After returning to her cave dwelling, Shi Yu took a good rest for a full day. The following day, she brought Qingzhou along to the Alchemist Association.
During the month she had spent inside the Legacy of Subtle Wonders, Qingzhou had successfully broken through to the fifth layer of the Qi Refining Realm. At the moment of his breakthrough, Shi Yu had also reaped some benefits through the life scale; a strand of exceptionally pure spiritual energy flowed into her body through the scale, instantly forming two new Qi cyclones inside her dantian.
Today was the day of their departure.
Shi Yu left most of her pills and spirit talismans inside the Fate-Tapping Bell, handing them over to Mo Tong to replenish the shop's stock. She also gave Qingzhou another round of instructions regarding the care of the spiritual grain, chickens, ducks, and so forth in the cave dwelling.
Since Shi Yu and Qingzhou shared a mental connection, Qingzhou only needed a few brief words to make Mo Tong fully understand her instructions.
Before they departed, Mo Tong looked at the two of them. Though a hint of loneliness flickered in his eyes, he merely gave an obedient smile and said softly, “Ah Yu, come back early.”
Shi Yu nodded. “I'll return as soon as things are wrapped up. Stay safe in the shop with Ji Yu.”
When they reached the association, the people who were going to the exchange conference had already arrived one after another.
Although President Song and the others harbored dissatisfaction toward the Alchemist Association of Hengze Prefecture, they knew full well that this was an excellent opportunity to exchange alchemy techniques. Thus, they brought a good number of people along.
Apart from several elders, there were about twenty other participants.
The exchange conference imposed an age limit, permitting only cultivators under fifty to enter. Among these twenty-odd people, seven or eight were right at the fifty-year limit, participating in the competition, while the rest were younger folks tagging along to broaden their horizons.
Though they had been mocked earlier by Hengze Prefecture's Yin Wenzhou over the matter of age, President Song knew that many in the association had been looking forward for years to taking this chance to compete against alchemists from various prefectures.
Furthermore, only competitors would have the chance to visit the Yanyang Spiritual Realm, so the slots could not be left vacant. Even if their rankings turned out disappointing, everyone would still come away with some gains.
With this thought in mind, President Song, Master Ji, and the others turned their gazes to Shi Yu once more.
Among Tier-2 alchemists, none could rival her. This time, one of the slots to enter the Yanyang Spiritual Realm was bound to be hers.
That was enough.
The two exchanged a look and nodded slightly, after which President Song pulled out a cloud boat.
The cloud boat expanded as it caught the wind, rapidly swelling from palm-sized to over ten feet long.
“Everyone, get on.”
Just then, President Liang Guan hurried over. “Hey! Old Song, wait!”
President Song raised an eyebrow. “What, here to see us off?”
Liang Guan didn't deny it, beaming with smiles.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, he walked up to Shi Yu, fetched a pill furnace from his space ring, thrust out his belly, and chuckled softly. “Time was tight, so I refined this for you. Just make do with it for now.”
The pill furnace was a dark gold color all over, speckled with faint sparkles. Simple, rustic runes were carved beneath the furnace, linked into several restrictions that radiated a calm and heavy aura. Though its appearance was plain and unassuming, it was an authentic Tier-3 High-Grade pill furnace.
Everyone couldn't help thinking, “You call this making do?”
With a look that said 'at least you're somewhat useful,' President Song nodded contentedly. “Not bad, not bad. Girl Yu's pill furnace indeed needed an upgrade.”
With her extraordinary discernment, Shi Yu could tell that the spiritual materials used for this pill furnace were all top-notch, and its restrictions had been meticulously paired and carved.
Knowing that President Liang Guan must have poured immense effort into this, Shi Yu felt moved, her fingers lightly brushing over the furnace body. “President...”
Liang Guan raised his hand to stop her words. “Go on. May you have a smooth journey.”
Shi Yu gave a soft acknowledgment and put the pill furnace away.
Liang Guan looked up, his gaze meeting President Song's, and gave a brief nod.
“Let's go,” President Song said, standing at the bow of the boat.
Everyone boarded the boat one by one. Shi Yu bade farewell to President Liang Guan and boarded the cloud boat together with Qingzhou.
Once everyone was standing firmly, President Song struck out a spell, injecting spiritual energy into the runes engraved upon the cloud boat. In an instant, all the runes lit up, and the cloud boat rose into the air, gliding serenely into the distance under his command.
