Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Failure?
The spring rain had been falling all day. By the time Ye Jingcheng returned to the small courtyard, it was already dusk, with many rain moths fluttering in the mountains.
The Golden Scale Beast was waiting in the courtyard, feeling a bit anxious.
Its eyes were filled with boredom, while the Jade Ring Rat was frolicking in the rain, its mouth full of rain moths.
These rain moths, after all, were growing on Lingyun Peak, stained with some spiritual energy, providing the Jade Ring Rat with an opportunity to improve its diet.
Unusually, the Golden Scale Beast did not roar at the Jade Ring Rat.
Upon seeing Ye Jingcheng’s return, it immediately dashed forward, seemingly to show that it was recovering well.
Its entire body was enveloped in golden spiritual light, with faintly glowing spirit patterns appearing on each inch of its scale armor.
It let out a proud growl, its chest held high.
Through the soul contract, Ye Jingcheng understood the Golden Scale Beast’s intentions, patting its head:
"I know you’re ready!"
Ye Jingcheng infused some treasure light and then brought it into the room.
Before entering, he tossed a Spirit Nourishing Pill to the Jade Ring Rat, also infusing some treasure light.
The latter instantly squeaked excitedly, its large jade ears flapping rhythmically.
Ye Jingcheng waved his hand, indicating for the Jade Ring Rat to continue.
He then entered the room. Currently, the Jade Ring Rat’s help to him was minimal, and he had asked the elders, finding out that the Beast Communication Pattern’s capacity was limited.
Despite having a seven-inch Beast Communication Pattern, clearly, only the spirit beasts that could keep up were worth focusing on.
Therefore, the Jade Ring Rat was naturally treated differently from the other two spirit beasts, but as an Alchemy Master, he could still provide standard Spirit Nourishing Pills and spirit stone-free treasure light.
Entering the room, after setting up the array, as the spiritual light receded, Ye Jingcheng took out a jade bottle. A soily yellow pill rolled out from the bottle.
It was the Golden Scale Pill.
With the Golden Scale Pill revealed, the Golden Scale Beast’s breathing noticeably quickened, its large front paws pacing anxiously.
Ye Jingcheng infused more spiritual light into the Golden Scale Beast, then gave it a Lotus Yellow Pill to swallow.
To keep the Golden Scale Beast’s spiritual energy abundant.
After the Lotus Yellow Pill, it was time for the Golden Scale Pill.
The Golden Scale Beast immediately found a corner to crouch down, its whole body beginning to uncontrollably emit spiritual light, dimming the room’s candlelight and turning the color to golden yellow.
Powerful breaths emerged, as spiritual energy began to gather towards the Golden Scale Beast.
Ye Jingcheng felt the soul contract, finding no issues. It was a normal bloodline advancement for the Golden Scale Beast, so he stopped worrying.
He then took out an array disc, setting up a concealing and isolating array around the Golden Scale Beast, covering it.
After doing all this, Ye Jingcheng sat on a stone bench nearby, starting to contemplate the future.
After leaving the Treasure Tower, he asked Ye Haiyi about the beast hunting operation, which was set to begin in about half a month. If the Golden Scale Beast advanced like the Red Flame Fox, it might not make it.
But now, his strength wasn’t much less even without the Golden Scale Beast, especially with the Red Flame Fox’s Fireball Skill at full force. Even with the Cold Sun Seal, he would not dare face it head-on.
Another reason was that he didn’t want to expose the Golden Scale Beast’s advancement too soon.
So, even if it would cause delays, he still let the Golden Scale Beast swallow the Golden Scale Pill to advance.
Of course, it would be better if the bloodline advancement succeeded before departure.
Ye Haiyi had given them fifteen days.
Ye Jingcheng also began mass-producing pills. This time, his alchemy aimed for long-term demon hunting in the Taihang Mountain Range.
He sought to earn back all the Contribution Points spent on the Jade Qilin Snake.
Additionally, more Contribution Points were needed for future spirit egg catalyzation, which would also require arranging catalytic spirit arrays and procuring spirit water.
Thus, battle-consumable elixirs were his first choice.
For example, Qi Replenishing Pills for spiritual energy recovery, Ice Purity Pills for dispelling illusionary poisonous fog, and Qi Blood Pills for healing and replenishing vitality, he planned to prepare at least ten of each.
Otherwise, alchemy in the Taihang Mountain Range would not only be dangerous due to possibly attracting powerful demon beasts, but Ye Jingcheng couldn’t accept the weakness after pill refinement either.
He also exchanged for various spirit talismans at the Treasure Pavilion just after the family meeting.
After over a dozen days passed, Ye Jingcheng’s eyes looked somewhat tired.
The Red Flame Fox beside him, its entire body shone with a crimson spiritual light, its blue eyes, with spiritual light flowing within them.
Looking at the numerous pill bottles on the table, Ye Jingcheng let out a sigh of relief, with the fatigue in his eyes somewhat dissipated.
For Qi Replenishing Pills, Qi Blood Pills, and Ice Purity Pills, he refined two batches of each.
Now, when he refined a Tier One Middle Grade Qi Blood Pill, he could almost produce eight to nine pills, with full ten-pill batches not uncommon.
The Tier One High-Grade Qi Replenishing Pills were slightly less effective but still yielded six to seven pills per batch.
Besides these regular pills, there was also a jade bottle glowing with intense crimson, emitting a red glow.
Inside the pill bottle, two bright red pills were particularly striking.
These were Tier One High-Grade Spirit Pills called Red Ganoderma Pills. They could advance the cultivation of Fire Attribute Cultivators and also enhance Fire Attribute Spirit Beasts.
