Chapter 4559 — A Bath in Star Ink Essence
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
There was simply no reasoning with the way spirit beasts leveled up—no pattern to it at all. After all, one could hardly claim this was just how the spirit bird was meant to cultivate. Yet no matter how Wei Zhao looked at it, he refused to believe this creature possessed affinities for all five elemental attributes...
Still, no matter how wildly the bird's strength had surged, at its current late Golden Core stage it could not eat spirit ginseng raw—not even a sliver. In truth, even Wei Zhao, at the pinnacle of Golden Core, did not dare eat it raw. To be stuffed to death by the very potency of the spirit ginseng would be a death he could never rest easy over.
The only way to consume spirit ginseng was to refine it into an Embryo Condensing Golden Pill. That not only preserved more of its enormous medicinal power but also neutralized its ferocity, rendering it gentle and harmless. Besides, condensing a Nascent Soul did not require spirit ginseng alone; it had to be paired with a whole host of other rare natural treasures.
Wasting no more words, Wei Zhao immediately set about preparing to refine an Embryo Condensing Golden Pill. It was a sixth-grade pill, lofty and far out of reach, yet the task was no stranger to him.
Back when he was on the Middle Island, he had already refined one in the course of doing heaven's work, and he had pestered Cai Zhongxuan and Hou Guanqi, those two masters of alchemy, for no small amount of wisdom on the subject. One might say he knew the road well.
Even so, Wei Zhao did not use an entire spirit ginseng. There was no need—in theory, a single thin slice was enough to produce one Embryo Condensing Golden Pill. Using a whole root would be a wanton waste of heaven's bounty. Besides, even with all his careful husbandry of his spirit herb reserves, he could never have produced such a vast quantity of supplementary herbs all at once.
And although Wei Zhao had succeeded once before, this was, after all, a sixth-grade pill. Even with the Divine Farmer's Cauldron, there remained the possibility of failure. If something went wrong midway, an entire spirit ginseng would be ruined. That was a risk Wei Zhao could not afford—and had no need—to take.
Carefully, he sliced two thin pieces from the spirit ginseng. That was enough. If two slices could not yield a single Embryo Condensing Golden Pill this time, it would not mean Wei Zhao's skill at alchemy was lacking—only that his run of bad luck had not yet passed. As for condensing a Nascent Soul, he might as well forget such grand ambitions. Better to wash up and go to sleep, lest he waste heaven's bounty.
Once all the spirit herbs were assembled, Wei Zhao entered the space within the jade pendant and rested and gathered his strength for a while. Only when everything was in readiness did he take out the Divine Farmer's Cauldron and set to work refining the Embryo Condensing Golden Pill.
After the pill formula was entered, the Divine Farmer's Cauldron could begin refining on its own. In theory, so long as the cauldron could withstand the strain, the odds of failure were far lower than with ordinary alchemists—the near-perfect success rate he had achieved before was proof enough. And he already had successful experience to draw on. Even so, Wei Zhao could not help feeling somewhat uneasy.
Of course, at a moment like this, no amount of unease would help. The only thing Wei Zhao could do was control the supply of true qi properly. Beyond that, everything depended on this Divine Farmer's Cauldron that Han Jingyi had left him.