President Song's cloud boat was of no low grade, barely reaching Tier-4. At its maximum size, it was over a hundred feet long and housed several rooms inside. Though small, they were perfect for resting during long journeys, saving everyone from huddling together.
Shi Yu was assigned a private room. Though small, it was a suite. She went into the inner room to rest while Qingzhou stayed on guard in the outer room.
As it was still early in the day and the journey ahead was long, she simply retrieved the pill furnace gifted by President Liang Guan. Touching its outer body, she intended to get accustomed to it first.
Having absorbed the essence and mystery of numerous ancient texts inside the Legacy of Subtle Wonders, Shi Yu felt she had gained immensely. “I can try refining Tier-3 pills now.”
Although President Song and Master Ji no longer demanded more of her—fearing that rushing her development might be counterproductive—Shi Yu still wanted to give it a try herself.
“That Yin Wenzhou once humiliated many members of the association. I should win back some pride for them and for the president.” Shi Yu let out a slow breath, pursing her lips for a brief moment.
After a short pause, she chuckled softly and flicked a finger, sending the Void Fissure Spiritual Flame into the pill furnace. The crimson flame, speckled with bright gold, surged up instantly and burned inside the furnace.
“Let me try the Heart-Clearing Pill.” At the previous Alchemy Exchange Conference, Yin Wenzhou had won top honors with a batch of low-grade Heart-Clearing Pills.
The Heart-Clearing Pill possessed the effects of clearing the heart and focusing the mind, aiding cultivators in reducing stray thoughts and better comprehending cultivation methods. It was not considered difficult to refine among Tier-3 pills, so Shi Yu decided to use it for practice.
Recalling the pill recipe, she retrieved the corresponding spiritual plants from the Fate-Tapping Bell. After warming up the furnace, she tossed the spiritual plants into the furnace in sequence.
Watching the spiritual plants engulfed in crimson fire, Shi Yu cast several pill seals, controlling the flames—blended with spiritual energy and divine sense—to burn away impurities and refine the medicinal liquid.
The spiritual plants required for refining Tier-3 pills were higher in rank and age, which meant their refining process consumed far more energy, while also demanding much finer control over the fire.
For Shi Yu, who had just stepped into the seventh layer of the Qi Refining Realm, this was no easy feat.
Intense heat pervaded the entire room. Shi Yu's face turned completely red, though whether from the glow of the fire or from the strain, it was hard to tell.
Faint steam seeped from the pill furnace, coiling in the room until it was filled with smoky heat.
Shi Yu frowned slightly. Seeing that the state of the medicinal liquid inside was wrong, she knew this attempt was going to fail. Sure enough, in the next instant, with a pop, the medicinal liquid exploded into a black mass of slag inside the pill furnace.
Shi Yu wasn't disappointed; failure in alchemy was a common occurrence.
Lowering her eyes, she reflected on the process and identified her improper fire control earlier. After taking a Qi-Restoring Pill to recover her spiritual energy, she began another attempt.
Expectedly, this try ended in failure as well.
With her current strength of divine sense, controlling the refinement of a Tier-3 pill was indeed no small task.
After two attempts, her internal spiritual energy was depleted, and her divine sense throbbed with faint pain and exhaustion. The fatigue on Shi Yu's face was almost impossible to conceal.
“Refining a Tier-3 pill is still a bit too taxing for me right now.”
She cleaned up the liquid slag, tapped her temples, and felt a wave of dizziness wash over her head. Knowing better than to push herself further, she walked with unsteady steps to her bed and collapsed into sleep.
...
By the time Shi Yu woke up again, it was already dusk.
Stepping out of her room, she saw that the person steering the cloud boat at the bow had changed to Master Ji, while President Song was meditating nearby to recover.
Steering such a massive cloud boat consumed a considerable amount of spiritual energy.
Shi Yu did not disturb the two. Leaning against the boat railing, she looked down. The scenery that greeted her eyes was quite familiar, making her raise her brows. “We've reached the Fulong Mountain Range?”
Steep peaks rose isolated and ranges stretched continuously, curling and winding like a sleeping giant dragon—it was indeed the Fulong Mountain Range.
The market town where she had stayed for a long time upon first arriving in the Origin Realm also came into view.
Right at that moment, President Song called out, “We've been flying all day. Let me drop down to that market town so we can rest our feet.”
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