Chapter 302: Alchemy and Progression

Chapter 302: Alchemy and Progression Translator: Novel Saga Editor: - - The Mysterious Yang Dan and the Missing Yin Dan were bodily nourishment medicines, and were to be taken by men and women respectively[1]. They were refined using the most ordinary herbs, and could be consumed by the most ordinary of people; without any fear of a side effect. However, the Spirit Amassing Dan was a high-level Dan, and was only suited for high-level martial practitioners. The Spirit Amassing Dan was also known as the ‘Devil’s Heart’ Dan. This Dan was designed to be consumed while undertaking martial training. It would increase the concentration of the ‘spirit energy’ inside a person’s body by a very significant margin. Moreover, the possibility of a backlash — or the ‘Devil’s Bite’ — would be more-or-less eliminated even if a person would wholeheartedly immerse themselves in their practice. This function of the Devil’s Heart Dan would seem rather simple, but it was no trivial matter. This Dan wasn’t a rare treasure, but it wasn’t exactly sold openly in the market; nor did it have a price. A martial practitioner can’t afford to be afraid of foreign object; they can’t fear pain. However, the ‘Devil’s Bite’ was one the biggest hurdles in their path. And, most people were afraid of this phenomenon.[1] It was hard to say how many high-level martial practitioners had succumbed to the Devil’s Bite over the course of their training, and had lost their lives and cultivation to this tragedy. In fact, the effect of the Devil’s Bite was likely to be more severe for a martial practitioner of a higher level. But, the Devil’s Heart Dan effectively put an end to this phenomenon’s possibility. Hence, this Dan was often considered as a ‘Life-saving’ Dan. An open circulation of the ‘Devil’s Heart Dan’ would likely give rise to a ruckus in the entire Xuan Xuan continent. This small medicine pill could easily cause a blood-bath; a very tragic one at that. In fact, the intensity of the scramble for this medicine wouldn’t be very different from the one that had unfolded for the ‘Level Nine Xuan Core’. The “Multi-Cure Dan”[3] did what its name suggests. It was miracle medicine that could cure a myriad of infections and diseases. This medicine could blend with a plethora of infectious and poisonous substances inside the host’s body, and could remove them from therein — without causing any harm to the subject. It was a long road to Tian Fa. Moreover, the journey and the destination were filled with a variety of elements that could cause infections in the troops’ bodies. And, this medicinal pill could act as a major means of prevention against all such elements by preserving the troops’ health. Therefore, Jun Mo Xie had given this medicine preference over the others. The last was the ‘Connecting-Meridians Dan’. Jun Mo Xie had given it a different name: Ten Years Dan. According his experiments — a person’s Xuan Qi and internal strength were likely to see an enhancement after the consumption of this Dan. This Dan wouldn’t exactly open-up a person’s Xuan meridians, but it could enhance a person’s Xuan cultivation by ten years’ time! Moreover, the effects of this enhancement were possibly permanent in nature! In other words, this ‘Medicinal Dan’ could provide a life-long enhancement in person’s combat effectiveness. Moreover, this miraculous medicine could produce this effect in a very short period of time. Jun Mo Xie could enhance the cultivation level of the 300 hundred guards he was training to an entirely new level if this medicine could be combined with the ‘Devil’s Heart Dan’. Jun Mo Xie could naturally refine a few more medicines using the second level of the ‘Art of Unlocking the Heaven’s fortune’. But, those medicines were mostly nourishment medicines such as ‘Spirit Purifying’ Dan etc. These medicines were quite effective as well, but Jun Mo Xie didn’t think very highly of them; nor did he need them very urgently. So, he had temporarily ignored them when he had made a list of his first-choice medicines. It was imperative for him to enhance strength as soon as possible. Not just his own — but that of the entire Jun Family’s troops. Jun Mo Xie sat cross-legged inside the Hongjun Pagoda. He was facing the ‘Furnace of Good Fortune’, and was trying to calm his excited frame of mind. The ‘Art of Unlocking the Heaven’s Fortune’ had been surging like a torrent, but it started to flow like a smooth stream as his mental state became calmer. Suddenly, he felt burst of clarity in his mind. [Well!] Jun Mo Xie raised his hands after a loud shout, and drew a large circle in the void of the air. Then, he rapidly drew some characters with his finger. He wasn’t using any kind of ink, but some strange characters would show up in that circle he had previously drawn. And, those strange characters would fly into the Furnace of Good Fortune once they had been