"Fellow Daoist Fan, I have fulfilled the task. The Chongyuan Pills you requested are all here!"
Li Ye laid out several jade bottles sealed with talismans on the table, gesturing for Fan Yuanzhou to inspect them.
"You said ten days, and now it's only the fifth. To have completed the refinement already truly impressive efficiency!"
Joy spread across Fan Yuanzhou's face. As he spoke, he picked up one of the jade bottles, peeled off the talisman seal, and carefully poured out a pill.
The pill was jet black. Bringing it close to his nose, he inhaled gently, and immediately a sharp, pungent scent surged into his nostrils, triggering a subtle fluctuation in his qi and blood.
That immediate effect erased any lingering doubts in his mind, replacing them with surprise and delight.
Just a whiff of the pill was enough to stir his energy its potency surpassed any Chongyuan Pill he had taken before!
Li Ye's alchemical skill was truly extraordinary!
"Excellent! Excellent indeed!"
Fan Yuanzhou exclaimed loudly. "Alchemist Li's mastery is astonishing old Fan here is thoroughly impressed!"
"To think it was Junior Brother Deng who introduced me to you for this request… he certainly led me to the right person!"
Standing to the side, Deng Tiancheng listened quietly, a satisfied and self-assured smile forming on his face. This trip had indeed been a wise move.
Though Li Ye had appeared to be a reclusive cultivator, quietly secluded in the mountains these past few years, the abilities he had now revealed were more profound than ever.
It was time to strengthen ties with him even further.
"As long as you're satisfied," Li Ye replied with a faint smile.
"Satisfied? Very much so!" Fan Yuanzhou nodded vigorously. "If I get my hands on more spiritual herbs in the future, I'll come back and request another pill!"
"Now that I've got the medicine, I'm eager to go back and enter seclusion. I won't take up any more of your time, Alchemist Li…"
"When I've improved my cultivation, I'll bring some fine wine and visit you again!"
Li Ye silently applauded and cupped his hands in return. "Then I wish you success in your breakthrough, Fellow Daoist."
With Fan Yuanzhou eager to leave for closed-door cultivation, Deng Tiancheng, though wanting to stay a while longer and chat, had no choice but to take his leave with him.
"Brother Li, I will remember your assistance this time. If you ever need anything in the future, don't hesitate to ask I, Deng, will do all I can to help."
Before leaving, Deng Tiancheng sent a quiet voice transmission.
Li Ye nodded with a smile, though inwardly he was a little surprised.
Only after a moment did he realize Deng Tiancheng had misunderstood his intentions.
He had simply wanted to quickly finish the pills and send them away but Deng seemed to believe that the speed and quality of the pills were due to Li Ye doing him a favor.
Well... inadvertently earning a favor wasn't a bad thing either.
"But if they discover the underground changes discover the Lava Palace this 'favor' will likely disappear in an instant."
Li Ye watched the two of them leave the formation, his gaze growing a bit pensive.
Over the past five days, in addition to refining pills, he had gone underground again to observe the situation around the Lava Palace.
To his relief, perhaps because the palace itself had not yet unleashed much of its power and still retained some control over the formations, the changes had started to slow down after that initial outburst.
It was no longer as overwhelming as before he had nearly thought the underground fire veins were on the verge of erupting en masse.
Fortunately, the formation's power had not spiraled into complete chaos. The expansion seemed to have slightly suppressed the underground fire veins. In the end, the upheaval only caused the fire caves across the Chidi Mountains to become unstable for a few days.
The emergency formations he had set up previously were still functioning, greatly delaying the expansion and chaos of the formations and keeping many fire beasts contained.
But the situation remained grim. Now that the internal balance of the formations had been broken, there was no stopping it.
Even if the spread had slowed, and Li Ye's formations provided some restraint, in another two or three years, the fire caves throughout the Chidi Mountains would likely fall under the influence of the expanding formations perhaps even becoming infested with fire beasts!
