Chapter 165: Refining Spirits, Intermediate Mid-Grade Pills

Chapter 165: Refining Spirits, Intermediate Mid-Grade Pills

Without examining them too closely, Chu Ning stored the three pills in jade bottles.

Then, he began the process of refining the second batch of pills.

The fact that he had successfully produced three Xuanling Baodan pills on the first attempt came as a pleasant surprise to Chu Ning.

However, it also made him realize that after several days of preparation, coupled with the effect of the Yuan Dan spirit body, he was in a prime state for pill refining.

Since that was the case, he needed to strike while the iron was hot.

From then on, Chu Ning refined pill after pill without rest.

Of course, as the Xuanling Baodan pills were of great significance, he made sure to be in his optimal state before each attempt.

Thus, he decided to refine two batches every half a day.

After three days, Chu Ning had completed twelve batches of Xuanling Baodan pills.

What surprised him immensely was that out of the 36 pills produced, 34 were of extremely high quality, with only 2 being waste pills.

The process of refining 36 pills had exhausted all 180 Flametwin Fruits that Chu Ning had brought with him from the Spirit Domain.

Fortunately, the Flametwin Fruits that he had cultivated himself were finally ready for harvest after more than three years of growth.

After harvesting 193 Flametwin Fruits, Chu Ning proceeded to the next stage of pill refining.

Four days later...

In the pill refining room, Chu Ning looked at the array of jade bottles before him with a smile on his face.

"I originally planned to refine 60 Xuanling Baodan pills to be better prepared.

But I didn't expect that after improving my pill refining technique,

these ingredients would be enough to produce 72 high-quality pills.

This is truly beyond my expectations."

With all the ingredients he had, Chu Ning refined a total of 25 batches of Xuanling Baodan pills.

Out of the 75 pills, there were only 3 waste pills, and an astonishing 72 successful pills—a result that far exceeded Chu Ning's expectations.

And all of this was thanks to the improvement in his pill refining technique brought about by the Essentials of Alchemy.

At that moment, Chu Ning felt a sense of relief.

Although he had achieved a very high success rate in his consecutive pill refining attempts, the process of refining Xuanling Baodan pills was not easy.

If it weren't for the coincidence of finding the ancient sect ruins and obtaining the Essentials of Alchemy,

his previous pill refining skills would have made it unlikely to produce 60 successful pills.

"Now that everything is ready, I can finally prepare for the Foundation Establishment."

Chu Ning placed all the jade bottles containing the pills into his storage bag and slowly walked out of the pill refining room.

Although he had gathered all the necessary items, the Foundation Establishment would require him to seclude himself for an extended period. Thus, Chu Ning needed to make further arrangements.

Additionally, he still had to refine the spirits of these Xuanling Baodan pills.

Chu Ning arrived in the Spirit Herb Garden and took a quick glance around.

Many of the spirit herbs had already been used for refining Xuanling Baodan and Qingmu Yuanyang pills, so the remaining stock was not very abundant.

Only the Yuanyang Fruits, Flametwin Fruits, and a few other types of spirit fruits remained.

These spirit fruits had just been harvested recently and had entered the next fruiting cycle.

Chu Ning walked further and reached the areas where Tieyang Fruits were grown, as well as the spirit plants that were created through cross-pollination using Yuanyang Fruits, Jinyang Fruits, and Tiejing Lan.

The Tieyang Fruits had already borne fruit some time ago, and it would take another three to four months before they could be harvested again.

As for the spirit fruits that resulted from cross-pollination, Chu Ning frowned slightly upon seeing their slow growth on the Tiejing Lan plants.

"The growth of these spirit fruits is so slow that they are almost on par with the Flametwin Fruits.

It's been almost three years, and these fruits still haven't matured.

Though it's partly because I haven't used Ling Xiao Bai's powers to hasten their growth."

Shaking his head, Chu Ning left that area and made his way to the cultivation zone of Tiehun Flowers. At the same time, he checked his cultivation progress in his mind.

【Yan Huo Shenmu Gong (High-Ranked Xuan Tier), Second Layer (367/10000)】

【Jiuyan Lianti Jue, First Volume, Endless Sinews (1499/1500)】

【Lianshen Technique, Second Layer (1865/2000)】

Over the past half a year or so, Chu Ning's Lianshen Technique had been increasing at a rate of around one point per day.

