Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Chapter 103: Enrage

The Yuanming Sect has a Spirit Mountain specifically for outsiders to rest, and Li Zhirui and his group have been staying there these days.

Compared to the other three who had already started alchemy, Li Zhirui was still deducing the Pill Recipe of the Water Refinement Pest Extermination Powder, with his progress unknown for how much slower it was.

Fortunately, because Li Zhirui hadnʼt applied for Spiritual Medicine for practice but was just holed up in his room, the people of the Yuanming Sect did not have much to say about it, although they did not have much hope for him either.

However, an alchemist with the surname Zhu from Yuanming Sect had already successfully refined the Insect-Extinguishing Powder. Although there wasnʼt enough to completely exterminate the black bugs, it effectively curbed the speed at which the black bugs devoured the Spiritual Objects.

Itʼs important to note that, in the several days before the Insect-Extinguishing Powder emerged, the black bugs had advanced another ten or so miles, reaching a Spirit Mountain at the edge of a certain familyʼs territory, and had devoured all the Spiritual Objects within the mountain!

If the Insect-Extinguishing Powder hadnʼt appeared in time, itʼs quite possible that this family wouldʼve suffered the same fate as the previous two families, their ancestral lands developed over many years turning into barren grounds.

The other alchemists, under the guidance of Zhu Yiming, successively refined the Insect-Extinguishing Powder over the next few days. Although their success rate wasnʼt high, it greatly relieved Zhu Yimingʼs pressure.

”Has that Li fellow stayed behind closed doors this entire time?” In half a month, they hadnʼt seen Li Zhirui a second time.

”He claimed he was altering the Pill Recipe, but who knows if itʼs true or not,” another Loose Cultivator said casually.

Jiang Yongxin curled his lips in disdain and said, ”Him? How long has it been since his Foundation Establishment breakthrough? And he only knows how to refine the Consolidating Yuan Pill, yet he dares speak of altering Pill Recipes? Pure arrogance!”

The two Loose Cultivators exchanged a tacit glance but didnʼt respond to Jiang Yongxinʼs words. Although they also doubted Li Zhiruiʼs success, they didnʼt want to get involved in the feud between the two families.

Unlike the conflict between the three families on the eastern edge of Da Rong Island, the rivalry between the Li family and Jiang Family was a commercial one. They disliked each other because each thought the other was stealing their business.

After all, before the Li family brought out the Jade Spirit Pill, most of the first-grade pills in Yunping State came from the Jiang Family. But with the Li familyʼs sudden emergence, they took away a significant portion of the Jiang Familyʼs business, so naturally, their relationship wasnʼt good.

”Eh? Li, have you finished altering the Pill Recipe?” A certain Loose Cultivator called out to Li Zhirui, who was walking down the mountain.

Li Zhirui turned around and smiled, ”Theoretically, there should be no problems, but I wonʼt know if it can be refined until I try it.”

He hadnʼt expected to improve a second-grade Pill Recipe so quickly either, perhaps because the Insect-Extinguishing Powder was easier to handle since it was designed to eliminate pests and didnʼt require such strict measurements.

Surprise flickered in the eyes of the two Loose Cultivators. If what Li Zhirui said was true, then in just over a dozen days, he had modified a Water Refinement Pill Recipe, and such alchemy skills certainly deserved respect.

”My friend, thatʼs quite the talent!” Without questioning or doubting him, the person politely said, ”Donʼt mind us, you go ahead with your business.”

”I take my leave!” Li Zhirui now wanted to quickly test his modified Pill Recipe to see if it could be successful, noting that this was the first second-grade Pill Recipe he had improved, although it wasnʼt very challenging.

”Tsk!” Who would have thought, just as Li Zhirui had turned around and taken a few steps, a sound of disdainful sneering came from behind him.

”Some people really do love to boast; now they even want to use lies to obtain Spiritual Medicine, utterly shameless!”

Jiang Yongxin said without restraint, ”If you ask me, the Yuanming Sect is too lenient, not even bothering to screen and allowing certain fame-seekers to take advantage of loopholes.”

