Chapter Twenty-Six: Partial Functions

After three months, Qingxu's pill-refining endeavors had come to a close. Half of the inferior medicinal herbs and immortal grasses he had seized from Ba Liming had been consumed, but the results were more than rewarding. He had crafted four thousand Foundation-Building Pills, three thousand five hundred Essence-Nourishing Pills, and three thousand Marrow-Cleansing Pills of the first rank. Of the second-rank spiritual pills, there were over a thousand Dragon-Tiger Pills and Qi-Fostering Pills. As for the third rank, he had produced more than three hundred Spirit-Consolidating Pills and Soul-Transforming Pills. Even the rare fourth-rank Spiritual Essence Pills numbered seventeen.

“A hundred sleepless days and nights spent refining pills—my alchemy has become much more proficient, and my own magical power and immortal essence have increased greatly!” he thought with satisfaction.

There are three thousand paths to the Dao, each leading to enlightenment; pill refinement is one such path and confers immense benefits to cultivation. Through concocting these spiritual pills, Qingxu’s immortal essence circulated, depleted, and was replenished. By the time he finished, he found his power not far from the mid-stage Earth Immortal—a pleasant and unexpected surprise.

[Alchemy skill unlocked: 1%...]

The sudden voice of the Investiture of the Gods System echoed in his mind, making Qingxu pause, momentarily at a loss.

Alchemy skill?

The system’s notification continued until it reached 15%, then finally it ceased.

The instant the system activated, Qingxu wasted no time in checking its interface.

[Alchemy (Foundation-Building Pill) (Essence-Nourishing Pill) (Marrow-Cleansing Pill)...]

After browsing for a while, Qingxu understood: this Investiture of the Gods System’s alchemy was a function of the third-tier system. Normally, he wouldn’t have access to it, but due to the four Supreme Saint Talismans bestowed by the Grand Supreme Sage, 15% of the function had been unlocked. Thus, part of the third-tier system’s abilities were now available to him.

Qingxu was unfamiliar with the full alchemical arts of the third-tier Investiture of the Gods System, but even the mere 15% he now possessed was astonishingly powerful.

As long as he personally refined three thousand of the same pill—be it a spiritual pill or an immortal elixir—the system could replicate and produce them. Consuming the minimum amount of his own power and immortal herbs, and with a guaranteed one hundred percent success rate, every pill would be perfectly potent, maximizing their efficacy.

He could only marvel at how heaven-defying this was.

Imagine refining three thousand of the same ninth-grade immortal elixir—so long as the requisite ingredients were on hand, the system could instantly channel his power and produce the pills, utterly disregarding the limitations of time. Alchemy, after all, was time-consuming; even the Grand Supreme Sage, when concocting a batch of Nine-Turn Golden Elixirs, required at least a thousand years, not to mention the many intricate steps and risks of failure. One misstep meant all previous effort was wasted; extreme caution was essential.

“Incredible! And this is only 15% of the alchemy skill—what if I had the complete art?” The very thought filled Qingxu with anticipation for the third-tier Investiture of the Gods System. If not for anything else, then for this alchemy skill alone.

“I wonder if the same applies to artifact forging or talisman crafting? If so, that would be perfect!” Greed is part of human nature; Qingxu was no exception.

He was brimming with curiosity, but for now could not test it. Artifact forging and talisman crafting were more complicated, and even gathering enough materials was a challenge—not for one or two, but for three thousand! Considering the success rate, he would need at least five or six thousand sets of materials.

“If only I could refine one, and the system would replicate the rest—how formidable that would be!”

Temporarily setting aside these musings, Qingxu focused on the present. Now that the alchemy skill was unlocked, he intended to make the most of it.

Though his supply of ingredients for Foundation-Building, Essence-Nourishing, and Marrow-Cleansing Pills was almost depleted, it mattered little. In this primordial world, immortal herbs and spiritual medicines were countless. To say they were everywhere might be an exaggeration, but they were not difficult to find. Those over ten thousand years old were rare, and those of several thousand years were uncommon, but those aged a hundred years or more were exceedingly abundant.

