Chapter 174 - 170: Realm-Breaking Pill
After returning to his shop, Li Yuan closed the door, temporarily unequipped the Blood Coagulation Pill, and took out the beast hide to equip it.
The moment the trait took effect, Li Yuan’s perception changed.
Everything around him seemed to have more layers.
His enhanced Spiritual Sense and aura imprinting had already allowed him to sense the presence and characteristics of auras. But with the addition of Subtle Perception, a new dimension was added to his senses.
He could now distinguish which auras were neutral, which were vigilant, and which held hostility.
The settlement was dense with the auras of Loose Cultivators, the vast majority of which were neutral. In the distance, two auras carried a faint wariness, but it wasn’t directed at him; it was more like a general alertness toward their surroundings.
The presence-reducing effect was also active. Li Yuan tried adjusting its intensity. At its maximum setting, his presence on a perceptual level was greatly diminished. At its minimum, he returned to normal.
Li Yuan set the intensity to a moderately low level, which he figured was sufficient for daily use.
Permanence Condition: Eyes from nine different types of Demon Beasts.
Li Yuan rummaged through his storage bag.
Among the materials from his previous Demon Beast hunts, there were quite a few eyeballs.
The beast-hunting teams had an old rule: take the valuable parts first. Eyeballs were generally worthless, but Li Yuan had made a habit of keeping some.
After a quick search, he managed to find six different types in his storage bag.
He was still short three types.
Li Yuan headed out to the stall area.
The Demon Beast material stalls sold all sorts of things. Eyeballs were the least valuable parts, with a pair costing only one or two Spirit Stones.
Li Yuan spent five Spirit Stones to buy the eyes of three different Demon Beasts: a Black-horned Toad, a Stone Armor Turtle, and a Wind Hedgehog.
Back in his shop, he closed the door.
He laid the nine types of Demon Beast eyeballs out on the table, then popped the first one into his mouth.
[Permanence Progress: 1/9]
The second, third, fourth, and fifth followed.
He swallowed the last one.
[Permanence Progress: 9/9]
[Permanence successful]
[Subtle Perception (White) has become a permanent trait.]
[Equipment consumed.]
An equipment slot opened up.
Just as Li Yuan was about to resume his cultivation, there was a knock on his courtyard gate.
He opened the gate and saw it was Wang Lu.
This time, Wang Lu’s expression was relatively normal. He didn’t have the same panicked look as last time, but he didn’t seem relaxed either.
"Something has come up." Wang Lu entered the house but remained standing. "Pill Refiner He has arrived at the outskirts of the Secret Realm."
"Pill Refiner He?"
"Yes, the Foundation Establishment Pill Refiner from Yunyang Market," Wang Lu said.
"I don’t know what he’s doing here—maybe gathering herbs, maybe something else. But since he’s here, the Wang family hopes you’ll continue to supply him with Spirit-Refining Talismans."
"This time, it won’t be on the Wang family’s account," Wang Lu said.
"Pill Refiner He will provide the materials himself and pay you directly. The Wang family won’t be involved; we just need you to maintain your relationship with him."
Li Yuan thought for a moment, then nodded.
’Working with Pill Refiner He had always been profitable; his payments were never low. Besides, with my current Talisman Making Skill, my success rate for Spirit-Refining Talismans was even higher than before.’
"Where is he staying?"
"On the west side of the settlement, near the entrance to the Secret Realm, in a private courtyard. Take this with you."
Wang Lu took a small wooden token from his sleeve and handed it over. It was carved with a simple rune. "His courtyard is protected by a Restriction," he explained. "You’ll need this to get in."
Li Yuan took the wooden token and tucked it into his sleeve.
Wang Lu didn’t stay long. After giving a few more instructions, he left.
That afternoon, Li Yuan headed to the west side of the settlement.
Pill Refiner He’s courtyard wasn’t hard to find. It was a solitary courtyard two hundred paces west of the Secret Realm’s entrance, its gray stone walls a head taller than the neighboring wooden sheds and stone houses.
