Chapter 148: Completion of the Nascent Condensation Pill
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Translated by Frog in the Well
Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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A month had passed since he obtained the Myriad Flows Restoration divine ability.
Thanks to conducting various experiments during that time, he was able to find out the limits of the Myriad Flows Restoration divine ability and other useful applications.
First of all, to copy spiritual herbs with Myriad Flows Restoration, the roots had to be alive. Because it was a method of restoring each of the split spiritual herbs respectively, it could not be helped.
‘Nutrients to feed the spiritual herbs are also necessary.’
As for nutrients, since mostly spiritual Qi was all that was needed, there was nothing very difficult.
However, if he tried to restore a spiritual herb whose vitality had already ceased, the Supreme Great Ability consumption increased exponentially, making it hard to handle.
‘It is not entirely impossible, but a feeling that my power is lacking?’
Although it might change in the future once his realm rose and his Supreme Great Abilities grew stronger, at least for now, it was so.
‘Repair of damaged magic treasures is also possible.’
However, in this case, the difficulty varied vastly depending on how damaged the magic treasure was. If it was merely a cracked level, he could fix it easily, but if a portion of the magic treasure vanished, it was difficult to restore.
At the very least, there had to be enough materials to recreate the vanished portion. Those materials had to be consumed together with Supreme Great Abilities for it to be repaired.
And also,
there was one more use that pleased him most, which was precisely to accelerate cultivation speed.
He became able to restore his overloaded spiritual root after finishing cultivation to continue cultivation again.
In truth, he could originally restore his overloaded spiritual root if he used Supreme Great Abilities. However, the efficiency was different from using the Myriad Flows Restoration divine ability.
To put it cleanly, looking only at the conclusion,
originally it would have taken seven years to reach the Golden Core 9th layer, but now it became possible in four to five years.
Of course, to actually become a Golden Core 9th layer in four or five years, he had to pour almost all of his Supreme Great Abilities and time solely into cultivation.
‘…Let us refine the Nascent Condensation Pill first, and focus on cultivation after that.’
Having made the decision, he moved straight away. He headed to the spiritual herb field of the Secret Realm of the Mind.
The main ingredient of the Nascent Condensation Pill was either the Lost Void Leaf Herb or the Illusionary Void Spirit Flower.
Although Jin So-myeong possessed both, because the Lost Void Leaf Herb was in a state where its vitality had already ceased, he decided to copy the Illusionary Void Spirit Flower. Of course, because the Illusionary Void Spirit Flower was a far superior ingredient, there was no problem.
Looking at the Illusionary Void Spirit Flower he had contemplated for a long time to perceive the spatial sense, Jin So-myeong, who hesitated for a brief moment, grasped his sword.
*Slash!*
He cleanly divided the Illusionary Void Spirit Flower down to the root in two, and immediately utilized the Myriad Flows Restoration divine ability.
The moment a total of 1.73 million Supreme Great Abilities were consumed.
‘Success!’
The Illusionary Void Spirit Flower, which was originally one, was split into two.
Looking at the spiritual herbs that looked exactly identical like twins, he suddenly wondered which of the two was the main body, but decided not to care.
In any case, it was important that the Illusionary Void Spirit Flower, the main ingredient of the Nascent Condensation Pill, was prepared.
Now, the remaining work was simple.
Unlocking his immense wealth to purchase auxiliary ingredients, and reviving the Rank 4 flame derived from the Extreme Fire Spirit-Ascending Pill.
‘Was it called the Extreme Fire Divine Light?’
Through investigation, he found out what kind of flame it was.
A flame possessing powerful firepower enough to melt not only physical shapes but also spiritual existences, it was a Rank 4 flame that the Heavenly Elixir Sect treasured.
It was a flame so useful that there were even rumors that the reason the Heavenly Elixir Sect, a Nascent Soul-grade pill refining sect, settled in the Eastern Province was because they discovered a fire vein where the Extreme Fire Divine Light flared.
It was said that if one could properly handle the Extreme Fire Divine Light possessing extreme firepower, one could remove impurities arising during the pill refining process extremely easily.
If there was just one fatal drawback to the Extreme Fire Divine Light, it was roughly that it was highly violent and tried to burn its owner to death at every opportunity?
‘But why is it so gentle?’
Yet strangely, it was submissive to Jin So-myeong.
He tried condensing the Extreme Fire Divine Light, which he was diligently reviving while even using the Myriad Flows Restoration divine ability, on his palm, and the crimson flame shining like a gem merely emitted a quiet heat.
*Whoosh!*
As he controlled it through spiritual power, the flame stretched long to draw various patterns like circles or stars. He could also easily create complex shapes like birds.
‘Is it because it is grateful since it is no different from me saving its life that it follows well?’
Perhaps it was because he had fed it a massive amount of Supreme Great Abilities during the process of reviving the flame that it became gentle.
In any case, it was a good thing, so there was no reason to dislike it.
*
Half a year later.
Was it thanks to his immense wealth?
