The resources for Mid-stage Foundation Establishment are extremely precious, indeed even more valuable than Spirit Stones. When you really need to exchange for some Spiritual Objects, using high-level âShushan Yellow Spirit Elixirsâ is more welcomed than using Spirit Stones.
Li Shiming maintained a frequency of refining five times a day, which amounted to accumulating ten top-grade âShushan Yellow Spirit Elixirsâ for himself every day.
Unfortunately, such happy days did not last long; after just over thirty days, he had used up all the sectâs materials for âShushan Yellow Spirit Elixirsâ. The materials accumulated by the sect over many years simply could not keep up with his unrestrained refining speed.
This showed the importance of a powerful alchemist to a sect. In just over thirty days, he had refined 1,600 bottles of high-level âShushan Yellow Spirit Elixirsâ for the sect, and of course, he also had 1,600 bottles of high-level âShushan Yellow Spirit Elixirsâ in his own chamber.
Not to mention he also had 324 top-grade âShushan Yellow Spirit Elixirsâ. By his estimate, these were enough for him to cultivate for a year, and there wouldnât be a second Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator in the entire Cultivation World who could consume one top-grade elixir daily.
Many informed cultivators within the sect were stunned by his alchemy activities. Fortunately, Elder Ma shielded him from outside prying, allowing him to refine elixirs and cultivate in peace.
âJunior Brother!â One day, just after Li Shiming finished practicing âPurple Qi Eastwardâ and was about to continue with two Body Refining Techniques, he received news that his senior sister Ye Jingxian and two senior brothers were visiting.
âSenior Sister, Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother!â After he activated the Formation, inviting the three into the main hall of his cave dwelling, Shiming asked curiously, âSenior Sister, arenât you in closed-door cultivation? How come you have time to visit me?â
âIsnât it because I heard our Junior Brother has become a High-level Alchemist and that your skills far surpass the other High-level Alchemists in our sect? You also know what my closed-door cultivation is like. I just happen to need your help with something, so I came over!â Senior Sister said without beating around the bush.
âSenior Sister, please feel free to speak!â Li Shiming replied with a smile.
âItâs not about me, itâs about these two!â The Senior Sister said, pointing to the Second Senior Brother Wan Zheng and Third Senior Brother Lu Shi.
âThe two senior brothers could have come to directly to me with anything, there was no need to trouble Senior Sister!â Li Shiming shook his head and said with a smile as he looked towards his two senior brothers.
The Senior Sister and the two Senior Brothers exchanged glances, all showing a smile of helplessness.
Originally, everyone was under Elder Suâs tutelage, and the relationship naturally developed over time, becoming quite close with the passage of the days.
The Senior Sister and the two Senior Brothers are just like this. Apart from the days they greeted the Master within the sect, they usually did not communicate much with each other.
But Li Shimingâs growth was somewhat rapid, and now he was already a High-level Alchemist capable of continuously refining high-grade Second Grade Spirit Elixirs, which made them have to think about strengthening their exchanges with Li Shiming.
Their visit this time was partly because the two senior brothers wanted to refine a batch of elixirs, and partly to take this opportunity to meet Li Shiming and bond with him.
The senior sister was in closed-door cultivation, but her closed-door cultivation was not really being secluded from the world; she still paid attention to outside information.
The two junior brothers approached her, told her about Li Shimingâs situation, and that led to this joint visit.
âJunior Brother, hereâs an elixir recipe. Could you take a look and see if you can refine it and what the quality and success rate would be?â Second Senior Brother Wan Zheng handed Li Shiming a recipe.
Li Shiming received the recipe, which was a formula using seven kinds of Second Grade Spirit Medicines combined with over fifty kinds of First-grade spiritual medicines as materials, slightly more complex than the âShushan Yellow Spirit Elixirsâ but still within his capabilities.
The recipe was detailed in its refining method. With his experience from refining over 1,600 batches of Second Grade Elixir Pills, even though it was a new formula, he could guarantee the refining results.
No High-level Alchemical process could be observed at a micro-level, and experience under such conditions meant a single refinement was comparable to the alchemy experiences of other High-level Alchemists, tens or hundreds of times over.
He had already successfully refined other Spirit Pills multiple times, and it was with this experience that he felt very confident in refining the âGreen Glass Five Elements Pillâ.
