Immortality begins with equipping a worn-out talisman pen.

A streak of light descended.

Yang Tianzhen strode into the alchemy room, carrying a gilded brocade box, her smile hearty.

"Master Sun, I am late, please forgive me."

After saying that, he casually handed over the brocade box.

"I have long heard that Master Dan has been lacking in energy in recent years. This is a 300-year-old Red Sun Ginseng that I brought from home. It has remarkable effects on nourishing blood and qi and prolonging life. I hope Master Dan will not refuse it."

Upon hearing this, Master Sun's eyes flashed with joy, and he accepted the gift while simultaneously declining it with both hands.

"Young Master, you are too kind. Such a generous gift is undeserved."

Yang Tianzhen waved her hand and laughed nonchalantly:

"It's just a spiritual herb, but this batch of Foundation Establishment Pills is quite important to me. I hope Alchemist Sun will put in a lot of effort."

Master Sun immediately clasped his hands in greeting.

"Young Master, rest assured, I will do my utmost and will never let you down."

At this point, he seemed to remember something, and his expression became slightly reserved.

"As for my son..."

Yang Tianzhen simply smiled and waved her hand.

"Master Sun, please rest assured. Since your son has become my grandmaster's disciple, he will certainly not be mistreated. My grandmaster has always been very protective of his own. As long as your son performs well, not to mention Foundation Establishment, he will also be able to reach Core Formation. My grandmaster has already made arrangements for him."

Upon hearing this, Master Sun's smile deepened, and he repeatedly cupped his hands in greeting.

"In that case, I am relieved."

......

After exchanging pleasantries, Yang Tianzhen turned around leisurely, her gaze sweeping across the alchemy room, naturally passing over Li Mufeng, until she saw Ling Zixuan, at which point she suddenly stopped.

A look of amazement flashed in his eyes.

"Wow? What a pretty little sister."

Yang Tianzhen smiled and said:

"This fairy, haven't we met somewhere before?"

Ling Zixuan remained calm and spoke in a distant tone.

"Young Master Yang is too kind. I have no recollection of this."

Upon hearing this, Yang Tianzhen laughed even more heartily.

"So you recognize me, young lady. Well, in this Heavenly Immortal City, there aren't many people who don't know this young master."

As he spoke, he turned to look at Xu Zhiyuan.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, you're being unfair. If I had known there would be such a beauty involved in this collaboration, I wouldn't have been late."

Xu Zhiyuan could only force a smile and dared not reply.

Yang Tianzhen, however, had already turned her gaze back to Ling Zixuan.

"Fairy, which batch of Foundation Establishment Pills are you planning to prepare for this time?"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the people in the alchemy room changed slightly.

He seemed to have completely forgotten that three people participated in this alchemy session, including Li Mufeng.

Xu Zhiyuan coughed lightly and carefully reminded him:

"Young Master, the order in which the Foundation Establishment Pills are refined was agreed upon beforehand according to the proportion of spiritual materials provided by each fellow Daoist."

Yang Tianzhen waved her hand dismissively.

"So what? I can just go back and get another batch of spiritual materials."

His tone was casual, as if the Foundation Establishment materials worth tens of thousands of spirit stones were nothing more than ordinary things to him.

Ling Zixuan shook her head slightly.

"Thank you for your kindness, Young Master Yang. Now that I have prepared all the spiritual materials, I will proceed as previously agreed."

As she spoke, her tone remained calm, yet carried a subtle hint of detachment.

"Young Master Yang should spend more time with his female confidante."

Yang Tianzhen was taken aback at first, then smiled wryly and touched her nose. It seemed that her reputation in Tianque Immortal City was not as good as it was among the male cultivators.

"Is the fairy jealous? Fine, fine. Since the fairy is unwilling to accept this, then let's stick to the original agreement."

Throughout the entire process, Master Sun simply watched with a smile and did not utter a single word to stop him.

Li Mufeng held his teacup, silently taking in everything.

For some reason, a faint unease arose in his heart.

Judging from Sun Danshi's attitude towards Yang Tianzhen, this person clearly values ​​this young mountain master highly.

If it truly comes down to choosing between benefits and sacrifices...

Li Mufeng's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't think any further.

After all, the spiritual contract and materials had already been prepared, and it was too late to back out now.

Moreover, given Master Sun's reputation and Yang Tianzhen's presence today, he should at least put in his best effort to refine this batch of Foundation Establishment Pills, or at the very least, produce two pills.

Thinking of this, he relaxed his guard a little.

