What is the most critical element in alchemy?
If one were to debate this question, even staying up for several nights might not yield a definitive conclusion. However, one thing was certain: materials would undoubtedly be a part of the discussion.
(Of course, this assumes that the alchemist has at least average skill. If an alchemist is incompetent, even the rarest ingredients could be turned into something barely edible. And if they create something utterly unusable, they shouldn’t be called an alchemist—they’d be better labeled a poison master.)
Take, for example, the Great Elixir Pill of Shaolin. While it’s undoubtedly a miraculous medicinal creation, could it truly be made with mere weeds and grasses?
Of course not. Materials matter. Alchemists are those who harness the properties and harmony of materials to create something extraordinary, not those who imbue ordinary grass with miracles.
And here, at the Namgung Clan’s Cheonyakdang, lay an ingredient so rare and potent that even consuming it raw would outperform most elixirs.
The horn of a spiritual beast that had voluntarily relinquished it after reaching the Extreme Demon Realm. Its value transcended monetary calculation.
“Hoo...”
Seo-jun focused.
With such a precious material, not even a single trace of its energy could be wasted.
And considering that this would eventually be consumed by two women—his fiancées, no less (a notion his past self would have dismissed as sheer madness)—he felt an even greater responsibility.
Thus, Seo-jun levitated the Green Bamboo Sage’s horn with Spatial Manipulation and carefully examined the demonic energy contained within it.
"The purity is absurd."
In terms of quantity, the Azure Flame Tree far surpassed it, but in terms of purity, the horn was unmatched.
A faint smile crossed Seo-jun’s lips as he drew a small circle in the air with his finger in front of the horn.
Woom—
The demonic energy within the horn responded, vibrating with a peculiar resonance.
“Step back, please,” Seo-jun instructed.
The members of Cheonyakdang immediately retreated. Seo-jun formed a mudra with his hands.
His left hand, with the thumb and middle finger forming a circle, rested below his right hand, where the thumb and index finger formed another circle.
The posture resembled the Wheel-Turning Mudra from Buddhist traditions.
The horn began to vibrate, and the demonic energy within unraveled.
Whoooosh—!
An immense wave of demonic energy surged forth.
Though the horn had been taken from the Green Bamboo Sage when it had assumed a humanoid form, its true nature was that of a colossal deer—larger than a mountain.
As the energy was released, the small horn reverted to its original, massive size.
“Ooh...”
Namgung Yeongbo, who had unwittingly let out a gasp of awe, immediately clamped his hands over his mouth.
The enormous deer antler nearly pierced the ceiling of the alchemy room, but at Seo-jun’s command, it curled inward, wrapping itself around the interior of the room.
For anyone who understood the absurdity of what had just occurred, holding back admiration would have been impossible.
Namgung Yeongbo, now breathing heavily like an excited child, even began stamping his feet.
"A god of alchemy...! If the Young Master had pursued alchemy instead of martial arts, the Namgung Clan would have produced an Alchemy Immortal! What a loss! Such a tragedy!"
Unbothered by the commotion, Seo-jun separated his hands, each forming a distinct circle. The two hands now traced the paths of the sun and moon.
"Can I pull this off?"
His doubts were fleeting, replaced by certainty. There was no reason he couldn’t.
With a sharp grin, Seo-jun simultaneously activated two techniques: Azure Cloud Divine Arts and Celestial Expansion Divine Arts.
These were the Namgung Clan’s secret arts and the Golden Sword Sect’s ultimate cultivation method, respectively. The energy of both arts manifested in his hands, each possessing a distinct aura.
His mastery of Primordial Unity Arts made this possible. By maintaining the two fundamentally different energies in tandem, he avoided the catastrophic backlash that should have ruptured his body.
In response, the antler, which had wrapped itself around the room, split into two.
The bifurcated antler glowed brightly, each half forming a separate sphere.
Two masses of pure demonic energy now floated before Seo-jun. Extending the distinct energies from his hands, he tethered each mass to his corresponding aura.
"Split the awareness of the left and right sides of the body."
Seo-jun’s left eye focused on the sphere connected to the Azure Cloud Divine Arts, while his right eye tracked the sphere linked to the Celestial Expansion Divine Arts.
His two eyes moved independently, perfectly monitoring the transformation of each energy sphere.
"If I don’t hurry, the energy will dissipate."
Without hesitation, Seo-jun began converting the demonic energy.
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Ssssshhhhhh—
Both spheres underwent simultaneous transformation. The once dark, murky masses now shone with a platinum glow and a radiant blue hue, respectively.
"Unbelievable...!"
Namgung Yeongbo trembled uncontrollably, as though struck by a bolt of divine inspiration.
"This is impossible...!"
To his trained eye, the process was clear.
The horn’s energy shifted freely, and even the properties of the demonic energy were perfectly reshaped by Seo-jun’s will.
More shocking was that this transformation was happening simultaneously for two entirely distinct masses of energy.
"My arrogance was my folly...!"
If Seo-jun had handled one sphere at a time, the other would have inevitably leaked energy. And that was considered normal.
Even the most skilled alchemists couldn’t avoid some degree of energy loss. Minimizing that loss was the measure of an alchemist’s skill.
But to eliminate the loss entirely? That was deemed impossible.
At least, until now.
