The first batch of Qi Nourishing Pills refined today marked a new personal record.
Out of the five Qi Nourishing Pills, two were Upper Grade, one was Middle Grade, and two were Lower Grade.
This result was thanks to a change in the main Spiritual Material for refining Qi Nourishing Pills: the Qi Nourishing Grass.
The Qi Nourishing Grass used this time was of fine quality.
Fang Yun had used fine-quality auxiliary Spiritual Materials before, but this was the first time he had used a fine-quality main Spiritual Material.
The next two batches of Qi Nourishing Pills each yielded two Upper-Grade Qi Nourishing Pills and three Lower-Grade Qi Nourishing Pills.
At Fang Yun's current skill level in refining Qi Nourishing Pills, he could now consistently achieve this result with each batch. Even on the rare occasion he made a mistake, he could still guarantee an output of at least one Upper-Grade Qi Nourishing Pill.
"Steward Zhou, here is my Token."
"Fang Yun, from the looks of it, did you have a new breakthrough today?"
"Yes, I had good luck today."
"Congratulations! Your aura tells me you're almost at the peak of the Qi Refining Third Layer. I wish you a swift breakthrough to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer."
"I'll take you up on those auspicious words, Steward Zhou."
Watching Fang Yun's back disappear, Steward Zhou took a sip of wine.
Fang Yun's records for renting an Alchemy Room showed he came eighteen or nineteen times a month.
Consistently refining pills led to a rapid increase in Cultivation. Steward Zhou began to speculate on the true extent of Fang Yun's Alchemy Talent.
'An Elder with Five Spirit Roots… Perhaps our Celestial Cloud Sect will have another one in the future.'
Throughout the history of the Celestial Cloud Sect, only one person like Fang Yun, with no background and Five Spirit Roots, had ever successfully reached Foundation Establishment.
There was currently an Elder with Five Spirit Roots among the Celestial Cloud Sect's Elders, but this Elder had a powerful background.
A powerful background meant more resources.
Taking another sip of wine, Steward Zhou shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
Foundation Establishment was beyond the reach of Stewards like them.
Theoretically, it was possible to reach Foundation Establishment after the age of sixty, but in the history of the Celestial Cloud Sect, there had never been a case of someone first becoming a Steward and then successfully reaching Foundation Establishment to become an Elder.
「Dan Cloud Pavilion.」
Today, a Steward was manning the counter on the first floor of the Dan Cloud Pavilion.
Positions like this were usually held by Stewards. It was a mystery how Senior Sister Wang Yourong had been assigned to such a post.
"Steward, I need to purchase Qi Radiance Pills."
"A Lower-Grade Qi Radiance Pill costs ten Lower-Grade Spirit Stones."
"Do you have any Upper-Grade Qi Radiance Pills?" Fang Yun asked.
"Let me see..." The Steward opened a list and quickly gave Fang Yun an answer. "Huh, we actually have one Upper-Grade Qi Radiance Pill."
"Do you have two Middle-Grade Qi Radiance Pills?" Fang Yun continued to ask.
"We do."
"Steward, I'll take the one Upper-Grade Qi Radiance Pill and the two Middle-Grade Qi Radiance Pills."
"You're Fang Yun, right?" the Steward asked with a sudden smile, looking at him.
This was the first time he had seen this Steward, but now that he had a certain reputation, it wasn't surprising that the Steward knew him. Perhaps he was on good terms with Steward Zhou and had heard about him from there.
"Yes."
"Just how afraid are you of failing to break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining, kid? Even with Five Spirit Roots, one Upper-Grade Qi Radiance Pill should be more than enough for you."
A Cultivator with Five Spirit Roots could succeed in breaking through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer in most cases, as long as they used an Upper-Grade Qi Radiance Pill to assist them.
"Steward, I just think it's better to be safe."
"Look at you." The Steward couldn't help but shake his head with a laugh. 'Isn't this being a little too cautious? If we had three Upper-Grade Qi Radiance Pills, I bet this kid Fang Yun would buy them all.' "Well, it's not my business. As long as you have enough Spirit Stones."
