Time flies, and another two months have quickly passed.
On Nine Cloud Peak, clouds and mist swirl, with spiritual energy flowing like a tide through the mountains.
The fire chamber at the peak is enveloped in dense spiritual mist, with the pill fire blazing brightly, illuminating the fire pattern array on the walls.
Chen Sheng is instructing two young men in alchemy and array formation.
Since he advised Chen Xilong to select good seedlings from the clan, more than a dozen people have been sent to Nine Cloud Peak. After years of observation and assessment, only Chen Xuanyuan and Chen Binghe remain.
Xuanyuan shows extraordinary talent in the Alchemy Dao, surpassing his peers in fire manipulation and understanding of herbs.
Binghe, on the other hand, possesses an astounding sensitivity to array formations, quickly grasping the logic behind complex array patterns.
Now both are in their early thirties. Xuanyuan has become a Tier Two High Grade Alchemist, capable of independently refining "Purifying Heart Pill," "Strengthening Essence Pill," and other Tier Two High Grade Elixirs.
Binghe has also advanced to a Tier Two Middle Grade Array Master, capable of setting up "Spirit Gathering Array," "Wind and Thunder Array," and other Tier Two Middle Grade Arrays.
As per the current progress, becoming Tier Three Grandmasters is not difficult!
At this moment, Chen Xuanyuan is wearing a cyan alchemist robe, with intricate pill patterns embroidered on the hems.
He stands before a Purple Copper Pill Furnace, eyes slightly closed, with three wisp of different colored flames—red like fire, pale blue like lotus, and silver white like frost—condensed at his fingertips, hovering in his palm like three lively fire seeds.
The Purple Copper Pill Furnace is as tall as a man, with array patterns etched on its surface interplaying, exuding golden light under the scorching of the pill fire, as if coming to life.
"Xuanyuan, the three flames need to merge by another half, allowing the silver flame to enwrap the heart of the red flame."
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Chen Sheng's voice comes from the side, as he stands in the center of the fire chamber, his white Daoist robe unmoved by the heat wave, extending his divine sense to clearly observe the changes in the herbs inside the furnace:
"The 'Concentration Pill' you're refining requires the silver flame to lock the spirit, the blue flame to nurture, and the red flame to mature; the imbalance of the three flames will cause the spirituality of the 'Concentration Grass' to dissipate."
Upon hearing, Chen Xuanyuan nods slightly, weaving a spell with his hands.
The silver white flame coils around the red flame like a living snake, forming a thin silver shell, while the pale blue flame transforms into countless tiny fire lotuses, scattering at the bottom of the pill furnace.
He utters a low command, flicking his fingers, as the three-colored flame becomes a stream of light, entering precisely the mouth of the pill furnace.
In an instant, the patterns on the furnace body shine brightly, emitting a medicinal fragrance inside that is several times stronger than before, with a hint of coolness.
Chen Xuanyuan's eyes are filled with amazement; he can clearly sense it.
The three-colored flame circulates inside the furnace, incinerating the impurities of the herbs completely, leaving only the purest essence of the medicine—this is a realm he had never achieved when refining pills alone.
...
On the square outside the fire chamber, Chen Binghe is clad in a dark magic robe, surrounded by seven-colored spirit lights in blue, red, yellow, white, black, gold, and silver.
Evidently, they are seven small array banners of different colors, hovering in the air, each embroidered with different array patterns, with flagpoles made from millennia-old spirit wood.
He steps with an enigmatic body technique, darting swiftly across the square.
With each step, an array pattern lights up beneath his feet, forming a circle that resonates with the array banners around him.
"Spirit Trapping Array, rise!"
Chen Binghe utters a low command, the green array banner swiftly dives into the ground.
In an instant, countless vines emerge from the ground, twisting into a green light wall that encloses the center of the square.
Then, he waves the red banner, with red flames lashing out from the light wall, intertwining with the vines to form a fire vine barrier. As he waves the yellow banner, an earth-yellow halo blankets the entire array, reinforcing the light wall.
But just as he waves the white banner, ready to lay down the final "Spirit Locking Layer," the array suddenly fluctuates, with the white halo dispersing like ripples, unable to merge with the power of the other array banners.
"Binghe, the mana infusion to the array banners is too hasty; the white banner must achieve 'Yin Yang Resonance' with the black banner, not operate alone."
Chen Sheng's voice echoes from the edge of the square as he approaches unhurriedly, holding a black array banner in his hand:
"The core of the Spirit Trapping Array is 'Five Elements Spirit Lock, Yin Yang Boundary Stabilization.' Among the seven array banners, blue, red, yellow, white, black correspond to the Five Elements."
"Gold and silver signify Yin and Yang; first solidify the foundation of the Five Elements array banners, then use Yin Yang array banners to lock the spiritual energy, forming a closed loop."
Saying this, Chen Sheng hands the black banner to Chen Binghe, channeling a wisp of mana onto his forehead.
Chen Binghe feels an instant insight into array banner manipulation flooding his mind; he takes a deep breath and, following Chen Sheng's guidance, adjusts the mana output of the Five Elements array banners, making the lights of the blue, red, yellow, white, and black banners even.
Then, holding the white banner in his left hand and the black banner in his right, he steps the "Yin Yang Step," simultaneously planting both banners into the ground.
"Buzz—"
The two array banners simultaneously burst into dazzling light, with white and black halos interweaving in the air, forming a black and white mesh of light, covering the barrier formed by the Five Elements Array Banner.
