In the deepest part of the Alchemy Hall.

In a Tier Three Earth Fire Alchemy Chamber, a Purple Gold Pill Furnace stood in the very center. It rested on three legs and was engraved with thirty-two fire crows. Four Alchemy Boys stood beside the furnace, which was as tall as they were, drenched in sweat as they used Fire Control Techniques to maintain a stable flame.

Although the Earth Fire here was stable, refining a batch of elixirs from start to finish often took dozens of days, and accidents could always happen.

Twenty-seven days later, the Purple Gold Pill Furnace began to shake violently. Six streams of hazy Pill Qi erupted as the Earth Fire was rapidly absorbed, threatening to falter.

The alchemy was nearing completion; the Spirit Pills were in the process of forming.

"Bind!"

Tan Changkong extended an arm as withered as a branch and pointed at the Purple Gold Pill Furnace. The thirty-two fire crows engraved on it suddenly spat fierce flames, stabilizing the heat.

At the same time, he sent a series of complex Magic Formulas into the Purple Gold Pill Furnace. The hazy Pill Qi grew more and more solid. With a light chime, the Pill Furnace rumbled open.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Golden streaks shot out, and Tan Changkong, with a unique Pill Collection Technique, swiftly gathered the finished elixirs into a long jade box he held.

A medicinal fragrance filled the air, pervading the entire Alchemy Chamber.

Inside the jade box, six golden elixirs, each the size of a longan, lay quietly. They were as smooth as jade, and upon closer inspection, one could see fine patterns on their surfaces that even seemed to shift and change.

They were like six flawless works of art.

Pleased, Tan Changkong closed the long jade box, instantly sealing the medicinal fragrance inside.

"Congratulations, Teacher. Six pills from one batch, without a single failure... Your mastery over the Foundation Establishment Pill is simply divine. You could become a Tier Three Alchemist at any moment."

A plain-looking young man had witnessed the entire refining process of the Foundation Establishment Pills in the Alchemy Chamber.

By comparing it with his own refining techniques, he had gained many new insights.

"I’m old. If I had another ten years to study a Tier Three Pill Formula, maybe... After I’m gone, the Alchemy Hall will be in your hands."

A touch of melancholy and regret filled Tan Changkong. Failing to become a Tier Three Alchemist was the regret of his life.

"You must remember, the other elixirs don’t matter as much. You must pour your heart and soul into the Foundation Establishment Pills, pushing every portion of the Spiritual Materials to its absolute limit."

"You can currently produce four pills per batch. The gap between four and six is huge. Over time, this could even affect the Sect’s legacy. You must not take this lightly."

"And this Imitation Immortal Fire Crow Furnace... once I pass on, I will leave it to you, Han Qing. It should also improve your fire control skills."

"Teacher, I already have my own Pill Furnace... The Imitation Immortal Fire Crow Furnace is your personal Spiritual Artifact. You should leave it to your clan. What if a talented alchemist appears among your descendants? It would be perfect for them."

Before reaching Foundation Establishment, Han Qing had studied Alchemy under Tan Changkong.

Although he had never formally become his apprentice, he always treated Tan Changkong with the respect due a master. His respectful attitude remained unchanged even after he succeeded in his Foundation Establishment.

The Imitation Immortal Fire Crow Furnace was a Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact that Tan Changkong had commissioned thirty years ago. He had traveled to Zengguang Immortal City and expended immense effort to have it refined in his bid to become a Tier Three Alchemist.

With this Pill Furnace, Tan Changkong’s alchemy skills had improved by leaps and bounds.

"Leave it to that bunch of good-for-nothings, just to let the Pill Furnace collect dust? ... The only one with any promise, Qin’er, has no talent for alchemy. This path isn’t for her."

The Earth Fire had died down. Tan Changkong waved his hand, dismissing the few Alchemy Boys.

"Say no more. I’ve already made up my mind... As for my relatives, there are other items I can pass down to them."

"Teacher, in that case, from this batch of Foundation Establishment Pills, did you set one aside for Xiaoqin?"

"I’ll bring it up with the Sect Leader later. I trust he’ll give me that much face."

Tan Changkong signaled for Han Qing to be patient, indicating that the matter was already arranged.

He then handed over a few Jade Scrolls, which contained the accumulated insights from his entire life of alchemy.

Between Tan Changkong and Han Qing, they were master and disciple in all but name.

...

Several months had passed since his return from the Five Mountains Temple, and Bai Zichen finally felt the first layer of his Five Crystal Glaze Body reach Perfection.

