Chapter 953: Cultivation
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Aural Dao? That’s a great way to describe it. With the Alliance’s current technology, it seems like they’ve yet to discover the power of Great Daos…
Fang Yuan nodded. When they do, this world will turn into a terrifying place that is comparable to the Mental Demon Realm!
Evidently, refining certain top-notch pills required an alchemist’s natural methods. Integrating with heaven and earth, they had to extract active Aural Dao and infuse it into the pill. This was something smart-brain could not replicate.
This was also the constant research of modern pharmacy masters, and Han Yunfeng’s interests lay here.
“What about the reward?” Fang Yuan asked calmly.
These high-end research fields, and ancient and modern disputes, were not very attractive to ordinary students because their only concern was their credits.
“I can offer you fifty credits a day! On top of that, I won’t stop you from watching when I’m concocting pills, but I won’t explain the process either. You’ll have to depend on yourself to learn what you can!”
Han Yunfeng played with the ends of his hair. “What do you think?”
“Deal. Let’s sign the contract now and verify it on the school website!”
Fang Yuan was delighted with this reward. He asked curiously, “Why do other students give you such a low rating?”
“They… I wasn’t satisfied with the previous students I had, but I couldn’t find anyone better. I could only take them in and give them a few credits a day…”
Han Yunfeng added, “Even so, they were a bunch of idiots. Not only could they not learn my alchemy, but they also destroyed a lot of this old man’s resources. I didn’t even request an ounce of compensation from them.”
“Old man?”
Fang Yuan was speechless while looking at Han Yunfeng, who only looked a few years older.
“Haha… In the past, cultivators lived until two hundred. Today, their lifespan is even longer. This old man is already over seventy. When I was young, I consumed a Youthful Pill, which is why I don’t look old,” Han Yunfeng explained briefly.
…
Seven days later.
In the basement of the courtyard house.
Fang Yuan pressed both hands into the metal palm prints while looking at the reactor furnace in front of him.
“Now beginning refinement of the Qi Enhancement Pill. We need: 3.5 grams of Heaven Reaching Herb, 10 grams of purple mulberry, 100 grams of pure water…” a robotic voice recited.
Through the glass, different materials were burning and fusing into one in the enclosed environment.
“Pharmacist, please input spiritual power. Counting down: 3, 2, 1!” sounded the smart-brain’s voice.
Without hesitation, Fang Yuan injected his spiritual energy.
Suddenly, as though he had added a catalyst, the various liquids within the furnace immediately contracted and became semi-solid.
“Pharmacist, please input your spiritual will and integrate it with the spiritual power to shape the pill!” the smart-brain recited the next step.
Fang Yuan injected a trace of his spiritual will into the furnace together with his spiritual power, experiencing the process of making pills. “Yeah… even though cultivators can make pills with less effort now, it still requires technical skills! Of course, this isn’t hard for me at all!”
Splash!
After three minutes, dozens of luminescent pills rolled out from the machine, filling up an entire bottle.
“As expected, Lin Meng. You’re a medicinal genius! When you become a big figure, be sure to return the favor!”
Han Yunfeng picked up a Qi Enhancement Pill with two fingers. He was delighted with the quality. “The quality of the pill is perfect. The completion rate is very high too. How does it feel to use modern cultivation methods to concoct pills?”
“It does seem much more convenient. But there’s still a problem with time lag when inputting spiritual will and spiritual energy. This is a physical limitation, which is a problem that even the best cultivators can’t resolve!”
Fang Yuan frowned. “If the day comes when a technology that can supply spiritual will and spiritual energy can combine with a smart-brain controlled furnace, we can probably mass-produce low-tier pills. Many pharmacists would lose their jobs then…”
“Lin Meng, you’re truly a visionary. I can tell you this. In the Western institutes, there’s a school of thought called Spiritual Research. They’re about to complete a breakthrough in this field. Once they have a conclusive result, they’ll break into the pharmaceutical market, and our Eastern pharmacists and related companies will suffer…”
Han Yunfeng sighed.
Of course, I know that you’re worried about this. You might even hold some shares in those pharmaceutical companies!
Fang Yuan rolled his eyes.
Han Yunfeng continued, “For the problem you mentioned, that’s something we can’t help. By the time our sea of consciousness receives the data, it takes time for our body to react. That’s a delay we can’t help. We can only reduce this time lag. Oh, there’s a ‘Hundred Spiritual Will Control’ spiritual technique within the school’s spiritual technique exchange. You can get it to practice!”
“Hundred Spiritual Will Control?”
Fang Yuan looked it up and realized that it was an explanation of how to cultivate and control one’s spiritual will.
“Only pharmacists who enjoy ancient alchemy or those without a fusion reactor furnace would choose to learn the Flame Control Technique. The pills produced are of very low value as well. To compare with the pills made from the fusion reactor furnace, pharmacists have to strengthen their spiritual will!