Afterwards, the three of them took out the spiritual materials they had prepared, counted them on the spot, left their divine sense imprints on the spiritual contract, and officially handed them over to Master Sun.

Just as Master Sun was about to open the furnace, Li Mufeng suddenly spoke.

"Master Sun, may we observe the alchemy process from the sidelines?"

Upon hearing this, Master Sun stroked his beard and smiled.

"Of course, as long as you all stand on the outside and do not disturb me while I am refining the pills."

Li Mufeng bowed in thanks and retreated to one side of the alchemy room with Ling Zixuan.

As for Yang Tianzhen, she was never one to have a good temper.

Seeing that Ling Zixuan remained indifferent to him, he quickly grew bored after sitting for a while, got up, and waved his hand with a smile.

"Take your time refining, this young master has some other matters to attend to."

As soon as he finished speaking, he transformed into a streak of light and drifted away, disappearing to the cave of some confidante.

......

Seven days later.

Suddenly, the alchemy furnace emitted a deep hum, and spiritual patterns lit up one after another on its body.

Li Mufeng's gaze narrowed slightly.

For the past seven days, he has been standing in a corner of the alchemy room, watching Master Sun refine elixirs with utmost concentration.

The harvest was enormous.

He was already a first-grade high-level alchemist and had a considerable understanding of alchemy. Now, he had personally witnessed a senior second-grade alchemist refining pills. Many of the techniques he learned, such as controlling the fire, separating the flames, and melting the medicine, gave him a sense of sudden enlightenment.

He benefited greatly, especially from some of the subtle details.

At the same time, there is a Tier 1 superior alchemy furnace in the equipment slot that is always equipped, which can increase one's comprehension of alchemy.

It can be said that what he gained in these seven days was more than what he had learned in several months of seclusion and arduous practice.

And now, the most crucial step in alchemy has finally arrived.

Sun Danshi's expression turned solemn as his hands moved in a series of afterimages, unleashing dozens of complex hand seals.

The spiritual fire inside the furnace then surged violently.

Li Mufeng was startled, realizing that the other party was condensing the essence of the pill and nurturing the pill patterns.

The final quality of the elixir depends almost entirely on this last step.

Upon seeing this, Li Mufeng couldn't help but secretly admire it.

Putting aside his personal conduct, this Master Sun's ability to become famous throughout the Heavenly Immortal City demonstrates his extraordinary mastery of alchemy.

However, in the next moment.

Li Mufeng's brows suddenly furrowed slightly.

With his current spiritual sense, honed through years of drawing talismans and refining pills, he already far surpasses other cultivators of the same level. Furthermore, with the blessing of the "Boundless Vast Ocean Technique," he is comparable to an ordinary mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. In addition, with the vision of a first-grade high-level alchemist, he is able to vaguely perceive the subtle changes in the pill energy within the furnace.

Normally, when three furnaces of Foundation Building Pills are refined simultaneously, the three clusters of pill energy should be balanced with each other, absorbing spiritual essence together, and eventually condensing into pills.

But at this moment, the scene inside the furnace changed.

One of the clusters of elixir energy actually began to actively devour the spiritual energy condensed from the other two clusters of elixir energy.

The medicinal power, like rivers flowing into the sea, continuously converged on one of the pills.

On the other side, the two clusters of elixir energy quickly dimmed.

If Li Mufeng hadn't been a first-grade high-level alchemist, equipped with a pill furnace that could enhance his understanding of alchemy, and possessed a divine sense far exceeding that of his peers, he would never have been able to detect such a subtle change.

But that is precisely why.

His heart sank little by little.

......

Two days later.

A faint cloud of medicinal powder suddenly rose above the alchemy furnace, and a refreshing medicinal fragrance instantly filled the entire alchemy room.

Master Sun suddenly opened his eyes and shouted in a deep voice.

"open!"

boom--

The furnace lid flew off with a thud, and three streams of light shot out from the furnace. Master Sun swept them up with a flick of his sleeve, and they all fell into his palm.

Li Mufeng's gaze was fixed on the three Foundation Establishment Pills.

The next moment, his pupils contracted slightly.

really.

The three pills were of completely different qualities.

One of them was jet black, and its medicinal properties had completely dissipated, indicating that it had been completely ruined during the refining process.

Although the second pill had been formed, its spiritual light was dim and its Daoist essence was incomplete; it was merely a poorly formed Foundation Establishment Pill.

Only the last one was crystal clear, with several fine pill patterns naturally appearing on its body, its spiritual light flowing, its Daoist charm naturally formed, and a wisp of crimson glow faintly swirling around it.

It was indeed a high-quality Foundation Building Pill.