The auxiliary ingredients for making the Nascent Condensation Pill gathered one after another, and the Extreme Fire Divine Light that had been the size of a fingernail grew as large as a fist before long.
‘I can slowly begin pill refining.’
What was there to hesitate?
Utilizing the Azure Flame Heaven Cauldron he was gifted by the chief disciple of the Heavenly Elixir Sect in the past, a high-grade Rank 3 pill refining cauldron, he began the manufacture of the Nascent Condensation Pill.
‘Let us trim the ingredients first.’
Summoning even his clones who took pill refining as their main duty, Baek Dan-il, Baek Dan-i, and Baek Dan-sam, he meticulously finished trimming the ingredients.
And.
*K-Boom!!*
Merely twenty minutes since beginning the pill refining, a grand explosion occurred to the point of sending the cauldron lid flying. Acrid smoke surged and blocked his vision.
“…Mmh.”
Jin So-myeong, who blocked the flying shards by expanding his Blood Armor like a curtain, scratched his forehead.
‘It is not easy.’
He was not particularly shocked. In the first place, the Nascent Condensation Pill was a pill famous for having a high manufacturing difficulty. It was stranger to succeed straight away on the first attempt.
The problem was…
‘I do not know why it failed.’
It meant he did not know the cause of the explosion. In that case, even if he tried again, he would fail in the same manner.
What did other elixir refiners do in times like this?
They simply tried again. Until they realized what had gone wrong.
Repetition was a quite useful problem-solving method. If one repeated countless times, they were bound to eventually realize the problem.
However.
‘The cost incurred for a single attempt is too large.’
The cost to purchase auxiliary ingredients alone was 300,000 high-grade spirit stones. On top of this, copying the main ingredient, the Illusionary Void Spirit Flower, consumed approximately 1.7 million Supreme Great Abilities.
Even to Jin So-myeong who possessed over three million high-grade spirit stones, it was a painful loss.
‘Should I say it is indeed the Nascent Condensation Pill? It is far more difficult than expected. I do not know how many times I must repeat for experience to accumulate.’
Commonly, a person who ended such repetition processes briefly, one who could raise the manufacturing success rate while minimizing resource waste, was called a talented elixir refiner.
In that case, did Jin So-myeong possess talent?
Naturally, he did not. The domain in which he himself took pride as being talented lay in battle.
‘Troublesome.’
Pondering for a long time while walking here and there as if strolling around his cave dwelling.
At an idea that suddenly flashed through his mind, he snapped his fingers. Thinking about it, he possessed a highly powerful divine ability.
The Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye.
If it was this divine ability that saw even the future though it was merely a few seconds, it would be able to read the countless possibilities occurring during the pill refining process.
On top of that, it was also possible to raise the success rate by consuming Supreme Great Abilities at every critical moment.
‘Let us try again.’
Inserting the diligently trimmed ingredients according to order, he began pill refining.
Just as another twenty minutes passed and the section where he failed on the first attempt arrived.
The Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye, which dwelled in his pupils in the form of lightning, read countless possibilities.
‘So a problem occurred when the Jade Soul Cloud Silk and the Flowing Heaven Water Fluid merged.’
He saw a future where in the process of the auxiliary ingredients mixing, a faint repulsive force arose, adversely affecting even other ingredients and causing a chain-reaction explosion.
Since he found out what the problem was, he immediately took measures.
Raising spiritual power, he created a round curtain inside the cauldron. It was to suppress the repulsive force generated as the two ingredients, the Jade Soul Cloud Silk and the Flowing Heaven Water Fluid, merged.
Yet it was not as easy as expected.
*K-Boom!!*
An explosion several times more powerful than the first attempt occurred, and Jin So-myeong, who blocked the shards that popped like hand grenades, nodded his head.
‘Indeed, using the Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye is far better.’
It felt as if the speed at which experience accumulated had significantly increased thanks to the divine ability that amplified observational power and insight.
The ingredients purchasable with three million spirit stones amounted to roughly ten attempts. He felt a conviction that he could refine the Nascent Condensation Pill within that limit.
Pondering how to resolve the problem he just experienced, a thought suddenly came to him.
‘Should I ask Cheong Hwa-ran?’
Jin So-myeong had mastered pill refining through the Supreme Great Abilities. Thanks to that, he was on the side of knowing orthodox pill refining methods very well, but lacked the knack for resolving problems when pill refining skill was lacking.
Because such know-how was commonly accumulated through countless experiences or learned from seniors.
Since Cheong Hwa-ran belonged to a Nascent Soul-grade pill refining sect, would she not possess various know-how?
*Whoosh!*
He burned a Voice Transmission Talisman. Judging it as a matter that did not need to be hidden in the first place, he contacted her openly. He merely paid attention to just one thing: acting as if they had never met separately to share a secret conversation.
Greeting while briefly mentioning the connection experienced in Red Yang Market, he summarized the problem he just experienced and asked if she knew a solution.
‘This way, it does not matter even if someone eavesdrops on the Voice Transmission’s contents.’
