Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 824: Chapter 514: Immortal Pill_2

Otherwise, even with congratulatory gifts to compensate, the resources required for this Pill Origin Gathering would drag down a power, simply unable to muster the manpower and resources to refine pills for supply. In the end, this Pill Origin Gathering would either fall short of its name or end without coming to fruition.

Looking at the Earth Immortal Realm, only the four great Daoist dominions of Immortals, Buddhas, Demons, and Monsters, as well as the current Wandao School, have such potential. Even the Dragon Palace of the Four Seas and the Fengdu Underworld, first-class gates of True Immortals, cannot support such a grand facade.

In other words, does the Wandao School already have the capital to stand on equal footing with the Heavenly Court’s Buddhist Sect and the Demon Nation Abyss?

A group of Immortal Gods silently contemplated this in their hearts.

At this moment, they heard a voice: “This Grass Returning Elixir originally comes in three grades—five, six, and seven tiers—but this humble Taoist has made a small breakthrough in alchemy this time. The final batch of Immortal Pills barely qualifies as eighth order top quality. I invite all Taoist friends to appraise!”

After Xu Yang finished speaking, he waved his horsetail whisk and dozens of Spirit Lights flew out, landing before esteemed beings like the Great Mercy Bodhisattva, Jade Pool Palace Master, Dragon King of the South Sea, and Mount Tai Yanluo, all Calamity Realm Immortals and Gods.

…

“Top quality Immortal Elixir!”

The eyes of the Immortals all focused, falling into silence.

Although this outcome was anticipated, it still evoked complex feelings among the Immortals.

A top quality Immortal Elixir, ranked at eighth order, to refine such an Immortal Pill indicates that the Honored Wandao’s mastery of the Alchemy Dao has reached the eighth order boundary, and the name of Alchemy Immortal Master has no hint of exaggeration.

Every art requires immense Mind Power and can only serve as an auxiliary skill, not the main focus of one’s cultivation.

Otherwise, one would inevitably major in the minor, neglect one’s cultivation, and waste years in vain.

Therefore, whether in alchemy or artefact refining, or even in crafting uniforms or arranging arrays, the number of Grandmasters and great craftsmen is exceedingly rare.

The same goes for Eighth Order Immortal Masters, where aside from those who have achieved eternal life, with endless lifespans and no Heavenly Tribulations hanging over their heads, like the Nine Tribulations True Immortals, almost no one can achieve such a feat.

But how many Nine Tribulations True Immortals are there in the Earth Immortal Realm?

The Six Imperial Majesties of Heavenly Court, two Venerables of Buddhism, Emperor Fengdu, the East Sea’s Longhai, and a few Demon Gods and Demon Lords from the Demon Nation Abyss—all told, no more than a dozen or so.

Among these dozen or so True Immortals, those proficient in the Alchemy Dao are only two or three people, which is the total number of eighth-order Alchemists in the Earth Immortal Realm at present.

The significance is evident.

This Venerable Lord of Wandao, in merely three thousand years, raised his Alchemy Dao mastery from seventh to eighth order.

With such talent and flair, how could the Immortals not fall silent?

In the midst of silence, the Jade Pool Palace Master reached out, opened the jade case in front of her, and as Spirit Light shone brilliantly and clouds and mists swirled around, an Immortal Pill appeared. With Dao patterns on the outside and creation springs of life on the inside, strands of pill fragrance diffused out. Merely by smelling it, it felt as if all the meridians became unblocked, and even an Immortal’s pure body could be slightly cleansed.

“This pill…”

As the Jade Pool Palace Master gazed at the jade case, she then turned her gaze, speaking with admiration, “The Venerable Emperor’s Alchemy Dao mastery truly snatches the essence of heaven and earth. Apart from the East Pole Emperor, Lady Yao has not seen a third person in the Earth Immortal Realm!”

The Great Mercy Bodhisattva also spoke up, “Using the seven-tiered Longevity Fruit as the main ingredient, and supplementing it with myriad grasses and flowers, the essence of the sun and moon, and the essence of heaven and earth, the Emperor, Ministers, Assistants and Envoys, crafted through the alchemy cauldron, has brought forth such a top quality Immortal Pill. Fellow Taoist, your alchemy prowess is now among the pinnacle in the Earth Immortal Realm.”

In these words, all were full of praise.

Xu Yang smiled and shook his head, saying, “You both flatter me too much. I have only just entered this realm and still have many deficiencies; how can I deserve the word ‘pinnacle’?”

“…”

“…”

“…”

These words made the Immortals fall silent once again.

Although being modest is not a bad thing, excessive modesty sometimes offends people’s faces.

The Way of the Elixir Cauldron, while it emphasizes the use of Emperor, Ministers, Assistants, and Envoys in its mysterious creations, it is not something everyone can achieve.

Ordinary Alchemists, when refining low-order pills, can rely on their understanding of the Elixir Skills to extract the essence of the ingredients, with the Emperor, Ministers, Assistants, and Envoys creating wondrous effects, and use lesser spiritual objects and low-order materials to refine higher-tiered pills.

This is the norm, using fifth-tier ingredients to refine sixth-tier alchemy, sixth-tier ingredients to refine seventh-tier pills; it is feasible and reasonable.

