At the age of one hundred, I inquired about the Dao, awakening the supreme spiritual root that shatt

The next morning.

Ling Xiu continued practicing fire control techniques on the alchemy furnace.

Just then, whispers rang out in the Taiqing Pill Room, and a message reached his ears precisely.

Master Qiye is about to begin refining the True Essence Pill!

That short sentence instantly shook Ling Xiu to his core.

The True Essence Pill is a precious elixir specially prepared for cultivators preparing to enter the True Essence Realm. It can nourish Yang True Essence and solidify the foundation of the True Essence Realm.

This news was extremely important to Ling Xiu!

Master Qiye's refining of this pill for a core disciple of the sect shook the entire Pill Treasure Hall.

The Yunzhen Pill is a low-grade Xuan-level spiritual pill, extremely difficult to refine.

Even Master Qiye couldn't guarantee success on the first try; the failure rate was extremely high.

Moreover, the spiritual herbs required for refining are extremely precious, and they can be wasted if not handled carefully.

Of all the alchemists in the entire Danbao Hall, no more than ten are capable of refining the Yunzhen Pill.

Upon hearing the news, Ling Xiu was so excited that his fingers trembled slightly as he tried to control the fire, almost causing the flames inside the furnace to get out of control.

He tried his best to suppress his excitement, but a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes.

That's a True Essence Pill!

It was the elixir he had always dreamed of, the one he used to break through to the True Condensation Realm, which finally gave him hope.

Even Master Qiye sometimes fails at refining pills, in which case he has waste pills to study.

Ling Xiu thought to himself, trying his best to remain calm.

Although his eyes were fixed on the furnace fire, his mind was entirely focused on refining the True Essence Pill, and his gaze became exceptionally deep and resolute.

Two days later, in the Taiqing Danfang.

Previously, he usually sorted spiritual herbs and practiced alchemy in the alchemy room, but now the room was filled with a strange energy fluctuation.

The enormous alchemy furnace was about to be opened; it was more like an alchemy cauldron than a furnace.

It is engraved with intricate array patterns, which can be used to ignite the burning earth fire with spiritual power.

First comes the furnace stage, where the heat is intense.

Master Qiye stared intently at the alchemy cauldron, a few strands of silver hair on his head fluttering slightly, his expression cold and stern.

His eyes were sharp and gleaming as he stared intently at the changing flames on the cauldron.

Ling Xiu watched intently from the side, holding his breath, afraid of making any noise that might disturb Master Qi Ye.

The most exciting moment is about to arrive.

"Ling Xiu, watch closely!"

Master Qiye's voice rang out, tinged with seriousness.

His voice was calm, without the usual scolding, but rather conveyed a sense of instruction and guidance.

"The True Essence Pill is a pill that contains the essence of heaven and earth. It can help cultivators condense their true essence and consolidate their foundation. There are three points to note when refining the pill."

He explained in detail, and then put a Seven-Illusion Azure Spirit Saliva Grass that emitted a strange light into the cauldron.

"This main ingredient is extremely precious, growing on Holy Spirit Mountain, and is very difficult to find."

It needs to be combined with the Heart-Cleansing Clover and ten-year-old Spirit-Absorbing Leaves and smelted together to extract the essence.

All three kinds of spiritual herbs are extremely precious, especially the Seven Illusion Green Spirit Saliva Grass, which is extremely rare, appearing only once every hundred years.

Ling Xiu stared intently at it, never expecting this spiritual herb to be so rare.

He was astonished by the immense and pure energy it emitted after being placed in the cauldron.

"This Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Saliva herb is extremely potent and difficult to refine, so we must leave it for now."

Master Qiye formed hand seals and slapped the cauldron repeatedly, gathering fire-controlling power in his palms and carefully controlling the heat.

The sound of spiritual herbs churning came from inside the cauldron, and soon they turned into medicinal liquid, entering the equally crucial second step of fusion.

The cauldron erupted with astonishing energy fluctuations, and the three spiritual herbs began to fuse.

This process is extremely complex, involving the spiritual seal guiding the energy, controlling the heat, and causing the three spiritual herbs inside the cauldron to spin wildly, with the cauldron walls constantly emitting sounds of energy collisions.

"These three medicinal herbs have different properties; the first two are yang, and the last one is yin. They clash with each other, and their medicinal properties are fully activated."

Controlling the heat during the fusion process is crucial; improper handling can even lead to an explosion!

