Creating a paradise in an ant nest

Chapter 40 The Strongest Elixir: Sea Expansion Pill

Liu He was extremely grateful to Zhou Kang for his generous information.

After saying goodbye, he headed to Lingdan Peak.

Lingdan Peak is located deep within Qianyuan Mountain, next to Lingzhi Peak.

Having been a member of the sect for two and a half years, this was Liu He's first visit to Lingdan Peak.

He used his lightness technique to travel for a while, and stepped onto Lingdan Peak. Immediately, the fragrance of various medicinal pills mingled and wafted towards him. Along with the fragrance came a wave of scorching heat.

It seems to be even hotter than Wanqi Peak.

A small portion of the elixirs produced here are sent to the Elixir Pavilion in the sect's market, while the majority are sold outside the sect.

The "spiritual pills" of the Qian Yuan Holy Sect are not as famous as their "spiritual artifacts." This is because the spiritual pills they refine are common spiritual pills found in the cultivation market and have nothing special about them.

After making some inquiries, Liu He arrived at the "Fire Phoenix Hall," a place that refines first-grade low-level spiritual pills.

Based on the quality of the elixirs refined, Lingdan Peak is divided into Fire Phoenix Hall, Qilin Hall, Vermilion Bird Hall, and so on, from low to high.

Upon entering the Fire Phoenix Hall, he felt an even hotter atmosphere wash over him.

This is where alchemists refine pills; few outsiders come here.

The arrival of Liu He, this "uninvited guest," quickly attracted the attention of others.

After explaining his purpose, he met an inner sect senior sister who was in the late stage of Qi Refining.

This senior sister, who looked like a middle-aged woman and was somewhat overweight, said: "My surname is Yan, and I'm in charge of disposing of the discarded elixirs in the Fire Phoenix Hall."

"Senior Sister Yan."

Liu He bowed respectfully and said, "I am Liu He, a menial disciple from the Outer Mountain Forest Farm. I wish to buy discarded spirit pills. Do you have any unrefined Qi-Nourishing Pills to dispose of?"

"Nu Tian Dan? Heh."

Senior Sister Yan's lips curled into a sneer: "Does it have to be a Qi-Nourishing Pill with the same effect, but in smaller quantities or with flawed appearance?"

"Forehead……"

Liu He was speechless. Was his thinking so easily seen through?

Senior Sister Yan continued, "It's not just you; they all want these kinds of useless pills. What a coincidence that the pill's effect remains unchanged, yet it happens to have lost some of its essence and the amount was insufficient when it was made?"

Even if such a useless pill occasionally appears, it's snatched away instantly.

"Do I have a chance to get one?"

Liu He persisted, asking further questions.

Senior Sister Yan rolled her eyes: "If you have a lot of free time, you can come and wait every day. In ten days or half a month, or even two or three months, you might be able to find a Yuntian Pill that was just ruined but whose elixir efficacy remains unchanged."

If you're unlucky, you might have to wait up to six months.

Alchemists are punished for ruining a batch of pills, so how could they possibly ruin pills so frequently?

"Alright, sorry to bother you, senior sister."

Liu He was helpless.

Instead of wasting a lot of time trying your luck here, it's better to find someone to buy Yuntian Pills together.

Senior Sister Yan added, "You could also ask those individual alchemists. They might have some."

The discarded pills she processed came from alchemists trained by the sect.

Those individual alchemists who ruined their pills would handle it themselves.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

A personal alchemist?

Before coming here, Liu He had heard Zhou Kang mention "personal alchemists," which were said to be unreliable.

"Want to give it a try?"

He was unwilling to go back like that, so he found out where the individual alchemists of the Fire Phoenix Hall were refining their pills and waited nearby.

He encountered three individual alchemists in succession, but gained nothing from them.

One of the senior brothers was a chatterbox. He talked to Liu He for a while, which helped Liu He gain a better understanding of personal alchemists and reduce his prejudices.

The so-called "personal alchemist" is actually an alchemist trained by the sect, just in a different way.

Like Lingdan Peak, Lingzhi Peak holds a selection process every few years.