Among Tier One Elixirs, they were considered top-notch. In the market, even sold one by one, they could fetch sixty to seventy spirit stones each.
Moreover, while refining the Red Ganoderma Pill, he successfully made three pills in his first attempt without any mistakes.
The Red Flame Fox swallowed one on the spot.
It was still refining it at present.
Ye Jingcheng put away the pills, although at this moment, he noticed that the Golden Scale Beast had already shed its spiritual light, its body now larger by another size.
Its scale armor had become richer in spiritual lustre, and its claws sharper.
However, what puzzled Ye Jingcheng was that the Golden Scale Beast had neither developed a Demon Beast Inner Core nor increased its cultivation by a large margin.
Looking back at the Treasure Book, he found that the pill formula remained that of the Tier One High-Grade Golden Scale Pill.
"Failed?"
Ye Jingcheng was thoroughly puzzled. He walked over to the Golden Scale Beast, which appeared rather excited, constantly circling Ye Jingcheng, offering its broad forehead and squinting its eyes.
It seemed to be enjoying the nourishment of treasure light.
"No, it should be that the advancement was insufficient, and the pill’s effect was limited. Maybe it needs another go!" Ye Jingcheng concluded after studying it for a while.
Evidently, even among bloodline spirit beasts that could advance, the bloodline’s capacity varied in strength.
The Red Flame Fox’s bloodline was noticeably stronger, activating with just one pill.
The Golden Scale Beast’s was weaker.
One pill clearly wasn’t enough, but tangible improvements were still there, only insufficient for a qualitative change.
Because of this, Ye Jingcheng became a bit curious about what scenes might occur if a regular demon beast consumed a Red Flame Pill and Golden Scale Pill.
Would they be unable to withstand the potency? Or would there be improvements as well?
If it were the latter, Ye Jingcheng could hand over the pill formula to the family and earn a significant amount of Contribution Points.
And if more Contribution Points were needed later for spirit egg catalyzation, he’d also need to perform refinement for catalytic Spirit Arrays and Spirit Water.
Therefore, combat-consumable elixirs like Qi Replenishing Pills for energy recovery, Ice Purity Pills to dispel illusionary poisons, and Qi Blood Pills for healing and vitality replenishment were his primary choice.
Otherwise, practicing alchemy in the Taihang Mountain Range would not only be dangerous, given that it might attract powerful demon beasts, but also because Ye Jingcheng could not afford the post-alchemy risks.
In any event, after the family meeting that day, Ye Jingcheng also went to the Treasure Tower and exchanged for various spirit talismans.
After more than ten days, Ye Jingcheng’s eyes seemed tired.
But as he looked at the numerous pill bottles on the table and exhaled a long breath, some of the fatigue in his eyes seemed to lift.
Among them were at least two batches each of Qi Replenishing Pills for energy recovery, Ice Purity Pills for removing illusionary poisonous fog, and Qi Blood Pills for healing and replenishing vitality.
Otherwise, practicing alchemy in the Taihang Mountains would be risky, as strong demon beasts would be attracted, which would make Ye Jingcheng unwilling to endure any weakness after the refining process.
In addition to that, he had already exchanged various Spirit Talismans at the Treasure Pavilion after the family meeting that day.
Ten days passed, Ye Jingcheng’s eyes looked weary.
However, looking at the numerous pill bottles on the table, he took a long deep breath, a good deal of the exhaustion lifting from his eyes.
Among them, he had refined two batches of Qi Replenishing Pills and Qi Blood Pills, producing up to eight to nine pellets per batch, with even ten full pills being achieved at times.
One of the jade bottles was exceptionally crimson, radiating a red glow.
It contained two vivid red pills, which were particularly eye-catching.
These were Tier One High-Grade Spirit Pills, the Red Ganoderma Pills, capable of enhancing Fire Attribute Cultivator’s cultivation, and likewise improving Fire Attribute Spirit Beasts.
Among the Tier One Elixirs, they were considered top-grade. In the market, they could sell for up to sixty to seventy Contributions each, even individually.
What was more, during the process of refining the Red Ganoderma Pills, he achieved an error-free success in making three pills on his first attempt.
He didn’t encounter the slightest mistake.
So he made three pills at once, but the Red Flame Fox immediately consumed one.
Up to now, it was still refining.
Ye Jingcheng stored the elixirs away but at this moment, noticed that the spiritual light around the Golden Scale Beast had already dissipated, yet its body had not developed a Demon Beast Inner Core nor had its cultivation increased significantly.
This left him puzzled as he looked back at the Treasure Book, confirming that the pill formula was still for the Tier One High-Grade Golden Scale Pill.
"That’s strange..."
He stepped closer to the Golden Scale Beast, which didn’t produce a Demon Beast Inner Core, and neither did it have a significant improvement in cultivation.
"Something’s not right, the advancement was probably too minor, the effect of the elixir was limited. Perhaps it requires another one!" Ye Jingcheng speculated after examining the situation.
He surmised that even within bloodline spirit beasts capable of advancing, the bloodline’s ability varied in strength.
If an ordinary demon beast took it, would it also witness an enhancement in abilities?
Ye Jingcheng pondered over this curiosity.
"Well, it’s okay if you advance a little slower. In the end, you can help me in the Taihang Mountains. It gives me some time to prepare a backup!" Ye Jingcheng mumbled to himself, then proceeded to bring out Body Tempering Pills and had the Golden Scale Beast consume the Lotus Yellow Pill for enhancement.