The world of alchemy could get very complicated, very quickly. However the one thing that wouldn't change was the foundation of a product's purity and what kind of reaction it would thus elicit.
The number one goal of every alchemist was to create a pill or potion with the lowest amount of impurities possible. And, of course, impurities were measured in percentages.
The minimum threshold one needed to reach for a pill or potion to be viable was 51%. This was considered the entry stage and upon succeeding, one could finally name themselves the equivalent grade of alchemists.
However, the reality was that most cultivators, unless they were desperate, wouldn't dare to consume such a pill or potion. Such pills were usually fed to low grade beasts who only performed hard, labor intensive tasks, or they were sold off to poor cultivators who had no other choice remaining.
It wasn't until one reached 61% that one entered the realm of frequently distributed pills. These were still considered to be lower class pills, but they were good enough that most could pinch their noses and make do, especially if the effect of the pill was potent enough.
Upon reaching 71% is when a pill or potion's value begins to become more hotly contested. In a place like the First Heaven, at least for those who couldn't enter a Sect of the caliber of the Radiant Star Sect, such a pill or potion was worth fighting for.
This level could be considered the pill for those who couldn't be considered to have entered the world of true cultivation. It was the best most of them could hope for and the ill effects were very manageable.
However, when one entered the world of large Sects and established Clans, their minimum requirement was 81%.
Pills and potions of this caliber were excellent and rarely left any unmanageable after effects so long as certain precautions were taken, such as restricting yourself to a certain number a month. These pills and potions wouldn't be widely circulated and would be monopolized by the rich and powerful, the common people would never have a chance to lay their eyes on such things.
At 91%, however, one would step into the world of true treasures. For every single percentage point at this treasured level, the price of a pill or potion would rise exponentially. Even a genius alchemist who could consistently concoct pills and potions between 71% and 90% might only create a handful of these in their lifetimes. Each step beyond was like transcending a heavenly staircase.
These categories were separated into Low Grade, Middle Grade, High Grade, Peak Grade, and Transcendent Grade. Any alchemist that could form High Grade pills and potions would be a tycoon in their region, never having to worry about money or resources.
However, there was still a level beyond this, a level that was only spoken about in legend, at least to the people of the First Heaven. It was a level that could only be chanced upon when a 100% pure pill or potion was formed.
These were called Rune Pill and Rune Potions.
Upon reaching 100%, a pill or potion tribulation would form. Depending on the perfection of the concoction, the creation would either survive entirely or survive in part. If the latter happened, a Rune would take form within the creation and bolster its power far beyond what a 99% pill or potion could match.
This was considered the Rune Grade.
A Rune even with only 10% completion was so far and beyond the level of a 99% pure pill that it was worth as much as pills or potions even two or three grades above it in strength. The effects would be beyond transcendent and taking such a pill would be beyond even swallowing a heavenly treasure.
Pills were already designed to be more potent than Spiritual Herbs to begin with. The reason Ryu never relied on them was because he had had the Incubator, a treasure that was likely more unfathomable than he knew since it had been taken from Mistress Holy Wing in the first place.
However, Rune Pills and Rune Potions were without a doubt more potent and powerful than any Spiritual Herb of the same level. Only Crown Herbs stood a chance, but even then, they were lacking.
The best part was that Rune Pills and Rune Potions could be formed, given enough skill, with much lower grade and quality Spiritual Herbs.
There was no doubt what Ryu's goal was. He would only accept Runed creation. And not just any Runed creation, but one with a 100% completed Rune. Only then would he circulate his [Refinement Sutra] and absorb the Heavenly Favor to reaffirm his foundation.
For someone else, this might be impossible. But Ryu had many trump cards off his sleeve, the most important of which was his Dao.
'The goal now is to pick the perfect concoction that would suit me, and there's no doubt what that would be…'
Ryu had already decided that the pills he would concoct would have to coincide with his eight trigram diagram. Not only that, but he didn't want to create eight separate pills and absorb Heavenly Favor eight separate times. No, he wanted to combine them into a self-created pill he would call…
The Dividing Heaven Pill.
Ryu already had a road map to how he would create this pill as well. The eight trigram diagram was separated into Wind, Water, Mountain, Earth, Thunder, Fire, Life and Heaven.
At each stage from Common to the highest there was, he would find the pill or potion that matched each category perfectly. After he could concoct each pill to the complete Rune level, or more accurately, the True Rune level, he would fuse them into one and absorb the Heavenly Favor associated with it.
At the lowest levels, this was already as difficult as ascending the Heavens. But at the highest levels, the difficulty would increase exponentially with every step.
However, when Ryu decided on something, he would make no attempts to take a step back.
Of the eight Common Grade pills Ryu had chosen to start with, the first was the most commonly used wind attributed pill, Chasing Wind Pill.
For Awakening and Pulse Opening Realm cultivators with the wind attribute, it would help them absorb a large amount of wind qi in a short amount of time. The duration was dependent on the quality of the pill, but there was no doubt that this was the best option with those carrying this affinity.
The next pill Ryu chose was the Heavy Water Pill. It sunk into your stomach like a weighted stone before spreading throughout your meridians. Over time, the slow accumulation would likewise pull in large amounts of water qi.
The next was the Pounding Earth Pill. Swallowing it would make one feel as though their heart had become a hammer, forcing your Pulses to resonate. Not only did it make opening Pulses easier for earth affinity cultivators, but it likewise pulled in a large amount of earth qi.
The next was the Booming Thunder Pill. Its function was almost identical to the Pounding Earth Pill except for the fact it was designed for lightning affinity cultivators.
The Burning Heart Pill was designed for fire affinity cultivators and the most violent of these pills. It set the stomach, meridians and heart on fire. During the period of ingestion, one would feel as though they were dancing in the pits of hell, but the bright side was that all the food one ate during that period would not only be quickly digested, but it would efficiently convert to strength and power.
This left Life, Heaven, Earth and Mountain. These four were the most difficult of the bunch to find matching pills and potions for, and it was ironic because their concepts were too profound for Common Grade pills to encapsulate entirely.
Life was relatively easier. Ryu picked the strongest healing pill of the common grade there was, the Sacred Heart Pill.
For Mountain, he chose the Focusing Spirit Pill. It was a pill designed to calm the mind and help one increase their chances at entering a State of Meditation. However, those effects were exaggerated. In reality, it just helped one stay calm during a breakthrough.
For Earth, the Pounding Earth Pill alone wasn't enough, it would at most cover a portion of what Earth represented, so it needed supplementation. Ryu surprisingly chose the cheapest and least obscure pill of them all… The Foundation Setting Pill. This was the most widely circulated pill in maybe all of existence, and yet he didn't hesitate to choose it.
It was designed to help one solidify their achievements right after completing a Rite of the Awakening Realm and bolster their chances at completing the next one.
And finally, for Heaven, Ryu's choice was once again endlessly shocking. He chose maybe the second most widely circulated pill after the Foundation Setting Pill, the Qi Fume Accumulation Pill.
With a flip of his hand, the ingredient for the Foundation Setting Pill appeared all around Ryu to the point where mountains far taller than him were formed.
This was exactly how it should be. Earth would form the foundation of everything else. The Heavens might not like it, but Ryu definitely did.