The Undying Immortal System

After ascending to Martial Lord and stabilizing my new realm, I immediately switched my attention to advancing my alchemy skills. There were other things that needed my attention. For instance, while the factory was operational, it still needed work. But for me, everything outside of alchemy was unimportant.

I settled into a cultivation room within the City Lord’s Complex and began studying the book Emperor Li had left for me. He had previously demonstrated that the key to Rank 4 alchemy was using one’s will to influence the world. By channeling my thoughts and energy through my core, I was supposed to be able to affect reality itself.

The first part of Emperor Li’s book outlined a few simple exercises I could practice to improve my ability to channel my will. Following its guidance, I took a piece of paper and threw it into the air. As it began to float down, I focused my thoughts through my core and attempted to lock it in place. Shortly after, the paper landed on the ground.

It took me many days to succeed in locking the paper in the air. At first, the lock was only partial, but after more practice, I gained more confidence. Then, I tore the piece of paper in two and threw both pieces into the air simultaneously. Simultaneously creating two separate locks was more than twice as difficult, but after several more days, I was able to do it.

Then, I tore both pieces in half again. After I mastered four, I tore them again. Four became eight, and eight became sixteen. On my best attempt, I was able to lock eleven in place simultaneously, but that was as far as I progressed.

One thing I didn’t expect was that while I could use my will to lock things in place, unlike affinities, I couldn’t use will to manipulate things. This meant that I wouldn’t be able to use my will to help concoct perfect pills since that involved deft manipulation of medicinal energy. Instead, I would need to lock the energy in place with will and then use my affinities to overpower the lock and slightly adjust the medicinal energy inside.

I wanted to practice these simple exercises until I reached the peak of perfection, but I didn’t have the luxury of time. I would only maintain lordship of North Lake City for nine years, and I needed to do my best to advance as far as possible in that time. Spending too much time practicing basic exercises could interfere with that goal. So, I decided to only push my will control as far as necessary, and then, after I left office, I would begin a more thorough exercise regime.

After my will-control reached a place I was satisfied with, I started working on the simplest Rank 4 pill possible. For this, I had already purchased ten Verdant Emerald Kairaway Pods, which looked somewhat similar to bright green soy bean pods. They were priced at 100,000 gold each and were one of the few Rank 4 herbs that could easily be purchased with only gold. Not only that, but they were also one of the few herbs that could be turned into a pill without any additional ingredients. This made them perfect for new Rank 4 alchemists.

I focused on a pod and got to work. Melting its physical body was not too difficult. It was similar to many of the Rank 3 herbs I had worked with. The energy body, however, was a different story. The pod’s shell was entirely made out of toxic energy, and the medicinal energy was only held within the beans themselves, but it was all disjointed and fragmented. The energy only existed as small flecks that were suspended in a substrate of toxic energy.