Chapter 712 - 561: Vajra Pill
Ji An, feeling quite puzzled, reached out to catch the Communication Golden Sword and probed it with his Divine Sense to read the information within.
After reading it, he returned to the association and went to the Alchemist Certification area.
A maid walked over with light steps, her voice sweet:
"Senior, how may I assist you?"
The Alchemist Certification area stored many medicinal herbs, and if they saw strangers coming and going, they would invariably approach to inquire.
Ji An raised the Communication Golden Sword in his hand and said:
"I’m looking for Feiyun Zhenren, she has something to discuss with me."
"Senior, please allow this disciple to lead the way, this way."
The two stopped in front of a door adorned with vine flowers, and the maid entered to announce his arrival.
Soon, Feiyun Zhenren emerged from the room, surprised, and said:
"When Little Xue reported to me, I didn’t believe it, but it turns out to be true."
She had just sent out the Communication Golden Sword, and it would take about half an hour to reach the other party’s Grotto Mansion.
Ji An nodded with a smile, "Normally, it indeed wouldn’t be possible, but it was a coincidence that I happened to be conducting business at the association."
Feiyun Zhenren stepped aside to open the door, "Please come in for a conversation."
After entering the room, the two sat down as host and guest, exchanged a few polite remarks, and Feiyun Zhenren spoke:
"The association has received an emergency task to refine a batch of pills, and you were the first person I thought of, Fellow Daoist."
"I can only refine one type of Tier Three Pill, I’m afraid I can’t be of much help, Fellow Daoist."
"Who said it’s a Tier Three Pill?"
Feiyun Zhenren retorted. She produced an emerald green Jade Slip and gently said:
"Inside is a formula for a Tier Two Pill. Please have a look, Fellow Daoist."
Ji An took the Jade Slip but didn’t inspect it, "A free pill formula?"
"Yes."
"I’ve heard a saying, the free ones are often the most expensive."
Feiyun Zhenren covered her mouth with a laugh, "That saying sounds like it has a story behind it, has there been some unforgettable past?"
Ji An assumed a look of recollection, "It seems there wasn’t."
"If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine, let’s discuss business.
This pill formula will be given free to all Tier Three Alchemists. Additionally, there’s another similar Tier Three pill formula that, one day in the future, will also be given to qualifying cultivators.
Please rest assured, Fellow Daoist, even if you currently do not wish to take on the task, the formula is still given free of charge."
Ji An’s eyes narrowed, "Upon hearing this, I have a bad feeling."
He placed the Jade Slip on his forehead to inspect it. The pill was called Vajra Pill, and the ingredients were quite varied, including nine kinds of medicinal herbs, four of which he had never heard of.
The main ingredients included two varieties, one of which was Tier Two Top Grade Vajra Bodhi Fruit. In Buddhist Cultivator traditions, Vajra Bodhi represents the power to dispel evil and demons.
His heart sank a bit; first came the task of drawing a Purifying Talisman, and now the task of refining the Vajra Pill. It indicated that unknown dangers were looming near.
What made him uneasy was that he could guess the source of the peril, but lacked concrete intelligence.
It was like standing on the ground staring into a deep well, having been told he would have to jump in later, but not being able to see the bottom was unsettling.
"I cannot guarantee the success rate on the first attempt at refining."
Feiyun Zhenren softly said:
"The commissioning party knows that alchemists need to keep making mistakes to master a brand-new formula.
One batch of ingredients can produce five pills; the commissioning party will provide eleven batches of ingredients, and producing ten pills constitutes completing the task.
For each additional pill produced, a reward of three hundred Spirit Stones will be given; if it’s a high-quality pill, four hundred Spirit Stones will be awarded."
She leaned forward, lowering her voice:
"The association has only acquired a little over a hundred batches of these ingredients. We are selecting the best alchemists in Immortal City to participate.
If you can turn in a sufficient number of pills, the benefits will not only be limited to Spirit Stone rewards."
"It’s my honor, but does the alchemy task have a time limit? I just received a talisman-making task from Qing Feng Fellow Daoist today."
"There’s no conflict; the alchemy task is not urgent. Due to the difficulty in finding the ingredients, the commissioning party requests as many pills as possible to be produced.
They’ve given a month, which should be more than enough for you, Fellow Daoist."
Refining one furnace of pills takes only a few double hours, and the more skilled the alchemist, the shorter the time. It won’t take up too much time.
There are plenty of excellent alchemists in Immortal City. She chose Ji An due to the Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire.
Alchemists possessing Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire naturally produce higher quality pills.
Ji An nodded, "Hmm, there’s plenty of time. I’m willing to take on the task."
Following that, they proceeded with verifying the ingredients and signing the agreement.
Ji An, rather worried, asked, "Will this matter affect next month’s auction?"
He was intent on acquiring a batch of Spirit Rhinoceros Quenching Essence Pill, and any changes to the auction would impact his cultivation improvement.
Feiyun Zhenren, aware of his concerns, replied:
"It will certainly impact the auction, but as it’s been promoted for so long, the likelihood of it being canceled or postponed is low."
Whether it’s canceled or postponed would cause a massive impact on the auction house’s reputation.
For the auction house, it could forfeit some auction fees, but damaging their reputation is something they absolutely cannot accept.
"Then I’m reassured."
Ji An subtly inquired about the source of the recent tension, but the other party was tight-lipped and did not reveal a bit.
He no longer pressed the matter, got up, and bade farewell.
...
