Chapter 297: Alchemy Advancement, Sudden Surge in Perception

Placement Slot 3: Cold Drake Alchemy (Tier 3 / Mastered / Deriving…)

"Cold Drake Alchemy (0/100): One furnace every ten days, advancement in 150 years."

Further advancement would lead to Tier 4.

After a quick check, Wang Yu removed it from all slots 3 to 6. It was more than sufficient for the current stage.

There would only be a need to upgrade it when he wanted to refine Nascent Soul Pills.

With a series of operations:Placement Slot 3: Nether Demonic Dragon TechniquePlacement Slot 4: Minor Asura Killing FistPlacement Slot 5: Ancient Soul IncantationPlacement Slot 6: Twelve Phases of Guanghan

With this arrangement, he could feel information from the placement slots flowing into his mind at regular intervals, immediately relieving his mind, which had previously been solely focused on alchemy.

All he had to do was digest it!

Slot 6 remained flexible; once he had initiated the Twelve Phases of Guanghan, it would be replaced by the Aurora Evasion Technique, Ice Soul Divine Light, and various other Tier 3 spells.

He was kept incredibly busy.

The advancement of his alchemy skill took over three years, during which Wang Yu's cultivation also progressed rapidly. His spiritual energy accumulated to 1236 strands, and he would reach the peak of the fourth layer after another three and a half years of cultivation.

“A Heavenly Spiritual Root truly is powerful!”

Currently, besides changing his cooperation model, the top priority was to refine a supreme-grade Exquisite Inner Core.

He relied on the comprehension enhanced by this elixir to progress.

“Golden Qi Root, Corrupt Qi Root, Myriad Herbs Qi Root, Seven-Aperture Qi Root…”

He continued refining elixirs!

After reopening the furnace, Wang Yu skillfully released the Ice Drake Alchemic Flame, igniting the Starfall Chill Furnace. He multi-tasked, controlling the flames with the Twelve Flame Spirit Seals.

He continuously calcined the four types of Qi Roots into the desired forms.

Refining, fusing, congealing the elixir, and nurturing the elixir.

The four steps transitioned seamlessly, his technique so perfect it seemed as if he had refined the Exquisite Inner Core countless times, precisely completing each critical stage.

Anyone who witnessed it would marvel at his supreme mastery!

After nurturing the elixir for several days, a unique fragrance wafted into his mind. Simply smelling the elixir made him feel refreshed, and the perplexing problems lingering in his thoughts seemed to find solutions.

“Boom—”

With a palm strike, Wang Yu opened the lid of the alchemy furnace.

A peculiar, multicolored elixir, shining with seven-colored light, floated out. Its color was like glazed glass, and it had seven apertures from which colorful Qi continuously emerged.

This Qi did not dissipate but circulated continuously from one aperture to another, an incredibly wondrous sight.

This was the ancient wondrous elixir he had been collecting for nearly sixty years!

He suppressed the urge to consume it and experience an immediate enlightenment, taking several deep breaths to calm his excitement, and waiting for a while.

After carefully storing the Exquisite Inner Core and cleaning the alchemy furnace, Wang Yu continued refining elixirs.

This time, it was a Tier 3 cultivation elixir—the Guanghan Pill!

Benefitting from the Cold Drake Alchemy technique, this item's effect would increase by 50% when refined to supreme-grade. It would take three years to refine one pill, and it could increase spiritual energy by a total of 150 units.

Note that this is in units.

Meaning 1,500 strands or 15,000 wisps!

Just one supreme-grade Guanghan Pill could save him over two thousand days of arduous cultivation, and this was even with the added efficiency of the placement slots. If both were combined, he could break through to the fifth layer of Core Formation before fully refining the medicinal power.

Given that supreme-grade elixirs typically yield only three pills per furnace, this would help him rapidly advance into the late Core Formation stage, especially when combined with the fortuitous encounter he seized from Wen Hua.

At first glance, he seemed not far from the Nascent Soul stage.

