Immortality: Starting with the Fruit of Taiyin

……

Time flies, and half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

After leaving Yuqinxuan that day, Wang Xuan inquired about the prices of several other shops.

After comparing various options, the cost of a batch of Azure Cloud Pills is approximately two hundred low-grade spirit stones.

As a breakthrough pill, the Azure Cloud Pill, like the Foundation Establishment Pill, is a rare "Great Pill" in the alchemy system—meaning that theoretically, a single batch of pills will not produce more than five pills, and some may only produce two or three or even one.

Furthermore, it's almost unheard of for alchemists to achieve a 100% success rate in pill production, so this number is likely even lower.

Generally speaking, even a senior first-grade high-quality alchemist can only produce two to three Biyun Pills out of the theoretical five required to be successfully made, with one or two being of good quality and one or two being of inferior quality.

But the price of this kind of pill is another matter entirely...

"A genuine Azure Cloud Pill costs between 180 and 210 spirit stones, while a substandard one costs between 150 and 180 spirit stones. Moreover, both are often out of stock."

"A single batch of pills yields more than double the profit; it's practically robbery... But considering the bottomless pit of initial investment, it doesn't seem so outrageous."

"After all, unlike pills of the second or third rank and above, the reason why high-grade first-rank breakthrough pills are rare is simply because Nascent Soul sects intentionally control them."

"When it comes to making real money, high-grade pills are the way to go."

As Wang Xuan entered the underground fire chamber, he sighed slightly.

For high-level pills like Breakthrough Pills, the refining time for a single batch is often several times longer than that for pills of the same level.

Taking the Azure Cloud Pill as an example, it is normal for one batch to take two or three days to refine.

Adding in the rest time and personal cultivation time, it's not difficult to earn three or four hundred spirit stones by opening the furnace twice a month.

It sounds pretty good, but considering that almost all alchemists have someone behind them to some extent, and who knows how much resources were invested in them in their early years.

At this rate, it will be difficult to make up for the costs you've incurred in alchemy along the way, and also to generate sufficient profits for the sect and family that nurtured you.

In general, alchemists are wealthy, but unless they are alchemists like Wang Xuan who have risen to the top through extraordinary means, the wealth of a normal high-grade alchemist is not that extravagant; they can barely recoup their initial investment costs.

This phenomenon can only be reversed after the second order.

"Han Changming has left, and the dispute between Han and Huang has come to a temporary end. It's time for me to deliver the promised pills."

With a wave of his hand, Wang Xuan sealed the door behind him and took out a high-grade pill cauldron.

"The Lesser Jade Marrow Pill is a first-grade high-quality spiritual medicine with the marrow of demonic beasts as the main ingredient, which simulates the effects of the spiritual object 'Centennial Jade Marrow'."

"To temper the bones and body, and to cultivate yang energy."

"The second-tier low-grade 'Jade Marrow Body Transformation Pill', the second-tier mid-grade 'Jade Marrow Spirit Transformation Pill', and the second-tier high-grade 'Jade Marrow Yang-Descending Pill' are its superior grades."

"According to the alchemical texts, if combined with the corresponding cultivation techniques, one can cultivate a spiritual talent called 'Jade Bone' later in life."

"This kind of spiritual characteristic is not uncommon; it manifests and mutates in many kinds of spiritual beings."

"For example, the talent belonging to the 'Glazed Lotus Heart Body' is 'Ice Skin and Jade Bones Illuminating a Loyal Heart'; or in a certain sword spirit body, the 'Jade Bones' can be transformed into a kind of sword bone that nurtures sword energy."

"There are also demonic spirit bodies, body-cultivating spirit bodies, and even those like the 'Jade Phoenix Marrow Body' used for dual cultivation. I wonder what their wonderful uses are..."

He sighed inwardly, realizing that these things were still quite far removed from Wang Xuan's reach.

