Volume 1 Chapter 54 Twelve-tiered Alchemist

  Before leaving, Da Hei didn't forget to loot the old man in green clothes, getting a lot of silver notes and some low-grade spiritual herbs and pills.

  "Look at Qingfu's disciple, he has so little on him, how can he be so poor?"

  Dà Hēi shí fēn shī wàng.

  Translation:

  Big Black was extremely disappointed.

  Qin Luo Yi was guessing, but didn't know who the old man in green clothes was sent by, whether it was Dong Tian Fu Di or Xiao Tian Bei from Piaoyao Sect. Unfortunately, he didn't find anything in his storage bag that could prove his identity.

  They left soon after, and several agile figures riding on the divine rainbow descended from the sky. Seeing the corpse of the old man in green clothes with his head smashed to pieces, they couldn't help but change their expressions greatly. They looked around for a while, quickly determined the direction they had left, and chased after them rapidly.

  Qin Luo Yi needs to refine the 12th grade Dan medicine, and during the refining process, he cannot be disturbed, otherwise all previous efforts will be in vain. Although it is impossible to determine the identity of the old man in green clothes, it is certain that someone is hiding in the dark trying to take his life. If he casually finds a mountain valley to refine the Dan medicine, there is a high possibility that he will be discovered by others.

  Moreover, Duanmu Changqing had let her out of the mansion, and since she hadn't returned for a long time, it was possible that he would send someone to look for her. In order not to be found by these people with ulterior motives, Qin Luoyi prepared to find an extremely secluded place to refine her elixir.

  Dahuo ran east and west, and soon found an abandoned cave on a lush green mountain. The cave was extremely secretive, with an illusion array disguising the entrance. With Qin Luoyi and Hei Di, Dahuo easily passed through the illusion array and entered the cave, as if entering a realm without people.

  Qin Luoyi and Hei Di's expressions became increasingly strange as they walked, their eyes fixed on Dahei with an astonishing brightness. Although Dahei repeatedly claimed that this cave was discovered by him just now, judging from his appearance, he seemed to be extremely familiar with the inside, without any worry about strong existence jumping out to attack them suddenly.

  The cave was very clean and spacious, except for a stone table, several stone stools, and a stone kang, there was nothing else.

  "You've been here before." Hei Di said with certainty, gazing around.

  It's too clean here, so clean that it's excessive. A cave with a mysterious array of concealment, except for some stone objects, there's actually nothing else, this is also too abnormal.

  Qin Luo Yi also seemed to be smiling but not smiling as she looked at Da Hei.

  Dà Hēi pushed Hei Dì aside and looked up with disdain, saying: "Is a cave of broken stones worth my visit?"

  "Heh, you've taken all the good stuff, of course only leaving behind worthless rocks. Tell me, what kind of good things have you found in here?" He said with a sneer, taking a step closer to Dahei.

  "Get out!" A heavy slap from Big Black sent it flying open.

  The Black Emperor's cultivation was powerful, but he didn't expect the Great Black to dare attack him. With a loud crash, his head was slapped, and in an instant, he became furious, letting out a fierce howl and pouncing on the Great Black. The Great Black countered fearlessly, and the two figures, one white and one black, entwined rapidly, inseparable.

  Qin Luo's eyes sparkled with amusement as she slowly took out the purple fire stove from her wrist space.

  She had heard Dahei say that Snow Ginseng Fruit refined into a 12-stage Snow Ginseng Pill could restore some of the damage to its original life force. The amount of Snow Ginseng Fruit was limited, and apart from those obtained at Shitou Ya, there were no unexpected gains in the Ice Domain.

  She hesitated for a moment, then decided not to refine the Snow Ginseng Pill for the time being. The Snow Ginseng Fruit was too rare and precious, it could replenish Da Hei's life essence and increase his strength, this was a rare good thing. If she couldn't successfully refine the 12th grade pill, it would be a waste of the Snow Ginseng Fruit.

  The spiritual plants that can refine twelve-tier elixirs are extremely rare, because only the rarer the spiritual plant is, the higher the tier of the refined elixir will be.

  Compared to Xue Shen Guo, Qi Yun Guo which can also refine 12th grade Dan medicine, this time in the Ice Domain, she obtained quite a few.