fully formed… Boom! The ‘Flame of Primal Chaos’ was lightly ablaze under the ‘Furnace of Good Fortune’ when he had started. However, the flame suddenly became more ardent and fierce. A jet-black flame soared ten feet into the sky, and enveloped the entire ‘Furnace of Good Fortune’ inside it. Jun Mo Xie pointed the index finger of his hand towards the ‘Furnace of Good Fortune’ as this happened. A ‘buzz’ resounded from the Furnace, and it started to float and swirl in midair. Soon, the Furnace’s body started to radiate with a rainbow-colored light, and countless strange patterns appeared on its outer surface. Then, those patterns suddenly disappeared. But, that rainbow-colored light continued to radiate on the furnace’s body. The furnace continued to swirl and buzz midair as its lid was raised into the sky. Jun Mo Xie tossed the medicinal ingredients into the furnace with his right hand, and the entire atmosphere was suddenly filled with a rich medicinal aroma. This dense fragrance had come to life the moment the ingredients made contact with the Furnace. Then, the Furnace’s lid slammed down, and the ‘Flame of Primal Chaos’ lit-up once again. Then, Jun Mo Xie pointed his finger towards the furnace, and it was enveloped in that jet-black flame again. Suddenly, Jun Mo Xie felt as if the spiritual energy inside his body had surged out like a massive river that had broken past its dam… This was merely the beginning. The Young Master Jun had always sailed swiftly — despite the direction of the current. However, he found himself complaining like never before… [Oh My God! Is this medicinal alchemy or blood suction? That feeling from a moment ago was simply terrifying! Refining such a small amount of Dans requires so much strength, and such a substantial amount of Aura?! And, that’s when I’m only refining the most basic and ordinary Dans! If this is merely the starting point… wouldn’t it kill me if I were to refine high-end Dans? This is too much…!] [Damn it! I’ve seen the movies! Those Daoist alchemists would concoct Dans with so much ease. They would merely stroke their beards and scratch their whiskers, and the job would be done. The clouds would shake, and the Dan would show up in front of them. And, a person could be brought back from the dead with the Dan they would concoct! In fact, a person could become as light as feather, and ascend to the heavens as an Immortal…] [Ah… why did it have to be so difficult in my case? I just want to treat some injuries, cure some infections, and enhance a person’s cultivation by a few years… that’s all! But, why does something so simple have to demand so much energy from my spirit, ah?] Jun Mo Xie grumbled in his heart, but didn’t dare to slack off. He tried to maintain a steady flow, and allowed his body’s spiritual energy to surge out like a massive river… A long while later… “Bang!” The Furnace of Good Fortune issued a loud sound, and resumed its original position on the ground. The Flame of Primal Chaos simmered down and reverted back to its original color. As for the Young Master Jun — he was completely exhausted. He didn’t even have the strength to move his fingers. He panted for air as he sensed the HongJun Pagoda frantically pour Aura into his meridians. He felt as if he had just run 5 kilometers with a 500kg boulder on his body. He was literally on the verge of his sticking his tongue out of his mouth to breathe more air. In fact, the Young Master Jun would’ve probably fallen into a deep slumber if it wasn’t the crazy amount of supplementary energy that the HongJun Pagoda was pouring into his body. Physical fatigue was secondary. The crucial point was that his spirit had been exhausted. This was a rather frightening situation. The consequences could be very serious if his spirit wasn’t timely supplemented. A long, long while later… Jun Mo Xie finally felt as if his dried-out meridians had been somewhat replenished. He strutted off the ground with the help of the little remaining spiritual energy in his body, and lifted the Furnace’s lid. Then, he peeked to take a look inside it. He violently cried-out after a quick glance, while his limbs started to tremble. There was nothing inside the Furnace of Good Fortune! …apart from some burnt-out ashes… “I’m going to fu*k you!” The Hitman was flabbergasted. He continued to curse in anger, “I don’t believe this! I spent all the effort I could, and this Dan still didn’t get refined?! I can’t believe that I’ll have to try a second time over such silly and ordinary Dans!” He sat down cross-legged, put the HongJun Pagoda into motion, and started to absorb the spiritual energy… [I won’t mess up the second time]… Then… “You recumbent furnace!” the Hitman couldn’t believe the result of his second attempt either. “This is again… ah… well, my I’m going to get serious! Let’s see who the real daddy is!” Then, he started all over again… Bang! Then… “Damn it! I can’t