Dragon Whale Pill

After living in this strange Island Lord's mansion for two days, Qin Ran felt somewhat uncomfortable, but not unbearably so.

This wretched place, aside from feeling oppressive and damp, also lacked regular meals... There was no guarantee of three meals a day.

Although... in the world of cultivators, not eating or not consuming grains was considered normal, for Qin Ran personally, he still preferred to maintain some mortal habits, eating when it was time to eat, sleeping when it was time to sleep.

Apart from these issues, Qin Ran hadn't encountered any other problems... Surprisingly, no local cultivators had come to challenge him.

The Island Lord hadn't restricted his movements or limited his travel; he was quite free both inside and outside the mansion, feeling somewhat like... a house guest.

Of course, the Island Lord's mansion was actually heavily guarded, with a sense of outward laxity but inner vigilance. There were many places he wasn't allowed to enter. For instance, areas storing cultivation techniques, medicinal herbs, pills, magical tools, secret documents, and such things were certainly off-limits to him... He wouldn't risk his life by going to such places.

In the morning, after tidying up his appearance, Qin Ran prepared to leave the Island Lord's mansion to explore Whale Fall City.

He objectively wanted to experience the local customs and practices, making his journey of thousands of miles worthwhile; observe the city's terrain to facilitate future escapes if needed; and exercise his skill as a cultivation technique scavenger to find some local specialties of the sea realm.

But before he could leave, someone knocked on his door, summoning him to meet the Island Lord at the training grounds.

"Hmm... so, is a mission finally being assigned?" he thought to himself.

He had stayed in this dilapidated mansion for a few days, and apart from meeting the Island Lord once when he first arrived, he hadn't seen him since.

He was beginning to think he might just slip away unnoticed...

Actually, Qin Ran was somewhat puzzled. Why would the Island Lord recruit a new... talent, without investigating his background, testing his allegiances, understanding his personality and habits, assessing his work capabilities, or even assigning him work, instead just leaving him idle? What was the point?

Was it some unique management style?

It seemed he wouldn't be able to slip away so easily after all.

Qin Ran opened the door and followed the Island Lord's subordinate, quickly arriving at the training grounds.

The Island Lord was still at the training grounds, still surrounded by many armed guards, and Qin Ran still humbly waited at the edge of the field.

Today, the Island Lord wasn't tossing stones to build strength, but was bare-chested, practicing his techniques with punches and kicks.

Qin Ran couldn't understand exactly what technique he was practicing, but he could roughly guess it was a body tempering method.

With each punch and kick the Island Lord threw, the air rippled as if ocean waves were crashing; with each shoulder and hip movement, the ground shook; his breathing in and out produced sounds like whale calls and dragon roars.

The commotion from his practice was truly frightening.

"Is this what a body cultivator from the sea realm is like?" Qin Ran thought to himself.

He hadn't yet acquired any body tempering techniques from the sea realm, so he couldn't study it in detail. But just from watching the Dragon Whale Island Lord's practice, he felt that in terms of pure physical strength, not just in the entire Lingnan Region, but even in the Land of Immortal Legacy, few body cultivators could match this Island Lord.

As the Island Lord's technique progressed, the disturbance grew even greater. The ground of the training field became like waves manipulated by his movements, undulating outward with each punch and kick.

The amplitude was so great that it was almost impossible to stand steady.

Between the Island Lord's inhalations and exhalations, he seemed to transform into a giant whale hundreds of meters long, with two dragon-like breaths entering and exiting his nostrils. They took on the true form of dragons!

The air was filled with constant dragon roars and whale calls, each sound causing one's heart to tremble.

This terrifying display continued for a long while until the Island Lord finished his technique. Qin Ran saw a whale descend from the sky, enveloping his body, while a true dragon coiled around him, its majestic form truly frightening. The true dragon and giant whale persisted for a moment before both returned to his body.

The spatial tremors subsided, and the dragon roars and whale calls faded away.

The Island Lord suddenly opened his eyes, a flash of blue-gold light passing through them. When Qin Ran looked over, he seemed to see a golden dragon lunging at him, giving him an overwhelming sense of pressure.

"What do you think of my Dragon Whale Breathing Technique?" the Island Lord asked. "Master Qin comes from the central seven islands, so your knowledge must be vast. Please give me your evaluation."

Breathing technique?

Could it be that the cultivation techniques of the sea realm were called breathing techniques?

Qin Ran pondered this while bowing respectfully and smiling at the Island Lord, "Your Lordship's breathing technique is profound and exquisite, with boundless power. The dragon spirit and whale energy temper the body – it's an excellent breathing technique."

Hearing this, the Island Lord realized these were just vague words, and knew that this Master Qin either didn't understand body tempering techniques or was deliberately playing dumb.

