Chapter 270: The Path of the Four Great Foundation Establishments, Beginner Level Imperial Nectar (II)

Since Pang Renxiong’s death, the inner city of Dahe had become a ghostly abyss. The Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion was no more, and thus, formal auctions could no longer be held.

As a result, rogue cultivators in Dahe Market lost their usual means of acquiring Foundation Establishment pills. Luo Chen had once worried about this.

But then he had forged an alliance with Tian Xingzi, who had promised him three Foundation Establishment pills. With that assurance, Luo Chen had finally seen a clear path ahead for his cultivation.

However, since Tian Xingzi left last month, Luo Chen had yet to see a single pill.

Although Tian Xingzi had sworn that someone would deliver them, who knew how long that would actually take? Surely they wouldn’t arrive a hundred years later, placed atop his grave!

Since then, Luo Chen had been searching for a way to break through to Foundation Establishment. The simpler approach was to visit other markets, even Tianlan Immortal City, and acquire one at an auction for a high price.

But the problem remained the same. As an outsider unfamiliar with these places, he had no way of securing a share in the allocations reserved for high-tier cultivators. Relying on the meager slots available to rogue cultivators was far from enough.

A more complex method was the one Wang Yuan had suggested.

The Blood Fiend Seizing Array!

Taking the blood-path route to Foundation Establishment. But this path required deep mastery in physical cultivation and blood techniques, along with an exceptionally strong body, to barely succeed.

Even so, Wang Yuan himself could not guarantee success.

Moreover, it required a Foundation Establishment Initiate who could be completely drained at will! The difficulty of this was no less than launching another attack on the Duan family.

Luo Chen, of course, would not choose this path.

There was still another method. That was the soul path to Foundation Establishment.

Luo Chen had access to this technique and the necessary conditions were already in place. He needed a powerful divine soul foundation and a sufficient number of late stage Qi-Refining cultivators’ souls.

With the Spirit Passage pill to support him, Luo Chen was confident in strengthening his divine soul foundation.

As for the latter, Dahe Market was teeming with thousands of ghosts.

Not to mention late stage Qi-Refining ghosts, there were at least one or two Ghost Generals equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

However, the terrifying aftereffects of the soul path Foundation Establishment made Luo Chen shun it like venomous snakes and scorpions. Thus, after much deliberation, he placed his hopes on Imperial Nectar.

After days of studying, he had thoroughly analyzed this alchemical formula. Its medicinal properties were designed to enhance the foundation of demonic beasts, accelerating their cultivation speed. If the subject was of a plant attribute or an intelligent beast, the effects would be even greater.

By design, this pill was specifically formulated for demonic beasts. However, certain added medicinal materials allowed it to be effective for select humans as well.

In other words, it could enhance a human cultivator’s foundation. Didn’t this mean it could serve as a form of Foundation Establishment?

The alchemical path to Foundation Establishment was plagued by the scarcity of Foundation Establishment pills.

The blood path faced the challenge of acquiring extremely rare materials.

The soul path presented horrifying side effects that no one dared to consider.

Only the demonic path to Foundation Establishment may serve as a viable backup!

Luo Chen did not intend to place all his hopes on Tian Xingzi’s goodwill. The conscience of high-tier cultivators had never been reliable. He had seen through this truth completely. Everything could only depend on himself!

As for the requirements to refine Imperial Nectar, he had already gathered them all.

Luo Chen had already acquired some of the supplementary ingredients through Wang Yanchang before Tian Xingzi’s departure. Later, he completed the set by purchasing the remaining materials from the Lianyun Trade Alliance.

As for the primary material, he had the complete corpse of a second-tier Blazing Cloud Roc—its bones, flesh, and blood intact, even its demonic core remained preserved. This single corpse was sufficient to refine the pill ten times over.

The refinement method required a water-based alchemical technique.

Luo Chen happened to possess the Falling Clouds Mist, which was perfectly suited for refining second-tier pills.

All that remained was to invest time into refining his technique until it was fully mastered and the Spirit Spring required for the Falling Clouds Mist—one was right beneath his feet!

Everything is ready, except for the east wind. [1]

Luo Chen took a deep breath and directed his gaze toward his status panel.

The east wind, of course, was Beginner level proficiency! If he could not achieve Beginner level proficiency, then with the grade of a second-tier pill, Luo Chen, as a mere first-tier alchemist, would have to attempt it thousands, even tens of thousands of times before succeeding just once.

Such a cost was beyond what he could afford. He did not have the spirit stones or the time to procure such an immense quantity of raw materials. As long as the system allowed him to reach the Beginner level, everything would fall into place.

The question was, could he achieve such Beginner level proficiency?

Then, his status panel surfaced before him.

Imperial Nectar, Second-Tier Complete Alchemical Formula

Beginner?

This time, Luo Chen did not hesitate.

"Beginner!"

