23: Refining Foundation Building Pills

"Brother... you... you really are my lucky star..."

Luo Yan's voice was full of attachment and a hint of trembling.

The gaze she directed at Yao Delong was filled with heartfelt admiration and... worship!

This man was like an unfathomable Treasure Trove!

"Sister Luo, I came today primarily for the matter of the Medicinal Pills." Yao Delong gently patted Luo Yan's smooth back.

Hearing this, Luo Yan immediately sat up, not bothering to hide her exposed skin at all.

Her face instantly switched to an incomparably enthusiastic smile, even carrying a hint of fawning.

"I've been eagerly awaiting your pills, Brother! Is it more violent spirit pills?"

Yao Delong nodded and took out two jade bottles. "Seventy of perfect quality, twenty of superior quality."

Luo Yan took the jade bottles and swept them with her Divine Sense; her face immediately showed an expression of wild joy!

The quality was as good as ever, and it even had a hint of violent fire-attribute energy! Moreover, there were so many of them!

With this batch of pills, she could make another huge profit!

"Brother!" Luo Yan's voice was sickeningly sweet as she grabbed Yao Delong's hand.

"I've made the decision! From now on, I will purchase the perfect violent spirit pills you refine for four hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones each!

The superior ones will be two hundred!

This is my sincerity! You must never give your pills to anyone else, Brother!"

She held up four slender fingers, her tone carrying a hint of tension and anticipation.

Four hundred?! Two hundred?! Yao Delong was also startled in his heart! Had Luo Yan been given some kind of love potion?

When had this shrewd businesswoman ever become so generous?

It seemed his status as an Alchemist had already soared to an extremely high position in her heart.

His expression remained unchanged as he nodded. "I will remember your kindness, Sister."

Luo Yan's face immediately blossomed like a flower, and she quickly took out the Spirit Stones: seventy perfect ones for 28,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones (equivalent to 280 Mid-Grade);

twenty superior ones for 4,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones (equivalent to 40 Mid-Grade), totaling 320 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones!

"Additionally," Yao Delong put away the Spirit Stone bag, "I need ten sets of Materials for refining the foundation establishment pill, and they must be of the highest quality."

At this moment, Luo Yan was ready to grant Yao Delong's every wish, and she immediately went to the warehouse personally to prepare them.

Soon, ten jade boxes filled with various rare Spirit Medicines and spirit dews were placed before Yao Delong.

"Brother, these are the ten best sets of Materials. At cost price, it's only twenty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones!" Luo Yan said attentively.

Yao Delong paid readily. The medicinal Materials were in hand!

"When you refine the foundation establishment pills, Brother, if there are finished products, you must prioritize me!"

Luo Yan saw Yao Delong to the door, leaning against the doorframe with a lingering, affectionate gaze.

Returning to the thatched hut on Luoxia Peak, Yao Delong immediately set up layers of Restrictions to isolate the inside from the outside.

Before him, the dark, ancient, and scorching earth fire spirit nurturing furnace stood quietly.

Beside it, ten sets of foundation establishment pill Materials, enough to bankrupt an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator, were neatly arranged.

"Let's begin!" Yao Delong took a deep breath, circulating the Primal Yang Locking Art to its limit.

Within his withered body, thick and condensed spiritual Qi surged like a rushing river!

With a flick of his finger, a wisp of pure spiritual Qi was injected into the Pill Furnace, triggering the internal earth fire essence.

Buzz!

The flame runes on the furnace body lit up one by one, and the temperature inside the furnace rose sharply, turning into a sea of pure earth fire!

Yao Delong's eyes were as focused as a hawk's as he began his first attempt according to the Perfection-level techniques and experience from the second volume of the Pill Scripture.

His movements were steady, yet possessed a rhythm like flowing water.

One by one, the expensive Spirit Medicines were precisely thrown into the sea of fire, and under the meticulous control of his Divine Sense,

Impurities were instantly burned away, leaving only the most refined medicinal essence.

Fusion!

Medicinal liquids of different attributes met in the furnace, like water and fire clashing, erupting in a strong repulsion!

Fine beads of sweat broke out on Yao Delong's forehead as his powerful Divine Sense and exquisite fire control techniques were activated simultaneously.

