Ten minutes later, Ye Xuan’s body had completely absorbed the energy of the Beast Pills. However, the Spiritual Qi within his Dantian and Hidden Veins barely increased.
This was well within his expectations; as his cultivation base grew, his consumption increased alongside it. Even if he could absorb one hundred percent of a Beast Pill’s energy, he estimated that he would need at least ten to twenty pills of the same tier as his cultivation base to make a difference. Six pills were far from enough.
However, the middle-aged man had already given him every Tier 4, Rank 8 Beast Pill available in the village. Earlier, the man had left for a while precisely to buy Beast Pills from other Beast Hunting Teams. Although the selling price remained the same, since Ye Xuan was his client, the man could still pocket a commission.
"Hua, keep an eye out for me these next few days. See if there are any Tier 4, Rank 8 or Rank 9 Beast Pills available outside. If there are, buy them no matter the cost. Oh, right, there are also some medicinal ingredients I need you to look for," Ye Xuan said. He took out a pen and jotted down a list of ingredients, drawing corresponding sketches next to each one, likely afraid that Hua wouldn’t recognize them.
"Sir... what kind of medicinal ingredients are these? I’ve never seen them before," Hua gestured with her hands, looking confused.
Ye Xuan calmly explained, "These aren’t Spirit Medicines meant for improving one’s cultivation, so it’s only natural you don’t recognize them. If you come across any of these ingredients, buy them all."
"Are these ingredients very important, Sir?"
Ye Xuan nodded solemnly. "Extremely important!"
Hua’s gaze turned equally serious. Since he had said so, she made sure to memorize the names and appearances of all the ingredients perfectly. "Are you going into seclusion, Sir? I’ll head out then." She was a smart girl; if Ye Xuan was asking her to keep watch for items, it meant he was too tied up to do it himself.
"Yes, go on. This Qiankun Bag is full of money. As long as you find what I need, don’t worry about the cost." Ye Xuan handed Hua a Qiankun Bag packed entirely with Soul Crystals. Entrusting her with such a large sum of money was a true testament to his faith in her.
Hua accepted the Qiankun Bag and turned to leave. Just as she was about to step out the door, Ye Xuan suddenly remembered something and called out, "Wait, take this Twin Jade as well. If you encounter any trouble you can’t handle, crush it immediately."
As he spoke, he wrote Hua’s name on his matching piece of Twin Jade. He carried too many Twin Jades on him; if he didn’t label them properly, he would never know who was in danger if one suddenly shattered.
"Sir..." Hua’s eyes crinkled with a smile. Although she didn’t think anything would happen to her, she still accepted the Twin Jade, treating it as a gift from him.
After Hua left, Ye Xuan began his alchemy. Regardless of whether his resources were sufficient, he first needed to refine the Qishan Evergreen Ivy into Super Spirit Pills. Since he could only refine one Pill Furnace of elixirs per hour, he couldn’t afford to waste a single second.
Over six days passed by in a flash.
Ye Xuan completely exhausted the stalk of Qishan Evergreen Ivy. He had refined a total of 158 furnaces of elixirs, yielding 2,500 Super Spirit Pills. Among them, 2,130 were of supreme-grade quality, while 370 were high-grade. Adding his previous leftovers, he now had 2,200 supreme-grade Super Spirit Pills in total.
However, this amount was absolutely not enough.
Ye Xuan furrowed his brows tightly. "Too slow!" he muttered through gritted teeth. "My alchemy speed is far too slow!"
His current alchemy skills could undoubtedly be described as masterful, yet refining Super Spirit Pills still took him a full hour per furnace. He knew the reason: the level of his Fire-attribute Spiritual Qi was simply too low. To reach exceptionally high temperatures, he had no choice but to heat the furnace over a long, drawn-out period.
"If only I could obtain a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fire!" Ye Xuan sighed in lament.
Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fires were flames born naturally from the world itself. Their temperatures were unfathomably high, capable of rapidly melting solid steel—something ordinary Fire-attribute Spiritual Qi could never compare to. Truly outstanding Alchemy Masters all possessed their own Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fires. Even the lowest-tier Spiritual Fire was more than ten times stronger than regular Fire-attribute Spiritual Qi, which served as nothing more than the bare minimum entry requirement for an Alchemy Master.
Unfortunately, acquiring a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fire was even more difficult than giving an attribute to one’s Spiritual Qi. Those without fateful encounters wouldn’t stumble upon a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fire in their entire lifetimes.
"Wait, the futon," Ye Xuan murmured, suddenly remembering the mysterious futon residing in his Sea of Consciousness.
This futon could send the Fire-attribute Spiritual Qi in his body into a frenzy. Could he use it to assist his alchemy? He hadn’t attempted this before because frenzied Fire-attribute Spiritual Qi was incredibly volatile and difficult to control. Using it for alchemy carried a high risk of failure.
But now, he was out of options. Even if he managed to obtain more Spirit Medicines, the alchemy process took far too long. He had to find a way to shorten the duration. Otherwise, even if he procured another stalk of Qishan Evergreen Ivy, simply refining it would waste a staggering thirteen days. By then, the Gongsun family’s tournament would have already begun. Earlier, he had been so fixated on obtaining Spirit Medicines that he had completely overlooked the massive time sink required for alchemy.
With a shift of his will, Ye Xuan manifested the futon and sat upon it.
It didn’t take long for the Fire-attribute Spiritual Qi inside him to turn frenzied. His body involuntarily released bursts of flame. This time, however, he didn’t back down. Instead, he forced himself to rein in the violent energy surging within him, only releasing the flames when they became impossible to suppress.
Once the flames seeped out, Ye Xuan couldn’t control their temperature. The wooden furniture in the room—tables and chairs alike—began to smoke, teetering on the edge of ignition. Ye Xuan didn’t panic; he knew he had to remain absolutely calm in a moment like this.
"Fire Dragon, manifest!" Ye Xuan suddenly let out a low roar. The violent Spiritual Qi gradually coalesced into a Fire Dragon, which then plunged straight into the Pill Furnace.
The appearance of a single Fire Dragon somewhat alleviated the chaotic Spiritual Qi tearing through his body, but it wasn’t enough. Ye Xuan continued to unleash his Fire-attribute Spiritual Qi without pause. Soon after, a second Fire Dragon materialized.
At this critical juncture, Ye Xuan had successfully mastered a second Fire Dragon. He had grown even more proficient with the Nine Dragon Fire Manipulation Technique! With the arrival of the second dragon, his body finally achieved a state of equilibrium.
"This will do!" Ye Xuan’s eyes lit up as the second Fire Dragon also entered the Pill Furnace.
He took out a stalk of Starry Night Grass, snapped off a small section, and resumed refining Super Spirit Pills. This time, it only took him thirty-five minutes to successfully produce a batch.
Now, he truly understood the sheer power behind the Nine Dragon Fire Manipulation Technique. The more Fire Dragons he could manifest, the greater the might. Even extraordinarily sturdy, heat-resistant materials could be melted rapidly under their onslaught. However, forming all nine dragons wouldn’t be easy; it would require Ye Xuan to possess an immensely powerful cultivation base and formidable flames.
"I’ve nearly halved the refinement time!" Ye Xuan’s eyes gleamed with sheer delight.
To him, this was a massive, unexpected windfall. Without hesitation, he continued his alchemy. A single stalk of Starry Night Grass equated to twenty portions of raw materials. Originally, refining it would have taken twenty hours, but Ye Xuan finished the job in just over ten.
By the morning of the seventh day, the entire stalk of Starry Night Grass had been converted into Super Spirit Pills. He had successfully refined 250 supreme-grade Super Spirit Pills and 50 high-grade ones.