After refining all the herbs and extracting their essence, he began merging them slowly but confidently.
After all, even though he hadn’t been successful in previous attempts, they were valuable for his experience.
When he felt like the pills were ready, he took a deep breath, finished refining the pills, and opened the cauldron to look inside.
There were 3 pills sitting inside the cauldron. Shen Yuan excitedly took them out, looking at them as if they were some treasure.
[Not bad, you were able to take some Low-Grade Tier 1 Flesh Fortification Pills on your first day. Most alchemists can’t do this even with your level of talent.]
She praised him genuinely, making Shen Yuan smile happily. “Of course, you haven’t seen someone as talented as me. You think it’s easy to encounter someone of my level?”
Yue Lan smiled lightly as she continued,
[But I have seen little kids creating Immortal Pills, so compared to them you are nothing impressive.]
She spoke aloud as she had to bring Shen Yuan down from his high pedestal else someone would knock him down.
Shen Yuan didn’t mind it one bit as he smiled happily, “It doesn’t matter, they have absurd talents from birth. I can just kill some vile bastards on the higher plane to absorb their talent or physique.”
Yue Lan shook her head as if what he said was correct. Those who she compared him with were indeed far higher in talent than him.
As they continued their banter, Shen Yuan put the pills away and continued practicing.
…
Soon, four days passed, and Shen Yuan was now able to make High-Grade Tier 1 Pills.
However, their quality was still poor, as even the Mid-Grade pills he refined only reached a purity level of 70%.
[Congratulations, Shen Yuan. You are now a High-Grade Alchemy Novice from the standard of this world.]
Yue Lan’s voice sounded in his mind as she had dispersed her Cat avatar already so as to not disturb him.
Shen Yuan nodded and changed the subject, “Enough time has been wasted here. I still need to visit Saber Mountain Sect before heading towards Radiant Lotus Sacred Sect to join it.”
He talked about his next plans and left the alchemy room to head outside. The elderly man looked at Shen Yuan and commented in a light tone, “You are finally out, I was about to send someone to see if you had died inside or something.”
Shen Yuan ignored the comment and said with a light chuckle, “I will visit again sometime, stay alive and don’t kick the bucket before that.”
The elderly man raised his hand to shoo him away and said, “Go away, You Brat! Even if everyone in this city dies, I would still be alive and kicking.”
Shen Yuan lightly shook his head and went outside of the hall. The warm rays of the sun hit his face and he felt comfortable basking in it.
He looked at the bustle of the city as he continued to walk through it. After a while, Yue Lan’s voice echoed inside his head,
[Saber Mountain Sect, huh? Why not take a detour and explore the nearby regions as well? It can be a good experience for you or you might even find something interesting.]
Shen Yuan shook his head, his eyes revealing calmness as he spoke, “I have delayed it for long enough, it’s about time I go and confront them. And I’m on a tight schedule as well, I need to ensure everything is in place before heading for Radiant Lotus Sacred Sect.”
[Oh, so it’s about that. It’s good to end the karmic ties before they start to bore down on you.]
Soon he reached the city gates, and he glanced one last time behind him to see the city.
Remembering all the things he had done before leaving.
…
After a few days of journeying through some cities and villages, Shen Yuan reached the gates of Mountain Blade City.
He looked at the majestic appearance of the city gates, which were decorated with different designs of sabers.
He entered the city together with other travelers or cultivators who wished to join the Saber Mountain Sect.
Mountain Blade City was situated on the outskirts of the Saber Mountain Sect. It was built by those who either couldn’t join the sect or the family members of the Saber Mountain Sect Disciples.
He looked inside and saw a different atmosphere from all the cities he explored till now. Here, most of the cultivators carried sabers on their backs.
Even mortals carried sabers, aspiring to be Saber Cultivators.
Shen Yuan explored for a bit until he found an inn to eat some food and gather information.
He entered and saw the bustling atmosphere. Everyone was talking, laughing, or sharing information with one another.
He went to sit on one of the empty tables and ordered some food with beer when the waiter came to take his order.
As he waited for his order to arrive he listened to the chatting from around him. Hearing various news, they talked about the upcoming competition among the youths of some association.
And another is the recent news about the training session conducted by Saber Mountain Sect where a lot of disciples died.
One particular individual said to his companions, “Aiye, it’s unfortunate that the Young Master of the Han Clan died in that training session.”
His companion agreed with him and continued, “He was cultivating diligently ever since his mother and father died due to the attack on his clan. He was training so harshly to avenge his parents.”
Another one of the companions added, “Now, only his Junior Sister is left who had to do Sect’s missions just to collect enough funds to give her brother a proper funeral.”
The first individual spoke again, “Sigh, all of the family members turned their back on her since they thought that she wouldn’t amount to much in the future.”
Shen Yuan listened to everything intently, and after making some guesses, he stood up and headed toward their table.
“Excuse me, are you guys talking about Han Ming of Saber Mountain Sect?” he said as he came and stood in front of their table.
The 3 people looked up at him, one of them who was a bearded middle-aged man who started the discussion asked, “Why would we tell you?”
“Hahahaha” All three of them burst into laughter together. Shen Yuan figured they were already drunk.
He slammed his palm on the table and placed a pouch filled with Spirit Stones, “It will be my treat, now would you mind sharing the details?”
The three brothers looked at each other, they accepted the Spirit Stones and said with a flattering smile, “Ah Yes, of course, Sir. We will tell you everything you want to know.”
Shen Yuan nodded his head and sat down, the waiter also brought his food to him on the other table.
Shen Yuan ate the food and chatted with the three of them, asking about the details of Mountain Blade City and Han Clan.
…
Shen Yuan left the restaurant after getting his fill and knowing everything he wanted to know. He headed back into the market.
