After handling the trivial matters concerning Chen Niansu's descendants, Elian bade farewell to the patriarch and flew his sword back to Linghu Isle.
Now that a grand array had been set up around Black Iron Mountain, even the Foundation Establishment Immortal Clans of Yu County would not dare to seize it. With the Feng Clan of Boyang County staying out of the matter, there was no longer a need for him to remain there.
With Chen Qinghao stationed at Black Iron Mountain, it was sufficiently protected. Moreover, Linghu Isle was far more important compared to Black Iron Mountain.
Upon returning to Linghu Isle, Elian resumed his usual secluded cultivation. Before he knew it, three years had passed.
One day, as he was meditating, Chen Xianyan and Chen Xianling, the sibling pair, arrived by boat from outside Linghu Isle.
Elian greeted them, asking, "You're back. How was your training this time?"
Over the past few years, Chen Xianling and Chen Xianyan had encountered bottlenecks in their cultivation and needed to refine their spiritual energy over an extended period to break through to Foundation Establishment. Seeking change, they had traveled to Tianxu Mountain for training.
"This time at Tianxu Mountain, we killed a lot of beasts..."
Chen Xianyan excitedly recounted their adventures. After finishing her tale, she suddenly remembered something and said, "Uncle Elian, on my way here, I visited Qingyuan Mountain. The Great Elder asked me to inform you that Aunt Nianfu is preparing to break through to Foundation Establishment."
As she spoke, she handed over a storage pouch.
"He also asked me to give this to you."
Elian opened the pouch and found it contained the missing spiritual herbs needed for refining Condensed Focus Elixir and Explosive Essence Elixir.
"Good. I understand. You may leave now. I need to refine some elixirs."
After dismissing the siblings, he returned to the alchemy chamber to start refining pills. His first task was to produce Gathering Essence Pills.
Over the years, Elian's alchemy skills had improved significantly, alongside his cultivation. Refining Gathering Essence Pills had become a straightforward task. Using true fire, he managed to produce a batch of six pills in just a single day.
After finishing the Gathering Essence Pills, Elian took out Fire Spirit Grass, the main ingredient for Explosive Essence Elixirs, a highly precious herb.
Explosive Essence Elixirs could temporarily boost a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator's spiritual energy by fifty percent, elevating their power to late-stage Foundation Establishment levels. It was a treasure often used as a last-resort lifeline.
However, these elixirs had a drawback: after consuming one, the user's meridians would be damaged, requiring ten years of nurturing to recover fully. If one acted recklessly within that decade, their meridians could rupture, resulting in nearly irreparable harm.
"This Explosive Essence Elixir is most suitable for me," Elian thought as he looked at the Fire Spirit Grass. Because he had advanced to Foundation Establishment independently, his spiritual energy was exceptionally sharp, and the tempering of his meridians was about thirty percent stronger than average.
Furthermore, his meridians had been refined for thirty years with Primordial Purple Qi, making them far more resilient than those of his peers.
For ordinary cultivators, taking the Explosive Essence Elixir would severely weaken their meridians. However, for Elian, the damage would likely be minimal, requiring only one or two months of rest to recover without significantly affecting his combat ability.
Thinking about how the Explosive Essence Elixir would add another powerful tool to his arsenal, Elian couldn't help but smile.
Suppressing his thoughts, he began refining the elixir using Fire Spirit Grass. With his current alchemy skills, he was capable of producing Burst Essence Elixirs, though the success rate was not particularly high.
After three days, Elian successfully refined two Explosive Essence Elixirs. This success rate was average for a mid-tier second-rank alchemist.
Fortunately, the experience of refining Explosive Essence Elixirs further improved his skills. When he proceeded to refine Condensed Focus Elixirs, his technique had improved enough to successfully produce three of them.
"Three pills."
Looking at the three Condensed Focus Elixirs before him, Elian smiled. Refining three pills in a single attempt indicated he was now somewhat prepared to advance to a high-tier second-rank alchemist.
A cultivator could only take one Condensed Focus Elixir in their lifetime. Upon consumption, it would increase a Foundation Establishment cultivator's divine sense by thirty percent, making it an extremely precious elixir.
Divine sense was critical for cultivators, especially after reaching the Purple Mansion Stage, where sufficient divine sense was essential for converting spiritual energy. Moreover, stronger divine sense slightly increased the chances of breaking through to the Purple Mansion Stage.
"I should take one now," Elian decided, taking out a Condensed Focus Elixir and swallowing it.
In an instant, the elixir transformed into a formless energy that coursed through his meridians and entered his sea of consciousness, nourishing his divine sense and making it more powerful and refined.
After fully absorbing the elixir, his divine sense had increased by over thirty percent.
"This power..." Elian sensed his surroundings and found that his divine sense now extended over 1,200 feet, revealing every minute detail within that range.
Ordinary mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators could only extend their divine sense to about 600 feet, while late-stage cultivators could reach around 900 feet.
Despite being only at mid-stage Foundation Establishment, Elian's divine sense had long matched that of late-stage cultivators due to years of refinement with Primordial Purple Qi. Now, with the additional thirty percent increase, it had reached an extraordinary range of 1,200 feet.
"It's said that early-stage Purple Mansion cultivators can extend their divine sense to cover ten miles of land," Elian mused. "Ten miles is 3,000-4,000 zhang. While I'm not at that level, I've far surpassed ordinary late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators."
Satisfied with his newly enhanced divine sense, Elian spent some time adapting to his growth before leaving the meditation chamber.
He instructed Xianling and Xianyan to guard Linghu Isle, then summoned the Fiery Void Sword and flew off.
Over the past few years, his family had collected enough metal and fire elemental energy to refine his life-bound Immortal Sword into a high-tier second-rank artifact.
After the upgrade, the Fiery Void Sword's power had increased by over fifty percent. It could now unleash a dazzling blue sword light over thirty feet long and travel an astounding 10,000 miles per day.
In just half a day, Elian traveled over 5,000 miles and arrived at Qingyuan Mountain.
Descending from his sword light, he saw Chen Nianfu waiting for him. Without much small talk, Elian handed her the Foundation Establishment Pill and Gathering Essence Pill, then asked, "How refined is your spiritual energy? Are you ready to use the Foundation Establishment Pill?"
"The time has been a bit short, and my refinement is still incomplete," Nianfu admitted nervously. Strictly speaking, she was still rushing the process of breaking through to Foundation Establishment.
In just three short years, she had advanced from the seventh to the ninth level of Qi Refinement, relying heavily on the effects of a second-tier spiritual peach. This rapid progress left her meridians insufficiently tempered.
"Time is indeed tight," Elian agreed, "but this Foundation Establishment Pill was refined nine years ago. Its efficacy is about to fade and can't be delayed further."
Saying this, he took out a jade box and handed it to her.
"This contains Meridian Refinement Pills I recently purchased from the Mu Clan Immortal Clan. They'll help temper your meridians."
...
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I need POWAAA! Gimme Power Stones :D