If he were to cultivate at a normal pace, it would likely take him more than three months to complete the second layer of the Lianshen Technique.

However, upon seeing the Tiehun Flowers, a hint of joy appeared in Chu Ning's eyes.

"After more than two years, these Tiehun Flowers have probably demanded the most attention out of all the spirit herbs.

The earliest batch of Tiehun Flowers that I planted should be fully mature in about one to two months."

According to the records about Tiehun Flowers, as long as they matured, he would be able to absorb their wood essence qi.

Chu Ning knew that he would soon be able to use this wood essence qi to accelerate his Lianshen Technique once again.

"It seems that my seclusion won't be too affected after all.

I can just wait for these Tiehun Flowers to mature, and then absorb their wood essence qi to strengthen my divine sense."

Seeing this, Chu Ning felt somewhat relieved.

He returned directly to his cave dwelling.

The only thing left for Chu Ning to arrange was the talismans and pills for Cen Zikin.

Over the past two years, he had been providing her with talismans, and for the past six months, he had also been giving her pills every month.

Calculating the time, Chu Ning estimated that Cen Zikin would come looking for him in about half a month to ask for another batch of talismans and pills.

As he wasn't sure how long his seclusion would last, Chu Ning decided to give her a larger supply this time.

Fortunately, his success rate in talisman crafting was extremely high, and he hadn't given her all the talismans he had crafted previously, so he could just hand them over directly.

As for the pills, he would need to refine another batch.

However, that wouldn't be a problem either. After cultivating the fire control technique from the Essentials of Alchemy, his spiritual power and divine sense consumption during pill refining had decreased significantly.

At the same time, he spent several days refining the spirits of the Xuanling Baodan pills one by one.

After several attempts, Chu Ning discovered that the Xuanling Baodan pills could support up to five spirit refinements.

And the grade of the pills directly broke through to the level of intermediate mid-grade pills, faintly reaching the threshold of intermediate high-grade pills.

"With so many high-quality Xuanling Baodan pills, even if my Yan Huo Shenmu Gong is more profound and my spiritual power is more abundant, it should still be enough to liquefy and establish my foundation!"

Just as Chu Ning finished his preparations, Cen Zikin arrived gracefully.

The two sat opposite each other at the stone table, sipping on spiritual tea.

Cen Zikin's appearance was lovely, but her expression carried a hint of melancholy and hesitation.

Chu Ning took a light sip of his tea and spoke to her, "You seem troubled by something related to your family again."

Cen Zikin did not answer directly, but her bright eyes lifted to meet his.

"I mentioned to you before that I gave myself three years, and it seems I'll have to make a decision sooner than expected.

I plan to leave the Thousand Lakes and Islands and go to Yaochi Palace."

Chu Ning's hand that held the tea cup paused slightly, and then he drank the entire cup in one gulp.

He slowly placed the cup back on the table and watched as Cen Zikin gently lifted the teapot to refill his cup.

He asked softly, "Have you made up your mind?"

"Yes," Cen Zikin nodded lightly.

"What you said was right. I won't be able to obtain the secret legacy of the Cen family no matter what.

Over these two years, with your talismans and pills, Cen Workshop's business has grown significantly.

And my great-uncle's wariness and vigilance towards me have only increased."

Cen Zikin paused for a moment before continuing, "I heard that Chen Xinming intends to attempt the Foundation Establishment in half a year. If he succeeds, my great-uncle will undoubtedly put more pressure on me."

"Chen Xinming." Upon hearing this name, a cold glint flashed in Chu Ning's eyes as he murmured.

Despite Chu Ning's subtle reaction, Cen Zikin caught it.

A smile appeared on her lovely face as she said, "Don't worry, I'll definitely leave the Thousand Lakes and Islands before that happens."

Chu Ning composed his expression and looked at Cen Zikin, asking, "If I can succeed in establishing my foundation within half a year, will it be of any help to you?"

"You can establish your foundation within half a year?" Cen Zikin's face showed a hint of surprise at Chu Ning's words.

"Haven't you only reached the perfect energy refinement stage for less than a year?"

"The cultivation technique I practice is a bit different. At the perfect energy refinement stage, I don't need to accumulate energy for too long."

At this moment, Chu Ning gave a reason without revealing that he had already been at the perfect energy refinement stage for over two years.

