Chapter 40 : The Alchemist's Gambit

Early the next morning, Eldrin Chen sat cross-legged within the Alchemy Room, flipping through an Alchemy Manual in his hands.

This time, he intended to refine the Essence Gathering Pill. This pill, a Second Rank Low-Grade elixir, could instantly replenish a cultivator's depleted True Essence [the refined spiritual energy cultivated within a practitioner's body].

According to the Alchemy Manual, possessing an Essence Gathering Pill might increase his chances of a successful Foundation Establishment breakthrough by ten percent.

Although the pill's refinement process was not overly complex, it required a Second Rank Rare Spirit Fruit. Eldrin Chen lacked such a Second Rank Spirit Fruit. However, having lived a previous life in an era of information explosion, he naturally understood the principle of adaptation.

He planned to use a large quantity of First Rank Spiritual Peach to jointly refine a single batch of Essence Gathering Pill. By substituting quantity for quality, the resulting pill, even if inferior to the original formula, should retain fifty to sixty percent of its efficacy, potentially adding a five percent increase to his chances of a Foundation Establishment breakthrough.

No sooner thought than done. Once Eldrin Chen finalized his alchemical method, he began the refinement of the Essence Gathering Pill.

For this endeavor, he gathered the remaining hundred or so Spiritual Peach he had accumulated over the years, determined to complete the entire batch of Essence Gathering Pill in a single attempt.

Although the Essence Gathering Pill was a Second Rank formula, the Spiritual Peach was not a typical Spirit Herb. It contained virtually no medicinal toxins and minimal impurities, making its refinement among the least difficult of all Second Rank Pill.

Eldrin Chen employed a gentle flame, patiently simmering the ingredients for over a month until he slowly produced a cauldron of spiritual liquid. Finally, the moment for pill condensation arrived.

"Five globules of pill liquid," he observed. Your portal to cultivation novels: audio-novel*com.

"It must succeed."

Watching the spiritual liquid before him gradually take shape, Eldrin Chen felt his heart leap into his throat.

After all, this was his first attempt at refining a Second Rank Pill. His cultivation base and spiritual sense were insufficient, leading to an immediate mishap—three of the five clumps of pill liquid instantly dissipated.

"Not good!"

At this critical moment, Eldrin Chen made a decisive choice. He abandoned one of the remaining clumps and focused all his efforts on condensing the final one.

The effect of this concentrated focus was immediately apparent. With his entire attention fixed on this single clump of pill liquid, no further accidents occurred, and he successfully refined this Essence Gathering Pill.

"It's done!"

Overwhelmed with elation, Eldrin Chen lifted the lid of the cauldron, snatched the Essence Gathering Pill, and placed it into a prepared jade vial.

The successful refinement of the Essence Gathering Pill not only increased his hope of breaking through to Foundation Establishment by another half-step, but it also signified that he could now be considered a quasi-Second Rank alchemist.

"Once I break through to Foundation Establishment, becoming a true Second Rank alchemist will be virtually assured."

Gazing at the Essence Gathering Pill [a pill that aids in gathering and refining spiritual energy] within the vial, a smile finally touched his lips. The arduous month-long effort of pill refinement had not been in vain.

Stepping out from the alchemy chamber, Eldrin Chen paused in mild surprise. He found Old Granduncle had been waiting outside his door for quite some time, his expression one of profound distress.

A heavy rain fell outside, the rumble of thunder an unbroken drumroll. He hurriedly invited Old Granduncle inside.

"Old Granduncle, what is the matter?"

Old Granduncle's face was stiff as he handed over a letter. "This news arrived from Green Chariot Mountain [a mountain peak and sect stronghold] the day before yesterday," he said.

"Half a year ago, Lior Chen failed in his Foundation Establishment [the critical breakthrough to solidify one's cultivation foundation] and passed away at the Verdant Sun Sect [a major cultivation sect]."

"Boom—"

The words struck Eldrin Chen like a physical blow, a deafening toll that seemed to shake the very core of his soul. He staggered, nearly losing his footing.

That desperate journey spanning two hundred thousand Li-length [one Li-length equals five hundred meters], the bloody battles against the Foundation Establishment-level Demon Ape [a powerful, savage ape demon], the brutal price that left the Second Elder grievously wounded and clinging to life—all of it, just to retrieve a single Foundation Establishment Pill [a precious pill that significantly increases the chance of a successful Foundation Establishment breakthrough] that was rightfully theirs, a treasure for the Chen Clan.

Yet now, this news had arrived. It felt as if all their desperate struggles had been rendered utterly meaningless in an instant.

They had merely sought to reclaim the Foundation Establishment Pill [a precious pill that aids in solidifying one's cultivation foundation] their ancestor had paid for with his life sixty years prior, yet what they ultimately received was a token of doom.

