Refining the Crystallization Elixir

Ye Chuan opened the alchemy interface and scanned through it, but indeed couldn’t find the formula for the Crystalization Pill.

If he were to compress spiritual energy the normal way, it would take far too long.

Especially since Ye Chuan had achieved Heavenly Foundation Establishment—his foundation was too solid, his spiritual energy reserves too vast, making compression an even bigger headache.

"Qianshuang, do you have any Crystalization Pills?" Ye Chuan asked Bai Qianshuang directly. She shook her head lightly in response—her storage pouch was gone, so how could she possibly have any Crystalization Pills on her?

"Ye Chuan, if you really can’t find a Crystalization Pill, you could try compressing your spiritual energy into crystals," Bai Qianshuang suggested. Since this world didn’t even have cultivators, she couldn’t imagine where else to get a Crystalization Pill.

"Yeah, I’ll think about it."

Compressing spiritual energy was out of the question. Ye Chuan already found cultivation exhausting—how could he sit still for days like Bai Qianshuang just to compress energy?

But without compressing his spiritual energy, he’d never reach the Crystalization Realm, let alone the Golden Core stage.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Ye Chuan had an idea. Since he had access to the full-immersion adventure, why not just go to the Tianxuan Continent and find the Crystalization Pill formula there?

"Qianshuang, where do people usually get Crystalization Pills in the Tianxuan Continent?"

"Well…" Bai Qianshuang didn’t understand why he was asking but explained anyway, "Sects usually provide them. For rogue cultivators, they’d have to rely on serendipitous encounters, auction houses, or compressing their own spiritual energy."

Auction houses.

Ye Chuan silently noted that down and stopped asking about the Crystalization Realm.

But then his phone started buzzing with notifications.

[Obtained Bai Qianshuang-related item. Added to inventory.]

Oh?

Did the treasure sunflower drop something?

Ye Chuan checked his inventory and found an unfamiliar pill.

[Item: Eighth-Grade Crystalization Pill

Effect: Breakthrough to the Crystalization Realm upon use.]

Tsk…

What was this? Just handing him a Crystalization Pill for free?

Eighth-grade?

This good?

"What’s the highest grade for a Crystalization Pill?" Ye Chuan asked Bai Qianshuang curiously.

"First-grade," Bai Qianshuang explained. "But as far as I know, no one in the Tianxuan Continent can refine first-grade Crystalization Pills anymore. The required materials are extinct—only ancient ruins might still have some left."

Eighth-grade to first-grade…

Ye Chuan did the math. An eighth-grade pill seemed pretty trash, didn’t it? A full seven tiers lower.

He was a Heavenly Foundation Establishment expert, after all—how could he settle for an eighth-grade Crystalization Pill?

"But now that I’ve obtained a Crystalization Pill, does that mean the formula is unlocked too?" Ye Chuan eagerly reopened the alchemy interface and, sure enough, the Crystalization Pill formula was now available!

Nice.

Time to refine!

[No materials detected in inventory. Spend 100,000 to purchase ingredients?]

Buy! Feels cheaper than the Heavenly Foundation Establishment Pill ingredients!

[Begin refinement?]

[Success rate for refining Crystalization Pill: 20%. Failure rate: 80%. Explosion chance: 0% (Success rate depends on pill quality, cauldron quality, and alchemy level.)]

Ye Chuan felt his vision darken.

Seriously? The odds were that bad?

"Salary recycling scheme," he muttered, feeling like he’d walked into a trap. But then again, they’d given him an eighth-grade Crystalization Pill for free.

Still, Ye Chuan wasn’t satisfied. If he was going to break through, he wanted the best. What was the point of settling for eighth-grade?

"Guess I’ll upgrade the cauldron first." Ye Chuan glanced at his mid-to-high-grade Mysterious Cauldron and chose to upgrade it immediately.

Six hundred thousand later, the cauldron jumped three tiers.

[Cauldron: Nine-Flame Furnace (Supreme Grade)]

[Success rate for refining Crystalization Pill: 80%. Failure rate: 19%. Explosion chance: 0%. Quality improvement chance: 1% (Success rate depends on pill quality, cauldron quality, and alchemy level.)]

Though the six hundred thousand stung, seeing the success rate jump from 20% to 80% lifted Ye Chuan’s mood considerably.

[Refinement in progress. Time remaining: 239 hours, 59 minutes.]

[Spend 10,000 to speed up?]

Sure.

Ten days was a bit too long for Ye Chuan—he really wanted to break through to the Crystalization Realm as soon as possible.

[Congratulations! Obtained Fifth-Grade Crystalization Pill. Added to inventory.]

Ye Chuan: "…"

Looking at the pill in his inventory, Ye Chuan suddenly realized a serious problem.

Ten thousand per batch of ingredients.

The pill’s quality was random.

Meaning the chance of getting a first-grade Crystalization Pill was completely unpredictable!

At least the Heavenly Foundation Establishment Pill had fixed odds—compared to this, it was downright generous.

"Getting a first-grade Crystalization Pill takes money, time, and sheer luck." Ye Chuan gazed out the window, feeling a deep, existential melancholy.

Change of plans.

Anything within third-grade was acceptable now.

Ye Chuan spent another ten thousand on ingredients, watching the cauldron start burning before setting his phone down.

Time to save up.

He needed a money tree—a cute, reliable money tree.

Thinking of that, Ye Chuan remembered Qiao Xin, who’d contacted him yesterday—

"She’ll probably reach out again. I’ll sell her something then." With that decision made, Ye Chuan’s mood improved. After breakfast, he headed out to meet Luo Xi.

Bai Qianshuang watched Ye Chuan rush off, swallowing the words she’d wanted to say about helping him with his breakthrough.

At her current strength, she could assist Ye Chuan in compressing his spiritual energy.

But the consequence would be an unstable realm, potentially hindering his future cultivation.

"Oh well. Fate will take its course." Bai Qianshuang picked up a steamed bun from the plate in front of her.

For now, she’d just eat.

---

After meeting up with Luo Xi, Ye Chuan arrived at Silver Mountain Academy.

"This year’s school festival is coming up. Every class needs to prepare a themed performance," the homeroom teacher announced. "If anyone has ideas, report them to the class president."

School festival.

"Chuan, what kind of performance should we do?" Luo Xi asked Ye Chuan—she was the class president, after all.

"Anything’s fine." Ye Chuan sounded completely disinterested, still preoccupied with the Crystalization Pill dilemma.

Money. He needed money.

He felt both rich and poor at the same time—living comfortably, yet broke when it came to cultivation.

"Xiao Yu, what do you think?" Luo Xi turned to her best friend, An Shiyu.

"Anything’s fine." An Shiyu didn’t even look up from her game, her tone just as lazy as Ye Chuan’s.

Luo Xi: "…"

"At least give me some input," she grumbled, rocking back and forth in her chair.

"What did we do last year?" Ye Chuan asked An Shiyu.

An Shiyu still didn’t look up. "Oh… I think it was that play—Lin Daiyu Fights Xiang Yu: The Creation of Heaven and Earth? The reception was decent."

"Let’s do another play this year," Ye Chuan said.

"Agreed."

"No way!" Luo Xi immediately refused.

"Why not?"

"Because you always make me play the Lin Daiyu who wields a giant hammer."