Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather Chapter 1743 - 1061: Alchemy, Corpse Sea

Alchemy, alchemy.

After returning to the Life Realm Immortal Palace from the Sky Cloud Sword Sect, Yang Zhenshan has been busy with alchemy.

Not only Yang Zhenshan himself but also Zhang Hexuan and Yang Zongyuan were refining different elixirs in the Pill Hall of Flame Mountain, each with several assistants helping them.

This day, just as Yang Zhenshan finished refining a batch of Tongming Pill, Zhang Hexuan came running to him with a mischievous grin, saying, "Hey Hey, Master!"

Yang Zhenshan took out the elixirs from the pill furnace, and two young immortal cultivators immediately stepped forward to clean the furnace and adjust the earth fire beneath it.

Naturally, he was using the Golden Crow Eight Trigrams Furnace, and ordinarily, these tasks wouldn’t require others, as the Golden Crow Eight Trigrams Furnace, being a spiritual artifact, could handle them independently.

However, in order to train young alchemists, Yang Zhenshan allowed these two immortal cultivators to act as assistants by his side.

"What’s up?" Yang Zhenshan asked casually.

Zhang Hexuan replied somewhat bashfully, "Master, I want a spiritual artifact pill furnace too!"

"..."

Yang Zhenshan was speechless.

A spiritual artifact pill furnace isn’t like cabbage; currently, there are only two spiritual artifact pill furnaces in the Life Realm Immortal Palace, namely the Golden Crow Eight Trigrams Furnace and the Sealing Spirit Mysterious Fire Furnace.

Yet he understood why Zhang Hexuan came to him for a spiritual artifact pill furnace.

At the heart of this matter was his favoritism.

In terms of seniority and cultivation, Zhang Hexuan surpassed Yang Zongyuan, but Yang Zhenshan gave the Sealing Spirit Mysterious Fire Furnace to Yang Zongyuan.

Although Zhang Hexuan wouldn’t bear resentment for this, he felt uncomfortable.

Previously, Zhang Hexuan could overlook these things while he was at the Sky Cloud Sword Sect. But now they’re both here refining pills, and Yang Zongyuan’s pill refining is faster and better than his, which makes him feel unbalanced.

Yang Zhenshan stroked his beard and said, "Don’t think about a spiritual artifact pill furnace; it’s hard for me to find a suitable furnace for you anytime soon!"

Pill and artifact refining arrays, most Golden Core cultivators have some knowledge in these areas; some are skilled in alchemy, some in artifact refining, while others possess expertise in arrays and talismans.

They might not be very proficient, but they can at least achieve a Second-Order level.

However, speaking frankly, the number of Golden Core cultivators is low, and Third Order alchemists among them are even rarer.

Hence, every Third Order alchemist becomes an exceedingly scarce existence.

And the spiritual artifact pill furnaces used by Third Order alchemists are also very rare, far rarer than other types of spiritual artifacts.

Yang Zhenshan was lucky to acquire the Golden Crow Eight Trigrams Furnace before reaching Foundation Establishment.

As for the Sealing Spirit Mysterious Fire Furnace, that was also obtained by chance in the Sun Cave Heaven.

If he were to seek another spiritual artifact pill furnace now, he truly wouldn’t find one.

"How about this? You could ask Jizhen to help you refine a furnace!" Yang Zhenshan suggested an alternative approach.

"Senior brother can’t refine spiritual artifacts yet!" Zhang Hexuan replied dully.

Yang Zhenshan chuckled, "You fool, get him to refine a Lifebound Magical Treasure for you instead."

"Lifebound Magical Treasure? I already have one!"

"Then refine another one; having two Lifebound Magical Treasures is even better!"

"But a Lifebound Magical Treasure is just a magical treasure, not a spiritual artifact!" Zhang Hexuan said.

Yang Zhenshan looked at him as if he were a fool, "Do you think you can use a spiritual artifact pill furnace right now? Even if you can, how much help do you think it will provide you?"

"In pill furnaces, higher grade isn’t always better; it’s the most suitable one that’s best. A custom-made Lifebound Pill Furnace is more suitable than a spiritual artifact pill furnace for you!"

A spiritual artifact pill furnace might offer some assistance to Zhang Hexuan by improving his pill formation rate, yet a Foundation Establishment cultivator using a spiritual artifact pill furnace is somewhat akin to pulling seedlings to help them grow, leading to reliance on it.

Like Yang Zhenshan himself, due to possessing the Golden Crow Eight Trigrams Furnace, his proficiency in fire control is weak; up till now, he can’t perform alchemy without the Golden Crow Eight Trigrams Furnace.