  She decided to refine the Seven Rhyme Elixir.

  Of course, refining the Seven Rhyme Dan doesn't just require one type of spiritual plant, the Seven Rhyme Fruit. In order to thoroughly refine the spiritual energy within the fruit and make it gentle and easy for the human body to absorb, nearly ten other auxiliary spiritual plants must be added, all of which are stored in her bracelet's space.

  After making up her mind, she took out the seven-rhyme fruit and also took out several other flavoring ingredients, sliced them up and prepared them. With a flick of her finger, a strand of cinnabar fire shot into the bottom of the purple fire stove.

  A clear and melodious dragon's roar and tiger's howl came from within the purple fire furnace.

  Qin had seen Murong's purple fire stove smelt the elixir before, although he knew that there would be such a strange phenomenon when the elixir was being smelted, but he still felt very surprised.

  Seeing Qin Luo Yi start to refine the elixir, the entwined and struggling Da Hei and Hei Di also stopped fighting and ran over, standing around the furnace, their expressions even more tense than Qin Luo Yi's.

  Can a master practice alchemy, and does he have the talent for practicing alchemy? It depends on two aspects. One is whether he can condense the alchemical fire in his body. Those who cannot condense the alchemical fire will definitely not be able to practice alchemy. Of course, people like the owner of the Ice Domain, who can use the earth's heart fire to practice alchemy, are extremely rare throughout history.

  Second, whether the soul force is strong enough. When refining the elixir, one must use the soul force to control the elixir fire. Those with insufficiently strong soul force, even if they can successfully condense the elixir fire, will absolutely be unable to refine the elixir. This is because refining the elixir requires extremely strict control over the firing process, and at all times one must use the soul force to sense the situation inside the elixir furnace. If the soul force is slightly weaker, the success rate of producing the elixir will not be high, and many defective elixirs will be produced.

  Purify the spiritual plants, then condense all the purified spiritual plants together... Qin Luoyi is proceeding with this in an orderly manner.

  After several hours, just as they were about to start the furnace, "Bang!" - a loud cracking sound, and the furnace had exploded.

  Hei Di's eyes were filled with disappointment, he hadn't expected that even after switching to the purple fire stove, he still couldn't successfully refine the 12th grade elixir.

  Dan medicines below the 12th grade, no matter how much you eat, have very limited effect on improving your cultivation. Of course, you can also directly take high-grade spiritual plants, but directly taking spiritual plants, the strong spiritual energy inside, only one in ten can be absorbed and refined by the body.

  That is an extremely luxurious waste.

  Dà Hēi gèng jiāo jí.

  Translation:

  The big black is more anxious.

  Qin Luo Yi can't refine the 12th-grade elixir, which means its life essence can't recover quickly. If it relies on itself to slowly recover, it will take at least thousands of years, or even tens of thousands of years.

  Hei Di had vowed to protect Qin Luo Yi for ten years, but for a cultivator, ten years was just a fleeting moment. Her current cultivation level was too low, and if her own cultivation couldn't recover in time, coupled with the strange phenomenon of the Hunyuan Tianzhu when she advanced, it was likely that she would soon be targeted by others. At that time, without the ability to protect herself, both of them would surely die!

  Compared to Dahei and Hei Di's disappointment and anxiety, Qin Luoyi was the calmest. Her cultivation hadn't advanced, but she had only replaced a furnace and could immediately refine 12th-grade elixirs... She had thought about it before, but that was the most optimistic idea.

  Not to mention that she has never successfully refined a 12th-grade elixir before, even if she succeeded in refining one, it cannot be guaranteed that every furnace will smoothly produce the elixir. Moreover, the higher the grade of the elixir, the higher the requirements for alchemy, and the lower the success rate.

  "How could the furnace have exploded?" Dahei was so anxious that he almost bumped his head against the wall.

  "You should first improve your cultivation, Wu Sheng's cultivation has not condensed the Xuan Fu, and can refine 11th-grade elixirs, which is already very against the sky." The Black Emperor thought of another reason why alchemy was also very important, the art of alchemy, although the most needed improvement was the power of the soul, but it cannot be denied that the higher the cultivation, the better for alchemy.

