Chapter 111 : A Beauty Beyond the Nine Heavens

Eldrin Chen finally snapped back to his senses, hurriedly lowering his head and saying, "One should not look upon what is improper. This junior has been discourteous."

Her expression remained calm, and she asked with utter seriousness, "Am I beautiful?"

"Ah..." Eldrin Chen was taken aback for a moment, but still followed his heart's truth. "Senior's beauty is peerless in this world. I fear even the celestial maidens of the Nine Heavens could not compare."

Lyra Jiang pondered for a moment, then after a long pause, nodded seriously and said.

"You are not wrong."

Eldrin Chen: "..."

"What matter brings you to seek me out this time?"

Observing his expression, a flicker of amusement passed through Lyra Jiang's eyes before she finally inquired about his purpose.

Hearing her broach the main subject, Eldrin Chen promptly produced the Demonic Roc Inner Core [the condensed life essence of a powerful avian demonic beast] and stated, "My purpose in coming is to request your aid in refining a batch of Foundation Establishment Pill [a precious elixir that aids cultivators in solidifying their foundation and advancing to the next major realm]."

Lyra Jiang accepted the Demonic Roc Inner Core, offering a word of praise. Access the full story on http://www . audio-novel.com.

"To have slain it, it seems your strength has grown considerably these years."

"By the way, are the supplementary herbs for the Foundation Establishment Pill [a rare and precious pill that aids in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm] all prepared?"

Eldrin Chen handed over a Storage Bag [a spatial artifact capable of holding numerous items] and said, "Time was too rushed. We were unable to find seventeen types of Spirit Medicine [plants infused with spiritual energy, used in cultivation and alchemy]."

"When we captured the First Wood Earth Vein [a spiritual land node rich in Wood and Earth energies], we obtained quite a few Spirit Medicine. I happen to have these particular herbs."

"Follow me."

After examining the contents of the Storage Bag, Lyra Jiang led Eldrin Chen directly into the Alchemy Chamber [a specialized chamber designed for the delicate art of pill refinement].

For an Alchemist [a master of pill refinement], their pill-refining techniques are often closely guarded secrets. Yet, Lyra Jiang did not avoid Eldrin Chen, allowing him to observe the crafting of the Foundation Establishment Pill from the side.

Witnessing a high-level Alchemist at work was a rare opportunity. Eldrin Chen observed with meticulous care, determined not to miss a single detail that could aid his own progress.

Once the refinement began, harnessing the power of the Third Rank Earthfire [a potent, naturally occurring spiritual flame used in high-level crafting], Lyra Jiang expended little effort in processing and refining all the supplementary herbs.

After completing this step, Lyra Jiang retrieved the Third-Rank Monster Core [the condensed spiritual core of a powerful third-rank demonic beast, a key ingredient for potent elixirs] and began to explain as she tempered it with the earthfire.

"To refine the Foundation Establishment Pill [a pill that aids in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm], two primary ingredients are particularly suitable: the Purple Marrow Fruit and the Purple Mansion Demonic Core [the crystallized life essence of a Purple Mansion realm demonic beast]."

"The Purple Marrow Fruit requires a full millennium to mature and consumes vast amounts of spiritual energy. Therefore, within the Chu Kingdom, aside from the Three Great Sects, none of the other great immortal clans can cultivate it in significant quantities."

"Within the Vast and Boundless Marsh, Demonic Beast [monstrous beasts that have absorbed spiritual energy and gained power] are countless. Thus, the Purple Mansion Demonic Core is, in fact, the more commonly found ingredient."

As she spoke, Lyra Jiang channeled her mana, meticulously refining the pure energy and creative power from within the Purple Mansion Demonic Core.

Eldrin Chen listened quietly, gradually understanding that the yield of Foundation Establishment Pill is often directly related to the grade of the Purple Mansion Demonic Core used.

A Demonic Core from an Early Stage Purple Palace [the third major realm of cultivation, where one forms a spiritual mansion within the dantian] Demonic Beast contains only a modest amount of creative power and mana. Consequently, it can produce at most five Foundation Establishment Pill per batch.

The Demonic Core from a Mid Stage Purple Palace Demonic Beast holds significantly greater creative power, allowing a single batch to yield up to eight pills. As for the mighty Demonic Beast of the Late Stage Purple Palace, the creative power within their cores is astonishingly potent, sufficient to refine two full batches of Foundation Establishment Pill.

"This particular Demonic Core is a Thunder Roc Demonic Core, imbued with a violent, crackling thunder affinity that is highly detrimental to a cultivator's Foundation Establishment [the second major realm of cultivation, where one solidifies their foundation for the path ahead]."

"With my cultivation level, I can use my mana to separate out this thunder affinity. However, your cultivation is not yet sufficient. If you wish to use this inner core to refine Foundation Establishment Pill, you would need to neutralize its affinity with either Flood Water Essence or Sunflower Water Essence [rare spiritual essences with profound yin or water properties]."

While explaining, Lyra Jiang continued to channel her mana, grinding away the thunderous power within the Demonic Core. She isolated the purest creative power and energy, then fused it into the auxiliary herbs, subjecting the mixture to repeated, meticulous refinement.