"The Young Master isn’t destined to walk a single path. He will surely reach divine heights in both martial arts and alchemy!"
For years, Namgung Yeongbo had thought of martial arts and alchemy as separate pursuits.
But Seo-jun had seamlessly blended them, using his martial expertise to achieve results in alchemy that defied belief.
"Perhaps I should delve deeper into martial arts myself."
The notion lingered. Could the Namgung Clan’s techniques allow simultaneous execution of two cultivation methods?
Pondering the question, Namgung Yeongbo’s eyes lit up.
"But how would that even work?"
Though he wasn’t completely ignorant of martial arts—his skill level hovered between second-rate and first-rate—it was alchemy where he had truly excelled.
Still, he understood the basics of internal cultivation: energy flowed through specific meridians at controlled strengths.
But to operate two methods simultaneously?
"Well, if he’s doing it, it must be possible."
Perhaps such feats were natural for someone at Seo-jun’s level. Namgung Yeongbo reluctantly accepted the absurdity.
"I’ll need to ask someone about this later."
Meanwhile, the Supreme Peak martial artists of the Namgung Clan shivered inexplicably, as if a cold wind had brushed past their spines.
****
“Hoo...”
Two perfectly formed orbs, one glowing with platinum light and the other radiating a brilliant blue, slowly descended onto Seo-jun’s palms.
The reason he hadn’t converted the demonic energy into pure Qi but instead into specific types was simple—it would be easier to absorb.
Considering these elixirs were meant for Chun-bong and Namgung Sua, it was only logical to tailor them to be as effective as possible.
“Here you go.”
Seo-jun handed the two solidified orbs to Namgung Yeongbo.
“Whew, oh...”
“Wh-what...”
Namgung Yeongbo made an odd sound as his body trembled. Alarmed, Seo-jun instinctively stepped back.
“Ah!”
Snapping out of it, Namgung Yeongbo hurriedly tried to recover, throwing out a clumsy joke in his defense.
“Haha! The ladies who will take these horns are really lucky—horns to be swallowed, no less!”
The atmosphere grew cold. Even Seo-jun couldn’t muster the will to laugh at such a forced pun.
Embarrassed, Namgung Yeongbo scratched his head and quickly changed the subject.
“S-so, what exactly are these?”
The two child-sized orbs were accompanied by several smaller ones.
“They’re the filtered remnants—unnecessary energies. But even those are decent materials, so make good use of them.”
“Huh!”
Namgung Yeongbo immediately bowed at a ninety-degree angle.
“Your kindness is boundless!”
“Uh... that’s a bit much.”
Every time Seo-jun came to Cheonyakdang, he felt like some kind of idol to the Namgung Clan.
With a sheepish smile, he adjusted his slightly disheveled robe.
“How long will the combination process take?”
“About two weeks should suffice.”
“So I just need to come back then?”
“Yes! However, considering the importance of this elixir, it would be best if you personally handled the final process.”
Though Namgung Yeongbo took pride in his alchemy, he had no confidence in engraving formations into the elixir’s core—a task Seo-jun far outstripped him in.
Seo-jun nodded without hesitation.
“Alright, I’ll be back in two weeks.”
“Thank you! Take care! No, wait—I’ll escort you out!”
With Namgung Yeongbo leading the way, Seo-jun left Cheonyakdang.
That day, deep within the halls of Cheonyakdang, a new statue was quietly erected to honor a future Alchemy Immortal.
****
On his way to the training hall, Seo-jun organized his thoughts on a new revelation.
"If I play my cards right, I might be able to wield demonic and orthodox techniques simultaneously."
Of course, that was a matter for the future. But not a distant future—he was certain it would become possible once he fully reached the Fiery Realm.
“Were you practicing well?”
At the training hall, Chun-bong and Namgung Sua were diligently working on forming their energy into distinct shapes.
Once they succeeded, both would be able to wield Qi Manipulation. With that ability, they would be able to overpower most opponents with ease.
It would also mean they could safely travel across the martial world.
“Hmm... we’re trying,” Chun-bong replied.
But it wasn’t easy. Seo-jun’s instant mastery of Qi Manipulation upon reaching the Supreme Peak Realm was, in truth, abnormal.
“Take it slow. It’s better to go safely than rush and mess something up.”
Placing his hands on their backs, Seo-jun guided their energy flow, offering them a clearer sense of Qi Manipulation.
With that settled, he turned his attention inward, reviewing his martial arts techniques.
He had recently mastered two significant methods:
The Northern Divine Arts wasn’t exactly new but more of a renamed technique he already knew.
For now, Seo-jun activated the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts and manifested the Extreme Demon Realm.
“Ugh...!”
Namgung Sua flinched slightly at the sudden shift but quickly refocused on her training.
"Ah, right."
Seo-jun realized he had forgotten to explain this to her. He decided to leave the explanation for later and consciously shifted his energy to achieve Tri-Flower Convergence.
Three ethereal flowers bloomed around him, their countless petals scattering into the air.
Seo-jun focused on the half of the petals adorned with sharp teeth. Watching the predatory blossoms closely, he activated Predator’s Twin-Sourced Technique.
Crunch—!
The sensation was undeniable.
With this, he could confidently declare that no Supreme Peak martial artist, even a group of them, would pose any threat to him unless they had some extraordinary skill.