  Until now, he still can't figure out how Qin Luoyi managed to refine the tenth and eleventh grade elixirs on the Saint Dragon Continent without any spiritual power. A cultivator who couldn't cultivate had a soul force that was so strong, this is simply unheard of and unseen.

  Qin Luo's face was calm as she stared at the purple fire stove, where something had failed to condense together and had turned into a black lump of charcoal. She didn't say anything, but after a moment, she stood up, smiling at Da Hei: "Don't worry, maybe I can try again."

  Just now, it was originally going to be a success, but the furnace pill was destroyed at the last critical moment. At that instant, all the spiritual plants merged together, and the spiritual power in the purified spiritual liquid was thoroughly activated, which was so vast and terrifying that it completely escaped her control. Although she finally suppressed it by force, it was too late, and just lost control for a moment, resulting in the explosion of the furnace.

  She had a feeling that if her spiritual power was just a bit stronger, she would have been able to successfully refine the elixir in that furnace.

  She made a slight movement with her slender hand, took out a Ganoderma lucidum fruit and ate it, sat cross-legged on the stone kang, concentrated her mind and began to slowly refine the Ganoderma lucidum.

  Her big black eyes sparkled.

  Just now I was in too much of a hurry and forgot that I had obtained over a dozen Ganoderma lucidum fruits in the Ice Domain.

  A hint of expectation also flashed in Hei Di's eyes.

  As soon as the Tuckahoe fruit entered his abdomen, Qin Luoyi suddenly felt an unusual coolness spreading from his abdomen to his whole body, and he felt extremely comfortable all over.

  After sitting for three days, when she opened her eyes and stood up again, she felt that her spiritual power was much stronger than before swallowing the Ganoderma lucidum fruit.

  "This time I should be able to successfully refine the 12th-grade elixir." A brilliant smile spread across Qin Luo's face, filled with confidence.

  "Seclude yourself for a few more days and rest before refining the elixir." The Dark Emperor advised her.

  The spiritual plants used to refine the twelve-tiered elixir are so valuable that even one of them is worth a city, and even the overlord of the Lion Tiger Canyon or someone as powerful as the Black Emperor cannot take them lightly.

  "Right, let's take a break for a few days and then refine the elixir. Otherwise, we can go out and have some fun?" Dahei hastily nodded in agreement. Whether Qin Luoyi could successfully refine the 12th-grade elixir was closely related to it.

  "No need, I'll start alchemy right away." Qin Luo Yi blinked her eyes and smiled. After taking the Lingzhi fruit for a few days, she had entered a state of comfort that was hard to describe in words, and now she was full of energy and in top condition.

  She walked up to the Violet Flame Furnace and stood still, taking out a Seven Rhyme Fruit and several auxiliary spiritual plants. She was preparing to refine the Seven Rhyme Pill once again.

  Hei Di looked at the seven-rhythm fruit and couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly.

  Dahai blinked and swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

  Qin saw the residual light in the corner of his eye and knew that they were afraid that he would fail to refine the elixir again and lose the seven-rhyme fruit, so he couldn't help but shake his head and smile: "Since you want to refine the elixir, you must pay some price."

  "This price is also not too expensive." The Black Emperor sighed.

  He glanced at it with disdain and said, "You didn't even use anything from your storage ring, why are you so heartbroken?"

  The black emperor's eyes lit up and he laughed loudly: "Well said." His mood improved a lot in an instant.

  He was very depressed.

  Looking at Qin Luo Yi who had already started to refine the elixir, he sneered and said: "With so many Ganoderma lucidum fruits, she can refine a 12th-grade elixir, it's only a matter of time. Now paying a little price is nothing, which accomplished alchemist isn't made from piling up spirit plants? In the end, as long as they succeed, using one 12th-grade elixir, how many spirit plants and silver tickets can be exchanged for?"

  "Some things, once used, can't be bought with money." Hei Di said, for example, this time in the Ice Domain, although there are many spiritual fruits and plants inside, some rare treasures that can be found under the paws of lions and tigers, cannot be found inside the Ice Domain, and even after hundreds or thousands of years, it's extremely difficult to buy something similar outside.

  Hehe, a sly glint flashed in his eyes: "Not bad, some things, once used, can't be bought again, but maybe you'll get something even better." As he spoke, his gaze darted to the storage space hanging from his neck.

  Hei Di suddenly understood, and his dark face turned even darker.

  Qin Luoyi listened and secretly shook her head. After Hei Di left the Lion Tiger Gorge, although he never mentioned again that he wanted Da Hei to be his other half, he still showed more tolerance towards Da Hei in daily life.

  No matter whether it's physical or verbal, many times the big black one takes the upper hand. Just like a few days ago, Big Black gave Hei Di a punch, Hei Di got angry, but in the end he just pressed down on Big Black and flailed about a bit before it was all over, without even hurting a single hair on Big Black's head.

  The Twelve-Step Elixir was no different from the others. Da Hei and Hei Di had a few words, but they also stopped soon after. Both of them knew that this was the most critical moment now, and they couldn't let Qin Luoyi be distracted.

  Refining, merging... Qin Luoyi tightly controlled the size of the flame, while his spiritual power was fully focused on sensing everything within the alchemy furnace.

  Several hours passed quickly, and as the fragrance gradually wafted out of the purple fire furnace, Dahei and Hei Di's expressions became even more tense, especially Dahei, whose heart was in his throat.

  "Success!"

  Qin Luo's slender hand rose, and in an instant the crimson flames were extinguished. She raised her hand to wipe away the sweat from her forehead, and on her bright and beautiful face was a smile that couldn't be concealed.

  "Let me take a look." Dahei was the first to rush over, lifting the lid of the purple fire stove. Suddenly, a rich fragrance burst out, and at the bottom of the dan furnace, there was a thumb-sized, crystal-like green dan pill.

  "Success! Haha, success! As expected, it's a 12th-grade elixir!" Dahei picked up the emerald-green pill and let out a loud whoop.

  Hei Di's eyes were also filled with excitement, his gaze at Qin Luo Yi was shining brightly. Qin Luo Yi... not even twenty years old, had actually successfully refined a 12th rank dan medicine, although the quality was only low-grade, but from 11th rank to 12th rank, that was a qualitative leap! Given time, refining mid-grade and high-grade 12th rank dan medicines was also highly possible.

  An existence even more powerful than the Left Ancient Great Master of the Alchemy Guild... If the cultivators on Penglai Fairy Island were to find out, it would cause an earth-shattering sensation that is simply unimaginable!

  Qin Luo Yi, even if her cultivation doesn't advance another inch and she can never set foot in the Mystic Realm, with this skill in alchemy alone, she'll be able to walk sideways on Penglai Island without any issues. Her name will become legendary, recorded in the annals of Cultivation History.

  On the Golden Summit, she refined a 9th-grade extreme pill, shocking countless cultivators. If they knew she could refine a 12th-grade pill, wouldn't those cultivators go crazy with astonishment?

  Dahuo's top priority now is to repair his damaged life foundation. At this time, the 7th rank of the Twelve Ranks' Yundans are not of much use to him.

  Hei Di wanted it, but this thing was refined from the items stored in Qin Luo's storage ring, so he relied on his identity and considered the long-term plan, and didn't dare to rob him by force.

  Qin Liu Yi adjusted his breath for half a time, and restored his spirit to its peak state. Then he took out the Xue Shen fruit and prepared to refine the Xue Shen pill.

  Dà Hēi's face was excited.

  Hei Di looked at the storage space on his neck, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes, as if he was thinking of something.

  With the successful experience of last time, Qin Luo Yi once again refined the twelve-level elixir, and became even more confident.

  After several hours, the Twelve-Step Snow Dan was successfully refined. The big black hand danced with joy and excitement, and immediately took it down, ran to the corner, sat cross-legged like a human, and started meditating.

  After refining two furnaces of elixir, Qin Luoyi's spirit had consumed a lot. When she closed her eyes and meditated for an hour, the moment she opened her eyes, she stared into a pair of large black eyes as big as copper bells.

  "Hei Di, why are you so close to me?" Qin Luo patted her chest and scolded. She was almost scared to death.

  Hei Di smiled and leaned in closer: "Have you rested enough?"

  Qin Luo Yi raised an eyebrow, pushed open its head with one palm, stood up and said lightly: "It's about time."

