Half a month to advance into the fourth stage of Dou Qi, another month and a half to reach the fifth — this incomparable cultivation speed was something even the Xiao Yan of old would have been hard-pressed to match.
Although every advance into another stage of Dou Qi only made the climb still more difficult, at the current pace, cultivating up to the seventh stage within a single year ought not to be too great a challenge.
Of course, all of this rested upon one premise — that he had an ample supply of Foundation Liquid. Otherwise, before he could ever reach the seventh stage, he would meet his end under Yao Lao's brutal beatings during training. Without the restorative effects of the Foundation Liquid, with only this frail body of his to rely upon, there was no other path forward but death, as the stagnant blood pooling within his meridians would sooner or later crush the life from him.
So the most pressing task before Xiao Yan now was to purchase more materials and refine another batch of Foundation Liquid. In theory it sounded simple enough, yet he had run into a rather troublesome snag: he was running out of money.
Sitting on the bed, Xiao Yan's young face wore a thoroughly wry smile. Who would have thought he would be brought to such straits by money? Extending a finger, he began to tally the sums bit by bit... of the gold left over from his last purchase of materials, more than nine hundred coins remained — clearly far from enough to buy another set of the same high-grade materials.
Propping his chin in thought for a moment, his eyes rolled for a while before he suddenly spoke up. "Master, can the purple-leaf orchid herb or the bone-washing flower be lower in age?"
"It's possible, but that would weaken the potency. The Foundation Liquid I mixed for you was carefully refined to the most optimal formula." From within the ring came Yao Lao's voice.
Blinking, Xiao Yan gave a light laugh. "Never mind, let's just refine this batch from the very cheapest materials."
"The cheapest? Then the effect would be considerably poorer. At that rate, it could take you half a year just to break into the next stage of Dou Qi." There was a note of displeasure in Yao Lao's voice; no doubt his brow was already furrowed. "Short on money, are you? Then go ask that little girl. With her background, a few tens of thousands of coins to spend is nothing at all. If that won't do, ask your father. Why lower the potency and hold back your own cultivation for the sake of something so trivial..."
Hearing Yao Lao's suggestion, Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly. "Just chalk it up to my foolish pride. How could I keep going to a girl for money again and again? As for my father — forget it. I've been dodging him for two months already, and besides, if I went to him for money he'd insist on digging into the details, and then he might end up exposing you, Master."
"Master, can someone else refine this Foundation Liquid?" As if a thought had struck him, Xiao Yan knit his brows and asked.
"Heh heh, little one, the herbs of the Dou Qi continent are too numerous to count. To refine pills of different effects, one must cull from among these countless materials the ones that can neutralize the wild, violent energy within the magic crystal one needs to use. Only then can a pill be successfully produced. If you were to mix them haphazardly, a ruined cauldron and wasted pill would be the least of your worries. But if it were to trigger a backlash, heh heh..." At this point, Yao Lao's voice darkened into a sinister chuckle before he went on. "This Foundation Liquid is a formula I spent a good several years experimenting to condense. Oh, it's possible some other soul might stumble upon such a formula by blind luck, but the odds are simply too small.
"Moreover, in the process of refinement, the degree of fusion among the three materials, their proportions, and the heat of the flame all demand countless experiments and an exceptionally sharp soul-sense to grasp. Otherwise, why do you think every alchemist needs a master to guide them step by step? To become a powerful alchemist without a renowned teacher is essentially impossible. Left to yourself, merely trial-and-erroring formulas would swallow up a lifetime."
"So while I won't presume to speak for the entire Dou Qi continent, I can vouch that within the Jia Ma Empire, no one could refine the same Foundation Liquid as I do!" In these words, a hint of pride crept into Yao Lao's tone.
Somewhat stunned by how intricate the Foundation Liquid truly was, Xiao Yan unconsciously licked his lips. When he had watched Yao Lao refine it before, it had all seemed so simple, but only now did he realize that refining pills went far beyond that thin surface he had glimpsed.
The world of the alchemist was indeed vast and unfathomable, no wonder it was held to be the noblest of professions upon the Dou Qi continent.
Recovering from his shock, Xiao Yan felt a quiet joy well up in his heart. Pressing his lips together, he gave a light smile. "Master, I'm not planning to use the cheapest Foundation Liquid for my cultivation. I intend to take it to the auction house instead. My hands are a bit tight at the moment, but once the money's in hand, we can buy better materials. After all, refining Foundation Liquid is scarcely more than lifting a finger for you, isn't it?"
"Like that, is it... very well then, as you please. It's nothing strange for an alchemist to auction off his own pills, and that Foundation Liquid is after all only the most low-grade of nurturing medicines. No harm in selling it." After a brief silence, Yao Lao replied with indifference.
Hearing the old master's assent, Xiao Yan chuckled and packed up his things, then dashed out of the room in high spirits.
Since the highest-quality herbs were unnecessary this time, Xiao Yan casually picked out the lowest-aged purple-leaf orchid herb and bone-washing flower at the herb shop. As for the wood-attributed magic crystal, after sifting through a few options, he bought the cheapest greenwood rat magic crystal available.
With the needed materials in hand, Xiao Yan found himself an inn, hid away there, and had Yao Lao step in to refine the Foundation Liquid.
This batch of Foundation Liquid was not only far weaker in potency than the last — its very color had shifted, from the crystalline emerald of before to a mottled, clouded jade-green...
Only after Xiao Yan had gathered that lump of Foundation Liquid, fully half the size of his own fist, into the white jade vial he had bought earlier, did he finally let out an eased breath.
Tucking the jade vial securely against his person, Xiao Yan left the inn and, with brisk, springing strides, made his way toward the largest auction house in all of Wutan City.