No matter how long he visualized and meditated on the piece of Five Crystal Divine Iron in his Sea of Consciousness, his physical body would not strengthen even a little.

He tested it with his weakest weapon, the Ghost-Slaying Peach Wood Sword. Without infusing any Magical Power, he simply jabbed his arm with the Flying Sword’s natural sharpness.

With the Five Crystal Glaze Body operating at full power, a metallic clang rang out the moment the Flying Sword touched his skin.

A Five-Colored Spiritual Light burst forth. A sharp pain followed, leaving a shallow white mark on his skin, but no blood was drawn.

’It’s like I’m wearing an extra Top-Grade Defensive Magical Artifact, one that provides complete, omnidirectional protection... Once I master the second layer, I’ll probably be comparable to a Foundation Establishment Stage Body Cultivator.’

Bai Zichen could feel that if the Ghost-Slaying Peach Wood Sword had even a fraction more force, it would have broken his skin and caused an injury.

Of course, he couldn’t resist having already peeked at the Cultivation Method for the second layer of the Five Crystal Glaze Body.

Similar to the first layer, it required him to condense a Tier Five Spiritual Material, the Glazed Fire Jade, in his Sea of Consciousness, and then meditate on it to strengthen his physical body.

After cultivating the second layer, his body would gain some of the Glazed Fire Jade’s properties, allowing it to absorb Magical Power. It would be effective against over ninety-nine percent of all Magic in the world.

Its effect was somewhat similar to the Hundred-Refined Celestial Silk Robe he was currently wearing, which could also mitigate damage.

When taking damage that didn’t exceed its threshold, the second layer of the Five Crystal Glaze Body could absorb and neutralize nearly half of the impact.

Only a few, extremely special Divine Techniques that exist outside the Five Elements could overcome this property of the Glazed Fire Jade.

However, according to the experience of Ancestor Ge—who, aside from Bai Zichen, was the fastest to cultivate it—it took him twelve years just to get started on the second layer, and another year to master it.

The other predecessors all took even longer.

By that calculation, he didn’t have enough time before Foundation Establishment to invest so much effort into a single Body Refining Technique. He could only dabble in it for now and set it aside.

Besides meditating to increase his Magical Power, he also picked out two Swordsmanship manuals to study in his spare time.

During the expedition to the Five Mountains Temple’s Inheritance Stele he had participated in, the gains for all participants, including those from the Qingfeng Sect, were mediocre.

Bai Zichen made a special trip to the Transmission Hall. He found that aside from the Soaring Dragon Thought Method inherited by Huo Feiyan, which had been placed on the third floor, all the other inheritances were left on the first and second floors.

The inheritances submitted by the various Cultivation Families were equally unimpressive; the Sect wasn’t even interested in offering anything in exchange for them.

In the end, the amount of Contribution Points awarded was so low that many clans couldn’t even afford to redeem a single treasure and left empty-handed.

Of all the Cultivation Families, only the Fire Phoenix Mo Family had yet to make a move, having not sent anyone to submit their inheritance.

’The Soaring Dragon Thought Method is completely different from the Divine Casting Technique. The latter is a method for cultivating Divine Sense, while the former is a technique for using it.’

With his status as a True Disciple, Bai Zichen could read the opening summaries of all the Cultivation Technique Manuals on the third floor.

’Techniques for using Divine Sense are rare, but you can still find a few in the Transmission Hall... Methods for cultivating Divine Sense, however, are nowhere to be found, at least not on the third floor.’

After cultivating the Soaring Dragon Thought Method, one could systematically master both defensive and offensive uses of Divine Sense, rather than just relying on superior Divine Sense strength as he was doing now.

Placed on the third floor of the Transmission Hall, it was priced at a learning cost of two hundred Sect Contribution points.

Because he had already chosen the Five Crystal Glaze Body, Bai Zichen didn’t currently have the qualification to redeem a technique for free, so he could only put the thought aside for later.

’A Foundation Establishment Pill costs ten thousand Sect Contribution points. There’s no way I can gather enough through normal missions... It seems I’ll have to borrow from someone.’

Every True Disciple had the right to use one portion of Pure Yang Gang Sha for free.

Bai Zichen had already mastered the first layer of the Five Crystal Glaze Body, and his physical strength was comparable to a cultivator who specialized in body refinement, so he naturally wouldn’t exchange for the Pure Yang Gang Sha.

This Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object was priced at fifteen hundred Sect Contribution points within the sect. Adding the reward from the trip to the Five Mountains Temple, his True Inheritance Token now held a total of seventeen hundred Sect Contribution points.