Chapter 272: The Five-Colored Spirit Jujube

After the Pill Hall competition ended that day, Master Mei instructed everyone to leave and asked the top five alchemists to meet her again the next day.

On the following day, the top five alchemists from the competition once again gathered at the Pill Hall.

The Pill Hall's fifth floor was the same teahouse Wang Hong had visited before. However, this time, he noticed a young man he didn't recognize sitting there.

This young man had a tall and slender figure, phoenix-like eyes, and a calm and gentle demeanor that exuded extraordinary grace.

When Wang Hong entered, the young man gave him a friendly smile and nodded in acknowledgment.

Once everyone had assembled, Master Mei distributed prizes to the top five winners. Each received a sealed wooden box with a talisman affixed to it. She instructed them not to open the boxes until they returned home, and each person's prize was unique.

Wang Hong couldn't help but wonder what treasures were inside those boxes. They seemed shrouded in mystery.

"Starting from today, for the next month, I will personally guide the six of you in the art of alchemy. After a month, you will be eligible to participate in the refinement of Foundation Establishment Pills," Master Mei announced.

Although Foundation Establishment Pills were only second-tier pills, they held immense importance, ranking first among all second-tier pills. The refinement of these pills was crucial for a sect's prosperity and development. Any sect valued the refinement of Foundation Establishment Pills greatly.

Participating in the refinement of Foundation Establishment Pills meant that they had entered the core tier of the sect and were no longer insignificant figures within the sect. They would also have the opportunity to participate in the refinement of other important pills in the future.

Except for the calm and composed young man who had recently joined them, the rest of the five were visibly excited.

As they would be studying alchemy together for the next month, Master Mei asked them to introduce themselves.

It was then that Wang Hong learned the names of the others: the serene young man was named Qi Shaoqing, the elderly man with white facial hair was named Xu Zhiguang, and the middle-aged man who ranked second in the competition was named Lv Zhen.

"Today, I will demonstrate the refinement of a second-tier pill for you all. Observe carefully," Master Mei said.

She led the six of them to an adjacent alchemy room and began the demonstration. Master Mei explained each step in detail, from start to finish, until the pill was successfully formed.

The pill Master Mei personally refined this time was a full batch of ten pills, including one top-grade pill and three middle-grade pills. This left the five alchemists in awe. In the Cultivation World, forming a full batch of pills, let alone obtaining a top-grade pill, was extremely rare. It usually required a stroke of great luck.

However, Master Mei's nonchalant expression suggested that she was accustomed to such results.

"Remember today's demonstration well. There are countless ways to make mistakes in alchemy, and I can only teach you the method that comes closest to perfection," Master Mei emphasized.

Perfection was an elusive concept, but the alchemy technique that came closest to it would be their guiding principle in the lessons to come.

After her demonstration, Master Mei dismissed them, instructing them to return home and practice and contemplate on what they had learned.

Once Wang Hong returned to his cave mansion, he immediately opened the wooden box he had received as a reward from Master Mei.

Inside, he found only two items: a jade scroll and a peculiar-looking fruit.

Wang Hong's attention was immediately drawn to the fruit. His pupils contracted as he carefully held it in his hand and examined it.

This fruit was about the size of an egg and exhibited five different colors on its surface. It emitted an exceptionally dense spiritual energy.

Wang Hong had heard about the sect's three-tier Five-Colored Spirit Jujube Tree. Originally, it was just a regular first-tier Spirit Jujube Tree, but after thousands of years in the highly spiritual environment atop the Heavenly Authority Peak, it had undergone a miraculous transformation.Over the course of tens of thousands of years, the Spirit Jujube Tree had continuously absorbed spiritual energy and had undergone several mutations, eventually reaching the third-tier as it was today.

The current Five-Colored Spirit Jujube had a remarkable property – it could assist Foundation Building cultivators in their core formation process, reportedly increasing the success rate by half when consumed.

In an era with a scarcity of spiritual objects like today, the Five-Colored Spirit Jujube was considered highly valuable. Occasionally, the sect would reward its disciples with these fruits.

Despite the sect's various attempts, they couldn't cultivate a second Spirit Jujube Tree by any means.

Wang Hong carefully extracted the core of the fruit. The sect had previously attempted to use the cores for propagation, but they had tried countless times without success. Just because the sect couldn't do it didn't mean Wang Hong couldn't.

He entered his personal space and planted the core beside the Dragon Scale Fruit tree. The Dragon Scale Fruit tree he had planted earlier was now bearing fruit.

Wang Hong possessed several third-tier spiritual objects now, including a batch of Ink Jade Spirit Lotus, a dozen Lotus Seeds he had harvested, and a few Jade Ginseng Fruits he had preserved.

After examining the spirit fruit, he turned his attention to the Jade Scroll. Inside, he found Master Mei's experiences and insights into advancing to the third-tier as an alchemist.

Though the sect had a rich heritage, he hadn't come across a Jade Scroll regarding third-tier alchemy in the Scripture Tower. There were still two upper levels in the Scripture Tower, accessible only to Golden Core Elders. Perhaps, there he might find what he was looking for.

In any case, the Jade Scroll was a rare treasure for him now.

Starting from the next day, Master Mei required the six of them to perform live alchemy. She pointed out their mistakes on the spot and corrected them. Occasionally, she also shared some theoretical knowledge about alchemy, offering her guidance at the level of a third-tier alchemist, which greatly benefited Wang Hong.

During the time Wang Hong was learning alchemy, the group of disciples who had participated in the secret realm trial and gathered spiritual herbs had returned.

It was said that Qingxu Sect had suffered some losses during this expedition, and they hadn't collected many Foundation Establishment Pill Medicinal Herbs. This would affect the number of new Foundation Building cultivators in the next decade, and if this continued, the sect would gradually decline.

Soon, Wang Hong was also assigned to participate in the refinement of Foundation Establishment Pills.

The refinement of Foundation Establishment Pills in the sect was centralized in one location, with over a dozen alchemists and Golden Core cultivators guarding it. Entry and exit required passing through multiple formations, and carrying a Storage Bag was not allowed.

Here, alchemy couldn't involve using a single furnace for multiple batches of materials, as it would be considered a wasteful practice, which could lead to severe consequences.

Wang Hong, therefore, diligently refined each batch of materials, focusing on improving the pill's success rate and quality. Under Master Mei's guidance for over a month, his pill success rate had already reached seventy percent.

However, among the alchemists refining Foundation Establishment Pills here, his success rate was not particularly high. After all, these alchemists represented the highest level of the entire East Zhou Cultivation Realm.

Xu Zhiguang's alchemy was always meticulous, occasionally producing top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills. But he was not the only one among the alchemists who could achieve this feat.

Inspired by these top-grade pills, Wang Hong also became more focused, paying meticulous attention to every detail. As a result, his pill success rate gradually increased.

Three months later, the refinement of all the Foundation Establishment Pill Medicinal Herbs was complete. Wang Hong's pill success rate had reached eighty percent, and in each batch, there would invariably be one or two middle-grade pills, occasionally even a top-grade pill.

[Read at /shanefreak, and heartfelt thankyou for your support!]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay