Using his Extraordinary Level Spiritual Power, Xia Wuyang could faintly sense the Netherworld Seeds lurking within their bodies stirring restlessly. They were just waiting for the stimulation of Supreme Yang Qi to quietly infiltrate.
’It won’t be long now... Xia Shengming, I hope you enjoy this grand gift I’ve prepared for you.’ A smile crept onto his face as he thought this.
He put the matter out of his mind and continued his diligent Cultivation. Several hours passed in the blink of an eye.
During that time, he went out to enjoy himself for a while before returning, feigning exhaustion, and resuming his Cultivation.
An unknown amount of time passed before a strange fluctuation suddenly emanated from his Sea of Consciousness.
As soon as midnight passed, Spirit +1!
Three hundred ninety-nine points of Spiritual Power, as brilliant as a Star River, floated quietly.
And at this moment, a point of starlight on the very edge was slowly condensing and growing. With a final HUMMM, it completely formed!
The four hundredth point!
This new accumulation from his Seven-Aperture Exquisite Supreme Talent had reached a critical, pivotal threshold.
Xia Wuyang felt a great BOOM in his mind, as if thousands of Pill Furnaces were roaring in unison. Countless insights, secrets, and epiphanies about Alchemy surged into him like a bursting dam.
But this time, it was completely—and vastly—different from his previous, simpler epiphanies.
Instead of merging directly into his Alchemy Skill, the insights gathered and spun in the depths of his Sea of Consciousness, eventually forming a strange, softly glowing orb of light, warm and gentle as moonlight.
Faint golden Pill Patterns swirled across the orb’s surface, and a subtle medicinal fragrance emanated from within, as if it were gestating something extraordinary.
’This is...’ A thought struck Xia Wuyang as he began to realize what was happening.
Before he could ponder it further, the orb of light suddenly burst apart.
Countless golden motes of light rained down like a meteor shower, permeating every single corner of his Sea of Consciousness, leaving no spot untouched.
In that instant, he felt his understanding of the Alchemy Dao undergo a heaven-and-earth-shattering transformation, reaching a level far beyond an ordinary person’s imagination.
The nature of herbs, the subtleties of heat control, the fusion of medicinal properties, the timing of Pill Formation... all the crucial aspects that would normally take repeated trial and error to master were now as clear as the lines on his palm, understood almost effortlessly.
Even more miraculously, he "saw" all his own past inadequacies in Alchemy. For instance, the angle when he injected True Qi into the Pill Furnace was off by three degrees; the temperature when extracting the essence of Ice Soul Grass was too high for half a breath; the third form of his Pill Formation Seal Technique could be further streamlined. The list of such flaws went on and on.
These flaws, so minute he hadn’t even been aware of them, were now being magnified, analyzed, and optimized in his mind, showing him how to make the correct choices.
’A Companion Talent... Alchemy Genius!’
It all clicked into place for Xia Wuyang; he finally understood what was happening.
The Spirit increase from his Seven-Aperture Exquisite Talent was a burst of power from long accumulation. The Alchemy Genius, however, was a Companion Talent that directly elevated his Talent and Qualification in the Alchemy Dao to an unimaginable level, far surpassing what he was capable of before.
From now on, he would be able to quickly grasp the secrets of any Pill Formula. He could touch any ingredient and intuitively know the best way to process it. His control over heat, timing, and technique during Alchemy would reach an astonishing level.
This was a far more powerful talent than a simple boost to his Alchemy proficiency. It meant that on the path of the Alchemy Dao, he would advance by leaps and bounds. As long as he had enough resources and Pill Formulas, he could easily break through to higher levels.
’It came at just the right time.’ Joy flashed in Xia Wuyang’s eyes. ’Even though it doesn’t directly increase my combat strength or Cultivation, this talent is still excellent. Its support capabilities are maxed out.’
He had just stepped into the ranks of a Spirit Pill Master and needed to solidify his foundation, improve his skills, and continue to climb higher.
