326: Chapter 326 You still want to go down the mountain looking like that?

He withdrew his hand and circled halfway around Su Cheng, his expression a mix of astonishment and helplessness.

"There is not a single hidden injury in your Meridians."

"Hmm."

"Not only are there no injuries, but the width and resilience of your Meridians..." Elder Qingmu shook his head, perhaps too surprised to find the right words to describe it.

He pressed his hand onto Su Cheng's shoulder again, once more using his Golden Core level spiritual energy to nourish his Meridians.

Wood-attribute spiritual energy was inherently skilled at nourishing and repairing. Elder Qingmu's spiritual energy carried the true essence of vegetation accumulated over hundreds of years of cultivation. After one Great Circulation, the tense walls of Su Cheng's Meridians, strained from months of closed-door cultivation, relaxed significantly, and the slight accumulation of fatigue was washed away.

One Great Circulation, two Great Circulations... Elder Qingmu performed five full Great Circulations for him before stopping.

Su Cheng felt a warmth in his heart; his Revered Master might not say much, but his actions were far from indifferent.

"The aura of fire-attribute spiritual energy on you is almost overpowering the wood-attribute." Elder Qingmu stepped back and finally spoke again, "You have successfully cultivated the Burning Heaven Art, haven't you?"

"Yes." Su Cheng nodded.

"You child, you are truly bold." Elder Qingmu sighed after saying this, then added, "Do you intend to continue cultivating the Burning Heaven Art further?"

"I will not Cultivate it anymore." Su Cheng shook his head, "Disciple only wanted the effect of widening the Meridians, and now that goal has been achieved."

"Furthermore, I only obtained the part of the Burning Heaven Art prior to Foundation Establishment. The Fentian Sect would not provide the subsequent Golden Core Stage techniques, so there is no future in continuing to Cultivate it."

"Besides, Disciple already possesses the Nether Abyss Exotic Fire. If I truly need to use fire-attribute methods, the exotic fire is sufficient; there is no need to divide my focus to practice another fire-attribute Cultivation Technique."

Elder Qingmu nodded, "It is good that you have thought this through. Dual Cultivation of fire and wood sounds impressive, but cultivating two sets of techniques simultaneously is a great taboo."

"Not to mention the divided focus, there are always some Meridians that connect during cultivation. If two types of attribute spiritual energy coexist for a long time, conflict will arise sooner or later."

"Disciple understands."

"That is good." Elder Qingmu asked again, "Have you been to the Alchemy Hall? Head Xu has come to ask me about your situation quite often during this period."

"Revered Master, Disciple has already been to the Alchemy Hall."

"Hmm, go back and rest. After four months of closed-door cultivation, you should take some time to recuperate."

Su Cheng acknowledged, bowed, then turned and went down the mountain back to his Immortal Cave.

For the next three months, Su Cheng did not go anywhere.

During the day, he practiced the Creation Technique in his Immortal Cave to stabilize his Foundation Establishment Mid-stage Foundation, and at night, he continued to open the furnace for Alchemy.

After reaching Foundation Establishment Mid-stage, his total spiritual energy increased greatly, the production speed of the Qi of Creation rose accordingly, and he was even more adept at driving the qiankun creation furnace.

During these three months, he poured all his diverted energy into Alchemy.

top-grade nine-orifice golden spirit pills were taken out of the creation furnace one by one, sealed into jade bottles, and neatly stacked inside his Storage Pouch.

He refined as many Medicinal Pills as there were portions of Spirit Medicine provided; counting them up, there were already over a hundred jade bottles in Su Cheng's Storage Pouch.

Three months of continuous work, in addition to the production of over a dozen furnaces of first and second-rank pills every day, he also had to refine the nine-aperture golden spirit pills.

With the consumption of spiritual energy, Divine Soul, and the Qi of Creation, all three combined, by the end of the third month, he was mentally exhausted and his spiritual energy was unstable.

Of course, this was intentional on Su Cheng's part. He could not appear too relaxed; the more relaxed he seemed, the more he would be exploited. "The capable do more work" was a highly derogatory term for Su Cheng, and he could not afford to spend all his time on "superficial" Alchemy.

