Cultivation Starts with Rejuvenation

Chapter 77: Chapter 43: Six Years of Time

Half a month later, all the servants and the shopkeeper of Yan’s Pill Shop were replaced.

After Yan Qingwan reported the matter of Zheng Tianxiang trying to win over Li Ji’an to the clan, the clan decisively chose not to spend effort investigating one by one.

Nor did they make a great effort due to any specific person who might have been bribed or threatened.

Especially what the Patriarch Yan Zongsheng said to Yan Qingwan: Human nature is half good and half evil. We commend and greatly reward the loyal and righteous, but cannot expect everyone to remain loyal forever; it’s merely a balance of interests. What we need most is to make clansmen understand that only within the clan are the benefits greatest and the risks least.

Opening trade routes and strengthening oneself, being able to provide more resources for the clan, thereby maximizing the safety of clan members, is the right path.

Subsequently, Yan Zongsheng, on behalf of the clan, rewarded Li Ji’an with fifty Spirit Stones and promised that as long as Li Ji’an left the city, he could request protection from Qi Cultivation Late Stage Elders within the clan. If Li Ji’an truly encountered accidents because of this, the clan would do everything in its power to seek justice for him.

At the same time, he assured him that the other party wouldn’t dare act recklessly in the market.

This matter made Li Ji’an regard the Yan Clan with greater esteem.

However, whether it can grow strong step by step in the future remains uncertain.

Having been human for five lifetimes, he’s seen too much. Whether individuals or groups, many times capability does not represent success.

Afterwards, Li Ji’an became even more low-key, commuting between the West District residence and the Pill Shop. During the Early Period, he combined theory with practice to temper the Middle Stage Qi Cultivation Pill Fire, and it was commonplace for him to eat and sleep in the Alchemy Room for three consecutive months.

Half a year later,

”Zheng~” In the dead of night, a crisp sound rang in the Alchemy Room.

Li Ji’an, unhurried, first slowly retracted the deep red Pill Fire, then opened the Pill Furnace.

”Success!” Seeing a Tier One Qi Nourishing Pill with a slight golden glow inside the Pill Furnace, Li Ji’an wasn’t overly excited.

After half a year of tempering, combining theory and practice, this was the first time he produced a top-grade Pill Medicine.

Although there isn’t much difference among Tier One Qi Nourishing Pills, whether top-grade, middle-grade, or lower-grade, as they are used by Junior Cultivators in the Qi Cultivation Early Period and the value is similarly low, it represents a qualitative leap in his Alchemy Skill.

The quality of a Refined Pill involves many factors. The Pill Formula is fundamental, medicinal material selection, Pill Fire control, timing mastery, Spiritual Sense perception, technique and mindset, pill furnace stability, the abundance and stability of Spiritual Qi... any slight difference can lead to a vast deviation in the quality of the Refined Pill.

The most critical thing is that neither the medicinal materials nor the environment remains constant. To confidently control the quality of the Refined Pill requires the Pill Master to have high comprehension and adaptability.

Fortunately, the ”Rejuvenation” has provided Li Ji’an not only with a strong Divine Soul but also an enhancement in comprehension.

This half year, he hasn’t attempted to refine Middle Level Pill Medicine, as those medicinal materials aren’t cheap.

Moreover, the Pill Fire power required for Middle Level Pill Medicine, with his current Pill Fire condition, needs to be fully exerted every time, making precise adjustments impossible. Thus, he can only ensure success in refinement but can’t guarantee quality.

Now his Pill Fire power far exceeds what is needed for Tier One Pill Fire, so he can control it calmly, and only by refining Tier One Pill Medicine can he practice his Pill Fire control.

As long as Pill Fire control becomes proficient, theoretically, he can ensure the quality of any level of Pill Medicine with sufficient Pill Fire power.

However, in this lifetime, there’s largely no hope of further advancing his Pill Fire.

After careful observation for a moment, Li Ji’an swallowed the Qi Nourishing Pill in one go.

He then closed his eyes to carefully experience the difference between the top-grade Pill Medicine and the previous middle-grade, upper-grade, and even lower-grade inferior Pill Medicine.

”Brother Li, what grade was the Pill Medicine just now... why are you personally testing the pill again? All medicine has some level of toxicity, especially low-level Pill Medicine that is now useless to you. Cumulative pill toxicity will affect the efficacy of future Pill Medicine consumption.” Not long after, Yan Qingwan, who couldn’t resist taking a nap, returned.

Giving her a gesture for silence, Li Ji’an continued his insights.