Li Zhirui rolled his eyes; Jiang Yongxinʼs hair had already gone white, clearly indicating him to be at lifeʼs twilight.

For such an old man to utter such words, his two hundred-plus years truly amounted to a dogʼs life that had gone to waste.

Of course, it couldnʼt be ruled out that he was doing this deliberately, feeling that Li Zhirui, being young and impetuous, might get provoked by him?

”Did the three fellow Daoists hear that burst of dog barking just now? It gave me such a headache. If I run into it, Iʼll certainly give it a good lesson,” Li Zhirui said, massaging his temples and feigning irritation.

Jiang Yongxinʼs expression turned extremely dark in an instant. If they hadnʼt been on Yuanming Mountain, he would have already made his move!

ʼOld bastard.ʼ Seeing Jiang Yongxin remain silent, Li Zhirui immediately felt bored and muttered to himself disdainfully before continuing down the mountain with a sneer.

After obtaining materials for twenty portions of Insect-Extinguishing Powder from a disciple of Yuanming Sect, Li Zhirui returned to his room to start refining them.

Regrettably, he didnʼt encounter Jiang Yongxin and his companions on his way up the mountain, thwarting Li Zhiruiʼs plan to take a dig at them.

Li Zhirui locked himself in his room again, but this time he came out rather quickly.

”How did your refinement go?” On his way, he happened to run into two Loose Cultivators who were assigned to deliver the Insect-Extinguishing Powder, and they casually asked him.

Li Zhirui smiled and said, ”It should be fine. Itʼs just that my abilities are inadequate, and I havenʼt finished refining it yet.”

Unexpectedly, this remark was overheard by Jiang Yongxin, who proceeded to mock him with scathing sarcasm, causing the two nearby Loose Cultivators to feel quite awkward. The timing was too coincidental, almost as if the three had conspired.

Li Zhirui felt perplexed. What was Jiang Yongxinʼs purpose in repeatedly trying to provoke him?

Regardless of his intentions, Li Zhirui couldnʼt be bothered to care. After all, on Yuanming Sectʼs territory, Jiang wouldnʼt dare to confront him directly.

Besides, he had a much brighter future ahead than this old wretch, so there was no need to get annoyed with him.

ʼDamn it, how can this kid be a young prodigy? He doesnʼt even get angry when mocked so!ʼ Jiang Yongxin watched Li Zhirui grow more distant, feeling a rush of frustration.

What he didnʼt know was that his behavior was too unusual. How could a man with graying hair, who had lived for more than two hundred years in the cultivation world, put on such an act?

Moreover, if that were truly the case, then when Li Zhirui taunted him a few days earlier, he should have been furious and confronted Li Zhirui directly, instead of just sitting there with a displeased expression.

A few days later, Li Zhirui had again squandered all the materials he received, but this time, he didnʼt go to collect materials empty-handed anymore.

”Is this the Insect-Extinguishing Powder you refined, senior?” The disciple in charge of distributing materials and recording Spirit Pills asked with a dubious expression.

It wasnʼt surprising that the person hesitated, because the Insect-Extinguishing Powder that Li Zhirui refined wasnʼt in powder form, but rather a jet-black Spirit Pill.

Refining it into powder in Spirit Water would be too exhausting for Li Zhiruiʼs Divine Sense, so he simply merged the essence of the Spiritual Medicine into a mass and managed to create this Spirit Pill, without even bothering to separate it into doses.

Li Zhirui nodded and said, ”This is the Insect-Extinguishing Powder that I refined, and if everything goes well, its effects should be better than the other powders.”

The disciple was skeptical of Li Zhiruiʼs claim but still took the Spirit Pill and handed over thirty portions of materials to Li Zhirui.

Li Zhirui noticed the discipleʼs disbelief but offered no explanation, as the results would soon become evident.

All he was thinking about now was for this plague of insects to end soon so that he could go to Yuanming Sectʼs Scripture Pavilion to select a Pill Recipe.