Winter in the Yunze Wilderness arrived once again.
The gray mist obscured the mountains, and the cold wind was bitter.
Heavy snow fell in the Qingyang Market, yet it couldn’t dampen the passion of the loose cultivators.
The streets were bustling with throngs of people, lively and vibrant.
A few months ago, the Spirit Feather Sect and the Golden Cloud Valley started to release tasks one after another.
If completed according to the sect’s requirements, one could receive the generous rewards promised by the sects.
There were tasks like supporting the front line battle camp, risking life against the Barbarian Cultivators.
There was also the task of going to Five Peaks Mountain to construct the Cloud Marsh Immortal City.
And tasks involving the hunting and elimination of various Demon Beasts, and the collection of various spirit herbs and materials.
There were even tasks offering high bounties for targeting ’Tribulation Cultivators’, all in all extremely generous.
Among these tasks, the highest bounty was the most enticing, that being the legendary "Foundation Establishment Pill".
But as one could imagine, the difficulty of completing these was immense.
Ordinary loose cultivators looking to take on such tasks were essentially courting death.
But this didn’t stop loose cultivators from flocking to take the tasks, like moths drawn to a flame.
Amidst this wave of task recruitment, various cultivator groups began to emerge around the Qingyang Market.
They started to frequently team up for adventures.
Qin Ming wasn’t interested in these tasks at all.
He remained steady as old ground, cultivating alone in his room.
He quietly watched the "Weak Soul Power" X10 entry in his Sea of Consciousness.
Decided to strengthen his Divine Soul today.
With a thought, a white entry leaf disappeared.
Instantly.
A piercing painful ache struck his mind, as if something was violently tearing inside his Sea of Consciousness.
Buzz—
When he came back to himself, his forehead was covered in sweat.
"I didn’t expect strengthening the Divine Soul would hurt this much." Qin Ming gritted his teeth, his face pale.
Still, he clearly sensed that his Divine Soul had indeed grown a lot stronger.
"Nine more to go!"
Qin Ming resolved himself, continuing to use the "Weak Soul Power" entries.
...
Three days later.
After exhausting the ten "Weak Soul Power" entries, Qin Ming’s Divine Soul Power had more than doubled from before.
His current Divine Soul strength was likely two to three times that of same-tier cultivators.
"I should go try alchemy at Su Yuqing’s again."
Feeling the enhanced Divine Soul, confidence seemed to have returned to him.
In the shanty area, inside Su Yuqing’s house.
"Brother Qin, I advise you to give up. Your talent really isn’t suited for learning alchemy."
"Why bother?"
Seeing Qin Ming stubbornly persisting, Su Yuqing kindly tried to persuade him.
Qin Ming gave a faint smile and replied, "I want to give it one last try."
"Alright then, it’s up to you, sigh..."
Seeing he couldn’t be swayed, Su Yuqing let him be.
He sat down and brewed a pot of spirit tea, starting to savor it.
Qin Ming entered the alchemy room.
He laid out all the prepared spirit herbs and materials on the table.
Then began extracting the medicine embryo.
This time, he intended to refine a Tier One Low-Grade Pill - the Qi Recovery Pill.
Qin Ming found that with the strengthening of his Divine Soul, the alchemy process was surprisingly smooth.
Even in the steps of extracting and blending the medicine, he could clearly feel a big difference from before.
Almost a seamless sequence.
Qin Ming turned on the fire valve.
Boom!
Fierce earth fire burst upwards from beneath.
Qin Ming began using the fire control technique from the "Fire Control Chapter" to evenly heat the alchemy furnace.
When the timing was right, he waved his hand.
The prepared medicine embryo flew into the alchemy furnace per his intention.
Qin Ming focused, controlling the heat and starting to fuse the medicine embryo.
Time passed bit by bit.
...
Outside.
Su Yuqing sipped tea while occasionally glancing at the happenings inside the alchemy room.
He wasn’t concerned about whether Qin Ming could refine a low-grade pill, but about him possibly losing control and blowing up the house.
"Sigh—why doesn’t this blockhead listen?"
"Why is his obsession so deep?"
"I’ve told him... It’s impossible..."
Su Yuqing shook his head and sighed, taking another sip of tea.
Chirp!
At this moment, a clear chirping sound came from inside the alchemy room!
"Puh!"
Su Yuqing spat out the tea in his mouth instantly.
His face showed a look of disbelief, "No way? He succeeded on the first try?"
He hurriedly got up and rushed into the alchemy room.
A waft of pill fragrance emanated from within.
Inside the alchemy furnace, five green pills had already formed.
Qin Ming gestured, and the five Qi Recovery Pills landed in his hand.
"This... this... did you really succeed?"
Su Yuqing was in disbelief.
Given his talent, when he began learning to refine low-grade pills, his progress wasn’t much faster than Qin Ming’s is now.
"Haha, maybe it was just blind luck!" Qin Ming couldn’t hide his joy, his heart extremely thrilled!
He had finally succeeded!
This meant he officially became a Tier One Low-Grade Alchemist.
Hearing Qin Ming say this.
Su Yuqing showed an enlightened expression, "Indeed, you’ve only been learning for so long, it must have been by chance."
Qin Ming put the five Qi Recovery Pills into a jade bottle and stored them away.
"Brother Su, I’d like to try refining a batch of Qi Condensing Pills."
Upon hearing this, Su Yuqing frowned, feeling that Qin Ming was being overly ambitious.
"Brother Qin, be sure to think it through, Qi Condensing Pills are for mid-stage Qi cultivation to enhance cultivation, their difficulty isn’t comparable to Qi Recovery Pills."
"Don’t rush into it."
Yet Qin Ming insisted, "I still want to try."
"Do as you like, after all, it’s not my spirit stones at risk."
Saying this, Su Yuqing went back to enjoying his tea.
Qin Ming cleansed the alchemy furnace and prepared to refine Qi Condensing Pills.
The pill formula and refining steps were deeply imprinted in his mind.
All processes were proceeding systematically.
...
Su Yuqing held a cup of tea, yet his attention was all on the alchemy room.
Thud—
A muffled sound came from the alchemy room, followed by a burnt smell.
"Sigh—I said it, how could he be lucky every time, but Brother Qin didn’t believe me."
"Just one batch of low-grade Qi Recovery Pills gave him all this confidence."
Su Yuqing shook his head as he spoke.
Inside the alchemy room.
Qin Ming, with chin in hand, looked at the furnace, not showing much discouragement.
He reviewed the whole alchemy process, each detail surfacing in his mind.
His eyes narrowed, a gleam of light flashed through them.
It seemed he had realized something.
He then restarted the furnace.
An hour later.
Thud—
A muffled sound came from the alchemy room.
Su Yuqing popped a snack in his mouth, shaking his head helplessly.
"Failed again..." Qin Ming frowned, lifting a few wasted pills from the furnace to examine.
Suddenly, a smile spread across his face.
Qin Ming saw that the pills in his hand were already more than halfway formed.
"Just a little more to perfect them."
...
Qin Ming began his third attempt at refining Qi Condensing Pills.
He felt firsthand.
With the enhancement of his Divine Soul Power, his precision in measuring medicine embryo quantities, blending medicines, and fire control improved significantly.
Now, extracting and blending materials was almost perfect, leaving no room for error.
Time ticked by.
Su Yuqing, feeling bored, prepared to get up to make some food.
Chirp!
A crisp, clear chirp echoed from the alchemy room.
Su Yuqing seemed struck by lightning, frozen in place, unable to move his lifted foot.
...