I Can Reincarnate Infinitely

He left the task of expanding their influence to Gu Xiaofang, Luo Jinyu, and the others.

As for Du Youqian, he dove headfirst into the vast ocean of Alchemy.

What you might think Alchemy is: 300-year-old XX leaves + 200-year-old XXX fruit + 300-year-old XXXX roots, all tossed into a Pill Furnace. Simmer for three days, then blast it with high heat for five. Show off a fancy Gathering Pill technique, and voilà, pills!

What Alchemy is actually like: ’This 300-year-old XX leaf, perhaps due to its origin, is a bit too potent. I need to find a way to neutralize it. Use XXXX leaves? No, that would react with the XXX fruit and affect the final Pill Quality. I’ll have to consider using a mixed juice of XXX and XXX, prepared in a 1:9 ratio, as a neutralizing agent. I’ll process the XX leaf with that first.’

’Next, I’ll process the 200-year-old XXX fruit and the 300-year-old XXXX roots. They each have their own unique properties and require different processing techniques.’

’Finally, during the actual Alchemy, the weather, the furnace temperature, even slight fluctuations in Spiritual Qi caused by someone engaging in Magical Combat near the Alchemy Room, can all alter the Pill Formation process, requiring me to adapt on the fly.’

So, becoming a Tier Three Alchemy Master isn’t as simple as memorizing a few Tier Three Pill Formulas and mechanically following the instructions.

It requires the accumulation of vast foundational knowledge and, even more importantly, a massive amount of practice.

If any Alchemy Master were to be reincarnated on the Earth of Du Youqian’s first life, they could probably become a titan capable of turning the worlds of chemistry and materials science upside down.

They might not be able to create a room-temperature superconductor from scratch, but they certainly wouldn’t be involved in a fiasco like the LK-99 incident.

Du Youqian’s talent for Alchemy was by no means poor.

His foundational knowledge was also more than sufficient.

Now that the strength of his Divine Sense had barely reached the minimum threshold, the final barrier to mastering Tier Three Alchemy was gone.

After compensating Master Taihe with 150 Spiritual Jade in installments, his Alchemy smoothly advanced to Tier Three.

Du Youqian had wanted to celebrate properly. Even if he couldn’t frequent the pleasure houses, he at least wanted to visit the Hundred Flowers Sect and enjoy the new song and dance performance that Shuyue Hua had choreographed for her disciples.

But a quick calculation of the time revealed... he had no time for such leisurely pursuits.

Fang Hua was not, of course, standing right behind him.

Absolutely not.

So, he merely paid a visit to Master Qingqiu.

He had no ulterior motive. It’s just that after holding his own for a hundred moves against Master Taihe, Du Youqian felt—

He discovered that there was still a significant gap between himself and a Core Formation Master.

Of course, Master Qingqiu was considerate enough not to make his defeat too humiliating.

Although, the look in his eyes that screamed ’That’s it? That’s all you’ve got?’ was his way of being polite.

Still, a man has to know his limits.

Du Youqian didn’t plan on going back for more humiliation before he reached Core Formation.

Back at the Holy Blood Sect, Du Youqian began to tackle Tier Three Artifact Refining.

He called upon Wu Siyuan to study it with him.

With Wu Siyuan’s current level of Divine Sense, it was impossible for him to advance to Tier Three, no matter how much of a genius he was.

However, Wu Siyuan would certainly gain invaluable experience from the learning process.

Then, in a few years, when Du Youqian left for his garrison duty in the Desolate Abyss and could no longer teach him personally, Wu Siyuan would be able to continue learning and improving on his own.

Artifact Refining and Alchemy have much in common. On a microscopic level, for instance, you have the ratios of various materials, the properties of those materials under different levels of heat, and the new properties that emerge when several materials with different characteristics are combined... Sounds quite a bit like Alchemy, doesn’t it?

Likewise, Artifact Refining and the Array Dao share many similarities. You could even say that on a macroscopic level, Artifact Refining is simply the process of combining different materials according to the principles of Arrays to achieve one or more functions.

