Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

Chapter 310: Chapter 298: Dongyang County, Alchemy Platform

"I’m in my seventies, an old man. What grace is left to speak of?"

Elder Liao laughed heartily. With no visible effort, he suddenly rose into the air and soared across the sky like an albatross, his robes not even fluttering as he landed.

"A Tier Two Skill, Soaring Clouds, Sweeping Skies!"

The corner of Zhao Lin’s eye twitched as the skill’s name flashed through his mind.

It wasn’t that he recognized the skill, but rather that in the fifth grid of his Spirit Cultivation Map, the four large words "Soaring Clouds, Sweeping Skies" had appeared, next to a plum blossom with four petals.

The position of the skill’s name was not at the very bottom of the grid like other Tier One Skills. Instead, it was raised by one level, indicating that this was a Tier Two Skill.

At the same time, the words flickered, fading in and out, and the plum blossom was just a faint, ethereal image.

Zhao Lin knew this was because while the Spirit Cultivation Map had sensed the mana fluctuation, the distance was too great for it to capture the skill.

’A Tier Two flight skill. What a shame!’

As Elder Liao dispelled the skill and went forward to exchange pleasantries with Zhou Hongfang and the other two, Zhao Lin sighed inwardly.

Foundation Establishment cultivators could fly, but they did so by brute force, relying on their abundant mana to travel through the air. This not only consumed mana at a rapid rate but was also much slower than a small Spiritual Vessel.

But a flight skill like Soaring Clouds, Sweeping Skies was different. It would save at least half the mana, and its speed was far beyond what simple brute-force flight could achieve.

If mastered to the highest level, it could even form a Spiritual Energy Circulation around the body to resist the Evil Qi, allowing a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator to fly for extended periods within the Cloud Layer, rivaling a Purple Mansion cultivator.

Zhao Lin felt a pang of desire, but he quickly calmed himself.

’Tier Two Skills can only be used in the Late-stage of Qi Refining. It would be useless to learn it now. It’s more practical to focus on mastering Tier One Skills.’

Thinking this, he patted the storage pouch on his body and followed the group into the valley.

For this trip, he had brought all fifty-one of his Spirit Stones with him, packed inside the storage pouch.

On one hand, he was worried about leaving them in his residence since he’d be away from the Spirit Dao Institute for so long. On the other, he wanted to be able to start cultivating immediately if he encountered a suitable skill.

A few dozen Spirit Stones weighed over two hundred pounds. This was quite a burden for an early-stage Qi Refining cultivator, but for an Innate Realm martial artist, it was a trivial matter.

"This is Bitter Bamboo Peak. The county’s Spirit Fields are planted on this peak. Over there is Qingyan Lake, not far from the Spirit Vein, a good place for quiet cultivation..."

Elder Liao was the impartation elder of Dongyang County’s Spirit Dao Institute. He was quite talkative, chatting and laughing animatedly as he introduced the various places they passed.

"You’ve all traveled a long way and must be tired. Please rest here for the night."

Elder Liao led the group to a residential compound surrounded by green trees by the lakeside. He stopped and said, "Wait until the people from the Western Ox Continent’s Spirit Dao Institute arrive tomorrow, and we’ll hold a proper welcoming banquet for everyone."

Zhou Hongfang cupped his hands. "Thank you, Elder Liao. It’s getting late. We can manage on our own."

The compound wasn’t luxurious, but it was quite spacious. Wooden cabins were built next to each other, and everyone was able to get their own room.

The disciples did indeed need a rest. The turbulent currents of Evil Qi above Juyan Province were extremely fierce, and the ride on the Spiritual Vessel had left them completely disoriented. Many still hadn’t recovered.

With his martial arts foundation, Zhao Lin didn’t feel any discomfort. He picked a quiet room and settled in.

Realizing he hadn’t cultivated yet today, he sat cross-legged in the room and began circulating his energy to assail his Spiritual Acupoints.

The twenty-fifth Spiritual Acupoint showed faint signs of loosening, but based on past experience, he estimated it would still be some time before it broke open.

