Chapter 261: Spirit-Mending Pill
Celestial Spring Peak.
Lin Chang’an returned to his Daoist Abode silently, unnoticed, with the newly purchased female cultivator.
This petite female cultivator, with a cold and delicate appearance, showed no fear of death whatsoever. Instead, just before stepping into the cave abode, she looked longingly at the blue sky and white clouds above.
“Heavenly Spirit Sword Body, truly a rare and gifted constitution.”
Once back inside the cave abode, Lin Chang’an finally let out a breath of relief.
If not for the fact that he had read through countless cultivators' memories over the years—particularly the skills of a late Core Formation cultivator—he wouldn’t have known all these secrets.
Still, as he looked once more at the "commodity" he had acquired, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy.
Some things were simply bestowed at birth. If one had it, one had it; if not, then not.
“Master!”
This sword servant, whose face remained cold, revealed her delicate appearance—a young girl of about sixteen or seventeen, petite and slightly wild in her features due to her human-beast hybrid bloodline.
In truth, she was in her thirties. Perhaps because of her bloodline, her appearance was youthful.
On the journey back, Lin Chang’an had already learned about her background. Of course, ever cautious, he had used illusions of Core Formation level to extract the truth from her Foundation Establishment mind.
More importantly, he could discern truth from falsehood.
After all, what he intended to do would stir up great waves.
“Now I will place restrictions upon your body and soul…”
She offered no resistance whatsoever, allowing Lin Chang’an to proceed.
As a Third-rank Formation Master and a Core Formation cultivator, laying down restrictions was effortless.
Although what he sought was the Heavenly Spirit Energy that would only be nurtured after she formed her Core—and required her cooperation—he was in no rush.
Firstly, he had only just formed his Core a few years ago; secondly, he needed to familiarize himself with her nature.
After all, the path he planned ahead was one of gradual cultivation: nurturing her carefully, investing vast resources to help her reach Core Formation.
One had to eat a meal one bite at a time.
More importantly, this woman’s state of mind bordered on despair. A cultivator who had lost all hope in life could not be expected to pursue cultivation.
But through his observations, Lin Chang’an discovered she hadn’t given up entirely. What he needed to do now was reignite her desire to live.
Desire was the engine of progress. Without it, one was no different from the dead.
Once the restrictions were placed, Lin Chang’an gave calm instructions.
“Since you already possess Foundation Establishment cultivation and know basic techniques of cultivators, study this jade slip thoroughly. From now on, you’ll cultivate here.”
After handing her the jade slip, Lin Chang’an allowed her to leave the cave abode.
Of course, her movement was restricted to just the mountaintop area.
Inside the cave, watching her numb figure walk away, Lin Chang’an’s gaze flickered.
“Heavenly Spirit Energy can only be nurtured after forming the Core—there’s no rush. And I’ll still need her cooperation to obtain it smoothly.”
With that thought, he shook his head. Right now, what he truly needed to focus on was refining the Spirit-Mending Pill.
That was the utmost priority.
“All the materials for the Spirit-Mending Pill have been gathered. It’s time to begin refining.”
At that thought, Lin Chang’an inhaled deeply.
If word got out that he possessed a pill capable of enhancing spiritual roots and the quality of a Golden Core, he would be targeted by a swarm of Core Formation cultivators.
“Especially those False Core Cultivators. If they learned of it, they’d surely go mad.”
After all, without great opportunity, False Core Cultivators would never advance in this life.
But when such an opportunity appeared, they’d all go utterly insane.
“However, to refine this Spirit-Mending Pill, I’ll need to rely on Xuanyin Pavilion’s Third-rank Alchemy Furnace.”
At present, he had only managed to purchase a Low-grade Third-rank Spirit Brush through Old Hu. As for the furnace, his resources were still insufficient. That would have to wait.
Fortunately, Xuanyin Pavilion had a Mid-grade Third-rank Alchemy Furnace, and given his alternate identity as the Pavilion’s Guest Elder, it would be a waste not to use it.
“This Guest Elder title must be put to use.”