These years, actively learning about the Cultivation Realm, tracing the fundamental aspects of cultivation, his understanding of his life in this world has become clearer. Initially, finding out unexpectedly that his physique and Divine Soul could make him work harder than others, he once naively hoped to overcome the disparity in Spirit Roots and even dreamy of establishing a Foundation Establishment, but he extinguished this thought upon reaching the Qi Cultivation Middle Stage.

Now compared to exhausting everything on the almost hopeless Magical Cultivation, accumulating experience and assets for the next life seems much more cost-effective.

It was precisely by personally testing the pills that he deepened his understanding of the Alchemy Dao and could comprehend things others couldn’t teach.

Yan Qingwan said no more, sitting silently to the side waiting.

After a while, Li Ji’an slowly opened his eyes, a hint of joy on his face.

He had discerned the most core difference between top-grade Pill Medicine and upper-grade Pill Medicine!

”In this way, the success rate of refining top-grade pills should be guaranteed!” he thought happily, without showing it.

In the eyes of others, Pill Masters unable to advance to Middle Level or high-level tiers hold little value.

Even if a person refines the best Tier One Pill Medicine, it remains a Tier One Pills, meaningless.

Three months ago, when he personally refined upper-grade Tier One Pill Medicine, it drew sighs from Yan Qingwan, lamenting that Li Ji’an had such great talent in Alchemy Dao, yet lacked good Spirit Roots. If he could advance to the Qi Cultivation Late Stage, he would definitely achieve a generation of seasoned Pill Master.

At this moment, if she knew that he had already refined top-grade Pill Medicine, who knows if she wouldn’t beat her chest and exclaim: Heaven is jealous of great talents!

”Next goal: Best-grade Pill!”

After incorporating these insights into his compiled ”Li’s Pill Records,” Li Ji’an then exchanged thoughts with Yan Qingwan.

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In the subsequent half year, Li Ji’an continued to diligently study Alchemy Skills, nearly optimizing and refining all acquired Tier One Pill Formulas multiple times, achieving a sixty percent success rate for top-grade Pills, yet still couldn’t reach the threshold of the best-grade Pills.

But vaguely sensing that the best-grade Pills involved not only human effort but also a connection with the Heaven and Earth Spirit Mechanism, unable to touch upon that thread of Spiritual Mechanism made it nearly impossible.

It might also be related to his mindset, perhaps he had been a bit impatient.

Luckily, he no longer forced it, calming down his heart.

This day, a matter that brought comfort to Li Ji’an transpired.

Within the year, Yan Qingwan’s Alchemy Skill greatly advanced, significantly increasing the success rate and quality of Middle Level Pill Medicine, making the Pill Shop truly profitable.

Yan Qingwan handed over the promised dividend of one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones to Li Ji’an.

Adding to the fifty Spirit Stones awarded by Yan Zongsheng at the start of the year and the monthly salary of eight Spirit Stones for the past two years, for the first time his assets exceeded three hundred, and he immediately went to the market to purchase a Thunder Flame Crystal, hoping to make further progress in the Body Refining path.

At the same time, he also bought for the first time a bottle of Spirit Beast Pill to aid Gugu’s transformation.

It must be said that Gugu has been with him for six years, pathetically having never consumed a single truly beneficial Beast Pill, relying almost entirely on the lowest-grade Beast Food, and sometimes even having to catch dragonflies and insects in the courtyard to survive.

For this, the little creature harbored no grievances, knowing its master Li Ji’an is its savior.

”I hope it will be of help in my next life.” Patting Gugu’s head, Li Ji’an tossed it a Green Condensation Pill.

The moment it caught the Green Condensation Pill, Li Ji’an seemed to see it with tears of joy.

A few days passed, and Li Ji’an received another good tidings: Zhang Tiezhu had a Qilin Child two years after marriage.

Received a batch of resources as a reward from the clan.

He specially spent one Spirit Stone in the market to buy a Qi Nourishing Jade Token, asking someone from the clan to send it back, a token of goodwill.

With the Pill Shop beginning to profit, his financial situation grew increasingly prosperous, and in the subsequent days, apart from studying the Alchemy Dao deeply, he spent time refining his physique each day and also began researching Beast Taming Skill, consciously training Gugu, making every day fulfilling.

Five years swiftly passed.

On this day, Yan Qingwan, having advanced to a Tier One Advanced Pill Master, walked in with furrowed brows.

Bringing with her news that piqued Li Ji’an’s interest.

”The former Honored Alchemist of the Yan Family, Mozi Mountain, has appeared in the Zheng Family Pill Shop, becoming the Honored Alchemist for the Zheng Family, and today is holding a Pill Appreciation Convention. It’s said that he has advanced to a Tier One Senior Alchemist and has also refined a top-grade Qi Replenishing Pill!”