After studying on the alchemy peak for a few days, Lin Zhiyue gradually pieced together the past of the Third Elder, Zhou Zhengqing, from the other disciples.
Word was that he did not start out as an alchemist. Like several of the other elders, he had originally specialized in the sword.
The Grandmaster of Tiance Palace was the previous Sect Master, who had seven direct disciples under his tutelage. Today, each of them governed their own peak. Zhou Zhengqing was the third among those seven disciples.
The current Palace Master was Xiao Sheng, who specialized in the sword. His cultivation had already reached the late-stage Soul Transformation Stage, and his conferred title was "Shengyang".
The Second Elder, Zhao Chongshan, was a body cultivator who governed Panyuan Peak. His conferred title was "Zhenyue", and his current cultivation was at the mid-stage Soul Transformation Stage.
The Third Elder, Zhou Zhengqing, was an alchemist who governed Qingli Peak. His conferred title was "Ningqiong", and his cultivation was at the late-stage Nascent Soul Stage.
The Fourth Elder, Wen Jianzhi, was a sword cultivator who governed Jinglei Peak. His conferred title was "Tinghua", and he had already reached the early-stage Soul Transformation Stage.
The Fifth Elder, Ye Qingwu, was also a sword cultivator who governed Qingwu Peak. Her conferred title was "Qingwu", and her cultivation was at the late-stage Nascent Soul Stage.
The Sixth Elder, Shi Jingge, held the conferred title "Mingge", and was currently also at the late-stage Nascent Soul Stage.
Finally, there was Qi Yan, who governed the side peak closest to the main peak. His cultivation had reached the late-stage Soul Transformation Stage, and his conferred title was "Yanchen".
Of the seven disciples under the Grandmaster, they were either sword cultivators or body cultivators, each possessing different spiritual root attributes. Only Zhou Zhengqing had become completely obsessed with alchemy halfway through his sword cultivation.
Others felt he had strayed onto the wrong path, whispering that transitioning from a sword cultivator to an alchemist was a late start, and that no matter how high his talent, it would be difficult for him to reach the peak.
But the Grandmaster did not stop him. When Zhou Zhengqing brought an alchemy recipe to ask about it, the Grandmaster merely took it, looked it over, and handed it back.
It was said that the Grandmaster only said two sentences at the time: “If you want to learn it, then learn it. Whether you succeed or fail, it is your own path. Leave your sword aside; it won't stop you from turning back.”
Later, Zhou Zhengqing dedicated himself to the path of alchemy for over thirty years. At his best, he had refined a seventh-grade spiritual pill, earning him the title of Alchemy Venerable ever since.
He became one of the few cultivators in the Sanglan Realm who could independently refine seventh-grade pills. Luohong Valley had tried to invite him to lecture several times, but he had turned them all down.
After hearing all this, Lin Zhiyue flipped over the dried Baizhi herb in her hand.
She had previously wondered why Elder Zhou was an alchemist, and now she finally had her answer.
She spent a few more days on the alchemy peak. Every time Zhou Zhengqing corrected her control over the flames, his tone was calm, neither warm nor cold.
However, whether because she came more frequently than others or for some other reason, Lin Zhiyue could clearly feel that Elder Zhou paid slightly more attention to her than to the others.
He would often offer her a brief tip during breaks in refining, or give her a gentle nudge in the right direction when she hit a bottleneck.
Only later did she realize that Elder Zhou saw a shadow of his younger self in her.
A few days later, she successfully refined another Heart-Clearing Pill, its quality even cleaner and purer than the ones she had made before.
She carefully put the Heart-Clearing Pill away, waiting for it to cool down before placing it into a prepared jade vial and sealing it tightly with a stopper.
...
Lin Zhiyue stayed on Qingli Peak for a month. At first, the disciples on the alchemy peak did not react much to her coming to learn alchemy. To them, a sword cultivator with an Ice and Wind dual spiritual root coming to Qingli Peak was likely just looking for a change of scenery out of boredom.
After all, the path of alchemy was universally acknowledged to be most suited for those with wood and flame spiritual roots.
A flame spiritual root naturally allowed for more precise control over the alchemical fire, while a wood spiritual root made one more sensitive to the shifting medicinal properties of spiritual herbs—each had its own advantages.
This was also why the vast majority of alchemists possessed one of these two spiritual roots.
It wasn't that those with other spiritual roots couldn't refine pills, but the threshold was much higher, and the path far narrower.
However, starting from the third week, her refining speed saw a noticeable increase. She successfully refined several commonly used medicines, such as the Heart-Clearing Pill and Spirit-Recovering Powder, with highly stable quality.
By the fourth week, she had significantly shortened the preheating time of the cauldron and even began experimenting with adjusting the proportions of ingredients in new recipes, achieving highly stable results.
People on Qingli Peak began to notice her, occasionally lingering to watch her for a few moments while she worked.
On the last day of the month, she placed the final batch of medicinal herbs into the cauldron and watched the fire closely, adjusting the temperature to the perfect level.
Under her control, the spiritual fire was more even than during her previous attempts. The herbal juices fused perfectly in the cauldron without any separation. She adjusted the intensity of the flames twice during the condensation process, and the medicinal liquid inside the furnace gradually solidified into round, smooth pills.
Once the cauldron cooled down, she opened the lid. Lying at the bottom were three Foundation Establishment Pills, each perfectly formed with a uniform luster coating their surfaces.
She took them out one by one, producing a few crisp clinking sounds as she placed them onto a jade plate.
Nearby, a disciple busy with his own work suddenly paused. His gaze swept toward the inside of her cauldron, but he looked away before getting a clear view.
Yet the moment he turned his head, he realized what he had just glimpsed. He whipped his head back, his eyes widening in disbelief. “A Foundation Establishment Pill? You actually refined one?”
A moment later, the news spread outside the alchemy room: a sword cultivator had come to the Third Elder's peak and refined three Foundation Establishment Pills in a single batch within just one month.
Instantly, a crowd gathered to witness the spectacle.
Some put down their pestles and approached to observe, while others held the pills up to the window to inspect them in the light.
Soon, everyone knew. Lin Zhiyue, with only an Ice and Wind dual spiritual root, had reached a level in a single month that took others over a year of study to achieve.
The disciples of Qingli Peak had initially maintained a wait-and-see attitude, harboring reservations about someone with an Ice and Wind spiritual root refining pills. But after seeing the quality of those three Foundation Establishment Pills, those skeptical voices gradually faded away.
Not everyone had believed she could achieve this, but now that she had, all doubts naturally vanished.
By evening, Qingli Peak returned to its usual tranquility. The fires in the alchemy room were slowly cooling, the embers gradually dimming at the bottom of the furnaces.
Lin Zhiyue stored the three Foundation Establishment Pills in a jade vial, sealed it with a stopper, and placed it in the spot reserved for her on the shelf.
...
From then on, Lin Zhiyue became arguably the most famous disciple in all of Tiance Palace. First, she had shattered the record for the youngest disciple to reach the Nascent Soul Stage, and now she had made a name for herself in the art of alchemy.
Moreover, there were those high-grade dharma robes and spiritual artifacts she could pull out at a whim—treasures that others struggled to obtain even a single piece of, yet she treated them as if they were just random accessories she had casually picked out.
Some secretly speculated whether she was the beloved daughter of some hidden clan sent out to experience the world.
Others muttered in private that this was no longer a case of the heavens bestowing talent upon her, but rather the heavens chasing after her to force-feed her success. She could no longer be called a genius; she was simply a freak.
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