At that, Lin Chang’an smiled. After organizing his latest gains, he released the Wind-Chirp Bird.
“Master!”
“Go back to guarding the Earthfire Cavern.”
Hearing this, the Wind-Chirp Bird was ecstatic. The fire-attribute spiritual energy in the Earthfire Cavern was dense, which it loved—let alone the presence of a Fusang Divine Tree.
With a flash of golden light, the Wind-Chirp Bird flew straight to its nest, brimming with excitement.
Lin Chang’an, however, shook his head and also made his way toward the Earthfire Cavern.
Unlike before, he merely conducted a brief inspection without stopping. Instead, he used it as a passage to reach Blazing Fire Peak.
Outwardly, his main identity was still in secluded cultivation.
And to refine pills, he needed to adopt his Alchemist Wen persona.
…
Xuanyin Pavilion.
“Fellow Daoist Xu, Fellow Daoist Liu.”
When Lin Chang’an appeared before them in his Alchemist Wen identity and requested to use Xuanyin Pavilion’s Third-rank Alchemy Furnace, both showed subtle changes in expression.
Liu Ruyu was visibly delighted. Anyone borrowing a Third-rank Alchemy Furnace must be refining a Third-rank Pill. Even if it was for personal use, just the news of such an event would greatly reassure the sect’s members.
Let alone that this time, it was for the sect’s benefit.
Xu Lingfeng, on the other hand, had a flicker of stiffness on his face, followed by a forced smile.
“Then we’ll trouble Alchemist Wen.”
“Not at all. This is for the benefit of the Pavilion.”
In Lin Chang’an’s hoarse voice, he truly did intend to refine pills for Xuanyin Pavilion this time.
Previously, the Pavilion had provided him with materials for a Third-rank Pill, but he had kept stalling, citing the need to stabilize his condition.
That excuse was entirely reasonable—he had only recently broken through to Third-rank Alchemist.
And Third-rank pill materials were incredibly precious. For someone like Lin Chang’an, taking a year or two to reach peak condition was completely normal.
“These materials are somewhat lacking in age. I’ll do my best.”
This statement left Xu Lingfeng feeling stifled—he wanted to retort but couldn’t.
It was at this moment he realized: this Third-rank Alchemist really did have the right to be proud.
Liu Ruyu smiled and waved it off, saying, “Fellow Daoist Wen is too modest. Who doesn’t know your skills in alchemy?”
Lin Chang’an nodded slightly. Then the three transformed into streaks of light and headed for Pill Peak together.
Xuanyin Pavilion’s overall strength ranked mid to low among Core Formation sects.
Thus, the Third-rank Alchemy Furnace on Pill Peak could only be freely accessed by the Sect Master.
Under the protection of a Formation Barrier, anyone else wishing to use it required the Sect Master’s permission.
Even Lin Chang’an, in his identity as Alchemist Wen, had to go with the other two Core Formation Elders to unlock the restriction.
This sort of limitation was understandable.
After all, the cultivation world was no stranger to tales of inner sect prodigies or Elders absconding with sect treasures.
Soon after, the three arrived at Pill Peak.
Lin Chang’an had been there before, so he was already familiar with the place.
The three of them took out their Identity Jade Tokens, and together, they lifted the Formation Barrier.
“Please, Fellow Daoist Wen.”
Seeing the barrier open, Liu Ruyu smiled and gestured forward.
Alchemist Wen—Lin Chang’an in disguise—was known for his aloof nature, so he simply nodded coldly and entered without a word, drawing no suspicion.
…
Inside Pill Peak, facing the familiar Third-rank Alchemy Furnace and the surrounding lava and Earthfire, Lin Chang’an smiled.
With a wave of his hand, he activated the Formation Barrier, finally relaxing.
“One must not be without vigilance; it’s best to remain cautious.”
Then, Lin Chang’an sat cross-legged before the furnace and began separating the precious ingredients into two sets.
One for refining the Spirit-Mending Pill, and the other for producing a Third-rank cultivation-enhancing pill for Xuanyin Pavilion.
