Lord of the Demon Sect

However, the middle-aged man certainly wouldn’t share these anecdotes with Jiang Chen. Instead, he put on an innocent expression and said, “Little brother, this is our family’s secret recipe, and it can’t be easily shared with others. So naturally, others wouldn’t know about it. If it weren’t for the fact that none of my family members have the talent for pill refining, I wouldn’t want to part with the alchemy furnace and the recipe at all.”

Saying this, he smiled widely and added, “Little brother, I see that you have an unusual physique, a well-rounded head, and an impressive demeanor. You must have the talent for pill refining. Since you’re from the Ghostly Slaughter Sect, this recipe for the Jiangshi cultivation pill is just perfect for you!”

Jiang Chen felt that something was off. This lecherous uncle seemed to be honest, yet it was very possible that he was up to no good. However, his recipes were all obtainable with spirit stones, and he could accumulate contribution points by completing tasks for his sect. There was no need to rush.

In contrast, this Jiangshi cultivation pill, which he had never heard of before, might be worth a try if it really only required common herbs that were easy to gather, especially since he had a thirty percent bonus to pill refining from the rewards of the Holy Lord System. Who knows? He might really be able to refine it!

“Alright! Since you’re so generous, I’ll take the recipe for the Jiangshi cultivation pill!” Jiang Chen nodded in agreement.

The middle-aged man was overjoyed and immediately took out a jade slip covered in thick dust from his storage bag and handed it to Jiang Chen, looking reluctant as he said, “You really got a good deal!”

Jiang Chen thought to himself that he must have a copy of this recipe, so he wasn’t losing anything at all.

He then waved goodbye to the middle-aged man and headed straight to the Reception Hall to see if there were any suitable sect tasks he could take on.

Although the materials required for refining the Jiangshi cultivation pill were common items, he still needed spirit stones to buy them. Moreover, renting the pill room from the sect would also consume contribution points. Having just bought the alchemy furnace, he had spent all his spirit stones and was back to being broke. If he didn’t find a way to earn some spirit stones or contribution points soon, he would be in trouble.

He remembered that contribution points could be exchanged for spirit stones in the sect. However, it took two spirit stones to exchange for a small amount of contribution points, while only one contribution point could be traded for a single spirit stone. It seemed the sect had clever tactics as well; just this policy must have exploited the disciples out of countless spirit stones.

Upon arriving at the Reception Hall, the attendant disciple checked his waist token for being a named disciple of Ghost Mist Peak. He then tossed him a jade slip that contained a list of sect tasks suitable for disciples of his level.

Jiang Chen inserted his spiritual sense into the slip and began to look for tasks that were appropriate for him, ones that did not require too much risk, time, or effort.

“Help the inner sect disciples of Bone Peak cultivate a spiritual field for one year, ensuring that the harvest is not lower than last year’s. Reward: five hundred contribution points.”

While this sounded like a lot, the thought of being tied to that job for an entire year was not suitable for him. Jiang Chen shook his head and moved on to the next task.

“Assist the elite disciples of Ghost Mist Peak in collecting ghosts to replenish their number for the Hundred Souls Banner. For every ten low-level ghosts, you earn one contribution point; for each mid-level ghost, you earn one contribution point; and for high-level ghosts, one earns ten contribution points.”

This task seemed decent on the surface. He could go to mass graves, cemeteries, and burial sites where wandering ghosts were prevalent and capture them to enrich the number of souls for the Hundred Souls Banner, earning rewards based on their quality. If he managed to catch a few high-level ghosts, it would definitely add up.

However, Jiang Chen was well aware that places where few people ventured were typically filled with low-level ghosts, where it would take a long time to catch ten just to earn one contribution point. On the other hand, mid and high-level ghosts were often found in areas frequented by other cultivators, leading to inevitable conflicts. During his previous experience at Shadow Soul Mountain capturing Jiangshi, he had encountered fellow disciples who, over minor issues like blood sacrifices for Jiangshi servants, nearly killed him. In such places, there were also many cultivators from other sects, and with his cultivation level at the first layer of qi refinement, he would be an easy target for anyone.

Thus, Jiang Chen shook his head, furrowing his brows as he continued searching.

Most of the tasks that followed were menial labor, such as fetching water, growing vegetables, cooking, and moving items. These seemed to be specifically designed for named disciples like him, and the contribution points offered were extremely low; some tasks only yielded one point. Although these could be completed safely and quickly, Jiang Chen had no interest in them since contribution points came too slowly.