By then, there'll be no hiding it anymore!
"Judging by the time, I should have accumulated enough to break through to mid-Foundation Establishment by then…"
Li Ye turned his focus inward.
Within his dantian, his qi vortex was spinning steadily, drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy.
At its core, a leaf-green flame flickered gently, refining the gathered spiritual energy into purer essence. That essence then merged into the liquid mana drops below each drop perfectly round, shimmering in shades of azure and violet.
Upon closer inspection, he now had twenty-four of these liquid mana drops just six short of the thirty required to attempt a breakthrough.
With the help of pills, Li Ye's cultivation speed had greatly increased.
Previously, even with the liberal use of spirit stones, he could only accumulate two drops a year. Now, he could produce nearly four per year.
What's more, thanks to the annual refinement granted by the Voidrealm's spiritual essence, his mana was incredibly pure and condensed of exceptional quality!
By his estimate, in terms of pure mana alone, he was likely already on par with any mid-foundation Establishment cultivator.
If he compared himself to a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator who practiced a lesser cultivation technique, he might even surpass them in mana quality!
This would, of course, benefit his cultivation immensely each bottleneck he encountered on the path forward would be slightly easier to overcome.
If all went smoothly, he could break through to the mid-foundation Establishment in no more than two years!
"But in this situation… breaking through to mid-Foundation Establishment might not be much help."
Li Ye rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Guess I'll have to keep a low profile!"
After years of exploring and scavenging, he knew just how dangerous the Lava Palace was.
Forget the inner regions even the outer perimeter was primarily guarded by second-tier formation wards, with plenty of third- and even fourth-tier ones as well.
Should the palace ever truly emerge, given the current state of the Four Nations…
Forget whether the Golden Core elders could even show up if they did and made one wrong move, there'd be a high chance of them being trapped and dying without even knowing how.
Just thinking of this, Li Ye went over what he knew about the Golden Core cultivators of the Four Nations.
In the Huan and Yue nations, the demonic cultivators had long taken secret realms as their base, remaining impossible to root out. It was still unclear whether the passage to the lower realm had even been sealed. Attacks from Golden Core-level demon cultivators were a constant threat.
With Daoist Zixuan (Purple Profound Sect master) and Feiyu Daoist both having fallen into severe decline, internal strife was on the rise. Demonic cultivation was thriving, and unrest was rampant both sects' rule was becoming increasingly unstable.
In short, it was a complete mess.
Despite having past connections there, and even with the possibility that the Voidrealm's Mother Tree was still inside the secret realm, Li Ye would not even consider returning to the Huan Nation unless he reached the Golden Core stage himself!
The Golden Core cultivator in Thousand-Isle Water City was rumored to be nearing the end of his lifespan. However, with a third-tier black flood dragon equivalent to a Golden Core-level battle force guarding the city, their foundation remained solid. That cultivator might show up.
Meanwhile, the Valley Master of Jiuding Valley seemed to be in his prime and at full strength, but there were rumors his cultivation method had issues, forcing him into long-term seclusion…
Deng Tiancheng had always been evasive about this, and Li Ye had only heard such things through unofficial sources he couldn't be sure whether they were true.
Looking at it all...
If the Lava Palace were to emerge, at most, only the Golden Core cultivators of Thousand-Isle Water City and Jiuding Valley might come to vie for its secrets.
"If two of them show up, maybe they'll keep each other in check and I can keep to myself."
"But if only one shows up… odds are high he'll come straight to my door, seeing me as the local expert!"
Li Ye smacked his lips.
"Unless… I can upgrade my formation to the third tier. Then even a Golden Core cultivator forcing their way in wouldn't be able to break through easily…"
"And once they go into the lava palace and get themselves killed problem solved!"
"But a third-tier formation, huh…"
Li Ye murmured to himself,
"If I just had a little more time… it might not be impossible after all."
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