Of course, this was still hypothetical; the elixir's effect was variable, with the actual effect likely to be between 140 and 150 units.

When refining elixirs, the growth from his personal cultivation would be replaced by the refining process. However, the Ten-Thousand Year Profound Ice Bed was effective.

Overall, it could still significantly boost his cultivation.

The refining of the Guanghan Pill also went smoothly.

After all, Wang Yu had thoroughly studied the formulas for both the Exquisite Inner Core and the Guanghan Pill over the past few years, just waiting for the perfect moment to make a huge leap forward!

As expected, this furnace yielded three pills, all of supreme-grade.

Ten days later.

Wang Yu first consumed a Guanghan Pill and began refining it by circulating his cultivation technique. The wisps of pure medicinal power transformed into refined Yin-cold spiritual energy, which he then absorbed.

It was indeed several times faster than cultivating on his own.

After experiencing it for a few days, he set it aside and took out the Exquisite Inner Core, swallowing it. At that moment, Wang Yu's comprehension was permanently enhanced.

He also entered an 'enlightened' state, his mind sharp and agile. Any difficulty he encountered could be understood with a little thought. In this state, the Twelve Phases of Guanghan naturally became his primary goal for comprehension.

Inside the cultivation chamber.

Just a few hours later, a phantom frost moon silhouette rose behind Wang Yu's head. Its size continuously expanded, and a large amount of frost spread from where he sat cross-legged.

The cultivation chamber quickly transformed into an ice room.

The frost moon ascended into the sky, continuously revolving above his immortal's cave, casting down more frosty light and freezing several palace-style buildings.

This wondrous phenomenon couldn't help but attract the attention of his neighbors.

Xue Ying watched the anomaly above Wang Yu's immortal's cave, her hands involuntarily clenching tightly with great force, but they loosened abruptly after only a brief moment.

A pure and natural smile remained on her face.

“Fellow Daoist Wang Yu has made some gains; it is only proper to offer congratulations.”

However, this state, comparable to sudden enlightenment, would last for a considerable time due to the elixir's effects. After the Twelve Phases of Guanghan was successfully initiated and met the requirements for engraving into his Golden Core, all the anomalies completely vanished.

This time, it was the Aurora Evasion Technique. An aurora curtain replaced the frost moon spectacle, making the sky above Wang Yu's immortal's cave exquisitely beautiful with constantly shifting colors. One moment it was light green, the next it transformed into purple.

It was ever-changing and infinitely profound.

This lasted a bit longer. After the Aurora Evasion Technique was initiated, there were no longer such conspicuous anomalies. Instead, a white light imbued with extreme cold began to spread within Wang Yu's immortal's cave.

It was precisely the Ice Soul Divine Light!

This divine ability had infinite potential, even surpassing the Aurora Evasion Technique. It was also the divine ability Wang Yu had comprehended the least, taking him several days to condense it into a straight beam of light.

The three great divine abilities were initiated.

Wang Yu then returned to comprehending the Twelve Phases of Guanghan. This time, no further anomalies appeared; only the phantom frost moon continued to grow larger as he comprehended.

Advancing towards the Minor Completion realm!

A month later.

The enlightened state from the Exquisite Inner Core ended. The Twelve Phases of Guanghan was still a little short of reaching Minor Completion, which left Wang Yu with a slight regret; he should have comprehended the Falling Moon Divine Ability of the Grand Yin Nether Pupil instead.

This feeling only lasted a short while before being replaced by joy.

The supreme-grade quality allowed the Exquisite Inner Core's effects to be maximized. If his comprehension had previously been mediocre, it was now superior.

The tangible result was that the progress bars in the placement slots had all been shortened to varying degrees.

Placement Slot 4: Minor Asura Killing Fist“Minor Asura Killing Fist (80/100): Nine practices a day, perfected in ten years.”

It had been shortened by a full half!

Skills like the Yin Fiend Corpse Refinement Art, Soul Extermination Finger, and Thousands-Mile Manifestation were even more drastically shortened; nearly all of his divine abilities and secret arts had their requirements halved.

