Chapter 71 - I, Ao Yi… Stopped Growing
As expected, after playing with the young spiritual beasts that were given to her for a few days, Fairy… threw them into the spiritual beast enclosure…
Fortunately, Li Changshou was prepared. He built a small water enclosure for the pink bamboo rat, which could swallow most of the low-quality materials. He then added two layers of simple array formations to restrict its movement.
Fairy would go to the spiritual beast enclosure thrice a month. Most of the spiritual beasts could absorb the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy and would not starve to death.
Li Changshou placed the Earth Spirit Pearl that Youqin Xuanya had given him, in an eye-catching spot of the Pill Chamber. He did not carry it with him.
This treasure is exorbitant.
In the future, he would be able to create the array discs of the Five-Element Array with four other treasures of the same quality.
For now, it was not very useful.
Li Changshou still did not understand why Youqin Xuanya was there…
Forget it.
He could only say that she had lived up to her toxicity.
When she comes to Little Qiong Peak again, I’ll just rest in the Pill Chamber and get Fairy to play, chat, and drink tea with me.
After the trivial incident, Li Changshou stayed put in the Pill Chamber and began to refine pills.
Money is the most important thing.
He had done some simple research when he went to Linhai Town previously.
The pills that he was refining at this moment were the mainstream pills that the itinerant cultivators required. The pills had healing effects and would heal and improve the user’s physical state. It would also assist in breaking through bottlenecks.
The low-level elixirs could be used by cultivators at the Void Return Stage. They could also satisfy the daily needs of high-end Itinerant Immortals.
He did it for the sake of earning more money and for quicker sales to ensure profitability.
Based on Li Changshou’s rich experience in alchemy, the success rate was not low.
Most of the Qi cultivators relied on their intuition and experience to refine pills. The words ‘small’ and ‘quantifiable’ in the pill formula were an eyesore to them, just like the little genies that often went to the Southern Continent for a walk…
Li Changshou was already prepared for it.
When he first came into contact with alchemy, he continuously wrote summaries of his notes and he would also continuously try to figure out the exact amount of ingredients needed for the pill formula.
He also used the duration of the pill refinement as a limit. He recorded the changes in the temperature during the pill refinement, wrote down the order of placement of the herbs, the age of the herbs, the size of the cut, and so on. He then found the perfect plan…
That would guarantee the success rate!
While he was refining the mainstream pills, Li Changshou also planned to refine some advanced pills that were on the same level as the upper limit of his current level.
Spirit Pills of Rank One and Rank Two.
Ordinary immortal pills were only divided into Upper, Middle, and Lower grades.
Middle-grade immortal pills were bestsellers in the town. Many immortals who were not good at alchemy would purchase them in bulk.
Pills that surpassed immortal pills would be called Spirit Pills that had varying ranks from one to nine.
However, the ones that could be called Spirit Pills were all treasures.
At the same time, the Nine Revolution Golden Pill was the signature sign of the Ren Sect Leader transforming into a Grand Supreme Elder
Hence, the inheritors of the Ren Sect were all good at alchemy. However, Li Changshou did not dare to use the unique pill formula of Ren Sect, because it would increase the difficulty…
There was nothing he could do about it.
Li Changshou’s plan for refining pills was simple.
He decided to reject the cost-effective route and prioritize the improvement of the quality of the elixir.
At first, he lowered the price slightly and tried to break into the pill industry of Linhai Town.
Once it’s stable, I guarantee all my pills will be in high demand and sell out in all stores!
Although he could refine Spirit Pills, he did not dare to buy too many ten-thousand-year-old spirit herbs because he had yet to guarantee the success rate of the pill refinement.
He would only use the remaining spirit herbs and take a gamble after it was guaranteed that he would profit from the middle-grade pills.
Money had to be earned in a stable manner.
…
After refining the precious materials that he had exchanged this time, into the foundation of the array formation, he “plumped up” the Recovery Array of Little Qiong Peak.
Li Changshou kept his schedule full and maximized all 24 hours in a day.
He would spend six hours on Dao enlightenment, four hours on perfecting the mystical abilities of the Man-Forming Paper Cutouts, two hours on reading ancient books, and increasing his knowledge. For the remaining six hours, he would enter the Pill Chamber and focus on refining pills.
Since he was going to sell that batch of pills outside of the sect, he need not worry about attracting attention from the sect…
The feeling was very similar to how he felt when he first came into contact with alchemy and figured out a bunch of equations. Back then, he barely slept and would hold onto the small Pill Furnace even when he was meditating.
He would stay awake through sunrise and sunset.
