Cultivation Starting from Full Talent

Chapter 71: Chapter 69: The Second-order Alchemist Nourished by Spiritual Medicine

A year later, Ning Daoran was forty years old.

“Emerging from seclusion!”

The one who walked out of the secret chamber still looked like a young man, and by now his mana had reached its peak within the Qi Refinement Realm—totally saturated, he could advance no further!

“It’s about time…”

Ning Daoran was a bit excited. At noon, he personally cooked a few dishes and had a good meal with Big Stupid Deer and Chen Weimo, then decided to start alchemy in the afternoon. Moreover, he was going to refine the legendary Foundation Establishment Pill!

In the spiritual medicine garden on the first underground layer, batches of Purple Blood Ginseng, Heart-focusing Grass, and Earth Ganoderma had all matured, possessing a hundred years of medicinal properties, meeting the standard for being ingredients in the Foundation Establishment Pill.

In addition, all the auxiliary medicines had also matured. The time was ripe to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill!

…

Twenty zhang deep underground, in the alchemy room.

Ning Daoran took out the specialized bronze alchemy furnace he had exchanged for with 500 contribution points, exhaled a breath of Samadhi True Fire, adjusted the heat, and began to put in the spiritual medicines one by one, commencing the refining process.

The recipe for the Foundation Establishment Pill had never been a secret; it was widely circulated in the Cultivation World, and this recipe had been revised and improved by generations of Pill Masters, resulting in various versions.

Among them, the most famous was the “Zhang’s Foundation Establishment Pill” that Ning Daoran now held, which he had purchased from Qingfu Square for five spirit stones. It was said that the creator of this recipe was a legendary fifth-rank Alchemist who awed an entire era with his prowess!

“Sizzle~~”

Samadhi True Fire swirled around, sounds came from within the pill furnace as various spiritual medicines coalesced into medicinal liquid, undergoing all sorts of chemical reactions in the pill furnace, about to condense into elixir pills.

Ning Daoran’s clear eyes shone brightly, his achievements in the Array Path had somewhat inflated his ego, making him believe that he should be able to rapidly advance and make great strides in the Alchemy Dao.

“Are the pills still not forming for me?”

A hint of disdain flashed across his lips, “I’d advise against defiance!”

“Bang—”

The pill furnace opened, the medicinal liquid had completely burned to ash, and no pills had formed.

“As expected.”

After cleaning the pill furnace, Ning Daoran, with a resolute expression, began alchemy again, his eyes still bright, “If the heavens have spirit, do not play tricks, swiftly form the pills for me, do not be defiant!”

“Bang—”

Another furnace was ruined.

This cycle repeated, and after ruining more than thirty furnaces of elixir pills,

Sweat poured down Ning Daoran’s forehead.

The path of alchemy was indeed elusive.

His mindset underwent a profound change, feeling that even with an ample supply of spiritual medicines, he couldn’t continue to squander them this way.

In the afternoon, Ning Daoran underwent purification and prepared for another session of pill refining.

He piously knelt three times and kowtowed nine times before the alchemy furnace with Big Stupid Deer—

“Disciple Ning Daoran today beseeches the heavens:

Grateful to the heavens for bestowing a Spirit Root, allowing me this opportunity in the art of alchemy.

To honor the Alchemy Dao’s legacy, to achieve the Foundation Establishment.

Should this furnace again fail, it shall be due to my lack of sufficiency in the Alchemy Dao, unrelated to the heavens, with not half a word of complaint!

The Alchemy Dao is illustrious, the Immortal Path splendid.

Respectfully acknowledging the mystery of the heavens’ Alchemy Dao, bestow upon me the opportunity for Foundation Establishment!”

…

“Bang!”

Another furnace entirely spoiled.

Ning Daoran began to sweat profusely, quickly picking up a notebook to meticulously record the reasons for the failure, then pushing on with renewed effort.

Bloodshot filled his eyes, and he entered into a state of frenzy.

For a mere first-tier top-quality alchemist to strong-arm refining a second-order Great Pill for Foundation Establishment was quite outrageous within the whole Cultivation World.

Ning Daoran refused to relent, continuing to refine pill after pill.

Big Stupid Deer trembled and shivered at his side. His master seemed terribly fearsome now, his eyes glowing with all sorts of danger.