Even cultivation techniques like the Ancient Soul Incantation and Prajna Heart Sutra had their completion time reduced by twenty to thirty years.

In summary, one supreme-grade Exquisite Inner Core saved him at least half of his lifespan, an astonishingly massive gain.

“Comprehension truly is crucial, it seems… from now on, I must actively search for knowledge in this area, the more the better.”

To date, in his cultivation, the greatest benefits he had gained were from the Demonic Embryo Profound Origin Secret Incantation and the Exquisite Inner Core, both of which provided improvements to his very being.

Amplified by the placement slots, all benefits were magnified several times over.

After resting for about half an incense stick's worth of time, just as he was about to press on and refine his innate divine ability, the formation outside his immortal's cave was activated. Wang Yu extended his divine sense and immediately understood the reason.

It was probably best to deal with these miscellaneous matters first.

Xue Ying, Yan Ling, a Core Formation Elder from the Qiao Clan, and Tantai Chan representing Yu Tangtang — all those with whom he had elixir cooperation had arrived.

Hm, Xue Ying was an addition; she was merely there to congratulate him.

This made Wang Yu feel a bit strange. He had previously deliberately approached Xue Ying, wanting to uncover her secrets, but progress had been slow, with no significant feedback or gains for the time being.

Recently, he had been preoccupied with various matters, which naturally led to a significant decrease in their communication frequency. Thus, Xue Ying's proactive approach this time seemed somewhat suspicious to him.

He had no other intention; he simply suspected everyone equally.

He divided the visitors into two groups and first met with Xue Ying privately.

“Fellow Daoist Wang Yu, I trust you have been well.”

“Thank you for your concern, Fellow Daoist Xue. Is there a particular reason for your visit this time?”

Seeing his gentle gaze, Xue Ying couldn't help but say, “Recently, there have been continuous anomalies from your immortal's cave, indicating a major breakthrough in your cultivation, I presume. Xue Ying is here to offer congratulations, but… there is indeed something I wish to ask of you.”

“Speak freely.”

“Last time, when Sister Yan Ling collaborated with Fellow Daoist, Xue Ying observed from the side but did not speak. Now that the Qiao Clan has also joined, I wonder… if the Xue Clan could also establish a cooperative relationship with Fellow Daoist?”

“I see. Please follow me.”

Realizing it was a business discussion, Wang Yu adopted a businesslike attitude and led them to another area, where he gathered with Yan Ling, the Qiao Clan representative, and others. After his alchemy skill advanced, he intended to change the cooperation model.

“I can largely guess the reason for your visit.

“However, refining elixirs consumes too much time. I cannot abandon all my cultivation time just to continuously refine pills, so I need to switch to a different cooperation method.”

As soon as he said this, Yan Ling couldn't help but glance at the Qiao Clan representative.

She hinted, “Fellow Daoist Wang's concerns are valid. Yan Ling also feels there are too many people here; perhaps it would be better to continue our cooperation…”

Before she could finish, the Qiao Clan representative, who had just tasted the benefits of the first round, became displeased and cupped his hands towards Wang Yu, saying, “Elder Wang, the agreement reached between Young Master Qiao Yu and yourself is highly valued by us elders of the Qiao Clan. The remuneration for elixir refining was even paid in advance, so the Qiao Clan will certainly participate in this second round of cooperation.”

Seeing how enthusiastic the situation was, Xue Ying hesitated.

She feigned an appearance of considering Wang Yu's well-being.

“Since Brother Wang is so busy, perhaps the Xue Clan's cooperation should be put aside. Xue Ying is not one to impose.”

With a thousand faces among a thousand people, within this newly formed interest group, only Tantai Chan remained silent. There was no other reason… her strength was too low. She was only appointed as a representative by the Blood-Eyed Demonic Dragon due to her special relationship with Wang Yu.

The other party must have known the inside story, and Wang Yu also intended to retrieve her human-slave contract for her.

Xue Ying's words surprised everyone.

And instantly sparked an even greater debate.