Chapter 8: Unmatched
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Upon learning that he might be the owner of a Dual Supreme Martial Spirit, Yang Xiaotian could barely contain his excitement.
If he truly possessed a Dual Supreme Martial Spirit, then wouldn't he be capable of attaining godhood, or even surpassing it!
"He who masters my Heaven-Penetrating Sword Technique will be my successor, Hong Feng's chosen heir. Strive hard in your practice, fully cultivate the Heaven-Penetrating Sword Technique, and take charge of my Heaven-Penetrating Divine Sect!"
"I, Hong Feng, once wielded the Heaven-Penetrating Divine Sword, sweeping across the Martial Soul World undefeated!"
"May you live up to my esteemed name,"
Hong Feng said in the message.
After reading this, Yang Xiaotian's heart was profoundly shaken.
Sweeping across the Martial Soul World undefeated!
How powerful must Hong Feng have been!
The might of the Heaven-Penetrating Divine Sword seemed to far exceed his imagination.
Following the method described by Hong Feng, he cut his finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the Heaven-Penetrating Divine Sword, then recited the incantation silently. Immediately, he felt a flesh-and-blood connection with the sword.
When he drew the Heaven-Penetrating Divine Sword, a terrifying Sword Qi soared into the sky, instantly altering the color of heaven and earth.
The Nine Heavens were blasted open with a massive hole.
The entirety of Xingyue City, as well as the whole Divine Sea Country, felt this frightening Sword Qi.
Yang Xiaotian was taken aback.
Fortunately, in the blink of an eye, the Sword Qi from the Heaven-Penetrating Divine Sword disappeared as if it were an illusion.
Only then did Yang Xiaotian breathe a sigh of relief.
He silently recited the sword incantation, and the Heaven-Penetrating Divine Sword immediately turned into a beam of light that merged into his right forearm, where an image of the Divine Sword appeared as a tattoo.
From now on, as he cultivated the Heaven-Penetrating Sword Technique, the Heaven-Penetrating Divine Sword would completely integrate into his body. Then, even without summoning the sword, he could unleash myriad Sword Qi.
After securing the Primordial Dragon Art, he moved on to the third room.
The third room was filled with various Cultivation Technique Manuals.
These were all collected by Hong Feng during his travels across the world.
However, Yang Xiaotian already had the Primordial Dragon Art, and although the other techniques were good, they were of no use to him.
To Yang Xiaotian's surprise, the fourth room contained a Medicine Cauldron. There was a line of text left by Hong Feng on it, which he approached to read.
It turned out that this Medicine Cauldron, acquired by Hong Feng from a dangerous place in the Martial Soul World, was so unique that even he did not know its name. It could change in size, and had multiple compartments within, suitable for storing medicinal herbs and other items.
Yang Xiaotian was delighted. This unnamed Medicine Cauldron was like an ultimate travel bag. With it, his future travels would be much more convenient.
Doing as Hong Feng instructed, he dripped blood to refine the Medicine Cauldron and, with a thought, it shrank continuously until it became a ring that he wore on the ring finger of his left hand, indistinguishable from an ordinary ring to the uninformed.
Subsequently, Yang Xiaotian looked at the walls, which were covered with bookshelves filled with various Secret Tomes.
He stepped forward to browse, and they were all Alchemy Secret Manuals.
Becoming an Alchemist was an extremely noble profession in the Martial Soul World.
Much more prestigious than martial artists.
However, becoming an Alchemist required extremely stringent conditions: one must not only be intimately familiar with various medicinal herbs but also be able to control Heaven and Earth Fire and have an exceptionally strong spiritual sensitivity.
Every single condition was indispensable.
This was why Alchemists were so rare in the Martial Soul World. Even the Yang Family Manor could not cultivate an Alchemist over many years.
In the whole Xingyue City, only the City Lord's Mansion had an Alchemist, and that was just a one-star.
Still, they were esteemed as honored guests by the City Lord's Mansion.
"I wonder if there is a method here for concocting Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid," Yang Xiaotian thought to himself.
After some searching, at the bottom of a bookshelf, he did indeed find the method to concoct Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid.
Looking at the detailed introduction on concocting Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid, Yang Xiaotian's heart raced.
If he could concoct the Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid, combined with the fruits outside for cultivation, his power would undoubtedly advance even faster, and he would have an eighty to ninety percent certainty of breaking through to the Innate Realm before the new year.
He read carefully, then located the fourteen kinds of medicinal materials required for concocting Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid in the valley's medicinal garden, and placed them one by one into the Medicine Cauldron.
Next, following the method described in the book, Yang Xiaotian began to sense the surrounding Heaven and Earth Fire.
