Dominator Emperor

Refining Elixirs Like Roasting Beans... What a heaven-defying, peerless art of the Alchemy Dao! What an unparalleled path of the Medicine Dao! For such an art, such a path, even the word ”monstrous” was an understatement.

Even the legendary arts of a Medicine God were likely only at this level! Thinking of this, Elder Sun and the others felt their hearts burn with excitement. With such a Medicine Dao, the Xiyan Ancient Sect was filled with even more hope. In the future, even if the Xiyan Ancient Sect couldn’t contend for the world through martial prowess, it could still keep the world in check with medicine!

At this thought, Elder Sun and the others grew so excited they wanted to jump up and cheer.

”Let’s see the purity of the Life Pills.” Elder Sun couldn’t contain his excitement and blurted out.

Li Qiye casually poured a handful of Life Pills from the Medicine Gourd. A refreshing medicinal fragrance filled the air. Each pill was about the size of a thumb, pale gold in color, and marked with a single transformation line. This line signified that the Life Pill had undergone only one transformation. The more transformations a Life Pill underwent, the more corresponding lines it would have on its surface.

A First Transformation Life Pill had one line; a Second Transformation Life Pill had two lines; a Third Transformation Life Pill, three lines...

”Barely four-rank purity.” Li Qiye glanced at the faint gold of the Life Pills and said, ”If they were five-rank, then they could be considered Top Grade.”

Elder Sun and the others all gasped, freezing on the spot. One pharmacist stammered, ”B-Barely four-rank purity...”

At these words, it wasn’t just him; even Elder Sun, the strongest Pharmacist in the Xiyan Ancient Sect, felt the urge to smash his head against a wall and end it all! Calling four-rank purity ’barely’ acceptable? One must remember, these were First Transformation Life Pills!

”I don’t want to live anymore. This... this is too soul-crushing...” Another pharmacist, who was normally quite proud of his skills, felt like jumping off a building. Those words had shattered his pride to the point where he had none left.

”Barely four-rank purity? Our dear Elder Ancestor, aren’t your standards a bit too high? If word of this got out, wouldn’t all the Pharmacists in the world jump off a building to their deaths? Even those who call themselves Holy Pharmacists would have no choice but to follow suit! A First Transformation Life Pill is the lowest level of Life Pill; a one-rank purity is more than enough! You call four-rank purity ’barely’ acceptable? How is anyone else supposed to live?” Elder Sun was speechless for a long time!

Body Ointments and Longevity Medicines are measured by nine refinements, while Life Pills are measured by nine ranks!

The rank of a Life Pill’s purity is relevant to a Cultivator’s foundation. For example, if a Life Pill has a five-rank purity, then after consuming it, one’s power at their current realm level will increase by fifty percent. This means you can increase your power by fifty percent without even cultivating!

Therefore, the purity rank of a Life Pill refers to how much it can increase one’s power. However, this is only in principle. For instance, after a Cultivator of a corresponding level consumes a five-rank Life Pill, their power at that realm should theoretically increase by fifty percent. In reality, it’s impossible to gain a full fifty percent increase, as no Cultivator can absorb all of the medicinal properties. Furthermore, the more Life Pills one consumes at the same level, the less effective they become, a situation not unlike that of consuming Longevity Medicine.

The highest possible purity for a Life Pill is nine-rank. Just as legend says no gold is perfectly pure, a ten-rank Life Pill is impossible. A perfect ten-rank Life Pill exists only in legends.

Moreover, the number of transformations the medicinal ingredients have undergone directly affects the Life Pill’s purity. For example, in a First Transformation Life Pill, both the main and supplementary ingredients have only undergone a single transformation. The medicinal properties of such ingredients are greatly limited. Generally speaking, refining them into a one-rank pill is already considered sufficient.

At this, Elder Sun and the others could only smile bitterly. Elder Sun said weakly, ”In my entire life, I doubt I could ever refine a First Transformation Life Pill to a three-rank purity, yet you call four-rank ’barely’ acceptable. Even a Legendary Pharmacist could probably only do this much. You have the aptitude of a Medicine Emperor! You should just dedicate your life to alchemy from now on.”

Life Pills have nine transformations. The more transformations the ingredients undergo, the higher and more potent their medicinal properties become, resulting in a better-quality refined pill.

At the same time, the standard for a Pharmacist is to match the rank to the transformation. A one-rank First Transformation Life Pill is a passing grade. A two-rank Second Transformation Life Pill is a passing grade. Three-rank for Third Transformation, four-rank for Fourth Transformation... and so on.

Because of this, the higher the purity rank of a Life Pill, the more difficult it is to refine. For example, refining a Nine Transformations Life Pill to a nine-rank purity is harder than ascending to the heavens.

This is also why the standard for assessing a Pharmacist’s strength is their skill in refining Life Pills.

”Dedicate my life to alchemy?” Li Qiye chuckled and shook his head. ”Alchemy, to me, is just a minor art. It’s fine as a pastime. Why would I need to spend a lifetime specializing in it?”

’Back in those days, he and the Medicine God had already walked far enough down the path of alchemy that no one in the later generations could ever hope to catch up. Otherwise, the standards set by the Medicine God back then would not have become the benchmark for all Pharmacists of the future!’

Elder Sun and the other Pharmacists couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Medicine Emperor—what a glorious title, what an honorable qualification! It was the lifelong pursuit of all Pharmacists, yet this person simply disdained it. However, he truly had the right to be so arrogant. Based on his ”Refining Elixirs Like Roasting Beans” alchemy technique alone, he indeed had the aptitude to become a future Medicine Emperor.

