Eternal Life Begins with Learning

It was deep winter, and three months had passed.

In the wake of that domineering sword light that had once swept across the land, the former prosperity of Jade Emperor Valley seemed to be gradually returning. Under the management of the Longevity Sect, it was even flourishing more than before.

The residences in Zone D3 had transformed from the desolation he found upon moving in to the current hustle and bustle. Now, it was difficult to even find a single room for rent.

"Huh? When did you move over here?"

He had just stepped out of his room when a somewhat unfamiliar voice sounded from behind him. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

He turned his head, and his eyes met with a conspicuous red dress and the pretty face of a young woman.

Chu Mu raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued.

The young woman was clearly the type to get familiar quickly. She leaned in and whispered, "You were targeted that day, weren’t you? Your whole room was wrecked, and you disappeared. I even looked for you for a while."

"Yes."

Chu Mu nodded, not bothering to deny it. ’After all, that happened under the Sun Family’s rule. Now that the Longevity Sect governs Jade Emperor Valley, they’ve even filled in Jade Emperor Lake and torn down the old residences for redevelopment. Even if word got out, it wouldn’t matter.’

Then, Chu Mu asked, "What did you want with me?"

"I was worried a quality customer like you had gotten himself killed."

Chang Hongyi wrinkled her nose, revealing two canine teeth as she said with a grin, "I’m back in my old business now. We’re old acquaintances, so you have to give me some business!"

Chu Mu was a little curious. ’If I remember correctly, the ones guarding the gates of Jade Emperor Valley are all Puppets now. How did she find a way to bring in large quantities of mundane food?’

In the end, Chu Mu suppressed his doubts and didn’t ask. He simply handed over a piece of Broken Spirit.

He hadn’t established a source of income yet. For now, he still relied on mundane food to fill his stomach; this was just a matter of buying it from a different person.

"Alright, you wait here. I’ll bring it over to you."

Before Chu Mu could even react, he saw Chang Hongyi snatch the Spirit Stone and trot away.

He then saw her go to Pavilion 28, not far away. After entering the room, she quickly ran out just a moment later, carrying several large baskets of ingredients.

"I packed this according to the menu you gave me before. You should check it."

"Alright, just leave it here."

Chu Mu couldn’t be bothered to check. He picked up the baskets of ingredients and returned to his room.

His original idea of going out for a stroll dissipated after this interruption.

Back on the second floor, his eyes fell upon the Pill Furnace and a large pile of Alchemy Materials stacked in the room.

As for the Storage Talisman, its time limit had expired, causing its internal space to collapse. It had long since become a useless piece of paper.

Glancing at the entry for the Grain Avoidance Pill on the Light Curtain Panel, Chu Mu pondered for a moment. With a wave of his hand, the previously hidden second-floor isolation Restriction reappeared, completely sealing off the entire second floor of the pavilion.

Following the Refining method for the Grain Avoidance Pill, which he had practiced countless times in his mind, Chu Mu began to work in an orderly fashion.

The conditions were crude, but he had done the best he could with his current resources, pushing them to their limit.

After busying himself for nearly an hour, Chu Mu finally had everything prepared.

A Pill Furnace with chipped corners stood about half a man’s height.

A pile of Spiritual Charcoal was stacked underneath, and the Spirit Oil was placed to the side, ready to be lit.

Beside Chu Mu, the original five bags of Spirit Grain had been sorted into a dense array of smaller bags.

Each bag contained one jin of Spirit Grain, and five bags constituted the raw materials for one Alchemy session.

According to the Alchemy Inheritance, one jin from each of the five types of Spirit Grain was required to refine five Grain Avoidance Pills. Each pill produced would be enough to sustain a Qi Cultivation Realm Cultivator for five days.

This was also the most basic and rudimentary formula for refining Grain Avoidance Pills.

It was the most suitable recipe for a novice like him to practice with.

He had purchased fifty jin of each type of Spirit Grain, which, calculated by value, cost two hundred and fifty Lower Spirits.

And the price of a Grain Avoidance Pill, which was enough to last for five days, was two Spirit Stones in the Marketplace.

Five jin of Spirit Grain were worth five Spirit Stones, while the five resulting basic Grain Avoidance Pills were worth ten Spirit Stones.

Even accounting for other consumables, as long as the refining was successful, the profit would be substantial.

But obviously, this "substantial profit" was only from his perspective.

After all, all the raw materials he could buy—the Spirit Grain, Spiritual Charcoal, and Spirit Oil—were at retail prices.

For the large shops in the Marketplace, the profits were undoubtedly even greater!

Based on the relative value of the Grain Avoidance Pills and Spirit Grain, he had fifty attempts’ worth of materials. He would have to succeed more than half the time just to break even.

Besides, he hadn’t secured a sales channel yet. And if he had to sell them as he anticipated, his profits would inevitably be diluted.