This type of Low-grade Third-rank cultivation-enhancing pill was mostly refined by sects for use by their mid-to-late Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Having taken such pills before, he naturally understood their effects.
"Especially for cultivators encountering bottlenecks—those at the peak of mid Foundation Establishment have a high chance of breaking through upon taking it. As for late Foundation Establishment cultivators, they’re practically the strongest combat force a sect has, aside from Core Formation and False Core Elders.
Of course, some high-quality pills are also stockpiled and given to Core Formation Prospects to improve their cultivation before their Core Formation attempt, increasing the success rate.”
As for taking Third-rank pills after reaching Core Formation, that was simply too extravagant.
For instance, Xu Lingfeng and Liu Ruyu—unless either of them hit a bottleneck, only well-resourced sects would provide them pills to aid their breakthrough.
But breaking through at the Core Formation stage was immensely difficult, far more so than the effects Foundation Establishment cultivators experienced with Third-rank pills.
“Let’s first refine this batch for Xuanyin Pavilion.”
Lin Chang’an took a deep breath. The usual preparation phase for alchemists was unnecessary for him.
He immediately began forming hand seals to open the alchemy furnace, then deftly placed each precious spirit herb and spirit fruit into the furnace.
Following that, with the aid of both the Core Formation cultivator’s pill fire and the Earthfire here, the spiritual materials began to be exquisitely refined into essence.
One day, two days… half a month passed.
Within the fiery and scalding furnace, a spring of essence finally began to crystallize.
This was the most crucial step—crystallization marked the prelude to pill formation.
The surrounding green-blue essence liquid contained far too many impurities, and even harmful substances.
These all required the alchemist’s precise control and deep understanding of medicinal properties to extract the most refined pill essence.
As time passed, the initial crystal no larger than a grain of sand slowly grew.
After three more days, three pills slowly floated up, glittering with spiritual radiance.
“Pills formed!”
With a low cry from Lin Chang’an, the furnace lid opened, and the three radiant pills slowly drifted out.
“Three premium pills.”
Seeing this, Lin Chang’an revealed a satisfied smile.
Considering a few of the ingredients were slightly inferior in age, producing three pills already demonstrated his skill.
“But to be cautious and avoid inviting trouble, having only two pills appear would be more reasonable.”
With a broad smile, Lin Chang’an took out two jade bottles, placing the three pills into them.
Two would be handed to Xuanyin Pavilion, which would be more than enough to earn their praise for his alchemy skills.
The remaining one was for himself.
Of course, it wasn’t greed—it was for his own safety.
“A Third-rank alchemist with decent talent is enough. Any better and it will attract too much attention.”
Shaking his head, Lin Chang’an put one of the jade bottles into his storage pouch.
Next, he had to prepare for refining his own Spirit-Mending Pill.
This kind of pill refining was both mentally and spiritually exhausting for ordinary cultivators.
But thanks to his Regenerative Body, his state remained at its peak even after finishing a batch.
“My stamina and mana are still over ninety-five percent.”
Lin Chang’an marveled inwardly. His physique was truly heaven-sent for laborious cultivation.
“This way, no one would ever suspect someone of refining two consecutive Third-rank pills. It’s just too unreasonable.”
As for the time required? Didn’t refining pills require time for condition adjustment anyway?
…
“Spirit-Mending Pill!”
As he prepared to refine the pill he needed, Lin Chang’an became solemn—this was directly tied to his path to immortality.
He had nearly exhausted all his savings just to gather these materials.
“Begin pill refinement!”
Taking a deep breath, he dropped five Mid-grade Third-rank Five-element Demon Cores into the furnace.
Under terrifying pill fire and earthfire, the demon cores were rapidly refined.
“The hardest part of refining the Spirit-Mending Pill is this first step—purifying the baleful energy within the demon cores.”
After all, this essence was the source of the demon beast’s strength, and demon beasts naturally contained baleful energy. While this energy empowered the beast’s body, it was poisonous to human cultivators.
Yet Lin Chang’an remained calm. As his mana poured into the furnace, the normally difficult-to-refine demon cores were purified with eerie ease.
