I've announced that I'm destined to have many children, and my father has bestowed upon me

From the Prince's residence to the Imperial Palace, and then to leaving the Imperial Study, Zhao Chen'an's steps never faltered.

Instead of going home, he headed straight into the depths of the palace.

That royal treasury, symbolizing the centuries-old heritage of the Great Zhou Dynasty, is located there.

Before the treasure vault, two squads of imperial guards, clad in black armor and wielding long spears, stood solemnly.

Their auras were deep and resolute; each of them was an elite who had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and their cultivation level was at least at the other side of the Sea of ​​Wheels realm.

The two commanders of the Imperial Guards were both experts at the Dao Palace Realm.

Upon seeing Zhao Chen'an appear, the two commanders showed no surprise, as if they had already received the order.

They stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and spoke with resounding voices.

"This humble general pays his respects to Your Highness, the Prince of Wei!"

The imperial guards behind him also knelt down in unison, the clanging of their armor crisp and solemn.

"By His Majesty's decree, Your Highness may freely enter and leave the treasury; we are not permitted to obstruct you!"

"Rise."

Zhao Chen'an spoke calmly, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching the ears of every Imperial Guard.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Everyone stood up, and the leader stepped forward, respectfully presenting an ancient-looking token with both hands.

"Your Highness, this is the key token for the treasury."

Zhao Chen'an nodded and accepted the token.

Without saying a word, he walked straight toward the enormous gate, which was ten feet high and entirely forged from deep-sea black iron.

As he channeled his spiritual energy into the token, countless intricate array patterns on the heavy gate lit up one by one, emitting a deep hum.

"Creak—"

The heavy gate, heavy enough to cause mountains to collapse, slowly opened inward.

A rich aura, a mixture of metal, herbs, and spiritual energy, wafted over, almost solidifying.

Zhao Chen'an stepped inside, and the giant door behind him slowly closed, separating the inside from the outside into two worlds.

The space inside the treasure vault was far more expansive than it appeared from the outside.

It clearly employs the technique of spatial folding.

As far as the eye can see, there are rows of huge shelves made of thousand-year-old soul-nourishing wood, neatly arranged on both sides of the wide aisle, stretching all the way to the end of the field of vision.

On the left-hand side, various weapons and magical artifacts are displayed.

Swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, and forks—a dazzling array.

Each piece shimmered with light and radiated considerable power.

Unfortunately, the vast majority are only of the Yellow grade, while the Xuan grade is extremely rare and is placed separately in a grid protected by an array.

The area on the right contains miscellaneous items such as pills, cultivation techniques, and talismans.

Jade bottles stood in rows, and the air was filled with the fragrance of cinnabar.

The books were piled up, recording various methods of spiritual practice.

These are mostly of the yellow and black grades.

Zhao Chen'an's steps never stopped, his gaze merely sweeping across the scene.

These things might be coveted treasures for ordinary cultivators, but they held little appeal for him.

His target was the materials section at the deepest part of the treasure trove.

After walking through rows of shelves, he finally arrived at his destination.

The concentration of spiritual energy here is several times higher than outside.

Various rare ores, spiritual herbs, and monster materials are neatly categorized and placed in specially made jade boxes or crystal cabinets, radiating a dazzling array of colors.

"This is it."

Zhao Chen'an took a deep breath, suppressing the slight excitement in his heart.

With a thought, an ancient and heavy three-legged, two-eared round cauldron appeared out of thin air and crashed to the ground.

It is indeed a sacred magical artifact, the Nine Provinces Universe Cauldron!

The moment the cauldron appeared, a heavy aura that suppressed heaven and earth spread out, and the spiritual energy in the entire treasure vault space seemed to freeze for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, a wisp of pale white flame rose from his fingertips.

Unquenchable Ghost Flame!

As soon as this Yellow-grade spiritual treasure appeared, the surrounding temperature dropped sharply, and frost seemed to condense in the air.

"A sacred-grade pill cauldron, the spiritual fire of heaven and earth, plus a sacred-grade cultivation technique..."

Looking at the configuration in front of him, Zhao Chen'an couldn't help but grin.

These conditions are simply the epitome of luxury.

For an ordinary cultivator at the Fourth Extreme Realm, let alone refining a Heaven-grade pill, even successfully refining a high-grade Profound-grade pill would be something to be proud of.

But he was different.

He possessed the top-tier equipment that countless alchemists dreamed of.

"Start with the simplest things."

Zhao Chen'an quickly composed himself and began searching the materials shelf.

