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

Another half day passed.

The strange phenomena over the island gradually subsided.

In the mountain valley.

A figure slowly walked out and came near Zhou Yuan. This person was none other than Zhou Tian in disguise!

His aura had stabilized at the early stage of Core Formation, but it carried a distinct bloodthirsty aura and a chilling feeling.

Slightly different from orthodox Golden Core cultivators, this is precisely the characteristic of "Sha Dan".

"very good."

Zhou Yuan emerged from his hiding place, stood before his avatar, and nodded in satisfaction.

"From now on, you will truly possess the combat power of the Core Formation stage. Next, find an inconspicuous island on the outskirts of Kui Xing Island to live in seclusion and cultivate, stabilize your realm, and try to further enhance that 'Blood Refining Divine Light'. Do not contact me directly unless necessary, so as not to expose yourself. If there is any emergency, you can transmit a simple message through our telepathic connection."

Zhou Tian nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.

He didn't linger. After determining his direction, he transformed into an inconspicuous streak of blood-red light and silently merged into the vast sea.

Watching his avatar depart, Zhou Yuan turned and flew towards Kui Xing Island.

……

As night deepened, Zhou Yuan quietly returned to Kui Xing Island.

With his powerful divine sense, comparable to the late stage of Core Formation, and his exquisite concealment technique, even a mid-stage Core Formation True Man like Mu Long would find it extremely difficult to detect his return unless he saw it with his naked eye.

He returned to his cave on Jade Peak without incident, activated the restrictions, and made it seem as if he had only gone out briefly as usual.

Everything inside the cave remained the same. Zhou Yuan sat down cross-legged, but did not immediately begin cultivating.

He took out the storage bag that Ouyang Gong had given him, which contained the formula for the Dust-Reducing Pill and nine precious ingredients.

Although he had successfully formed his core and had also left Kui Xing Island without incident.

But Zhou Yuan never intended to abscond with the money.

Firstly, that's not his true nature.

Back in Tiannan, during the great war between the seven factions of Yue Kingdom and the demonic path, he was entrusted with an important task by Huangfeng Valley: to escort strategic supplies worth tens of thousands of spirit stones to the front line.

At that time, tens of thousands of spirit stones were an immense fortune for him, enough to upgrade his equipment slots, but he ultimately held firm to his bottom line and completed the mission.

Given his current perspective, this amount of material is not enough to make him violate his principles.

Secondly, he had no intention of leaving the Six-in-One Palace.

Having just entered the Core Formation stage, he needs time to stabilize and improve his realm, accumulate resources, and familiarize himself with the higher-level rules of the Chaotic Star Sea.

As a large merchant alliance spread across the chaotic star sea, the Six-Hall Alliance can provide him with a stable environment, abundant resources, and channels for obtaining information, making it an excellent platform.

He plans to lie low here for a while.

They refine pills to earn spirit stones while simultaneously cultivating and improving their skills.

"My goal is to earn a million spirit stones first, and then upgrade my equipment slots again! Then I'll consider the next step." Zhou Yuan made up his mind.

With a thought, he switched the equipment configuration.

Temporarily remove the [Snow Spirit Water], [Heavenly Fire Liquid], and [Dust-Reducing Pill] that were previously used to increase the success rate of Core Formation.

They replaced the jade slip containing the recipe for the Dust-Reducing Pill with two other treasures that could improve alchemy comprehension and success rate.

Although the Dust-Clearing Pill is a top-tier pill for the Foundation Establishment stage, it is extremely difficult to refine.

However, overall, its complexity and requirements for alchemists are actually not as high as the Jade Spirit Pill used by Core Formation cultivators.

After all, one is a Foundation Establishment stage pill and the other is a Core Formation stage pill, so there is a fundamental difference between them.

With the powerful support of the equipment slots, Zhou Yuan mastered the recipe for the Dust-Reducing Pill in just two months.

He has a thorough understanding of the pharmacological changes, temperature control, and key aspects of pill formation.

Two months later, they began refining elixirs.

The materials used in each batch of Dust-Reducing Pills are quite valuable, especially the sixth-level demon core used as the main ingredient.

Having successfully refined the Jade Spirit Pill (the main ingredient being a level seven demon core), Zhou Yuan was in a very calm state of mind and felt no pressure.

After forming his core, his inner fire advanced from the Foundation Establishment True Fire to a more refined and powerful Golden Core Fire.

The efficiency of smelting and purifying materials has been greatly improved, and the control of fire has become more precise and meticulous.

Things will fall into place naturally.

Three days later, the first batch of Dust-Reducing Pills was successfully produced!

Eleven pills were successfully formed. Although the quality was only average, the success itself was a victory!

Ordinary alchemists would need to stop and rest for several days after each batch of such precious pills to adjust their condition and summarize their experience.

However, Zhou Yuan had the support of his equipment slots, a powerful divine sense, and the Spirit Eye Spring to replenish his mana, so he maintained his peak condition almost the same.

He didn't stop!

For a whole month, he hardly left the house, refining the remaining eight portions of ingredients one batch after another!

The subsequent eight batches all achieved a stable success rate in producing pills, and the quality of each pill was excellent!

