Lying Low While Cultivating Immortality in Two Worlds Chapter 96

Half a month later.

Cold Spring Peak.

Xiang Dahu was no alchemist, so he could only linger at the foot of the mountain. Gazing up at the spirit spring overflowing from the summit and transforming into dicinal springs that encircled the entire peak, envy filled his eyes. "Foundation Establishnt Pills..."

Every ti Pill Island opened its pools to refine Foundation Establishnt Pills, it was a grand event for the Blue Sea Sect. All ranked alchemists had to assist as helpers.

The remaining disciples gathered around the outskirts of Cold Spring Peak to watch the spectacle and join in the excitent.

Five days earlier, following the precedent set by Elder Tianding, Fang Qing had stood on the lecture platform to expound on the Foundation Establishnt Pill formula and share his own insights. He then formally summoned all idle alchemists and began the pool-refining process!

"Another true disciple selection every ten years. I wonder who will be chosen this ti?"

"True disciples don't have to take on mandatory missions. How enviable..."

Most disciples felt admiration and anticipation.

Only a few discordant voices could be heard. "That acting hall master has average alchemy skills. I'm afraid he'll waste a lot of materials. If he can't produce twenty-five genuine pills, things will get interesting..."

"Hmph! Who is spreading these rumors and tarnishing Pill Island's reputation?"

Xiang Dahu glared fiercely and spotted a ninth-layer Qi Refining expert.

The man first looked down on him with disdain. Then, hearing the low murmurs from surrounding fellow disciples about Xiang Dahu's identity, he faltered. Without throwing any harsh words, he covered his face and left.

"So... becoming an elder's servant actually raises my status?"

Xiang Dahu had never imagined that as a re mid-layer Qi Refining cultivator he would one day be able to intimidate a ninth-layer expert. He stood there in a daze.

"It's starting!"

At that mont several excited shouts drew everyone's attention.

All the disciples turned their eager gazes toward the summit of Cold Spring Peak.

At the peak, beside the third-rank cold spring.

Fang Qing spread his divine sense to oversee the entire scene.

"Refining pills collectively like this is truly ti and labor-saving for the lead alchemist. All the basic steps are handled by others. I only need to focus on refining the second-rank demon cores and the final fusion step. No wonder collective refining can elevate the pill grade by a small tier..."

"Hmm. The main ingredients' properties are all correct. Distribute them."

With a single hand seal he guided each main ingredient along the flowing spring water down to the second-rank alchemists at the mountainside. A wave of emotion rose in his heart.

He recalled those early days when he had just advanced to first-rank alchemist. Back then he had been nothing more than an ant at the mountain's base, rely assisting in refining Profound Frost Water.

That Profound Frost Water then had to be combined with two other spiritual waters at the mountainside to create second-rank spiritual water, which was used to process auxiliary materials like Azure Dragon Ginseng.

Now Fang Qing occupied a third-rank spirit pool and stood as the master of this entire pill-refining session!

The difference between then and now was truly like heaven and earth.

"The processing of the Hundred-Year Stone Milk needs to speed up..."

"Old Han, you oversee the Hot-Cold Dual Springs. Use the heat-refining thod to force out the dicinal properties of the Three Talents Flower..."

Fang Qing had refined the Foundation Establishnt Pill formula many tis before. Now he handled everything with ease, adjusting the pace of each second-rank spirit pool and filling in any gaps.

Han Qingfeng received the divine sense transmission and followed the steps precisely. Secretly he marveled. 'This level of fluency... it is almost identical to Senior Brother Tianding when he presides. Sigh, Senior Brother Tianding truly has sharp eyes. The acting hall master's alchemy skill far surpasses mine...'

At the summit Fang Qing ford hand seals with both hands. Streams of cold spring water transford into water dragons that swallowed all thirteen second-rank demon cores at once.

Many second-rank alchemists witnessed this and showed varied expressions.

If one lacked confidence they could always extend the refining ti and process one core at a ti.

