What does my ancestor's pregnancy have to do with me, a mere servant?

After Lin Feilu left, Lin Yuan glanced at his attribute points again.

"Attribute points are great, but they're fucking tiring!"

He took a deep breath, focused his mind, and first put some money into the Spirit Plant Master column.

The panel shimmered with a subtle golden light.

[Rank 8 Spirit Plant Master: 0/1000]

A vast and detailed flow of information quietly entered my consciousness, like a gentle, dark river, silently pouring into every corner of my mind.

Methods for identifying the texture of dozens of common spiritual soils. Acidity, alkalinity, coldness, heat, and looseness of the soil—even the slightest difference can have drastically different effects on spiritual plants.

The symbiotic habits of hundreds of spiritual herbs. What kind of herbs will compete for spiritual energy when planted together, and what kind of herbs can enhance medicinal effects when planted side by side, are all ingrained in his instincts, as clear as if he had been planting them by hand for decades.

……

He had taken care of the spiritual field for ten years, relying entirely on experience and luck.

Now I can clearly perceive the condition of every single spiritual herb even with my eyes closed.

The difference between rank nine and rank eight is only one point, but the perception is like having a completely different pair of eyes.

Lin Yuan nodded in satisfaction, then focused his gaze on the alchemist section.

[Eighth-grade alchemist, 0/1000.]

Even if you're willing to risk everything, you'll never hesitate to go all in when the time comes.

He had long understood the rules of this world: might makes right, and the strongest prevails.

The path of alchemy is currently his only way to quickly break through this predicament.

With focused concentration, he poured in a thousand attribute points without hesitation.

"boom--!"

A roar echoed in my mind.

This impact is on a completely different level from the one on the spirit plant master just now.

The information flow is no longer a lukewarm, underground river, but a flood that has burst its banks.

A sharp, throbbing pain erupted from the depths of Lin Yuan's consciousness. His brows furrowed, and he clenched his teeth tightly.

Countless images appeared one after another, at a breathtaking speed.

The furnace fire rose and fell countless times. If the heat was too high, the medicinal liquid would burn; if it was too low, the essence would dissipate. That perfect critical point was repeatedly marked.

Hundreds of prescriptions unfolded in my mind, detailing the dosage of each herb, the order in which they were added, their interactions, the optimal temperature for blending, and so on. The dense details were like knives carving into my skull.

……

These experiences were not written in words or images, but were directly instilled into his muscle memory and spiritual instincts.

It was as if he had truly toiled in front of the alchemy furnace for decades.

After an incense stick's time, the pain subsided like a receding tide.

Lin Yuan slumped against the stone wall, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.

It took him a while to open his eyes.

His gaze was calm and serene, a stark contrast to how he was a moment ago.

Small golden characters quietly appeared under his eyes.

[Seventh-Rank Alchemist: 0/10000]

[Rank 8 Spirit Plant Master: 0/1000]

Remaining attribute points: 98

Rank 7.

What does a seventh-grade alchemist mean in the Xuan Yin Sect? It means that most of the self-proclaimed genius alchemists in the inner sect are still struggling to reach the eighth grade. The highest-ranking elder in the inner sect's Pill Treasure Pavilion is only sixth grade.

A seventh-grade alchemist is enough to be treated as an honored guest by any small or medium-sized sect.

However, currently limited by his cultivation level of only Qi Refining Level 2, his total spiritual power is too small. The pitiful amount of spiritual power in his body is barely enough to activate the Fire Control Technique, but he simply cannot withstand the complex steps in the seventh-grade pill formula that require continuous high-intensity spiritual power output.

Simply put, it means that while one may have the mental capacity, their practical skills may not be up to par.

It's like a top-notch driver sitting in a tractor, with all his skills maxed out, but the engine is only so big. No matter how hard you step on the gas, you still can't outrun someone else's tricycle.

Therefore, the most urgent task is to improve one's cultivation level.

Even if he only breaks through from the second level of Qi Refining to the middle level, his spiritual energy reserves will increase several times over, and the alchemy techniques he can use will be completely different.

The fastest way to improve one's cultivation level is through alchemy.