Eldrin Chen observed with rapt attention, feeling as if a divine clarity had washed over him. His own comprehension of Alchemy [the art of refining spiritual pills and elixirs] had been profoundly elevated.

Seeing that he had gained some insight, a flicker of amusement passed through Lyra Jiang's eyes before she accelerated the refining process.

Not long after, she separated the concoction into four distinct masses of pill liquid. After a final seven days of gentle simmering, she finally succeeded in refining these four Foundation Establishment Pill [a precious pill that aids in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm].

Eldrin Chen revealed a look of pleasant surprise. Producing four pills from a single batch was nearing the theoretical limit for a Third Rank Low Grade Demonic Core [the condensed spiritual essence of a powerful demonic beast]. The difficulty of refining Foundation Establishment Pill was immense; even many Fourth Rank Alchemist might not achieve such a Pill Success Rate.

Furthermore, the reason only four could be refined was also due to the inferior quality of the Demonic Core. The Purple Palace Demon Roc was merely at the Purple Mansion First Layer, so the creative essence [the vital, life-giving substance within] it contained was truly somewhat scarce.

After successfully refining the Foundation Establishment Pill, Lyra Jiang handed the four pills over, saying with a smile. Dive deeper into the Dao at http://www . audio-novel.com.

"Four pills from the batch. A decent result."

Eldrin Chen accepted them, then took out two and offered them back, speaking earnestly: "You provided many of the auxiliary herbs, and the refinement relied entirely on your skill. Consider these two as your rightful compensation."

"Oh."

Lyra Jiang's eyes glimmered thoughtfully. She took one Foundation Establishment Pill and said, "I do have a grand-disciple in urgent need of one. You should keep the others. Your clan undoubtedly has greater need for them."

Eldrin Chen hesitated for a moment before finally accepting the three Foundation Establishment Pill [a pill that aids in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm]. After distributing the Foundation Establishment Pill, he then brought out the skeletal remains of the Purple Palace Demon Roc [a powerful third-rank demonic bird].

"Looking at this demon roc's skeleton, can it be forged into a Third Rank Magical Tool [a magical treasure of the third rank, suitable for Purple Mansion cultivators]?"

"This demon roc actually awakened the Thunderclap Lightning Flash Escape [an innate divine ability allowing for a burst of extreme speed akin to lightning]."

Lyra Jiang glanced at the demonic bones and couldn't help but let out a soft sound of surprise.

Only then did Eldrin Chen understand. Not every Purple Palace Demon Roc could awaken this particular Innate Divine Ability [a supernatural power inherent to a creature's bloodline]. For that Purple Palace Demon Roc to have awakened such an escape technique, it must have possessed exceptional talent even among Purple Palace, Early Stage Demonic Beast [powerful beasts that cultivate and gain supernatural abilities].

After examining the bones, Lyra Jiang pondered for a moment before speaking. "This demon roc's skeleton possesses an innate swiftness. If forged into a magical treasure, it could retain the 'Thunderclap Lightning Flash Escape' ability."

"I have two forging methods to choose from."

"The first is to use this skeleton to forge a small Third Rank Spirit Boat [a flying vessel powered by spiritual energy]. Such a spirit boat could travel thirty thousand Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] in a single day. When the Thunderclap Lightning Flash Escape is activated, its speed could temporarily triple. The only drawback is that it can carry, at most, one or two people."

"The second method is to use this demonic skeleton as the keel, adding other materials to forge a medium-sized Third Rank Spirit Boat. Although its speed would be limited to eighteen thousand Li-lengths per day, it could carry up to thirty people at once."

Eldrin Chen hesitated. The former was a sharp tool for pursuit or escape, while the latter could serve as a foundational treasure for an entire faction, a symbol of its strength and heritage.

If he were a Rogue Cultivator [an independent cultivator not affiliated with any major clan or sect], he would naturally choose the former option without hesitation. However, as a member of the Chen Immortal Clan, he had to consider the needs and future of his clan.

With this in mind, he asked another question: "Can a medium-grade Spirit Boat [a vessel powered by spiritual energy, capable of flight and long-distance travel] activate the Thunderclap Lightning Flash Escape [a high-speed escape technique that mimics lightning and thunder]?"

"It can," Lyra Jiang affirmed with a nod. "However, the medium-grade spirit boat is considerably heavier. Therefore, it can only increase its speed by a factor of two."

"That is acceptable. We shall proceed with crafting the medium-grade spirit boat."

Eldrin Chen made his decision, settling on the medium-grade spirit boat. With such a vessel in their possession, the logistical coordination between the various strongholds of the Chen Clan—the transfer of personnel and the transportation of vital supplies—would become vastly more efficient.

Previously, redeploying Qi Refinement Cultivators [cultivators at the foundational stage of absorbing and refining spiritual energy] between locations could take over ten days. Henceforth, such journeys could be completed within a single day.

Furthermore, future trade of Five Elements Essence [a refined spiritual essence containing the power of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth] to Celestial Ruins Mountain would be greatly simplified. There would be no need for clan cultivators to spend half a year on arduous round trips. Given the substantial cargo capacity of the medium-grade spirit boat, the entire annual quota could be fulfilled in merely one or two voyages.

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