Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Qi Cultivation Level 9, Demon Essence Pill

Whoosh!

The sea surface broke open, and Yang Ji shot out.

Seeing this familiar figure, Huo Yuan, who had been pacing back and forth on the deck, showed a delighted expression and quickly went up to meet him.

"Master, you've finally come up," he said.

Yang Ji smiled upon seeing this, his feet treading on the gentle breeze as he slowly descended onto the ship.

"Where are they?" he asked, looking around.

"Chen De and Chang Lin were the first to surface, and they were also the first to leave. Shortly after, Xu Xiangsong and four others hurried up, looking rather unhappy. After I paid them half of the Spirit Stones, they left without a word," Huo Yuan explained.

"Master, did you manage to get the Blazing Beast?" he inquired in a low voice.

"It ended up in Chang Lin's hands," Yang Ji shook his head and said, looking sidelong.

"I had a feeling something was off with that Chang Lin. I didn't expect him to be so despicable as to steal someone else's opportunity," Huo Yuan said, quite annoyed. "It must have been Chen De who caused trouble. He truly deserves to die!"

"It's only because we were not as strong as the others," Yang Ji said flatly, his tone then turning a bit colder. "If there's a chance, I will make sure the fortune he seized today is repaid tenfold someday."

"Although we lost the Blazing Beast Fire, I have had my gains as well."

"I refined a strain of Earth Fire below, just like the one behind Myriad Treasures Tower. I won't need to occupy the cave on the back mountain to use the Earth Fire anymore. You should practice well on your own," he told Huo Yuan as he gestured dismissively.

"Having gains is always good, congratulations are still in order for you, Master," Huo Yuan said with a smile and a bow.

"What good is there to speak of when others have taken all the advantage? Your congratulations don't make me smile," Yang Ji replied, a bitter smile on his face as he spoke calmly, "Let's go, we're heading back."

...

One day later.

Yang Ji and Huo Yuan returned to Myriad Treasures Tower by boat.

Apart from not getting the Blazing Beast Fire, they did snag quite a few Flame Snake carcasses.

The materials and Demon Cores sold for a total of eighty thousand Spirit Stones, which was a substantial gain. That was the only good thing Chang Lin did.

Yang Ji exchanged it all for Spirit Stones, and then he spoke to Jin Dafu about resigning from the ship-guarding duty, planning to quit this job.

In the past two years, he had been out to sea no less than ten times, which he felt was fulfilling his obligation to Jin Dafu.

Now that he had obtained the Earth Spirit Fire, he decided not to go to sea anymore and planned to focus on cultivation instead.

After thinking it over, Jin Dafu also agreed. Although the two would no longer be linked by the ship-guarding duty, the transactions for refining Medicine Pills would continue.

This was a lucrative business that Yang Ji would not give up, and Jin Dafu did not want to miss out on having this Peak Alchemy Master.

Besides the transactions with Jin Dafu, Yang Ji also asked Huo Yuan to keep an eye out for high-quality Spiritual Medicines at other shops on his behalf.

Huo Yuan was known throughout Nanfeng Island as a Peak Alchemy Master, and if there were any high-grade Spiritual Medicines for sale, other shops would likely be eager to trade with him.

After wrapping up these affairs, Yang Ji finally returned to the green mountains south of the city.

Inside the wooden hut.

Yang Ji touched his Storage Bag and took out a Flame Fruit.

The Spirit Fruit was the size of a fist, looking like a ruby with distinct patterns and a red glow enveloping it, resembling a burning flame.

The Flame Fruit obviously seemed extraordinary. Yang Ji took one glance and then swallowed it whole.

Once the fruit was consumed, its immense medicinal power immediately dispersed, with the cultivation effect being many times superior to that of Spirit Enhancing Pills.

Yang Ji was somewhat pleased, but right now, he did not sit down to fully absorb the cultivation but let the swirl of Spiritual Power refine and absorb it, while he took out the Pill Furnace from the Storage Bag.

Having the Earth Spirit Fire, the first thing he thought of was to refine Spirit Origin Pills.

With a flick of his palm, the Earth Spirit Fire flared into life.

Because it had been with him since the womb, he could use the fire at will, controlling the temperature to the minutest degree.

Using the Earth Fire in the past required adjusting the flame size through a hidden door at the bottom of the furnace, but now all that cumbersome process was saved.

