Chapter 311: Half

Unfortunately, at the time, Qin Sang had also been on the verge of spiritual power exhaustion and hadn’t dared to keep Luo Xingnan alive. Otherwise, he could have refined a living corpse with the strength of a middle-stage Foundation Building cultivator.

To refine a living corpse, the Heavenly Corpse Talisman was necessary, and one of its key ingredients, the Soul-Guiding Grass, was still missing. Qin Sang had asked Wandering Man to use his connections with the Taiyi Core Pavilion to help locate it.

For now, Qin Sang focused on refining the malevolent corpse, a process he had become quite skilled in. Methodically following the steps, he encountered no surprises and successfully completed the refinement.

Testing the strength of the malevolent corpse by commanding it to attack him, Qin Sang found its abilities to be a step above his previous creations. He nodded to himself, pleased that its strength aligned with the descriptions in the

Heavenly Yin Corpse Art

. It would be a powerful ally in the future.

After sealing the malevolent corpse into his Corpse Puppet Pouch to let it slowly nourish and mature, Qin Sang entered secluded cultivation while waiting for news from Wandering Man.

...

A Year Later

Qin Sang sensed the barrier outside his cave dwelling being triggered and awoke from meditation.

After checking his Qihai, he stepped out and saw Wandering Man standing outside. His complexion was rosy, and his energy was vibrant. Qin Sang smiled in delight. "Senior, have you fully recovered?"

Wandering Man nodded with a smile. "I must thank that thousand-year-old Smoke Grass. Without it, I’d have been delayed by several more years. Brother Qin, I’ve already had the Taiyi Core Pavilion prepare the alchemy room, and all supplementary herbs are ready. We can begin refining the pill now."

Hearing this, Qin Sang felt a rare flicker of nervousness. Silently laughing at himself for being so unsettled, he suppressed his emotions and followed Wandering Man to the alchemy room.

The Taiyi Core Pavilion had discovered an underground fire vein[1] beneath the snow mountains and built their alchemy rooms there, harnessing the stable earth fire for pill refinement. Some alchemy rooms were rented out, but the two most stable ones were reserved for the sect’s elite alchemists.

Entering through a cliffside entrance, Qin Sang descended stone steps, the air growing progressively hotter. Eventually, they reached the depths of the mountain and were stopped by guards. Handing the Dark Patterned Yellow Essence to Wandering Man, Qin Sang watched as he entered the corridor leading to the core alchemy room. Qin Sang stayed behind to wait.

Three days passed.

Wandering Man had not yet emerged, but Qin Sang’s initial nervousness had long since subsided. Sitting cross-legged, his expression calm, he focused on his cultivation, unhurried.

He knew that refining pills was no easy task. Some alchemists would seclude themselves in alchemy rooms for an entire month, cultivating a tranquil mindset to maximize their chances of success.

Four days.

Five days.

...

By the tenth day, faint footsteps echoed from the corridor. Qin Sang’s eyes snapped open, and he rose swiftly to his feet.

Meeting Qin Sang’s expectant gaze, Wandering Man smiled warmly and declared, "Mission accomplished!"

Even with Qin Sang’s steady temperament, he couldn’t help but exhale in relief. The weight in his heart lifted. Wandering Man waved his hand, conjuring a protective barrier, and presented a jade bottle in the other.

Inside the jade bottle, a single pill captivated Qin Sang’s attention.

The pill radiated a rich, dark yellow glow, with faintly discernible dark patterns that flickered intermittently. The patterns bore a striking resemblance to those on the Dark Patterned Yellow Essence.

This was the Dark Patterned Heyun Pill.

Qin Sang recalled descriptions of the standard Heyun Pill, which was moon-white in color and lacked the dark patterns. The difference was due to the substitution of the main ingredient.

Taking the jade bottle, Qin Sang opened it carefully. Though the pill emitted no scent, its glow surged outward like a spring, radiating a powerful energy.

Qin Sang quickly capped the bottle and bowed deeply to Wandering Man. "Thank you for your efforts, Senior!"