After scanning through the list, he finally found a task that he was quite satisfied with and felt it could serve two purposes.

“The sect’s alchemists are in need of the following materials to refine pills: tranquil flower, withered leaf grass, grave moss, three-leaf ginseng…”

The reward for this task was five contribution points for each set of refining materials collected.

Jiang Chen noticed that most of these materials were the same ones he needed to refine the Jiangshi cultivation pill. Moreover, the task provided locations for all these materials. These places were safe, and he just needed to go pick them. This way, he could accomplish two things at once: complete the task and gather the necessary materials for pill refining. As for the two lesser materials, he could obtain them using contribution points or spirit stones.

“This senior brother, I’ll take the task of collecting the refining materials!” Jiang Chen said, nodding in satisfaction as he returned the jade slip to the attendant disciple.

The attendant disciple, with a straight face, tossed him a herbal pouch and another jade slip, saying, “Then hurry up and collect them! The two alchemists urgently need these materials; otherwise, the contribution points wouldn’t be five points per set. This jade slip contains descriptions and locations of the dozen or so herbs. The sooner you go, the sooner you’ll return!”

Jiang Chen quickly nodded in thanks and walked briskly out of the Reception Hall, intending to follow the map inside the jade slip to find the herbs. Most of these herbs were located more than a hundred miles away from the Ghostly Slaughter Sect, and they weren’t particularly rare or valuable. However, many locations were quite distant from one another, which meant a lot of travel time.

It took him a full ten days to gather hundreds of herbs. After checking, he realized he had collected enough for the complete requirements of the task and could even submit ten sets at once.

However, he only planned to submit five sets, keeping the rest for himself to experiment with pill refining. The Holy Lord System had granted him a thirty percent increase in his chance of successfully refining pills, allowing him to test whether he could really achieve that success rate.

Once back at the sect’s Reception Hall, Jiang Chen submitted the five sets of materials and earned twenty-five contribution points. He then exchanged ten contribution points for ten herbs, acquiring the two types of herbs he still needed for refining the Jiangshi cultivation pill, five of each type.

After completing all the necessary exchanges, Jiang Chen finally stood at the entrance of the sect’s alchemy workshop, ready to start the pill refining process.

Getting access to the alchemy workshop and renting a pill room was relatively straightforward. Currently, there were only two alchemists in the sect, and their designated pill rooms were fixed as Room One and Room Two. No other disciples were allowed entry.

The eight other pill rooms, however, were open for disciples to use at any time. The Ghostly Slaughter Sect was eager to produce another alchemist from among its disciples, as long as the materials consumed before attaining that status were not the sect’s burden.

In fact, there were disciples at the Ghostly Slaughter Sect who aspired to become alchemists to enjoy the unparalleled benefits that came with the role. However, after those disciples lost all their resources, no one dared to attempt alchemy again. As a result, aside from an elderly cultivator at the sixth layer of qi refinement, who was dozing off at the entrance of the alchemy workshop, there was no one else around.

“Senior brother! I’d like to refine some pills. Could you please open a pill room for me?” Jiang Chen called out loudly.

The old man awoke with a start, glancing at Jiang Chen in surprise. “You, a named disciple at the first layer of qi refinement, want to refine pills?”

“Yes! Isn’t it allowed?” Jiang Chen asked, puzzled.

“It is permitted! But even those foundation establishment stage disciples, who have a much better grasp of fire control than you do, still find it difficult to refine pills. Do you really think you can manage?” The old man clearly didn’t believe him.

“Uh… senior brother, I just want to test my aptitude for alchemy. I’ve prepared some materials to give it a try. If I succeed, it would be a pleasant surprise; if not, then I’ll just go back to doing my own thing!” Jiang Chen put on a nonchalant expression.

“Well, fine! The pill rooms have been empty for ages, only used when Masters You and Chang come to refine pills. Leave your waist token here and go on in! You can use any room except for Room One and Room Two!” the old man said.

Jiang Chen followed his instructions and handed over his waist token.

The old man cautioned, “Although the usage fee for the pill room is low-only deducting one contribution point per day-I should still remind you not to stay too long! Besides Rooms One and Two, Room Three has the most stable ground fire, so you can use that one for your pill refining!”