"Actually, I was planning to tell you that in the next two or three months, I intend to go into seclusion.

I'll refine a batch of pills for my foundation establishment, and within half a year, I might attempt it."

At this moment, Chu Ning did not hide much from Cen Zikin.

Hearing this, Cen Zikin nodded slightly and then spoke,

"That's perfect timing. I also came here prepared to give you something."

As she spoke, Cen Zikin took out a small jade box from her storage bag, opened it, and presented it to Chu Ning.

"This is..."

Chu Ning was slightly startled as he looked at the pill within the jade box, and then he exclaimed in surprise, "Foundation Establishment Pill!"

"Yes," Cen Zikin smiled.

"You mentioned before that you might not necessarily need a Foundation Establishment Pill for your foundation establishment.

But I thought it would be good to have one as a backup."

Chu Ning did not refuse her offer and reached out to take the small jade box.

He then stored it away in his own storage bag.

Initially, he had planned that if he couldn't complete the foundation establishment in one go with the help of the Xuanling Baodan pills, he would try to obtain another Foundation Establishment Pill.

However, he also knew that such pills were extremely precious and were not easily given out by any sect or power.

Thinking of this, Chu Ning looked up at Cen Zikin and asked,

"Did Cen Wenquan willingly give you this Foundation Establishment Pill?"

Hearing this, Cen Zikin let out a mocking laugh.

"He's not that generous. This pill was left to me by my grandfather.

But when I established my foundation, my master gave me a Foundation Establishment Pill, so I didn't need to use this one.

They never knew I still had this pill, or they would have asked me to hand it over long ago."

Chu Ning nodded and then smiled, "It seems your grandfather favored you quite a bit."

"Yes," Cen Zikin nodded.

"If my grandfather were still here, it would be great. He had a lot of influence in the Thousand Lakes and Islands, and our Cen family wouldn't need to rely on any other family."

"Birth, old age, sickness, and death are all part of life, and the rise and fall of families and sects are no exception."

After Chu Ning finished speaking, Cen Zikin gave him a sideways glance.

"You always speak like an old man, even though you're around the same age as me."

Chu Ning smiled, "Have you ever thought that I might be an old monster who deliberately appears to be this age?"

Upon hearing this, a playful look appeared in Cen Zikin's eyes as she stared straight at Chu Ning's face, examining him closely.

Chu Ning sat there calmly, letting her look at him.

After a while, Cen Zikin nodded lightly.

"Yes, indeed..."

"Indeed, what?" Chu Ning looked at her in surprise.

At this moment, he was showing his true appearance and hadn't used any illusion magic.

Could Cen Zikin see something from his face?

"Indeed, your skin is thick."

At this moment, Cen Zikin giggled, her eyes full of mischief.

Chu Ning smiled at her words and then suddenly said to Cen Zikin, "Wait a moment!"

He leaned closer to her, just as she had done earlier, and examined her face closely.

Chu Ning didn't answer directly; instead, he studied her intently for a long while before finally speaking, "Indeed..."

Hearing Chu Ning echo her earlier words, Cen Zikin gave him a playful glance.

"Go on, say it!" she urged.

"Indeed, you are very beautiful, worthy of your title as the First Fairy of the Thousand Lakes and Islands," Chu Ning said with a gentle smile.

At his words, Cen Zikin turned her face away, but a hint of a smile played at the corners of her eyes.

For a while, neither of them spoke, allowing the quiet ambiance of the cave to fill the space between them, a subtle undercurrent of something unspoken hanging in the air.

It was as if neither of them wanted to break the spell that had fallen over the room.

Suddenly, a soft whimper interrupted the silence.

Ling Xiaobai had emerged from the spirit beast room.

Cen Zikin immediately scooped the little creature into her arms, but she soon noticed that its aura seemed somewhat weak.

"What's wrong with Xiao Bai? It looks injured," she asked, concern lacing her voice.

"Earlier, we encountered a second-tier demon beast while out gathering spirit herbs. Xiao Bai got hurt, but it's nothing serious," Chu Ning explained nonchalantly.

Hearing this, Cen Zikin shot him a reproachful glance. "You knew there was a second-tier demon beast, and you didn't call for me? Now look, you've gotten Xiao Bai hurt."

