Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Chapter 256 Thousand Waves Island

Feeling the overwhelming pressure emanating from Chen Yuan, Liu Yuan was stunned for a moment, and the smile on his face immediately faded. He bowed his head slightly and said respectfully: "Senior Chen... Senior Chen, please wait for a moment. I will go and invite Taoist Fellow Yuhuan to come."

Although Yu Chutang has the background of the Righteous Alliance, he is only a Foundation Establishment cultivator and dares not act rashly in front of a Jindan cultivator.

But besides being respectful, Liu Yuan also felt mixed emotions, and an unconcealable envy flashed in the depths of his eyes.

The fellow Taoist who used to be a peer has now become a senior who has reached the Jindan stage. He has been a deacon in Yuchu Hall for dozens of years and has experienced this kind of thing several times before, but he felt very awkward every time.

After bowing to Chen Yuan, he turned and left the quiet room. About a quarter of an hour later, he walked in side by side with Yuhuanzi.

Yu Huanzi had obviously learned from Liu Yuan that Chen Yuan had formed a golden elixir. She looked at Chen Yuan with great respect and immediately bowed as soon as she entered the room: "Congratulations, senior, on forming a golden elixir. Great progress is in store for you!"

Chen Yuan's mind moved, and he took out the token of the guest elder of the Righteous Alliance from the mustard seed ring, and said with a smile: "Chen has joined the Righteous Alliance, and the two Taoist friends are family. The two Taoist friends don't have to be restrained."

When Yuhuanzi and Liu Yuan saw the token that Chen Yuan took out, their attitudes became even more respectful. Yuhuanzi said, "I wonder what the senior wants to see me about? As long as I can do it, I will never refuse."

If Chen Yuan was just a casual cultivator, they, as members of the Righteous Alliance, would still have some confidence, but facing the guest elders of the alliance, they did not dare to be arrogant at all.

Since Chen Yuan was able to become a guest elder of the Righteous Alliance, he must be either very powerful or have a good relationship with the Jindan elders in the alliance. No matter which one it is, he is not someone that the two of them, a mere foundation-building cultivator, can afford to offend.

Chen Yuan took the guest elder's token back into the mustard seed ring, said nothing, and turned to look at Liu Yuan.

Liu Yuan immediately understood and said with a smile: "Senior Chen, I still have some trivial matters to deal with, so I'll take my leave first."

After saying this, he bowed, turned around and left the quiet room, leaving only Chen Yuan and Yuhuanzi in the room.

Chen Yuan then said, "Fellow Daoist Yuhuan, please take a seat. I just want to ask you a small question. I won't keep you too long."

Yuhuanzi felt relieved and sat down properly opposite Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan smiled and said, "I bought the Youyun Pill recipe from you a few years ago. Do you still remember it?"

Yu Huanzi was a little puzzled, not knowing why Chen Yuan brought this up, but she immediately replied, "I have carefully studied this recipe. Although I have never refined it in the furnace, I am quite familiar with it."

Chen Yuan sighed softly: "I gathered two furnaces of Youyun Dan spiritual herbs, then bought the recipe from a fellow Taoist, and tried to open the furnace to refine the pill and strive for the Jindan Grandmaster, but I didn't succeed."

"This Youyun Pill is extremely difficult to refine. Although I have refined it once, I still have many doubts. Even if I start refining the second batch of pills, the chance of success is not high. I am very distressed."

Yu Huanzi was even more puzzled, and asked cautiously: "Why didn't Elder Chen refine the Fu Cen Pill and Ling Hai Pill first?"

Not only is Youyun Pill difficult to refine, but the spiritual herbs are also extremely hard to find. If Chen Yuan can gather the spiritual herbs for two furnaces of Youyun Pill, there is no reason why he cannot gather the spiritual herbs for Fucen Pill and Linghai Pill.

Chen Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "I have used up all my spiritual stones in order to make a pill. I also got the spiritual herbs for Youyun Pill by chance. It was not easy to buy the recipes for Fucen Pill and Linghai Pill, but I don't have the spare money to buy more spiritual herbs."

Yuhuanzi suddenly realized that in the world of immortal cultivation, elixir recipes were easy to obtain, but spiritual herbs were hard to find. It seemed that Chen Yuan purchased these two elixir recipes in advance just to prepare for a rainy day, and only gathered the spiritual herbs for Youyun Pill.

But then he became even more confused. He was just an alchemy master and his realm was not as good as Chen Yuan. Since Chen Yuan could not make the elixir, why did he come to Yuchutang to find him?
He asked, "Is there anything I can do to help Elder Chen?"

Chen Yuan finally spoke out his intention: "I see that the jade slip that records the Youyun Pill recipe is quite old, and the annotations in the recipe are also very insightful. The person who wrote the recipe must have extraordinary alchemy skills. I wonder from whom did Daoist Yuhuan get this recipe? If it is convenient, could you introduce it to me?"

