Chapter 22: Alchemy Inheritance

Since the day a Foundation Establishment cultivator visited, Wang Yu had played the role of a temporary doorman, as friends from Tantai Chan's circle would drop by from time to time.

Most of them were Foundation Establishment cultivators or juniors from the Qi Refinement stage.

More importantly, Tantai Chan was a mid-grade Tier 2 Alchemist with exquisite skills and a wide social circle; as a result, Wang Yu had also come to know many people in this circle.

Although none of them took him seriously, if he had needs in the future, he would at least know people he could attempt to build connections with.

Information is a relatively rare resource in a social environment.

Furthermore, as producers within a demonic path environment, their status was subtly a notch higher; naturally, they also attracted more covetous gazes, as a substantial fortune inevitably drew unwanted attention.

Wang Yu's 95th day in the outer sect.

"Night Stealth Incantation!"

As a high-grade spell, it corresponded to the late stage of Qi Refinement. Once cultivated to perfection, it could even evade the divine sense of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The Night Stealth Incantation had two effects.

Concealing one's realm, hiding one's aura, and breathing in unison with nature!

The latter was its primary function; the former was merely an extension of its concealment capabilities, with its effectiveness increasing even further when cast at night.

Once he had mastered it, a black talisman-like pattern appeared on Wang Yu's chest. It would activate upon the infusion of spiritual power. Even when not activated, it allowed him to walk without sound, breathe without a trace, and move his clothing without making a single noise.

The only flaw was the excessive consumption of spiritual power. With his current cultivation, he could last at most half an incense stick's time. This issue would gradually disappear as his cultivation increased, so it was not a major problem.

[Idle Slot 2: Night Stealth Incantation (Perfection)]

"Night Stealth Incantation (100/100): Twelve hours of daily practice, mastery in eight years."

The newly appeared description was likely the idle time required to reach the next level, which was five years longer than the Ice Sword Technique; there was no rush to complete it.

With the protection of this incantation, Wang Yu's stealth was greatly enhanced, so he swapped in the Ice Shield Technique. This was merely a mid-grade sect spell, part of the same set as his cultivation technique, the "Cold Blood Manual," and the two complemented each other.

[Idle Slot 2: Ice Shield Technique]

"Ice Shield Technique (12/100): One hundred and forty-four practices per day, mastery in twenty-six days."

These 12 points of progress were the results of his research over the past three months. According to this standard, if he wanted to comprehend it to perfection on his own, it would likely take a decade.

The irrationality of the Idle Slots lay in this: not only were they practicing constantly, but they also made progress every single time.

As Wang Yu's understanding of them grew, he felt they were becoming increasingly powerful.

"It's time to exchange for an alchemy inheritance."

As for the [Corpse Demon Secret Method], Wang Yu was still conflicted. Placing this method would undoubtedly cause various abnormalities in his body, and he needed more time to consider it.

It would be better to focus on alchemy first. He held a recipe for the Cold Blood Pill; if he could refine it, the speed of his cultivation progress would increase significantly, making it a risk worth taking.

The Frost Nine-Leaf Grass in Tantai Chan's medicinal garden was the primary ingredient for the Cold Blood Pill. He could negotiate to purchase some to slowly gather the necessary materials.

After completing his daily field patrol, Wang Yu finally headed out toward the various Hall Markets.

The Scripture Hall.

Alchemy, Weapon Refinement, Talisman Making, and Array Formation were the four most esteemed scholarly disciplines of cultivation, and the righteous path held a higher level of proficiency in these areas.

Alchemy itself had different branches, categorized into Fire Refinement and Water Refinement methods.

The Fire Refinement method used high temperatures to extract the essence of spiritual materials, utilizing the principles of Yin-Yang harmony to extract the necessary components to form a pill. It was fast and effective.

The Water Refinement method utilized the characteristic of water to gently permeate all things, penetrating deep into the spiritual materials to slowly leach out the required medicinal essences. It was slow, but the quality was excellent and the success rate was extremely high.

There was no inherent hierarchy between the pills produced by the two methods; there was only a difference in speed.

Regarding the success rate, nine was the ultimate number.

For a set of spiritual herbs and a single furnace of spiritual pills, the limit was nine pills.

The Water Method could stabilize at an average of seven to eight pills, but refining a single furnace often took several years. The higher the grade of the pill, the longer it took, making it impossible to provide large-scale supplies.

The variance in the Fire Method was extreme; a poor furnace might yield only one to three pills, while a good one could reach four to six. Only master-level figures could refine nine.

Of course—

This also depended on proficiency with the pill recipe. Many factors influenced a Fire Refinement alchemist: fire-control hand seals, divine sense strength, alchemy skill, pharmacological knowledge, and so on.

What suited Wang Yu, without a doubt, was the Fire Refinement method. This was also the common path chosen by alchemists, as the base of cultivators was large and the market for low-level pills was massive and undersupplied.

Water Refinement alchemists were slow with high premium rates, catering to a high-end market that mostly provided customized services, allowing them to live comfortably for years on a single contract.

Walking slowly past the bookshelves of the Scripture Hall.

"Fire Tripod Alchemy, Pearl-Spitting Alchemy, Human Pill Technique, Nine-Refinement Alchemy, Flame Pill Technique..."

Looking through them, Wang Yu was largely dissatisfied.

Either the prices were too high, or the descriptions were too one-sided and the inheritances were incomplete.

A complete set of alchemy inheritance must include unique pill recipes, along with a set of fire-control hand seals and pill-condensing seals to manifest its true value.

"Cold Flame Alchemy—"

Wang Yu paused, took down the jade slip containing the introduction, and after checking it, headed toward the Law Transmission Hall in satisfaction. It cost exactly one thousand contribution points.

He chose it because its rare Yin-Cold attribute fire method was very suitable for his current path; besides, it was a remnant of a Tier 3 alchemy inheritance.

The only remaining unique recipe was called the [Cold Dragon Pill].

Its effect: after consuming and refining the pill, a <Cold Dragon Fire Seed> would be birthed within the body, allowing the user to master a type of cold-attribute flame power that would increase in tandem with the cultivator's realm.

This effect was no less than a natal magic treasure of a Core Formation cultivator.

The recipe alone was of extremely high value, and its refinement difficulty must be very high—which was exactly what Wang Yu was looking for.

Furthermore, the accompanying fire-control hand seals and pill-condensing seals were only partial Tier 1 versions, making them heavily flawed, which was why the exchange price was only one thousand contribution points.

This level was sufficient for Wang Yu's use, and since the Idle Slots could break the upper limits of spells, he might even be able to complete the remnant method. He could use the "Cold Flame Alchemy" as an experiment; if he truly could complete it, he would no longer hesitate to place the [Corpse Demon Secret Method].

It would kill multiple birds with one stone and would also pair very well with the "Cold Blood Manual."

When he emerged from the Law Transmission Hall, having handed over his most valuable token, he would have to rely on himself to earn spirit stones and contribution points.

Returning to the medicinal garden of the Evil God Market, Wang Yu began to study the Cold Flame Alchemy on his own. The progress was slow, but he was working hard.

It wasn't until the 125th day of his outer sect life—a full month later—that he finished mastering the Ice Shield Technique and finally set the alchemy technique to idle.

[Idle Slot 2: Cold Dragon Alchemy (Remnant)]

"Cold Dragon Alchemy (0/100): Twelve practices per day, mastery in one year."

This was the first time Wang Yu had seen an idle item that could only be practiced twelve times a day—meaning once every two hours—requiring a full year to reach perfection.