"A Middle-Grade Qi Radiance Pill is twenty-five Lower-Grade Spirit Stones, and an Upper-Grade Qi Radiance Pill is sixty Lower-Grade Spirit Stones. That's one hundred and ten Lower-Grade Spirit Stones in total."
The Steward knew Fang Yun hadn't been in the sect for even half a year, so he definitely wouldn't have any Contribution Points. Thus, he didn't bother asking if he wanted to pay with Contribution Points or Spirit Stones.
As the Steward went to fetch the pills, Fang Yun counted out one hundred and ten Lower-Grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Pouch and placed them on the counter.
He now had seventy-two Lower-Grade Spirit Stones left.
Less than a hundred Lower-Grade Spirit Stones wasn't even enough to repay Senior Sister Song.
Of course, there was still some time before the half-year mark, and even longer until the one-year deadline. It wasn't time to repay the Spirit Stones yet.
Even if he had to repay the Spirit Stones now, Fang Yun could manage it. He still had a stock of unsold Middle-Grade and Lower-Grade Qi Nourishing Pills worth over a hundred Lower-Grade Spirit Stones.
"Here you go. The Upper-Grade and Middle-Grade Qi Radiance Pills you wanted."
After checking the three pills, Fang Yun quickly left the Dan Cloud Pavilion.
After leaving Dan Cloud Peak this time, he first went to his Spirit Field to tend to his Purple Corn. He wouldn't have time to care for it tomorrow, so he went to do it now.
Aside from the three mu of Spirit Fields he tended, the nearby Spirit Fields were quite empty.
A month ago, Tian Ruifeng had already harvested all his Purple Corn. He had planted his a month earlier than Fang Yun.
Now, Tian Ruifeng wasn't continuing to plant Purple Corn; instead, he was busy with his breeding work.
Although the Mutated Purple Corn plant required fertilizer, after a comprehensive evaluation, it was deemed a mutated plant worth cultivating.
Tian Ruifeng had even given the Mutated Purple Corn plant a new name.
Purple Crystal Rice.
During the breeding period, Tian Ruifeng had reached a point where he never strayed far from this Purple Crystal Rice plant.
Fang Yun glanced over at the situation but didn't disturb Tian Ruifeng.
When he returned to his residence, he fell straight into bed and slept.
When Fang Yun woke up, he was refreshed and full of energy.
He checked his Storage Pouch.
"One hundred and forty-six."
This was the number of Upper-Grade Qi Nourishing Pills Fang Yun currently possessed.
He had never sold any of the Upper-Grade Qi Nourishing Pills he refined.
Now, with each cycle, he would refine five to six Upper-Grade Qi Nourishing Pills. After consuming one for his Cultivation, he would have a surplus of four to five.
The Qi Nourishing Pill was a pill suitable for Cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining.
Its effects were average for Cultivators in the middle stages of Qi Refining.
For Fang Yun, he could continue to use Upper-Grade Qi Nourishing Pills during the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, but once he reached the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, it would be better to switch to Cyan Jade Pills.
'A few dozen more Upper-Grade Qi Nourishing Pills should be enough to support my Cultivation through the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.'
Fang Yun took out an Upper-Grade Qi Nourishing Pill, made a quick mental calculation, and then swallowed it.
In under four hours, Fang Yun finished his Cultivation and laid out the Upper-Grade and Middle-Grade Qi Radiance Pills.
He had now cultivated to the peak of the Qi Refining Third Layer.
Having prepared the pills in advance, he could now attempt to break through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.
During a single breakthrough attempt, one could use a maximum of three Qi Radiance Pills. It wasn't that a fourth pill would have no effect, but that there wouldn't be an opportunity to use it.
When breaking through a Realm, the critical moment was the final push. This phase had a limited duration; if one couldn't succeed within the time limit, it was considered a failure.
One Upper-Grade Qi Radiance Pill and two Middle-Grade Qi Radiance Pills.
If he still failed to break through under these circumstances, Fang Yun felt he might as well just find a brick and smack himself dead with it.