txolops Chapter 719 Alchemy! Formation!
Chapter 719 Alchemy! Formation!
After organizing his thoughts, Chen Fan closed his eyes and focused his mind on his dantian.
His cultivation at the late Nascent Soul stage had been thoroughly solidified in the battle against the Scattered Demon Master, and the fusion of his immortal and demonic energies was becoming increasingly harmonious. The gray stream of light formed from the three realms of intent slowly rotated in his dantian, each rotation smoother than the last.
The minor hidden dangers left over from the breakthrough have been smoothed out one by one during months of meditation and breath adjustment, and the flow of spiritual energy is no longer sluggish.
He withdrew his consciousness from his dantian and slowly opened his eyes.
He has two goals for this seclusion.
First, to solidify my cultivation; second, to prepare for the alliance a month from now.
This time, we joined forces with Daoist Huoyuan to explore the deep forbidden zone. Although there were five Nascent Soul cultivators traveling together in formation, that area was so dangerous that even a half-step Void Refinement old monster had been trapped there for thousands of years. The danger level was far beyond that of the outer areas.
When it really comes down to it, the only person you can rely on is yourself.
Then, Chen Fan took the Qiankun Furnace out of his storage bag.
After being reforged, the alchemy furnace that had been with him the longest had an extra layer of faint dark red luster in the bronze patterns on its body, and its grade had officially entered the ranks of magic treasures in the early stage of the Nascent Soul stage.
He placed the Qiankun Furnace on the stone platform in the center of the quiet room, and then took out all the spiritual herbs he had accumulated over the years and arranged them in front of him, classifying them by type.
During his battle with the Scattered Demon Master, Chen Fan deeply realized a truth: in dire straits, having one more Rejuvenation Pill means having one more life.
The Rejuvenation Pills and Returning Origin Pills that he had accumulated on Tiannan Star had been completely used up during the repeated pursuits, and now he had no usable healing pills left.
Among the many herbs he collected on the grassland, several were the main ingredients for refining the Rejuvenating Pill. Fairy Grass, Star-Gathering Grass, and the 500-year-old Ink Mystery Flower were all treasures he had purchased with spirit stones at the Hundred Herbs Hall.
In addition, several Dark Moon Grasses nourished by demonic energy were found in the storage bag of the Scattered Demon Master. This herb is domineering and will corrode the meridians if taken alone. However, if it is purified with a golden bowl and then combined with other spiritual herbs, it can greatly enhance the medicinal power of the Rejuvenation Pill.
With his thoughts churning, Chen Fan tossed the Dark Moon Grass into the golden bowl, using its purifying power to peel away the demonic energy layer by layer. The dark grass leaves slowly faded in the golden light, eventually turning a translucent purplish-red. The domineering medicinal properties were completely neutralized, leaving only the purest medicinal power.
He put the purified Dark Moon Grass into the Qiankun Furnace along with other spiritual herbs, made hand seals, and divine flames surged from his palms, transforming into nine hair-thin threads of fire that drilled into the bottom of the furnace.
The Word-Fixing Technique allowed him to perceive things with extreme precision, and he could control every change in the ingredients in the furnace.
The refining of the Rejuvenation Pill was already a piece of cake for Chen Fan.
In less than half a day, the furnace lid flew off, and nine pills, each the size of a longan and entirely emerald green, flew out of the furnace. Each pill had four flowing patterns on its surface, and all of them were of superior quality.
He put the nine Rejuvenation Pills into a jade bottle, and then took out a batch of spiritual herbs to begin refining the Origin Restoration Pill. Although the Origin Restoration Pill was not as high-grade as the Rejuvenation Pill, it had the advantage of being faster to refine and available in larger quantities.
Three hours later, the Qiankun Furnace was opened again, and he pocketed more than twenty Guiyuan Pills.
After doing all that, Chen Fan didn't stop.
Besides healing pills, he also needed some special pills that could have a miraculous effect in battle. The notes of Master Chong Zhenren recorded a fifth-grade pill called "Barrier-Breaking Pill," which could enhance divine sense perception by 30% for a short period of time after consumption, and was specifically used to break through illusion arrays and spatial barriers.
