When it comes to alchemy, Ian Song hasn’t put in as much effort as he has with array techniques, since he possesses the Pill Condensation Technique divine ability.
As long as he knows the formula for a particular pill and has enough ingredients, he can use this divine ability to refine the corresponding pills.
He first accompanied Jade Shaw for a casual stroll, and in the end, they arrived at a pill shop called Pill King Pavilion.
Generally speaking, cultivating with pills is more effective than using god-crystals.
Most Lower-Rank Gods with financial means will choose to buy Divine Essence Pills; each pill costs fifty god-crystals, but Ian’s Pill Condensation Technique doesn’t include the Divine Essence Pill formula yet, so he can’t refine it himself.
“Honored guests, what kind of pills would you like to purchase?”
The attendant at Pill King Pavilion was a late-stage Lower-Rank Goddess.
“I’d like to buy a Divine Essence Pill formula. Do you sell those here?” Ian asked directly.
The attendant was briefly stunned and gave Ian a strange look. The Divine Essence Pill is one of the most common formulas in the God Realm—it's been widely circulated for ages and almost no one actually buys it anymore.
But since the customer had a request, she couldn’t refuse, so she gestured for Ian to wait and went inside to report.
Soon, a plump middle-aged god came out, smiling as he looked at Ian. “You’d like to buy a Divine Essence Pill formula, honored guest?”
“Yes!”
Ian nodded. “I’m interested in learning alchemy, but unfortunately I don’t have any pill formulas on hand. So I want to buy a few to study and see if I can refine some pills myself.”
In the God Realm, refining pills is even more difficult, because the laws are so oppressive. Even Upper-Rank Gods can only barely extend their divine sense outside their bodies, and only for brief periods.
So, without the aid of divine sense, alchemists below the Heavenly God realm have to rely entirely on experience and fire control.
Hearing Ian’s words, the manager’s eyes flashed with a hint of disdain, but since there was money to be made, he said, “Honored guest, besides the Divine Essence Pill formula, we also have Spirit Deity Pill and True God Pill formulas for sale.”
“What are the prices?” Ian asked.
The manager smiled. “The Divine Essence Pill formula is fifty god-crystals, Spirit Deity Pill formula is five hundred, and True God Pill formula is one thousand god-crystals.”
“Twelve hundred god-crystals—I’ll take all three formulas!” Ian said directly.
“Very well!”
The middle-aged god agreed without hesitation.
The next moment, with a casual wave of his hand, three divine jade slips appeared. He said, “Honored guest, the formulas you requested are all in these three jade slips!”
Ian handed over twelve hundred god-crystals and took the three jade slips. After probing them with his divine sense, he instantly acquired the formulas for all three pills. A sense of clarity rose in his heart—he could already refine these three types of pills.
With the deal made, the manager’s smile widened. “Honored guest, since you want to learn alchemy, you’ll need God-grade Medicines to practice. Our shop sells them too: the ingredients for a batch of Divine Essence Pills are three god-crystals per set, Spirit Deity Pill ingredients are twenty per set, and True God Pill ingredients are one hundred per set!”
Ian thought for a moment and asked, “Is there a discount if I buy a hundred sets of Divine Essence Pill ingredients?”
“If you buy five hundred sets, the price drops to two god-crystals per set!”
“Deal!”
Ian agreed right away and placed a thousand god-crystals on the counter.
For a moment, the manager was slightly taken aback. Ian was clearly a Mid-Rank God, yet he was so wealthy—it was unexpected.
The ingredients for the Divine Essence Pill aren’t rare; the cost per set is less than one god-crystal. Selling them to Ian for two each still yields a hefty profit.
“Ian, are you really planning to study alchemy?”
After leaving Pill King Pavilion, Jade Shaw asked curiously.
Ian nodded matter-of-factly. “Of course. Why else would I buy pill formulas and ingredients?”
Jade Shaw frowned. “But from what I’ve heard, learning alchemy isn’t easy!”
Ian smiled. “Heh! You don’t need to worry about that, Miss Jade. I spent plenty of time learning alchemy in the lower realm!”
“Alright then, I hope you really do become a true alchemist. By the way, I have an introductory alchemy manual—here, it’s yours!” As she spoke, Jade Shaw handed Ian a divine jade slip.
Ian didn’t really need an alchemy manual, but Jade Shaw was being kind, so he accepted it and said, “Thank you, Miss Jade. Once I’ve refined some pills, I’ll be sure to give you a few bottles!”
Jade Shaw laughed. “Hehe, that sounds great! Let me go with you to buy a pill furnace!”
Ian hesitated slightly—he had the Pill Condensation Technique, so he didn’t actually need a pill furnace. But since his strength was still lacking, revealing his ability would cause trouble, so he agreed.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and it was time to return to Yushan Mansion.
Talon had accepted a task for the group to escort another convoy to Yushan Mansion. However, since they were just accompanying the main escort team, the reward wasn’t much—only fifty god-crystals.
Fifty god-crystals was better than returning empty-handed, so no one objected.
After another month-long journey, Ian and his companions safely returned to Yushan Mansion.
Once the task was handed over...
Ian was about to leave when Talon called him back and shared some good news. Because Ian had detected the God-devouring Ants in the desert and warned the team in time, the God-Demon Corps Yushan branch awarded him an extra two hundred god-crystals.
Talon also reminded him to complete five tasks as soon as possible to be promoted to Two-Star God-Demon. That way, future missions would offer much greater rewards.
After thanking Talon, Ian returned to his own courtyard.
When his friends saw he was back, everyone was delighted.
Ian asked about the Ascension Platform. His friends replied that they visited it not long ago. Although they didn’t see Hannah Murong and her group ascend, they did meet an ascender from the Langya Immortal Realm.
From that ascender, they learned a lot about the Langya Immortal Realm.
Everything in the Langya Immortal Realm was as usual. Under the rule of the Great Qin Immortal Kingdom, the realm grew stronger and stronger. In the Immortal Realm Ranking Tournament, Langya Immortal Realm had advanced into the top hundred immortal realms.
It even ranked ninth among the top hundred immortal realms.
News of this advancement shook the entire immortal realm, and the immortals’ sense of belonging to the Great Qin Immortal Kingdom grew ever stronger.
As for Hannah Murong, after leading her people in the ranking tournament, she seemed to have been injured and had been in seclusion ever since. Also, the emperor of the Great Qin Immortal Kingdom had reached the eighteenth level of Ancestor Immortal. Even without Hannah Murong’s guidance, he managed the kingdom well.
Finally, there was news about Ian’s two masters and his martial uncle.
Both masters were close to reaching the peak of Ancestor Immortal level seventeen; once they reached level eighteen, they would ascend. As for his martial uncle, Patriarch Absolute Demon, he had just reached level fifteen.
With everything well back home, Ian felt at ease. Next, he could focus on earning money, so when his masters ascended, they wouldn’t have to struggle as much as he did.