”Refining Elixirs Like Roasting Beans... The legendary Supreme Medicine Dao of the Medicine God back then was probably only at this level,” a Pharmacist lamented with emotion.

Hearing this, Li Qiye couldn’t help but smile. ’This *is* the Supreme Medicine Dao of the Medicine God. What a pity its supreme essence was not passed down to later generations!’

”We now have over a thousand four-rank, First Transformation Life Pills in one go! This will allow us to cultivate a whole batch of disciples,” another Pharmacist said excitedly.

For a newly initiated disciple, consuming three of these four-rank, First Transformation Life Pills would be enough to advance them by almost an entire realm.

Keep in mind, First Transformation Life Pills could be consumed by all Cultivators below the Vigorous Longevity Realm. The Xiyan Ancient Sect was in desperate need of such Life Pills.

”No. Disciples with potential are not to be given these pills. At least before they reach Vigorous Longevity, give them as few pills as possible. Wait until after they reach Vigorous Longevity, then they can take Second Transformation Life Pills. Consuming too many Life Pills in the early stages will cause them to develop a tolerance, and the effectiveness of future Life Pills will decrease...”

”...Our strategy is this: disciples with little potential will be given First Transformation Life Pills in the early stages. Disciples with potential will be given as few as possible. After they reach the Vigorous Longevity realm, we will give them Second Transformation Life Pills. As for those with the best potential, such as disciples with a firm Dao Heart or high aptitude, we will wait until the later stages to give them Third Transformation Life Pills. In short, for disciples with potential, we must delay their consumption of Life Pills as much as possible to prevent them from developing an early tolerance. Otherwise, the effects of Life Pills they take in the future will be greatly diminished.”

Although alchemy wasn’t difficult for Li Qiye, he still had Elder Sun enforce these strict standards.

First Transformation Life Pills were suitable for realms before Vigorous Longevity. Second and Third Transformation Life Pills were suitable for the Vigorous Longevity to Nirvana Realms. Fourth Transformation Life Pills were suitable for the Heavenly Essence to Star-Picking Realms. Fifth Transformation Life Pills were suitable for Ancient Saints. Six Transformations Life Pills were suitable for Saint Venerables...

For promising and high-potential Cultivators, consumption of Life Pills was controlled as much as possible in the early stages to avoid developing premature tolerance. This was why many talented geniuses only began taking Life Pills starting from the King and Marquis Realm.

”That arrangement is indeed necessary.” Elder Sun was especially supportive of Li Qiye’s standards.

”Alright, enough talk. Let’s refine pills first. Pay close attention to my techniques. I don’t want to have to demonstrate the same technique twice,” Li Qiye said, handing the Medicine Gourd to Elder Sun.

Hearing this, Elder Sun and all the Pharmacists felt their hearts tighten. They immediately focused their minds, not daring to miss a single detail of Li Qiye’s actions. To them, this was a peerless Medicine Dao, comparable to the Dao of the Medicine God himself. It was the Medicine Dao that all Pharmacists in the world dreamed of, a once-in-an-eternity opportunity. Now that they had the chance to learn such techniques, they wouldn’t miss this grand opportunity even on pain of death.

For the next three months, Li Qiye did nothing but refine elixirs. He refined both Longevity Medicine and Life Pills. Whether it was Longevity Medicine or Life Pills, the higher the level, the more time was required.

If refining a First Transformation Life Pill was like roasting beans for Li Qiye, then refining a Second Transformation Life Pill was like cooking rice, and a Third Transformation Life Pill was like making a slow-cooked soup... The higher the level of the elixir, whether it was a Holy Medicine or a Life Pill, not only did it require more time, but the refinement process also grew more difficult.

Despite this, the Medicine Dao Li Qiye demonstrated still left Elder Sun and the others endlessly amazed. It was simply a miracle.

Over these three months, Li Qiye not only used up all of the Xiyan Ancient Sect’s medicinal ingredients, but Elder Sun and the others were also like sponges, desperately absorbing the Medicine Dao he imparted. The Medicine Dao Li Qiye passed down to them was like opening the gates to a treasure palace of medicine, offering an inexhaustible wealth of knowledge that would benefit them for a lifetime.

It wasn’t until three months later, when a weary Li Qiye put away his furnace and stopped refining elixirs, that Elder Sun and the others reluctantly left Solitary Peak. They wished they could move onto Solitary Peak and watch Li Qiye perform alchemy every day.

In truth, Li Qiye was sick and tired of refining elixirs for the past three months. Now, the mere sight of medicinal ingredients made him want to vomit! Thus, after putting away his furnace, he had no desire to touch alchemy again for a while.

Li Qiye stayed in the sect for another two months. Seeing that everything was in order, he planned to set off for the East Hundred Cities.

However, before Li Qiye could leave, Li Shuangyan brought him some bad news. She said, ”The situation with the War God Hall is not good. Not only are they still holding my master captive, but they have also expressed their dissatisfaction to our Nine Saints Demon Gate. It’s been almost a year, and there’s still been no news from their Elder Ancestor who was buried on the Netherworld Ship.”

Hearing this news, Li Qiye had no choice but to postpone his trip to the East Hundred Cities. He shook his head and said, ”Those old geezers from the War God Hall... I wasn’t even in a hurry to demand the treasures from our deal, but they’re the ones getting anxious first! Those old fools really haven’t improved one bit. They can’t even keep their cool over such a small matter!”