Every twelve Innate Spiritual Acupoints he opened would link together, raising his Spiritual Power to the next level, but this also created an obstacle for the next breakthrough.

...

「The next morning.」

"Juyan Province is the Chenghua Sect’s fourth-largest province. The province is rich in terrestrial fire, making it suitable for Alchemy and Artifact Refining. The ’yan’ in Juyan, which means ’flame,’ comes from this."

The two deacons who had been in charge of reception with Elder Liao yesterday were now leading the disciples on a tour of Dongyang County.

Zhou Hongfang and the two elders had been here many times before and were very familiar with the place, so they did not join the tour.

"This peak is called Fire Cloud Peak. The mountain is connected to the Earth Lung’s Fire, and a large-scale Array has been set up at its base to alter the nature of the terrestrial fire, splitting it into civil and martial flames—civil for Alchemy, martial for Artifact Refining."

Arriving before a mountain peak shaped like a spirit tortoise, the two deacons introduced it with considerable pride.

After hiking to the summit, they came upon a huge pit in the ground.

The pit was neatly lined with dozens of terrestrial fire furnaces built from refractory stone. Dozens of Alchemists were feverishly working, and the air was thick with the rich scent of medicinal pills.

"This is where Low Grade pills are made. Mid-grade and higher pills are refined in dedicated Alchemy Rooms."

"Feel free to look around, but please be careful not to disturb the Alchemists."

The group walked into the pit. An Alchemist stood before each terrestrial fire furnace, with a young apprentice helping out nearby.

"Shaking Screen Skill!"

"Rolling Cauldron Skill!"

"Three Yin Fire Control Skill!"

"Seven-Turns Shedding Pill Skill..."

As Zhao Lin passed by the Pill Furnaces, he noticed that the names of various skills were constantly flashing on his Spirit Cultivation Map.

In the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, as many as seven or eight different skills had appeared in succession.

’It seems that as long as I’m close enough and stay for a while, the Spirit Cultivation Map can capture the skills.’

Zhao Lin watched as he walked, simultaneously erasing the Alchemy skills from his Spirit Cultivation Map.

If the grids were unlimited, he wouldn’t mind mastering another art. Unfortunately, Alchemy required too many skills; he probably couldn’t learn them all even if he used all nine grids on the Spirit Cultivation Map.

He had no plans to practice Alchemy, but he still watched with great interest.

The process of Alchemy was complex, requiring precise control over medicinal properties and heat. Like in many professions, the older an Alchemist was, the more sought-after they were.

With the same ingredients, a skilled Alchemist could extract their maximum value, while an inexperienced one would not only have a low success rate but might even end up with a whole furnace of dregs.

"Get ready! Opening the furnace now!"

As Zhao Lin passed a Pill Furnace, he heard a loud shout.

He saw a burly Alchemist with a thick, curly beard, his sleeves rolled up high to reveal powerful arms. The man was using his mana to stoke the flames, controlling the pill cauldron as it tumbled up and down. At first glance, he looked like a master chef tossing a wok in a kitchen.

"Open!"

The Alchemist gave a sharp cry and threw a handful of Dark Star Sand into the furnace, instantly extinguishing the flames.

A moment later, he flipped the cauldron and poured out more than twenty crimson Blood Replenishing Pills.

Zhao Lin couldn’t help but take a second look, as the Alchemist’s appearance was strikingly similar to the bandit leader, Drilling Mountain Leopard.

If this weren’t Juyan Province, he might have even suspected the two were related.

After leaving the Alchemy Platform, the group toured Dongyang County’s Spirit Dao Institute.

The Spirit Dao Institute in Han Chi County was already quite impressive, but it paled in comparison to the one in Dongyang County.

The courtyards were vast and the buildings towered high, one after another. Even a whirlwind tour of the place still took them half a day.

By the time they left the Spirit Dao Institute, the sun was setting in the west, and the Hour of the Monkey was more than halfway over.

"That’s all for today’s itinerary. The people from Western Ox Continent have also arrived. Let’s go to the welcoming banquet!"

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