believe this devil! I don’t know how many attempts this nonsense is going to take… ten times… Do I have to try a hundred times? A thousand times…?” he continued to curse in anger. He vented out his anger till he exhausted himself, and then sat down cross-legged again. He restarted the HongJun Pagoda to replenish his energy, and started the process again… He couldn’t believe the result again… abused till he was exhausted… and then started the entire process again… It’s hard to say how many times it took, but eventually… “Wow, ha ha ha ha… I’m your daddy! How can a piece of trash like you keep turning my stuff into ashes, huh? Ah? You son of a bit*h! You think I don’t know you? You’re a bastard! Ha! You evil little thing! You think you can beat me? Hum…” The Young Master Jun’s messy hair and dirt-filled face didn’t look much different from that of a beggar’s. In fact, even a beggar would look better than Jun Mo Xie’s present appearance. His face had gone as green as that of a zombie’s. His entire body was trembling as if he was suffering from a stroke of epilepsy. He extended his hand, and grabbed a tiny and shiny pill from the Furnace. He then raised it into the air, and started jumping up and down like a maniac… He gnashed his teeth as he held that pill in his hands. Jun Mo Xie had a strong impulse to throw that pill on the ground so he could trample it like a maniac. [Damn it! I suffered so much for this tiny piece of trash?! I’ve got cramps from that tortuous ordeal! What if I were to toss you to the ground, and stamp on you… that would be fun… that would feel so good… how good would that feel?] However, the heartless and ruthless Jun Mo Xie was reluctant to part with it. [Damn! Trample on this thing? Has my brain short-circuited? That’s not enough! I’m going to swallow you! You will squirm inside my intestines till you’ve been digested. And then, you shall be transformed into my moisty and stinky sh*t. That’s the best punishment for you!] He continued to rain curses as he slowly put them into a jade bottle. Then, he pulled one pill out of the jade bottle, and brought it up to his mouth. His hands treated the pill as if it was a priceless treasure, while his mouth cursed it “Tiny piece of trash”. Then, that pill reluctantly left his hand, and dropped into his mouth. Crack, crack, crack… he chewed it a few times, and swallowed it down… “The result looks good.” Jun Mo Xie face reveled in the aftertaste of the Mysterious Yang Dan as it came in contact with his mouth. Then, Jun Mo Xie’s face revealed a bitter expression as he realized that he had many more to refine, [How much time will this take?] [Forget about the material required for this Mysterious Yang Dan… I came in with 100 packets of herbs… and now I only have 78 left. It took me 22 attempts to succeed once. And, it could’ve been by accident too! I can only concoct 30 pills in one go. So, I will have to succeed 10 times if I want to make enough for all my trainees. How many attempts will it take to succeed 10 times…?] “This stupid furnace!” Jun Mo Xie sat down again, and started to replenish his spiritual energy… One had to say that Jun Mo Xie had a very tough will-power. It had certainly surpassed that of an ordinary person. An ordinary person wouldn’t back away if they were met with a wall on their path. However, Jun Mo Xie wouldn’t just refuse to give-up… he’d continue to knock against the wall until he had broken past it. Jun Mo Xie had initiated the Hongjun Pagoda to reinstate his spiritual power for the 22nd time. He wanted to restart the Furnace of Good Fortune and Flame of Primal Chaos so he could adhere to his task of concocting the required number of pills. However, the spiritual energy in his body had been exhausted. In fact, not even a spec of it was left. What kind of sensation would a martial man feel once their Xuan Qi and Spiritual Energy had been depleted? Such excessive strain would leave their limbs cold, and their mind in chaos. And, if a person had to experience this feeling over 22 times… one would feel as if the very depth of the sea of their soul had started to tremble... as if they would wither at a moment’s notice; it was a very creepy sensation that would leave one’s hair standing at an end! It would be akin to taking a recreational hike along the gates of hell. An average person would at best endure this the first time due to their “discipline”. But, they would never attempt it a second time. Moreover, the memory of this sensation was likely to shatter the said-person’s will-power, and leave them traumatized. In fact, even the individuals bestowed with the strongest of will-powers wouldn’t attempt this more than three-to-five times. However, the Young Master Jun had attempted this process 22 times in a row! He had failed the first 21 times… but judging by his zeal — he would’ve single-mindedly carried-on even if he hadn’t succeeded in his 22nd attempt. Who