Yuhuanzi suddenly realized that Chen Yuan came because of the elixir recipe.

All elixir recipes are created by alchemists, and each alchemist has his own unique insights into elixir making. Even the same elixir recipe will be different under the hands of different alchemists, and these differences are reflected in the annotations of the elixir recipe.

Some extremely talented alchemists can even improve the recipes based on those of their predecessors and create new ones.

This is also because the spiritual herbs in the world of immortal cultivation are becoming increasingly scarce, and some spiritual herbs in ancient elixir recipes have even become extinct. The elixir recipes must be improved in order to refine these elixirs and meet the needs of cultivators.

Thanks to the efforts of generations of alchemists, there are more and more elixir recipes circulating in the world of immortal cultivation, and the differences between them are becoming greater and greater.

But no matter what, the original pill formula will not change. After the alchemist obtains these recipes, he can choose to comprehend the recipe according to the annotations, or he can ignore the annotations in the recipe and simply make the pill according to the recipe.

Chen Yuan obviously felt that the annotations in the Youyun Pill recipe were quite ingenious, and wanted to get to know the alchemist who left the annotations and ask for advice.

This is a common occurrence. Spiritual herbs are hard to find, and often the spiritual herbs in the hands of alchemists do not match the pill recipes. They have the spiritual herbs but cannot make pills, or they have the pill recipes but have nowhere to get the spiritual herbs. They often share what they have and exchange alchemy techniques.

But this recipe was obtained by Yu Huanzi by chance, and he didn't know who left it, so how could he introduce it to Chen Yuan? He could only helplessly say, "I'm afraid I'll disappoint you, Senior. This recipe for Youyun Pill was obtained by me by chance from a cave of an ancient person, and I don't know where it came from."

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed: "Fellow Daoist Yuhuan, can you explain it in more detail?"

Yu Huanzi said, "Thirty years ago, I was traveling with two friends and accidentally entered a cave. The restrictions there seemed to be very old and were on the verge of collapse."

"We are very happy. We spent a lot of money and worked together to break the restrictions of the cave, only to find that it was the cave of Tao Zhu, a famous alchemy master in the Langui Sea area 1,300 years ago."

"But unfortunately, that cave was just a temporary cave opened by Tao Zhu. The three of us only found this Youyun Pill recipe, a few bottles of elixirs that had long since decayed, and a destroyed spiritual plant garden..."

As Yuhuanzi spoke, an unwilling look appeared on her face and she sighed repeatedly.

Chen Yuan nodded slightly, his expression normal, but his mind was full of thoughts.

He also knew Tao Zhu. Master Qing You had heard of his reputation during his lifetime. He was a casual cultivator with extraordinary alchemy skills, but throughout his life, his cultivation level remained at the initial stage of forming a pill. He disappeared inexplicably for ten thousand years, and no one has found his cave till now.

If the annotations in the Youyun Pill recipe were left by him, then that would make sense, but there was no way he could hide a map in the jade slip without being noticed by Chen Yuan.

It seems that the inheritance mentioned by the old voice has another origin.

Chen Yuan asked, "Where is the Taozhu Cave Mansion?" Yu Huanzi was startled, then replied, "It is in a reef 170 miles northwest of Wuxing Island in Langui Sea. It is easy to find."

"But my two friends and I have already turned the cave upside down, but found nothing. Moreover, the restrictions of the cave have been broken by us, and I am afraid it has been submerged by the sea..."

Chen Yuan nodded slightly: "Thank you, Daoist Fellow Yuhuan, for telling me this. It seems that I can only study the Youyun Pill recipe on my own."

Yu Huanzi smiled and said, "You are too polite, senior."

Chen Yuan did not get the answer he wanted, so he did not waste any more time and said goodbye and left. Yuhuanzi, the alchemy master who was once quite arrogant, personally sent him out.

After leaving Yuchu Hall, Chen Yuan walked through two streets and went into several shops in succession. He sold all the spiritual weapons and sundries he had no use for, including the Silver Gang Sword, Luo Yansha, the blue flying sword, the small tripod obtained from the White Ape Cave, etc., in exchange for eight high-grade spirit stones and eighty medium-grade spirit stones. He only kept the thousand-year-old ice silk gloves.

He had practiced in Hanxing City for more than twenty years, buying spiritual herbs and elixirs and renting caves. His spiritual stones had been used up and he was almost penniless, so he had to exchange some spiritual stones for backup.

In addition to the spiritual weapons, he sold almost all the martial arts techniques he had. Only the "Demon God Sutra" was kept because it was too eye-catching as a physical cultivation technique.

These skills were taken from Chen Yuan's opponents. They were useless to him, but their value was not high either. Together with many spiritual weapons, they were sold for less than nine spirit stones.

For a Foundation Establishment cultivator, such wealth can be considered as great wealth, but for a Core Formation cultivator, it is quite shabby.

