Chapter 3495 — The Heavenly Tier Trial Begins
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Heavenly Dao Golden Pill." Carved across the top of the box were these four large characters.
Wei Zhao drew a deep breath, lifted the box, and carefully opened it.
Inside lay a small scroll. It was neither a disappointment nor a delight to Wei Zhao; he had dreamed that perhaps a finished Heavenly Dao Golden Pill might be inside. How wonderful that would have been.
But there was none. It seemed there was only a pill formula.
Wei Zhao carefully opened the box, took out the formula within, and slowly unrolled it.
"Heavenly Dao Golden Pill — Simplified Version"!
Those few large characters were written across the scroll. Wei Zhao read on, and saw the text continue: "The Way of Heaven is heartless; Heaven is not benevolent, and treats all things as straw dogs. Let heaven and earth change, the Way does not change—this Way is the Heavenly Dao! Yet Heaven rewards the diligent."
Having read through some tedious introduction, Wei Zhao formed a vague understanding of the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao was a struggle against heaven; beneath the Heavenly Dao lay struggles with others and with oneself, but above the Heavenly Dao it was more like true cultivation, already beyond the scope of body refining.
Once one set foot upon the Heavenly Dao, it was the beginning of the path of true cultivation; one's strength and lifespan could not be mentioned in the same breath as the present.
Of course, this was only one passage's description; what it was actually like, Wei Zhao was not quite clear.
Below that was a note recorded by Zhang Lifeng. Its general meaning was that the Heavenly Dao Golden Pill was a formula he had copied from the Record of Strange Tales and Marvels, but it was a Mystic-rank, first-grade formula, and he simply could not refine it.
However, after long study and revision, he had simplified the formula into a simplified version of the Heavenly Dao Golden Pill. The effects of this simplified pill were not as formidable as the genuine article.
It was said that the genuine Heavenly Dao Golden Pill could be taken effectively throughout the entire Heavenly Dao period, whereas the simplified version worked only during a single stage.
But the simplified Heavenly Dao Golden Pill had been downgraded so that even a fourth-grade alchemist could refine it.
A fourth-grade pill? Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback. This, now—he truly could attempt it. With Han Jingyi's divine alchemy artifact in hand, and inexhaustible stamina true qi, a fourth-grade pill should be refined successfully.
At this thought, Wei Zhao began reading the formula for the simplified Heavenly Dao Golden Pill: Dragon Dawn Grass, Heaven Medicine Root, Bitter Relief Fruit, Heart-Devouring Exquisite Grass, Chaiming Flower Leaf...
There were not many ingredients—only five in total—but every one was a medicinal herb Wei Zhao had never heard of. For all his wide experience with medicinal materials, he had never encountered these things, which made him faintly uneasy. Surely these were not the kind of extremely rare herbs that were simply impossible to obtain?
Next came the method of refining the pill, but Wei Zhao had not even gathered the ingredients yet; reading the refining method was meaningless.
With that thought, Wei Zhao stored the formula in his jade pendant space, left Zhang Lifeng's ancient tomb, returned to East Sea City, and went straight to Old Bai's residence.
Wei Zhao did not know the herbs listed on the formula, but Old Bai, a former top-grade alchemist, should understand them. So Wei Zhao intended to ask for guidance.
Old Bai was somewhat surprised by Wei Zhao's sudden visit, but after Wei Zhao explained his purpose, Old Bai nodded and said, "You brought the formula back? Let me see the herbs listed on it."
"All right." Wei Zhao hurriedly produced the formula. Old Bai took it and carefully studied it. After a while, seeing that Old Bai said nothing, Wei Zhao asked, "How is it, Teacher Bai? Can these alchemy materials be obtained?"