Name: Zhao Dingtian (Zhao Sheng)
Life Span: 33/149
Realm: Third Level of Foundation Establishment
Profession: Second Order Talisman Master, First-rank Alchemist
Constitution: Three Spirit Roots - Water, Metal, Fire, Half Spirit Clan
Talent: Bullet Time, Danger Perception, Absolute Rationality
[Skill]
Cultivation Technique: Mystic Primordial Heavy Water Technique (Master), Stacking Talisman Technique (Great Success), Fire Control Technique (Great Success), Blood Soul Scripture (incomplete, skilled)
Spell: Refraction Technique, God-slaying Sword, Water Bomb Technique, Thousand Waterfalls Flowing Cloud…
Talisman Making: …Concentrating God Talisman, Water Dragon Talisman, Life Hundred Thoughts Talisman, Hundred Veil Ice Cloud, Illusion Shadow Escape Talisman and 176 other kinds
Alchemy: Fish Marrow Pill, Water Spirit Pill, Jade Yellow Pill, Essence Gathering Pill… Soul Condensing Pills, Water Repelling Pill, totaling 25 types.
…
Inside the A-D Earth Fire Room, the air was dry and hot with waves of heat rolling in; the indoor temperature was extremely high.
Zhao Sheng was completely focused, under the precise control of his Divine Sense, eight clam-like mouths spewed azure-colored earth fire from thick to thin, becoming as thin as fingers, and the Nine Dragon Tripod also slowly ascended, shrinking from the size of a water jar to that of a wine jar and slowly rotating under the roasting of the earth fire.
As time slowly passed, Zhao Sheng carefully added various types of Spiritual Medicine one by one, including tree-root-like dead wood, processed green jade powder, and transparent liquids, among others.
The melting step was the most likely to lose control in alchemy since the Elixir Transformation Reaction was the most intense, tolerating no negligence.
This was his fourth time refining the Second Order Spirit Pill, Cold Dove Marrow Spirit Pill. The previous three attempts had failed, but this time seemed hopeful.
Half an hour later, the Nine Dragon Tripod began to emit wisps of medicinal fragrance, invigorating anyone who smelled it.
However, Zhao Sheng knew that it was too early to expect the pills without adding the main medicine.
Only after the main medicine successfully merged with the Elixir Liquid and reached the Solidifying Pill step was there hope for success.
Refining a Second Order Spirit Pill was ten times more difficult than refining a First Stage Spirit Pill, except for a few special ones.
Even for a genius with exceptional perceptiveness and talent like Zhao Sheng, multiple failures occurred while attempting to refine Second Order Spirit Pills.
Of course, this might have been due to his self-directed experiments.
Refining Second Order Spirit Pills was indeed difficult, but was it harder than achieving Foundation Establishment?
With this thought, Zhao Sheng enlivened his spirit, and under the control of Divine Sense, the Nine Dragon Tripod flickered with spirit light, appearing somewhat dazzling.
Gradually, the earth fire grew from fine to coarse, and finally as thick as the mouth of a bowl, enveloping the entire Nine Dragon Tripod in flames,
At a glance, the Nine Dragon Tripod seemed to have become a fireball, with the scent of the medicine growing richer as it was roasted in the fierce flame.
Nearly an hour later, the rich scent of the medicine gathered at the top of the stone room and lingered for a long time, eventually forming a small cluster of grey-white Elixir Clouds.
Seeing this, Zhao Sheng's eyes flashed with divine light, and with a wave of his right hand, a fist-sized, blue crystalline dehydrated Cold Dove Brain Marrow flew out and dropped into the Nine Dragon Tripod.
Boom!
The Nine Dragon Tripod trembled violently, and a large plume of blue smoke spurted from the edge of the lid, the scent in the stone room growing richer, but a piercing chill suddenly surged through the hot air.
Zhao Sheng's Divine Sense burst forth fully, and with Shadowy traces of his hand movements, a series of brilliant flashes of spiritual light disappeared into the Nine Dragon Tripod. He controlled the Elixir Liquid to complete the final Elixir Transformation,
By now, even a fool would know that this moment of alchemy had reached its most critical point.