However, Chen Yuan will be heading to the Mo Sea to hunt monsters next and will not return to Hanxing City in the short term, so these spirit stones are enough.

He went to more than a dozen shops selling jade slips and bought detailed maps of most of the Yuqing Sea, especially the map of the Langui Sea. He also bought all the classics that mentioned Qianlang Island, spending a total of three medium-grade spirit stones.

These maps and books were not martial arts or supernatural powers and were very cheap, but Chen Yuan needed too many of them and his wealth was reduced by nearly half.

He tried to inquire about the origin of the Youyun Pill recipe from Yuhuanzi, but he didn't have much hope. However, being able to learn about Tao Zhu's cave was considered a gain.

Although it is unlikely that Tao Zhu hid a map in the jade slip, the Langui Sea area still became a place that needed special attention.

However, other sea areas cannot be missed. If the map of the Youyun Pill recipe was not made by Tao Zhu, then he obviously did not discover the mystery. It may be that he just got this jade slip by chance, just like Yuhuanzi.

After Chen Yuan returned to the cave, he began to look through the maps and books to find the location of Qianlang Island.

At the beginning, this matter did not go smoothly. The Yuqing Sea is vast and boundless, and the name Qianlang Island is extremely common. There are dozens of islands with this name.

Chen Yuan needed to compare the map hidden in the pill recipe with the maps of the major sea areas of Yuqing Sea one by one. It took him three full days to complete the comparison of all the maps, but still found nothing.

This is because he is an immortal cultivator, full of energy, with a photographic memory, and can compare maps without sleep. If he were a mortal, it would take at least two months to barely complete the task.

Now there are only two possibilities, one is that Qianlang Island has changed its name, and the other is that Qianlang Island is not in Yuqing Sea.

The first possibility is very high. If what Yuhuanzi said is true, this jade slip has been in Tao Zhu's cave for at least a thousand years. It is so old that Qianlang Island, where the old voice left the legacy, may have changed its name.

Chen Yuan began to look through various books related to Qianlang Island, and found out the islands that were called Qianlang Island in the past but had changed their names one by one, determined their specific locations in the major sea areas of Yuqing Sea, and then compared them with the map in the jade slip.

This was a very complicated matter. The information given by the old voice was too brief, and the map left behind was also extremely rough. To be on the safe side, Chen Yuan bought all the books that mentioned Qianlang Island, including a vast travelogue left by a cultivator five thousand years ago.

He could only look for a needle in a haystack and narrow the scope little by little.

Fortunately, Chen Yuan was a Jindan cultivator with a strong spiritual sense. He could read a jade slip in less than a quarter of an hour without having to look back, which saved a lot of time.

He spent more than half a month checking 70% of the jade slips and finally found a clue.

The two maps gradually overlapped in Chen Yuan's mind. He put down the jade slip in his hand and breathed a sigh of relief.

Hard work pays off, he finally found the Qianlang Island mentioned by the old voice, and it matched the map in the jade slip exactly.

However, this Qianlang Island changed its name six hundred years ago and is located in a remote area, so Chen Yuan has never found it.

But now, he is finally no longer looking for a needle in a haystack.

Chen Yuan raised his sleeve and put all the jade slips into the mustard seed ring. He returned to the practice room, closed his eyes and meditated to restore his consciousness.

Continuously checking the jade slips consumes less energy than studying the pill formula, but it is also not to be ignored. Chen Yuan is now quite tired and most of his spiritual power has been consumed.

Two hours later, he opened his eyes again, wiped out all traces left in the cave, came to Sifang Pavilion, and gave up the cave.

He has found the location of Qianlang Island, and it is time to leave Hanxing City.

The foundation-building deacon of Sifang Pavilion was very respectful in front of Chen Yuan and returned forty medium-grade spirit stones.

After Chen Yuan left Sifang Pavilion, he came to Zhengqi Tower, which was the headquarters of the Zhengqi League in Hanxing City.

As a guest elder of the Righteousness League, he must complete a task within his ability for the League every ten years, otherwise his token of guest elder will be taken away.

Zhengqi Tower is the place where guest elders receive tasks and offerings. Chen Yuan was received by a foundation-building cultivator with a respectful attitude, who listed all the tasks.

These tasks were of varying difficulty and the rewards were also different. Chen Yuan randomly selected a task to hand in a fifth-level demon pill, then received an offering of ten spirit stones and a jade slip that recorded the situation of Yuqing Sea in the past three years, and left Zhengqi Tower.

The things recorded in these jade slips were gathered together by cultivators of the Righteous Alliance scattered across the Yuqing Sea. They are extremely detailed and can be considered a benefit for guest elders.

Chen Yuan rode in a carriage driven by a mortal, checked the jade slips, left Hanxing City from the nearest city gate, and flew southwards.

(End of this chapter)