With his Alchemy Genius talent, combined with the Comprehension from his Seven-Aperture Exquisite Talent, his proficiency in the Alchemy Dao was set to skyrocket.
With a mere thought, Xia Wuyang retrieved the Crane Pattern Furnace from his Personal Space, followed by several medicinal ingredients.
Thousand-year-old ginseng, Five-leaf Reishi, Morning Dew Flower, Earth Vein Root... These were all Spirit Herbs and Materials he had "borrowed" from the Inner Treasury, the National Treasury, and Qianqing Palace. He had originally intended to slowly experiment with refining them, but now he was filled with confidence. He had long since deciphered the Pill Formula and even practiced it, though he had yet to succeed.
He planned to refine one of the most practical Low Level Spirit Pills: the Qi Nourishing Pill, which was perfect for his current needs.
This pill could accelerate the accumulation of True Qi, boost his Cultivation Speed, and was of great benefit to a True Monarch’s daily Cultivation.
He had already used up the Qi Nourishing Pills he’d gotten from elsewhere and had been worrying about his dwindling supply. Now, he could be self-sufficient.
’Time to begin.’
Xia Wuyang formed a Sealing Technique with his hands. The River True Qi in his Dantian began to slowly rotate, and a wisp of azure True Qi emerged from his body, flowing into the Crane Pattern Furnace. Inside, some Spirit Materials had already been placed to act as kindling.
True Qi also served as fuel; with the help of these Spirit Materials, it could form a True Flame, albeit only the most common kind.
If he could later obtain a relevant Secret Technique to create a special True Flame, his Alchemy results would be even better. Xia Wuyang was already searching for such a technique.
HUMMM...
The Pill Furnace trembled lightly, and its lid opened automatically.
Under the influence of his Alchemy Genius talent, Xia Wuyang’s movements were now vastly different from before.
He no longer needed to meticulously control the heat or calculate the timing. The steps seemed to have become instinctual—effortless, yet precise to an infinitesimal degree, far beyond his previous capabilities.
He tossed the thousand-year-old ginseng into the furnace. The True Qi transformed into a True Flame, and with a gentle lick of fire, the ginseng’s skin peeled away on its own, revealing the crystalline flesh within.
The temperature was controlled at exactly three hundred twenty-seven degrees—the optimal temperature for extracting the essence of the thousand-year-old ginseng. A single degree higher and its properties would turn violent; a single degree lower and the essence would be impure. His control was perfect, not off by a single fraction.
The leaves of the Five-leaf Reishi had to be separated using the Vibration Rune Technique. The Morning Dew Flower had to be soaked for three breaths in dew collected at midnight. The outer skin of the Earth Vein Root had to be shaved away, leaving only the pale yellow core within. Everything was processed in perfect order, without the slightest error.
Every step flowed as smoothly as clouds and water, without the slightest hitch.
Even more astonishing was the refining time. A typical Spirit Pill Master would need at least four hours to refine a furnace of Qi Nourishing Pills. Yet, Xia Wuyang only took two hours—a speed far greater than what he was capable of before.
When the furnace lid popped open and several longan-sized, milky-white pills with natural, cloud-like patterns flew out, even Xia Wuyang himself was stunned for a moment, finding it hard to believe.
’So fast?’
He picked up one of the Qi Nourishing Pills and inspected it carefully.
The pill was translucent and shimmering, its medicinal aroma pure and rich. The cloud-like patterns on its surface were clear and natural, and Spiritual Qi faintly circulated around it.
This wasn’t just a passable Spirit Pill; it was an excellent one. On a scale of one hundred, it would score at least a seventy.
Its medicinal effects were at least ten percent stronger than an ordinary Qi Nourishing Pill, with minimal side effects.
"Alchemy Genius... It really lives up to the name," Xia Wuyang murmured to himself. "This Companion Talent is excellent. I like it. It’s truly a great boon."

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