Vampire Cultivation Notes

Let's avoid mentioning bad things.

Li Jieqing lit the alchemy furnace, covered himself with his cloak, went out again, and when he returned, he was carrying two bottles of cultivator's blood, which came from the enthusiastic help of the tavern waiter.

"The alchemy furnace is warm, very good."

With the small tripod standing in front of him, Li Jieqing sat cross-legged on the ground, raised his hand, and swept away the dust around him.

The best way to refine pills is with earth fire, but he naturally didn't have that option, so he could only use his hands as a guide, circulating his internal energy through the microcosmic orbit, pouring out his true qi and magical power, which transformed into fire snakes that swirled around the small cauldron.

Since they rented a separate courtyard, no one would bother them if they stirred up spiritual energy at this time.

The cauldron already contained red bamboo spirit charcoal, and with the addition of a fire serpent formed from magical power, crimson flames burst forth.

The small, black cauldron trembled slightly, absorbing the fire energy, and its entire body instantly turned blood red.

"One piece of black oyster shell... half an ounce of pre-Qingming seeds..."

With one hand on the cauldron and the other adding medicine, Li Jieqing was multitasking. He watched as the dark black essence transformed into liquid within the small cauldron, then immediately changed his method, using his magic power to envelop the liquid while it evaporated completely.

Once the black sesame seeds and half an ounce of Mingqian seeds are combined, the next medicinal ingredient will be prepared.

"One chicken blood vine..."

A piece of oilcloth was opened, revealing several short, dark red vines inside.

This is the other main ingredient of Fengxin Pill besides the blood of cultivators. It is an extremely yang substance, which can best complement the yin and yang of the blood of cultivators.

Li Jieqing casually picked up a piece of vine and was about to put it into the cauldron, but before he could even get halfway there, a piercing pain spread from his palm throughout his body.

Li Jieqing shuddered, the chicken blood vine in his hand fell to the ground, and the operation of the cauldron almost broke down.

"Wow, this thing is actually my weakness...?"

Li Jieqing frowned, but had no time to think carefully. He simply separated a wisp of magic power to wrap around the extremely yang chicken blood vine and threw it into the small cauldron one by one from a distance.

The alchemy continued.

After the chicken blood vine is completely melted, several auxiliary materials are added to neutralize it, and finally the blood of the main cultivator is added.

Finally, the raw materials of Fengxin Dan turned into a pool of liquid, swirling inside the blood-red cauldron.

"This amount can yield two pills at once... Well, let's aim for perfection first..."

Li Jieqing formed a hand seal, unleashing his own magical power to separate the medicinal liquid from the surrounding liquid, while simultaneously drawing upon the fire within the alchemy furnace for the final refining process.

Whether you succeed or fail, whether you can become an alchemist at the top of the cultivation world's hierarchy of contempt, all depends on this one step!

"With my own universe, I will complete yours!"

"Freeze!"

The medicinal liquid from the raw materials of the elixir is the essence of the elixir. Li Jieqing used his own magic power to carry the fire energy of the elixir furnace to reorganize this last chaotic original liquid!

boom!

After a muffled thud, a wisp of white smoke rose.

A dark, pitted pill fell out of the side opening of the small cauldron.

This is a useless pill.

Upon seeing this, Li Jieqing not only remained calm but also felt an urge to burst into laughter.

This was the first time he had ever successfully refined a pill that had turned into a pill shape!

Besides, this was originally half of the medicine that was supposed to be discarded.

Li Jieqing's mind was already focused more on preserving the other side of the medicine.

Fifteen minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

Finally, the remaining liquid did not disappoint, solidifying within the small cauldron and gradually developing its flavor.

"As the master alchemist once said: 'The ruler, ministers, assistants, and envoys—a meeting of dragons and tigers!'"

"This is—the elixir complete!"

The fire suddenly subsided, and the blood-red alchemy furnace quickly faded, returning to its original inconspicuous black appearance.

The cauldron opened, and a perfectly round pill lay quietly inside, its surface showing a ring of faint white lines that gradually disappeared as the fire dissipated.

"So this is where the elixirs of immortality come from...?"

Li Jieqing used his remaining magical power to lift the elixir from the cauldron, and was overjoyed.

He recognized the patterns on the elixir; their appearance was similar to the microcosmic orbit circulation within his own body.