It hid in a corner, not making a sound, just hoping his master would successfully form a pill soon!

In the secret chamber, the stockpile of Foundation Establishment pill materials was diminishing.

Moreover, these spiritual medicines were not renewable, because although the three main herbs planted on Qiongbi Peak had matured, they had not produced seeds.

There were many reasons for not bearing seeds, mostly likely due to an incorrect environment – these main herbs only bore seeds in the Cangnan Secret Realm; otherwise, they would have probably overrun the Cultivation World by now.

Late at night, the alchemy room was still bustling with activity.

“Pop!”@@novelbin@@

A slight sound rang out, the alchemy furnace opened on its own and out of a wisp of five-colored spiritual mist popped a pill.

One of them was covered with pitch-black cracks—a waste pill, heavily toxic and not fit for consumption.

The other pill, surprisingly, was a deep blue color and it possessed a faint pill pattern.

A standard Foundation Establishment Pill!

“Is it a success?!”

Ning Daoran cradled the Foundation Establishment Pill, ecstatic in his heart.

Not in a rush, after refining a few more furnaces, once the success rate increased, he would formally advance to a second-order alchemist!

Calm and composed, he thoroughly recorded the changes in the flame control, herb ratios, etc., from this successful refining, filling more than three pages before starting another furnace for refining.

The next furnace failed.

But the one after that was successful, even producing a top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill.

With this, Ning Daoran’s understanding of the Foundation Establishment Pill deepened. By the time he nearly ran out of spiritual medicines, he was able to ensure that out of every three furnaces of pills, two would surely be successful!

He had become a second-order lower-grade alchemist!

“`

…

Early morning.

“Exiting seclusion!”

Ning Daoran walked out of the alchemy room, feeling divine and refreshed, and stepped into the sunlight. Bathed in the morning light, he held his head high with chest out; it was the moment when he, Ning Daoran, could finally raise his eyebrows in triumph.

Second Order Array Master, Second-order Alchemist!

With just these two titles alone, he was already guaranteed a secure position in the Cultivation World, one any sect or Immortal City would scramble to recruit.

However…

Becoming a Second Order Array Master indeed depended on talent and aptitude.

As for being a Second-order Alchemist, it truly depended on the abundance of spiritual medicine. Over the past half a month, he produced batch after batch of waste elixir pills; if other alchemists knew how he refined Foundation Establishment Pills, they would probably die of heartache.

In the Loose Cultivation World, many loose cultivators would pool materials together for a Foundation Establishment Pill and then invite a well-known Second-order Alchemist to start the furnace, usually with the success rate above eighty percent.

Someone like Ning Daoran, who used Foundation Establishment materials as expendables to force his way to becoming a Second-order Alchemist, was absolutely unparalleled.

At this moment, his jade bottle contained two top-quality Foundation Establishment Pills with golden pill patterns, three top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills, eight standard Foundation Establishment Pills, and five inferior Foundation Establishment Pills!

With such resources at hand, establishing his foundation was basically a sure thing!

…

Just then, bad news came from the Inner Sect.

Senior Brother Lin Sheng had failed his Foundation Establishment, and his Daoist heart was greatly damaged!

During the Cangnan Secret Realm expedition, Lin Sheng had also ranked in the top ten in the sect with the spiritual medicines he had obtained, earning one Foundation Establishment Pill.

Not long ago, Lin Sheng had requested a Cave Mansion from the sect, deciding to attempt Foundation Establishment.

But after several days, he had already failed, falling a bit short in mental fortitude.

“Old Lu, shall we go see Senior Brother Lin?”

“Ao!”

Together, man and deer headed towards the middle of True Yang Peak in the Inner Sect.

The little house with the tile roof stood solitary, appearing even lonelier now. At the age of fifty, Lin Sheng’s failure in Foundation Establishment likely meant that he had no more opportunities for advancement.

For one, he cultivated the True Yang Furnace Technique; at this age, his Blood Qi had begun to wane, which was not conducive to Foundation Establishment.

Secondly, the reward from the Cangnan Secret Realm expedition was Lin Sheng’s biggest chance. Going forward, it would be very difficult for him to obtain another Foundation Establishment Pill. How difficult would it be for a Qi Refinement Realm cultivator to assemble enough spirit stones to purchase a Foundation Establishment Pill?

