conveyed the same message—that Zhao Sheng had temporarily "disappeared" from everyone's sight...

...

Half a year later, at the Spring and Autumn Alliance's Merit Hall.

"This spirit island is Phoenix Tail Island. The island isn't large, spanning only sixty to seventy li, with a population of no more than ten thousand, all of whom are miners and their families. There is a Phoenix Blood Stone mine near Phoenix Island, so we have assigned ten Qi Refining Managers, as well as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator as the guardian. Mr. Zhao, what do you think about this place?"

On the second floor of the Merit Hall, a middle-aged Foundation Establishment Elder asked gently.

Zhao Sheng did not respond verbally; he knew that since the other party dared to recommend this place, they must have considered it carefully.

He was very familiar with Phoenix Blood Stones, a kind of spirit material of high grade and low production in the Shattered Star Sea, typically used to make high-grade spirit ink.

Zhao Sheng was very satisfied with this assignment.

Serving as a Guest Elder in the Spring and Autumn Alliance wasn't just about receiving a spiritual salary and doing nothing - every year, he had to take on a Guest Elder task for the alliance.

The types and difficulties of the tasks were up to his choice, but most came with generous rewards.

Thanks to Zhao Sheng's request, the middle-aged Foundation Establishment Elder deliberately selected this "easy" task for him.

Guarding the Phoenix Blood Ore mine was fine, and he could conveniently "accept" a few Phoenix Blood Stones. After all, as long as it wasn't too excessive, the alliance would typically turn a blind eye.