Nodding his head, Jin So-myeong headed to the cultivation room.
Cultivation was more important than refining the Nascent Condensation Pill. Since the Golden Core 9th layer was not far off, he could not miss cultivation even for a single day.
*
Right before the third attempt.
A reply returned from Cheong Hwa-ran. It was surprising as it contained a more useful solution than expected.
She said the problem of repulsion occurring when the Jade Soul Cloud Silk and the Flowing Heaven Water Fluid mixed could be resolved if those two ingredients were pulled out separately and pre-processed in advance.
Of course, separating a part of the pill refining process in this manner was a kind of trick, close to a shortcut.
If pre-processing the ingredients separately, the risk of the medicinal energy deteriorating or dispersing into the empty air was high. The special effect arising as various ingredients mixed could also be missed.
‘That it is fine if sealing the Jade Soul Cloud Silk and the Flowing Heaven Water Fluid in a specially crafted wooden box immediately upon mixing?’
It was said that the medicinal properties could then be preserved enough to be used in pill refining.
Because it seemed like a not-bad method, he tried it immediately and saw the effect. He passed the twenty-minute mark that had been a problem safely.
Of course, not many minutes passed before a new problem arose, causing an explosion in the cauldron.
Three months later.
While sometimes asking questions to Cheong Hwa-ran, and additionaly mastering pill refining through several jade slips, he made the fourth attempt.
Just as he felt relieved at the smoothly progressing pill refining.
Whether because the ingredients were not trimmed properly, the minutely remaining toxicity flared up and ruined the entirety of the medicine.
The fifth attempt.
Right before completion, a faint spirituality dwelled in the energy created as the pill refining ingredients mixed, and it ran wild on its own, attempting to escape the cauldron.
Because he detected it in advance with the Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye, he attempted to suppress it immediately, but because the pill refining cauldron cracked in the process of collision, the medicinal energy deteriorated.
‘A pity since it was almost entirely successful.’
Repairing the hairline crack formed on the cauldron with the Myriad Flows Restoration divine ability, he sought to raise the success rate by meticulously reflecting on the errors experienced during the pill refining process.
The sixth attempt.
Due to just one thing, the ratio of mixing ingredients being off by a tiny, truly minute margin, a defective product was made.
Lacking the courage to consume it, he tried to discard it while holding back tears, but at a thought that it might have a use, he threw it in a corner of his sub-space.
The seventh attempt.
Success at last.
‘Ah!’
Looking at the round pill boasting a brilliant color placed in his palm, the Nascent Condensation Pill, a surge of emotion rushed.
The time taken from the first attempt until now was a full two years.
After pouring in countless efforts, he was finally able to complete a low-grade Nascent Condensation Pill.
Although a low-grade Nascent Condensation Pill was produced despite using the precious Illusionary Void Spirit Flower as an ingredient, what did such a thing matter? In any case, the fact that the Nascent Condensation Pill was completed was what was important.
Furthermore, one million high-grade spirit stones still remained.
‘I can refine the Nascent Condensation Pill three more times.’
Just as he was about to dispose of his remaining assets to purchase auxiliary ingredients, he stopped. Perhaps because he had purchased too many Nascent Condensation Pill-related ingredients recently, the price of the ingredients had risen by easily half.
‘To buy auxiliary ingredients costs as much as 500,000 high-grade spirit stones?’
Pondering whether to buy it even by paying a high price, he decided to simply wait while cultivating. It was a decision made because peace of mind arose upon the birth of the low-grade Nascent Condensation Pill.
Indeed, as a year flowed by, countless herbalists and merchants converged on Natian City, lowering the market price of spiritual herbs.
Jin So-myeong, who had only concentrated on cultivation, only then prepared to refine pills again.
In the midst of that.
Several of the deacons who managed Natian City visited secretly and spoke.
“Someone is going around asking about me?”
“Yes. They seemed to have an unusual degree of interest in Senior Jin.”
Was it one of the people sent by the Black Night Palace to monitor him?
Jin So-myeong, who fell into thought, opened his mouth.
“Forget it. Do not care and simply find out who did so. Rather than that, I need spiritual herbs good for internal injuries, so procure them in a hurry.”
“Spiritual herbs good for internal injuries, you say? Understood.”
“And since buying slightly expensively is fine, purchase as many formation magic treasures as possible too.”
“Yes!”
The deacon who replied with a determined expression as if bound to succeed departed, and Jin So-myeong, who watched that figure quietly, plunged back into pill refining and cultivation.
***
Time flowed, and it became the fourth year since Jin So-myeong settled in Natian City.
During that time, he made a total of ten attempts, and as a result, two Nascent Condensation Pills were completed.
One was the low-grade Nascent Condensation Pill made on the seventh attempt,
and on the final tenth attempt, he was able to make a high-grade Nascent Condensation Pill by pouring in even all of his Supreme Great Abilities.
Now, what remained was merely to achieve the Golden Core 9th layer that drew right before his nose, and to find an appropriate place to challenge the Nascent Soul stage.
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