Yet Fang Qing chose to handle them simultaneously. One could call it confidence, or perhaps arrogance!

If the pill refining failed catastrophically, impeachnt would surely follow!

"Nine Dragons Unite... Sink, Descend, Divide, Refine, Fuse..."

Fang Qing continuously changed his hand seals. Every step followed the standard perfectly, leaving no room for criticism.

Though he appeared fully focused, he still held spare attention to monitor the assembly line below.

'Hmm... these second-rank alchemists are putting in real effort. Of course they are. Everyone has eyes, and with divine sense, any slacking during pill refining would be obvious. The most critical part rests with here. Why ruin their own reputation?'

'And... the delivered dicinal materials have not been tampered with. After all, we are all sect mbers and must consider the sect's interests. Using such tricks would risk discovery.'

'This is a clever open sche, pushing the boat with the current, waiting for to fail on my own...'

It was a pity that Fang Qing's alchemy skill surpassed even Tianding's. If he truly set his mind to it, he could open these people's eyes wide.

When Elder Tianding refined Foundation Establishnt Pills, he could reliably produce two genuine pills and one inferior one, with the occasional batch yielding three genuine pills in total.

'Since my alchemy skill is only slightly inferior to his, producing a stable two genuine pills, with the occasional extra inferior one, should suffice.'

Fang Qing had already settled on his plan. He called out, "Begin the pill fusion! First add the Azure Dragon Ginseng!"

"Hmm?"

As ti passed bit by bit, not only Han Qingfeng but the other second-rank Foundation Establishnt alchemists could not help but marvel. "Worthy of the acting hall master. This pill fusion technique falls short of the old hall master by only a single step."

Under Fang Qing's direction, the second-rank demon cores were steadily refined and rged with the essences of Azure Dragon Ginseng, Hundred-Year Stone Milk, Three Talents Flower, and other dicinal liquids. The process began to stabilize, slowly forming the embryonic shapes of pills.

Unnoticed, several months slipped by.

At the bottom of the third-rank cold spring lay more than thirty orbs of blue radiance resting quietly.

"Rise!"

Fang Qing appeared sowhat weary as he ford hand seals with both hands.

Water dragons took shape from the pool's depths, each one holding a blue orb in its jaws as they flew out of the spirit spring.

Splash splash!

During the process, a few water dragons occasionally collapsed, causing the embryonic pills to explode and beco completely ruined.

In the end, twenty-nine water dragons remained stable, circling in the air. The Foundation Establishnt Pills in their mouths finally took solid form.

"Hmm?"

Han Qingfeng swept his divine sense over them and imdiately understood. "Twenty-nine pills ford in total: twenty-six genuine and three inferior. It seems the hall master used the 'sacrificial pill' thod, deliberately sacrificing a few inferior ones to increase the probability of producing genuine pills."

True disciples numbered only twenty-five, so twenty-six genuine Foundation Establishnt Pills already t the minimum requirent, with one extra genuine pill and three inferior ones to spare.

Of course, if Elder Tianding had presided, the success rate would have been even higher.

Fang Qing's yield gave the impression of being neither outstanding nor disastrous: just barely sufficient, yet falling short of expectations.

No doubt the people behind the scenes, upon witnessing this result, would feel deeply conflicted.

Fang Qing paid no attention to such matters. After personally handing over the Foundation Establishnt Pills to Shi Tiexin, who had co in person, he cited excessive mana expenditure as his reason and returned to the Mystic Jade Cave to recuperate.

During his recovery period, all Pill Hall affairs were left to Han Qingfeng.

Not long afterward, the sect's true disciple grand competition concluded smoothly. Occasional unfavorable remarks about Fang Qing circulated.

He remained completely indifferent to them and instead settled down to cultivate in earnest. Occasionally he spent ti enjoying himself with Qin Ruxue, and from ti to ti he observed Xiang Dahu.

