Chapter 233: Chapter 221: The Elixir’s Effect

Bai Qinying’s sword appeared out of nowhere, and at this moment, it was already resting on Fang Yun’s shoulder.

This sword was not a Spiritual Artifact, but merely a Magical Artifact.

"I win this time."

"Yes, you win."

Seeing Bai Qinying’s deadpan expression, Fang Yun replied in an equally serious tone.

In truth, he knew that behind her serious facade, Bai Qinying didn’t really accept this kind of victory. She was just trying to be a little difficult.

Fang Yun knew this.

The main reason was that when Bai Qinying made her move, he hadn’t entered a combat stance.

If she truly considered this a win, she would have at least seen it as a proper Magical Combat spar. And during a Magical Combat spar, he would have entered a combat stance.

"No fun." Bai Qinying sheathed her sword.

In their previous Magical Combat spars, Fang Yun had given her absolutely no chance, yet now he was so easily admitting defeat.

"Junior Brother, with skills like yours, it’s a real shame you’re not on Battle Peak."

"Putting my master aside, would your grand-uncle even agree?" Fang Yun asked.

If Xiong Xingfeng supported him going elsewhere, Bai Heyan would surely come find him at the first opportunity to make him an Elder of Alchemy on Dan Cloud Peak.

"He definitely wouldn’t agree." Bai Qinying was well aware of this.

While Fang Yun was in seclusion completing his Spiritual Power transformation, she had gone to see Bai Heyan, and the two had talked about Fang Yun after his Foundation Establishment.

During their conversation, Bai Heyan had vaguely given her a certain feeling.

In her grand-uncle’s heart, her status might no longer be as high as Fang Yun’s.

"It’s better that he doesn’t agree. If I go out on missions less, you’ll find that when you buy Spirit Ascension Pills each year, the quantity of Upper-Grade and Middle-Grade ones will be much higher than before," Fang Yun said, alluding to his Alchemy skill. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

This was the impact he could have.

In the Dan Cloud Pavilion, Second-Tier pills that aided Cultivation were the most refined, but they were also the most in-demand.

Among these Second-Tier pills, the Upper-Grade ones were always bought out first, followed by the Middle-Grade, and finally the Lower-Grade.

The Contribution Points that Celestial Cloud Sect Elders earned from missions, combined with the fixed amount they received annually, were enough to buy all the corresponding resources the sect produced each year.

To break this cycle, from the looks of it, the resource conversion rate needed to be high enough.

「The moon was high in the sky.」

By this time, Fang Yun had already bid farewell to Bai Qinying.

If she still wanted to have a Magical Combat spar, she would have to wait for a future opportunity.

On the way back to Artifact Casting Peak, Fang Yun was considering a question.

Should he wait and gather materials to refine his own Alchemy and Artifact Refining tools? Or should he go buy them from the Artifact Pavilion now?

If he gathered the materials and refined the tools himself, he would gain corresponding Talent Points, and the resulting equipment would be better suited for him. That was the advantage. The disadvantage was that gathering materials would be time-consuming, and during that time, he would still have to rent Alchemy and Artifact Refining Rooms.

If he went straight to the Artifact Pavilion to buy them—take Alchemy, for example—purchasing a Lower-Grade Spiritual Artifact Alchemy Furnace would definitely be better than the top-quality Magical Artifact furnace in the high-end Alchemy Rooms. The added advantages of a Spiritual Artifact-level furnace would increase his chances of producing Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pills, which would in turn earn him more Talent Points.

Lost in thought, Fang Yun soon arrived back at Artifact Casting Peak.

’Instead of choosing one or the other, why not do both? I have more than enough Spirit Stones and Contribution Points right now, anyway.’

No longer conflicted, Fang Yun ultimately chose to have it all.

First, he would go to the Artifact Pavilion and buy suitable tools for Alchemy and Artifact Refining. Then, once he finished gathering the materials, he would refine even better-suited equipment for his own use.

Soon, at the Artifact Pavilion, Fang Yun had spent over seven thousand Contribution Points.

He had acquired tools for both Alchemy and Artifact Refining.

The Alchemy Furnace with three Spirit Patterns consumed the most Sect Contribution Points, costing him just over three thousand to secure.

Fang Yun returned to his dwelling.

The first thing he had to do was recover his Spiritual Power. Then, he would refine and absorb an Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pill to improve his Cultivation and, at the same time, replenish his spent Mental Power.

The medicinal power of an Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pill was immense.

As the medicinal power was consumed, crimson drops of Spirit Liquid formed one by one in Fang Yun’s Qi Sea.

A full day passed.

Only then did Fang Yun finish refining and absorbing a single Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pill.

’Under ideal conditions, it would still take me about twenty years to reach the peak of the early Foundation Establishment Stage...’

After getting a concrete understanding of the effect one Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pill had on him, Fang Yun calculated the approximate time it would take to reach the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment while planning his next steps.

The so-called "ideal conditions" meant factoring in all the various things he had to do, as well as assuming an uninterrupted supply of Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pills.

In reality, it would probably take him around twenty-five years to reach the peak of the early Foundation establishment Stage. If he could reach the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment before he turned fifty, Fang Yun would find that acceptable.

Looking further ahead, his goal was to enter the late-stage of Foundation Establishment by the time he was eighty or ninety.

As for crossing into the next major Realm and entering the Core Formation Stage, Fang Yun hoped to achieve that before he was one hundred and fifty.

After he finished refining and absorbing one Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pill, Fang Yun spent another day refining and absorbing a second one before finally entering his Alchemy Room.

Fang Yun took out the Lower-Grade Spiritual Artifact-level Alchemy Furnace. He first dripped a drop of his essence blood into it to claim ownership, establishing a connection with the furnace to help him better refine pills.

This was Fang Yun’s first time using his Foundation Establishment True Flame, and also his first time using a Spiritual Artifact-level Alchemy Furnace.

Compared to Earth Fire, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s own Foundation Establishment True Flame was more effective. The advantage of Earth Fire was that it didn’t consume the Alchemy Master’s own Spiritual Power, making it particularly friendly to cultivators below the Foundation Establishment Stage.

If there was High-Tier Earth Fire, it could even help a Foundation Establishment Cultivator refine materials beyond their own Realm. However, the Celestial Cloud Sect’s Earth Fire Vein was very ordinary and incapable of producing High-Tier Earth Fire.

’I hope I can break the record again.’

Fang Yun thought to himself as he laid out the refining materials for the Spirit Ascension Pill. A ball of flame ignited in his hand and shot into the Alchemy Furnace.

The refining of the Spirit Ascension Pill officially began.

This time, refining the Spirit Ascension Pill took longer than before, a full eleven two-hour periods.

And the Spirit Ascension Pills that emerged from the furnace at the end met Fang Yun’s goal, breaking his record once again.

Three Upper-Grade, four Middle-Grade.

One more batch!

Another eleven two-hour periods passed. The process of refining the last batch of Spirit Ascension Pills had allowed him to fully adapt to the new Alchemy Furnace, and this batch broke his record yet again.

"Four Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pills, one Middle-Grade, and two Lower-Grade." Fang Yun looked at the Spirit Ascension Pills in his hand and nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad, not bad at all."

Fang Yun made a rough calculation in his mind.

From refining these two batches of Spirit Ascension Pills, when the Talent Points were tallied at the beginning of the month, the total—including bonuses—would be enough for him to draw for a Life Talent over one hundred and sixty times.

He had entered the Foundation Establishment Stage and completed his first task of refining Spirit Ascension Pills.

Not only did he obtain four Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pills, but he also received the highest tier of rewards.