I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

Upon entering the new cave, Zhou Yuan did not rely entirely on the restrictions left by the former peak master.

He first held the jade tablet and carefully inspected the original protective and early warning formations inside the cave, confirming that they were functioning normally.

And it has not been tampered with.

Then, he took out his usual array flags and array plates, and on the basis of the original restrictions of the cave, he rearranged a more concealed and more powerful combination array, making the entire cave both inside and out impregnable, and only then did he feel completely at ease.

That night, he transformed into Zhou Tian and returned from Kui Xingcheng, arriving at the cave like a silent ghost.

Zhou Yuan summoned his avatar to his side, pondered for a moment, and then made arrangements.

He took out the ancient jade slip that recorded many evil techniques of the Black Fiend Cult, including the "Blood Refining Divine Light" technique mainly practiced by the Yue Emperor.

The cultivation method of "Blood Refining Divine Light" was completely imprinted into the core of Zhou Tian's consciousness through divine thought.

This "Blood Refining Divine Light" is a method for quick success.

During the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages, the cultivation speed far exceeds that of ordinary cultivation methods.

Its supernatural powers are also quite remarkable, especially its ability to defile magical artifacts and erode protective spiritual light.

However, its drawbacks are also very obvious: the foundation is unstable, and without special opportunities, the hope of condensing a true golden elixir is almost completely lost.

Zhou Yuanrang transformed himself to cultivate this skill.

He naturally had his own calculations.

This avatar was originally created from a puppet body, making it far more resistant to the corrosive energy of evil than ordinary people.

Moreover, its core consciousness is completely controlled by Zhou Yuan's divided spirit, so it is not afraid of losing its mind.

Most importantly, Zhou Yuan never intended for this avatar to follow the righteous path of Core Formation.

He had already prepared five Blood Coagulation Five Elements Pills!

Once this avatar has cultivated the "Blood Refining Divine Light" to the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage, he will consume it and attempt to condense the "Fiend (False Core)" which possesses the combat power of the early Core Formation stage but cuts off the path forward!

In this way, he could obtain a powerful avatar bodyguard with the combat strength of the early stage of Core Formation in a relatively short period of time.

It provides a solid guarantee for one's own cultivation and for any potential dangers in the future.

After arranging the cultivation of his avatar, Zhou Yuan sent it to a secluded quiet room and ordered it to cultivate the "Blood Refining Divine Light" in seclusion.

Two days later, a slight fluctuation was felt in the restrictions outside the cave.

With a thought, Zhou Yuan opened the passage.

A young cultivator, dressed in the uniform of the Six-Hall Alliance and at the early Foundation Establishment stage, stood respectfully outside the cave entrance.

"This junior, Li Yang, has come on the orders of Manager Ouyang to deliver the first batch of alchemy materials to Master Zhou." The young cultivator handed over a bulging storage bag with a respectful attitude.

Zhou Yuan took the storage bag and scanned it with his divine sense.

Inside, all the materials needed to refine the "Essence Pill" were neatly arranged, including fifty level-five demon beast inner cores and a large amount of auxiliary materials. They were categorized and handled very properly, which showed that the Six-Linked Palace attached great importance to his first "big order".

Li He took out another jade slip and said, "This is the official contract jade slip for this commission. Please take a look, Alchemist Zhou. The shopkeeper specifically instructed that you should not be too anxious and should prioritize your health and alchemy state. We agree that I will come to collect the pills in six months."

Zhou Yuan took the jade slip and probed it with his divine sense. The contract terms were clear, specifying the entrusted content (fifty batches of Essence Pills), the provision of materials, the delivery time (six months later), the method of calculating remuneration (one-tenth of the final selling price), and the rights and obligations of both parties, with no hidden traps.

He immediately channeled his magic power and left his mark at the end of the jade slip.

This concludes the signing of the agreement.

After seeing Li He off, Zhou Yuan closed the cave again and activated all the protective restrictions.

He did not start refining pills immediately, but returned to his meditation room and meditated for a whole day to adjust his condition to its best.

At the same time, he reconfigured the equipment slots to the mode best suited for alchemy:

[Equipment Slot 3: Ancient Jade Slip of Elixir Recipes (Mainly Essence Elixir)]

[Equipment Slot 4: Fiery Cloud Furnace]

[Equipment Slot 5: Alchemy Jade Slip]

Triple blessing, ready to go!

He then strode into the specially opened alchemy room.

The room had already been cleaned spotlessly, with the dark gold "gilded cloud pattern incense burner" placed in the center.

A new round of continuous and high-intensity alchemy has begun!

This time, Zhou Yuan devoted himself entirely to alchemy, almost abandoning all distracting thoughts.

Apart from the necessary meditation to restore spiritual consciousness and magical power, all the rest of the time is spent processing materials, controlling the fire to refine pills, and nurturing the pill furnace.

The process was not smooth sailing.

The first five batches of pills Zhou Yuan refined were perhaps due to his not yet having mastered the "Essence Pill" to perfection, resulting in one failed batch.

That time, I was a little impatient when changing the heat, which caused the internal medicine to explode out of balance, and all the materials in the batch turned into charcoal.

Looking at the black ash at the bottom of the furnace, Zhou Yuan remained calm, showing little annoyance.