could claim to be more tenacious than Hitman Jun? Who could claim to be more ruthless? Let alone the Spiritual Energy… even the mental discipline required to accomplish this feat wasn’t trivial! It was simply unimaginable! As the situation stood — the Young Master Jun had succeeded once, and had concocted a few pills. However, he still wasn’t willing to stop. In fact, he was brimming with desire to refine all the ingredients he carried... Even if an almighty alchemic master was to see such tenacity… they’d probably roll their eyes over and faint! They’d call him a freak; perhaps an evil spirit! However, Jun Mo Xie wasn’t aware of this. In fact, he probably wouldn’t bother even if he was. So, he’d endlessly gather his energy, and would immerse himself into refining the pills. Then, he’d put-up a miserly expression on his face as he’d slowly put those pills into his small jade bottle… One bottle could only hold a hundred pills. Seeing that one bottle had filled-up… he brought out the next one… filled it… and then the next… Perhaps it could be attributed to his previous failures, but Jun Mo Xie had become very skilled at this. In fact, it seemed as if he was one of the best alchemists alive… Perhaps he had failed too many times in the beginning. But, his rate of failure had decreased very significantly after he had gained some experience. Now, he’d succeed one out of every three times… However, this wasn’t the most important aspect. The most important thing was — the recovery speed of Jun Mo Xie’s spiritual energy had been increasing incessantly. Jun Mo Xie’s countenance had resembled a ‘dead dog’ after his first attempt. But, he would only be left to pant grumpily at present. Then, he’d gasp a mouthful of air, sit down to meditate, recover himself in a few moments, and then start again… this had increased his speed by two or three times… His success rate had also increased! It was hard to say how much benefit these pills would provide. But, Jun Mo Xie’s spiritual energy was deriving great benefits from this refining process. And, these benefits would certainly be profound and long-lasting. Jun Mo Xie’s spiritual strength’s condensation and his spiritual awareness’s strength had shown massive improvements over the course of those 21 failures. And, they had unexpectedly burst-out when he had successfully concocted his first batch of pills. This had revealed the progress that Jun Mo Xie had made while concocting these pills. However, Jun Mo Xie was unaware of this. In fact, he hadn’t taken any note of this aspect. Jun Mo Xie had “accidentally” or “unintentionally” attained a state of detachment from his body. He was completely detached from himself. There was only one thing in his mind — [refine pills! Refine pills! Refine pills! I need to refine pills at any cost! …there’s no time! I don’t have enough time! I must pay close attention to how much time I spend in refining these pills…] The expression on his face had gone from that of excitement… to calm and serene… to ‘it’s only a matter of time’… to a wooden expression… and had eventually transformed into that of a man who was mundanely sitting and eating his daily cabbage… And the cheapest variety of cabbage at that! The kind that would be sold for a dozen a dime… the kind that one would grow bored of consuming… But then, Jun Mo Xie made a startling discovery by the time he started to refine the Connecting-Meridians Dan. And, he finally woke-up with a start… [What the fu*k!] [My body’s spiritual power has supported three consecutive refining processes, and I still don’t feel exhausted! This… what’s happening? Are these pills of a lower level than the previous ones? Nah… they are all at the same level. But, this Connecting-Meridians Dan is the highest-leveled pill amongst these… It’s the hardest to refine, and requires the maximum amount of Aura input… I remember that I was barely to persist when I refined the first batch of pills… so why don’t I feel dead-tired right now? What’s happening…] Jun Mo Xie’s mind was set into motion. And so, he peeked inside his body. One glance — and he jumped-up in shock! The traces of the formless spiritual energy still persisted within his meridians. It had broken past the first layer, and was gradually breaking through the second layer as it shuttled back and forth his meridians. This spiritual energy was still in the form of mist, but it was much denser than before! In fact, it nearly felt as if it had solidified! [Don’t tell me! My spiritual strength has seen such a massive growth by merely refining these medicines?] Jun Mo Xie couldn’t understand this. After all, wasn’t he merely concocting pills? He would exhaust his bodily aura every time he’d refine the ingredients. But, he’d instigate the HongJun Pagoda into motion since he didn’t have any time to replenish his spiritual energy. And, the HongJun Pagoda would reinstate his meridians with pure aura, and