But sometimes, reality is unreasonable; using such spiritual objects and low-tier materials to refine higher-tier pills carries an extremely high failure rate. When it’s low-tier, the loss can be borne, but at high tiers, the cost of one failure can be devastating.

Therefore, though the Earth Immortal Realm did have a few True Immortals whose mastery of the Alchemy Dao reached the eighth order, their claim to this level was somewhat inflated; they relied on eighth-order Spirit Material, even ninth-order, ensuring the success rate of their alchemy with the quality of their materials, and ultimately produced eighth-order Immortal Pills.

Currently, the situation with the Grass Return Elixir, which used seventh-order Spiritual Objects as the main ingredient and was mixed with a variety of fifth and sixth-order adjuncts to eventually refine a top quality eighth-order Immortal Elixir, was rarely seen. Among the three or four eighth-order Alchemists of the Earth Immortal Realm, perhaps only one or two could achieve this, such as the East Pole Emperor mentioned by the Jade Pool Palace Master.

The same eighth-order Alchemists, all refining eighth-order Immortal Pills—some relied on the quality of materials, others prided on their Elixir Skills. Needless to say, who was superior and who was inferior.

Thus, the praise of the Jade Pool Palace Master and the Great Mercy Bodhisattva had not a trace of exaggeration but was a genuine compliment.

But this Honored Wandao…

Fortunately, those two “inferiors” were not present, otherwise seeing his “modesty”, they might have succumbed to rage.

Who boasts like you do?

Now occupying the Wuzhuang Temple with just a few seventh-order Spiritual Roots, you can refine eighth-order Immortal Pills. If we gave you access to the Heaven Reaching Secret Realm and obtained a batch of eighth and ninth-order materials, wouldn’t you be able to refine ninth-order Immortal Pills?

Why not rise with the wind and soar to ninety thousand li?

A group of Calamity Realm Immortals and Gods internally sneered, but their faces remained splendidly amiable.

“My fellow Taoist is too modest!”

“With such Elixir Skills, if this is not considered top-notch within the Earth Immortal Realm, then what is?”

“My fellow Taoist’s brilliance is unparalleled, a scholar for the ages, we cannot hope to compare!”

Although the addressing of the cultivators was just formal politeness, it also stemmed from sincerity.

“Ha!”

Xu Yang laughed and said no more, simply pinching the Spirit Pill between his fingers, “My fellow Taoists, please!”

Having said that, he ingested the Grass Returning Elixir.

“Please!”

Seeing this, the Immortals no longer doubted and each took their pills, sensing the mysteries within.

Once the pill entered their stomach, a transformative life force surged. Even for those with Immortal Spirit Bodies, there was a notion of floating, and for a moment, they felt as if they had fallen into a dream within the Sea of Clouds.

“This pill…”

The Great Mercy Bodhisattva slightly closed her eyes. With her Eight Calamities Cultivation, she quickly assimilated the medicinal power and suddenly exclaimed in praise, “It is indeed a Creation Immortal Pill, a method of life, a gate to mystery, even better than my Pure Vase Jade Dew without falling short in any aspect!”

Meanwhile, the Jade Pool Palace Master also added, “The Way of the Alchemy Cauldron is the art of harmonizing with Creation, seizing post-heavenly force to challenge the innate. With the Emperor reaching such a realm, I fear that in the future, no one in the Earth Immortal Realm will be able to surpass him.”

“Ha!”

Their words made Xu Yang smile as if gratified, then turning to the others below him, “This Grass Return Elixir is balanced and harmonious. All my fellow Taoists, feel free to take it, taste this Pill Origin, and then contemplate the Taoist teachings.”

The crowd only then awakened from their stupor, looking at the respected Immortals above, then at the Spirit Pill before them, momentarily feeling indescribable emotions.

Some things, once compared, reveal even greater disparities.

But there was nothing to be done; one wears the clothes that suit them, and one rides the carriage that matches their horse.

Collecting their emotions, the cultivators also ingested the pills. The delicate essence traveled to their stomachs, instantly unraveling vitality and transformation throughout their bodies, permeating every limb and bone.

Xu Yang smiled, his horsetail whisk stirring, activating the “Evergreen Limitless Great Array” that enshrouded all of Mount Longevity above and below, including within and outside the Wuzhuang Temple, harnessing the Spirit Energy of myriad plants, aiding everyone in digesting the Spirit Pill and absorbing more of its essence.

After millennia of hard work and obtaining the Nine Heavens Mysterious Scripture and the Tusita Divine Edict, he finally advanced his own alchemy cultivation into the eighth realm. Utilizing the Spirit Materials of Mount Longevity’s Wuzhuang Temple, he refined this supreme eighth-order Immortal Elixir.

In the eyes of others, his alchemical skills were deemed top-tier in the Immortal Realm, but insiders knew their matters; his mastery of the Alchemy Dao was not much more superior than a few other eighth-order Alchemists. The reason he could use seventh-order Spirit Materials to refine an eighth-order Immortal Pill was partly due to skill characteristics and a serendipitous coincidence—a touch of “luck.”

If he were to refine it again, he couldn’t guarantee success.

Therefore, his previous words weren’t meant to be “bragging;” he had indeed only recently entered the eighth order, with many areas that required polishing before reaching perfection and truly refining an eighth-order Immortal Pill from seventh-order Spiritual Materials.