He worked hard to smooth out every bit of turbulence, guiding them to a perfect balance.

Time passed bit by bit.

Wisps of faint lines began to appear on the pill—one, two... the fifth line.

Suddenly, there was a slight fluctuation in spiritual Qi; the aura inside the furnace abruptly became chaotic. With a muffled bang, several pieces of charred residue floated out.

Failure!

Yao Delong's face was as calm as water. Without stopping for a moment, he immediately began a second time!

Failure is the cornerstone of success! The insights brought by the Perfection of the second volume of the Pill Scripture rapidly settled in his mind.

The second time was a success! The furnace lid opened, and two pills the size of longan fruit, milky white throughout and surrounded by six clear cloud patterns on the surface, floated quietly!

six-turn foundation establishment pill!

A pill of six turns! If an outsider were here, they would have already lost their voice in shock! This was already an achievement difficult for even an ordinary third-grade Alchemist to reach!

Yao Delong, however, only frowned, not quite satisfied. He quickly summarized the slight sluggishness during the last pill condensation and adjusted the spiritual Qi output frequency.

The third time!

The furnace fire rose, and the medicinal fragrance became even richer! At the moment of pill condensation, Yao Delong's hand seals changed like flying,

his concentration highly focused, forcibly guiding the medicinal power to circulate and strike for a higher level!

Buzz!

The furnace body trembled slightly, and a pill fragrance more refined than before spread out.

One seventh-turn foundation establishment pill!

It worked! A sharp glint flashed in Yao Delong's eyes, and a hint of joy appeared on his tired face,

but it was immediately replaced by an even stronger desire! Not enough! Eight revolutions! He needed eight revolutions!

He swallowed a pill to restore spiritual Qi, and ignoring the massive double consumption of Divine Soul and spiritual Qi, he opened the furnace again!

The fourth time... fifth time... sixth time... seventh time...

Four consecutive times, he stopped at seven turns! Every time he struck for eight revolutions, at the critical final moment of pill condensation, it was as if he encountered an invisible barrier.

No matter how he urged his Divine Sense and spiritual Qi, he was always just a hair's breadth away, unable to let the pill patterns break through the seventh line!

The intense consumption made his face as pale as paper, his Sea of Consciousness throbbed with pain, and his body trembled slightly.

He quickly adjusted his state to the best possible, carefully reflecting on the reasons for the previous failures.

He picked up a set of Materials and threw them into the Pill Furnace. Extraction, Fusion... every step reached an unprecedented level of Perfection!

When the medicinal essence reached the threshold of pill condensation again, Yao Delong suddenly bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the Pill Furnace!

At the same time, the Mental Energy in his Sea of Consciousness poured out without reservation, and the pill condensation seals formed by his hands followed a profound trajectory,

forcibly drawing upon the power of the earth fire essence within the furnace!

"Condense for me!"

A low shout, like a clap of thunder!

Buzz—!

Light radiated brilliantly from the furnace! A majestic and pure aura soared into the sky, actually penetrating the simple Restrictions of the thatched hut,

forming a visible pillar of milky-white pill Qi above the hut that flashed and then vanished!

The rich pill fragrance instantly permeated the entirety of Luoxia Peak!

A pill the size of a longan, crystal clear throughout like the purest colored glaze, with eight golden pill patterns on the surface flowing slowly like living things,

floated quietly! Around the pill, within the misty rosy light, there were even faint echoes of Great Dao Sanskrit sounds!

[One eight revolutions foundation establishment pill!]

It's done!

Yao Delong's body swayed; he could no longer hold himself up and collapsed to the ground, panting heavily,

yet his mouth split into an incomparably hearty smile!

Meanwhile, the outside world had already exploded into a frenzy. Numerous Disciples were all discussing it,

wondering why the pill formation phenomenon that usually only appeared on Pill Cloud Peak had appeared on Luoxia Peak.

Could it be that a Senior Brother from Pill Cloud Peak had run over to Luoxia Peak to refine pills?

The Disciples were very confused; after all, Disciples with talent in the Alchemic Dao were basically all taken in by Pill Cloud Peak.

And in a certain courtyard, Lin Qingxue, dressed in a white long dress, looked at the soaring white pillar of light.

At this moment, she understood—it must be that Senior Brother has succeeded in refining his pills!