He carefully reviewed the process of failure, identified the root cause, and kept this lesson in mind.

With the powerful support of his equipment slots, his learning and adjustment abilities are beyond imagination.

Starting from the sixth batch.

It was as if he had unlocked his full potential.

His alchemy skills became increasingly refined, his control over the heat became exquisite, and he mastered the fusion of medicinal properties perfectly.

The success rate has begun to climb at an astonishing rate!

The sixth batch is complete!

Twelve pills, of superior quality.

The seventh batch is complete!

Twelve pills, of superior quality.

……

The twentieth batch is complete! Twelve pills were produced, of superior quality.

……

The forty-ninth batch is complete! Twelve pills were produced, of superior quality.

The fiftieth batch is complete! Twelve pills, top grade!

Three whole months!

Except for the first batch that failed, all the subsequent forty-five batches of pills were successfully refined, and each batch contained twelve pills, each of excellent quality!

As the last batch of pills emitted a rich and mellow medicinal fragrance in the furnace, Zhou Yuan skillfully stored them in a jade bottle. He let out a long sigh of relief, his face showing undisguised exhaustion, but his eyes gleamed with excitement.

Fifty batches of materials, forty-nine successful! A success rate as high as 98%!

If this gets out, it will be enough to shock the entire alchemy world of the Chaotic Star Sea!

Of course, Zhou Yuan wouldn't be foolish enough to report the truth. Looking at the mountain of jade bottles in front of him, he already had a plan in mind.

"Deduct twenty-one batches of pills and give the remaining twenty-eight batches to Yu Huan Residence..."

Based on this calculation, the success rate for those entrusted with the task is approximately 50% to 60%.

This success rate is astonishing enough to satisfy them, even to the point of ecstasy, without seeming too miraculous and arousing suspicion.

Zhou Yuan muttered to himself, a smile playing on his lips.

Twenty-one batches of Essence Elixir!

Each batch yields twelve grains, totaling two hundred and fifty-two grains! Based on a market price of four hundred spirit stones per grain, the total value exceeds one hundred thousand spirit stones!

In just three months.

The portion he embezzled alone amounted to a fortune worth 100,000 spirit stones!

This doesn't even include the "one percent bonus" he's about to receive from the Six-in-One Palace.

Back in the Yue Kingdom, he was able to quickly accumulate resources by hunting down demonic cultivators on the front lines.

However, that approach is extremely risky and unsustainable.

Now that he has arrived at the relatively peaceful and newly established Kuixing Island, going back to become a plunderer and kill people to steal treasures would not only be more risky, but would also go against his original intention of pursuing immortality.

Those who become alchemists in the Sixth Hall, with their extraordinary success rate in alchemy, secretly retain most of the results...

This is undoubtedly a safe, efficient, and sustainable path to wealth!

This speed at which wealth is accumulated is even faster than murder and robbery!

Even some Core Formation cultivators with limited resources would probably be extremely envious of this.

"Take a few days off to recover. These past three months have taken a toll on your mental and physical health."

Zhou Yuan rubbed his slightly swollen temples.

With the support of his equipment slots, his mana regeneration was phenomenal. As a result, he was able to use Foundation Establishment True Fire to refine pills for three consecutive months without any significant depletion.

However, after three consecutive months of high-intensity, high-focus alchemy, even with his powerful divine sense comparable to that of the early stage of Core Formation, he felt a deep sense of fatigue.

If it were an ordinary Foundation Establishment stage alchemist, they would probably have already exhausted both their mental and magical power.

It even damaged the soul.

Zhou Yuan carefully categorized and stored all the pills. He meticulously hid the twenty-one batches he had secretly kept in the most secluded secret compartment of his cave, while placing the twenty-eight batches he intended to hand over in a prominent place.

He then returned to his quiet room.

He fell asleep immediately and slept for three days and three nights before he could begin to recover his lost energy.

After waking up, Zhou Yuan felt refreshed and his condition had largely recovered.

He did not immediately emerge from seclusion, but instead began a new round of cultivation.

He took out the twenty-one batches of Essence Pills that he had been keeping hidden away.

He used part of it himself and gave the other part to his incarnations for cultivation.

While cultivating the "Blood Refining Divine Light" technique primarily relies on absorbing blood essence, consuming elixirs that enhance cultivation can also provide significant assistance, accelerating the accumulation of magical power.

With an abundant supply of elixirs and the superior spiritual veins of his cave dwelling, Zhou Yuan's cultivation steadily improved, progressing steadily towards the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage.

The aura emanating from Zhou Tian was also rapidly increasing, and the rapid-development characteristic of the "Blood Refining Divine Light" began to manifest.

time flies.

Another three months have passed.

This day was the agreed delivery date with Liuliandian.

Zhou Yuan ended his cultivation early, tidied his appearance, and arrived at the entrance of the cave with the twenty-eight batches of Essence Pills he had prepared, totaling three hundred and thirty-six pills.

Outside the cave, Ouyang Gong had been waiting for a long time, a warm smile on his face.

"Master Zhou, you've worked so hard! These past six months of secluded alchemy must have been very fruitful, haven't it?"

Ouyang Gong cupped his hands and smiled.

"I have fulfilled my mission." Zhou Yuan handed the prepared storage bag to Ouyang Gong.