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."
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
