Cultivation begins with earning spirit stones

Chapter 42 Alchemy Ceremony

But Zhang Lin knew that this was not due to his exceptional talent, but rather the merit of the Hundred Refinement Bronze Furnace.

The [Hundred Refinements to Elixir] property increases the utilization rate of spiritual medicine essence by 80% with very little waste.

This means that every medicinal herb he uses is fully utilized, and its potency is not wasted due to operational errors.

The characteristic of "nurturing elixir energy in the furnace" is that it gently nourishes the elixir during the alchemy process, thereby improving its quality.

Without this characteristic, the Qi-Nourishing Pills he refines would at most be of medium grade one, and would never be able to reach the high grade one.

"A good furnace."

Zhang Lin stroked the furnace body; on the reddish-gold furnace wall, the patterns of the hundred-refined copper resembled clouds and glowed with a warm luster under the candlelight.

Zhang Lin doesn't plan to sell the enhanced, top-grade pills.

He wanted to use these pills himself.

In the path of cultivation, resources come first.

With the system at your fingertips, spirit stones can be earned slowly, but time waits for no one.

In the world of spiritual practice, if you are slow at one step, you will be slow at every step.

He needs to push his cultivation to the Qi Refining Perfection stage in the shortest possible time, and then begin the Foundation Establishment process.

Zhang Lin put away the alchemy furnace, sat cross-legged on the couch, and took out his daily dose of the top-grade Qi-Nourishing Pill.

The pill melted instantly upon entering the mouth, and its warm medicinal power surged into the dantian like a tide.

At the core of the dantian, six drops of liquid true qi slowly rotated, absorbing the medicinal power and gradually growing stronger.

One night later, the seventh drop of liquid true energy condensed into a form.

In the later stages of Qi Refining, seven drops of liquid true Qi were obtained.

Zhang Lin opened his eyes, his gaze gleaming.

At this rate, he will be able to condense 108 drops of liquid true qi in less than three months and reach the peak of the late stage of Qi Refining.

At that time, one can refine one's Qi into spirit, open one's sea of ​​consciousness, temper one's spiritual awareness, and enter the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.

-----

As dawn broke, Qingxuan City awoke from the darkness of night.

He pushed open the window, the morning breeze caressed his face, and the city was already bustling with activity.

Today is the Danxia Sect's triennial alchemy ceremony.

He heard this news yesterday in a teahouse.

At that time, several students at the next table were discussing this matter, their words full of envy.

"The Danxia Sect's Alchemy Ceremony is held every three years. The winner can be admitted to the outer sect and receive the Danxia Sect's inheritance."

"I heard that the winner of this year's Dharma Assembly, in addition to elixirs and spirit stones, will also receive the first volume of 'Danxia Secret Transmission,' which records the secret techniques of foundation building."

"The Foundation Establishment Secret Technique of Danxia Sect? That's a treasure. Even for the Human Path Foundation Establishment, with the assistance of this secret technique, the success rate can be increased by several times."

"That's right. Even if you don't get first place, being in the top three and being accepted as an outer disciple is an incredible stroke of luck."

"Alas, it's a pity that with our meager skills, we'd only embarrass ourselves if we went."

Zhang Lin was holding a teacup when his fingers tightened slightly.

The first volume of "The Secret Transmission of Danxia" is titled "The Secret Techniques of Foundation Building".

This is exactly what he lacks most right now.

With the system at his disposal, he could enhance cultivation techniques, spiritual medicines, spirit stones, and magical artifacts. However, the methods for breaking through the barriers on his cultivation path required a blueprint and could not be created out of thin air; he had to figure it out himself.

He had heard the general outline of the Foundation Establishment method from Lin Yi, but the details, such as how to combine the five elements and spiritual objects, and how to guide spiritual power into the body during Foundation Establishment, were all closely guarded secrets.

The Danxia Sect, one of the nine great mystical sects, must have a complete and profound foundation-building method.

If he could obtain the first volume of "The Secret of Danxia", he could plan his path to foundation building in advance, instead of scrambling at the last minute.

Zhang Lin immediately decided to attend the Dharma assembly.

However, he did not participate as Lin Xuan.

Danxia Sect is one of the nine major sects, and its members' backgrounds are always investigated before accepting disciples.

