Chapter 342: Chapter 167: Implementing Mountain Collapse, Refining Tongyou Pill (Seeking Monthly Tickets!) 3
Translator: 549690339
“If Elder Gang Master Mi were still alive, he would be overjoyed.”
As he was mumbling to himself, Qu Lingjun tugged at him.
“Grandpa, we cannot share this news outside!”
“Hm?”
Qu Hancheng was confused, why couldn’t they share the news of the improvement in the President’s mastery over the Dao of Alchemy?
Qu Lingjun kept a straight face, mimicking Luo Chen’s demeanour during the day, staring at his grandfather.
He said seriously, “We must not share this with others, that’s the president’s instruction!”
Qu Hancheng opened his mouth, somewhat taken aback by his grandson’s expression and tone.
For an instant, he could sense a trace of Luo Chen’s demeanor.
Since it was the case, he abandoned the idea of publicizing the president’s accomplishments.
It’s not a good idea to flatter someone too much.
However, this made him hesitate.
Should he let his grandson use Lower Grade Jade Marrow Pills, or Ascendant Grade ones?
“The Ascendant Grade ones!”
“Since the president awarded a bottle, he must have considered Lingjun’s cultivation level.”
“Besides, he seems to quite like the child. Promoting Lingjun’s cultivation level earlier can help him with his tasks, and he might even be put in charge of important matters.”
“I can keep these Lower Grade Jade Marrow Pills for myself, I haven’t had many elixirs in my life anyway.”
Having found a reason for himself to enjoy, Qu Hancheng urged his grandson to go and cultivate.
He stood at the door, letting Qu Lingjun have the room’s air to himself so that the Spirit Qi wouldn’t be shared with him.
Facing the biting cold wind, Qu Hancheng pulled out a smoke gun from around his waist.
He expertly lit the pipe with the Fireball Technique and took a puff.
He realized that the usually choking tobacco leaves had a faint sweetness to them.
A troubled expression was upon his face.
Luo Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and took a small sip of the Deficiency Repairing Meridian Fluid.
He looked down at the small mound not far away.
“Is this the power of a Second Order Technique?”
“Damn!”
“Zhenlong Black Market wouldn’t sell pirated fake goods, would they?” Murmuring complaints, Luo Chen recalled the situation at the time. According to the scripture, he could start practicing the “Mountain Collapse” as long as the three techniques had reached a preliminary level of achievement. Now, his Fireball Technique is at Finalization level, Earth Rock Technique at Perfection Level, and Wave Technique at Perfection Level, well beyond the preliminary attainment level.
But, the three techniques could not merge into one!
“Where did the problem arise?”
He had met all the basic requirements, so why did he fail?
Luo Chen did not doubt his talent for techniques.
Compared to Pill Refinement Technique which even those at the Foundation Establishment Stage and Golden Core Period are envious about, his talent for techniques is genuinely impressive.
All the techniques he had learned so far, none of them were initiated by the system.
It’s all through his own, solitary cultivation effort.
Constantly pondering, Luo Chen stared at the little mound.
This was the result of the Earth Rock Technique.
If he had given his full effort, it should at least be tens of meters high.
But during his attempt, his internal Spirit Qi was disturbed, causing a sudden runaway.
Not only did the technique fail, it also slightly damaged him.
Fortunately, he had Deficiency Repairing Meridian Fluid obtained from Gao Tingyuan’s legacy, otherwise, he would have suffered a loss today.
“Where’s the water?”
“I activated the Wave Technique as well, but I didn’t see a single water droplet, I didn’ t even sense any Water Type Spirit Qi.”
“It cannot be that I haven’t mastered the Earth Rock Technique and Wave Technique!”
In his confusion, Luo Chen suddenly realized something.
Perhaps, it isn’t that he hasn’t mastered these two prerequisite techniques. It’s more likely because his proficiency in the Fireball Technique is too high. A Finalization level Fireball Technique, when pushed to the extreme, can even match a Second Order Fire Series Fierce Sun Technique.
The fusion of the three techniques is about balance first, and then the explosion.
If balance cannot be achieved first, how can there be an explosion.
As a result, there is only a premature explosion.
And for the premature explosion, the one who gets hurt is the caster!
“Sowhat I need to do is to improve the two prerequisite techniques.”
“Or maybe, control the amount of Spirit Power input into the Fireball Technique?”
The first two options require a lot of time, at least to be measured in “months”. Yet the latter one is easier to solve.
A few months ago, he had been constantly optimizing the Fireball Technique. The Finalization level Spirit Vision Technique gave him an extra edge.
Up till now, the optimization of the Fireball Technique has reached a highly advanced level.
If it is further merged to form the Fierce Sun Technique, the power would increase by at least three times.
