Chapter 140: Dao Pill

Han Li nodded with a contemplative look in his eyes, then said, "I see, so there really are Heavenly Pill Masters above Earthly ones. If I'm not mistaken, I presume Temporal Pill Masters can only refine pills useful to normal cultivators, while Earthly Pill Masters are capable of refining pills useful to immortals. So what sets a Heavenly Pill Master apart from those two?"

"You're largely correct on the classification of Temporal and Earthly Pill Master. As for Heavenly Pill Master, they're also known as Dao Pill Masters, and they're the loftiest pill refinement masters of the Immortal Realm. The one thing that separates them from other pill masters is their ability to refine dao pills," Mo Guang explained.

"How are dao pills different from other pills?" Han Li asked.

"Dao pills are pills that contain the power of laws," Mo Guang replied.

A thought seemed to have occurred to Han Li upon hearing this, and he asked, "Does that mean that consuming such pills will allow one to directly perceive the power of laws?"

"In the Immortal Realm, there are two main paths that immortals take to master the power of laws in order to become True Immortals, the first of which is through the use of cultivation methods, cultivating for vast spans of time for the slim chance of being able to attain the power of laws.

“The second path is to refine some type of spirit material that contains a certain type of power of laws into a pill, then taking that pill to directly perceive the power of laws contained within," Mo Guang explained.

Han Li was astonished to hear this, but he took a deep breath to compose himself, then asked, "Is that really true? Doesn't that mean that taking a single dao pill would save tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation?"

"That's not the case. Even if one does manage to obtain a dao pill, there's still only a very slim chance that they'll be able to attain the power of laws contained in the pill. However, even so, these pills are still immensely beneficial to perceiving the power of laws," Mo Guang explained.

"The probability of being able to attain the power of laws through the consumption of dao pills must be related to the quality of the dao pill, right?" Han Li asked.

"Of course. Generally speaking, dao pills will definitely contain the power of laws, but not all pills that contain the power of laws are dao pills. The exact way to tell whether a pill is a dao pill or not is to see if there are dao patterns present on its surface following refinement, and the quality of a dao pill can be determined based on how many dao patterns it has," Mo Guang explained.

"Dao patterns, eh? Do you how many dao patterns the highest grade dao pills will carry?" Han Li asked.

"The most number of dao patterns a pill can have is nine, and those are referred to as ninth-tier dao pills, but they exist almost only in legends. Even first-tier dao pills are extremely rare and precious in the Immortal Realm," Mo Guang replied.

"I see... No wonder Heavenly Pill Masters are so revered in the Immortal Realm," Han Li mused.

"I'm aware that back in the Spirit Realm, you were already quite a capable pill refinement master, so I'm assuming you're asking these questions because you have aspirations of becoming a Heavenly Pill Master yourself.

“However, according to my knowledge, perhaps one in every 1,000 pill masters could become an Earthly Pill Master, but even among 100,000 Earthly Pill Master, perhaps not even a single one would go on to become a Dao Pill Master. As for Heavenly Pill Masters capable of refining high-grade dao pills, those are even rarer," Mo Guang said.

"Pill refinement is something that requires experience. Spirit materials that contain the power of laws are extremely rare, so there simply isn't enough of those materials to practice on," Han Li said with a smile, seemingly completely unsurprised by how rare Heavenly Pill Masters were.

"That is indeed an important reason. The other reason is that dao pill recipes are just are rare, and they're virtually all in the possession of the Immortal Realm's most powerful entities. Just like pill refinement masters of the Spirit Realm, most Heavenly Pill Masters serve those powerful entities, and its extremely rare to see an independent Heavenly Pill Master," Mo Guang explained.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.

"Also, there's a rumor about dao pills, which is that the recipe for each type of dao pill can only be mastered by a set number of Heavenly Pill Masters. Once this quota is filled, no one else will be able to master the refinement method for that type of dao pill," Mo Guang added.

Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this. "Really? That sounds a little far-fetched."

"No one has been able to verify the authenticity of this rumor, but everyone would rather believe that it's true than renounce the claim. Hence, generally speaking, unless it's absolutely necessary to do so, no one is willing to share their dao pill recipe with others," Mo Guang said.

A wry smile appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this. This was completely understable to him as he would do the exact same thing in that position.

"That's all I know about dao pills and Heavenly Pill Masters, I hope this information was helpful to you," Mo Guang concluded, then prepared to return to Han Li's shadow.

However, another thought suddenly occurred to Han Li, and he called out, "Please hold on for a moment, Fellow Daoist Mo Guang, I have something else to ask you."

"What is it, Fellow Daoist Han?" Mo Guang asked.

"I'd like to know more about immortal origin stones," Han Li said.

"Immortal origin stones are fantastic things that can quickly replenish one's immortal spiritual power during battle, and can also be used to enhance one's rate of cultivation, so they're extremely rare and sought-after everywhere in the Immortal Realm," Mo Guang said.

"I see, no wonder it can be used as a type of currency. How long does it take to create an immortal origin stone?" Han Li asked.