The Earth Spirit Fire shot into the furnace from the tip of his finger, and once the Pill Furnace was sufficiently warm, Yang Ji poured out the liquid from the Spirit Origin Fruit, which had not yet fully melted, from a vessel.

The Spiritual Fire enveloped and refined the liquid.

The fruit essence hissed and boiled instantly.

Any medicinal fluid that tried to evaporate was intercepted by the Spiritual Fire.

And the useless impurities were completely turned to ash under the high temperature.

With a shake of the Spiritual Fire, the ashes fell out, landing in the bottom part of the Pill Furnace.

Yang Ji watched intently and grasped the might of the Earth Spirit Fire. He followed the same method, controlled the size of the Spiritual Fire, and melted all the other herbs needed for refining the Spirit Origin Pills.

The refinement of Spirit Origin Pills involved a step where two kinds of liquid had to meld together.

However, with the help of the Golden Finger, this was no issue, and soon the melding was completed.

Then the liquids began to merge completely.

After that, they coalesced, were divided into pellets, underwent pill rotation, were nurtured by warmth, and finally, became pills.

Through a series of proficient steps, a furnace full of Spirit Origin Pills was finally made.

Yang Ji slapped the Pill Furnace, and a more voluminous and potent rush of Pill Qi than from the Spirit Enhancing Pills surged out.

He reached out his hand and, with a swirl of Spiritual Power, ten amber pills fell into his palm.

Yang Ji held them in his hand, feeling the robust medicinal power within and knew that these Spirit Origin Pills were three times better than the Spirit Enhancing Pills.

In other words, one pill could sustain his Cultivation for three days, providing approximately 15 Cultivation Points per day.

But this was still far less than the Flame Fruit.

The Flame Fruit was still being refined within his body, and he could feel the vast and pure medicinal power, which could provide him about 50 Cultivation Points per day.

However, the medicinal power contained in a Flame Fruit was ultimately finite and could only sustain his Cultivation for about five days.

Which means, the five Flame Fruits he acquired could sustain a total of twenty-five days of Cultivation, providing him with 1250 Cultivation Points.

This cultivation speed truly delighted him.

If he constantly had Flame Fruits to consume, it wouldn't take him more than a few years to reach the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining.

But such spirit fruits were found by chance and could not be sought; who wouldn't want to keep them for their own use? High-grade medicine pills were already rare on the market, let alone fruits like these.

Yang Ji indulged in beautiful fantasies, but in the end, they were just fantasies.

His thoughts returned to reality, and he began alchemy again.

With forty batches of Spirit Origin Pill ingredients, he turned them all into medicine pills within two days. seaʀᴄh thё NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The medicine pills were ready, and he began to cultivate in earnest.

Cultivation knew no time.

Spring went and autumn came, then spring passed and autumn returned.

Time hurried by.

Leaves tumbled and turned.

In a blink, three years had passed.

In these three years, Yang Ji had thoroughly absorbed and assimilated the five Flame Fruits and four hundred Spirit Origin Pills. His spiritual power was now vigorous, and his cultivation had reached the early stages of the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining.

[Name: Yang Ji]

[Spiritual Root: Lower-grade]

[Life Span: 24/100]

[Realm: Ninth Layer of Qi Refining (500/25600)]

[Cultivation Technique: Ling Water Technique]

[Skills: Water Tracing Sword Technique (Complete), Light Body Skill (Complete)]

He was now twenty-four years old.

In other words, more than six years had passed since he left Luo Xiong's cave.

There were less than four years left until the day when the three major sects would recruit External Affairs Disciples.

If he had a sufficient supply of Spirit Origin Pills in these four years, along with some spirit fruits like the Flame Fruit, he could definitely reach the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining within four years.

Hope was right before his eyes!

At this moment, Yang Ji felt relatively relaxed.

Sensing the vigorous spiritual power within his body, he realized unconsciously that he had grown to this extent.

If he went outside, among the many scattered cultivators, few would have a higher cultivation level than his.

That's because scattered cultivators generally have lower-grade spiritual roots, and it's almost impossible for them to cultivate with a bounty of high-tier medicine pills as he did.

This meant that only some of the older cultivators among the scattered cultivators might have a higher cultivation level than him.