Most cultivators ignored hundred-year-old herbs; otherwise, Qingxu would have gathered plenty when he first left Mount Kunlun.

In the past, such common herbs were useless to Qingxu; the pills made from them were weak, far inferior to absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth directly. But now, things were different. With the system’s alchemy, they complemented each other perfectly!

With nearly ubiquitous ingredients, all it cost was some immortal essence, and the system could instantly refine one spiritual pill after another.

“My hundred days of effort have not been in vain!”

Foundation-Building, Essence-Nourishing, Marrow-Cleansing—these three first-rank pills could consolidate and strengthen the Dao foundation. Their effects were mild, but effective for anyone below the Celestial Immortal realm.

For a cultivator to attain immortality and the Dao, the foundation must first be established—this is fundamental, like the foundation of a house. Only with a solid base can one progress far on the path of the Dao; otherwise, a collapse would be cause for endless regret.

Qingxu had already constructed his innate Dao foundation, but it was not yet fully stabilized—he simply hadn’t had the time. He’d intended to consolidate it after the Three Pure Ones’ discourse, but fate had intervened.

“By consolidating my innate Dao foundation with Foundation-Building, Essence-Nourishing, and Marrow-Cleansing Pills—not just one or two, but hundreds or thousands, or even more—the effect will be profound! At the very least, I’ll save decades of arduous cultivation.” The thought filled Qingxu with excitement.

“Calm yourself. To accomplish great things, one must remain unmoved even if a mountain crumbles before one’s eyes; how can a trifle like pill refinement disturb the heart? The urgent task is to raise my power to match my current realm. Soon, even more important matters await!”

A hundred days had passed, and the innate karmic merit was approaching 480 million. Soon, it would be integrated into the main body, the Qingxu Pagoda. This was no trivial matter—innate karma aside, even postnatal karma integration was a grave taboo for cultivators.

Once postnatal karma entered the body, one was doomed in theory to fall into the Three Evil Reincarnations, the Nether Blood Sea, or the Five Filths—eternal torment, with no escape in life or death.

As for the effects of innate karma integration, Qingxu was unsure, but he could guess that disasters were likely—at the very least, more severe than postnatal karma.

“My only hope lies with the Earthly Branch avatar. May my method of swapping heaven and earth succeed! Alas, man proposes, heaven disposes.”

With a quiet sigh, Qingxu swallowed three Spiritual Essence Pills and began cultivating his magical power using the Three Pure Ones’ Daoist techniques.

Compared to the Jade Purity method, the Three Pure Ones’ Dao was much more powerful, for it used the former as its foundation, supplemented by the Grand Purity and Supreme Purity paths.

His vast magical power and immortal essence circulated ceaselessly throughout his body. The three fourth-rank spiritual pills were indeed extraordinary, their effects substantial, greatly aiding Qingxu.

Originally, his immortal essence radiated only Jade Purity, but as he cultivated with the Three Pure Ones’ method, he acquired the auras of Grand Purity and Supreme Purity as well. One man possessing the true path of all Three Pure Ones—this was truly unprecedented. Even the Grand Supreme Sage could only simulate the Three Pure Ones, an illusionary Dao; at its core, it was still Grand Purity. But Qingxu was different—he possessed all three in truth.

Once the Three Pure Ones’ Dao reached perfection, Qingxu’s future would be limitless. Achieving sainthood would not be mere fantasy.

After eighty-one great and small cycles of internal circulation, his immortal essence returned to his middle dantian, the three spiritual pills were fully absorbed, and his power and realm were now truly matched—he had genuinely reached the mid-stage Earth Immortal.

“Just as I’d calculated—after refining so many pills my power was close to the mid-stage Earth Immortal, and three Spiritual Essence Pills were more than enough.”

An Earth Immortal at mid-stage possessed three times the power of one at early stage, and with his elevated realm, he could easily take on four or five of his peers at once.