Master Qiye tried his best to remain calm, but sweat was already beading on his forehead, indicating that it was indeed not easy to melt.

The process of alchemy is ever-changing, and he must constantly find a balance point to allow the spiritual herbs to fuse together while repelling each other. This consumes a great deal of his spiritual sense and requires precise control of spiritual power.

Even with his powerful divine sense, Ling Xiu could sense the surging, turbulent energy fluctuations within the cauldron.

The energies generated by the spiritual herbs clashed continuously, which would be difficult for anyone else to control. However, Master Qiye had extremely high attainments in alchemy, so although the process was difficult, the chances of success were much greater.

"Remember, a 'Celestial Tribulation' will occur within the cauldron during the elixir's formation!"

Master Qiye's voice trembled, and his brows furrowed.

"The True Essence Pill contains powerful true essence. When it is formed, it will create chaotic energy fluctuations, which is called the Pill Tribulation."

Special methods are needed to protect and stabilize the elixir's formation, locking away any fluctuations in its spiritual energy—this is the most crucial step!

Sure enough, just as he finished speaking, a dazzling light emanated from the cauldron, and the fragrance of medicine filled the entire alchemy room.

At the same time, a roar came from the cauldron. The violent turbulence was the chaotic surge of energy during the formation of the pill, which made Master Qiye very nervous.

He formed hand seals repeatedly, injecting spiritual energy into the cauldron in an attempt to stabilize the chaotic energy.

boom!

But the chaotic energy surged wildly, causing a loud bang inside the cauldron.

The light inside the cauldron dimmed considerably, accompanied by a burnt smell and a faint medicinal fragrance.

Master Qiye's expression changed drastically, his hands, which were forming a hand seal, suddenly stopped, and then he sighed.

"It's ruined! Open the lid!"

The voice sounded weak.

Inside the cauldron, the three spiritual herbs had completely fused together, but at the bottom of the cauldron were only five charred, waste pills.

All three were completely charred, devoid of even a trace of spiritual energy.

One was shattered, the other had faint pill patterns, it was a low-grade True Essence Pill.

It took three precious spiritual herbs to refine only one low-grade True Essence Pill; the other four were completely wasted.

This is only the first batch, and the losses are already quite significant.

"After all, I'm getting old. My mental agility isn't what it used to be, and I'm far from my younger self."

Master Qiye carefully took out the low-grade True Essence Pill and put it away, extremely dissatisfied with the result of this pill refining.

In the past, at least four pills could have been formed, with only one lost.

But today's result was within his expectations and he could accept it.

Of the remaining four discarded pills, the shattered one still had a trace of spiritual power, but it was now worthless.

"Just clean it up, throw it in the waste bin, and rinse it with water."

Ling Xiu nodded slightly, but instead of sweeping, he respectfully looked at Master Qi Ye.

"These discarded pills... I wish to take them back for further research."

Master Qiye was clearly taken aback and looked at him with some confusion.

"No, these discarded pills are worthless. The residual poison on them will only corrode your body. Keeping them is useless to you. Throw them away!"

Ling Xiu's face was full of longing as he whispered again.

"Master, I just want to keep them for a while to observe them before discarding them, to see why these four failed pills failed. Was it because the heat control was too strict, or was there a conflict in the medicinal effects?"

This will help the disciple avoid these problems when refining elixirs in the future, and perhaps even gain some insights that could be of great help to the disciple.

Ling Xiu's words showed Master Qi Ye his diligent and studious attitude, and his determination to seize every opportunity to learn alchemy.

He then nodded slightly.

"Alright, then you may stay here. Remember, you must not touch the poisonous pills. If your meridians become numb, burn them immediately."

Master Qiye didn't say much, after all, Ling Xiu was already a hundred years old, and his experience and knowledge naturally made him understand the importance of things.

"Your disciple will remember your teachings and thanks you, Master, for your guidance!"

Ling Xiu bowed respectfully, his face calm and expressionless, his eyes submissive.

But beneath his lowered eyelids, ecstasy almost overwhelmed his reason.

The poisonous pill that others would avoid at all costs was his only chance to break through to the True Condensation Realm.

He took out a sealed jade bottle and calmly put the four waste pills into it, then tightened the stopper to isolate them from the poison.

Unbeknownst to anyone, this centenarian apprentice had already obtained the trump card to break through the heavens.