Qi-gathering pill.

One of the most basic auxiliary pills for breakthroughs in the cultivation world, specifically for cultivators in the Qi Refining stage. The formula is widely available, and the raw materials are the most common low-grade spiritual herbs.

For most outer sect cultivators, a Qi Gathering Pill costs fifteen to twenty spirit stones to purchase from the inner sect's Pill Treasure Pavilion. The quality varies greatly, and most of them contain pill toxins and impurities. Consuming too many can cause meridian blockages and endless troubles.

But for a seventh-grade alchemist—

This thing is no different from making mud balls.

Lin Yuan pulled off the storage bag from his waist and slapped the bottom of the bag with his palm.

A pile of ordinary-looking medicinal herbs fell onto the bluestone slab with a clatter, covering half of the ground.

Calming herb, calming leaf, rehmannia root...

These were all the private goods he had secretly intercepted and withheld during the ten years he had been in charge of the outer sect's spiritual fields, every time he harvested spiritual herbs.

He originally planned to collect enough materials and then take them to the outer sect black market to spend a lot of money to have someone refine Qi Gathering Pills for him.

Well now.

Lin Yuan looked at the spiritual herbs on the ground, a slight smile playing on his lips.

This batch of materials is enough to refine three furnaces.

Nine pieces per batch.

When a ninth-grade alchemist refines this kind of low-level Qi Gathering Pill, the success rate is about 30%, which means three pills succeed and six fail. Moreover, the quality of the successful pills is not very good, and most of them contain pill toxins.

Eighth-grade alchemists are much better, with a success rate of up to 60% and stable quality, but pill toxins still exist, albeit within an acceptable range.

And the seventh rank—

All nine can be made into pills, and none of them are wasted.

Moreover, with the skills of a seventh-grade alchemist and precise control over the properties of medicinal herbs, the quality of the pills refined is high enough to reach the top grade.

What does a top-grade elixir mean? Zero toxicity. The spiritual energy is so pure that it can be directly absorbed by the meridians without causing any harm to the body.

This is a highly sought-after commodity, both within and outside the sect, and even within the inner sect.

Lin Yuan placed the dilapidated low-grade bronze alchemy furnace in front of him.

He took out the spirit charcoal, then flicked his finger, and a wisp of crimson spirit fire fell to the bottom of the furnace.

The firelight illuminated his focused face, as well as the broken stone walls and scattered pebbles inside the cave.

He first grabbed the calming herb and threw it into the stove. This herb is cold in nature and burns very easily when placed in the fire.

He had tried practicing this a few times before, and eight out of ten times he would burn it at this step.

But it's different now.

His hand stopped very smoothly.

Fire control technique activated.

The flames at the bottom of the furnace instantly split into more than a dozen fine lines of fire, as if they had eyes, precisely wrapping around each spiritual herb.

The impurities are instantly vaporized by the extremely high temperature, and only a wisp of white smoke drifts out of the furnace.

……

After an incense stick has burned.

"凝".

Lin Yuan uttered a single word, then closed his ten fingers, channeling spiritual energy into the alchemy furnace through his fingertips.

A faint buzzing sound emanated from inside the furnace as the medicinal liquid completed its final fusion, condensing into nine thumb-sized emerald green orbs that slowly rotated within the furnace chamber.

The elixir is complete.

"open!"

Lin Yuan slapped the edge of the furnace lid with his palm, causing the lid to fly up.

A rich and mellow medicinal aroma exploded out, filling the entire cave.

Lin Yuan held a small white jade bottle and flicked his wrist.

Nine smooth, rounded arcs shot out from the furnace opening, tracing a beautiful path in the air before landing steadily in the bottle.

Nine pure green pills, without any blemishes, lay quietly at the bottom of the bottle.

Each piece is adorned with two natural cloud-like patterns on its surface, refracting a shimmering green light in the cool glow of the moonstone.

Not a single pill was wasted.

They are all top-grade Qi Gathering Pills.

The two cloud-like patterns indicate that the medicinal power has reached the highest level of refinement.

He didn't stop.

After collecting the first batch of pills, the furnace fire was relit.

The second batch.