When Li Changshou focused on refining pills and cultivating, he did not notice the passage of time.
That was what cultivation was like.
The time seemed to have become very slow. He did not need to be as anxious as mortals who had to get busy to make ends meet or work for three meals a day and a roof over his head. He did not need to worry that his lifespan would only be a hundred years.
Once in a while, he would get tired from pill refinement. He would then take a walk in the mountains, look around, tease his junior, and take care of the spiritual fish in the lake, spiritual beasts in the mountains, and herbs in the fields…
He was extremely satisfied with this life.
The month had passed.
His heart was filled with calmness.
He made himself become stable…
In the Primordial world, there were four distinct seasons, only in the Southern Continent. Other than the North Continent, most places were in spring all year round.
Li Changshou had spent more than three years refining the pills.
The paper effigy was even more perfect. It had three to four obvious flaws. For example, the paper effigy’s face could finally change according to his mood.
Moreover, through the stupid way of thickening the paper effigy and increasing the restrictions, Li Changshou managed to increase the power that the paper effigy could exert to the level of a Perfected Immortal
This way, he would be able to gain more security.
Li Changshou was prepared to wait for his master to come out of seclusion before discussing with him his plan to make his master walk out of the Mountain-protection array formation for a while. He would then use the paper effigy to go to Linhai Town for the second time.
When the paper effigy goes out this time, it will exhibit its cultivation level that is in the late-stage of the Essence Immortal.
Of course, other than that, there are many other things to take note of…
Li Changshou sat on the rocking chair and sorted his thoughts. He took out a jade tablet and wrote down the various materials he needed to trade for this time.
Once I successfully sell this batch of pills, the core of the Recovery Array can be improved and the Incapacitating Array outside the Pill Chamber will also be strengthened…
“I wonder when Uncle-Master will come out of seclusion. I miss him quite a bit.”
Li Changshou took a look at the treasure pouch he had prepared for his Uncle-Master Jiu Jiu, which contained pleasant-tasting pills, as well as his favorite wine.
I can bury the underground array formation myself but I still need Uncle-Master’s help with the larger one on the surface.
After listing the things that he had to do, Li Changshou stood up and stretched.
Later, I’ll visit Elder Wan Linyun and make preparations to leave.
Sigh…
This fruitful, tiring, and leisurely cultivation period…
It would be good if I can keep it up.
…
Hmph, these human Qi cultivators who have been blessed by heaven and earth are cultivating leisurely and discussing Dao everyday.
In the Treasure Pool of the Golden Ao Island, a green dragon swam slowly in the pool with a hint of helplessness in its narrow eyes.
At that moment, he was no longer the young dragon in his teens.
However, there was some trauma that lingered in his heart and never dissipated.
Gradually, Ao Yi felt uneasy when he saw the human-shaped old Daoist priest.
He knew that he had already reached the Demonic-resistant realm, but he could not overcome it.
He also had issues with his health because of that but he refused to face them.
Not far away, there were a few Golden Immortals from the Jie Sect who were explaining the Great Dao of Longevity to the many immortals who had yet to mature.
Ao Yi wanted to go over and listen, but there…
There were simply too many old Daoist masters.
There were also a few people who had sullen expressions on their faces, which inevitably reminded him of some painful memories.
Through his observation of the human Qi cultivators on the island over the years, Ao Yi had discovered many problems and had many more doubts.
Sometimes, he wondered if he had misunderstood the human race.
Was the sullen-faced old Daoist that I encountered back then an anomaly among humans?
No, definitely not!
Although the human Qi cultivators were friendly and happy every day, were in harmony with demons, spirits, and ghouls which they saw as their own and built a rapport with, they were in fact… filthy-hearted!
On the surface, most human Qi cultivators would call him “junior” and “Fellow Daoist”.
However, they secretly treated him, the Second Prince of the East Ocean, as a display piece!
Is it a big deal to be the main character now…
In the past few years, there were a few dragon spirits on Golden Ao Island. Occasionally, they would chat with Ao Yi to comfort him.
In terms of cultivation, the Great Black Clouds Immortal had imparted some immortal spells to him in his dream. After throwing two numinous treasures out of thin air, he did not bother about him anymore.
Although his master didn’t pay much attention to him, Ao Yi wasn’t resentful towards him.
Since he had escaped once, this was the price he had to pay.
With the constant activation of the Dragon King’s bloodline, Ao Yi’s cultivation level had steadily reached the Primordial Immortal Realm. He had obtained even more dragon-type mystical abilities.