“Senior Brother, Old Lu and I have come to see you.”

“Junior Brother…”

Lin Sheng emerged, his face now carrying a few more marks of hardship and frost, with a hint of guilt: “Junior Brother, I’ve embarrassed you. I failed in Foundation Establishment, and I fear for this life…”

“What nonsense is Senior Brother talking about?”

Ning Daoran said, “I just want to ask one thing. Did Senior Brother really fail Foundation Establishment because of a mental barrier?”

“A little…”

Lin Sheng slowly sat down, appearing very tired: “Right at the moment of Foundation Establishment, I suddenly felt hesitant and didn’t have a strong enough resolve to go through with it. I don’t know why that happened.”

It was a crisis of confidence.

“I know Lin Sheng to be courageous and diligent; he would never have a problem with insufficient resolve.”

Ning Daoran’s eyebrow lifted lightly as he said, “Senior Brother, since we’ve embarked on the Immortal Path, we should be clear in our hearts that although heaven and earth are vast, the Immortal Path is the greatest. Bound by a woman, would you still be the Lin Sheng I know?”

“Junior Brother…”

Lin Sheng gave a wry smile: “Do you also think I’m useless?”

“I never consider Senior Brother useless.”

Ning Daoran raised his eyebrows and said, “The Senior Brother Lin Sheng I knew, who didn’t hesitate to take on the most dangerous Inner Sect tasks, who spent a great deal of contribution points to exchange for the Evergreen Technique for me, is like a hero in my eyes, not the frustrated figure you are now!

Senior Brother, why not think about what’s holding you back? I think… it’s time you found the part of yourself before you knew Liu Ruyan.”

“Junior Brother Ning…”

“Forget it.”

Ning Daoran’s gaze was cold: “Just one Foundation Establishment failure is enough to bring down the Senior Brother Lin Sheng I knew?”

With that, Ning Daoran laid a jade bottle gently on the table and said, “Old Lu and I will wait for Senior Brother Lin’s second Foundation Establishment attempt. After all, it’s just starting over. I refuse to believe that the same Lin Sheng who fought his way into the top ten of the Inner Sect with a low-grade spirit root can be stopped by a mere Foundation Establishment!”

“Junior Brother…”

By the time Lin Sheng looked up again, Ning Daoran and Big Stupid Deer had already walked far away.

He slowly stood up, picked up the jade bottle, and poured out a Foundation Establishment Pill with five golden patterns.

Top-quality Foundation Establishment Pill!

Lin Sheng trembled, and his eyes instantly reddened.

…

Several days later.

Ning Daoran began to prepare for his Foundation Establishment. He first went to Qingfu Square to purchase a mid-grade spirit stone. Although it seemed superfluous, having a mid-grade spirit stone on-hand to draw spiritual energy from could serve as a backup in case of insufficient spiritual energy during Foundation Establishment.

Afterward, Ning Daoran headed to the Inner Sect to apply for the Cave Mansion he needed for Foundation Establishment.

“What?”

An Inner Sect Deacon exclaimed, “Master Ning intends to establish his foundation? Have you already reached the peak of Qi Refinement? This Foundation Establishment matter is no trivial thing; it cannot be rushed. Doing so would only create endless problems.”

“Uncle-Master, rest assured, I have indeed attained perfect Qi Refining.”

He stopped concealing it, laying all cards on the table.

Releasing his Concealing Breath Technique, the aura of perfect Qi Refining surged out, even stronger than the usual perfect Qi Refining state!

“So it’s true…”

An Outer Elder said, “Master Ning, which grade of Cave Mansion would you like to apply for Foundation Establishment? Currently… our sect has third-tier mid-grade, third-tier low-grade, and second-tier high-grade Cave Mansions with various levels of spiritual energy available for Foundation Establishment. Outer Disciples may apply for second-tier high-grade…”

“Wait a moment.”

A familiar voice suddenly interrupted, and Jiang Yu, dressed in a flowing cloud dress, appeared in the Inner Sect Hall. She calmly said, “Grant a third-tier mid-grade Cave Mansion to Junior Brother Ning for his Foundation Establishment.”

“`