What he was going to refine was the most common and basic yellow-grade pill on the market—the Spirit Gathering Pill.

The only materials needed are a hundred-year-old Spirit Gathering Grass, supplemented with a few common medicinal herbs.

For the royal treasury, materials of this caliber were simply piled up like mountains.

He casually picked up ten sets of materials, and his divine sense sank into his mind. The method for refining the Spirit Gathering Pill in the Saint-grade cultivation technique "The Alchemy of Heavenly Connection" became clear in an instant.

The next moment, he flicked his finger.

The undying ghost fire transformed into a white line and instantly disappeared beneath the Nine Provinces Universe Cauldron.

boom!

Inside the cauldron, a ghostly white flame burned fiercely.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhao Chen'an precisely placed a portion of the Spirit Gathering Grass material into the cauldron.

Under the exquisite control methods of the "Daoist Alchemy Techniques," his divine sense seemed to transform into countless invisible hands, performing the most minute decomposition and purification of the medicinal materials inside the cauldron.

Under the scorching heat of the will-o'-the-wisp, the medicinal herbs quickly melted into a pure medicinal liquid, and impurities were removed one by one.

The entire process was smooth and seamless, without the slightest hesitation.

The powerful effects of the Nine Provinces Universe Cauldron are now fully revealed. It can not only perfectly lock in the medicinal power, but also assist in purification on its own, greatly reducing the difficulty of alchemy.

It only takes the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Zhao Chen'an suddenly opened his eyes, made a hand seal with one hand, and gently tapped the cauldron.

"Freeze!"

The churning liquid inside the cauldron instantly contracted and condensed into a solid form.

hum!

The cauldron emitted a soft sound, and its lid flew up on its own.

Twelve plump, emerald-green pills lay quietly at the bottom of the cauldron, their rich aroma instantly filling the entire space.

Each pill has three distinct pill patterns on it!

Yellow-grade, top quality!

And it's a full-fledged Dan!

"Success on the first try, and the quality is so high..."

Zhao Chen'an picked up a Spirit Gathering Pill and examined it carefully.

Even though I had expected it, I couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

The combination of a sacred-grade pill cauldron, the spiritual fire of heaven and earth, and a sacred-grade cultivation technique had an effect even more terrifying than he had imagined.

If this gets out, it will probably shock everyone.

Without stopping, Zhao Chen'an immediately began the second refining process.

This time, he was even more adept.

Purification, fusion, and condensation are all completed in one go.

Another full set of twelve high-grade Yellow Spirit Gathering Pills!

He didn't stop, throwing one piece of material after another into the cauldron, like a tireless machine.

Spirit Gathering Pill, Vitality Restoration Pill, Mind Cleansing Pill...

Various high-grade elixirs were created one after another in his hands.

The success rate is 100%, and every batch yields a full set of pills, each one of superior quality!

As time went by, Zhao Chen'an's understanding of the "Daoist Alchemy" deepened, and his control over the Undying Ghost Flame became increasingly sophisticated.

Only three days had passed when he had used up all the yellow-grade alchemy materials in the treasure vault.

"It's time to try the profound-grade."

Zhao Chen'an showed no signs of fatigue; on the contrary, he was even more excited.

He turned his attention to those older, more spiritually potent materials.

The pill he chose to refine was a mid-grade Xuan-level elixir, the Purple Mansion Pill.

This pill can help cultivators at the Dao Palace Realm refine their Dao Palace and stabilize their cultivation; it is quite valuable.

Its refining difficulty is more than ten times higher than that of Yellow-grade pills.

Zhao Chen'an took a deep breath and, following the prescription, put dozens of medicinal herbs into the cauldron one by one.

He exerted all his divine sense, carefully controlling the heat.

This time, it took even longer.

Three full hours later, a buzzing sound indicating the completion of the elixir emanated from the cauldron.

"open!"

The lid of the cauldron flew up, revealing nine pills shrouded in purple mist.

Top-grade Xuan-level item!

Although it wasn't a perfect pill, this result was still enough to drive any alchemist crazy!

Zhao Chen'an's confidence grew stronger.

For the next ten days, he spent almost no time sleeping, immersing himself in the world of alchemy.

He squandered all the rare materials in the treasure vault.

And his alchemy skills also improved by leaps and bounds at an alarming rate during this frenzied practice.

By the fifteenth day, he was able to consistently refine high-grade Xuan-level pills, and occasionally even achieve the miracle of producing a full-bodied pill.

"It's time to challenge the earth-grade ones."

Zhao Chen'an's gaze fell on the top shelf, on those jade boxes protected by layers of arrays.