Chapter 33: The World Order

Ten pills were already enough to push a cultivator who had just entered the late stage of Qi Nourishment to the peak of the Qi Nourishment realm, saving a genius years of time. Their significance to a family power was far greater than that of a single Dao Physique. After all, the masses were many, while geniuses were few. Yet a single genius often determined the upper limit of a family’s potential.

For Cao Chengyu to produce such a treasure, not only could he trade it for information, but he could directly exchange it for rare items. The atmosphere shifted instantly. Even Zhao Shengye stepped up to compete.

“Fellow Daoist, I happen to have a Flameheart Firegrass. I can trade it for all your items. What do you think?”

“Fellow Daoist, I have a drop of Origin Heavy Water. Would you exchange for it?”

“I have a millennium Wood Core…”

“Fellow Daoist…”

The scene was so lively that even Cao Chengyu was stunned. He had known that the Qi Nourishment Pill recipe from the ranking was valuable, but he hadn’t expected it to be so astonishing. Clearly, he must never reveal that he could mass-produce top-grade Qi Nourishment Pills; otherwise, he’d likely be kidnapped whenever he stepped out.

Among all the five-element spiritual items, Cao Chengyu made his selection. In the end, he chose to trade with Zhao Shengye. Not only was the Flameheart Firegrass more effective than the others, but this treasure was recorded in “Three Thousand Answers to Cultivation.” Before refining, this fire grass could devour earth fires, beast fires, and other sources to advance its fire element essence, with an extraordinarily high upper limit. It was perfectly suited for nurturing the Pill Yuan Fire Organ (heart).

When the results were revealed, those who missed out were heartbroken. Zhao Shengye, curious, asked, “Where did you get these top-grade Qi Nourishment Pills, fellow Daoist? Two more would make a full bottle.”

Cao Chengyu, already prepared, replied calmly, “These treasures were acquired from the cave residence of a predecessor. Two pills I gifted to friends, leaving ten, which I now use to exchange for items that help break through the Dao Physique.”

“It’s a fair exchange.”

“I see,” the crowd nodded in agreement.

All the top-grade Qi Nourishment Pills circulating in the Dayue cultivation world came from ancient cave residences. The recipe had long since been lost. The current Qi Nourishment Pills were derived from formulas extrapolated from the top-grade ones.

Their effects were much inferior. According to the normal course of history, the decline from ancient times to now should be impossible—humans always progress, especially cultivators. The root cause lay in a calamity three thousand years ago: the rise of demonic sects and the decline of righteous paths. Many renowned sects were eradicated, and their scriptures and pill recipes destroyed. To the demonic sects, righteous techniques and pill formulas were useless, so they preferred to obliterate them to prevent any resurgence.

The calamity lasted over a thousand years, affecting thousands of nations across three regions. In the end, it was the prosperous central region of the Immortal Path that intervened and brought it to an end. Legendary accounts say that it was the Supreme Forgetting Emotions Sect, a holy land in the central region, which stopped the disaster.

Cao Chengyu was currently in Dayue, one of the five wasteland domains of the eastern region, called the Hundred Nations Domain. The cultivation world was fascinating—divided into five major regions: east, west, south, north, and center. Below them were the most remote wasteland domains, formed from continent fragments drifting from outside the world, attached to the borders of the main realms, with much thinner spiritual energy.

Over countless years, five wasteland domains had been absorbed by the eastern region, with the Hundred Nations Domain among them. As for why the central region resolved the calamity that began three thousand years ago, and not the east, no one could say. Perhaps only the Dao Sovereigns who lived through the disaster knew the truth.

All this information was gleaned by Cao Chengyu from “Three Thousand Answers to Cultivation.” Most people in the Hundred Nations Domain didn’t understand the wider world. Perhaps because his birthplace was in the Hundred Nations Domain, its description was more detailed.

The details of the demonic calamity and famous demonic ancestors were recorded, but there’s no need to elaborate here. Obtaining the Flameheart Firegrass was already enough to satisfy him. He’d originally hoped to exchange for some information and search for the item himself. Who would have thought that without putting up a heavy price, he couldn’t even get a clue? Clearly, the others weren’t the type to act without seeing real benefit—each one was cunning beyond measure.

In legends, those foolish wastrels and treasure-bearing children—why hadn’t a single one appeared?

“Difficult…” Liu Yun, standing beside him, wondered. “Why does Brother Cao look troubled after obtaining what he needed? He was smiling just moments ago…”

He didn’t realize how inscrutable people’s hearts could be; a man’s mind is as deep as the ocean…

Some of the treasures others brought up made Cao Chengyu covet them, but his purse was thin, and no one accepted spirit stones for trades. He had the will but not the means.

After half a day, the small exchange meeting of the immortal clans ended. Returning to the dormitory with Liu Yun, Cao Chengyu placed the Flameheart Firegrass in the fire vein of the pill chamber.

This fire vein had been drawn by the vice tower master; its capacity was vast, more than enough for nurturing a single Flameheart Firegrass. The other dorm residents didn’t know alchemy and wouldn’t enter the pill chamber, and Liu Yun, another alchemist, usually trained in the Pill King Mansion.

Moreover, he knew the origin of the Flameheart Firegrass and had no designs on it. Seizing a colleague’s spiritual item was a grave crime in the Skywatch Tower. Only some ignorant itinerant cultivators, lucky enough to join the main tower, might occasionally try to snatch from their peers. Once reported, the lightest punishment was the abolition of cultivation, and the worst was outright execution.

Of course, all this only applied within the Skywatch Tower. Outside the city? Sorry, not even your ashes would remain.

Having settled the cultivation of the Flameheart Firegrass, Cao Chengyu made a trip to Spring Blossoms Pavilion, which stocked not only poisons but also abundant spiritual herbs. He could purchase them directly with spirit stones, and even at internal prices—very low—making it easy for him to learn the method for refining the Hundred Rivers Pill.

Once familiar with the required ingredients, Cao Chengyu fired up the furnace. On his first try, he produced ten pills. With his first-tier perfect alchemy skills and thorough knowledge of spiritual material properties, the process was effortless.

By the second batch, he reached the perfect number—twelve pills! In total, he refined six batches, yielding seventy pills, enough to consume until he developed resistance.

Of course, he spent over a thousand spirit stones, leaving only about three hundred. His purse shrank once more. Even with internal pricing, a cultivator at the Spirit Refining Realm would need at least eighteen hundred stones for six sets of materials.

Then there were the fees for hiring an alchemist, the risk of failed batches, and low pill yields—all problems ordinary cultivators had to bear.

Normally, it would take more than five thousand spirit stones to achieve what Cao Chengyu did. And for each task undertaken, depending on its difficulty, the reward ranged from ten to one hundred spirit stones. The poison-testing tasks assigned by Luo Yuzhu were the best paid in the first and second floor task halls. On the third and fourth floors, rewards ranged from twenty to one hundred and fifty stones.

With the tasks varying in time required, it was extremely difficult for ordinary people to advance. Those with special skills were another matter.

After refining the Hundred Rivers Pill, Cao Chengyu couldn’t wait to take it. Sure enough, its effects were forty percent better than the Yellow Sprout Pill. And without resistance, his cultivation soared at a breathtaking pace!