revive his spiritual strength. However, it would replenish his meridians with a little more aura than they previously contained. It was hard to tell the number of times he had undergone this process… but, he’d put all his effort into the process each time, and would overstrain himself in the process… It could be said that Jun Mo Xie would’ve died without a dreg if it weren’t for the HongJun Pagoda. However, the HongJun Pagoda existed. And, his body was presently inside it. This was greatly beneficial for him, but it’s difficult to describe these benefits in words… His strength had more than doubled since the time he had started to concoct these pills in the Pagoda! As for the measure of his Xuan Qi — he had at-least reached the mid-level mark of the Jade Xuan realm. And, he could make another breakthrough at any point. As for the ‘Art of Unlocking the Heaven’s Fortune’ was concerned — he had reached the mid-level mark of the second layer! He could reach the peak of the first layer after one more giant stride. Then, he could advance further by impacting the third layer’s bottleneck! Moreover, it hadn’t even been 15 days since he had broken into the second layer! In other words, he had managed to enhance himself by two full steps over the course of this frenzied time when he had been immersed in refining these medicines. Two full steps! Ordinary people couldn’t even think about such progression! Xuan Qi cultivation was easy before a person reached the Silver Xuan level. So, the growth was rapid. But, every step would become harder once a person had made the breakthrough into the Silver Xuan Realm. In fact, the same was true for every type of martial cultivation. It gets tougher to make a breakthrough with every grade a cultivator advances. Take the Tian Fa King beasts for example. They were far beyond the ordinary. In fact, one could say that they had been blessed by the heavens. However, they had been stuck at the same breakthrough for decades; but still hadn’t seen any signs of a breakthrough. They had made progress every day over the course of these decades. But, they still hadn’t been able to make a breakthrough. So, one could imagine how fanatical they must’ve gotten when Jun Mo Xie offered to assist them in making one. This was probably the most apt description of the difficulty of progression. An ordinary person simply couldn’t fathom this! Jun Mo Xie exhaled a long, long, long breath. His mind was enveloped by ecstasy, and he suddenly loosened up. Then, he suddenly felt a strong ache in his head; as if he his skull had been punctured with needles. Jun Mo Xie had forgotten about the passage of time since he had entered the HongJun Pagoda. In fact, he had no idea as to how much time he had been here! However, he had an unbearable headache at the moment. His entire body felt powerless. His spiritual energy had been re-filling itself, but his body had long been exhausted. Then, a strong sense of starvation emerged from his stomach. So much so, that Jun Mo Xie was left aggrieved to death. [How long have I been at this without any food? Ah, not to mention… without any water…] Jun Mo Xie scanned the floor beside his feet, and was again shocked by the sight of his doings… Rows after rows of jade bottles had been neatly arranged on the floor. He counted the number of bottles… [My God!] Jun Mo Xie sucked in a breath of cold air. [Did I really refine so many pills? Crap! I’m so abnormal! In fact, I’m not even a human being ah…] [There’s five bottles of Mysterious Yang Pills, three bottles of Missing Yin Pills, six bottles of Devil’s Heart Pills, eight bottles of Connecting-Meridians pills, and fifteen bottles of Multi-Cure Pills…] [My God!] [I’m too great! Too great! I’m very, very handsome! I’m amazing! …no adjective can aptly describe my talents!] [These pills… they are… power ah! How much progression will my 300 guards’ strength see once I give them these pills? It’s certainly going to be formidable!] Jun Mo Xie spent some time praising himself. Then, he quickly ducked-out of the HongJun Pagoda… [I’m going to starve to death if I don’t leave this place…] However, Jun Mo Xie was completely unaware that he had spent three days and three nights inside the HongJun Pagoda instead of that one ‘intended’ night. Moreover, he was completely unaware of the commotion his absence had caused… The Jun Family’s Young Master had disappeared from his own residence… no one had found any traces of his departure, and he hadn’t told anyone either. Moreover, he had never disappeared for such a long stretch in the past… On top of that, Jun Mo Xie had disappeared right after the Solitary Falcon had departed the Jun residence. What did this indicate? Could anyone imagine that, ah? The entire Jun household was in a chaos, and everybody was in a hurry. Something big had happened! It was outrageous! The Third Young Master of the Jun Family! Their only surviving scion!