If the alchemy masters at the Six-Linked Palace headquarters knew this, they would probably be astonished.

However, Zhou Yuan did not immediately leave the pass to deliver the goods.

He put away the refined Dust-Subduing Pill and instead took out the original jade slip containing the intermediate-to-high-level spell "Heavenly Fire Technique" that he had obtained from True Man Wood Dragon.

After achieving the Core Formation stage, he finally reached the minimum threshold for cultivating this technique.

After achieving the Core Formation stage, he finally reached the minimum threshold for cultivating this technique.

Switch to the equipment slot again:

【Equipment Slot 1: Miniature Spirit Eye Spring】(Effect: Increases mana regeneration speed, increases cultivation speed, and increases the concentration of spiritual energy in the surrounding environment)

【Equipment Slot 2: Golden Core (Early Stage of Core Formation)】(Effect: Slightly increases cultivation speed during the Golden Core stage, slightly increases the success rate of Core Formation...)

[Equipment Slot 3: Spell Jade Scroll (Heavenly Fire Spell) Original] (Effect: Greatly increases comprehension of "Heavenly Fire Spell", increases understanding of fire spells...)

Equipment Slot 4: [Fire-type Cultivation Technique Jade Slip] (Increases the cultivation speed of fire-type cultivation techniques and the comprehension of fire-type spells and divine abilities)

[Equipment Slot 5: Jade Scroll of Fire Spell Mastery] (Increases understanding of fire spell abilities)

Multiple enhancements are all directed towards the cultivation of fire-based magic!

With such a terrifying boost to his comprehension, Zhou Yuan's cultivation speed of the "Heavenly Fire Technique" was astonishing.

In just three months, he cultivated this intermediate-level high-grade spell, which would normally take a Core Formation cultivator ten years or even longer to achieve minor mastery, to the minor mastery level!

Its power is already quite impressive, comparable to the intermediate-level Thousand Blade Technique that was commonly used before.

Having successfully completed his magic, Zhou Yuan emerged from seclusion, carrying five batches of Dust-Reducing Pills (four of which were withheld), and headed to Yu Huan Residence on Tiandu Street.

When Ouyang Gong saw the five furnaces of Dust-Reducing Pills brought by Zhou Yuan, totaling fifty high-quality pills, he was so happy that he almost danced with joy!

Over 50% success rate!

And the quality is so good! Reporting this news would be an absolute huge achievement!

"Master Zhou! Your skills are truly... divine!"

Ouyang Gong exclaimed excitedly, "I'll report this wonderful news to headquarters immediately! I'm sure a generous reward will be coming soon!"

Zhou Yuan smiled calmly, said nothing more, and returned to his cave after the transaction was completed.

He anticipates that life will return to normal in the next few years.

He accepted any alchemy tasks assigned by the Six Palaces and began accumulating spirit stones.

Without any missions, he focused on cultivating the Azure Origin Sword Technique, striving to break through to the eighth level and enter the mid-stage of Core Formation as soon as possible.

Back in his quiet room, Zhou Yuan did not immediately begin practicing his cultivation technique.

He flipped his palm over, and five round pills, each the size of a longan, pure in color, and displaying five colors: blue, yellow, red, white, and black, appeared in his palm.

It was the remnant of the Heaven-Mending Pill that was refined from the extremely dazzling five-colored skeleton back then!

The Heaven-Mending Pill has the power to seize the creation of heaven and earth, and can cleanse and refine spiritual roots, enhancing innate aptitude!

This is of paramount importance to Zhou Yuan, who has a pseudo-spiritual root.

Before he formed his core, he did not attempt to refine it because it was difficult to extract the medicinal power from it.

Now that the Golden Core has been formed, the physical body is several times stronger, and there is also the alchemical fire to slowly refine it, making it the best time to use this item!

The remnants of the Heaven-Mending Pill can directly improve one's spiritual root and increase the speed at which one absorbs spiritual energy from heaven and earth, bringing immeasurable benefits to his future cultivation progress.

"First, improve my spiritual root aptitude and solidify my foundation!" Zhou Yuan made up his mind.

He took out a remnant of the Heaven-Mending Pill, put it in his mouth, and then circulated his golden core, urging the pill fire to carefully, slowly and continuously refine this strange pill containing pure medicinal power and the opportunity of creation.

The medicinal properties dissipated, releasing a cool and mellow, yet strange, energy that was not violent.

Instead, like spring rain nourishing all things, it quietly seeped into his limbs and bones, subtly improving his physical condition and spiritual essence...

This process is destined to be slow.

Zhou Yuan estimated that it would take about half a year to fully refine one.

As for the remaining four remnants of the Heaven-Mending Pill, due to the limited number of equipment slots (only five), and the fact that the first three could be equipped with the Spirit Eye Spring, the Golden Pill, and the Golden Page of the Azure Origin Sword Technique respectively, he could only equip two of them to the fourth and fifth equipment slots for the time being.

By utilizing the "effect amplification" feature of the equipment slots, these items can continue to provide slight attribute improvements even when they are not refined.

Inside the cave, silence returned.