The moment the light mesh descended, the entire array suddenly stabilized, and the array patterns on the ground lit up with golden light. An invisible chain of mana formed between the seven array banners, firmly locking the surrounding spiritual energy within the array.
In the center of the square, a transparent light shield slowly took shape, covered with intricate array patterns that emitted a heart-palpitating pressure.
Chen Sheng gently nodded:
"Not bad! The technique of the array banner emphasizes 'unity of person and banner, leveraging the power of heaven and earth.'
The array banner serves as a bridge connecting the cultivator and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Only by resonating one's own mana with the array banner and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth can one exert the maximum power of the array."
...
Looking at the focused demeanor of the two in cultivation, Chen Sheng felt quite touched. Teaching and learning enhance each other, and during the years of guiding them, he himself has also made continuous progress.
Now, in the field of array formations, he has nearly half a foot into the top level of Tier Three, and his progress in the field of alchemy is equally remarkable.
The success rate of refining Tier Three Top Level Elixirs has reached over ninety percent, and his refining techniques are becoming more proficient. Yet, he has not quite stepped into the ranks of quasi-Tier Four Alchemists.
The gap between Tier Three and Tier Four, seemingly just one level apart, is actually worlds apart.
Tier Three nurtures spirituality, while Tier Four imbues primordial spirits!
Tier Three Alchemists can refine 'spirituality-nurturing' elixirs, allowing elixirs to contain spirituality.
But Tier Four Elixirs, at the moment of their completion, transcend the category of ordinary elixirs, and give birth to basic intelligence, akin to plants and trees becoming spirits.
It's not just elixirs; Tier Four Spiritual Treasures also birth artifact spirits, possessing autonomous consciousness, able to communicate with the intentions of the cultivator.
Over the years, Chen Sheng has diligently researched the Alchemy Dao, and his precision in fire techniques, stability in pill condensing, and strength in spirit locking have mostly stepped into Tier Four standards. However, the key step of "Spiritual Implantation" remains a chasm that blocks him outside the door of quasi-Tier Four.
He has attempted many times to integrate a thread of 'Spiritual Implantation' technique during the refining of Tier Three Top Level Elixirs, but even exhausting his mind, he could hardly impart even an incomplete 'pseudo-primordial spirit.' Each time an elixir is completed, its spirituality either dissipates or it directly collapses, without exception.
"Han Lou True Monarch became a Tier Three Middle Grade Alchemist at the age of one hundred and only stepped into Tier Four at six hundred years old. A slight difference results in worlds apart; the path of cultivation becomes more arduous."
Chen Sheng gazed at the distant cloud sea, sighing softly. His mindset remained stable at this moment, for "Spiritual Implantation" is a difficult barrier that countless alchemists find hard to cross, and he is not alone in this regard.
Moreover, he has a backup plan...
"Once I thoroughly step into the top level of Tier Three in array formations, perhaps I can assist in alchemy with the power of array formations, using the effects of the array to imbue elixirs with primordial spirits. By then, I should be able to step into quasi-Tier Four."
Chen Sheng contemplated in his heart; the combination of arrays and pills, the "Three Essence Pill Scripture" has long set up this heavenly shortcut.
Many Tier Four Alchemy Grandmasters in the Daoist Sect have taken this path, which has already been explored thoroughly.
However, this path demands extremely high talent in array formations from the cultivator, and not everyone can walk through it. He happens to have an impressive accomplishment in array formations.
After simply guiding the two for half an hour, Chen Sheng let them practice on their own.
Chen Xuanyuan continued to guard the pill furnace, focused on refining the 'Concentration Pill,' while Chen Binghe repeatedly carved array patterns, consolidating the deployment techniques of the 'Spirit Trapping Array.'
Watching the two's earnest demeanor, Chen Sheng nodded lightly, turned around, and headed towards his own cave dwelling.
...
Inside the cave dwelling, the spiritual energy was several times denser than the outside world. Chen Sheng sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, eyes slightly closed, beginning to operate the 'Void Qi Concealment Skill.'
Having cultivated the third layer of the Myriad Phenomena Sources Returning to Spirit Skill and becoming a Celestial Spirit Root, the change in his aura was obvious. He needed to cultivate this Concealment Skill to minor success to enhance his spiritual root!
At this moment, he slowly sank his internal mana into his Dantian, then conducted it through the meridians to all the acupoints in his body, transforming a thread of mana into the void Qi concealing power at each acupoint, integrating it deep into the acupoint.
Initially, the transformation of mana was slightly sluggish, and the Qi concealing power flowed slowly like a small stream through the meridians.
Chen Sheng was not impatient, guiding the mana repeatedly according to the secret technique's route, until the Qi concealing power gradually converged into a stream, circulating along the meridians.
The aura around him began to slowly restrain, the pressure characteristic of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator gradually diminishing, retreating into his body like the tide.
An hour later, Chen Sheng suddenly opened his eyes, a gleam flashing in them. He could clearly feel that the aura around him had become like that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Even his divine soul fluctuations were enveloped, making it nearly impossible to detect his true cultivation without meticulous probing.
Chen Sheng raised his hand to sense the changes inside his body, thinking to himself:
"The Void Qi Concealment Skill is finally at the novice stage. At this rate, in another ten years, I can cultivate it to minor success, and alter my aura to deceive Nascent Soul cultivators."