  Pushed away by Qin Luoyi, Hei Di didn't get angry. After Qin Luoyi stood up, she was much taller than him. Not wanting to look up at her while speaking, his body shook and his originally waist-high body suddenly grew twice as big and tall. His eyes were now level with Qin Luoyi's as he chuckled and said: "Since you've rested enough, then quickly continue refining the dan."

  Hei Zhaozi shook, and from his storage ring, a fiery red, crystal clear Ling fruit that was shrouded in spiritual energy jumped out, as well as several other lower-grade Ling plants.

  Qin Luoyi's expression changed, and her eyes sparkled with amusement: "You want me to refine a pill for you?"

  Hei Di nodded slightly, with a hint of arrogance, and said: "Since you want me to protect you, you should also do something for me in return. Your cultivation is too low, and it's too dangerous for you to do anything, you can only die in vain. Refining pills is not bad, I'll reluctantly let you refine pills for me. In the future, when your refining skills improve, don't need to thank me."

  Qin Luo Yi curved her red lips and glanced at Da Hei, who was already in a deep state of meditation in the corner, and smiled: "You followed me, wasn't it because I took you to Shi Hu Ya to retrieve your family heirloom? When do you want me to refine elixirs to thank you again?"

  Hei Di's eyes rolled over once, and he felt a bit anxious in his heart, but on his face, he still pretended to be arrogant, frowning: "Then how do you want me to refine the elixir for you?"

  As it spoke, it glanced at Da Hei with a wary eye, fearing that it would suddenly jump up and open its big lion's mouth.

  Qin's eyes flashed with a hint of cunning: "After all, we've known each other for so long, and in the future, we'll have to spend even more time together. Plus, your relationship with Da Hei is not ordinary..."

  "Just say it already! How much more of this nonsense must I endure?" The Dark Emperor rolled his eyes, these were all just empty words, not giving a straightforward answer was truly the mark of a hypocritical woman.

  Qin Luoyi looked at it with an urgent look, and couldn't help but secretly laugh: "Refining the elixir is a task that consumes both spirit and energy. How about this? I'll help you refine one elixir, and you give me an equivalent portion of spiritual plant as the refining fee, what do you say?"

  "You're robbing me!" The Black Emperor stared at her in disbelief, only now realizing that Qin Luoyi was even blacker than Da Hei. If he had known this earlier, it would have been better to negotiate with Da Hei instead.

  "Can't?" Qin Luo raised an eyebrow and slanted a glance at it.

  "No way!" Black Emperor replied decisively: "Change another condition."

  "Since you can't bear to part with it, fine. I'll change my request... How about this: you take those spiritual plants for refining elixirs and exchange them for silver notes at the auction house price?" Qin Luo Yi furrowed her brow in thought, then suddenly lit up and spoke again.

  Hei Di's face turned green: "No way." Everything on her was worth a fortune, where could he find so much silver to give to her.

  "Change another one!"

  "This won't do, that won't do... unless you tell me what kind of price you're willing to pay, and I'll refine the elixir for you." Rarely seeing the Black Emperor like this, Qin Luo Yi secretly laughed so hard he almost got an internal injury.

  Hei Di also knew that Bai Bai would not agree to refine the elixir for herself, especially since Qin Luo Yi was a cunning woman. After some thought, he gritted his teeth and looked at her, saying: "For every time you refine an elixir for me, I'll protect you for half a year more, how about that?"

  Qin Luo Yi walked over to the stone bench and sat down, looking embarrassed: "In just over a year, I've gone from being a novice to reaching the peak of martial arts mastery. With my talent for cultivation, in ten years' time, I might even be able to cultivate the Purple Mansion. At that point, what use would you have following me? This..."

  "Hei Di sneered: 'You think you can reach the Purple Mansion in just ten years of cultivation? You're dreaming! Even if a Purple Mansion cultivator came, I'd still flatten them without hesitation!'"

  Qin's eyes flashed, and the Black Emperor was actually still able to resist the Purple Mansion cultivators? This was the first time he had heard it say something so direct. Still with a hesitant expression: "The Great Black said that after it repairs its life origin, it can also resist the Purple Mansion cultivators..."

  Hei Di was so angry that he wanted to slap Qin Luo down: "One year, you refine a 12th-grade elixir for me, and I'll protect you for another year!"