This step was the most difficult, as due to individual differences in souls, the vast majority of people were unable to sense the Heaven and Earth Fire.
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However, it didn't take long for Yang Xiaotian to sense the Heaven and Earth Fire stirring all around him.
This Heaven and Earth Fire was abundant in the vicinity, resembling a sea of fire, boundless and endless.
The previously tense and uneasy Yang Xiaotian was stunned.
This is the Heaven and Earth Fire?!
But wasn't it said in the books that many alchemists could sense the presence of Heaven and Earth Fire within only a few meters around them the first time?
Now, the range he could sense was surely over a hundred meters!
He couldn't believe it, and as he tried to draw the fire with his spiritual power, instantly, the Heaven and Earth Fire converged into a stream, merging into the medicine cauldron.
In alchemy, the heat mustn't be too strong, or the herbs would instantly turn to ashes, nor too weak, for if it's too gentle, the herbs won't melt properly.
As Yang Xiaotian nervously controlled the Heaven and Earth Fire, the fourteen types of herbs began to melt one by one through calcination, eventually forming a small, lively tuft of cyan liquid.
Staring at the cyan liquid in the cauldron, Yang Xiaotian was dumbfounded.
The Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid, just like that, it was refined?
It seemed, not that difficult, huh.
For the Pharmacist Hall to assess a one-star alchemist, one only needed to successfully concoct a batch of Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid within three hours.
He had taken less than an hour.
Doesn't that mean he already qualifies as an alchemist?
Yang Xiaotian still couldn't believe the content of the cauldron was Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid.
After hesitating for a moment, he swallowed it.
Instantly, a warm current surged through his body.
He attempted to circulate the Primordial Dragon Art.
The Black Tortoise and Black Snake Martial Spirit appeared, and above the vast sky, an endless stream of nature's spiritual energy cascaded down at a speed many times faster than when he previously cultivated the Prajna Skill.
The medicinal power of the Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid was continuously transformed into Fighting Spirit within his meridians.
Soon, the Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid was completely refined.
When Yang Xiaotian ceased cultivating, he found that he had reached the late phase of the fifth rank within the Acquired Realm.
He was both shocked and delighted.
The Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid he had concocted was certainly genuine, and it was definitely not of ordinary quality, otherwise, it wouldn't have had such an effective medicinal power.
The same elixir, with different qualities, naturally yielded different effects, ranging from low to high: inferior, low, medium, high, superior, with top grade above superior.
The batch of Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid he just made was most likely high grade, or possibly even superior.
Yang Xiaotian looked at the herbs in the valley, his emotions surging. With these herbs, he could continuously concoct Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid, and there was hope of breaking through to the Innate Realm before the New Year.
When Yang Xiaotian emerged from the cave, he found that it had grown completely dark, which scared him into hurrying back to the Yang Family Manor. Indeed, upon returning to the Yang Family Manor, his parents had been sending people out to look for him for a while.
In the end, Yang Xiaotian received a spank with a stick.
However, late at night after everyone in the Yang Family Manor had gone to bed, he snuck back to the valley to continue refining the Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid and cultivating.
Thus, during the day Yang Xiaotian would practice the Heaven-Penetrating Sword Technique back at the Yang Family Manor, and at night, he would cultivate in the valley. Occasionally, he would venture deep into the mountains with the Golden Armored Beast to hunt fierce beasts, enhancing his combat experience.
After four days in a row, Yang Xiaotian made rapid progress, breaking through to the peak of the tenth rank.
He was only one step away from the Innate Realm.
In the courtyard of the Yang Family Manor, the swordplay was spirited. Yang Xiaotian thrust his sword, and a sword hole appeared instantly on a stake ten meters away.
Seeing the sword hole that was several inches deep, he nodded in satisfaction.
The Heaven-Penetrating Sword Technique, true to its reputation as one of the top ten sword techniques in the world. Although he was only in the Acquired tenth rank, the power of that single thrust was such that many martial artists at the first level of the Innate Realm would struggle to withstand it.
And that was only the weakest first move of the Heaven-Penetrating Sword Technique.
The Heaven-Penetrating Sword Technique had a total of forty-nine moves, with the power increasingly formidable as one progresses further.
Afterwards, Yang Xiaotian pondered over the Innate Realm but was troubled, as after breaking through to the tenth rank, the Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid's effect had greatly diminished. At the current rate, even if he kept persistently cultivating with the Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid, it would take at least six to seven days to break through to the Innate Realm.
But the New Year was just around the corner, and his father was about to set off for the Black Wind Stronghold.
He couldn't wait that long.
What should he do?
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