Chapter 355: Good Things are Hard to Come By
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Ever since he discovered Xiao Yan's potential in pill cultivation, Lin Feng happily handed over all matters of pill cultivation over to Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan did not disappoint. Almost every single pill in the sect was cultivated by him.
Combined with the Heavenly Golden Pavilion and the Ethereal Heart Cauldron, Xiao Yan became highly efficient in his use of ingredients. He virtually did not waste any single ingredient, making Lin Feng very happy.
However, if pill cultivation was simply just a matter of techniques, then a cultivator with a higher level of mastery would be able to have a higher rate of success. But that was not the case, for the Hundred Herbs Grandmaster was able to benefit from his relationship with the Great Barren Sword Sect.
Purely from their abilities to cultivate pills, the Nascent Soul stage Hundred Herbs Grandmaster was much more powerful than the many Immortal Soul stage cultivators.
Lin Feng carefully controlled the firepower within the Ethereal Heart Cauldron and the herbs within the cauldron. As it was his first time cultivating the Spiritual Replenishment Elixir, there were many steps that required Lin Feng to find out as he went along.
However, what made Lin Feng happy was that throughout the whole process, there was no major incident. From within the cauldron, a medicinal aroma could be smelt. The aroma clustered in the sky did not go away. Instead, it formed into clouds.
"After a long while, my skills are still there," Lin Feng thought smugly as he smiled confidently.
By keeping watch for 49 Chinese hours (Translator's Note: A Chinese hour, shi chen, is the equivalent to two Western hours), the clouds above the Cauldron started to turn gold. Furthermore, the clouds began to chime gently, akin to the sound of drums.
Lin Feng stared at the Cauldron and knew that it was at its most crucial stage. Whether or not he could successfully cultivate the Spiritual Replenishment Elixir would depend on this final step.
He gently flicked his finger and a drop of blood appeared in the air. The drop of blood gurgled non-stop, and from within it a loud roar could be heard as if there were dragons singing within.
The blood began to morph in the air and soon took the shape of a flying dragon.
This was what the Black Dragon Jieyu 'contributed'. Initially, when Lin Feng asked him to 'donate' his blood, Jieyu almost cried
Lin Feng gently waved his hand and the droplet of dragon blood flew into the Ethereal Heart Cauldron.
The golden clouds scattered and a giant sound could be heard. A mystical aura that was more exquisite and mythical than awe-inspiring rose into the sky from the Ethereal Heart Cauldron.
"Success!" Lin Feng's face broke into a smile.
However, before he could complete the final step, the aura within the Ethereal Heart Cauldron suddenly changed.
The normally calm and stable aura suddenly became violent. Waves after waves of wild, uninhibited energy could be felt.
In the space around the Ethereal Heart Cauldron, a sudden change could be felt. Suddenly, a streak of Void Lightning Tribulation appeared out of nowhere and struck the golden clouds.
The originally calm and serene clouds suddenly became terrible. From within, a terrible wail could be heard. It was almost as if a wild person was being born from within.
Looking at this scene, Lin Feng arched his eyebrows. "It's actually a pill tribulation. I did not anticipate this."
Just as how a cultivator would have to face his inner demons during his training, a high-quality pill brimming with spiritual energy would also produce its own 'demons' during the cultivation process. If the demons could not be resolved, then the spiritual energy that belonged to the pill would be absorbed by the demons.
Once the inner demons became strong enough, it would materialize and take up a corporeal form. It could actually become a real demon with a violent temper.
If the demon could survive the Void Lightning Tribulation, it would obtain the abilities to soar through the heavens and stride across the earth. Then, it would truly have become a Nascent Soul-stage demon.
Throughout this process, what cultivators referred to as 'pill tribulation' was meant to destroy the inner demons of the pill itself. Doing so would allow the pill to reach an even higher calibre.
"...The problem is, I don't know how to properly do a 'pill tribulation'."
Lin Feng smiled bitterly as he carefully adjusted the Grand Sun Primordial Flame within the Cauldron. Some things could not rely solely on one's powers. If one were to forcefully destroy the inner demons of the pills, there was a chance that the pill would have been destroyed along with it. Then, the whole process would have been for nothing.
He lifted his head to look at the lightning crackling in the sky. Lin Feng extended all five of his fingers and brought them down like a karate chop. The Fences of Heavens spell was conjured and its target was the Spiritual Replenishment Elixir within the Cauldron, which was just about to take shape.
With the spell, the violent inner demon within the elixir was restrained. It became a lot more subdued, but it still struggled against its restraints.
Lin Feng thought in his heart, "Using such a spell is only a temporary measure. It could only help in suppression, but it could not resolve the issue at its crux. Even if I were able to subdue this inner demon, I would scar the elixir. There's even a possibility that my disciple would experience such a demon when they consume the pill."
"To resolve the issue at its crux, I still had to use a pill cultivation-based method rather than spells."
Thinking about it here, Lin Feng increased his control over the Grand Sun Primordial Flame within the Ethereal Heart Cauldron.
Within the Cauldron, dozens of black pills were being formed. The pills trembled non-stop, almost as if they had a primal side that was just waiting to surface.
Lin Feng controlled the radiance of the Grand Sun Primordial Flame. He did not aim to split the outer layer of the pills with its radiance, but instead, he directed it deep into the core of each pill.