“The Hundred Spiritual Will Control is only the start. After that, there’s the dao art ‘Thousand Spiritual Will Control’ and the magical power ‘Absolute Spiritual Will Control’! These are necessary for a pharmacist’s cultivation!”
The benefit of having a teacher was that you could obtain all sorts of useful information. According to your situation, the teacher could provide suggestions for your cultivation.
“I understand!”
On the surface, Fang Yuan pretended to accept, but he treated those words like air.
It was said that at high realms of the Hundred Spiritual Will Control, one could perform ten, a hundred different tasks at once. Unfortunately, compared to a Demon God’s True Spirit, even the Absolute Spiritual Will Control was mere child’s play.
“I’ll remember the fusion reactor furnace!”
Fang Yuan took a deep look at the silver furnace in front of him that was brimming with various scents.
At his spiritual will level, the only thing he lacked was his cultivation. Otherwise, he could refine higher-tier pills.
As he thought about this, he glanced at his stats window:
“Name: Fang Yuan (Lin Meng)
Profession: Student
Cultivation: Mystic (Level 3), Arcanist (Level 1)
Brain Development: 200%
World Seal Breaking: 77.28%”
“I’ve only increased my level by one over the past few days. Even though it’s because I’ve been indulging in refining pills, the main reason is the cultivation environment here…”
…
They went up the stairs and stood before the bronze furnace again.
“After comparing the old and new concoction methods, what do you think of the new one?” Han Yunfeng asked.
“Of course, the new one is superior. In terms of low to mid-tier refining, the ancient cultivation method suffers a complete loss. Even refining high-tier pills and drugs using the new method is much better. In terms of the handling of the materials, the new method is already at a whole other level. It greatly increases the success rate!” Fang Yuan answered without even thinking.
The material cost required for high-tier drugs was astonishing. Increasing the success rate by even 1% was impressive.
Moreover, technology was steadily improving. Of course, Fang Yuan was supportive of this. “Although many high-tier pills and drugs need to follow the ancient process, a number of methods used today are essential in the process! In this day and age, it’s not impossible to see greater improvements!”
“That’s right!” Han Yunfeng sat cross-legged before the furnace. “The focus of my experiment is to integrate the old and new methods perfectly! Now that you’re familiar with the composition of the furnace, why don’t you help me refine a drug!”
“All right!” Fang Yuan agreed readily.
Speaking of which, even though Han Yunfeng had rewarded him with credits, he focused on refining low to medium tier pills, which was not challenging at all.
However, he sensed that something was different this time.
“Heaven Crystal Powder!”
“Fallen Mist Liquid!”
…
“And the most valuable, the Zerg King brain nucleus!”
Fang Yuan stared at the dozens of materials that Han Yunfeng pulled out. He could not help asking, “Teacher, are you going to refine a mid-tier brain development drug?”
There were only three types of brain development drugs. Fang Yuan had used the low-tier one, but the school network did not provide the mid-tier one.
Of course, it was possible that Fang Yuan did not have sufficient jurisdiction to obtain access to that information. He estimated that if he put up an astronomical amount of credits on the school network, he would obtain as much access as he liked.
The highest level, the high-tier brain development drug, could make up for a cultivator’s shortcomings in their spiritual roots. This was a highly valuable drug that one might not even see in their lifetime.
“That’s right, the mid-tier brain development drug!” Han Yunfeng nodded. “According to ancient standards, this drug is at the pinnacle of mid-tier pills. It’s almost at the level of high-tier pills. Even for me, it’s not easy!”
Han Yunfeng was a pharmacist whose cultivation was not impressive, equivalent to the Foundation Establishment stage. He was not even at level ten Mystic yet.
Refining a high-tier drug was a little forceful for him, but he could refine mid-tier drugs easily. At this level of alchemy, one could easily call him a master.
“I’m prepared to use ancient refining techniques to make a mid-tier brain development drug… Actually, my ultimate goal is a high-tier one!!!”
Han Yunfeng’s eyes seemed a little bloodshot.
“The brain development drug was created by modern cultivators. In ancient times, a drug that could benefit spiritual roots was extremely rare…”
Fang Yuan recalled the information he had read. “If you can use ancient refinement methods to make a mid-tier brain development drug, it’s equally possible to make a high-tier one as well.”
The difficulty of high-tier pills laid in the necessity to infuse Aural Dao during the refinement process.
In this regard, the natural methods of ancient cultivators were very advantageous.
What Han Yunfeng wanted to do was perform multiple experiments to test the use of ancient refinement methods. He intended to break through the barrier of creating certain high-tier pills.
For instance, modern pharmacists used high-tech reactor furnaces to refine brain development drugs.
Han Yunfeng wanted to experiment with ancient refinement methods. He had already succeeded several times in refining low-tier brain development drugs.
Now, he was going to try mid-tier ones.
“I’ll do my best to help!”
Fang Yuan sat at the side and widened his eyes. He was ecstatic, as he was going to have the chance to steal some refining techniques. He thought of an excellent way to strike it rich.
