Chapter 730 - 574: The Third Magical Treasure
The Yunhai Pharmacy was bustling with activity, with numerous cultivators coming and going.
Many cultivators who usually couldn’t bear to purchase pills were now willing to spend upon hearing the news of the True Demon Tribulation.
Ji An walked into the most impressive storefront of the pharmacy. A steward in gray Daoist robes approached and said, "Senior, what would you need?"
"Due to the rapid spread of news about the True Demon Tribulation in the Immortal City, our shop has run out of pills to dispel demonic qi."
Actually, the pills were not out of stock; many were stored in the warehouse. The shop was intentionally creating a shortage to prepare for a price increase.
Ji An took out a Jade Slip and handed it over, "How many furnaces can be made from these materials? I need ingredients for twenty furnaces."
He intended to refine a large number of Fire Element Pills to quickly increase his cultivation.
The material ratios and pill formula in the Jade Slip were not entirely accurate. He added some misleading herbs, making it impossible to deduce the pill formula from the spirit medicines he purchased.
If only there were more tier three pine seeds, he would have bought more spirit medicines.
The steward placed the Jade Slip on his forehead, used his Divine Sense to check the contents, and then said:
"Senior, I can’t give you a definite answer right now. I need to verify our inventory in the warehouse first. Are you sure you want twenty furnaces?"
Most of what’s inside are spirit medicines with thousand-year ages, though they are common spirit medicines. To purchase twenty sets of materials, your purse must be quite full.
Ji An waved his hand and said generously:
"Just bring them; Spirit Stones are not an issue."
The steward was overjoyed; this was a huge transaction, and as the one handling it, he would surely receive a handsome commission.
"Senior, please follow me to the VIP room for a short rest. I can quickly gather the materials."
The two of them went up to the VIP room on the second floor. The steward instructed a maid to bring spirit tea and pastries before jogging away.
Ji An sipped the spirit tea and shook his head in disappointment. He could taste that it was brewed with tea leaves of a tier three level, but most were tier two top-grade.
The pharmacy’s hospitality seemed rather stingy, or perhaps he didn’t have enough reputation here to garner respect from the cultivators in the pharmacy.
About half an hour later, the steward walked in with large strides, cupped his hands, and smiled:
"I have completed the task without failure. Here are your materials, a total of twenty sets — please check them over."
With that, he handed over a Storage Bag.
Ji An took the Storage Bag, retrieved all the spirit medicines inside, and verified them one by one.
"Good quality, just the right amount. How many Spirit Stones?"
The smile on the steward’s face grew more amiable, and he said:
"A total of eight hundred and fifty top-grade Spirit Stones."
These spirit medicines were of standard quality and were widely grown, hence the low price.
Ji An knew the pharmacy’s rules and didn’t attempt to haggle, taking out enough Spirit Stones and handing them over.
Once the transaction was settled, he had no intention of lingering and took his leave.
...
Ji An controlled the Earth-Departing Flame Banner to return to Black Stone Mountain, entering the Little World.
Sitting cross-legged under the Gathering Essence Tree, he sorted the spirit medicines by type, then lit a tier three Soul Incense and finally took out the Fire Crane Dan Yang Furnace.
He activated the Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire, quickly heating the Pill Furnace, and began the process of extracting the Divine Essence from the spirit medicines.
While creating the pill formula, he tried various recipes, gaining a deeper understanding of extracting the Divine Essence from spirit medicines.
About three double hours later, Ji An finally extracted all the Divine Essence from the spirit medicines.
Maintaining an intensely focused state for a long time made his Spirit Soul feel quite fatigued.
He placed a kettle filled with spring water on the Wind Furnace, ignited the Spiritual Charcoal, and scarlet flames arose.
Soon, the kettle emitted a "gurgling" sound.
Ji An brewed a pot of very strong Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea, then took out the Soul Nourishing Pendant, adjusting it to maximum power to release more mystical substances and accelerate the recovery of his Divine Sense.
After drinking two pots of spirit tea in succession, he felt his Divine Sense fully recover.
Ji An divided the Spirit Medicine Divine Essence into twenty portions and activated the Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire to start refining pills.
As the furnace temperature steadily rose, the feathers on the Fire Crane relief of the furnace body lit up with golden patterns, and the beak holding a Fire Crystal shone like a bright sun.
The Li Fire Prayer inscribed on the furnace body rotated rapidly, like a nimble snake.
For five consecutive days, Ji An spent his time alternating between pill refining and resting.
Most of the time, he stayed in the Gourd World, occasionally going out, mainly out of concern that someone might contact him with a Communication Golden Sword.
Twenty furnaces of pills, and each furnace could form five pills; Ji An refined a total of eighty-one Fire Element Pills, with fifty of them being high-quality pills.
For the past two years, he had continuously refined pills to create the pill formula, making significant progress in both experience and technique compared to before.
Coupled with the help of the Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire, the rate of high-quality pill production he achieved far exceeded that of ordinary alchemists.
Ji An placed the pills into Jade Bottles, executed the Spring Breeze and Rain Skill to clean the Pill Furnace, then opened and raised his arms with clenched fists.
"Finally finished."
He drank a pot of Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea, closed his eyes, and fell asleep instantly.
Remaining in a highly concentrated mental state for a long time greatly drained his Divine Sense.
Three days later, Ji An awoke from his slumber, feeling refreshed and invigorated.
He flew on the clouds to the Red Spirit Field, scattering the seeds of Red Cloud Pine on the unused land.
The Pill Formula had been created, and in the future, the demand for Tier Three Pine Seeds would greatly increase. More Red Cloud Pines needed to be planted to sustain the consumption.