The evening sun half-sank, turning the bright crimson glow into lead grey.
Burdened with worries, Ji An flew away from the Immortal City on a cloud, approximately ten miles out he looked back, seeing a thousand streams of bright flames either falling or rising, resembling a blossoming flower of light.
Each stream of flame represents a cultivator at the Chao Origin Stage level or higher.
Not to mention these High-Tier Cultivators, countless Flying Shuttles like returning wild geese from the horizon, converging toward the Immortal City.
Under the twilight, the Immortal City still radiated endless vitality.
Ji An hovered in mid-air, quietly watching the flowing lights scatter and gather.
The sun completely set, the light quickly receded like the tide, the glow completely dimming and merging with the celestial vault.
Stars slowly faded in, adorning the night sky, while the magic array in the Immortal City lit up, numerous lights converging into lines, outlining the city’s silhouette.
Ji An’s eyes sparkled, such brilliance so closely resembled the nightscape of cities in his past life.
His inner unease dissipated substantially, gradually calming down.
With a long shout, the distant mountains echoed, and he exhaled all his worries.
The red spirit cloud shimmered brightly, dragging a long tail of flame as it departed.
Whatever is meant to come will come, rather than worry about tomorrow, it’s better to seize today.
It was now early autumn, the night wind had become chilly, yet he felt very refreshed, the cold wind blowing away his last trace of anxiety.
Upon returning to the Black Stone Grotto Mansion, Ji An bathed and changed clothes, then entered the Gourd World to begin cultivation.
The Gourd Stone floated in the grotto mansion, its gentle glow reflected on the rock walls, its surface patterns of sun, moon, and stars transformed, displaying the cosmic light changes of day rise and night fall on the rock walls.
The next day, Ji An spent the morning drawing talismans, the afternoon refining pills, and the evening entering the Little World for focused practice.
Cultivation feels incredibly pleasant, it shouldn’t be called arduous cultivation.
...
Time flowed like water through the fingertips, in the blink of an eye, a month passed.
Ji An carefully stored the achievements of this period in the Grotto Void Stone, then strode out of the grotto mansion.
The morning light illuminated the woods in front of the grotto mansion, outside the magic array, brightly colored flying birds chirped, calling companions to enjoy the tranquil morning and delicious insects.
He sighed softly, "Plans can’t keep up with changes..."
Originally planning to study pill formulas for early-stage Golden Core cultivators to enhance their realms, now he had no time, he instructed Zhang Jun not to come for the time being.
Half a month ago, he went to the Immortal City once to submit a Purifying Talisman, besides that he stayed within the Black Stone, peacefully.
Busy days seemed incredibly fulfilling, reminding him of the days when he first settled at Red Flame Peak.
But today is not the same as before, he had grown from a Foundation Establishment cultivator to a Golden Core cultivator, spanning two Great Realms.
Though there was no several thousand acres of Spirit Fields like at Red Flame Peak here, he now had a Little World as his backing, considering the value of spirit plants, a hundred acres of Spirit Field in the Little World far surpassed the initial Red Flame Peak.
Red fog rose from his soles, lifting him to embrace the blue sky, the wind howled past his ears, lifting his hair.
After roughly two double hours, he landed at the entrance of the Certification Association.
Master Qingfeng came up, smiling before speaking:
"Fellow Daoist, I have been waiting for you a long time."
Tomorrow, he needed to submit Purifying Talismans to the association, but in these days, he still lacked some talismans.
Ji An cupped his hands in return, jokingly said:
"Fellow Daoist, it’s not me you’re really waiting for, I fear."
Master Qingfeng did not shy away from the topic, patting his face, "Haha, you made my old face blush, let’s go inside to talk, please!"
Ji An extended his arm, "Please!"
The two walked side by side into the prepared Quiet Chamber.
After a few polite exchanges, Ji An took out several stacks of talismans and said:
"All talisman materials have been completely drawn, this time bringing nine hundred Tier Two Upper Grade Purifying Talismans, four hundred Middle-grade Talismans, Fellow Daoist please have a look."
The numbers are so round because he kept some talismans for himself, currently storing over three hundred Top-grade Purifying Talismans.
"Good, Fellow Daoist never disappoints."
Master Qingfeng was overjoyed, quickly counting the quantity and quality, nodding continuously.
"Calculating success rate at forty percent, Fellow Daoist only needs to submit one hundred more talismans to complete the task."
"This time, adding an extra three hundred Middle-grade Talismans, worth seventy-five thousand Spirit Stones; nine hundred Top-grade Talismans, worth two hundred seventy thousand Spirit Stones."
"The association greatly appreciates everyone’s dedicated help, deciding that the surplus earnings can be traded for Top-grade Spirit Stones without any exchange fees."
"In this case, Fellow Daoist can obtain thirty-four Top-grade Spirit Stones and fifty Middle-grade Spirit Stones, along with eight thousand seven hundred Contribution Points."
Inwardly, he kept marveling, for top-tier Talisman Masters, this task surely presented a big lucrative opportunity.
Although the counterpart was merely a Second-Layer Golden Core cultivator, the Spirit Stones earned were comparable to Talisman Makers at the Fifth Layer or Sixth Layer Golden Core.
Previously, he never thought early-stage Golden Core cultivators could achieve this.
Ji An smiled and handed over his Talisman Maker Jade Token, "For the Geng Metal Thunder Talisman’s drawing method, how many Contribution Points were required again?"
"Ten thousand, Fellow Daoist currently has around sixteen thousand."