Chapter 299: Chapter 256: An Upper-Grade Product
As expected, for the next few months, his only alchemy tasks would involve refining Foundation Establishment Pills.
Time flew by.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye.
Just as Fang Yun had expected, all the alchemy tasks he took on during this time were for refining Foundation Establishment Pills.
The Spirit Medicines for the first batch of Foundation Establishment Pills were of excellent quality; both the main ingredients and the eighteen auxiliary Spirit Medicines were all of superior quality.
Starting with the second batch, two of the main Spirit Medicines used for refining the Foundation Establishment Pills were of good quality, while the auxiliary Spirit Medicines were still of superior quality.
Blood Dew Flower, Three Spirits Fruit, and Mingqing Xuan Grass were all Second-Tier, Upper-Grade Spirit Medicines that were notoriously difficult to cultivate. The slightest misstep in their care meant you wouldn’t even get inferior-quality herbs, let alone superior-quality ones. They would simply wither and die, rendering all previous efforts useless.
The Elders of the sect’s Spirit Field Institute did their utmost to care for the main Spirit Medicines used in refining Foundation Establishment Pills, striving to ensure they reached at least good quality.
Although the quality of the Spirit Medicines for the second batch had dropped, Fang Yun, now with the experience of refining the first batch, easily produced a Lower-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill.
The third through fifth batches also yielded Lower-Grade Foundation Establishment Pills.
Since each batch only yielded a single Foundation Establishment Pill, his success rate in refining them remained at a perfect one hundred percent, a streak he had yet to break.
This was something unprecedented in the history of the Celestial Cloud Sect.
When it was time for the settlement at the beginning of the month.
Fang Yun learned that refining a single Lower-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill provided him with five thousand basic Talent Points. This meant that by refining just five Lower-Grade Foundation Establishment Pills, his settled Talent Points for the month could easily exceed one hundred and ten thousand.
When refining the sixth batch, Fang Yun managed to produce a Middle-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill, even though the provided Spirit Medicines were only of average quality.
Had the provided Spirit Medicines been of the same quality as the first batch, he might have produced a Middle-Grade pill by the third attempt, and certainly by the fourth.
From the sixth batch until the present.
Aside from refining two Lower-Grade pills, the rest have all been Middle-Grade.
The reason for those two Lower-Grade pills was primarily the ingredients; all three main Spirit Medicines had been inferior-grade. Even with superior-grade auxiliary Spirit Medicines, that was a difficult situation even for the current Fang Yun.
Today, Fang Yun was refining his thirteenth batch of Foundation Establishment Pills.
For the previous batch, two of the three main Spirit Medicines had been inferior-grade, and Fang Yun had barely managed to produce a Middle-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill.
The Spirit Medicines for this thirteenth batch were different; two of the three main ingredients were superior-grade.
This was the first time since that initial batch that Fang Yun had seen superior-quality main Spirit Medicines.
’Elder Bai must be hoping I can refine an Upper-Grade pill with this batch.’
Fang Yun quickly understood the intention behind Bai Heyan’s arrangement.
In terms of refining difficulty, the leap from Middle-Grade to Upper-Grade was certainly much greater than the leap from Lower-Grade to Middle-Grade.
’To be honest, even with two superior-grade main Spirit Medicines, I’m not very confident I can refine a Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill.’
All he could do was try his best.
Once he had adjusted his condition, he quickly began the refining process.
By now, his refining process was as smooth as flowing water, as if he could complete it successfully even with one of his senses shut off.
The refining process took more than four days.
The moment the Foundation Establishment Pill emerged from the cauldron, Fang Yun felt a pang of nervousness.
’I hope it’s not Middle-Grade, but Upper-Grade.’
"Excellent! It’s Upper-Grade!"
Refining a Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill meant that his alchemy skills had reached a new level.
This Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill was just the beginning.
In the future, the Celestial Cloud Sect’s stock of Foundation Establishment Pills would undergo a major transformation.
In the past, the sect’s inventory consisted mostly of Lower-Grade pills, with a minority of Middle-Grade ones. Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills rarely ever appeared in stock.
The last Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill from the sect’s inventory had been consumed by Zheng Xiaotian. The one Fang Yun had obtained was a prize he had won through his own strength, not from the general stock.
Fang Yun believed that soon, the sect’s inventory of Foundation Establishment Pills would be dominated by Middle-Grade ones. Then, as time went on, the proportion of Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills would only continue to increase.
An increase in Middle- and Upper-Grade Foundation Establishment Pills meant that more Celestial Cloud Sect disciples would succeed in reaching Foundation Establishment in the future.