Since there are spatial turbulence and unknowns deep within that restricted area, the more we perceive, the more chances we have of survival.
Furthermore, the refining of the Barrier-Breaking Pill is more complicated than that of the Rejuvenating Pill, requiring an extremely rare auxiliary medicine called the Void Spirit Grass.
Chen Fan happened to have two of them, which he had acquired at a low price at the Jubaolou auction. He purified the Void Spirit Grass in a golden bowl and put it into the furnace, then used the Fixed Word Technique to firmly lock onto every change in the medicinal power within the furnace.
This alchemy session lasted for a full day and night.
When the Qiankun Furnace was opened again, three silver-white pills flew out of it. The surface of the pills was covered with a faint spiritual light, and the medicinal fragrance they emitted was elegant and serene. They were the fifth-grade Breakthrough Pills.
Chen Fan put the three Breakthrough Pills into a small jade bottle and checked his pill reserves again.
Nine Rejuvenation Pills, twenty-three Origin-Returning Pills, three Barrier-Breaking Pills, plus the two remaining Grade 5 Antidote Pills—this inventory, while not abundant, should be enough for one exploration.
He put the Qiankun Furnace back into his storage bag, and then took out a stack of blank array flag jade slips from the depths of the storage bag.
These jade slips were given to him by Ouyang Ye. Each one was refined from spirit jade and had an extremely precise array pattern base engraved inside. It could be used directly once the array structure was imprinted into it.
These blank array flag jade slips are quite expensive to make; even Ouyang Ye himself only made a dozen or so, six of which he gave to Chen Fan.
Chen Fan laid out four of the jade slips in a row and began to set up the formation.
Although his mastery of array formations was not as great as his swordsmanship and alchemy, his ability to set up a sixth-grade Gu array at the Hundred Sects Conference, breaking a three-hundred-year record, was far beyond the reach of ordinary array masters. In particular, the existence of the Fixed Character Technique allowed him to achieve an extremely precise level of control over array patterns.
The first formation is the Rank 6 Dragon-Trapping Formation.
This formation is one of several sixth-grade formations recorded in Ouyang Ye's Array Dao Experience. It is primarily designed to trap the enemy, supplemented by illusions to confuse them. Once set up, even a Nascent Soul cultivator at the Great Perfection stage would need at least the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to break free.
If you launch a surprise attack with your sword intent while the opponent is breaking through the formation, you will be severely injured even if you don't die.
The core of the Dragon Trapping Formation lies in the interconnection of thirty-six main formation patterns. Each main formation pattern is further divided into nine auxiliary formation patterns, resulting in a total of three hundred and twenty-four formation patterns interwoven into a net.
An ordinary array master would need at least half a day to set up this array, but Chen Fan used the Fixed Character Technique to pinpoint the location of each array pattern to the millimeter. His ten fingers flicked rapidly, and in just one hour, he had imprinted all the array patterns onto the jade slip.
He put the jade slip containing the Dragon Trapping Formation aside and began setting up the second formation.
The Sixth Grade Mystic Ice Sealing Formation.
This formation is derived from the method that Ouyang Ye comprehended from Chen Fan's sixth-grade Gu formation. It uses the power of ice and cold to seal off space, complementing the illusionary and deceptive nature of the Trapped Dragon Formation.
Once the two formations overlap, even a cultivator at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage will have a headache.
The array patterns of the Xuanbing Sealing Array are more complex than those of the Trapping Dragon Array. It also incorporates three Gu patterns derived from the Devouring Spirit Gu Array, which Chen Fan added himself.
He had been dealing with Gu cultivators on the grasslands for two years, and his understanding of Gu patterns was now far superior to what it used to be.
After the three Gu patterns merged into the formation, the Xuanbing Sealing Formation could not only seal off the space, but also generate a devouring power similar to the Soul-Devouring Gu within the formation, constantly eroding the protective spiritual light of the trapped person.