A select few with exceptional talent can become alchemists whom the sect dedicates itself to nurturing, with the sect providing them with spiritual plants and other resources.

Those who fail the selection process but are dedicated to alchemy become "personal alchemists".

Individual alchemists are also subject to the jurisdiction of the sect. They must buy spiritual plants from the sect and sell the elixirs they refine to the sect. The advantage is that they can also use the sect's alchemy furnace and alchemy room and can receive guidance from high-level cultivators.

The biggest difference is "self-financing".

The initial cost of training an alchemist is too high.

In particular, if a batch of pills is ruined, all the spiritual plants inside become useless, resulting in an instant loss of dozens of spirit stones.

Even the Qian Yuan Holy Sect cannot afford the cost of training a large number of alchemists.

So the sect made them become personal alchemists, responsible for their own profits and losses.

Actually, it was a way to incentivize them to increase their success rate in alchemy.

"This kind of luck-based approach isn't sustainable. When will we happen to stumble upon a private alchemist who has ruined the Qi-Nourishing Pill?"

Liu He wanted to give up on the idea of ​​"finding a bargain".

Just then, a young woman with reddish-orange hair walked towards them. Her aura was unfathomable to Liu He; she was a senior sister with high cultivation.

"Please wait a moment, senior sister."

Liu He was attracted by her unique hair color and beautiful appearance.

"What's up?"

Xu Ruoyun was feeling down after she had just ruined a batch of elixirs.

"May I ask if Senior Sister has any failed attempts at refining the Qi-Nourishing Pill?"

"What's so difficult about refining the Qi-Nourishing Pill? I was already proficient in refining it when I was still a menial disciple."

She is currently at the fourth level of Qi Refining and has been an outer disciple for two years.

"I'm sorry to bother you."

Liu He sensed the confidence in the man's words and thought to himself that this man was skilled at refining the Yuntian Pill and was actually a "personal alchemist".

Why wasn't this talent nurtured by the sect?

"etc."

Xu Ruoyun called out to Liu He, who was about to leave: "You're currently at the second level of Qi Refining, wanting to buy a Qi Nourishing Pill to improve your cultivation? I have something even better than the Qi Nourishing Pill, the strongest elixir for the early stages of Qi Refining, the Ocean Expansion Pill. Do you want it?"

"Sea-expanding pill?"

"That's right, the Sea Expansion Pill. One Sea Expansion Pill can increase your cultivation by three years. The Sea Expansion Pill I just refined has some minor flaws, and its effectiveness is about one-third that of a normal Sea Expansion Pill. I'll sell it to you at a discount."

Upon hearing that Xu Ruoyun possessed a failed attempt to refine the Sea Expansion Pill, Liu He became excited.

This is a elixir that is far more effective than the Yuntian Dan.

It is said that taking one Ocean Expansion Pill can increase one's cultivation level by three years, making it the most effective elixir for the early stages of Qi Refining.

"How many spirit stones?"

Liu He thought that if he had enough spirit stones, he would buy the useless Ocean Expansion Pill.

The normal price of the Expansion Pill is two hundred spirit stones, and even if it only has one-third of the effect, it will still cost sixty-six spirit stones.

Considering that these are flawed, poorly refined elixirs, the price will be even lower.

"Fifty spirit stones."

Xu Ruoyun was making plans in her mind.

She was certain that fifty spirit stones wouldn't be a loss; it would offset the loss from ruining a batch of spirit plants. She could even accept a slight price reduction from the other party.

"Senior sister, can you make it a little cheaper?"

Liu He currently only has thirty-eight spirit stones in his pocket.

Buying the Sea Expansion Pill, amplified by the ant nest, would be enough to allow Liu He to break through to the third or even fourth level of Qi Refining, greatly benefiting his cultivation.

"Forty-five spirit stones, that's the lowest I can go. It's less than the cost of refining my elixir."

Xu Ruoyun wasn't making things up.

The lower the grade of the elixir, the more transparent its price and the lower the profit.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

One update today, more to make up for tomorrow!

One update today, more to make up for tomorrow!

One update today, more to make up for tomorrow!