Chapter 152 - 145: Rising Fame, Profound Spirit Essence Blood
Chapter 152: Chapter 145: Rising Fame, Profound Spirit Essence Blood
Meanwhile, under Tantai Feiyue’s leadership, the Xu Family had finally established its initial pipeline of Talisman Dao talent. Two years prior, this effort had even produced four Lower Grade Talisman Masters all at once.
The Xu Family acknowledged this success and immediately decided to designate both the Alchemy Dao and the Talisman Dao as the family’s Core Techniques, to be developed in tandem.
As a result, the Xu Family began providing Tantai Feiyue with extremely generous resources, including a continuous supply of Upper Grade Masterpiece Pills, all to bind her to the Xu Family’s cause indefinitely.
The reasoning of the Xu Family’s upper echelons was simple: they’d just have to let poor old Eldest Brother Yan take the hit.
This approach was clearly a reaction to the last incident with Lin Changheng, which had left them spooked.
They still hadn’t recovered.
With such substantial resource support, it was only a matter of time before Tantai Feiyue advanced to the Ninth Layer of Qi Cultivation.
However, whether she could reach Foundation Establishment was not a question that could be answered by these resources alone.
Strategic resources like Foundation Establishment Pills and Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects would never find their way to her.
Simply because her surname wasn’t Xu.
The logic was simple. No matter how capable a minister, they remained a minister. One could not be treated as a member of the Royal Family, or even allowed to touch the throne, simply for being brilliant and competent.
In truth, Tantai Feiyue also wanted to let Lin Changheng know that she had now truly secured her footing within the Xu Family. Her status was exceptional, so he no longer needed to worry about her.
Over the next two years, they maintained their correspondence, exchanging one letter per year.
It wasn’t that they were too busy to write more; rather, the Immortal Post was so slow that the letters spent most of the year in transit.
...
The second letter to arrive was from Bilan Peak of the Purple Extreme Sect.
This peak was Mo Zhaoli’s Dao Field.
It was much closer to Floating Immortal City than the Xu Family’s estate on the Black Water River.
In her letter, aside from the usual pleasantries and a brief update on her life, Mo Zhaoli mentioned something else.
The sect senior who had previously provided her with the Profound Spirit Essence Blood of the Red-eyed Fire Demon was planning to sell another batch.
Thirty portions.
She had acquired all of them.
If her next sect mission took her in the right direction, she would make a trip to Floating Immortal City to deliver the Essence Blood.
This was excellent news.
Lin Changheng’s own channels for acquiring Profound Spirit Essence Blood in the Immortal City were only just beginning to take shape, so he still had to rely primarily on Mo Zhaoli’s connections.
Lin Changheng naturally wrote back to thank her, asking her to pay for the materials with Spirit Stones up front. He added that if she came across either Profound Spirit Essence Blood or Muddy Evil Essence Blood, she should collect them for him.
He explained that he had established himself in the Immortal City and was often commissioned for his Alchemy services, so he had plenty of Spirit Stones to spare.
Furthermore, Ink Master had used Mo Zhaoli’s letter to inform Lin Changheng of something: he had recently reconnected with an old friend.
This friend, surnamed Cheng, was an Upper Grade Alchemist—a step ahead of even Ink Master on the Alchemy Dao.
Having been in the Immortal City for over twenty years, he was quite famous, well-connected, and even knew several Tier Two Alchemists. If Lin Changheng ever needed help, he could seek out this man and introduce himself as Ink Master’s disciple.
A glint appeared in Lin Changheng’s eyes. He did not refuse this kind offer.
He had already paid a visit with a gift before the year was out.
He was received with great enthusiasm.
Since then, he had made a point of visiting every two or three months to strengthen their connection.
...
By now, his Alchemy Dao had reached the very Limit of a Tier One Alchemist. He could produce three Masterpiece Pills in a single batch with casual ease. Through simplifying, improving, and adjusting certain steps, he had also significantly reduced the overall time required.
The Hidden Refining process in particular, which used to take two full days of meticulous Fire Control, was now a showcase of his skill. With the practiced ease of a master, Lin Changheng could blast the furnace with a fierce flame without sacrificing precision, cutting the time by more than half.
The five days it once took to refine an Upper Grade Pill had been cut down to just two. He could even begin the initial steps for a second batch during that time, drastically increasing his efficiency.
His Quiet Chamber had since been converted into a proper Alchemy Room. He had purchased a second-hand Pill Furnace and was now using Tier One Upper Grade Spirit Wood for fuel, rather than relying on Earth Fire or his own internal Profound Flame.
It was sufficient for his needs.
However, producing more than three Masterpiece Pills per batch would require more advanced alchemical principles, more exquisite control over his Flame, more perfect utilization of the Medicinal Materials, and a deeper understanding of the Alchemy Dao.
It was a difference in level; such feats were only possible for those at Tier Two and Above.
Therefore, he urgently needed a Tier Two Alchemy Inheritance to continue his progress.
If he failed to obtain one and couldn’t advance to become a Tier Two Alchemist, then even if he managed to gather all the Materials for a Foundation Establishment Pill, he would have to ask another Tier Two Alchemist to refine it for him.
Not only would that cost him favors and a great deal of wealth, but the very success of the pill’s creation would be entirely in someone else’s hands.
Coincidentally, the Immortal City’s grand auction, held once every five years, was scheduled for next month.
Lin Changheng planned to attend and try his luck.
The event was quite large in scale; a "small" auction was held every five years, and a "large" one every ten.
The small auctions had a chance of featuring treasures like Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects, while the large ones were guaranteed to have them, and might even feature a Foundation Establishment Pill.
It had become a major event for the entire Immortal City region, as well as for neighboring powers like the Purple Extreme Sect to the north, the Cyan Mist Temple to the south, and the Bixiao Sect to the east.
The upcoming event was one of the small auctions.
To prepare, Lin Changheng needed to sort through the loot and miscellaneous items he had accumulated and convert them all into Spirit Stones.
...
Fugui’s letter was slower to arrive, as he was on the front lines where communications were unreliable. In it, he shared two pieces of great news.
First, by following his father-in-law into battle against the Qiu Family over the years, he had accumulated a great deal of merit. As predicted, the Qiu Family was now in a state of visible decline.
His status had risen once again, and he had also acquired a significant amount of resources, allowing him to finally stumble his way to the Ninth Layer of Qi Cultivation.
Although Fugui’s words were brimming with enthusiasm, Lin Changheng could sense a faint undercurrent of disappointment. He must have been feeling that his hopes for Foundation Establishment were slim.