Therefore, after both his Alchemy and Array Dao had reached Tier Three, Artifact Refining, which had previously been a struggle for Du Youqian, suddenly became crystal clear.

It was like getting A-pluses in both math and chemistry, and then going back to study physics.

It was also like trying to write a web novel after memorizing hundreds of literary classics and taking hundreds of hours of composition classes—though if you can’t nail the hype moments, the story will still flop. At least you won’t be the kind of writer who sits there all day with a pack of cigarettes, only to look at your word processor and see you’ve only managed to type a hundred and seventy characters.

And just like that, with Du Youqian giving it his all, the time it took for his Artifact Refining to reach Tier Three was even shorter than it had been for his Alchemy.

Riding the momentum of his breakthrough in Artifact Refining, Du Youqian pressed on without rest and immediately began forging his Outer Pill.

Thanks to the protection of the Thousand-Year Tridacna Gel that Feng Xiaoyi had gifted him, the Fire-Wind Dual-Element Demon Core that Du Youqian had acquired back then was still perfectly preserved.

At least its power hadn’t continued to diminish over the past few decades.

It was potent enough that simply absorbing it would be sufficient to become a Fake Pill Cultivator.

But of course, Du Youqian’s ambition would never allow him to settle for becoming a Fake Pill Cultivator.

Thus, being forged into an Outer Pill was this Demon Core’s one true destiny.

Du Youqian spent several months studying and attuning himself to the Demon Core’s structure and properties, designing the refinement process.

Then, following his intricate design, he spent the better part of a year finally succeeding in forging the Outer Pill.

The once drab and unremarkable Demon Core was now the size of an orange, shimmering and crystalline like a fine gemstone, with currents of azure and crimson light swirling within.

Stroking the hard-won Outer Pill, the corners of Du Youqian’s mouth curled into a slight smile.

’Nice work,’ he thought, patting himself on the back.

The successful creation of this Outer Pill signified that his Tier Three Alchemy and Tier Three Artifact Refining had been thoroughly solidified.

The process had truly drawn upon the full extent of his knowledge and pushed his practical skills to their absolute limit.

With this level of craftsmanship alone, he wouldn’t have to worry about his livelihood for the next several hundred years.

He no longer needed to worry about the financial deficit incurred from the aggressive expansion of his faction over the past few years.

Tier Three Alchemy and Tier Three Artifact Refining meant a ceaseless stream of revenue.

Within the Holy Blood Sect, there was no shortage of Tier Two Peak Alchemists and Artifact Refiners.

Furthermore, over their long, centuries-spanning lives, the Core Formation Ancestors would often pick up a Cultivation Technique or two—whether out of boredom, genuine interest, or a desire to increase their income and cut costs.

With the Divine Sense of a Core Formation Master, reaching Tier Two Peak in a given skill was merely a matter of time, provided one wasn’t utterly talentless in that area.

But breaking through to Tier Three was another matter entirely.

It was just like how a Sect, if it was willing to spend a sea of resources, could brute-force even a disciple with the Lowerest Grade Spirit Root all the way to Foundation Establishment.

But out of ten thousand such disciples, it was highly unlikely that even one would ever become a Core Formation Master.

Tier Three was a cruel chasm.

This was true for both one’s Cultivation realm and one’s mastery of Cultivation Techniques.

Without sufficient talent, one could dabble at the threshold of Tier Three, but never hope to cross it.

With this Outer Pill, Du Youqian finally had the means to truly contend with a Core Formation Master.

Drawing on the power of the Outer Pill, he could maintain a virtually endless supply of Magical Power to sustain a fight.

He could also unleash the Demon Core’s innate Fire and Wind Element Divine Abilities several times in a single battle.

After a battle, the Outer Pill could slowly recover by absorbing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, or be rapidly replenished by Du Youqian using Spiritual Jade.

However, if a battle was too intense and he unleashed its Divine Abilities too many times, the resulting damage to the Demon Core would be irreversible and permanent.

It was this ability to unleash Divine Abilities in battle that made confronting a Core Formation Master possible in the first place.

