Lin Yuan’s A-grade cave dwelling.
“Master, the Palace Master of Feixian Palace wants you to refine fifty Nine-Turn Golden Pills,” Yun Zhenzi said carefully. As the “steward” of this dwelling, he handled a great many chores and trifling matters. Lin Yuan did not hide most of these things from Yun Zhenzi.
“That’s right,” Lin Yuan nodded, feeling quite pleased. He had assumed he wouldn’t be able to get hold of any Immortal Source in the short term via conventional means. Yet the Palace Master of Feixian Palace had unexpectedly taken the initiative to offer Immortal Source as payment, saving Lin Yuan much trouble—no need to get it by force.
“The Palace Master of Feixian Palace…” Yun Zhenzi thought it over, unable to resist adding, “Master, they say the Azure Dragon Guildmaster of the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce is domineering, but in truth the Palace Master of Feixian Palace is even more so. Even the nine Jade Immortal guildmasters of the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce don’t dare step out of line in front of him.”
Yun Zhenzi paused, thinking a bit more before speaking again, “This time, the Palace Master of Feixian Palace basically gave you three portions of Immortal Source for half its true value, if not as a freebie. Master, you still need to be cautious.”
Logically, refining fifty Nine-Turn Golden Pills would never be worth three portions of Immortal Source, especially given that the Palace Master personally came to negotiate. But it happened, which left Yun Zhenzi with a nagging sense that something might be off.
“Be cautious?” Lin Yuan remained calm. Five hundred years ago, when his consciousness had just arrived in the Immortal Realm, he had indeed tread carefully before the colossus that was Cangwu Immortal City. But now?
To Lin Yuan, the vast majority of Cangwu Immortal City was as fragile as paper. No matter how the Palace Master might scheme, in the face of absolute power, it would be meaningless. And until Lin Yuan actually got those three portions of Immortal Source, he wouldn’t hand over the refined Nine-Turn Golden Pills anyway; the initiative was his.
Soon after the Palace Master’s departure, a Golden Immortal under Cangwu Immortal City arrived to deliver a large batch of resources—ingredients and auxiliary herbs necessary for refining Nine-Turn Golden Pills.
There were two major reasons why Nine-Turn Golden Pills are so rare: first, several of the core ingredients are exceedingly scarce; second, the difficulty of refining is extremely high. Thus, these pills barely ever circulate on the open market. Whenever a master refiner successfully produces one, they either keep it for themselves or sell it right away to an awaiting buyer.
“All right, let’s begin refining,” Lin Yuan remarked, taking a quick look at the main and auxiliary ingredients. He intended to finish the job as swiftly as possible.
Typically, even the most elite alchemists would need several months of meditation to adjust their state to perfection before daring to attempt Nine-Turn Golden Pills. But Lin Yuan, with mental will on the level of a rank-twelve being, required no such elaborate preparation. Refining pills was virtually second nature to him.
Time flowed on.
One month later—
In the dwelling, Lin Yuan opened his eyes. Before him, the pill furnace spun, wreathed in curling fragrance. Even an ordinary mortal, inhaling just a whiff of this aroma, could extend their lifespan by several million years. Considering that Nine-Turn Golden Pills can instantly heal any injury suffered by a Golden Immortal, the vast power of their life force is self-evident.
“That should do it,” Lin Yuan noted, giving a slight nod as he surveyed things. In truth, the one refining this batch of Nine-Turn Golden Pills wasn’t even his true body—only an avatar. His true self and two great Primordial Spirits continued focusing on comprehending all sorts of rules.
“Next comes the tribulation lightning,” he thought. Nine-Turn Golden Pills are so named because, to become complete, they must undergo nine tribulations of heavenly lightning. By tapping into the endless destructive and life-giving force of the lightning, the pill takes its final step.
That requirement for nine successive lightning strikes is also what makes Nine-Turn Golden Pills so difficult. Most attempts fail under the barrage of heavenly lightning because the pill’s internal medicinal energies aren’t perfectly fused, causing it to crumble.
In Cangwu Immortal City, countless immortals come and go each day, mostly at the Tribulation or Mahayana stage, with an occasional Golden Immortal. Compared to the city’s overall population, Golden Immortals were few; Jade Immortals even rarer. Jade Immortals typically lived in the A-grade dwellings, and if they wished to approach the city, they’d simply use the token to teleport directly in.
Suddenly, a profound pressure weighed down from the heavens. Threads of black tribulation clouds formed, and violet lightning churned like a coiling dragon.
“What’s that?”