Yang Zongyuan has the same problem; his control over medicinal potency within the furnace is somewhat insufficient. However, he hasn’t had the Sealing Spirit Mysterious Fire Furnace for long, so the problem isn’t serious yet, plus Sealing Spirit is a good mentor, actively letting Yang Zongyuan make up for this shortcoming.

Zhang Hexuan’s aptitude doesn’t match Yang Zongyuan’s, so he absolutely shouldn’t rely on such methods; only through solid practice can he reach greater heights in alchemy.

Yang Zhenshan guided him patiently before concluding, "Let’s do this, Master will fund the creation of a Lifebound Pill Furnace for you! Any costs will be covered by me!"

Zhang Hexuan’s eyes lit up, "Hey hey, disciple thanks Master for the favor!"

In truth, he didn’t necessarily need a spiritual artifact pill furnace; what he wanted more was Yang Zhenshan’s attention and importance.

The fact that Yang Zhenshan was willing to invest in creating a Lifebound Pill Furnace for him was enough to make him very happy.

"Though your talent isn’t like Zongyuan’s, you shouldn’t underestimate yourself; the alchemy path values talent but hard work can make up for deficiencies!"

"If talent is lacking, then fill the gap with diligence; only with solid learning and practice can you become a Third Order alchemist in the future!"

Yang Zhenshan pat Zhang Hexuan’s shoulder and advised earnestly.

"Disciple understands!" Zhang Hexuan responded.

"Mm! You go ahead now!"

...

Cloud Mist Array by the Ten Thousand Ghost Blood Pool.

An Wusheng hovered in the air, looking down at the blood pool below.

"Hall Master!" Yu Yuan arrived behind him, bowing respectfully, "The Blood Jade has been repositioned; it will take about three years before these ghost soldiers and blood puppets are fully refined!"

An Wusheng’s pale face was impassive, "Three years, we can’t wait that long!"

"The Soul Refining Hall has already initiated war with the Chi Huang Clan in the south, in three years, they might reach Separation Fire Mountain!"

The Unpredictable Ghost Sect comprises three halls: Soul Hooking Hall, Soul Refining Hall, and Soul Control Hall. This time, the ones responsible for waging war with the Wanhua Demon Court are the Soul Refining Hall and Soul Control Hall.

Soul Control Hall is in the north, Soul Refining Hall is in the south, forming a pincer attack strategy.

The Yellow Springs Hall and Nanhua Sect have joined the Soul Refining Hall, not An Wusheng’s Soul Control Hall, which is why the Yellow Springs Ancestor and Chi Yuan Ancestor haven’t yet troubled the Sky Cloud Sword Sect.

"Hall Master, what about the Yin Ghost Department?" Yu Yuan spoke softly.

Under the Soul Control Hall are two departments, the Yin Ghost Department and Yin Corpse Department. Previously, the Yin Ghost Department handled the refining of ghost soldiers and blood puppets, while the Yin Corpse Department commanded them.

But now, due to the looming war, the responsibilities between the two departments have shifted slightly; their duties aren’t as clearly defined anymore, with each responsible for refining and commanding ghost soldiers and blood puppets.

"Them? Don’t expect much from them, they lack significant strength!" An Wusheng remarked.

"Then we must resort to using the Corpse Sea’s forces!" Yu Yuan suggested.

The Corpse Sea is the largest repository of corpses within the Soul Control Hall; it stores ghost soldiers and blood puppets accumulated over thousands of years.

Speaking frankly, the Unpredictable Ghost Sect is quite peculiar.

The reserves of other sects are diverse spiritual objects, various elixirs, numerous spiritual artifact magical treasures, whereas the reserves of the Unpredictable Ghost Sect are tens of thousands of ghost soldiers and blood puppets.

An Wusheng pondered for a moment, then took out a crimson token.

"Take my token, go to the Corpse Sea, and mobilize thirty thousand ghost soldiers, a hundred thousand blood puppets!"

Although the sect hasn’t urged them to act, they cannot wait any longer. The Soul Refining Hall has already achieved significant results, yet the Soul Control Hall still remains here refining ghost soldiers and blood puppets; if news of this returns to the sect, who knows how those old scoundrels within it will laugh at him.

To avoid being overshadowed by the Soul Refining Hall or mocked by the sect’s old scoundrels, An Wusheng decided to deploy some of the Soul Control Hall’s resources.

"Understood!"

Yu Yuan accepted the token and responded.