He shook his head repeatedly and said, "It seems you don't understand breathing techniques very well... which is understandable, as spirit cultivators often look down on body cultivators."

Spirit cultivators don't understand breathing techniques?

Qin Ran nodded, understanding that the techniques practiced by spirit cultivators were not breathing techniques.

It seemed that only those who practiced breathing techniques were considered body cultivators.

"My breathing technique..." the Island Lord said loudly, "uses whale breath to nourish the internal organs and dragon breath to temper the flesh. When inhaling, it has the power of a giant whale; when exhaling, the power of a true dragon. When I extend my arms, it's the power of both dragon and whale."

Dragons were divine beasts, and if this technique truly had the power of dragons, his Dragon Whale Breathing Technique might be considered an immortal-grade technique, Qin Ran mused. But unfortunately, he guessed this was probably just a figure of speech.

"Your Lordship's breathing technique is indeed exquisite," he smiled, flattering him.

"This is nothing," the Island Lord shook his head. "In the seven islands, there are the Kun Peng Breathing Technique, the Yin Yang Breathing Technique, the Heaven and Earth Breathing Technique, and the Infinite Breathing Technique. Those are truly exquisite breathing techniques. Once mastered, one can battle heaven and earth, and even kill ancient fierce beasts barehanded."

"Wow! Impressive, impressive..." Qin Ran cheered inwardly with a blank expression.

Of course, he didn't understand any of it, so he remained silent.

Finally, the Island Lord wiped his sweat and walked towards Qin Ran, getting to the point: "The reason I've asked you here today is that I have an important matter to discuss."

Qin Ran was mentally prepared and nodded with a smile, "Please, Your Lordship, go ahead."

"To be frank with you, I've been at the peak of the third rank for a long time, and the fourth rank seems just within reach," the Island Lord said, looking at Qin Ran. "However, I've been unable to break through to the fourth rank.

"This is because the Dragon Whale Breathing Technique I practice requires a Dragon Whale Pill for each breakthrough. At the first rank, I needed a first-rank Dragon Whale Pill; at the second rank, a second-rank pill; and now, to advance to the fourth rank, I need a fourth-rank Dragon Whale Pill."

Fourth rank?

Qin Ran made a quick calculation. If the fourth rank was equivalent to the Nascent Soul realm in the Lingnan Region, then a fourth-rank pill would be one that only Nascent Soul cultivators could refine.

He was currently only at the second rank, equivalent to the Golden Core stage. Although he could barely refine third-rank pills due to his unique understanding of pill refining, a fourth-rank pill was beyond his capabilities.

He thought for a moment, not immediately refusing, and asked the Island Lord, "Your Lordship, if you need pills, why not ask Mr. Zhai? Mr. Zhai's attainments in pill refining far surpass mine, and he could refine better quality pills for you."

"Haha..." The Island Lord laughed upon hearing this and explained, "You don't understand, Master Qin. Just as the Dragon Whale Breathing Technique is divided into dragon breath and whale breath, the Dragon Whale Pill is also divided into Dragon Breath Pill and Whale Breath Pill. Moreover, since dragon breath is external and whale breath is internal, the two pills require different refining methods. In other words, two different alchemists are needed to refine the Dragon Breath Pill and the Whale Breath Pill separately."

"How... extraordinary!" Qin Ran exclaimed.

"In the past, other alchemists on the island could refine lower-rank Dragon Whale Pills for me, but now, for this fourth-rank Dragon Whale Pill, no one but Mr. Zhai can refine it," the Island Lord sighed. "Fortunately, you have arrived.

"The other day, Mr. Zhai examined the third-rank body tempering pill you refined and said its structure was exquisite and its quality remarkably high. He believes you have the ability to refine fourth-rank pills."

...So this was the reason he had been so easily allowed to stay, Qin Ran realized.

However, he knew his own capabilities, and he truly didn't have the ability to refine fourth-rank pills!

After some thought, he still decided to decline.

However, the Island Lord seemed to know he was about to refuse. He reached behind him and took a piece of paper from his subordinate's hand, extending it to Qin Ran as he said, "Please take a look, sir. This is the formula for the fourth-grade Dragon Breath Pill."

Qin Ran opened his mouth but didn't speak. He exchanged a glance with the Island Lord, then looked at the formula in the Island Lord's hand before finally accepting it.

And then...

He saw that among the ingredients listed in the formula, there was something called dragon blood.

Dragon blood!!

It was the most crucial ingredient in the longevity pill he had been trying to deduce.

"Island Lord, I need some time to consider this..." He steadied himself and returned the formula to the Island Lord, though he had already committed it to memory. He said, "I'll give you an answer in a couple of days."

"Please do so as soon as possible, sir," the Island Lord replied with a slight smile.

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