The most talented of the Verdant Generation [the generation of the Chen Clan bearing the 'Verdant' character in their names], Verdant Origin Chen, had perished. Invaded by Earth Fire Fiend Energy [a malevolent, corrosive energy born from the earth's depths], his meridians were shattered and his cultivation utterly ruined.

According to the Verdant Sun Sect Messenger [an envoy from the Verdant Sun Sect], the agony inflicted by the Fire Fiend Power [the destructive force of the Earth Fire Fiend Energy] was so unbearable that Verdant Origin Chen had chosen to end his own life.

"…"

"Boom! Rumble!"

The sky was somber, rent by thunder and lightning. This content originates from audio-novel dot com. Please respect copyright.

Rain poured down in torrents, lashing the lake's surface.

Eldrin Chen stood by the shore of Lake Heart Island, sword in hand, his robes white as snow.

He gazed up at the vast, brooding heavens, his eyes reflecting the serpents of lightning that writhed across the firmament.

He stood there silently, letting the rain drench him, his long hair whipping in the storm. He remained motionless, a solitary figure in the tempest, lost in silence throughout the long night.

"The Verdant Sun Sect!"

"......"

Early the next morning, he returned to the Cultivation Room with an expressionless face and began his secluded cultivation.

He had already decided. He would no longer seek the possibility of obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill. He would immediately enter seclusion and charge towards the Foundation Establishment Realm.

The Beast Tide would arrive in just over thirty years. To protect himself and his clan, he needed to break through to Foundation Establishment sooner and become stronger.

For this seclusion, Eldrin Chen was not without confidence. His meridians had been tempered for years by the Vital Energy and the Primordial Chaos Violet Aura, making them more than twice as robust as those of cultivators at his level. This was nearly on par with a Foundation Establishment Cultivator who had broken through using a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Coupled with his profound reserves of Vital Energy, his chances of a successful breakthrough to Foundation Establishment were at least fifty to sixty percent.

Even so, compressing Vital Energy into True Essence was no simple task.

A vast qualitative transformation lay between the two. Once the compression succeeded, nourishing the physical body with True Essence would complete the leap in life's hierarchy, extending one's lifespan beyond two centuries.

Guided by the experiences of predecessors and his own understanding, Eldrin Chen meticulously compressed his Vital Energy. After a full month of effort, he finally compressed his Vital Energy to its absolute limit.

At this juncture, the most critical moment had arrived.

Success would mean compressing his Vital Energy [the foundational life force cultivated by practitioners] into True Essence [a more refined and potent form of spiritual energy]. However, if his meridians [the energy channels within a cultivator's body] could not withstand the strain, the Vital Energy compressed to its limit would violently erupt, instantly riddling his meridians with countless ruptures.

Yet, Eldrin Chen did not rush to complete this final step. He took a deep, steadying breath and swallowed the Essence Gathering Pill [a pill that aids in gathering and condensing spiritual energy].

Instantly, a torrent of immense energy surged into his meridians. The overwhelming pressure forced the True Essence to take its final form.

"Now!"

Gritting his teeth, he marshaled all his True Essence, driving it to coalesce and complete the ultimate transformation.

However, lacking a Foundation Establishment Pill [a specialized pill that stabilizes and tempers energy during a major breakthrough] to gentle the process, his Vital Energy was far more volatile and unruly than usual, resisting his control.

Fortunately, the extraordinary resilience of his meridians, tempered by the Primordial Chaos Violet Aura [a primordial and potent energy from the dawn of creation], withstood the violent churning of the Vital Energy. This allowed him to finally cross the most perilous threshold.

The moment the first wisp of True Essence was born within him, a chain reaction ignited of its own accord.

Like a great whale inhaling the sea, that single strand of True Essence voraciously absorbed the vast reserves of Vital Energy, refining it all into pure True Essence. In the wake of this transformation, Eldrin Chen's meridians were left feeling hollow and drained.

The vast Vital Energy [the foundational life force cultivated within a practitioner's body] that had filled his meridians was compressed into True Essence [a higher-order, purified form of internal energy], leaving behind less than one-tenth of its original volume.

"It is done."

Eldrin Chen wore a smile. He did not leave the Cultivation Room immediately. Instead, he took out all the Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy] he possessed and began frantically absorbing their spiritual energy to nourish and strengthen that newly formed wisp of True Essence.

He then directed this nascent True Essence to continuously temper his meridians, strengthening them further. Simultaneously, he used the True Essence to gently nurture his physical body. This process continued for nearly a month, finally allowing him to complete the metamorphosis of his life essence.

From this day forward, his fundamental life state was profoundly different. With True Essence constantly nurturing his flesh, barring any incurable, grievous injury, living to two hundred years of age was virtually a certainty. Immerse yourself in the complete world at audio–novel.com.