Chapter 60
Baek Gyu was relieved by his younger sister’s bright smile and continued to catch up on the things they had missed.
He shared his diverse experiences from the outside world, from tales of his arduous Training at the Sect to the bizarre landscapes of the Southern Region of the Continent.
“Really?”
Baek-Cheong chimed in appropriately, keeping her Orabeoni company.
It was a little boring at times, but if she just turned her brain off a bit, it was bearable.
After some time, Baek Gyu stood up, mentioning he had a backlog of matters to attend to.
“This Older Brother will take his leave now to prepare for the exchange meeting.”
“Yes, Orabeoni. Have a safe trip!”
As soon as Baek Gyu left the Abode, color returned to Baek-Cheong’s face.
She hopped onto the bed and swiftly moved her Divine Sense to connect to the Nameless Forum.
Having acquired a new toy in the form of a Training Dharma Tool, she was in high spirits.
“Should I test the waters with the Five Elements Pill this time?”
There was no particular reason she thought of the Five Elements Pill.
It was simply a stream of consciousness stemming from her conversation with Baek Gyu just moments ago, as she saw the Biun Sect’s interest in the Five Elements Pill.
Finishing her thought, she immediately moved her Divine Sense and began writing a new post.
“Dao Friend(913.14): What if there was a pill that raised the aptitude of a Five Elements Spirit Root?”
[A pill that just raises the aptitude of a Five Elements Spirit Root so it equals the aptitude of a higher-tier spirit root.]
It was a post subtly leaking the effects of the Five Elements Pill to gauge the reactions of the Dao Friends.
Perhaps because it sounded too much like a pipe dream, as soon as she posted it, Dao Friends drawn by the bait swarmed in and left replies.
[Dao Friend(11.23): Such a Heaven-Defying Pill cannot exist in the Lower Realm. Maybe it could, if it were an immortal pill from the Upper Realm.]
[Dao Friend(382.11): Why a trash Five Elements Spirit Root of all things? It’d be better to feed them a pill that raises the aptitude of a Heavenly Spirit Root or Earth Spirit Root.]
[Dao Friend(861.98): Even if it existed, what’s the point of raising a Five Elements Spirit Root’s aptitude? The Dantian is small anyway, so even if they break through realms, they’d be weaker than Cultivators of the same level. It’s just pretty trash.]
Most of the Dao Friends snorted and showed a lukewarm reaction.
However, the Cultivation World was endlessly vast, and within it were Dao Friends who took the absurd claim seriously and pondered over it.
[Dao Friend(553.24): Theoretically, if one perfectly harmonized the Five Elements Qi to wash away the impurities of the spirit root, it wouldn’t be impossible. But obtaining such a pill would be a Heavenly Opportunity of Ages in itself.]
[Dao Friend(37.2): If it really exists, it’s an incredible item that would flip the landscape of the Cultivation World.]
Desperate cries from Dao Friends presumed to be Five Elements Spirit Root Holders lamenting their circumstances also followed.
[Dao Friend(77.21): Please, if such a pill exists, sell it to me! I can offer my entire fortune and even my Dao Companion!]
[Dao Friend(45.88): If you happen to have it, would you be willing to exchange it for a Heaven-grade Cultivation Method?]
Befitting a Heaven-Defying Pill, it garnered a lot of attention despite its uncertain existence.
Baek-Cheong was watching these reactions.
Amidst the countless replies, a familiar, ominous Interface Number caught her eye.
[Dao Friend(237.309): If by some chance such a Heaven-Defying Pill actually exists, the current Five Elements Spirit Root Holders would be called Heavenly Spiritual Root Holders and treated as such, just like in the Ancient Era.]
It was the Dao Friend who claimed to have experimented on over a million Five Elements Spirit Root Holders.
Feeling a chill run down her spine, she swallowed dryly.
It was an interesting story, but her instincts recoiled at the thought of getting involved with a crazy Old Monster.
‘But it’s anonymous here anyway, and he can’t cross over interfaces, right? Why should I be scared?’
To begin with, if he could pierce through interfaces, he would have more than enough power to ascend to the Upper Realm.
Thus, she gathered her wits, mustered her courage, and left a reply.
[Dao Friend(913.14): Even so, a Single Spiritual Root Holder has better spirit root quality, right?]
As soon as she posed the question, the Dao Friend posted a lengthy reply as if he had been waiting for it.
[Dao Friend(237.309): Nowadays, heaven and Earth have split into countless Lower Realms, and the spiritual energy has been divided and become scarce. Therefore, Multi-Spirit Root Holders have to split the insufficient nutrients among multiple spirit roots, causing their quality to drop. On the other hand, during the Ancient Era, the number of Lower Realms was small and spiritual energy overflowed in heaven and Earth, so even Multi-Spirit Root Holders didn’t suffer from a lack of nutrients and were treated as omnipotent Prodigies who wielded all five elements.]
└Dao Friend(2.71): Just a passing Dao Friend here, but the period when the number of Lower Realms was small was the Primeval Era, not the Ancient Era. Separately, the Ancient Era of each interface differs depending on the interface.
She focused on the interesting story and examined the contents.
There was a minor correction, but it was a trivial matter, so she brushed it off.
[Dao Friend(913.14): Then what about a Unified Spiritual Root? If you go through the trouble of growing the spirit roots only to merge them into one, wouldn’t that be bad?]
To her question, the Dao Friend left a reply with a strange nuance.
[Dao Friend(237.309): Hmm… The level of your question makes it seem as if you’ve encountered a Heaven-Defying Pill yourself.]
