Chapter 10. Qi Gathering Pill (Spiritual Object)

The messenger hawk was a first-order spirit beast purchased by the clan from the Avian Taming Pavilion of the Ling Kingdom. Slightly sentient, this hawk could travel 3,000 li in a single day and typically served as Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location)'s medium for communication with various clan territories.

This time, the messenger hawk arrived at Spirit Lake Isle, clearly indicating the clan had some matter requiring correspondence with him.

Eldrin took out a handful of spirit rice to feed the messenger hawk, then retrieved a letter from its talons.

After reading it, a flicker of emotion crossed his face, revealing a hint of delight.

"It seems I must return to Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location)."

Early the next morning, Eldrin packed his belongings and set the Spirit Lake Isle’s formation to activate autonomously before making his way up Verdant Chariot Mountain.

In just 5 days, he arrived at Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location). The moment Third Elder Lior (Person Name) saw him, a look of pure delight spread across his face.

"Good, very good." He grasped Eldrin's hand, his expression brimming with excitement. "The progress of your cultivation is even more astonishing than Qing Yuan's."

"You flatter me, 13 Uncle."

Eldrin said humbly, "Lior ranks thirteenth among the Qing-generation elders, so I usually call him Thirteenth Uncle."

"I'm still far from matching up to Uncle Qingyuan."

Elder Chen Qingyuan had been a disciple of the Qingyang Sect for many years. At 30-4 years of age, his cultivation was rumored to have already brushed against the threshold of Foundation Establishment.

For the cultivators of the Qingyang Sect, exchanging contribution points internally for a Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object) would cost only 10,000 points—equivalent to 10,000 spirit stones. This offered a far greater hope than the Chen Clan spending tens of thousands of spirit stones to purchase a single pill.

Moreover, due to the karma left behind 60 years ago, Chen Qingyuan's hope of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm was significantly greater than that of the family's ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivators.

"No need for modesty, your talent is truly far greater than Qing Yuan's."

"It's a pity our clan currently lacks the means to purchase a Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object) for you."

The Third Elder let out a sigh before finally addressing the matter at hand.

"The reason I've summoned you back this time is primarily for the matter of refining the Qi Gathering Pill (Spiritual Object)."

As Lior recounted, Eldrin nodded in acknowledgment. Of the Chen family's 17 mu of spirit fields, 5 mu were specifically dedicated to cultivating Breath-Concealing Grass.

The Aura-Infused Grass is a mid-grade herb of the first tier, serving as the primary ingredient for refining the Qi Gathering Pill (Spiritual Object).

The Qi Gathering Pill (Spiritual Object) serves as a spiritual elixir for Qi Refining cultivators' practice. Due to its ability to assist them in breaking through bottlenecks, it has consistently maintained excellent sales.

The Chen Clan harvested a batch of Aura-Concealing Grass every 5 years. The yield could be refined into 50 cauldrons of Qi Gathering Pill (Spiritual Object), serving as the clan's most stable source of spirit stones from their herb gardens.

The task of refining Qi Gathering Pill (Spiritual Object) had always been overseen by Sixth Elder Chen Qingmeng. As a top-grade first-rank alchemist, his success rate for crafting mid-grade first-rank Qi Gathering Pill (Spiritual Object) exceeded 60%, each batch yielding considerable profits.

However, due to Chen Qingmeng's failed Foundation Establishment, his future potential was limited. The clan thus decided to cultivate new alchemists to prevent their alchemical arts from facing extinction after Chen Qingmeng's eventual demise.

This time, though Chen Qingmeng remained in charge of refining the Qi Gathering Pill (Spiritual Object), Eldrin (Person Name) would also participate—assisting the Sixth Elder while simultaneously learning the art of alchemy.

"This time, follow behind the Sixth Elder and diligently study the art of alchemy."

"Be careful with the measurements," Lior instructed while leading Eldrin to the family alchemy chamber.

Upon entering the alchemy chamber, Eldrin immediately spotted the Sixth Elder. Having spent most of the past 2 years at the Spirit Lake Continent, Eldrin had practically no encounters with the Sixth Elder during this period.

But now, the Sixth Elder appeared much more aged. It seemed that failing his breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment realm had dealt him a heavy blow.