Purification, fusion, and condensation.

……

One hour later.

The spiritual herbs on the ground were all squandered.

Three white jade bottles appeared in front of Lin Yuan, arranged neatly.

A total of twenty-seven top-grade Qi Gathering Pills.

Lin Yuan uncorked the first bottle, poured out three pills, and threw them directly into his mouth.

It melts at the entrance.

There was no violent tearing sensation, only extremely pure and gentle spiritual energy, like spring water bursting its banks, flowing down the throat into the dantian, and then spreading from the dantian to the limbs and bones.

This is the difference between top-grade pills and ordinary pills.

Lin Yuan immediately closed his eyes and began to circulate his internal energy.

The Xuan Yin Sect's basic cultivation technique is called the "Xuan Yin Jue," which every outer disciple knows, but the cultivation speed is outrageously slow. He was stuck at the second level of Qi Refining for ten years, partly because of his mediocre talent, and partly because this technique was simply too weak.

But at this moment, driven by the vast and pure spiritual energy, the cultivation technique, which was usually clumsy, was as if it had been injected with lubricant, and its operating speed suddenly increased several times.

The vortex of spiritual energy within his dantian spun wildly, greedily swallowing up all the medicinal power.

A slight, throbbing pain emanated from my meridians; this was a normal reaction as spiritual energy cleansed the meridian barriers.

Lin Yuan remained calm and patient, guiding the spiritual energy along a fixed route for one cycle, and then another.

With each cycle, the spiritual energy in the dantian becomes denser, and the meridians widen accordingly.

"Click."

A very faint muffled sound came from inside, like a string that had been taut for many years finally snapping.

It was like a rusted iron door suddenly bursting open under the force of an external push.

A surge of heat exploded from his dantian, washing over his limbs and bones.

Three layers of Qi Refining.

Lin Yuan suddenly opened his eyes.

Three years.

He was stuck on the second level of the Qi Refining Realm for three whole years.

Lin Yuan did not linger in the joy of his breakthrough for too long.

He poured out three more pills and swallowed them.

……

At dawn, the first ray of sunlight pierced through the crack at the top of the cave, shining obliquely and casting a golden band of light across the ground.

The third jade bottle beside Lin Yuan was empty.

He consumed all twenty-seven top-grade Qi Gathering Pills.

He slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath.

The breath carried faint fragments of spiritual light, which drifted away in the morning light.

Lin Yuan stood up and clenched his fists tightly.

The spiritual energy flowed in his palm, full and solid.

Five layers of Qi Refining.

He crossed three minor realms overnight.

If this gets out, his miserable fellow disciples in the outer sect will probably tie him up and interrogate him for the secrets.

Five layers of Qi Refining.

It sounds like it's much stronger than before, but it's still just an ant in the Xuan Yin Sect.

Wen Yuci, half a step towards the Golden Elixir.

That female demon could crush him with a single finger.

Take your time, there's no rush.

Lin Yuan clenched his fist, then relaxed it.

What's the rush? We've survived for ten years already, what's a few more years?

There are two urgent matters at hand.

First, he needs to acquire more spiritual herbs. He has already used up all the privately hoarded herbs in his spiritual fields. To continue improving his cultivation, he needs higher-grade spiritual herbs and more complex pill formulas.

Second, acquire more attribute points. The remaining 98 points are neither a lot nor a little, but they are still a far cry from the 10,000 points needed for the next Alchemist advancement.

Currently, there is only one known source of attribute points.

Lin Yuan's gaze slowly fell on the stone door at the entrance of the cave, which had been smashed by Lin Feilu's punch and then barely patched up by him with rubble and spiritual mud.

A few rays of morning light shone through the crack in the door, illuminating the mess on the floor.

He suddenly remembered the rule he had set for Lin Feilu before he left—that she had to come every night.

The thought of Senior Sister Lin coming to "report on her work" tonight made his lower back start to ache.

No, not faintly.

Take your time, there's no rush.

Lin Yuan clenched his fist, then relaxed it.

Having exhausted our resources, the two most pressing matters are: first, to acquire more spiritual herbs; and second, to obtain more attribute points.