└Dao Friend(913.14): Answer.
Baek-Cheong cut off his useless speculation and pressed for an answer.
[Dao Friend(237.309): Even if you were to unify spirit roots grown by a Heaven-Defying Pill, it wouldn’t matter. The spirit roots are merely combined, not erased. Rather, a Unified Spiritual Root is ever-changing and boundless. And out of slight concern, I will offer a small piece of advice: since your realm is Qi Condensation, the Unified Spiritual Root that has become a latent spirit root will increasingly siphon nutrients from the Five Elements Spirit Root as time passes, becoming a poison. Even if you prolong your life by feeding it Top-grade Medicinal Pills, pill toxicity will inevitably accumulate and you will reach your limit. If you do not wish to be reduced to a Mortal, I advise you to raise your realm quickly.]
Pill toxicity was the biggest reason some Cultivators avoided pills, and it was a nuisance that ruined energy meridians and the Dantian.
[Dao Friend(237.309): If by chance you have any Heaven-Defying Pills left in your possession, please put them up on the Marketplace.]
└Dao Friend(913.14): I’ll think about it, yeah.
Baek-Cheong left a half-hearted reply and closed the Nameless Forum.
Dao Friend(237.309)'s warning bothered her like a fishbone caught in her throat, but after sinking into thought and mulling it over for a while, she realized it wasn’t as big a deal as she thought.
‘Pill toxicity will accumulate and I’ll reach my limit? Then I can just eat Inscribed Pills that have no pill toxicity, right?’
She had already been put through Pill Refining Hell by Yak-seon and anyway had even mastered the basic chapter of the Five Elements Taiji Pill Refining Method.
When it came to a 1st-Grade Pill, regardless of its tier, she was in a position where she could easily churn out Inscribed Pills completely free of pill toxicity if she set her mind to it.
Even if it siphoned nutrients from her Five Elements Spirit Root as time passed, she figured she could just consume a large quantity of Inscribed Pills.
“Should I make some in advance…”
Last time, when she posted bait pretending to be Jinseonkasu, she had eaten an Inscribed Spirit Gathering Pill and her energy meridians had easily withstood it.
Therefore, she believed her energy meridians and Dantian would hold up even if she consumed an Attribute Inscribed Pill of 1st-Grade Mid-Tier or higher.
“But it’s a hassle…”
However, Baek-Cheong didn’t want to sacrifice her free time to do Pill Refining.
She was thinking it would be better to enjoy her leisure time browsing the forum instead.
“Maybe I should just make a Five Elements Pill and sell it?”
Even now, just by posing a hypothetical, she has managed to grab the attention of many Dao Friends.
But if she were to actually sell a Heaven-Defying Pill, it would receive immense attention. Just imagining the reactions of the Dao Friends and how they would rush in with bags of spirit stones made her dopamine surge.
“I know how to make it, too.”
She had likewise received the Transmission for the Five Elements Pill’s recipe.
Even if she couldn’t forge an Inscribed Five Elements Pill or a Top-grade Five Elements Pill like Yak-seon, a Low-grade Five Elements Pill was definitely worth a shot with her current skills.
“Grandfather Yak-seon is probably busy negotiating with the Biun Sect anyway, so the Pill Refining Room should be empty.”
The more Baek-Cheong thought about it, the better it sounded, so she sprang up from her Seat.
She intended to quickly slip into the Pill Refining Room and try making some 1st-Grade Inscribed Pills and a Low-grade Five Elements Pill.
“Alright, I’ll earn spirit stones and draw aggro. It’s killing two birds with one stone.”
With a resolute vow, she kicked open her door and stepped out.
A Personal Pill Refining Room existed, but precious spirit herbs like the Crimson Silver Grass used to make the Five Elements Pill were only stored in Yak-seon’s Pill Refining Room.
Thus, she directed her steps toward Yak-seon’s Pill Refining Room.
* * *
“Is anyone here…?”
As soon as Baek-Cheong arrived at Yak-seon’s Pill Refining Room, she peeked inside and cautiously stepped in.
“You’re really not here, right…?”
Only the faint lingering scent of medicinal herbs drifted through the silent interior of the Pill Refining Room.
It was clear that Yak-seon had vacated the premises to negotiate with the Biun Sect.
“This Pill Refining Room is now mine.”
Having frequented it so often that it felt as familiar as her own room, Baek-Cheong roamed the interior of the Pill Refining Room without hesitation.
First, she took out her dedicated 1st-Grade Top-Tier Pill Furnace, which had been carefully stored in a corner, and settled it atop the central Brazier.
Next, she headed to the Medicinal Herb Room located at the back of the Pill Refining Room.
She skillfully opened the jade boxes and picked out the spirit herbs that Yak-seon had personally selected.
In this way, she emerged carrying an armful of spirit herbs of the five elemental attributes needed to Refine the Five Elements Pill, including the Crimson Silver Grass.
“First, one should handle the Crimson Silver Grass, making sure not to damage its medicinal properties.”
She prepared the medicinal herbs while retracing the recipe for the Five Elements Pill in her mind.
There was not an ounce of hesitation in her hand movements as she prepped the herbs.
It was only natural, given the harsh teachings she had received from Yak-seon.
“Pfft, hehe.”
However, laughter leaked from Baek-Cheong even as she trimmed the ingredients.
It was because dopamine flooded her system just thinking about the shockwaves the Five Elements Pill she created would cause on the Nameless Forum.