“As expected, the mana nourished by the Mysterious Sky Immortal Vine contains its power—it can completely purify the demon cores’ baleful energy.”
Wisp by wisp, the baleful energy was drawn out. Lin Chang’an then multitasked, using five jade bottles to float above the furnace.
Under his precise control, the purified baleful energy was slowly absorbed into the jade bottles.
Though toxic, baleful energy was top-grade material for crafting certain magical artifacts.
Several days later, once all five demon cores had been refined to absolute purity, Lin Chang’an began feeding other materials into the furnace.
At this point, under his control, the furnace flame mellowed and softened.
One day… two days… until a month later.
The five-element demon cores had completely fused, forming a single pill radiating five-colored spiritual light.
“Pill formed!”
At the final moment, Lin Chang’an shouted and made rapid hand seals, precisely opening the furnace.
Buzz!
As the lid opened, a burst of firelight surged, followed by a multicolored glow, faintly resembling auspicious clouds.
A blazing pill shimmering in five-colored light slowly floated out.
Lin Chang’an, unable to contain his excitement, exclaimed, “A premium Spirit-Mending Pill!”
A Spirit-Mending Pill of this quality could push both his spiritual root and Golden Core to the peak of Mid-grade.
An ordinary pill would also raise it to Mid-grade, but not to the same extent.
“Pity—whether it’s the Heaven-Mending Pill or the Spirit-Mending Pill, limited by ingredients, only one pill forms.”
The essences of all five demon cores had to fully merge, so there was no excess for a second pill.
“Next is to return and enter seclusion to take the Spirit-Mending Pill.”
Taking a deep breath, Lin Chang’an thought back—he had been planning this ever since forming his Core. It had been seven years in the making to gather the materials.
And that was him. Any other cultivator at the same level would have been stuck just trying to find five Mid-grade Third-rank Demon Cores.
He carefully placed the pill into a special jade bottle, then stored it in a special storage pouch that could conceal its aura.
This absolutely could not be leaked.
…
“Alchemist Wen!”
When Lin Chang’an emerged, Liu Ruyu and Xu Lingfeng, who had been waiting outside for some time, immediately approached with excitement.
Feigning exhaustion, Lin Chang’an took out a jade bottle and bowed.
“Fortunately, I did not fail. Two pills were successfully refined. Pity, had the ingredients been a bit better, perhaps three premium pills could have been formed.”
“Premium pills!” At first, both of them smiled upon hearing there were two pills.
But when Lin Chang’an regretfully added the word “premium,” both were momentarily stunned—then thrilled.
“Truly premium pills!”
Xu Lingfeng, the quicker of the two, opened the bottle to confirm and immediately grew elated. Liu Ruyu, meanwhile, clasped her hands repeatedly. “Alchemist Wen, you’ve worked hard.”
Two premium Low-grade Third-rank cultivation-enhancing pills—this exceeded their expectations.
Xuanyin Pavilion had endured countless trials since arriving at the Sea Abyss of Beasts. It was only in recent years that things had stabilized.
But their accumulated resources over centuries had already been nearly exhausted through repeated hardships.
“Alright, I need to rest. Please deliver these two pills to the Sect Master.”
Lin Chang’an was eager to return and refine the Spirit-Mending Pill. He had no time to seek merit in Xuanyin Pavilion.
Compared to his own immortal path—bah! There wasn’t even a comparison.
“Alchemist Wen, take care.”
Even Xu Lingfeng was now treating him with utmost respect and smiling warmly.
After exchanging courtesies, Lin Chang’an turned into a streak of light and flew toward Blazing Fire Peak.
Liu Ruyu and Xu Lingfeng exchanged glances, both smiling as they headed to Xuanyin Pavilion to report the joyous news to their Sect Master.
Two premium Low-grade Third-rank cultivation-enhancing pills—normally, such treasures would be saved until someone in the sect was on the verge of Core Formation.
At this moment, neither of them had any complaints about Alchemist Wen’s slow refinement process.
His success rate for premium pills made it all understandable.
Slow work produces fine goods—no wonder he was a Third-rank Alchemist.