Chapter 25: The Ninth Turn of the Soul Cauldron (Part 1)
"Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean to take this kung fu from you, but rather want to accept you as my disciple!" Xiang Tian hurriedly explained, seeing that Zhang Cheng had misunderstood his intention.
"Take me as a disciple? Why?" Zhang Cheng was somewhat bewildered by Xiang Tian's sudden move, considering he had already become his servant, yet now wanted to take him on as a disciple.
"I know what you're thinking right now, do you think that I, who have already signed a master-apprentice contract with you and promised to assist you, don't even qualify to be your master?" Xiang Tian asked.
"No, nothing..."
"Alright, don't explain anymore, I'm not blaming you, this is what I brought upon myself. However, although I agreed to assist you, it's only limited to helping you improve your cultivation. So, towards you, I won't be able to treat you like my own disciple and reveal all my trump cards to you, even if you use a contract to pressure me, it's useless." Xiang Tian interrupted Zhang Cheng's words and said.
"What exactly do you want to say?" Zhang Cheng was somewhat puzzled as to what Xiang Tian meant.
"Do you know why I can achieve such astonishing accomplishments in alchemy?" Xiang Tian didn't directly answer Zhang Cheng's question, but instead asked another one.
"Is your talent high?" Zhang Cheng guessed.
"No, my talent can be said to be very poor. In those days, I was taken in by the Dan Tao Sect because I had both fire and wood attribute talents at the same time. However, due to my extremely poor alchemy talent, I was eventually ostracized by my fellow disciples and left the sect. So, I say that my innate talent is not high." Xiang Tian replied.
"Impossible! Your talent is not high, how can you achieve such accomplishments?" Zhang Cheng was very puzzled by this, after all, without talent, it's impossible to make a name for yourself like that.
"This is my biggest secret, even that scoundrel Chou Xiatian doesn't know about it. Luckily I didn't tell him before, otherwise my fate would be worse than now!" Xiang Tian replied.
"What secret?" Zhang Cheng asked curiously.
"I won't tell you unless you agree to be my apprentice, only then will I pass it on to you. Otherwise, even if I die, I won't say it." Xiang Tian replied.
"Why did you suddenly want me to acknowledge you as my master? Give me a reason, and if I think it's reasonable, then I'll acknowledge you as my master!" Zhang Cheng was somewhat unaccustomed to Xiang Tian's sudden change, so he needed an explanation.
"The reason is simple, it's because you have a method to cultivate your soul on your hands, and this secret of mine has very high requirements for that, otherwise I wouldn't have accepted you as my disciple!" Xiang Tian explained.
"Does it have something to do with the soul cultivation method in my hands?" Zhang Cheng was taken aback for a moment, feeling that Xiang Tian's words should be good things, and he could feel that at this moment Xiang Tian didn't have any ulterior motives, so he couldn't help but feel somewhat moved.
Zhang Cheng thought for a moment and felt that having him as his master wouldn't be a loss, so he made up his mind and said: "Alright, I can acknowledge you as my master, but for now, I cannot dissolve the contract between us. You should understand what I mean."
"I understand that what happened before had some impact on you, but it doesn't affect your decision to take me as your master." Xiang Tian knew that Zhang Cheng was afraid that he would take advantage of the situation and harm him.
"Alright, I'll acknowledge you as my master!" Zhang Cheng thought that the secret that Xiang Tian valued so much must be something good. Although he still had some reservations about Xiang Tian's previous actions, who wouldn't want to get along with something good?
Besides, for him, a person from modern society, becoming an apprentice doesn't represent anything, if he's really unhappy, he can just betray his master.
"Alright, those rituals are just symbolic, never mind. I'll now tell you my biggest secret." Xiang Tian paused for a moment and said: "The reason why I can achieve such accomplishments in alchemy without any innate talent is mainly due to the Nine Revolutions Soul Cauldron."
"What's this 'Nine Revolutions Soul Cauldron'?" Zhang Cheng asked in puzzlement.
"The Nine-Turn Soul Cauldron is not a thing, but a secret art. After cultivating it, the cultivator's soul can form a dan cauldron, which is then used to refine elixirs. It should be known that the most difficult part of refining elixirs is controlling the fire timing. A slight mistake will render a furnace of elixir medicine useless. At the same time, the degree of mastery of the fire timing also determines the success rate of elixir formation."
"Generally, alchemists can achieve a success rate of at most 70% to 80%, and those who reach 90% are extremely rare. However, as a master, one can achieve 100%, and the quality of each pill is better than what ordinary people can refine. Moreover, the probability of the pills gaining sentience has reached 30%."
"You mustn't underestimate this thirty percent success rate. I dare say that in today's cultivation world, aside from me, no one can achieve such a high probability. At most, others can only manage a one percent success rate. This is also the fundamental reason why I am called Danmo and not some other kind of demon." Xiang Tian said this with great pride and a self-satisfied expression.
"This is why?" Zhang Cheng became curious, after all, Xiang Tian had said before that he didn't have a very high talent, so it was basically impossible for the kind of thing he said to happen, therefore, he felt that this should be related to the secret he wanted to say.
"It's all thanks to the Nine Revolutions Soul Cauldron. The Nine Revolutions Soul Cauldron is forged from souls, so when I use it to refine pills, I can observe the entire process of refining pills in all directions through the cauldron. I carefully feel every detail of the pill refinement, summarize my experience, and once I thoroughly grasp a method for refining a certain type of pill, then whether or not I use the Soul Cauldron to refine pills, I can achieve 100% success." Xiang Tian replied.
"There's something like that." Zhang Cheng widened his eyes and said in shock.
"Don't be too shocked yet, there's even more shocking things later." Xiang Tian swallowed his saliva and continued: "This technique is actually a technique that can enhance the strength of one's soul. As long as you use the Soul Cauldron to refine the elixir, the elixir energy produced when the elixir is formed will be able to nourish your soul, thereby strengthening it."
"Ah, no way!" Zhang Cheng was even more shocked now. He had thought that only his own "Mizong Daheshou" could enhance the strength of the soul in this world, but now there was another one? How could he not be surprised? Of course, along with the surprise came some disappointment.
"I've told you, don't be impatient, just listen to me finish speaking." Xiang Tian seemed to have already expected Zhang Cheng's reaction, so he didn't mind and continued: "The Nine Turns Soul Cauldron, as the name suggests, has a total of nine levels, from one to nine turns. However, I only have the cultivation methods for the first six turns, as for the last three turns, I don't know where they are."
"You just don't speak, keep listening to me." Xiang Tian saw Zhang Cheng was about to speak and hurriedly interrupted him, continuing: "However, you shouldn't think that six turns are few. I've cultivated for several hundred years and only just reached three turns. The fourth turn probably won't happen in a thousand years, so don't even think about it. So, you have enough time to find the remaining three turns. If you really can't find them, then there's nothing to be done. Even if you've only cultivated six turns, that's still enough for you to laugh proudly at the rivers and lakes."
"It's been so long, Master, is there a shortcut?" Zhang Cheng asked subconsciously.