Throughout this process, Lin Feng carefully controlled the radiance of the Grand Sun Primordial Flame to ensure that it would not incinerate it ahead of time.
After the Grand Sun Primordial Flame had penetrated deep into each pill, Lin Feng then tried to trigger a full-blown explosion with the power of the Grand Sun Primordial Flame.
The pills began to wail and they began to vibrate ferociously within the cauldron. It was like a prelude to an explosion.
Lin Feng's face did not change as he continued to manipulate the Grand Sun Primordial Flame with his heart. He began to fan with the Wind and Fire Fan. The breeze from the fan was gentle and as it entered the Ethereal Heart Cauldron, the fire within the cauldron increased a notch and stopped the furiously-vibrating pills.
Below the Cauldron, the image of the Eight Trigrams began to glow. Under its brilliant, gold glow, the fire of the Ethereal Heart Cauldron that was about burst began to calm.
As the fire underneath the Ethereal Heart Cauldron calmed, the pills that were at risk of exploding began to stabilize. The inner demons within them were obliterated with the brilliant radiance of the Grand Sun Primordial Flame.
The golden clouds above the cauldron returned to their serene state.
Lin Feng began to laugh out loud as he clapped his hands. The golden clouds returned to the cauldron and its lid opened. A brilliant light burst forth from within as a medicinal aroma wafted out.
Rays after rays of white light shot out from the cauldron. Lin Feng collected them all.
These pills were only as big as the fist of an infant. They were completely white and semi-transparent.
In the center of the pills was their black core. The black cores shimmered in the out of visibility like a mirage. It was a like a hole that could not be filled.
One single pill was able to greatly increase a cultivator's innate abilities by leaps and bounds. This was the Heavenly Replenishment Elixir.
Lin Feng nodded his head satisfactorily, "Good things are hard to come by. However, luckily this was properly resolved."
After he took back the Heavenly Replenishment Elixir and extinguished the fire within the Ethereal Heart Cauldron, Lin Feng walked out of the medicine room and his consciousness entered the system.
Every month, he had a chance at a lucky draw. It was the time of the month again.
Lin Feng entered the lottery system and looked around for a while. His gaze was fixated on a particular gift on the Spin-A-Wheel page.
It was pure white jade rock brimming with a crystalline light.
Lin Feng had seen this object earlier on. It was something that Yue Hongyan possessed. It was something that could absorb even the Avīci Infernal Gale. It was the Void Spiritual Jade.
The size of the Void Spiritual Jade was even bigger than Yue Hongyan's bangle.
"This item is not bad. It is the best material for me to make a storage pouch. After carving it up, I can make many storage pouches," Lin Feng thought in his heart. "Fine, then it shall be you!"
He looked at the Void Spiritual Jade's serial number and then made some calculations before spinning the wheel to start his lucky draw.
While Lin Feng was clear about the Spin-A-Wheel page, there was still a 25% chance that he may not get what he wanted. He could not guarantee that he would get what he wanted each and every time. In the previous few rounds, Lin Feng had many misses.
However, in comparison with the other methods, Lin Feng was most confident about the Spin-A-Wheel page.
This time, Lin Feng's luck wasn't too bad. He managed to obtain the Void Spiritual Jade.
Lin Feng felt the Void Spiritual Jade in his hand and thought, "Eh, not bad. While it's small, it is more than enough to make a hundred storage pouch."
With his own mana, he began to start slicing as he divided them up into a hundred smaller portions. In the process, every single piece of the jade became even smaller.
However, with such a tiny piece of jade, he could still conjure a giant amount of space.
Lin Feng flicked with his finger as a jet of purple gas flew into the air. It divided into 100 smaller pieces of purple gas which then distributed itself and landed equally on each piece of the Void Spiritual Jade. They formed a tiny ring, on which the tiny piece of the Void Spiritual Jade was laid.
Lin Feng thought in his heart, "For Xiao Yan and the other immediate disciples, I will pass them each a piece. Nanhua and Shihao will get a piece each and Jieyu, that old dragon, can get a piece too in return for all the blood he contributed."
"Tun Tun probably won't need one as she could stuff everything into her stomach."
Lin Feng then thought, "As for the other disciples, I would have to think about it for a while. After Xiao Yan and the rest had their respective disciples, this could be used as an incentive for hard work."
"This will motivate them to work hard. I will publish the rules of the competition beforehand to make it fair."
As Lin Feng thought about it, he felt a sudden pull in his heart. He smiled, "Is Wang Lin successful?"
Feeling the atmosphere in the Heavenly Cosmic Ray World, Lin Feng flew over. Perched at the top of the Black Heavenly Treasure Tree, he entered the Heavenly Cosmic Ray World.
Within the Heavenly Cosmic Ray World, a peace had taken over. Lucky slept underneath the mini Treasure Tree while the old man continued playing chess with himself.
The sword returned to its original state. The maiden who bore the scabbard on her back did not exhibit any change. She continued to circle the mini Black Heavenly Treasure Tree. Her path and pace did not change.
Underneath the tree, Wang Lin sat there quietly, enveloped by a black gas that brimmed with an aura of death.
However, within the black gas, a semblance of life could be felt. It was as like a tiny sapling that was about to emerge from the soil. It appeared on a step away from germinating.