17: Chapter 17 Replacing the Pill

Although his cultivation had paused, he was not idle.

He devoted all his energy to another matter—deducing and improving Pill Formulas.

Although the qiankun creation furnace was Heaven-Defying, it could not create something out of nothing.

The grade of a Pill Formula determined the upper limit of the Medicinal Pill.

He only had one lowest-grade qi gathering pill formula in his hand, which was far from enough.

He began to try using the characteristics of the qiankun creation furnace to conduct some crazy experiments.

He threw a stalk of condensing qi grass and a mortal herb with blood-activating properties into the Pill Furnace together, and then injected a trace of Qi of Creation; he did not ignite the fire to refine them, but used his Divine Sense to sense the Fusion and repulsion of the two under the nourishment of the Qi of Creation.

This process was mentally taxing and incredibly tedious.

But he enjoyed it, like a scientist obsessed with research.

Failure after failure, attempt after attempt.

He discovered that the Qi of Creation seemed to be more than just fuel; it was more like a catalyst, a universal 'solvent.'

It could harmonize the plant Origins of different medicinal properties in a mysterious way.

One night a month later.

When he threw a stalk of condensing qi grass, half a piece of 'ironwood root'—an auxiliary ingredient for the body tempering pill—and a trace of blood vitality essence refined from the blood of a low-grade Yao Beast into the Pill Furnace, and carefully guided the Qi of Creation to envelop them, a marvelous change occurred within the furnace.

The three completely unrelated Materials, under the harmonization of the Qi of Creation, did not repel each other but instead slowly fused together in a brand-new structure.

A prototype of medicinal power, more explosive than a simple qi gathering pill yet containing a hint of vitality, was born in his spiritual perception.

"It's a success!"

Su Cheng's eyes erupted with unprecedented brilliance.

Although this wasn't a complete Pill Formula, it proved his path was viable! He could use the qiankun creation furnace to 'create' Medicinal Pills!

He named this prototype of a new Medicinal Pill the "spirit burning pill."

Its effect was to burst forth the pure spiritual power and blood vitality stored within the pill in a short time, instantly boosting combat strength with minimal side effects.

While Su Cheng was immersed in his research on the Dao of Alchemy, outside, Su Chenyuan's journey was also filled with danger and opportunity.

After leaving Qingyang Town, Su Chenyuan headed all the way south, straight for Qinghe Prefecture City.

His Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivation gave him speed and endurance far exceeding before.

A journey that used to take months, he completed in one month.

The prosperity of Qinghe Prefecture City was far beyond that of a county town.

The city walls were towering, and people bustled in the streets, among whom were many powerful Cultivators.

He even felt several Divine Senses of Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators sweep past at the city gate.

Su Chenyuan's heart tightened, and he suppressed his aura to the limit, pretending to be an ordinary Late Qi Refining Stage Cultivator as he walked into the city with the crowd.

Following Su Cheng's plan, he didn't go to those flashy large shops; instead, he first gathered some information and then twisted through the city's alleys to arrive at an underground trading venue called the "Ghost Market."

The light here was dim, and it was a mix of dragons and snakes; every stall owner wore a mask and hawked items of unknown Origin in raspy voices.

Su Chenyuan also put on a mask and found an inconspicuous corner, placing a wooden board in front of him with two words: "Exchanging Pills."

He didn't sell directly; instead, he chose to exchange.

Exchanging for large quantities of various types of low-grade discarded medicinal Materials, or directly for Spirit Stones.

Soon, someone was attracted to him.

"Fellow Daoist, what pills are you exchanging?" a similarly raspy voice asked from behind a mask.

Su Chenyuan didn't speak; he just flicked his finger, and a jade bottle landed in front of the other person.

The person skeptically opened the stopper, and an extremely rich pill fragrance instantly wafted out.

His expression changed, and he quickly replaced the stopper, looking at Su Chenyuan in disbelief.

"Su... supreme-grade?" His voice was trembling.

"Exchange, or don't." Su Chenyuan's voice was as calm as still water.

"Exchange! Of course, I'll exchange!" The person rubbed his hands excitedly. "What does Fellow Daoist want? Spirit Stones, or medicinal Materials?"

Ultimately, the first top-grade qi gathering pill was successfully sold for a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones plus a large pile of discarded medicinal Materials.

This price was even higher than Su Cheng had anticipated.

After all, it was just a qi gathering pill; even if it was top-grade, it was only of great use for the Qi Refinement Stage.

The price was destined not to be too high.

However, with the first success, things went much more smoothly afterward.

Ten top-grade qi gathering pills brought him a thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones and a mountain of various discarded medicinal Materials within three days.

Carrying this huge sum of money, Su Chenyuan didn't stay for a moment and left Qinghe Prefecture City overnight.

He knew he had been targeted by some people with ulterior motives.

Although he had handled things cleanly and frequently changed his location and identity, the appearance of supreme-grade pills was, in itself, the greatest temptation.

After leaving the city, he deliberately circled around a few times and indeed found several tails behind him.

Su Chenyuan sneered; he was in no hurry to act, but instead led them to a remote Forest of Scattered Rocks.

"Why hide, Your Excellency? Since you've followed me all the way, why not come out and meet?" Su Chenyuan stopped and turned to speak calmly.

Three figures flashed out from the darkness, surrounding him in a triangular formation.

"Kid, if you know what's good for you, hand over your Storage Pouch, and we can spare your life!" The leader was a scarred man at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, his eyes full of greed.

Su Chenyuan glanced at them: two at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer and one at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.

He smiled.

"It seems you have quite a bit of confidence in me."

"Enough nonsense! Die!" The scarred man lost his patience and shouted, his Ghost-Head Saber carrying a fierce wind as it slashed straight at Su Chenyuan's face.

The other two also attacked at the same time, blocking all his paths of retreat.

Su Chenyuan stood still, as if paralyzed by fear.

Just as the blade was about to reach his body, he moved.

No one saw clearly how he made his move.

With a muffled 'bang,' the scarred man's body was sent flying backward even faster than he had come, as if he had been struck head-on by a bull; his chest completely collapsed, and he had already lost his breath while still in mid-air.

The other two were terrified and turned to flee.

But it was too late.

Su Chenyuan's figure appeared behind them like a ghost, his hands striking out to press lightly on their necks.

"Crack!"

After two crisp sounds of bone cracking, the world went quiet.

He looked at the three corpses on the ground without a ripple in his eyes.

Although he hadn't practiced many Spells, crushing them with his Realm alone was enough.

He remembered what his son said: "If the other party has killing intent, then pull them up by the roots."

He took the Storage Pouches from the three men, burned the bodies to ashes, and then turned to continue his journey toward the Tiangang Sect.

At this moment, he was no longer the weak Su Chenyuan of Qingyang Town.

He was a father who, to protect his family, could become an Incarnation of an Asura.