The setback of failing to build his foundation struck him too hard. He owed his family 32,000 spirit stones—a debt so immense it would take several lifetimes to repay, destined to become nothing but a bad debt on the family's records. This weighed upon him with overwhelming pressure.

Chen Qingmeng also caught sight of Eldrin (Person Name). The moment his eyes fell upon Eldrin (Person Name), he froze briefly before a look of utter desolation washed over his face.

"Come in. I've been waiting for you for quite some time."

As soon as Eldrin (Person Name) arrived, Chen Qingmeng began concocting pills.

The sheer quantity of elixirs to be refined this time made the process relatively demanding and exceptionally busy.

Eldrin was tasked with sorting the spiritual herbs while also conducting preliminary processing on the Aura-Converging Grass and supplementary ingredients. Having already advanced to a top-tier First Rank Spiritual Botanist, his understanding of herb properties rivaled that of alchemists of equivalent rank, allowing him to complete the procedures with remarkable efficiency.

Chen Qingmeng had originally been refining at a rapid pace, but seeing how attentively he observed her alchemy process, she deliberately slowed her movements and began patiently explaining to him.

At first, Eldrin only grasped fragments of understanding, yet gradually he began to exchange insights with remarkable fluency. This prompted Chen Qingmeng to nod repeatedly in unconcealed approval.

"It seems you also possess some talent in alchemy."

Chen Qingmeng reached the rank of First-Class High-Grade Alchemist in his 40-some years, a talent in alchemy that could truly be considered superior.

To have earned his approval, it was clear that Eldrin possessed remarkable talent in the realm of spiritual herbs and alchemy.

Of course, this was also related to Eldrin (Person Name) being a first-grade, superior-tier spirit planter. After all, he had already attained considerable mastery in understanding the properties of spiritual herbs, which had lowered more than half the threshold for him to learn alchemy.

Before long, the first batch was finally successfully refined, yielding 5 Qi Gathering Pills (Spiritual Object).

"Not bad."

After storing the elixirs in the prepared porcelain bottles, Chen Qingmeng revealed a satisfied expression.

The first furnace of pills served to temper the cauldron, where the success rate was generally low. Achieving even a 50 percent success rate would already be considered quite remarkable.

Sure enough, the success rate of pill refinement gradually improved during the subsequent process. By the second cauldron, he had already produced 6 pills.

After 6 or 7 consecutive days of arduous work, the 2 finally completed the refinement of 50 furnaces of Qi Gathering Pill (Spiritual Object), yielding a total of 336 perfectly formed pills.

"It is done at last."

Looking at the successfully refined elixir, the 2 finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Eldrin (Person Name) also marveled, "This pill refinement success rate is approaching 70 percent. 20-Sixth Uncle might even be able to attempt a breakthrough to become a second-rank alchemist."

Generally speaking, if 1 achieves a 60% success rate in refining low-grade Rank 1 pills, then the success rate for high-grade Rank 1 pills should be around 30%.

With a 30 percent success rate in refining top-grade Rank 1 pills, there is indeed some confidence to advance as a Rank 2 Alchemist.

"It's not that simple. I'm still far from it."

"It's merely that I've refined several 100 batches of Qi Gathering Pill (Spiritual Object) over the years—proficiency stems from repeated practice."

Chen Qingmeng shook his head, yet a wide grin spread across his face.

"However, this batch yielded 3 100 30-6 pills, over 30 more than previous years. This marks the family's most abundant alchemy harvest in 60 years."

"Although the Foundation Establishment failed, breaking through to the tenth level of Qi Refinement still offers some advantages for alchemy."

After the 2 had finished refining the pills, the Third Elder, who had been waiting for some time, meticulously counted the Qi Gathering Pills (Spiritual Object) once more.

The Qi Gathering Pill (Spiritual Object) could slightly enhance the odds of Qi Refining cultivators breaking through minor bottlenecks. It had always sold exceedingly well in Yu County, with each pill priced at over 5 spirit stones.

At present, these 336 spirit stones, once sold, would likely recoup over 1,600 spirit stones, instantly replenishing the family's resources in 1 major wave.

At this thought, the Third Elder could not help but speak with joy.

"This year has been quite remarkable."

"The year-end coincides with Eldrin’s return. Let us convene a clan assembly."