Chapter 419: Spiritual Energy Constraint
Chapter 419: Spiritual Energy Constraint
’A fire that is moist, one that can rebuild, expand and cook...’ Yi Chen’s eyes couldn’t help but widen when he heard about these concepts he hadn’t thought about at all. ’But how... how to create these types of fire in the first place?’
He was left with more questions than answers the moment he heard those words. However, by the time he regained himself, he had already lost the opportunity to ask the question, as Elder Hong Lie had already started explaining the next topic.
"The herbs used for pill refining come under two categories. One is spiritual herbs, and the other is regular herbs.
Spiritual Herbs, as their name suggests, contain an extreme amount of Qi mainly because of the way in which they are nurtured. They can either occur naturally in areas that are dense with Qi or can be produced in spirit gardens which are made in a way to support their growth.
Next are the Regular Herbs. These are like any regular herbs which many of you would have seen and used as mortals either directly or indirectly.
Individually, they may not have a drastic effect in the pill refining process, as the pills being created are anything but ordinary, but their complementary effect is what makes them a necessary ingredient for all Pill Masters."
Elder Hong Lie paused a little to let his words sink into everyone’s mind and continued, "Now, as unregistered pill refiners, you all won’t be dealing with spirit herbs at all, and instead you’ll only be using the regular herbs to create pills.
Pills created using regular herbs naturally won’t be of any benefit to the cultivators and, at most, will act as a tonic, and as you might have guessed, they are barely worth a few low-grade spirit stones."
Seeing the disappointed expressions on many faces, Elder Hong Lie pointed out, "However, money was never the incentive for you to create these pills, but instead it was to gain enough proficiency in the pill-making process so that you can get registered as a Pill Apprentice in the first place."
A trace of understanding glimmered in many eyes as they heard Elder Hong Lie’s words and subtly nodded.
With that said, Elder Hong Lie began explaining the details of herb extraction, separation and their processing before finally utilising them for pill making in a way that ensured no one found the class boring.
Half an hour later, he gestured for the last disciple who had a question regarding the spirit herbs to sit down before addressing the next topic.
"Coming to Pill Refining, you’ll have to follow the textbook formulations for refining each pill. You can find various pill formulations for pill making in the Sect’s Library, so make sure to visit it once our orientation is over... and yes, as you might have guessed, the entry isn’t free.
If you want to enter the library, you’ll naturally have to pay either in spirit stones or contribution points to make use of its benefits."
A smirk formed on Hong Lie’s face as he finished those words.
"This... I still have zero contribution points..."
"If only I could answer Elder Hong Lie’s question before..."
"Since our orientation is going on, we can’t even accept missions! This isn’t fair!"
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Hearing the various discussions, Elder Hong Lie clapped his hands to draw their attention to him and said, "So we were talking about Pill Refining. Since you’ll be refining mortal pills for now, you won’t face any extreme difficulty with the refinement process as long as you follow each step that is present in the formulation.
Therefore, all you’ll be needing is practice before you’re proficient enough to get yourself registered as a Pill Apprentice.
However, that won’t be the case once you’ve become a Pill Apprentice, as apart from dealing with mortal pills, you’ll also need to create pills that have a substantial effect on cultivators, namely, immortal pills.
To create these pills, apart from following the formulations to a tee, you’ll also need to be more cautious during the refinement process.
For mortal pills, you’ll only be required to check tangible things like temperature, time, viscosity and the like. However, for the creation of immortal pills, you’ll also be required to use your spiritual energies."
"Spiritual energy? Elder Hong Lie, won’t that require us to be at least at the Qi Absorption Stage?" one of the disciples in the front rows asked the very next moment.
"Naturally, the little spiritual energy you have at the Ninth Meridian Refinement Stage isn’t enough to help when you haven’t even managed to create your Qi Sea using it.