“Looks like tribulation clouds—someone’s about to transcend a tribulation?”
“That’s not for a person. That’s for a pill. Some master alchemist is refining a Nine-Turn Golden Pill!”
Many immortals began chatting animatedly. A few knowledgeable ones instantly recognized the tribulation clouds for what they were. There’s a subtle difference between tribulation clouds for someone transcending a personal tribulation and those for a pill. And the best-known pill that draws lightning tribulation is the Nine-Turn Golden Pill. This life-saving elixir is coveted by Golden Immortals and Jade Immortals alike.
“I’ve seen it a few times—master alchemists trying to refine Nine-Turn Golden Pills. Quite often, they fail at the final tribulation.”
“Wonder which master alchemist in Cangwu Immortal City is doing it this time.”
One by one, the immortals craned their necks to watch, as witnessing the forging of Nine-Turn Golden Pills is a rarity. Perhaps observing such a sight would offer them some insight.
“Hm?”
“Nine-Turn Golden Pills?”
“Is Yun Zhenzi refining Nine-Turn Golden Pills?”
Within another A-grade dwelling, the Azure Dragon Guildmaster of the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce also sensed the tribulation clouds. Jade Immortals can easily discern which area they target—the A-grade dwelling where Yun Zhenzi resides.
“I heard the Palace Master of Feixian Palace requested that Master Yun Zhenzi refine some Nine-Turn Golden Pills,” said a white-haired elder beside him, a Jade Immortal well-connected enough to know the inside story.
“I know about that.” The Azure Dragon Guildmaster nodded. He had been asked by the Palace Master about Yun Zhenzi’s terms right after failing to make a deal with him.
“Seems the Palace Master of Feixian Palace has quite a bit of faith in Master Yun Zhenzi,” the elder said. At the Palace Master’s level, one could easily invite a top-tier alchemy master to refine Nine-Turn Golden Pills, yet he still chose Yun Zhenzi. It had to be a sign of genuine confidence.
“Refining Nine-Turn Golden Pills isn’t about ‘confidence.’ It’s about the alchemist’s true skill.” The Azure Dragon Guildmaster’s tone was frosty. He was still somewhat irritated that his talk with Yun Zhenzi had fallen apart, only for the Palace Master to turn around and commission Yun Zhenzi, making him look a bit foolish.
“You’ve got a point,” the elder conceded.
“To succeed with Nine-Turn Golden Pills, one must make it through nine lightning tribulations. That alone sets the standard for any master alchemist’s skill.
A top-tier master can fuse the countless medicinal properties to the point where the pill easily passes all nine tribulations, but a lesser master…” The elder hadn’t finished speaking when lightning crashed down from the black clouds overhead. White, green, and purple bolts all rained upon Yun Zhenzi’s A-grade dwelling.
In under moments, all nine tribulations were complete, and the black clouds began to dissipate. A strong medicinal aroma wafted through half of Cangwu Immortal City.
“Huh?”
“Did he succeed?”
The elder was taken aback. If nine bolts of tribulation had cleanly descended and the resulting aroma was so potent, that meant the Nine-Turn Golden Pills had successfully formed.
“Those Nine-Turn Golden Pills must be high in quality. Even many top-tier alchemy masters can’t achieve that.” The elder inhaled the drifting scent.
Though he himself wasn’t a master alchemist, he knew the difference between pills of different qualities. In that brief moment when Nine-Turn Golden Pills formed, the potency of the fragrance told him they were of very high grade.
“High quality, huh?” The Azure Dragon Guildmaster fell silent. He, too, deduced the same.
“You know, Guildmaster, perhaps you should have agreed to Master Yun Zhenzi’s demands. After all, it was just a hundred million top-grade Immortal Crystals. Had he produced twenty Nine-Turn Golden Pills of this caliber, it would’ve been well worth it,” the white-haired elder murmured.
Even within the category of Nine-Turn Golden Pills, quality can vary from low to high. The highest-grade Nine-Turn Golden Pills won’t just instantly heal every injury a Golden Immortal might have; they’d also have an enormous effect on Jade Immortals. Sometimes an alchemist gets lucky and produces one or two truly excellent pills, but to craft an entire batch of such pills indicates genuine, deep-level mastery.
“You told me Yun Zhenzi was just an ordinary master alchemist.” The Azure Dragon Guildmaster frowned at the elder. If the elder had informed him that Yun Zhenzi might be a top-tier master, maybe he would have agreed to the original terms.
