Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-445

In reality, Xuan-Jing was an oddity among the master alchemists of the sect. As one of the few master alchemists, Xuan Jing’s skill was slightly stronger than Xuan-Dian's. He had no problem concocting mid-Core Forging Realm pellets, but his success rate for late-Core Forging Realm pellets was awful.

The situation only worsened after he poured all his attention on the Core Forging Realm, stalling his alchemy progress.

He was planning on making the final Core Forging Pellet his and did not expect it to be given to Liang Xuan-Feng, under Tian-Hu’s order.

There was no way he was willing to accept the situation.

Although he had not made any progress in his research of the pellet, Xuan-Jing had created a unique secret technique called Spiritual Extraction. This secret technique allowed the user to discreetly siphon away some of the pellet’s essence. The technique barely left any signs; even an alchemist would fail to detect anything without a thorough examination, let alone others.

Xuan-Jing had grown greedy. He did not wish to see the pellet that he felt belonged to him, be given to someone else. In the end, he pushed his luck by siphoning the essence of the pellet using Spiritual Extraction.

Initially, he hoped for the best. After all, Liang Xuan-Feng was no weaker than Liu Tian-Ling and the others. He thought that despite losing part of its essence, the Core Forging Pellet would be able to help Liang Xuan-Feng fully infuse the Nirvana Maple.

By then, even if Liang Xuan-Feng noticed something odd, the quarter essence had already been used up, and Liang Xuan-Feng wouldn’t blame him.

What he did not expect was that the Nirvana Maple was out of the ordinary. Additionally, Liang Xuan-Feng paid a great price to obtain it. He was heavily injured by the Crystal Palace’s disciples, and would have ended up losing his future if it weren’t for the pellet Lu Ping concocted for him. Even with this, Liang Xuan-Feng’s foundation still suffered severely.

The combination of the incomplete Core Forging Pellet and the damage to his foundation created the awkward situation Liang Xuan-Feng was stuck in – he couldn’t achieve a higher-quality Golden Core because the pellet lacked energy.

Tian-Hu did not deal with Xuan-Jing as soon as he learned about this because apart from Xuan-Jing being his disciple, a master alchemist, and a near late-Core Forging Realm cultivator who used a quarter of the Core Forging Pellet’s essence to infuse a mid-Earth-Class wonder item, he had also created the Spiritual Extraction.

At the very least, Lu Ping was interested in this special technique.

However, the first thing Lu Ping had to do was extricate Liang Xuan-Feng from his situation.

The other alchemists were struck with happiness the moment Lu Ping expressed that he might be able to help Liang Xuan-Feng. At the same time, they were also feeling complicated because the young cultivator had already presented them with lots of surprises. Some of the older alchemists saw traces of the other talented master alchemist from their sect decades ago. Back then, she, too, had showered them with surprises that were more than just shocking.

The only difference between them was that Lu Ping was much more talented. From rescuing Xuan-Sen, and concocting the Wonder Water Nurturing Pellets that brought an immense profit to the sect, to his techniques and the River Inclusion Cauldron, were all acts that were extremely beneficial to the sect.

Tao Xuan-Fang, an early-Core Forging Realm cultivator, and Xuan-Jing’s disciple, was only a step away from becoming the sixth master alchemist in the sect. He was worried about this matter because he could already imagine what would happen to his master if Liang Xuan-Feng failed and had to resort to an ordinary Golden Core.

Because of this, the moment he heard Lu Ping might have a way to save Liang Xuan-Feng, he managed to suppress his jealousy and sincerely hoped Lu Ping could save Liang Xuan-Feng.

After arriving at a secret chamber in the pavilion, Tian-Hu turned around and glanced at Lu Ping. “Are you sure you can use the River Inclusion Cauldron? The cauldron is now an actual Mystic Tool Cauldron!”

Lu Ping nodded and replied, “I know, but this is the first time I’m concocting this pellet. If I have help from a Mystic Tool Cauldron, I’ll have a better chance of succeeding. Even if the River Inclusion Cauldron is too much for me, I can still use the By-Lake Cauldron later. The pellet needs a huge amount of thousand-year-old and three-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs, but the most crucial material is the Essence of Life.”

Hearing that, Tian-Hu smiled, “Don’t worry about that. The sect immediately prepared two sets of Essence of Life after you handed the recipe for it to Senior Sister Tian-Xue. Senior Brother Tian-Kang can wait, but Xuan-Feng does not have that luxury.”

Lu Ping nodded. Tian-Hu reached his hand out and tore the air apart, opening a portal. As they entered the portal, Lu Ping found himself stepping into a fiery world.

He immediately realized that this was a Land of Heritage of the sect. Tian-Hu said, “This place is the origin of the Spirit Fueled Mystical Heavenly Fire that you acquired. The fire is kept separately because of its uniqueness. The roots of all the fires used by alchemists in our sect are kept here for the benefit of future generations.”

During the journey deeper into the Land of Heritage, Lu Ping saw a couple of roots of spiritual peculiar and wonder fire floating past them. Lu Ping even witnessed a blue fire root which was none other than the Azure Spirit Fire.

After listening to Tian-Hu’s explanation about this palace, Lu Ping was confused. He asked, “If the sect’s foundation is so strong, why are there so many disciples wasting their time trying to acquire a compatible fire to infuse wonder items?”

Tian-Hu shot a glance at Lu Ping, and said, “Let me ask you this. Is it easy for a cultivator to enter the Law Avatar Realm?”

“Of course not,” Lu Ping replied immediately.