Even given enough time, after draining all his Spirit Power, he would definitely be able to release a brilliant blow.
If it’s about controlling the amount of Spirit Power input, this isn’t hard to solve.
Just as Luo Chen was about to continue practicing his techniques, his eyes suddenly narrowed.
Under the night sky, an old wolf exuding a powerful aura was climbing the mountain peak from hundreds of miles away.
Suddenly, a mournful wolf howl echoed through the desolate hills and the ancient forest.
“It doesn’t seem like a good day to continue cultivating this technique.”
“No matter, since I’ve already identified the main problem, I will eventually master this technique.”
Without hesitation, Luo Chen turned around and left.
His technique, Carefree Wind Control was unleashed, whipping up a storm, and cloaking his figure with black clouds.
In the blink of an eye, Luo Chen disappeared from Changyin Mountain.
Upon returning to Crescent Valley, Luo Chen did not immediately resume his cultivation.
The prep work for the raw materials for Tongyou Pill had finished over the past few days.
Processed primary ingredients for ten doses were waiting in his storage bag.
“Well, defensive techniques are ultimately just for protection. Cultivation is the most critical part.”
“Let’s refine the Tongyou Pill first to boost my cultivation level!”
System, beginner’s level!
Without any hesitations.
Ten achievement points were deducted from the panel.
Meanwhile, a new entry emerged on Luo Chen’s attribute panel.
[Tongyou Pill 1/100)
Based on his past experiences, the additional “1” meant that Luo Chen already had one successful attempt to his name, hence he was considered at the beginner’s level.
This “1” was not to be belittled.
Without this “1”, nobody knew how many failures one had to go through beforehand.
At least, Luo Chen learned about the feeling of disappointment from Tang Quan, who couldn’t successfully refine Allure Pill even once.
Tang Quan had attempted to refine Allure Pill hundreds of times.
Given that each attempt cost five lower-grade spirit stones, he had already squandered five hundred of them.
To give some perspective, when Luo Chen first started out empty-handed, he only possessed fifty spirit stones.
Five hundred spirit stones would require him to start from scratch and make a comeback ten times!
Moreover, he didn’t even see a glimmer of hope.
The only time one can remember the most exquisite moment is when they succeed. Then one can draw more successful experiences from that success.
In other words, once a person tastes success, they always succeed!
With a faint thought passing through, Luo Chen summoned the Four Symbols Tripod.
This was the magic tool Luo Chen was most familiar with so far, even more so than the Purple Cloud Bronze Furnace, Xuanyun Tripod, and Divine Wood Tripod.
“Oh Elder Gang Master Mi, how I miss you!”
With a sigh, Luo Chen lit the fire himself before dropping in the herbs one by one.
“Zhan Star Grass, Bamboo Yellow… ”
“Huan You Grass, separated by Blue Citrus Grass juice…”
“Finally, it’s Snow Fox Demon Blood, so then… that’s not right!”
It only took a moment for Luo Chen to snap out of his trance.
Yet, in that very moment, a pungent and disgusting smell flooded his senses.
He rose into the air to look into the large cauldron.
A large mass of a whitish semi-solid liquid was seeping into the cauldron.
The offensive smell originated from that.
Luo Chen’s face darkened. It was a failure!
He hadn’t even got to the stage of medicine fusion, yet the process had already failed.
He didn’t even get to the pill condensation stage.
“Just a moment of indulgence in the hallucinations caused by the Snow Fox Demon Blood led to this.”
“That very moment caused the refinement to fail!”
“This is the only time in my many years of pill refinement when I’ve been counterattacked by a medicinal herb.”
Such situations were rare.
Or rather, they did exist!
But usually, it only occurred while refining high-level elixirs.
Processes like refining living objects usually involve confronting the defiance of the materials.
Who would have thought that such a situation would arise while refining a mere Tongyou Pill.
“Perhaps it’s because the pill formula I completed does not suppress the hallucinogenic abilities of the Snow Fox Demon Blood.”
“But now that I’ve reached the beginner’s level, it’s too late to instantly modify the pill formula.”
“I need to find a way to prevent the hallucinations while refining the pill.”
Every problem should be solved!
Luo Chen was not discouraged. He had experienced a lot of failures.
Without these failures, where would his successes come from?
However, today’s back-to-back failures in technique and pill refinement did make him feel mentally exhausted.
“Maybe it’s also because I’ve been overworking recently.”
“Today’s minor meridian injury also requires some rest.”
“I will stop cultivating today and only take some Gold-Quality Jade Liquid and Tongming Liquid, then go to sleep!”
Luo Chen knew very well that one should not overdo things.
He decisively chose to sleep.
And as it turned out, he had a pretty good night’s sleep.