Being able to achieve such a cultivation level at this age was also thanks to his extraordinary alchemy talent.

It really was a matter of making up for a lack of innate talent with resources.

He believed that if he always had a sufficient supply of medicine pills for cultivation, no matter the mid-grade or superior root bones, they would probably only be on par with him.

It was only now that he realized how wise his decision to become an alchemist was.

Super alchemy talent + lower-grade spiritual root = supreme root bone.

This equation was valid at the moment!

Of course, all this was based on one premise: that he had a steady supply of high-tier spiritual medicine to refine into pills.

Otherwise, it was all in vain.

Yang Ji let out a slight smile, savoring the increase in his body's spiritual power, and then slowly stood up.

He had used up all his medicine pills and was preparing to visit Myriad Treasures Tower to see what high-tier spiritual medicine Jin Dafu had collected for him over the years.

Carrying high-tier spiritual medicine, he could associate himself with a supreme root bone.

This was a connection he couldn't afford to lose.

But reality often goes against one's desires, with so many things in this world not turning out as one hopes.

Now, in Myriad Treasures Tower, looking at the ten batches of ingredients for refining the Spirit Origin Pill before him, Yang Ji couldn't help but frown deeply.

"Elder Jin, in three years, you've only collected ten batches of ingredients? Have you lost your interest in earning Spirit Stones?" He didn't mean to blame, but he couldn't hide the significant disappointment in his heart.

"Eh, what you're saying... everyone wants to earn Spirit Stones. I was even hoping to make more from you, but it's not like I can force it," Jin Dafu said helplessly, spreading his hands.

"Cough, Master, I've only collected three batches from other shops. That's even less than Manager Jin," Huo Yuan added awkwardly, presenting the three batches of ingredients he had in hand.

Ten batches in three years—it was nowhere near enough.

Yang Ji truly fell into sorrow; with enough medicine pills, he could reach the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining in the remaining four years, but now...

"Young brother Yang, neither cultivating nor alchemy is achieved overnight. Who hasn't spent decades accumulating and settling themselves? It's only been a few years for you; don't expect to become an Alchemy Master so quickly," Jin Dafu consoled him.

You may not be in a hurry, but I am, Yang Ji sighed softly to himself.

Hiding his cultivation level at the moment, Jin Dafu couldn't detect it and thought Yang Ji bought the spiritual medicine for extensive practice, aiming to become an Alchemy Master.

Little did he know, it was for cultivation.

"Master, high-tier spiritual medicine is indeed a precious resource for cultivation and quite hard to find, but have you heard of the Demon Essence Pill?" Huo Yuan suddenly spoke.

"Demon Essence Pill?" Yang Ji was startled; he had never heard of it.

However, Jin Dafu chuckled and said, "The main ingredient for refining the Demon Essence Pill is the Demon Core, requiring powerful Beast Flame and Spiritual Fire to refine it. You only have a single Earth Fire, which is far from meeting the conditions for refinement."

A medicine pill with a Demon Core as the main ingredient? Yang Ji was intrigued, and without paying further attention to him, he turned to Huo Yuan and asked repeatedly, "Is the Demon Essence Pill also a pill that enhances cultivation?"

"Yes, it too is a pill that can hasten cultivation. However, few can refine it; only alchemists who have harnessed powerful beast flames and spiritual fires can do so, and such alchemists hail from the three major sects and some of the larger cultivator families."

About half of the might of the three major sects dominating the Thousand-Islands Sea Area comes from the Demon Essence Pill. As this pill aids in cultivation, the sects never let it out in the open, hence few know about it," Huo Yuan explained slowly.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Hearing this, Yang Ji could almost hear his own powerful and excited heartbeat.

At this moment, the Demon Essence Pill was linked to hope!

...

(Thanks to the supporting role Six Harmony Divine King for the 1666 coin reward, and to book friend 854646 for the 100 coin reward. Thank you to Expression Mistake, Yu Shi, Six Harmony Divine King, Xia Feng, A Dot, Qi Jiang, Longxian Z, Single Line, book friend 854646, and other friends for their monthly tickets. Thank you to all the book friends for their recommendation tickets.)

(There will only be one chapter today, combined into one, no splitting, to straighten out the plot. How about I update one chapter at noon and another at 8 PM each day? Or should I update together in the evening?)