He successively released the Green Dragon Water Moon Skill and Azure Sky Yangming Skill, with the silver Moon of Taiyin and the golden Sun both shining brightly in the sky over the Spirit Field.
The Green Dragon, conjured by the Magic Technique, appeared lifelike, elegantly swaying its body, raising its head to let out a dragon’s roar.
The Green Dragon, formed by the transformation of the Cyan Lotus Treasure Banner, flew over from a distance. Under the Sun and Moon in the Sky, the twin dragons emitted a powerful and ancient roar.
Filled with the vigor of masculine energy, the Magic Intent of all trees growing echoed through the Little World.
Raindrops the size of soybeans fell one after another, weaving into silver threads of curtains.
The seeds of the Red Cloud Pine took root and sprouted. By the time the Spirit Rain ceased, they had grown to a height of three feet.
The Phoenix Perch Wood beside the pine trees was now at Tier Two Middle Grade level, and within a few years, it would grow to Tier Three.
By then, he would have Fire Element Spirit Tea to drink.
He planted an acre of Red Cloud Pine, totaling twenty trees, and as long as there were enough pine seeds, other auxiliary medicinal herbs would be relatively easy to purchase.
Ji An smiled with satisfaction, riding the clouds back to the Gathering Essence Tree. He took out a Jade Bottle, poured out a High-quality Fire Essence Pill, and consumed it, beginning to circulate the Five Elements Reincarnation Scripture.
The Spiritual Qi in the Little World madly converged toward him, and various Spiritual Mechanisms followed, forming a massive vortex.
After more than a double hour, the Pill was fully refined, and a look of surprise appeared on Ji An’s face.
The potency of the High-quality Fire Essence Pill was about fifty percent that of the Spirit Rhinoceros Quenching Essence Pill, over twenty percent more effective than ordinary Fire Essence Pills; this was a tremendous advancement.
Perhaps because the pine seeds were produced in the Little World, Ji An felt that the Pill Poison in the pills seemed to be somewhat reduced.
With the supplement of these pills, he could hold on until the next large-scale auction at the Yunhai Auction House.
...
Two months passed, and Ji An left the Little World to return to the Grotto Mansion. He secured the Gourd Stone close to his body before stepping out of the Grotto Mansion.
The sun shone brightly outside, and summer had arrived, with a searing sensation in the air, making it feel like the air he breathed was scorching.
Ji An summoned the Earth-Departing Flame Banner, which enveloped his entire body in a crimson light, and flew toward Nu Feng Mountain.
In the past two years, this Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact had undergone hundreds of lightning temperings, and it was not far from taking the final step.
When he arrived at Thunder Valley, it was noon, and dark clouds covered most of the valley, with forked pale blue lightning occasionally striking down, echoing thunder resounding through the valley.
Intermingled with echoes, it sounded ceaseless and continuous.
Accompanied by the crackling of lightning and thunder, torrential rain poured down, enveloping the world in a vast expanse.
Ji An had always been fond of rainy days, always feeling a unique sense of peace for the mind.
He chuckled a few times and urged the Earth-Departing Flame Banner beneath the dark clouds.
The Flame Light Banner unleashed the Spiritual Qi stored within, morphing into a crimson and golden Phoenix Bird, its red, yellow, blue, and white tail feathers emanating a crystalline glow.
Lightning descended from the heavens, striking directly at the Earth-Departing Flame Banner.
The Phoenix Bird surged forth with a massive burst of Fire Element Spiritual Energy, flying upward to meet the lightning.
It let out a clear and resonant cry, filled with untamed pride, fully embodying the explosive nature of the Fire Element.
After about half an hour, the Phoenix Bird, having bathed in several bouts of lightning, returned to its master’s side.
Ji An observed that the damage to its body was minimal, with only ten or so small holes the size of a child’s fingernail on the banner, and a few hair-thin cracks on the pole.
He smiled with satisfaction, knowing that lightning and thunder couldn’t inflict greater damage upon the Earth-Departing Flame Banner; its material had subtly but noticeably changed.
Taking out a piece of Azure Dragon Wood, he utilized the Life and Death Technique to extract the Life Qi contained within the Spirit Wood.
The green spiritual energy quickly gathered in his palm, growing increasingly dense, and the light became more brilliant.
Before long, the Spiritual Qi solidified into a vibrant green Life Crystal filled with vigorous vitality.
Ji An placed the Life Crystal on the Earth-Departing Flame Banner, using a technique to refine it. As the crystal melted, it seeped into the Spiritual Artifact.
The damage was being repaired at a steady, yet gradual pace.
Before the Life Crystal was completely consumed, the damage to the Earth-Departing Flame Banner had been fully restored.
...
Half a month passed.
At noon, the sky over Thunder Valley remained shrouded in dark clouds, thunder and lightning continuing.
The Earth-Departing Flame Banner transformed into a red Phoenix Bird, bathing in the thunder and lightning, its voice filled with defiance and joy.
As the thunderbolts continuously struck, it could sense a transformation within itself.
Suddenly, a lightning bolt much thicker than before fell from the clouds, and the Phoenix Bird gathered its remaining strength, soaring skyward.
The Fire Element Spiritual Energy on its body was quickly depleted by the lightning, no longer able to maintain the Phoenix Bird’s form.
In the next moment, its true form was exposed under the lightning, like a spirit bathing in the electric light.
As the electric light dissipated, the dark clouds also vanished.
A sound of tearing through gold and stone echoed, and Ji An saw the Earth-Departing Flame Banner transform directly into a red Phoenix Bird soaring in the sky.
Its feathers were fiery red, with golden patterns at the edges, and its four tail feathers shone brightly, resembling four flame jets.