âA fine Spirit Pill indeed, I can refine it. Iâm about eighty percent confident that I can produce a high-quality product!â Li Shiming pondered for a moment before responding.
Hearing him say this, Wan Zheng and Lu Shi were both delighted.
The âGreen Glass Five Elements Pillâ is a Cultivation Assistance Spirit Pill that can be consumed by mid-to-late stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. After obtaining the Elixir Recipe, the two had been collecting Spiritual Medicines.
They had been taking several of the Sectâs Spirit Pills for a long time, and the drug resistance in their bodies had made the pillsâ effects increasingly poor.
Not just them, many mid-to-late stage Foundation Establishment cultivators would seek out Elixir Recipes and hire High-level Alchemists to refine the pills. After taking a kind of Spirit Pill for a year or two, its effects would hardly meet the needs of cultivation, necessitating the switch to other Spirit Pills.
As for asking their master, Elder Su, to intervene and have Elder Ma refine the pills for them, unless it involved a matter of life and death or a critical breakthrough, Elder Su would be embarrassed to ask Elder Ma to perform Alchemy.
Although Elder Su and Elder Ma were old friends, owing favors at the Golden Core level was something to be avoided as much as possible.
âJunior Brother, here are the Spiritual Medicines. Please help us out!â Wan Zheng took out a storage bag and placed it in front of Li Shiming, bowing alongside Lu Shi.
âYouâre too kind, Senior Brothers. Let me first take a look at the Spiritual Medicines!â Li Shimingâs Divine Thought entered the storage bag to inspect the medicinal materials, and finding them to be extremely well-preserved, he nodded in approval.
However, the quantity of Spiritual Medicines was substantialâhe counted about fifty portions.
âJunior Brother, we mustnât break the rules of Alchemistsâthe matter of compensation should be handled in the usual way!â said Wan Zheng.
This was Li Shimingâs first-time refining for private reasons outside of Sect tasks. He was still somewhat unfamiliar with the matter of compensation, especially since he was dealing with his own Senior Brothers.
âJunior Brother, donât be courteous with them. If not for the fact that they could come to you directly, many cultivators of the Sect would have liked to ask for your help but were stopped by Elder Ma, stating that you are still in the learning phase. If you charge too little, not only will Elder Ma reprimand you, but you will also be resented by other Alchemists!â The Eldest Senior Sister, knowing Li Shiming felt embarrassed, explained with a smile.
Neither Wan Zheng nor Lu Shi, nor the Eldest Senior Sister Ye Jingxian, wanted Li Shiming to refine for free, as that would make it difficult for them to approach him for help in the future.
Given Li Shimingâs current Alchemy talent, he was bound to become an Alchemy Master. The benefit of being able to call upon an Alchemy Master at any moment far outweighed the advantage of one or two free refinement sessions.
Being sensible individuals, how could they forgo greater benefits for minor gains?
âSince the Eldest Senior Sister has spoken, I will take on the task!â Li Shiming ultimately nodded and agreed.
Though they expected Li Shiming would help, Wan Zheng and Lu Shi still showed excitement.
Li Shiming did not interact much with the mid-to-late stage Foundation Establishment cultivators within the Sect, so he was unaware of their current sentiments.
Upon learning that a new High-level Alchemist had appeared within the Sect, many mid-to-late stage Foundation Establishment cultivators were inwardly elated and hopeful, thinking that once this newly promoted High-level Alchemist matured, their Alchemy options would increase.
However, batch after batch of high-quality âShushan Yellow Spirit Pillsâ was delivered to the Sectâs storehouse, a fact that couldnât be concealed from the Sect members. All knew that the new High-level Alchemist had produced a large number of high-quality âShushan Yellow Spirit Pillsâ without fail.
This led many of the predominant mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, who had overindulged in âShushan Yellow Spirit Pills,â to regretfully wish they could bang their heads against a wall, as the potency of high-quality âShushan Yellow Spirit Pillsâ is incomparable to that of the low-to-mid-grade ones.
Likewise, the Sect redefined the contribution points for redeeming high-quality âShushan Yellow Spirit Pillsâ and marked this batch with Li Shimingâs unique identifier.