At the same time, this is the pill pattern that all elixirs have!

It's true that different professions are like different worlds.

How could Li Jieqing have imagined that the art of condensing the core was simply the cultivator's own microcosmic orbit?

No wonder people in the market say that you can tell who made the elixir just by looking at the patterns on it.

For Li Jieqing, successfully refining a pill at this moment was like clearing away the thick fog before his eyes and seeing an infinite landscape.

He thus began his journey into alchemy!

After nearly twenty years in the world of cultivation, I have finally acquired a means to make a living!

"Fengxin Pill, a common and effective body-tempering pill during the Qi Refining stage, is hailed as a treasure for body cultivators."

Even those who have reached the peak of Qi Refining will take some in advance to ensure their vital essence is abundant in order to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Li Jieqing rubbed the warm pill in his hand, and after a while, he clicked his tongue twice.

Unfortunately, the ingredients used to refine this first pill were not of the highest quality, and the initial refining level was also only average. As soon as the furnace was shut down, he recalled several mistakes, and in the end, the pill was indeed only of low grade.

The low-grade Fengxin Pill retails for one spirit stone and five spirit crystals at Wanbaolou, and is usually supplied to cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining.

"This isn't right... I've already spent almost two spirit stones on raw materials."

Although the alchemy was successful, Li Jieqing suddenly felt that he had lost a lot of money.

Just the blood of the two young waiters at the tavern, which I just collected, cost a full five spirit crystals.

There's also chicken blood vine, which is a genuine pure yang spiritual herb. It matures once every ten years and is sold by the foot, costing two spirit stones per foot. I bought a total of one foot at the beginning of the year, and used half of it for alchemy experiments in the middle of the year. I just managed to spend the rest.

There were only a few scraps left, and it seemed impossible to refine the next batch of pills.

It was already dusk outside the window.

Li Jieqing, who had been practicing alchemy since morning and circulating his inner energy through the Small Heavenly Circuit, recovered some of his magical power. After a moment of contemplation, he raised his hand and flipped the box containing the chicken blood vine upside down in his palm.

Even though it was just a small, inconspicuous scrap left in the box, the moment these chicken blood vines touched Li Jieqing, they were like hot coals, scorching and smoking his palms.

Even during the day, one must avoid the sun.

The contact damage from the pure yang spiritual object, the Chicken Blood Vine, repeatedly reminded someone that they had become a dark vampire.

This is a very sad thing.

However, inside the room, watching Li Jieqing whose palm was almost burned through by the chicken blood vine, he didn't pay much attention to that. He just endured the pain and looked like he was deep in thought.

"The process of refining this 'Fengxin Pill' is no different from cultivation; both emphasize the harmony of the dragon and tiger, and the distribution of yin and yang."

"So...is vampire blood considered top-grade demon beast blood?"

"Could we also use it to refine the Heart-Nourishing Pill with the Chicken Blood Vine?"

Snapped--

The box containing the chicken blood vine fell to the ground with a soft thud.

With the external damage no longer being controlled, Li Jieqing's palms, which were almost burned through, began to heal rapidly.

Of course, as a consequence, Li Jieqing felt a bit hungry again.

However, his hunger was still under control, so he did not hesitate to cut his wrists again and start bleeding himself.

One, two, three...

First, five porcelain bottles were filled, then the decorative vases in the room were filled, and then the bowls were filled.

Li Jieqing stopped after bleeding several liters of blood out at once, enough to drain an ordinary cultivator dry, allowing his wounds to heal on their own.

I'm hungry...

Li Jieqing couldn't wait to open the two porcelain bottles of cultivator's blood he had just bought, and drank it down in one gulp to replenish his strength.

"Burp~~ This is really nourishing!"

Li Jieqing smacked his lips; these two precious spirit crystals tasted really good.

Replenished by the blood of the cultivators, the hunger caused by the recent massive blood loss began to subside rapidly.

This difference in input and output represents a gap of many times over.

As fellow cultivators, Li Jieqing would have almost gone back to selling blood if he hadn't wanted to avoid revealing his vampire physique.

"However, since we've already mastered the basics of alchemy, we should strike while the iron is hot."

Gazing at the room filled with blood, and then at the twilight sky outside, Li Jieqing grabbed his cloak, fastened it, lowered the hood, and went out.