Jiang Chen felt grateful upon hearing this and quickly bowed in thanks.

After speaking, the old man dispelled the restrictions at the entrance to the alchemy workshop and handed him a key.

Jiang Chen glanced at it and saw that the key was engraved with the number “Three.” It felt slightly cool to the touch.

He then walked into the alchemy workshop, reached the entrance of Room Three, used the key to unlock the door, and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

Once inside, he carefully surveyed the room. In the center of Room Three, there was a small bed and a meditation cushion, likely meant for alchemists to rest during their sessions. In the middle of the pill room stood a chimneylike pillar, which had a handle on top.

Jiang Chen tentatively spun the handle, and suddenly, a bright red flame shot out from the top of the pillar, scorching hot, which startled him.

After a moment to gather himself, he tried turning the handle again and discovered that turning it to the left reduced the fire intensity, while turning it to the right increased it. It was quite convenient.

With this knowledge in hand, Jiang Chen opened the book “Introduction to Alchemy” and the pill recipe for the Jiangshi cultivation pill, and began to study them closely. After reading through, he gained a certain understanding of the alchemy process. He realized that the success of a pill largely depended on the control of fire and the timing of when to extract the pill from the furnace.

As for the various ratios and quantities of herbal materials, they were clearly outlined in the pill recipe, so there was no need to worry about that. Of course, it was permissible to adjust the quantity of pills being refined, as long as the materials were increased or decreased in proportion.

However, while it sounded simple to speak about, the actual practice was immensely challenging!

Before officially starting the pill refining process, Jiang Chen returned to Ghost Mist Peak to gather some information about alchemy from Zhang Pang.

When Zhang Pang heard that Jiang Chen was genuinely going to refine pills, he was taken aback. He had initially thought Jiang Chen was joking, and now it seemed he was about to put his words into practice. Zhang Pang spent a good amount of time trying to dissuade him from this unrealistic idea. From Zhang Pang, Jiang Chen finally learned about the current state of alchemy in this world.

According to Zhang Pang, the three major challenges that had stumped countless so-called masters of alchemy were accurately controlling the fire conditions in the pill furnace, timing the opening of the furnace, and calculating the optimal moment to extract the pills.

For cultivators at the Qi Refinement Stage, the success rate for their first attempt at pill refining was nearly one in a thousand. Even those who had received training and exhibited some talent for alchemy could not expect a success rate of more than one percent.

Of course, after a period of practice and with numerous materials consumed, a cultivator who could achieve a ten percent success rate in refining pills would be recognized as a junior alchemist. However, this was typically only applicable to pills they were skilled at making; if they tried to refine a pill they were unfamiliar with, their chances would likely drop significantly.

Thus, whether a pill could be successfully refined depended entirely on the alchemist’s experience. The more times an alchemist performed the process, the greater their chances of success. Therefore, alchemists ranked alongside artifact craftsmen and talismancers as three of the most expensive professions in the cultivation world, and they were also among the most sought-after.

After hearing all this from Zhang Pang, Jiang Chen understood that if he, as a novice, attempted to refine pills on his own, he might not even have a one in ten thousand chance of success. Yet, he was hopeful about the thirty percent success rate boost from the Holy Lord System, which he hoped would help him succeed in refining pills.

With his mind made up, Jiang Chen placed his Qingpu Pill Furnace on the pillar and gently turned the handle. Immediately, thick, bright red flames spurted out from the top of the pillar, roasting the base of the furnace. The air in the pill room turned intensely hot, causing Jiang Chen to feel a rush of warmth that took him by surprise.

After adjusting the flame’s width to a comfortable level, he extinguished it. Then, he approached the meditation cushion and sat down cross-legged to gather his energy.

After about half an hour, feeling that his spirit and strength were in optimal condition, Jiang Chen opened his eyes and stood up, ready to begin the official pill refining process.

At this point, the Qingpu Pill Furnace was already heating up, releasing waves of scorching heat.

Jiang Chen lifted the lid with his left hand, exposing the furnace opening, and then with a flick of his right hand, he retrieved a jade porcelain bottle from his storage bag. He carefully poured the white herbal powder, already ground according to the requirements of the Jiangshi cultivation pill recipe, into the furnace, measuring precisely.

Once he had poured in the calculated amount, he returned the bottle to his storage bag and retrieved another jade porcelain bottle to repeat the same process.