Since Pang Renxiong’s death, the inner city of Dahe had become a ghostly abyss. The Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion was no more, and thus, formal auctions could no longer be held.
As a result, rogue cultivators in Dahe Market lost their usual means of acquiring Foundation Establishment pills. Luo Chen had once worried about this.
But then he had forged an alliance with Tian Xingzi, who had promised him three Foundation Establishment pills. With that assurance, Luo Chen had finally seen a clear path ahead for his cultivation.
However, since Tian Xingzi left last month, Luo Chen had yet to see a single pill.
Although Tian Xingzi had sworn that someone would deliver them, who knew how long that would actually take? Surely they wouldn’t arrive a hundred years later, placed atop his grave!
Since then, Luo Chen had been searching for a way to break through to Foundation Establishment. The simpler approach was to visit other markets, even Tianlan Immortal City, and acquire one at an auction for a high price.
But the problem remained the same. As an outsider unfamiliar with these places, he had no way of securing a share in the allocations reserved for high-tier cultivators. Relying on the meager slots available to rogue cultivators was far from enough.
A more complex method was the one Wang Yuan had suggested.
The Blood Fiend Seizing Array!
Taking the blood-path route to Foundation Establishment. But this path required deep mastery in physical cultivation and blood techniques, along with an exceptionally strong body, to barely succeed.
Even so, Wang Yuan himself could not guarantee success.
Moreover, it required a Foundation Establishment Initiate who could be completely drained at will! The difficulty of this was no less than launching another attack on the Duan family.
Luo Chen, of course, would not choose this path.
There was still another method. That was the soul path to Foundation Establishment.
Luo Chen had access to this technique and the necessary conditions were already in place. He needed a powerful divine soul foundation and a sufficient number of late stage Qi-Refining cultivators’ souls.
With the Spirit Passage pill to support him, Luo Chen was confident in strengthening his divine soul foundation.
As for the latter, Dahe Market was teeming with thousands of ghosts.
Not to mention late stage Qi-Refining ghosts, there were at least one or two Ghost Generals equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
However, the terrifying aftereffects of the soul path Foundation Establishment made Luo Chen shun it like venomous snakes and scorpions. Thus, after much deliberation, he placed his hopes on Imperial Nectar.
After days of studying, he had thoroughly analyzed this alchemical formula. Its medicinal properties were designed to enhance the foundation of demonic beasts, accelerating their cultivation speed. If the subject was of a plant attribute or an intelligent beast, the effects would be even greater.
By design, this pill was specifically formulated for demonic beasts. However, certain added medicinal materials allowed it to be effective for select humans as well.
In other words, it could enhance a human cultivator’s foundation. Didn’t this mean it could serve as a form of Foundation Establishment?
The alchemical path to Foundation Establishment was plagued by the scarcity of Foundation Establishment pills.
The blood path faced the challenge of acquiring extremely rare materials.
The soul path presented horrifying side effects that no one dared to consider.
Only the demonic path to Foundation Establishment may serve as a viable backup!
Luo Chen did not intend to place all his hopes on Tian Xingzi’s goodwill. The conscience of high-tier cultivators had never been reliable. He had seen through this truth completely. Everything could only depend on himself!
As for the requirements to refine Imperial Nectar, he had already gathered them all.
Luo Chen had already acquired some of the supplementary ingredients through Wang Yanchang before Tian Xingzi’s departure. Later, he completed the set by purchasing the remaining materials from the Lianyun Trade Alliance.
As for the primary material, he had the complete corpse of a second-tier Blazing Cloud Roc—its bones, flesh, and blood intact, even its demonic core remained preserved. This single corpse was sufficient to refine the pill ten times over.
The refinement method required a water-based alchemical technique.
Luo Chen happened to possess the Falling Clouds Mist, which was perfectly suited for refining second-tier pills.
All that remained was to invest time into refining his technique until it was fully mastered and the Spirit Spring required for the Falling Clouds Mist—one was right beneath his feet!
Everything is ready, except for the east wind. [1]
Luo Chen took a deep breath and directed his gaze toward his status panel.
The east wind, of course, was Beginner level proficiency! If he could not achieve Beginner level proficiency, then with the grade of a second-tier pill, Luo Chen, as a mere first-tier alchemist, would have to attempt it thousands, even tens of thousands of times before succeeding just once.
Such a cost was beyond what he could afford. He did not have the spirit stones or the time to procure such an immense quantity of raw materials. As long as the system allowed him to reach the Beginner level, everything would fall into place.
The question was, could he achieve such Beginner level proficiency?
Then, his status panel surfaced before him.
Imperial Nectar, Second-Tier Complete Alchemical Formula
Beginner?
This time, Luo Chen did not hesitate.
"Beginner!"
Under his gaze, the Imperial Nectar entry slowly appeared on the system panel.
Imperial Nectar: Progress (30/100)
Luo Chen froze, finding it unbelievable. Even after investing ten achievement points, the progress had only reached this level? He was still a full seventy points away from Beginner level!
Just as disappointment set in, the entry began to change gradually.
31...35...40...50...60...70
Finally, the progress stalled at
70/100.