Chapter 33 : A Priceless Alchemy Manual

"Hmm?"

Eldrin Chen arched an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over the youth. Noting the nervous tension etched on the boy's face, he gave a slight, acknowledging nod.

"I will accept it, but I must verify its authenticity first."

"This..."

The youth cast a fearful glance at Eldrin Chen. The items he carried were far too valuable. If others caught sight of them, it could easily spark thoughts of murder and plunder.

He hesitated for a fleeting moment. He recalled the inquiries he had made before coming here: the Mu Clan's Xuanming Pavilion had been in operation for over five hundred years, amassing a reputation and credibility built over five or six centuries. Surely, such an establishment could be trusted.

Moreover, the man before him had an upright bearing and an Extraordinary aura about him; he did not seem the villainous sort.

With this thought, he gritted his teeth and finally handed over an ancient tome.

"This is my family's heirloom Alchemy Manual. I swear it is genuine."

"I will sell it to you for five hundred Spirit Stones [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy, used as currency and for cultivation]." Experience the full epic at audio_novel.com.

Eldrin Chen opened the Alchemy Manual [a book containing formulas for crafting spiritual pills], gave it a cursory glance, and then snapped it shut hurriedly.

He fixed his gaze on the youth and spoke without preamble.

"I will give you one thousand Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy, used as currency and for cultivation], but you must swear an Inner Demon Oath [a binding vow that invokes one's own inner demons as witnesses, with severe consequences for breaking it]. You must promise never to sell this Alchemy Manual to anyone else, nor to teach its contents to another soul."

"This..."

The youth hesitated. The formula was immensely valuable, and he had indeed entertained thoughts of selling it to multiple buyers.

Seeing his hesitation, Eldrin Chen let out a derisive snort. "If you sell it too many times, it becomes nothing more than a piece of paper anyone can copy. Its worth will plummet."

"Moreover, you must understand the principle that 'treasure invites calamity.' With your level of cultivation, each additional sale increases the risk of someone killing you to seize it."

"Sell it too widely, and even if someone later wished to avenge you, they'd have no way of knowing who your killer was."

Hearing this, the youth found the man's logic sound. He glanced once more at the signboard of the Xuanming Pavilion [a well-known establishment in the cultivation world], then finally nodded.

"I'll sell it to you. But I want payment and the manual exchanged simultaneously."

"Agreed!"

Eldrin Chen nodded and directly retrieved one thousand Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy] from his Storage Bag.

Seeing the Spirit Stones, the youth's eyes lit up, and his anxious, unsettled heart finally calmed.

"For someone to produce so many Spirit Stones at once, his status within the Mu Clan must be Extraordinary," he thought.

"With the Xuanming Pavilion's five-century reputation and his standing, he surely wouldn't deceive me."

With that thought, the youth swore an Inner Demon Oath [a binding vow where failure invites demonic possession of one's heart], money and goods were exchanged, and the transaction was completed.

By the time the female shopkeeper emerged, she saw the youth bidding farewell to Eldrin Chen and leaving the Xuanming Pavilion.

"Who was that?" the shopkeeper couldn't help but ask.

"An old friend of mine. We happened to meet just now and exchanged a few words."

Eldrin Chen declared with an air of utmost righteousness and conviction.

He then took the Bellheart Grass with one hand, paid the Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy], and turned to leave the Xuanming Pavilion with quick strides.

After departing the Xuanming Pavilion, he returned to his residence with a heart full of excitement and opened the Alchemy Manual.

This was a complete set of alchemical formulas, compiled in the later years of a senior alchemist who had consolidated all the various pill recipes he had mastered into a single tome.

Within this manual were a total of twenty-six pill formulas: seventeen of the First Rank and nine of the Second Rank.

Setting aside the First Rank formulas, among the nine Second Rank recipes, five were Second Rank Low-Grade, three were Second Rank Mid-Grade, and one was Second Rank High-Grade.

Of the five Second Rank Low-Grade formulas, two overlapped with those already in the Chen Clan's collection. For uninterrupted reading, go to audio-novel*com.

The other three formulas were respectively the Essence Gathering Pill, the Stasis-Dispersing Pill, and the Barrier-Breaking Pill.

The Essence Gathering Pill was a potent restorative pill that could instantly replenish a vast amount of a cultivator's True Essence [the refined spiritual energy cultivated within a practitioner's body]. In essence, it was a pill of condensed spiritual energy; its refinement was not overly complex, but it required a Second Rank Rare Spirit Fruit.

Furthermore, this Essence Gathering Pill could increase a cultivator's chance of a successful Foundation Establishment breakthrough by ten percent. Though the increase was modest, it was exceptionally precious for this very reason.