A faint Spiritual Wave emanated from the top of the walls. It was a Restriction—not overly powerful, but strong enough to block any Qi Refining Stage Cultivator.
Li Yuan held the wooden token up to the gate. The Spiritual Wave from the Restriction faltered for a moment, then an opening appeared.
The courtyard gate was ajar. He pushed it open and went inside.
The courtyard wasn’t large. A stone table and two stone stools stood in the center, and several sealed wooden crates were stacked in a corner. The door to the main house was open, and a rich, complex medicinal aroma drifted out from within.
Pill Refiner He was sitting on a bamboo chair just inside the doorway of the main house, sipping from a white porcelain teacup.
He looked to be in his sixties. His hair was graying, but his spirit was vigorous, and his small eyes were bright.
Here, Pill Refiner He had restrained the aura of a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator to its absolute limit.
If Li Yuan hadn’t known who he was, he would have been almost unable to distinguish him from an ordinary old man by perception alone.
When Pill Refiner He saw Li Yuan enter, he didn’t rise. Instead, he pulled something from his sleeve and casually tossed it over.
Li Yuan reached out and caught it.
It was a medicinal pill.
It was the size of his thumb pad and pale cyan in color, with a layer of extremely fine Spirit Patterns flowing across its surface. The quality was superb.
Translucent text appeared before him.
[Equippable Item Detected: Jade Breakthrough Pill (Complete)]
[Equipment Trait Preview: Spiritual Power Advancement (Green) — Increases Spiritual Power circulation speed by 20%, Spiritual Power recovery speed by 20%, and Spiritual Power enhancement speed by 20%.]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Attempt to break through one major realm, or cultivate for a cumulative ten years.]
[Equip?]
’A green trait. Three different twenty-percent boosts related to Spiritual Power. Solid effects.’
’Spiritual Power circulation speed affects the efficiency of casting Magic and practicing my Cultivation Technique. Recovery speed affects my stamina in battle and after cultivating. And the enhancement speed is directly related to how fast my Cultivation grows.’
’A twenty-percent boost to each of the three might not seem amazing on its own, but stacked together, the effect is substantial.’
’There are two paths for the permanence condition. Trying to break through to Foundation Establishment counts as one attempt, regardless of success. The other option is to just cultivate honestly for ten years, and the condition will be met automatically.’
’The first path depends on when I attempt my breakthrough to Foundation Establishment. The second takes too long; ten years is too high a price to pay.’
Li Yuan carefully put the pill away and looked up at Pill Refiner He.
"It’s not a particularly effective Realm-Breaking Pill, but I sense your aura is stable. I reckon you can succeed."
Pill Refiner He took a sip of tea. "Consider it an advance on your payment. It can help you break through to the Late-stage Qi Refining."
"If you’re lucky and your breakthrough is a success, your talisman making will be much more convenient once your Cultivation reaches the Late-stage Qi Refining."
He set down his teacup and pointed to the wooden crates in the corner.
"The materials are in those crates, for talisman making. This time, I need Spirit-Refining Talismans—thirty-five of them in ten days."
’Thirty-five talismans in ten days is an average of three and a half per day. With my current Minor Achievement in the Talisman Making Skill and my success rate for Spirit-Refining Talismans, the quota isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible.’
"After you finish this batch, there will be three more, each with a similar quantity."
Pill Refiner He’s tone was flat, as if he were assigning a trivial matter not worth wasting words on.
"Once you’ve finished all four batches, your debt for the Realm-Breaking Pill will be cleared."
"Alright," Li Yuan nodded.
He walked over to the corner, opened a crate, and inspected the materials.
Talisman paper, Spiritual Ink, Spirit-Attracting Sand, and Soul-Stabilizing Powder—all the materials needed for the Spirit-Refining Talismans were there. Their quality was even a half-grade better than what the Wang family’s talisman hall provided.
The quantity of materials was also generous. Based on his current success rate, Li Yuan calculated he would have some left over after making the thirty-five talismans.
Li Yuan picked up the wooden crate, nodded to Pill Refiner He, and turned to leave the courtyard.