Therefore, if you cannot even break through to the Qi Absorption Stage, then forget about Pill Refining; you should stop thinking about taking any other occupation as well, for that will only be a waste of everyone’s time."
"Y-Yes..." the disciple responded with a forced smile, sensing Elder Hong Lie’s gaze in his direction.
Seeing that there were no other doubts, Elder Hong Lie naturally continued, "Now, in what processes are you going to utilise the spiritual energy, you ask?"
He paused to check everyone’s faces before continuing with a sadistic smile, "In almost all of them, from handling to processing to refining, you’ll be required to use spiritual energy in all the steps in proportions that will be determined by the type of pill you’re refining.
And as many of you present here would already be aware, since there is no method of restoring one’s spiritual energy apart from resting one’s mind, one’s progress becomes extremely slow after becoming a pill apprentice.
To be more precise, Pill Refining has the slowest progress rate among all the occupations because of this very reason, despite its initial stage being the fastest.
A talented unranked pill refiner takes ten years to reach Tier 3 rank, about 70 to 150 years to reach Tier 2, and lastly, if they are talented and fortunate enough, they take four hundred to seven hundred years to reach the Tier 1 rank."
"Ten years to even be considered a proper Pill Refiner?"
"...This is so long,"
"If it takes so much time, then I’ll just look for another occupation..."
"So, it’s only fast until we become a pill apprentice."
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Just like many other cultivators, Yi Chen was also lost in his thoughts after hearing Elder Hong Lie’s words.
’It requires spiritual energy, and there’s no known method to restore one’s spiritual energy...or so Elder Hong Lie says. However, that doesn’t apply to me because of the water from the mystical pond that I still possess. I can use it to...No, it’s a precious resource.
I can’t just waste it to gain an initial edge over others in Pill Refining. What will I do when I’ve completely exhausted the pond’s water? I’ll naturally be unable to progress for long...’
Yi Chen mused to himself with a serious expression.
Hearing their words, Elder Hong Lie nodded his head and continued, "When it comes to the rate of progress, I’ll just state it for everyone here from the one that takes the longest to the one that takes the shortest. However, do remember that this categorisation has been made with the assumption that you won’t be facing any plateau in between.
Number one is naturally Pill Refining, and it is closely followed by Array Formations, Artefact Refining, Beast Taming and lastly Talisman Writing.
Since the rate of progress is definitely a major factor, do consider it deeply when you choose your occupation later on. However, you must not limit yourself to only this factor, for if you’re not suitable for a particular occupation, then you might even be stuck in the initial rankings throughout your life. Understand?"
"Yes, Elder Hong Lie!" All disciples responded energetically while preparing themselves to rush toward the dining hall the very next moment.
Elder Hong Lie chuckled, seeing this, and said, "Alright, I won’t keep you here for long then. Make sure to come back for the practical class in the afternoon on time. Disperse."
With that said, everyone rushed out of the classroom, and so did Yi Chen after receiving his reward of 50 additional contribution points from Elder Hong Lie.
"With this, I have a total of 100 contribution points with me..." Yi Chen muttered under his breath with a cheery smile before leaving for lunch alongside others.
"What about you, Brother Chen? Did you find the class interesting?" Feng Ning asked the moment they got out of the classroom.
"Well, yes, it was pretty interesting as I learnt a lot of new things." Yi Chen replied.
"Then, is Senior Brother Chen planning to take Pill Refining as his Occupation?" Dong Yun asked the very next moment.
"Well, that’s too early to decide now. There’s still the practical class left and the familiarity classes for other occupations. I’ll patiently assess everything before making the decision. What about you?" Yi Chen asked the next moment, curiosity evident in his eyes as he hadn’t heard anything about where his interest lay.
"Me?" Dong Yun smiled brightly the moment Yi Chen asked that question and answered, "I’ll naturally go with the one Brother Chen chooses."
"..."
’Is this guy serious...’ Yi Chen couldn’t help but be left speechless when he heard him.