  "Alright, that's it!" Qin Luo Yi smiled slightly and stood up, responding very quickly. Her pitch-black eyes were filled with dense laughter.

  Hei Di didn't expect Qin Luo Yi to agree so readily, and was taken aback for a moment. After a while, he finally came back to his senses, and his smile stretched all the way to his ears.

  She stuffed the red spirit fruit and several spiritual plants into her hands, muttering to herself: "Refine a twelve-level dan medicine, protect you for a year, this is my bottom line, if you don't agree again, I'll go make some silver, specifically find rich people on Penglai Fairy Island, rob those dan medicine shops, spiritual plant shops, and definitely make a lot of money."

  Qin Luo Yi listened to its muttering and her face was filled with black lines.

  Hei Di urged her to refine the elixir after muttering to himself.

  This time Qin Luoyi did not push it away again, with a "pa" sound, the dan fire rose, and he began to refine the dan.

  Hei Di gave her the silver mang fruit that was obtained in the ice domain. The silver mang fruit blooms every 2,000 years and bears fruit every 1,000 years. After another 2,000 years, the fruit can finally mature. A single silver mang fruit tree can produce at most twenty or so fruits at a time. Fortunately, as long as the silver mang fruit is not picked, it will not decay within a thousand years. The silver mang fruit tree they found should have been picked by cultivators who entered the ice domain in the past. There were only nine silver mang fruits on the tree, just enough for each of them to have three: her, Hei Di, and Da Hei.

  The 12th-grade Silver Mangosteen Pill refined from the Silver Mangosteen, has a very powerful spiritual energy. Under the tense and expectant gaze of Hei Di, after nearly ten hours, the Silver Mangosteen Pill was finally refined, and it was even a mid-grade Silver Mangosteen Pill.

  Hei Di took the silver dan and ran to a corner, threw it into his mouth, and started meditating.

  Qin Luo Yi walked out of the cave, passing through the illusion array, wanting to go out and find something to eat. Although she didn't need to eat or drink, it had no effect on her now, but she had never been picky about food before. After so many days, not eating anything made her feel a bit bland in her mouth.

  Standing in the illusion array, I hadn't even walked out yet when I saw several powerful cultivators lurking outside, their cold gazes scanning around as if searching for something.

  Qin Luoyi's foot, which was just about to step out, stopped in its tracks as he sized up the few people. The Phantom Array is a very peculiar formation; as long as you're familiar with it and stand in the right position, you can clearly see what's going on outside, and even hear voices when they're close by. Meanwhile, the people outside are completely unaware of anything.

  "It's been seven days and I've searched all around Puan Cheng, but I haven't seen Qin Luoyi or the two ancient beasts by her side."

  "In the eastern direction, I searched for tens of thousands of miles, but still didn't find it."

  "There is no north face."

  "On the west side, I was just short of digging three times and didn't find it."

  "The south is also out of the question... tens of thousands of miles away, a martial saint like her shouldn't be able to run that far."

  "Yes, when we found Old Man Xu by the lake, his body was still warm... She must have known we were looking for her, so she hid."

  "Hiding won't work either, it's been said that she must be killed, we have to find her as soon as possible."

  ……

  In their conversation, Qin Luyi unexpectedly heard her own name mentioned, by the lake, Xu Lao... This made her think of many things, these people, 90% were in cahoots with the green-robed old man who tried to kill her that day by the lake.

  A flash of cold intent flickered in her dark phoenix eyes, and after these people left one by one, she quietly stepped out of the illusion realm and followed a white-robed middle-aged cultivator.

  He walked out of the courtyard, confirming that there were no other monks around, Qin Luo Yi sneered and walked out, intentionally making a loud noise with his footsteps.

  The middle-aged white-clothed cultivator suddenly turned his head, and the small eyes flashed with a fierce gaze. When he saw clearly that the girl behind him was Qin Luoyi, whom he had been searching for seven days without finding, he suddenly became overjoyed, and his body moved swiftly to appear in front of her.

  "Are you looking for me?" Qin Luo Yi blinked her bright eyes and smiled slightly, she was wearing a green dress, her figure was slender and elegant, the hem of her skirt fluttered gently in the breeze, as if she were an elf descending into the mortal world.