Wandering Man shook his head and said, "No need for such formality, Brother Qin. I still need to refine the Ninefold Azure Frost Grass, so I won’t send you off. However, there are some key points to remember when consuming this pill. First, ensure your Qihai is completely restored. Second, do not rush. You must refine the medicinal energy slowly, without disturbance..."

Qin Sang listened intently to Wandering Man’s guidance before bidding him farewell. Upon leaving the alchemy room, he couldn’t suppress his excitement. Riding his sword, he transformed into a streak of sword light and hastily returned to his cave dwelling.

Once there, he reinforced the barriers outside the cave with several additional layers.

Sitting cross-legged on the ice bed, Qin Sang placed the jade bottle before him. Closing his eyes, he entered a state of deep meditation, circulating his cultivation art through more than ten cosmic orbits, adjusting his condition to its peak.

With his breathing steady, Qin Sang finally paused. His spiritual consciousness extended, opening the jade bottle and lifting the Dark Patterned Heyun Pill to his lips. Without hesitation, he swallowed the pill.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The moment the pill entered his mouth, it dissolved into a cool stream of medicinal energy, flowing down his throat and into his abdomen.

Qin Sang focused his mind entirely on this medicinal energy, ensuring not a single trace was wasted.

Unlike the Nine-Yang Pill, which carried an evident yang qi, the Dark Patterned Heyun Pill’s medicinal energy was remarkably gentle. Once it entered his meridians, it circulated throughout his body like a spring rain, silently nourishing everything it touched.

Yet Qin Sang could distinctly feel the profound changes occurring within his body. His damaged foundation showed signs of recovery, filling him with uncontainable joy.

The Dark Patterned Heyun Pill is working!

The most noticeable improvement was in his Qihai. Before consuming the pill, his Qihai had been saturated to its limit, but now there was a small but noticeable deficiency.

The spiritual power within the cave dwelling began to stir, converging toward Qin Sang. However, he only absorbed a faint trickle, and the process was excruciatingly slow.

This slow absorption continued uninterrupted, and during this process, another change began to manifest in Qin Sang’s body.

If anyone had been present in the cave dwelling, they would have noticed that Qin Sang’s appearance subtly shifted. He looked slightly younger—what once appeared as a man in his early thirties now resembled someone around twenty-six or twenty-seven.

Qin Sang, however, paid no mind to his altered appearance. His focus remained fixed on his Qihai, but his initial excitement gradually gave way to a heavy sense of concern.

The changes in his Qihai had been most apparent when he first consumed the pill, but as time passed, the rate of improvement slowed dramatically. Eventually, the restoration of his Qihai halted at ninety-five percent.

The Dark Patterned Heyun Pill had only restored half a level of his damaged foundation.

Is this limitation due to the unique nature of my damage from energy extraction, or is it related to the peculiarities of the Sutra of Profound Jade Cauldron?

Qin Sang’s expression was filled with unwillingness. He tried to force the remaining medicinal energy to accelerate the restoration process, but as time slipped by, his efforts proved futile. The rate of recovery was imperceptibly slow—so slow it might as well have stopped altogether. Continuing would only waste the pill’s remaining energy.

After exhausting all possible methods, Qin Sang had no choice but to accept reality.

One Dark Patterned Heyun Pill was insufficient to fully heal his foundation.

The closer he approached full recovery, the more challenging the process would become. Qin Sang could not even begin to estimate how many similar pills he would need to completely restore his foundation.

By this point, the pill’s medicinal energy was beginning to dissipate. If he didn’t make a decision quickly, it would all go to waste.

Sighing inwardly, Qin Sang calmed his emotions.

At the very least, he had recovered half of his foundation.

The remaining medicinal energy could be used to advance his cultivation. It wouldn’t be a wasted effort.

With this resolution, Qin Sang activated his Qihai, absorbing the residual medicinal energy from the Dark Patterned Heyun Pill. As the energy flowed through him, his cultivation began to rise steadily.

The cave dwelling returned to silence.

Qin Sang remained motionless on the ice bed, his aura climbing rapidly.

The frustration on his face gradually faded, replaced by a look of determination.

1. This refers to a vein of earth fire. Earth fire represents fire of the earth, also known as ground fire, a concept in wuxia/xianxia. ☜