With a Golden Core in one’s dantian, one is Immune to All Techniques.

This could be understood as a Core Formation Master’s magic resistance being incredibly high.

Magic from the Foundation Establishment Stage could scarcely harm a Core Formation Cultivator in the slightest.

A Fire Magic spell cast by a Foundation Establishment Cultivator would struggle to even singe the beard of a Core Formation Cultivator.

Only Treasures and Divine Abilities were capable of harming a Core Formation Cultivator.

That was why, despite exchanging over a hundred moves with Master Taihe, Du Youqian had never managed to injure him, only succeeding in destroying his cave residence in the end.

Forget a hundred moves; even if they had fought for another thousand, it would have been difficult for him to harm Master Taihe.

Then again, Master Taihe was truly subpar. He’d been at Core Formation for over a hundred years and still hadn’t grasped any Divine Abilities.

Otherwise, there was no way Du Youqian could have lasted a hundred moves against him.

But if they were to fight again, Du Youqian, now possessing the Outer Pill, would dare to challenge Master Taihe to a battle to the death.

And he was certain he would be the one left standing.

That was how much of a boost the Outer Pill gave him.

With that, Du Youqian could finally set his mind at ease, polish his Magical Power, cultivate some Secret Techniques, and continue to comprehend the Blood Slaughter Sword Scripture.

「Four years later.」

Du Youqian did a quick mental calculation and realized he was already seventy-seven years old.

On this day, a Jade Slip flew into his cave residence.

The moment he grasped the Jade Slip, Feng Xiaoyi’s sultry voice drifted out. "My dear disciple, are you ready? It’s time to head to the Desolate Abyss."

Du Youqian’s expression remained impassive.

’This is something that needs to be done. I have no particular feelings about it. I just have to go and do it.’

’After I return from the ten-year garrison duty, I can begin considering my Core Formation.’

"Fellow Daoist Yu, take me with you," Fang Hua said, her elegant eyebrows raised. An unconcealable, sharp Sword Intent glinted in her eyes, giving her a valiant and heroic air.

Du Youqian looked at her. "Why do you want to go?"

Fang Hua blinked. "I want to go slay the animated corpse of a Demon King, dig out its Demon Core, and have you help me forge it into an Outer Pill, too."

Du Youqian smiled. "You’re not far from Foundation Establishment Perfection. Once you reach it and consolidate your foundation for a few more years, I can exchange for some Core Formation Spiritual Objects to help you reach Core Formation after I return from the Desolate Abyss. Why bother with an Outer Pill?"

Fang Hua’s soft, rosy lips curled up slightly. "Fellow Daoist Yu, your willingness to help is a testament to your kindness, but I cannot accept it with a clear conscience—especially since you haven’t even reached Core Formation yourself. I’m still young and can afford to build my foundation for a while longer; I’m in no hurry to form my core. I will find a way to acquire the Core Formation Spiritual Objects on my own. I would be eternally grateful if you would simply share your Core Formation Secret Technique with me."

Du Youqian considered this, then shook his head. "If we go together, our combined combat strength would far exceed that of a normal Core Formation Cultivator. That’s a terrible deal for the Sect."

Fang Hua knew he was joking and lowered her head. "My Cultivation will soon reach Foundation Establishment Perfection. After that, I need to accumulate and polish my Magical Power, not just continue with meditative breathing. An environment like the Desolate Abyss is more suitable for my current needs. Besides, while I may not be able to learn the Blood Slaughter Sword Scripture... you can still use *that* method to share the Sword Intent you comprehend with me."

As she spoke, a deep blush crept up her fair cheeks, reaching all the way to the tips of her ears.

Even though she had merged her Divine Sense with Du Youqian to comprehend Sword Intent many times, the feeling of completely opening herself up to a man still made her incredibly shy.

Du Youqian pretended to mull it over for a moment before saying, "Alright, then. You can come with me to the Desolate Abyss."

Several days later, Du Youqian bid farewell to Feng Xiaoyi, and with Fang Hua by his side, he boarded a Flying Boat and set a course north.

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