Tian-Hu smiled. “With our foundation, we can produce at least seven Law Avatar Realm cultivators. Do you believe me?”

“H-how is that possible?” Lu Ping stuttered.

“Why not? In fact, we’re not the only ones that can do this. The other sects can also do the same, let alone the Xuan Ling Sect which has been around for so many years. They may be falling behind now, but their foundation is even stronger than our sect. They can probably produce ten Law Avatar Realm cultivators if they wanted to.”

Tian-Hu continued, “The foundation is something that sects will only touch during a crisis. After depleting their foundation, a sect would see no improvements until they gained more, to balance what they used up. The sect may even risk crumbling apart. It’s just like the pillars supporting a building. Remove them, and the building will be at risk of falling apart. It may look sturdy and beautiful from the outside, but it can’t withstand pressure. Without the foundation, a sect will no longer be called a sect.”

Lu Ping nodded in agreement while Tian-Hu added, “Look at this place. It’s filled with the roots of the fire. If we use them all, the sect can help dozens of Core Forging Realm cultivators advance to the next level. Besides this Land of Heritage, there are others, such as the ones in Tian Ling Palace. These resources could improve the entire North Ocean’s lack of resources, but these are something the sect accumulated over the years. Do you think the disciples of the sect are worthy of enjoying these resources without making contributions?”

He paused for a while, waiting for Lu Ping to fully comprehend his meaning before he continued, “The foundation helps support the sect to grow stronger. There is always a price for everything. You can claim the resources earned by those before you, but you have to contribute to the sect in some way. Only then will you have the qualifications to ask for something. If everyone can easily receive these benefits, who would be willing to endure hardships to obtain the treasures hidden in the cultivation world? If everyone in the sect loses the determination and will to become stronger, damnation will not be too far away. The sect is a cultivator’s shield, and the disciples are the pillars supporting it. The growth of a cultivator brings more profit to the sect, and a stronger sect helps a cultivator go further in their cultivation. It’s a win-win situation.”

Lu Ping had grasped something from Tian-Hu’s teaching. They both arrived at the central location of the Land of Heritage, where a tall and massive violet-purple cauldron was located. It was unleashing a presence that was suppressing everything in its vicinity. Lu Ping could tell that the roots of fire floating were afraid of the cauldron. They only circled it from a certain distance; it felt like they were worshiping the cauldron.

Tian-Hu pointed at the cauldron, and said, “This is your River Inclusion Cauldron. It’s now a Mystic Tool Cauldron. The Longevity Pellets concocted for Senior Brother Tian-Kang were all concocted using this cauldron. It’s far more powerful than any top-tier cauldron you can find out there.”

Lu Ping reached his hand out and slowly pressed against the cauldron’s body. As soon as he did this, a low buzzing noise quickly emerged and spread to the surroundings. It was as if the cauldron was welcoming its rightful owner.

The reaction was more than just a welcome. After all, the River Inclusion Cauldron had been polished and refined in Lu Ping’s heartspace for years and was full of his markings. The fact that Tian-Hu and Tian-Jiang had not erased his markings on the cauldron, showed that they did not lie about returning the cauldron to him when he mastered how to control it.

In fact, Lu Ping insisted on using the River Inclusion Cauldron because he was worried about the cauldron being taken away from him without his consent. After seeing the cauldron for himself, he realized that he was overthinking it.

He started making his preparations for the Little Core Forging Pellet. Seeing this, Tian-Hu said, “Take your time. I’ll go check on Liang Xuan-Feng. Here. Take this. You’ll be able to enter and leave this place freely with this token. You’re a master alchemist of the sect, and this is a right that you are entitled to. However, if you wish to use any of the fire roots here, you’ll need our permission.”

The Land of Heritage in the Pavillion of Alchemy was the best place to concoct high-level pellets because of the immense spiritual energy due to the large spirit vein underneath Tian Ling Mountain. This was why Lu Ping insisted on concocting the pellet here.

When the fiery Violet Eastern Flame fully covered the River Inclusion Cauldron, Lu Ping realized that he had to consume even more energy to control the cauldron. It would practically be an impossible task for any other mid-Core Forging Realm cultivator, but it was no problem for Lu Ping because he had infused the Mystical Heavy Water.

The Little Core Forging Pellet was a half-Law Avatar Realm pellet. However, Lu Ping had already successfully concocted a couple of pellets of the same grade. Hence, he did not lose his composure despite it being the first time concocting this pellet.

His experience did not make him arrogant. Lu Ping started employing the many techniques and methods in his arsenal. After crushing a piece of spiritual dark wood into powder, he wrapped the Violet Eastern Fire around the powder and temporarily boosted the intermediate-Earth-Class fire to the next level.

By using spirit stones, various techniques like the Spirit Explosion Technique, and the magnificent River Inclusion Cauldron, Lu Ping found himself successfully and smoothly concocting the pellet. He had produced five pellets on his first try, albeit at the cost of all his energy. After all, the cauldron was far beyond the abilities of an ordinary cultivator.

Thankfully, this Land of Heritage was connected to the spirit vein underneath Tian Ling Mountain. The abundance of spiritual energy sped up Lu Ping’s energy regeneration, especially after he cast a Spirit Gathering Formation using 36 top-tier spirit stones. As he closed his eyes and slowly recovered, Lu Ping realized that his body had turned into an abyssal blackhole that could seemingly swallow up everything around it. The abundance of spiritual energy in the surroundings started swirling around, forming a whirlpool with him at the center. Unexpectedly, Lu Ping had arrived at the gate to the next cultivation level.