Chu Ning shook his head. "It was an unexpected encounter, but I'm not afraid of ordinary second-tier demon beasts, and Xiao Bai didn't suffer any fatal injuries. It will be fine."

At that moment, Ling Xiaobai's eyes darted between the two of them. It had been on the brink of death, yet Chu Ning was downplaying its injuries. However, ever since it had formed a life contract with Chu Ning, it had come to accept him as its master. As a result, its thoughts were now unconsciously influenced by Chu Ning's will, and so it remained silent, not wanting to contradict him.

Fortunately, Cen Zikin had already taken out a spirit fruit to feed to the little beast. With food in front of it, Ling Xiaobai naturally forgot about its injuries and happily devoured the treat.

Cen Zikin didn't press the issue further. After all, more than two years ago, she had witnessed Chu Ning effortlessly slay a second-tier demon beast with his sword. With the passage of time, Chu Ning's strength had undoubtedly grown, and she had no reason to worry excessively.

"By the way, you don't need to post that task about finding the white fungus anymore," Chu Ning suddenly remembered the matter regarding the white fungus he had asked Cen Zikin to help with. Now, he spoke up to let her know it was no longer necessary.

And after Cen Zikin agreed, Chu Ning continued, "Also, the Song family might come snooping around. You should be prepared to deal with them somehow."

He hadn't originally intended to mention the incident with Song Ye because no one else knew about it, and he saw no need to burden Cen Zikin with unnecessary worry. However, he felt it was important to give her a heads-up.

If Song Ye still harbored ill intentions and tried to use the white fungus incident to target Cen Zikin, it would be better if she was mentally prepared to handle the situation.

As expected, upon hearing this, Cen Zikin immediately asked what had happened.

Chu Ning then proceeded to give her a brief overview of the conflict with Song Ye.

Cen Zikin was shocked to learn that Chu Ning had clashed with Song Ye. "That Song Ye has been at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment for quite some time now, and it's said that he's just a step away from reaching the late-stage. Even among the top families of the Thousand Islands Alliance, he's considered one of the most powerful cultivators." Her eyes clouded with worry as she spoke.

"Don't worry, I have an artifact that can shield my spiritual sense, and I've also used illusion magic to alter my appearance," Chu Ning reassured her.

As he spoke, he took out a jade slip from his storage bag and handed it to Cen Zikin. "This illusion magic is quite remarkable. You can try to learn it. It might come in handy sometimes."

As he spoke, Chu Ning demonstrated the illusion magic by transforming his face into the appearance of Liu Ping, the identity he had shown Cen Zikin when they first met.

Cen Zikin's eyes widened in surprise, and she couldn't help but laugh at his antics. "You! So, you were deceiving me from the start."

"As a wandering cultivator trying to make a living in this place, I have to be cautious and vigilant," Chu Ning replied with a smile. He then handed over the talismans and pills he had prepared earlier to Cen Zikin.

"Since I'm about to go into seclusion, I refined some extra talismans and pills. Take them all," he said. "But now that you're planning to leave the Cen family, you might not want to sell them at Cen Workshop anymore."

Hearing this, Cen Zikin quickly stored away all the talismans and pills. "Of course, I'll sell them. Why wouldn't I?"

She gave a light huff of indignation. "In fact, I was planning to help you sell even more talismans and pills during this last stretch. After I leave Cen Workshop, it won't be as convenient for you to do business with them."

Seeing the playful pout on Cen Zikin's face, Chu Ning chuckled. "Alright, then. After I come out of seclusion, I'll go find Cen the shopkeeper and see how much profit he's made for me."

Cen Zikin returned his smile, unperturbed by his teasing. "Once you're done with your seclusion, go to Caiwu Island. I'll have people stationed there regularly. And since I'm planning to leave, it's better if you don't come looking for me directly on Qianni Island, just to be safe."

"We'll see," Chu Ning replied casually.

The two continued to chat leisurely. Cen Zikin deliberately lingered longer than usual, knowing that Chu Ning was about to enter seclusion.

Three days later, she finally bid him farewell.

After seeing Cen Zikin off, Chu Ning immediately activated the full defensive array of his cave abode.

At the same time, he gave Ling Xiaobai and Tieyan Beast some final instructions before entering the cultivation room to begin his Foundation Establishment journey by consuming the Xuanling Baodan pills.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end