Glancing at his Spiritual Radiance Value, which was as high as four thousand, Chu Mu took a deep breath. He slowly closed his eyes, calming his mind and steadying his spirit, allowing only the refining process for the Grain Avoidance Pill to flow through his thoughts.

Time ticked by, little by little.

Nearly an hour passed before Chu Mu opened his eyes again. The Spiritual Radiance had arrived, and his gaze was profound.

He waved his hand, and a flame flared to life, igniting the Spiritual Charcoal piled under the Pill Furnace. The blazing firelight illuminated his face, which was devoid of any emotion, showing only intense concentration.

The first principle of Alchemy is fire control.

This means precisely controlling the fire’s temperature to maximize the medicinal efficacy extracted during refining.

The second is mastery over the properties of the ingredients. Although the Grain Avoidance Pill’s properties weren’t as complex as other Elixirs, the essence of "grain avoidance" lay in the fusion and refinement of the five grains’ quintessence.

Even the slightest waste would have a massive impact on the efficacy of the final Grain Avoidance Pill.

But under the "Spiritual Radiance Blessing," all of this was completely under his control.

The process he had rehearsed countless times in his mind now unfolded methodically in reality. There were no mishaps; under the "Spiritual Radiance Blessing," mishaps were not permitted.

After about half an hour, Chu Mu pressed his hand down, and the blazing Spirit Carbon was instantly extinguished. With another wave of his hand, steam billowed from the Pill Furnace, and five Grain Avoidance Pills levitated into his hand.

’I succeeded?’

The Spiritual Radiance faded, and Chu Mu was still in a bit of a daze. But when his gaze fixed upon the Grain Avoidance Pills, his lingering stupor instantly vanished.

’Pill Patterns?’

He picked up one of the Grain Avoidance Pills. On the surface of the jade-white Elixir, a faint green, seemingly natural line was clearly visible.

Recalling the Alchemy Inheritance in his mind, Chu Mu’s heart began to pound.

The so-called Pill Pattern was only described with a few brief sentences in the Alchemy Inheritance left by Elder Li, but...

In Chu Mu’s understanding, a Pill Pattern meant... getting rich!

Elixirs were also divided into Grades, just like Magic, with ranks like Tier One, Tier Two, and so on.

The Grain Avoidance Pill, for example, was a Tier One Lower Grade Elixir.

But regardless of an Elixir’s Tier or Grade, after being successfully refined, it would usually just have a normal appearance.

This Pill Pattern, according to the definition in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, indicated that a refined Elixir’s quality was so outstanding that it surpassed the limits of its own medicinal effects, causing this faint green pattern to appear on its surface.

The number of Pill Patterns starts at one and ends at three.

Any Elixir that possessed a Pill Pattern was guaranteed to have effects exceeding its normal potency, and its value was inevitably higher!

On a Grain Avoidance Pill, this might not seem like a big deal—it would just let you stave off hunger for a few more days.

But... this was just a Grain Avoidance Pill!

’What about other Elixirs?’

There were countless types of Elixirs in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, those that increased Magical Power, those that boosted the success rate of Breaking the Realm... the variety was endless.

Exceeding its inherent medicinal effects meant exceeding its inherent value!

If it were an Elixir like the Foundation Establishment Pill, which increases the success rate of Breaking the Realm, exceeding its normal properties would make it priceless!

His heart surged with excitement for a long while before Chu Mu slowly calmed the storm within.

He stared at the One-Patterned Grain Avoidance Pill in his hand as if it were a precious treasure.

Chu Mu hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he consumed the One-Patterned Grain Avoidance Pill.

’How could an Alchemist not understand the specific properties of a Pill Pattern Elixir!’

As the Elixir entered his stomach, the Spiritual Radiance Blessing descended once more.

Chu Mu carefully sensed the medicinal properties of this One-Patterned Grain Avoidance Pill.

The sensation was similar to when he consumed the Three-in-One Pill; it was a process of Refinement. However, the Refinement of the Grain Avoidance Pill was clearly much slower.

And unlike the Three-in-One Pill, which required active control to refine, the Grain Avoidance Pill underwent a gradual, passive process after being ingested.

After observing for several hours, Chu Mu finally withdrew his Divine Sense. He silently summarized the effects of the One-Patterned Grain Avoidance Pill, and his gaze landed once more on the Pill Furnace before him.

He had succeeded on his first try and even refined a One-Patterned Grain Avoidance Pill.

His Alchemy Skill was off to a perfect start. But clearly, this wasn’t due to his own ability, but rather the effect of the "Spiritual Radiance Blessing."

After a moment of contemplation, Chu Mu lit the Spiritual Charcoal again. This time, he did not use "Spiritual Radiance."

The result was just as he had expected.

In less than a quarter of an hour, a thick, burnt smell wafted out from the Pill Furnace.

He lifted the lid of the furnace. A cloud of acrid smoke billowed out, revealing a lump of the five grains, charred completely black...

...