Time continued to flow, and a year passed since Han Cai joined the Azure Dragon Sect. His constant practice of alchemy led to continuous growth. He experimented with new types of pills, but his progress came to a halt when he decided to attempt high-grade longevity pills. This new challenge proved to be a significant hurdle.
The Longevity Pill was a high-level medicinal pill that was often sought after by cultivators, particularly those nearing the end of their lifespan. The pill could even help mortals increase their lifespan. But this pill was the most complex one Han Cai had come across, besides the Awakening Pill.
When consumed, the Longevity Pill increases the cultivator's lifespan by nourishing their life essence and slowing the process of aging. It does so by reinforcing the cultivator's life force, repairing and enhancing their meridians and internal organs, and improving their body's ability to absorb and utilize spiritual energy. The effect of Longevity Pills was more potent for mortals. The effect of the Longevity Pill could vary based on the cultivator's body constitution, cultivation level, and the quality of the pill.
This pill was one of the most sought-out pills for obvious reasons, but the process of creating the pill was more than complex. The ingredients of the pills were equally expensive; it required a hundred-year-old purple ginseng, hundreds of years old spirit mushrooms, elite beast bone marrow, and many other expensive materials.
Han Cai could afford it because business had started to do well. His pills were very potent because of the Yin and Yang harmony, where he used flame Qi and freezing Qi both. The Yan Clan was good at promoting their products, and now they had started to become a brand. Every pill of his brought ten times the income of what he spent on materials. The Yan Clan would make sure to send half of the profits on a monthly basis; they would also acquire the best materials,recipes and send them to Han Cai.
The Longevity Pill recipe was something they got through one of the business dealings, where one of the important members of the Gao Clan needed a high-grade Poison Purging Pill. This clan used to be one of the biggest clans in the past, as their ancestor was an alchemy master, but after the ancestor passed away, the clan was not able to birth high-grade alchemists again. Slowly, the alchemists in the clan kept reducing. At one point, the clan had no more alchemists, and the clan was not doing well financially.
So, the Yan Clan made a deal with the Gao Clan. The Yan Clan offered them not just the Poison Purging Pill but many pills that could help in cultivation and even help them financially. In return, the Yan Clan would get the recipe of the Gao Clan. When Han Cai received the recipes, he was not impressed until he saw the Longevity Pill recipe. This recipe was a high-grade pill recipe that the master alchemist of the Gao Clan must have acquired by a lucky chance.
Han Cai was very pleased. He decided to send Blacky to get the ingredients; he also sent Elder Du and asked the Yan Clan to get the ingredients if they found any. These were very special materials, not easy to come by. One high-grade Longevity Pill could add a hundred years to the life of a cultivator. If Han Cai succeeded in creating these pills, each pill would be sold for more than hundreds thousand medium-grade spirit stones.
But this was one of the hardest pills to make. Han Cai had failed and wasted almost ten batches of these materials; he did not have the heart to waste any more resources.
Today he was sitting in the Alchemy Hall, not making pills, with Blacky sitting on his bald
head. He had burnt the roots of his hair trying to cultivate flames; he did not know when his hair would grow back. Han Cai had decided if it didn't come back even after reaching the Core Formation stage, he would maybe create some pill for hair growth. For now, Blacky was his toupee.
Han Cai was in deep contemplation about how he should succeed in making this pill. He pondered why, even though he had talent in cultivation in this life and legendary grandmaster skills lying dormant within him, he hadn't had an epiphany or enlightenment like many others had. He was grinding and failing with such expensive materials, and even his past life knowledge was not there to assist him. He rarely had any Eureka moments in any of his past lives, and this pill was frustrating him.
Suddenly his mind buzzed; Han Cai had a Eureka moment thinking about Eureka moment.
Han Cai began to ponder over the concept of alchemy as it was perceived on Earth. Alchemists were not pill concoctors, but they were dedicated to the pursuit of understanding the fundamental principles of the universe. Their goal was to discover the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance that held power to transmute base metals into gold and possibly even bestow immortality.
Han Cai considered how, in Earth's history, the process of alchemical transmutation was a deeply symbolic one, full of spiritual and philosophical implications. Alchemists believed that, much like refining a crude ore into a precious metal, an individual could achieve personal refinement and evolution through a similar process of spiritual alchemy.
This enlightenment inspired Han Cai to view his pill concoction art from a completely different perspective. He realized that, instead of merely focusing on the literal creation of pills, he could delve deeper into the essence of the materials he used, their spiritual and elemental qualities. He could explore the relationships and reactions between different substances at a much more profound level.
For instance, he could study the properties of various spirit herbs, their individual affinities with the different elements, and how these affinities could affect the resulting pills. He could also explore the varying effects of different refining techniques, each technique potentially enhancing or altering the qualities of the concocted pill.
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Gifts are always appreciated, but golden tickets and power stones matter a lot too.
If we reach 2000 power stones, I will release two supplementary chapters.
If we reach 1000 golden tickets, I will release five supplementary chapters.
Thank You