"God damn it, solidify!"
Moments later, Zhao Sheng suddenly roared, and a brilliant flash of divine light surged in his eyes as his hands rapidly became a blur of shadows.
Thump, thump, thump!
In a burst of exploding sounds, as the smell of char emerged, Zhao Sheng's face suddenly broke into a jubilant smile.
Slap!
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A faint blue Spirit Pill suddenly leaped from the furnace and under the control of Divine Sense, it spiraled towards Zhao Sheng, dinging softly as it landed in a pill bottle that had been prepared beforehand.
The Second Order Cold Dove Marrow Spirit Pill was a success!
At a thought from Zhao Sheng, the eight fire-spouting mouths simultaneously snapped shut and the Earth Fire dispersed.
He beckoned with his hand, and the Nine Dragon Tripod flew from the Alchemy Platform to him.
Looking down into the tripod, he saw a layer of charred residues at the bottom, among which were two black and blue burnt pills, clearly failed pills that hadn't formed properly!
Alas, it was still just a bit short!
Zhao Sheng shook his head, lamenting silently.
After thinking it over, he removed the two wasted pills from the tripod and carefully preserved them in a Jade Box.
Even if they were failures, they held significant research value, and Zhao Sheng was loath to discard them heedlessly.
Having done all this, Zhao Sheng settled down on the cushion to meditate, slowly recuperating his spirit while silently summarizing his alchemy experience.
Only an hour later did he open his eyes, ready to attempt alchemy once more.
The same steps, the same ingredients powder, the same control of fire, but unfortunately, this time, the problem occurred at the second step - the formulation of the Elixir Base failed.
The reason for failure was the improper handling of the Spiritual Medicine, which still contained some impurities.
This time, Zhao Sheng's face was expressionless. After adjusting his spirit and Spiritual Power, he silently began his sixth batch.
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
Zhao Sheng walked out from the passageway beneath Dusk Peak with a calm demeanor. If anyone with keen observation saw him now, they would notice a mix of slight joy and pain beneath his calm exterior.
The joy came from the fact that the success rate of the Second Order Cold Dove Marrow Spirit Pills had surpassed forty percent, averaging more than three pills per batch.
As for the pain.
The nearly fifty batches of alchemy ingredients he had prepared were all consumed, costing over ten thousand Spirit Stones.
In the end, they had yielded merely twenty-five Dove Marrow Pills, worth roughly three thousand Spirit Stones.
At that moment, the armor-clad Great Han guarding the passage saw Zhao Sheng emerging and initially looked startled, but his expression quickly turned to excitement.
"Congratulations, Senior, on your further advancement in the Alchemy Dao!" the Great Han congratulated, mustering his courage.
Zhao Sheng halted, flicked a Spirit Stone with his finger, and it accurately landed in the Great Han's hand.
"Li Sanchong, the Alchemy Association assigning you to guard here really underestimates your talent! How about you come with me?"
Two years was neither short nor long.
It was enough for Zhao Sheng to recognize the extraordinary nature of the armored Great Han.
The Great Han's real name was Li Sanchong. Despite his large, fierce-looking physique and seemingly dim-witted brain, he possessed an extremely keen perception, enough to be considered a master of micro-expressions.
Zhao Sheng even knew he was capable of reaching Divinity in Martial Arts and that he was probably at the Half-step to God, much like his third life.
Such an outstanding Martial Arts Grandmaster, even if he wasn't a Cultivator, shouldn't have been reduced to guarding a gate.
Cherishing talents as he did, Zhao Sheng thus made the offer.
With a fist-palm salute, Li Sanchong earnestly said, "I am deeply honored that Senior holds me in such high regard, and I am very grateful. However, I can only follow you if my master allows it. I was raised by my master from a young age. Wherever he goes, I go. Whatever he asks me to do, I do. I always listen to my master."
Zhao Sheng, looking at his sincere expression, shook his head and dropped the idea of recruiting him.
Li Sanchong's master was a relative of a Second Order Alchemist from the Alchemy Association.
In other words, Li Sanchong was likely sent here on purpose, and his mission was probably not simple, likely charged with some important task.
...