It was not difficult for the dragons to transcend the Immortal Ascension. They could go into the Tribulation Cloud and rely on the Thunder Tribulation to change their scales.
When will I be able to hear the sage speak?
Ao Yi sighed in his heart.
The Jie Sect was divided into inner and outer sects. There were only a few inner sect disciples who specialized in the Dao that the Sect Master of the Heaven Ascension Sect had passed down.
The inner sect disciples of the Sage were the Daoist Duobao, Mother of Golden Spirit, Mother Wudang, Mother of Turtle Spirit, and a few of their disciples.
It was impossible to count the number of outer sect disciples because there were simply too many of them.
The four senior outer sect disciples were Zhao Gongming, Yun Xiao, Bi Xiao, and Qiong Xiao. When the four of them became Sect Masters of the Heaven Ascension Sect, they already had their own Dao, so they were considered outer sect disciples.
Those who had settled down and planted their roots in the Three Thousand Worlds were all disciples of the Heaven Ascension Sect.
The Grandmaster of Heaven and his four inner sect disciples lived in Green Touring Palace all year round.
Green Touring Palace was the Dao bearing of a Sage. It was said that only the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals could find it.
There was a path to the Green Touring Palace on Golden Ao Island, but no one knew where it was.
In any case, Ao Yi had secretly searched the entire Golden Ao Island, but he could not find Sage’s trail.
That meant that he wasn’t fated.
Due to the impartial teaching that existed in Jie Sect, there were more and more Dao inheritors in the three Daoist sects.
Ao Yi had completely understood Ren Sect.
This sect master himself was a Sage and a personal disciple of another Sage. However, the Chan Sect and Jie Sect dared not provoke him at all. The ones who taught Daoism in the Central Deity Continent were common and no one dared to offend them.
The Grand Pure One was the head of the six Sages and was also known as the strongest ancestor.
If I had persevered a little back then and risked my life to learn Dao, I might have been able to get some luck for the dragon race and find a way out.
As for the Immortal Du Sect…
At that moment, Ao Yi despised it a little.
The Immortal Du Sect did belong to Ren Sect and there were also Dao inheritors of the Sage. However, they were not very powerful and there were no experts who were famous in the sect.
After listening to the sutras mentioned by the Golden Immortals, Ao Yi sighed in his heart and slowly sank to the bottom of the pool.
He curled up in the corner and cultivated quietly.
I can’t sleep. If I do, I’ll get nightmares and dream of being slaughtered and treated like food.
The more Ao Yi found out, the more he realized how deep and terrifying the water was during the Primordial Times.
The Dragon-Phoenix Tribulation not only destroyed the dragons, but also the true experts of the dragon race.
The Saints of Heaven and Earth were in power and the dragons can only retreat from the world. The human race and the Dao Sect were the main characters of the world.
His previous thoughts were indeed a little childish.
There’s no point feeling ashamed while in hindsight.
You can never awaken a dragon pretending to be drunk.
However, in order to make the dragon race prosper again, the only way was to let the descendants of the dragon race enter the Sage Court.
What should I, Ao Yi, do?
Actually, he had developed a good idea a few years ago.
Become famous.
As long as he could become the Crown Prince of the Dragon Palace, become a disciple of the sect, and rise to fame, he would be able to influence the thoughts of his clansmen and slowly make them swallow their pride…
That would be the opportunity for him to alter his fate and was something he could do.
While he was cultivating, Ao Yi suddenly heard two cultivators passing by the pool. They were having a conversation.
“This time, I’m going to a few Immortal Sects in the Eastern Continent to discuss Dao. According to the old and crude rules of these Immortal Sects, we might have to let the young disciples compete again. I don’t have any young disciples…”
Ao Yi, who was at the bottom of the pool, was shocked. He waved his tail and his body shrunk rapidly. At the same time, he emerged from the pool.
The Azure Dragon emerged from the water, its azure scales glistening.
The two Heavenly Immortal cultivators turned to take a look, only to see that the Azure dragon had transformed into an elegant young man. He slowly descended from the sky and bowed to them.
“Fellow… Fellow Daoists,” said Ao Yi. He continued, “I would like to get an eyeopener. I have been cultivating for a short period of time, so I can be considered a young disciple of Jie Sect.”
He had no choice. He was the disciple of the Black Clouds Immortal There were too many Qi cultivators on the Golden Ao Island, and he was often confused about their seniority.
The young man looked like he was thirteen or fourteen years old…
He did not know what was going on. Ever since he had been tricked by those old Daoists, his human form and body… stopped growing.
The two Heaven Immortals of Jie Sect looked at each other and quickly greeted him.