The demon race has bloodlines, while the human race has celestial spiritual roots and spiritual bodies.

In terms of quality, even the most ordinary spiritual body, once activated, is equivalent to a top-tier earth spiritual root of over 70 points, essentially comparable to the peak of the third tier, and can be superimposed on the cultivator's own spiritual root.

However, the vast majority of spiritual entities have special development methods.

If they don't receive proper nurturing, their spiritual talents won't be fully realized, and they'll ultimately just fade into obscurity.

In a sense, this might also be a limitation imposed by the natural order on human cultivators who are not bound by "bloodline shackles"...

"It's not just about qualifications, it's also about inheritance."

"If there is no Dao fruit, the cultivation method was not deduced by me on my own."

"If anyone else wanted to cultivate the [Taiyin Jade Scroll], they would probably need some kind of Taiyin-related spiritual body or a water-attribute celestial spiritual root to even begin."

"Otherwise, we'll need external assistance..."

Recalling the pure moonlight that fell from the heavens when he first began practicing his martial arts, Wang Xuan couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

Special physical constitutions require development, and advanced cultivation techniques are not something just anyone can practice.

Even Ye Yan, who was focused on body cultivation, was suspected by Wang Xuan that he didn't actually want to be a "rebellious son" of the version, but was making preliminary preparations for the cultivation of a certain special technique.

Of course, whether it is true or not, it has nothing to do with him for the time being.

Inside the alchemy room, the earth fire was ignited.

After releasing the bones of a second-tier demon beast, Wang Xuan began refining the 'Minor Jade Marrow Pill'.

Completely focused and without any slackening.

Even considering the corpse of this second-tier demon beast, he didn't intend to tamper with it.

……

A day and a night passed quickly, and the alchemy process was nothing special.

It wasn't until Wang Xuan held the spirit stone for the second time that his magical power was restored.

He finally changed his hand seals and began the final elixir-forming process.

Ding--

A moment later, with a soft sound that seemed to penetrate straight to the soul, Wang Xuan's face lit up with joy.

The cauldron resonates with the sound of cinnabar, a common phenomenon when cultivators complete a pill, and a standard feature of many third-tier pills.

But for such a strange phenomenon to occur with a first-tier elixir, there can only be one possibility.

bang——

"Premium elixir!"

The furnace lid was lifted, and Wang Xuan reached out and beckoned, and a spiritual pill immediately fell into his hand.

The Lesser Jade Marrow Pill is also a kind of "Great Pill". Theoretically, a maximum of three pills can be made in one batch. He only made one, which seems to be inconsistent with his level of alchemy skills.

But looking at the jade-colored elixir imprinted with three profound pill patterns, Wang Xuan knew that he had performed exceptionally well this time in refining pills.

"Logically speaking, alchemy skills at the minor level cannot produce high-quality pills, but alchemy is not like leveling up in a game... It's perfectly normal to make a breakthrough when using second-tier bones as the main ingredient."

Taking a deep breath, this was the first high-quality elixir that Wang Xuan had refined in this life.

Even if we got a bargain on the materials, this is still a valuable experience.

……

The next day, at Tingyuxuan.

The message was sent in the pre-arranged manner, and Wang Xuan arrived as agreed after receiving a response.

However, before they could even sit down after entering the private room, Ye Yan's impatient voice came over.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, what was the result?"

"I have successfully completed my mission."

Nodding slightly, Wang Xuan took out a jade box from his storage bag and pushed it to the opposite side.

Upon hearing this, Ye Yan's expression brightened, and he immediately opened the jade box.

A jade-colored pill with three red patterns was placed in the center of the pill box, and a refreshing fragrance wafted out.

"Premium elixirs?!"

He blurted out, "Ye Yan isn't blind."

Generally speaking, inferior elixirs often have a gray line on the surface, which is a sign that the erysipelas has not been eliminated.

Genuine pills will have two pill patterns, while premium pills will have three pill patterns.