Under his gaze, the Imperial Nectar entry slowly appeared on the system panel.

Imperial Nectar: Progress (30/100)

Luo Chen froze, finding it unbelievable. Even after investing ten achievement points, the progress had only reached this level? He was still a full seventy points away from Beginner level!

Just as disappointment set in, the entry began to change gradually.

31...35...40...50...60...70

Finally, the progress stalled at

70/100.

Watching this slow transformation, Luo Chen fell into deep thought.

The initial thirty progress points were likely the result of the achievement points he had invested. The subsequent increase must have been due to his familiarity with the formula and his existing alchemy skills, which led the system to determine that he had a natural chance of success.

"Only thirty more progress points until Beginner level?" Luo Chen pressed his lips together, his gaze shifting to the remaining achievement points.

He had 18 left.

Without hesitation, he allocated them one by one.

Finally, the progress bar halted at 88/100.

A very auspicious number!

"For a second-tier pill, does one achievement point only contribute a single progress point?

"If I had no prior knowledge of the formula and zero alchemy proficiency, wouldn't I have started with just ten progress points?

"So refining pills beyond one’s tier is difficult..." sighed Luo Chen .

Then, he regained his resolve. He was not disappointed, this was an outcome he had already anticipated. In fact, seeing the progress points so clearly quantified and visualized gave him newfound confidence.

"I’m only missing twelve achievement points. That’s not difficult at all!"

Achievement points were earned through proficiency improvements in techniques, spells, alchemy, and various other skills. Every time he increased a level in proficiency, he would gain an achievement point. Luo Chen was already well-versed in this system.

With twelve achievement points needed, he simply had to increase his skill proficiency twelve more times.

"In that case, I just need to focus on the skills closest to breaking through and train them intensively.

"That’s the fastest way to gain achievement points." Muttering to himself, Luo Chen’s gaze fell upon the long list of attributes on his status panel.

[Status Panel]

Name: Luo Chen

Realm: Qi-Refining Realm Nine Stage (28/100)

Achievement Points: 0

[Techniques]

Long Spring Art: Perfected Mastery

Divine Breaker of Malevolence: Beginner (91/100)

Myriad Beast Sutra: Beginner (10/100)

[Spells]

Fireball: Perfected Mastery

Carefree Wind-Control: Perfected Mastery

Traction: Perfected Mastery

Spirit Suppression: Perfected Mastery

Spirit Eyes: Perfected Mastery

Entangle: Grandmaster (810/1000)

Cleanse: Grandmaster (775/1000)

Heal: Perfection (485/500)

Earth Summit: Perfection (315/500)

Wave Surge: Perfection (309/500)

Sound Isolation: Beginner (81/100)

Soul-Intimidation: Beginner (92/100)

[Alchemy]

Jade Fracture Hand: Grandmaster (700/1000)

Unadorned Heart Hand: Perfection (390/500)

Flowing Creek Hand: Beginner (79/100)

Cloud Transformation Hand: Beginner (65/100)

[Martial Arts]

Mountain Cleaving Monument Breaking Palm: Grandmaster (880/1000)

Heavenly Maiden Scatters Flowers: Perfection (357/500)

[Skills]

First-Tier Alchemist

Luo Chen quickly scanned his status panel, his mind formulating a plan as he went.

At his maximum cultivation speed, he estimated that reaching Perfected Mastery of Qi-Refining would take about two years. By that time, he would need Imperial Nectar to advance to Foundation Establishment.

Thus, these two years would be his window to accumulate achievement points.

The most efficient way to do so was by focusing on four spells, Entangle, Cleanse, Sound Isolation, and Soul-Intimidation along with three alchemical techniques.

In terms of martial arts, leveling up would also be straightforward.

As for alchemy, he had long been capable of refining Myriad Wonders pills and Jade Essence pills at top-grades. However, in the past, he had deliberately held back, concealing his true alchemical skills by limiting the refinement of top-grade pills. But now, after conquering the Duan family and establishing a delicate balance with several factions, he finally had a relatively stable cultivation environment.

As long as he controlled the supply of pills and prevented them from circulating externally, he could quickly train his proficiency to Perfected Mastery. This way, he could accumulate several more achievement points.

"Speaking of which, I'm quite curious, what would a supreme-grade Myriad Wonders pill or Jade Essence pill be capable of?" Luo Chen smiled slightly.

He did not feel lost or troubled by the challenges ahead. He only needed to know that he was on the right path. No matter how many hardships lay ahead, they were nothing more than fleeting storms!

1. 万事俱备，只欠东风 (wan shi ju bei zhi qian dong feng) is a Chinese idiom meaning "Everything is ready, except for the east wind." It originates from the historical Battle of Red Cliff, where strategist Zhuge Liang relied on an east wind to execute a fire attack. The phrase is now used metaphorically to describe a situation where all preparations are complete, but success hinges on one final, crucial factor. ☜