“I truly had no idea,” the elder replied helplessly. Who could have guessed that after nearly ten million years away, Yun Zhenzi’s pill-refining ability would have soared so drastically?
“So what now?” the elder asked, eyeing the Azure Dragon Guildmaster.
“Try contacting Master Yun Zhenzi again. Tell him I accept his terms—a hundred million Immortal Crystals. I just want him to refine those twenty Nine-Turn Golden Pills,” the Azure Dragon Guildmaster said at once. Although he hadn’t reached an agreement with Yun Zhenzi before, there was no reason to refuse a hundred million Immortal Crystals. Even a top-tier master alchemist might find it difficult to say no to that kind of offer.
“Alright, I’ll give it a shot,” the elder said, nodding.
Back inside the A-grade cave dwelling—
Lin Yuan gazed at the thirteen perfectly rounded, golden pills in front of him. Each radiated abundant life force.
“So these are Nine-Turn Golden Pills,” he mused. This was his first time refining something of that caliber, so he examined them carefully for a bit.
“One batch yielding thirteen Nine-Turn Golden Pills suggests that every scrap of medicinal power has been fully utilized,” Lin Yuan thought.
Under normal circumstances, even a top-tier master alchemist can’t utilize every bit of the ingredients’ medicinal essence, and thus might only end up with five or six pills. A great deal goes to waste.
Lin Yuan is different: even though this is just an avatar refining, thanks to his rank-twelve-level mental will, he can orchestrate a perfect fusion of every wisp of medicinal power. That’s why he ended up with thirteen pills in one go.
“By my current refining efficiency, the batch of ingredients provided by the Palace Master should yield over a hundred Nine-Turn Golden Pills,” Lin Yuan said with a grin.
He and the Palace Master had agreed that he would use these ingredients to produce fifty Nine-Turn Golden Pills. If Lin Yuan can refine more than a hundred, he can turn in the promised fifty while quietly keeping the remainder for himself. For Lin Yuan, that’s a massive resource windfall.
Considering how coveted Nine-Turn Golden Pills are, he can barter them for things like Immortal Source—items that never appear on the open market.
“Refining pills truly is a lucrative trade,” Lin Yuan sighed inwardly. This entire endeavor consumed only one month, and that was just one month of an avatar’s time. The yield—thirteen top-tier Nine-Turn Golden Pills—could easily sell for tens of millions, if not a hundred million, top-grade Immortal Crystals on the market. This rate of making wealth is unmatched by any sort of plundering, which also carries far greater risks.
“Master.”
Not long after the batch finished, Lin Yuan received a request for an audience from Yun Zhenzi. He appeared on his throne, looking at Yun Zhenzi below.
“What is it?”
“The Azure Dragon Guildmaster wants another meeting with you, Master. He says he’ll agree to your terms—he’s willing to pay a hundred million Immortal Crystals if you’ll refine a batch of pills for him,” Yun Zhenzi reported.
“He’ll accept all the terms now?” Lin Yuan gave a faint shake of his head.
“The terms have changed.”
“If the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce wants me to refine twenty Nine-Turn Golden Pills, they’ll have to pay five hundred million top-grade Immortal Crystals,” Lin Yuan stated bluntly.
After successfully refining these Nine-Turn Golden Pills, no fewer than several dozen factions from across the Thirty-Three Immortal Domains had already approached Lin Yuan to request his services. He no longer cared about the Azure Dragon Guildmaster’s meager hundred million Immortal Crystals.
“Yes, Master.” Yun Zhenzi nodded and vanished to deliver the message.
In the cultivation zone of the cave dwelling—
Lin Yuan devoted most of his energy to observing the irregular fissure in the sky above, while also giving partial attention to the small, palm-sized magical seal in the depths of his body, composed of infinite symbols. This imprint represented his sixth fleshly-body divine ability, a martial path divine ability newly excavated by tracing this body’s bloodline and re-walking the martial path in the Immortal Realm.
Compared to his previous five fleshly-body divine abilities, this sixth one leaned toward the extreme.
“At last, I’ve fully unraveled the secrets of this particular divine ability imprint,” Lin Yuan remarked, sensing how that deep, intricate mark in his body no longer contained any hidden mysteries. Its countless subtleties lay bare to him.
To bring a fleshly-body divine ability back to the main universe, one must completely penetrate the corresponding divine ability imprint. Only just now had Lin Yuan fully done so.
Of all his physical divine abilities, this sixth one had taken the longest to study—fully five hundred years.
“This divine ability…” Lin Yuan extended his right hand, wisps of a soul-stirring aura dancing around his fingertips.
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