Chapter 115: Pill Refinement, Body Refinement and Demonic Cultivators!
Chapter 115: Pill Refinement, Body Refinement and Demonic Cultivators!
"Cave Fire Dew..."
"Immortal Blue Ginseng..."
"White Orchid..."
"Jade Grass Ash..."
For nearly three days, Yang Wei was totally focused on making pills.
By now, he'd refined thirty Element-Boosting Pills for each of his four major spirit root paths. In between, he'd switch gears to refine some Blood Strengthening Pills, so he had about eight of those ready to go.
He hadn't slept or left the pill furnace the whole time.
Normally, an apothecary disciple might worry about their furnace overheating and blowing up after this much work, but not Yang Wei. He knew if he wanted to properly cultivate the Profound Black Tortoise Inheritance, he'd need to use a ton of body refinement pills, so Huo Zirou's wager gave him the perfect chance.
The pill furnace he was using was called a Golden Dragon Furnace, and true to its name, it was a big golden furnace covered in dragon patterns. It was perfect for crafting fourth-grade pills and above, which usually requires a lot of heat that most pill furnaces can't handle.
"Alright, now to mix the ingredients!"
Yang Wei flicked two fingers forward, shooting a stream of spiritual energy into the opening of his golden pill furnace where the herbs were mixed, and soon, the furnace's heat increased. After nine intense hours of pouring his spiritual energy into the furnace, it started to rumble. Soon, he could smell a strong medicinal aroma mixed with blood wafting out.
He immediately stopped feeding energy into the furnace, and the next thing he knew, three Blood Strengthening Pills emerged, wrapped in white lotus petals.
Huh? That's new... I made some adjustments, but I didn't expect this result. All I did was infuse the pill with refined Soul Nectar, Timeless Sage Root, and Blood Lily Flower, then increased the measurements for the other ingredients before balancing them out with surplus Harmony Roots.
Whenever pills came out like wrapped in white lotus petals, it meant they were sixth-grade pills.
Yang Wei caught the pills as they landed, looking fairly impressed, but that was about it. He didn't realize the significance of refining a sixth-grade pill. If anyone knowledgeable about pill refinement had seen it, they would've bowed to Yang Wei as an Apothecary Grandmaster.
Yang Wei inspected the pills more closely and nodded satisfactorily, "The impurity levels are really low, but I don't think I'll be refining more than three of these things. They take too much time and a lot of my spiritual energy." He set them aside.
As he was about to continue his pill refinement a sizable white snake sneaked through the grass towards the shiny red pills Yang Wei had beside him. Just as it was about to sink its teeth into one of them, Yang Wei turned and glared at the white snake, causing it to panic and hiss loudly.
Yang Wei easily grabbed the snake by the tail as it tried to slither away. "You shouldn't try to fool anyone. I know it's you," he said firmly.
The snake sighed and transformed back into Bai Suzhen.
Yang Wei still had a firm grip on her ankle, which had initially been a tail.
"Why won't you just let me have one of these Blood Strengthening Pills?" Bai Suzhen pleaded. "I'm a demonic cultivator, and I need a lot of blood to improve my cultivation base."
"No," Yang Wei replied calmly. "These pills are only for me. How else would I cultivate to perfection?"
Bai Suzhen folded her arms and clicked her tongue. "You're painfully greedy," she told him.
"And you're a nuisance," Yang Wei shot back, returning to his pill refinement. "Now get out, don't disturb me..."
Bai Suzhen stood up and grumbled as she walked away on her bare feet.
It'd been like this ever since Yang Wei started refining pills. Bai Suzhen would try to steal some of the Blood Strengthening Pills, but Yang Wei would always catch her and send her to the corner. She'd stay there, sulking, and then she'd try again in a few hours, only to fail once more.
"Bastard," she grumbled some more.
Yang Wei opened an eye and looked sideways then told her, "I heard that..."
"As if I, Bai Suzhen, care!"
"Jeez," he sighed.
...
Yang Wei cultivated with the refined pills for over a week. As he focused on his cultivation, Bai Suzhen sat on a tree branch and watched him patiently. She had no problem bothering him during pill refinement, but she wouldn't dare disturb him while he was cultivating. Not because she was afraid, but out of respect for the depth of concentration required for the practice.
So, she chose to leave him in peace.
During his cultivation, Bai Suzhen noticed something peculiar.
Yang Wei consumed the Element-Boosting Pills but didn't eat the Blood Strengthening Pills. Instead, he merely utilized the aura they emitted to refine his internal and external body.
"How strange," Bai Suzhen muttered to herself, shaking her head with a devious smile. "Don't tell me he's one of those cultivators."
After ten more days, Yang Wei finally took his first break.
Now, he'd spent a total of 21 days in the Osmanthus World, which was far more than the 14 days he originally planned.
"Alright, now breathe..."
He clasped his palms together gently and exhaled softly.
BOOOOOM!!
A surge of energy blasted out from his body, shaking the entire forest before dissipating.
Bai Suzhen's eyes widened as she witnessed the immense spiritual wave. "Impossible," she gasped.
How does he have that much spiritual Qi! Who is this man?!
Yang Wei looked at his fist and smiled. "Fire, earth, wind... I've cultivated all them to the 6th level of Mortal Realm. And my water spirit root path is at the 9th level," he announced, brimming with spiritual energy.
Standing up from his lotus position, he turned to Bai Suzhen and spoke solemnly.
"Cultivation is an art that requires discipline and endurance. Only then can one truly achieve enlightenment."
With a swift motion, he thrust his right fist forward, unleashing a sea of flames that dried up a significant portion of the flowing stream before them, enveloping the area in steam.
Bai Suzhen shielded her face with her hands as steam enveloped her, but once it dispersed, she saw Yang Wei standing comfortably in the hot steam.
"You didn't interrupt my cultivation. Good. There would've been trouble if you did," he told her.
Bai Suzhen chuckled.
This caught Yang Wei off guard.
"Your spirit root cultivation speed is impressive. It takes others months to reach your level." Bai Suzhen yawned, "Still, your body refinement... not so much," she teased, pointing at him.
Yang Wei raised an eyebrow. "You can mock my body refinement all you want, but when I unleash these," he said, flashing a sixth-grade Blood Strengthening Pill with a smug grin, "you won't be laughing."
Bai Suzhen licked her lips as she eyed the pill hungrily.
Immediately after, she was able to compose herself. "It's a shame to waste such a potent pill," she said, sighing dramatically.
Yang Wei looked puzzled. "Waste it? That doesn't make any sense, idiot."
"Of course it does!" She nodded knowingly. "I can teach you how to cultivate the ultimate body using the Blood Strengthening Pill," she suggested, pointing a finger at him. "And I'm sure it'll be even more powerful since you have sixth-grade blood pills at your disposal."
Yang Wei scoffed. "As if I'd bother with your ideas," he replied, returning to his cultivation.
But Bai Suzhen's next words made him pause.
"Only Demonic Cultivators truly know the path to longevity and ultimate strength," she said softly, laying even more comfortably on the tree branch. "What cultivator could match a demonic cultivator? Don't you desire that kind of power?"