On the last day of the third month, Su Cheng put twenty of the jade bottles into a separate Storage Pouch, left his Immortal Cave, and flew towards Zixiao Peak.

In the inner hall of the Alchemy Hall, Head Xu Changqing was reviewing Jade Slips behind his desk. When he saw Su Cheng arrive, a hint of joy appeared on his face, but it immediately changed.

Su Cheng came to the desk and was about to take the twenty jade bottles out of the Storage Pouch to place them on the table. When he reached the fifteenth one, his hand shook, and the bottle knocked against the tabletop with a crisp sound.

"Head, Disciple has been working day and night during this period and finally refined twenty pills. Please..."

Before he finished speaking, he deliberately swayed his body to the left, stumbled half a step, and barely managed to steady himself by gripping the edge of the table.

Head Xu Changqing stood up abruptly, walked around the desk, grabbed Su Cheng's arm, and pressed him onto a guest chair.

"Sit down!"

Su Cheng was pressed down without any fight left in him. He leaned back against the chair, took two more breaths, and then took out the remaining five jade bottles and placed them on the side table.

The twenty jade bottles were arranged in two rows, glowing with a soft, gentle spiritual radiance in the light.

Head Xu Changqing did not look at the Medicinal Pills but instead swept his Divine Sense over Su Cheng.

His aura was fluctuating, his spiritual energy circulation was sluggish, and his Divine Soul was somewhat unstable—a classic case of long-term overexertion.

With a grim face, he took two jade boxes and a porcelain bottle from his own Storage Pouch and pushed them in front of Su Cheng.

"This is a third-rank Divine Plant for nourishing the spirit; take it back and drink it in water. This is the Condensing Essence Paste; apply it to your Shanzhong and Qi Sea Acupoints before sleep to nourish your Meridians. The porcelain bottle contains Foundation Nourishing Pills, specifically for replenishing spiritual energy deficits."

Su Cheng took the items, but before he could thank him, Head Xu Changqing glared at him.

"Eat one Foundation Nourishing Pill first."

Su Cheng obediently pulled out the bottle stopper, poured out a Medicinal Pill, and popped it into his mouth. The gentle medicinal power dispersed from his stomach, and the spiritual energy he had deliberately consumed earlier was rapidly replenished.

Head Xu Changqing then returned to his seat behind the desk and picked up the jade bottles to begin inspecting the pills.

He scanned them one by one; the quality was impeccable.

He placed the last jade bottle back on the table and looked at Su Cheng, saying crossly, "Are you planning to drain yourself dry? Three months, twenty supreme grade pills—it's a wonder you were able to refine them."

Su Cheng twitched the corner of his mouth, "Serving the Alchemy Hall is a duty I cannot shirk. To be honest, Head, I would like to ask for leave. I need to go down the mountain for two months to return to my Family and handle some external matters along the way. I will make up for these two months' worth of Medicinal Pills when I return."

"You want to go down the mountain looking like a ghost?"

"I will be fine after resting for two days; the Foundation Nourishing Pill just now has already taken effect."

Head Xu Changqing looked at Su Cheng, wanting to scold him but unable to do so. The boy had worked hard to produce twenty supreme grade Medicinal Pills in three months, paying back what was owed with interest and even producing several extra. How could he scold such a Disciple?

Then, not knowing what he thought of, he fished a bronze token out of his sleeve and tossed it to Su Cheng.

The front of the token was engraved with the emblem of the Alchemy Hall, and the back bore Head Xu Changqing's personal seal. It exuded a restrained spiritual light and was exquisitely crafted.

"Take it."

Su Cheng took it and flipped it over to look: "This is?"

"In the future, there is no need to report when coming to the inner hall of Zixiao Peak; just show this token and walk right in." Head Xu Changqing paused, then added, "If you encounter any thorny issues outside, you can also take it out and use it. Although my name, Xu Changqing, may not be world-renowned, in Tianlan Province, most people will give me some face."

Su Cheng put the token away and bowed solemnly, "Thank you, Head."

"Go on, just two months. Take this time to recuperate properly and don't ruin your health. If something happens to you, then everything I have been discussing during this time will be in vain."

Su Cheng bowed again, then turned and exited the inner hall.