"That differs from person to person. Generally speaking, a late-True Immortal cultivator would be able to create one in a year, while a mid-True Immortal cultivator would take a decade, and it would take over a century for an early-True Immortal cultivator," Mo Guang replied.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.

Five immortal origin stones were required to use the teleportation array, and in Han Li's mind, if these immortal origin stones didn't take very long to create, then he would've done so himself, but it seemed that this wasn't a feasible option.

"The timeframes that I just laid out apply only to low-grade immortal origin stones. Just like spirit stones, immortal origin stones are also split up into four grades, namely low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and top-grade. Generally speaking, only high-grade immortals will be able to create high-grade and top grade immortal origin stones," Mo Guang continued.

"Aside from the constant injection of immortal spiritual power, are there any other requirements to creating such stones?" Han Li asked.

"During the creation of an immortal origin stone, the creator will be unable to cultivate. No immortal is willing to deal with such a damning limitation, and that's why immortal origin stones of all grades are extremely rare in the Immortal Realm," Mo Guang replied.

Han Li nodded in response, and a disappointed look surfaced in his eyes.

It seemed that his chances of being able to exchange for immortal origin stones were also extremely slim.

Seeing as Han Li had fallen silent, Mo Guang knew that his services were no longer required, and it vanished into Han Li's shadow in a flash.

……

That night.

A streak of light abruptly rose up from the summit of Mount Youyang, then vanished in the blink of an eye like a flash of lightning.

Shortly thereafter, a figure appeared in a secluded region of the sea tens of thousand of kilometers away, hovering above the surface of the water.

It was none other than Han Li, and his eyes were as bright as stars as he made a grabbing motion in front of his own chest, then tossed something high up into the air before beginning to chant an incantation.

As he did this, the small vial that was hovering in mid-air began to tremble violently, and all of the world's origin qi within the surrounding area also began to display signs of unrest.

A spherical azure light barrier began to slowly expand outward in all directions, and the waves on the surface of the sea began to surge and churn.

Seven days and seven nights passed by in the blink of an eye.

A small crystal slowly descended out of the sky, alongside the small vial, which had become virtually completely transparent, and the sea had returned to a calm and tranquil state.

Han Li had taken an Origin Return Pill in advance, so he wasn't left in an emaciated condition as he had been in the past. However, he was still looking rather feeble and weary, and after catching the crystal and the vial, he immediately flipped a hand over to produce a green jade vial, out of which he poured another Origin Return Pill that he promptly devoured.

A cool and refreshing sensation began to spread through his throat, and as the pill entered his stomach, the cool sensation quickly turned into a surge of warmth, which flowed throughout his body before finally entering his dantian.

He felt a slightly warm sensation in his dantian, following which the rate at which he was absorbing the world's origin qi increased drastically, thereby significantly enhancing his rate of immortal spiritual power recovery.

Manager Lu had told him about how exceptionally efficacious high-grade pills were, and at the time, Han Li hadn't taken it to heart, but only after taking these Origin Return pills did he come to realize just how different they were from the pills he had taken in the past.

This was a pill that could drastically enhance the rate of immortal spiritual power recovery for a short time. Furthermore, it could also be taken to enhance the rate of creation of immortal origin stones, so it was no wonder that they cost such a steep price.

After resting on the spot for a moment, Han Li flew back toward Black Wind City as a streak of azure light.

As soon as Han Li reappeared in the Thousand Medicine House, he was immediately spotted by Manager Lu, who was attending to another customer. He was rather taken aback to see Han Li back so soon, but he quickly excused himself, then approached Han Li with a warm smile.

"Welcome, Senior. To what do I owe this honor?" he asked as he cupped his fist in a respectful salute.

"The pills that I purchased from here last time were quite good, so I decided to come back and have another look," Han Li replied with a smile.

Manager Lu's smile widened even further upon hearing this, and he quickly led Han Li upstairs as he said, "You are most welcome to visit our shop at anytime, Senior. Please come with me."

Just like during Han Li's last visit, the fifth floor was very quiet, with not a single customer present.

"Have you come to purchase more Origin Return Pills, or would you like to try some other types of pills?" Manager Lu asked.

"Before I decide what pills I want to buy, I have some questions I'd like to ask you," Han Li said in a calm manner.

Manager Lu faltered slightly upon hearing this, then nodded in response. "Please go ahead, Senior."

"Not only are the pills sold in your shop very fast-acting, they're extremely efficacious as well, and I presume that must be directly related to the quality of the spirit ingredients used and the skills of the pill refinement master, right?" Han Li asked.

"That is indeed the case. It sounds like you're an expert in the art of pill refinement, Senior," Manager Lu said with a smile.

"I wouldn't call myself an expert, I'm only dabbled a little in pill refinement myself in the past as well," Han Li replied.

Manager Lu seemed to have been rather taken aback to hear this, and he hurriedly asked, "May I ask what tier pill refinement master you are, Senior?"

Han Li put on an embarrassed expression as he replied, "Truth be told, I've been residing in a secluded area for a long time prior to coming here, and I've never had a chance to have my pill refinement skills evaluated. One of the reasons I came today is to have my skills evaluated by a pill refinement master of your shop so I can determine what level I'm at."