Once the sect’s core strength grew, it would no longer be so passive in its dealings with the Celestial Demon Sect.
Having completed the refining of the Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, Fang Yun quickly went to the Dan Cloud Pavilion to submit his task.
Refining a Middle-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill awarded nine thousand basic Talent Points, while a Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill was worth eighteen thousand.
If he could refine five Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills a month, the number of Talent Points he acquired could exceed four hundred thousand.
Fang Yun felt a surge of happiness at the thought.
The faster he earned Talent Points, the faster he could upgrade his Combat Talent to six-star.
However, having now refined one, he was more aware than ever that Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills were not so easy to make.
If the main Spirit Medicines for the next batch were poor, he couldn’t guarantee another Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill. He could still promise a Middle-Grade one, however, as long as he didn’t run into a situation where all the main ingredients were inferior-grade and the auxiliary ones were also poor.
After submitting the task, Fang Yun received the highest-level reward.
"Brother Fang Yun."
Just as he was about to leave the Dan Cloud Pavilion, Fang Yun saw Huang Mengyang.
Over half a month ago, Huang Mengyang had successfully completed his Foundation Establishment and become a sect Elder. Just as Fang Yun had expected, Huang Mengyang had used a Middle-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill for his breakthrough.
By the time Huang Mengyang used a Middle-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill for his breakthrough, the sect’s inventory of such pills was no longer just one—the count had risen to four.
The three additional pills had, of course, been refined by Fang Yun.
"Ah, Mengyang. Are you here at the Dan Cloud Pavilion to buy Spirit Ascension Pills?"
"Yes, Brother Fang Yun," Huang Mengyang said, nodding.
Now that he had successfully reached Foundation Establishment, he knew he had to cultivate diligently and become stronger, even with the advantage his Spirit Root gave him.
When he had become an Inner Sect Disciple, he had learned of the sect’s difficult circumstances. Now, they were in the middle of a great war with the Celestial Demon Sect.
Things had been much quieter for the past two years, but Huang Mengyang knew the war between the two sects was far from over.
"What grade are you planning to buy?"
"Upper Grade, of course."
When it came to aiding his cultivation, he believed in using the best available, provided he could afford it.
And Huang Mengyang had accumulated a considerable number of Sect Contribution Points.
"Good. Cultivate hard, and you’ll catch up to me soon." Huang Mengyang’s attitude toward cultivation had been greatly influenced by Fang Yun.
’With his excellent Spirit Root Talent and sufficient resources, it would be easy for him to surpass me.’
After they chatted for a bit.
Huang Mengyang took a pair of translucent, crystalline horns from his Storage Pouch. Faint golden patterns decorated their surface.
"Brother Fang Yun, could you use these as the main material to help me refine a Lower-Grade Spiritual Artifact?" Since he had run into Fang Yun, Huang Mengyang decided to take the opportunity to ask.
"So your Lifebound Spirit Beast broke through to the Second Tier."
Fang Yun recognized them at a glance as the shed horns of a Dragon-Horned Deer that had broken through to the Second Tier.
Spirit Beasts were a type of Demon Beast. The only difference was that they had signed a contract with a Beast Tamer, and Beast Tamers preferred to call them as such.
"That’s right. Xiaolong broke through just a short while ago."
Xiaolong was the name Huang Mengyang had given his Dragon-Horned Deer.
The Dragon-Horned Deer was a Demon Beast with immense potential. It possessed a trace of a Dragon-type Demon Beast’s bloodline, and if nurtured properly, it could one day break through to the Third Tier and become a Demon King.
Huang Mengyang’s master had gone to great lengths to acquire this Dragon-Horned Deer for him.
"Mengyang, tell me the requirements you have for this Lower-Grade Spiritual Artifact."
"Can you refine it into a Lower-Grade Spiritual Artifact for dealing with Demons?" Huang Mengyang asked first.
"Impossible."
Fang Yun answered without a moment’s hesitation.
Using the shed horns of a Dragon-Horned Deer as the primary Spiritual Material to refine a Lower-Grade Spiritual Artifact effective against Demons was absolutely impossible. To Fang Yun, it was a complete non-starter.
"In that case, just refine a normal offensive-type Lower-Grade Spiritual Artifact..."
As he spoke, Huang Mengyang laid out his specific requirements.
After hearing his requirements, Fang Yun quickly wrote out a list of the necessary auxiliary Spiritual Materials. He told Huang Mengyang to come back and find him for the refining once he had gathered everything.