If Lin Xuan were to participate with this fabricated identity, it would be considered a crime of betraying his master and ancestors if he were investigated. At best, he would be expelled; at worst, his cultivation would be destroyed.

Therefore, he decided to participate under his real identity.

The Danxia branch altar is located in the east of the city. It is a three-story pavilion built of bluestone with upturned eaves and corners. In front of the door, two stone lions each hold a spirit stone in their mouths, and the spirit light is faintly visible.

Twenty or thirty people had already gathered in front of the building, mostly independent cultivators and disciples from small sects in the mid-to-late stages of Qi Refining. They were gathered in twos and threes, some talking in hushed tones, others closing their eyes to rest, each with an expectant look on their faces.

Zhang Lin's gaze swept across the crowd, and he saw several familiar faces.

Lin Yizhi, whom I met at the teahouse that day, was also among them, whispering something to an old man in a gray robe.

The old man possessed a perfect cultivation level, with a thin face, three long wisps of beard, and a calm demeanor.

Several other young men dressed in brocade robes, whose attire and demeanor clearly indicated they were from prominent families, gathered together, chatting and laughing, their gazes sweeping across the crowd with a hint of condescension.

Zhang Lin found a corner to stand in, and instead of talking to anyone, he waited quietly.

Before long, the gate of the branch altar opened, and a middle-aged cultivator walked out.

This man appeared to be in his forties, with a square face, three long wisps of beard, wearing a blue Taoist robe, and a white jade token hanging from his waist, engraved with the two characters "Danxia".

With the cultivation level of Foundation Establishment, his body exudes a restrained spiritual light, and he possesses an extraordinary demeanor.

"Fellow Daoists, I am Zhao Songxi, the steward of the Qingxuan City branch of the Danxia Sect. I am here today to preside over the Dharma assembly by order of the branch master."

The middle-aged monk bowed respectfully, his clear voice carrying throughout the entire area.

"As you all know, the rules of the Dharma Assembly are as follows: within three hours, each person shall refine one batch of Qi-Nourishing Pills. The medicinal materials shall be provided by this altar. You may bring your own altar. After the pills are completed, the branch altar master shall personally evaluate them and select the top three to be admitted as outer disciples."

He paused, then continued, "The first place winner, in addition to the disciple's name, will receive 500 low-grade spirit stones and the first volume of 'The Secret Transmission of Danxia.' The second place winner will receive 300 spirit stones. The third place winner will receive 100 spirit stones."

These words caused a stir among the crowd.

Zhao Songxi raised his hand to signal for quiet, and then said, "There are a total of twenty-four participants who have signed up for this competition. They will enter in the order drawn by lot, one furnace per person. They must not interfere with each other or cheat. Those who violate this rule will be expelled and will never be recruited again."

After saying that, he took out a wooden box containing twenty-four bamboo sticks.

Everyone took turns drawing lots.

Zhang Lin drew number eleven, which was just right, neither too early nor too late.

After the draw was completed, Zhao Songxi led everyone into the branch altar.

Passing through the front hall, the backyard is a spacious square with twenty-four wooden tables arranged in a row.

On each table are the following medicinal herbs: one Linglan grass, one Juqi grass, one Ninglu flower, and several auxiliary materials.

The medicinal materials are of acceptable quality. The Linglan grass is about ten years old, while the Juqi grass and Ninglu flower are slightly inferior, only about five or six years old.

Zhang Lin walked to the eleventh table and stood there, his eyes sweeping over the medicinal herbs, already having made up his mind.

If this medicinal material were processed using ordinary methods, it would be extremely fortunate to produce even one grade.

But with his hundred-refined bronze furnace in hand, he could refine even ordinary medicinal herbs into top-grade ones.

The square was surrounded by viewing seats, where more than ten people sat to watch the ceremony. Most of them were prominent figures in Qingxuan City, including representatives of aristocratic families, business guild managers, and senior cultivators.

Zhang Lin's gaze swept across the audience seats, and he saw several familiar faces.

The disciples of the major sects that I met on the street on my first day in Qingxuan City were also in the audience.

The young man who was in charge of the Danxia Sect sat in the center, with the girl in yellow beside him.

Senior Sister Shen, the woman in white from Biluo Palace, sat on the left, while Senior Brother Chu, the man in blue from Zifu Immortal Sect, sat on the right.