This young man proved neither arrogant nor restless. He continued living in a simple thatched hut outside the cave residence. Most of his ti was spent cultivating and tending the spirit herbs. When he occasionally went out to trade for necessities, he remained taciturn and never once leaked any secrets of the Mystic Jade Cave.

Fang Qing held a favorable impression of him and planned, after so more ti passed, to bestow upon him a bottle of Long-Awaited Sweet Rain to repair the damage to his foundation. At the sa ti, he wanted to observe its effects on a Qi Refining cultivator.

Until one day, an unexpected visitor arrived.

"Senior Brother Tianding?"

Fang Qing looked at Tianding and noticed that this senior brother appeared in good spirits. His hair had grown longer, and he now sported a full beard, giving him the air of a rugged jianghu hero. His bearing had changed considerably.

His cultivation realm, however, had only just managed to hold steady at late Foundation Establishnt.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother, on fully recovering your cultivation."

Fang Qing instructed Xiang Dahu to serve tea and smiled.

"It is all thanks to the spiritual water Junior Brother gifted . Otherwise, my injuries would never have healed so quickly."

Tianding laughed. "This senior brother still had one second-rank superior healing spiritual pill in reserve. Combined with that spiritual water, I managed to avoid dropping realms."

"So that is how it was."

Fang Qing roughly understood the situation. After a few more exchanges, Elder Tianding's face showed so embarrassnt. "Junior Brother..."

"Junior Brother was only acting as hall master temporarily. Now that Senior Brother has recovered, it is only right that you return to your proper position."

As he spoke, Fang Qing took out the bronze token.

"Oh no, no, how could I possibly accept this?"

Tianding's old face flushed red. He had never expected his injuries to heal so swiftly.

Moreover, erging from seclusion only to imdiately reclaim authority from his junior brother felt rather like repaying kindness with ingratitude.

"Haha, Junior Brother is quite happy to be free and unburdened. As long as Senior Brother does not force onto the battlefield, that will be enough."

Fang Qing laughed heartily and pressed the bronze token into Tianding's hands.

He had already reaped sufficient benefits. It was ti to withdraw gracefully after achieving success.

Surely, in light of this matter, Tianding would not hold a grudge over certain actions Fang Qing had taken while acting as hall master.

Besides, to outsiders he and Qin Ruxue appeared no better than adulterous lovers conspiring together, occupying both Pill Island and Array Island to run a husband-and-wife shop.

The gossip within the sect had grown quite intense. Stepping back now would broaden his horizons and allow him to conceal himself even better.

After Elder Tianding left, Fang Qing turned to Xiang Dahu, who stood respectfully at the side, and smiled. "Dahu, I will no longer be the acting hall master after this. I will finally have ti to tend the herb garden myself. How about I write a letter of recomndation for you to go serve Senior Brother Tianding?"

"Elder, please do not drive this little one away."

Xiang Dahu imdiately knelt. "This little one owes everything he has today to Elder. I dare not seek service elsewhere."

"You... sigh."

Fang Qing waved his hand and did not imdiately bestow any treasures.

He decided to observe how Xiang Dahu behaved when he himself appeared "down and out." After all, a person's character in prosperity and adversity could differ completely.

A classic example was none other than Li Rulong!

After sending Xiang Dahu away, Fang Qing took stock of his storage bag once more.

During his ti serving as Pill Island's hall master, he had reaped considerable gains.

"Hmm. Putting everything else aside, just the third-rank Gold Core pill formula and the gathering of materials for the Barrier-Breaking Pill make it all worthwhile."

Among them, he had already collected more than fifty percent of the materials for second-rank superior Barrier-Breaking Pills.

He estimated that reaching the peak of mid Foundation Establishnt would still take at least ten to twenty years. There was no rush; he could gather them slowly.

As for the main and auxiliary spiritual dicines listed in the Gold Core pill formula?

Even with Tianding's connections and experience, they seed utterly hopeless. The entire Blue Sea Sect could not assemble resources for even one cauldron. Fang Qing could only set that aside for now.