The Stasis-Dispersing Pill, meanwhile, was a Second Rank healing pill capable of mending physical injuries, proving quite effective even for Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

The Barrier-Breaking Pill [a pill that aids cultivators in overcoming bottlenecks in their cultivation] can assist a Foundation Establishment Cultivator [a cultivator who has established their foundational cultivation base] in breaking through a bottleneck. When a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage [the initial phase of the Foundation Establishment realm] seeks to advance to the Foundation Establishment Mid Stage [the middle phase of the Foundation Establishment realm], they must refine their True Essence [the purified vital energy cultivated within a practitioner's body]. Cultivators with slightly inferior innate talent often find themselves stuck in this process for several decades.

Possessing a Barrier-Breaking Pill can dramatically accelerate this process and increase the probability of successfully breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Mid Stage.

Among the three Second Rank Mid-Grade [referring to the quality level of a pill formula] pill formulas, only one overlapped with those already possessed by the Chen Clan. The other two were the Spirit-Concentrating Pill [a pill that enhances spiritual sense] and the Essence Burst Pill [a pill that temporarily amplifies True Essence].

The Spirit-Concentrating Pill is a pill that enhances spiritual sense [the perceptive and projective power of a cultivator's consciousness]. This pill can increase a Foundation Establishment Cultivator's spiritual sense by thirty percent. Cultivators with powerful spiritual sense often see a slight increase in their success rate when attempting to break through to the Violet Sanctum [the realm following Foundation Establishment, where the cultivator opens their Violet Palace]. This illustrates the pill's precious value. Unfortunately, a cultivator can only ingest one such pill in their entire lifetime; otherwise, its worth would be multiplied several times over.

This demonstrates the precious value of this pill. Unfortunately, a cultivator can only ingest one such pill in their entire lifetime; otherwise, its worth would be multiplied several times over.

As for the Essence Burst Pill, it is a pill that can enhance a cultivator's True Essence. After consuming it, a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Mid Stage will experience a temporary surge of fifty percent in their True Essence, reaching a level comparable to a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage [the advanced phase of the Foundation Establishment realm].

However, this pill carries significant side effects. After ingesting one, a cultivator's meridians [the energy channels within the body] often suffer severe damage. They cannot engage in strenuous combat for ten years, or risk having their meridians shatter completely.

The final Second Rank High-Grade [referring to the quality level of a pill formula] pill formula was the first of its grade obtained by the Chen Clan.

This pill was none other than the renowned Foundation Establishment Pill [a crucial pill used to assist in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm]. The Foundation Establishment Pill is the most widely circulated pill formula, as its importance drives many alchemists to seek and collect it.

However, the Foundation Establishment Pill is exceedingly difficult to refine. Although it is a Second Rank High-Grade formula, its difficulty of concoction is no less than that of an ordinary Third-Rank Pill [a pill of the third rank, suitable for higher realm cultivators].

Generally speaking, an alchemist capable of refining the Foundation Establishment Pill [a pill that aids in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm] can already be considered, albeit barely, a third-rank alchemist.

Furthermore, he discovered that this set of pill formulas also contained the alchemical notes of its compiler. The youth's ancestor must have been a highly skilled alchemist.

The alchemist had personally refined every pill listed in the formulas, meticulously recording the key points for each concoction and annotating the common pitfalls a practitioner might encounter.

"This time, I've truly stumbled upon a priceless treasure," he murmured to himself.

"If the Mu Clan were to find out, they'd likely cough up blood in sheer frustration."

Eldrin Chen closed the Alchemy Manual [a tome containing pill formulas and alchemical knowledge], a genuine smile touching his lips. The notes of a high-level alchemist alone were an invaluable treasure, offering him profound insights.

The worth of this Alchemy Manual, if brought to an auction, would likely fetch at least six thousand Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy, used as currency and for cultivation]. Merely the Foundation Establishment Pill formula within it was probably worth over three thousand stones.

It was simply that the young man didn't recognize its true value, boldly asking for a mere five hundred Spirit Stones. Eldrin Chen almost felt guilty taking such advantage and raised the offer to one thousand.

This act, in a way, also saved the youth's life. Had he tried to hawk such a treasure to multiple buyers, with his level of cultivation, he likely wouldn't have made it ten steps beyond the Sunward Market before meeting his end.

"The reason my alchemy skills advanced so rapidly is largely thanks to the alchemical notes left behind by Uncle Verdant Bud," Eldrin reflected.

"With this Alchemy Manual now in hand, my alchemical arts are poised to advance by leaps and bounds in the days to come." This content originates from @udio-novel.com. Please respect copyright.