Chapter 44: Frenzied Alchemy

Inside Ye Pinghai's cave dwelling, the air was filled with heat as his gray-robed figure performed incantations, casting spells on the alchemical furnace. The intense heat permeated the entire chamber.

Lin Tianming and Ye Pinghai were both engrossed in their own alchemical tasks in separate chambers, fervently refining pills.

Lin Tianming had spent seven or eight days refining Spirit Yuan Pills. During the day, he focused on alchemy, and at night, he meditated to recover his expended spiritual power and mental energy. His schedule was packed and rigorous.

As his cultivation progressed, Lin Tianming found it increasingly easy to refine mid-tier Spirit Yuan Pills. His success rate and pill yield improved dramatically.

His success rate for refining mid-tier Spirit Yuan Pills reached sixty percent, with a stable yield of over seven pills per batch. His efficiency also greatly increased. Whereas he used to be exhausted after refining three batches, he could now refine five batches a day and still have some spiritual power left.

Curious about the potential benefits, Lin Tianming decided to activate his Five-Color Eye while refining pills. To his surprise, the Eye allowed him to see the internal structure and impurities of each herb with remarkable clarity.

It made sense; the Five-Color Eye could penetrate formations and barriers, so analyzing low-tier herbs was effortless.

Using this special ability, he could purify and separate the herbs with extreme precision, significantly boosting his success rate and pill yield. His success rate soared to eighty percent, with nine pills per batch, nearing the limits of what was possible in alchemy.

Not only did the pill yield increase, but the refined Spirit Yuan Pills were about ten percent more potent than typical ones, essentially becoming premium-grade pills.

With the aid of the Five-Color Eye, Lin Tianming swiftly refined all forty-plus batches of Spirit Yuan Pill materials, amassing over three hundred Spirit Yuan Pills.

In the cultivation world, a mid-tier Spirit Yuan Pill typically sold for eight lower-grade spirit stones, with some places charging nine. Even at eight stones each, three hundred pills amounted to 2,400 spirit stones—a significant fortune.

With so many Spirit Yuan Pills, Lin Tianming knew he couldn't use them all during his Foundation Establishment stage. Upon returning to his family, he could sell the surplus through the family's market shops, or directly to family members. Such premium pills would surely be in high demand.

Reflecting on this, Lin Tianming decided to proceed with refining higher-tier pills using the remaining twenty-five sets of materials for Body Strengthening Pills and twenty-five sets for Mind Fortifying Pills, as well as three sets for Barrier-Breaking Pills. Additionally, he needed to refine Beast Yuan Pills using the two demon cores he had—one from the Striped Crocodile and one from the Intelligent Python.

He decided to refine the Beast Yuan Pills first, then move on to the more advanced pills.

Entering his alchemical state, Lin Tianming carefully began the process. Refining the demon core was more challenging than herbs due to its volatile nature, but he managed to avoid any explosions, successfully converting the core into alchemical liquid.

In less than half a day, he produced five Beast Yuan Pills from the Striped Crocodile's core. Another batch using the Intelligent Python's core yielded seven pills, totaling twelve Beast Yuan Pills, enough for the Purple Gold Eagle's use.

Next, he moved on to refining Body Strengthening Pills. With the experience gained from refining Purification Pills and the aid of the Five-Color Eye, he anticipated a decent success rate.

Days turned into weeks. After almost a month, Lin Tianming had exhausted almost all his alchemical materials, producing ninety Body Strengthening Pills and eighty-five Mind Fortifying Pills. His storage bag contained only a few herbs.

This month of intense alchemy had significantly improved his skills. His success rate for high-tier pills now exceeded sixty percent, with an average yield of six pills per batch.

He also managed to refine two out of three batches of Barrier-Breaking Pills, yielding eleven pills. These precious pills allowed cultivators to break through a minor realm, making them highly sought after.

Reflecting on his progress, Lin Tianming felt a sense of accomplishment. Two years ago, even spending a single spirit stone caused him pain. Now, with assets worth over ten thousand spirit stones, he was wealthier than most cultivators at his stage.

After organizing his pills and cleaning the alchemical chamber, Lin Tianming exited the room.

It was evening, and he felt the weight of his fatigue after a month of relentless work. Strolling through the streets, he headed back to his rented cave dwelling in the northern district.

Lying on his stone bed, he pondered, "I wonder if Fifteenth Grandfather has returned the Small Foundation Pills to the family. Given the time, he should have arrived by now. Even if he left immediately, it would take forty days for a round trip. I can only hope everything goes smoothly. These pills are too valuable to risk."

Lost in his thoughts, fatigue soon overcame him, and Lin Tianming fell into a deep sleep within moments.