Cultivating with Bragging System

"Supreme Soul-Nourishing Elixir? You know a little bit?"

Jiang Yourong looked at Wang Xiu skeptically, her face full of disbelief. "The requirements for Mana control and understanding of medicinal properties for such a high-level elixir are incredibly stringent. Even many venerables of the Alchemy Dao who have reached the Nascent Soul Stage, their souls and divine senses sublimated, may not necessarily be able to refine it."

"You kid... don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes!"

Jiang Yourong had to admit that Wang Xiu’s cultivation talent was remarkably strong; he had reached the Core Formation Stage at a mere fifteen years old. Moreover, considering he had previously only revealed a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation level, this second-level Core Formation Stage might not even be his true power. He could be even stronger!

But cultivation talent did not equate to talent in alchemy. Every top alchemist in the world had spent countless years studying pharmacology just to barely grasp the fundamentals. How old was Wang Xiu? Just fifteen. While reaching the Core Formation Stage, he had also mastered a supreme Ghost Path inheritance even more terrifying than the Jiuli Soul Refining Scripture. At the same time, he possessed profound attainments in Formations!

How could he possibly have the extra time and energy to study something like the Supreme Soul-Nourishing Elixir?

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

Even for her, a former Great Ability whose soul had been greatly damaged, refining the much simpler Soul Nourishing Pill was an extremely taxing ordeal. And Wang Xiu? How could a mere child possibly know how to refine it?

Faced with Jiang Yourong’s skepticism, Wang Xiu smiled slightly and said, "I was only able to learn the refining method for the Supreme Soul-Nourishing Elixir thanks to you, Senior Jiang!"

Thanks to me? Jiang Yourong was momentarily startled. What could he possibly thank me for? I don’t even know how to refine the Supreme Soul-Nourishing Elixir. At most, I only mentioned it in passing while trying to refine the Jiuli Nourishing Soul Pill. Wait a minute...

She sucked in a sharp breath, her soul quivering as her expression became complex. This kid... he didn’t actually go and learn how to make it just because I mentioned it, did he?!

Having spent some time in the Sanqing Immortal Sect, Jiang Yourong had learned a fair bit about it. The sect’s Scripture Pavilion preserved the inheritances of its various lineages. Naturally, the recipe and refining method for the Supreme Soul-Nourishing Elixir were among them. Anyone could obtain the recipe from the Scripture Pavilion as long as they had enough Spirit Stones and Sect Contribution Points.

Did he see me blow up the furnace too many times and decide to teach himself alchemy just to help me? The problem is, the Alchemy Technique isn’t something you can just teach yourself so easily!

Thinking of this, Jiang Yourong looked at Wang Xiu intently and asked probingly, "Have you ever refined the Supreme Soul-Nourishing Elixir before?"

Refined it before? Wang Xiu paused for a moment before answering honestly, "No, this is my first time attempting alchemy."

Jiang Yourong: ???

Jiang Ling’er: ???

Daring to refine the Supreme Soul-Nourishing Elixir on his very first attempt at alchemy? Who gave him that kind of courage? Were all the Disciples of the Divination Sect this crazy?

Jiang Yourong was completely stunned. If Wang Xiu had truly gone to the Scripture Pavilion to learn this recipe just because she had mentioned it, then at most, only a few days could have passed. How could he possibly have learned anything worthwhile in that time?

What a complete waste of ingredients! Wait! No! That brat is going to use our ingredients for his alchemy! My heart already aches to the point of tears whenever I cause a furnace explosion. If this novice gets his hands on our materials and just fools around with them... I’ll die of heartache! After all, a single Nourishing Soul Lotus costs over three thousand Spirit Stones. Including the other auxiliary herbs, the cost to refine one batch of Soul Nourishing Pills has to be over four thousand Spirit Stones! The mere thought made her twitch in agony.

Thinking this, Jiang Yourong subconsciously clutched her Storage Ring and muttered, "Don’t even think about using my Nourishing Soul Lotus for practice! I’ve already figured out the root cause of the furnace explosions. Just... just one last time, and I’ll be able to refine the Jiuli Nourishing Soul Pill. I don’t need your help."

[Ding!]

[Detected someone boasting. Congratulations, Host, for gaining +66 Mana.]

Wang Xiu said helplessly, "Senior, please believe me!"

Jiang Yourong shook her head repeatedly. "I’m not listening, I’m not listening! You already sold the Nourishing Soul Lotus to me, so it’s mine! I... I won’t refine it anymore. I’ll just eat it raw! I’ll chew the petals directly, how about that?"

Looking at Wang Xiu’s smiling face, which seemed to say, ’Hand over the herbs, and I’ll reduce them all to dregs,’ Jiang Yourong felt a wave of pure terror.

These are the rations for my soul’s recovery, the very foundation of my existence!

Wang Xiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he watched Jiang Yourong’s soul tremble with fear.

So be it. I still have a few Nourishing Soul Lotuses left, anyway. Rather than letting them gather dust in my Space Ring, I might as well use this opportunity to refine them.

With that thought, Wang Xiu no longer pressured Jiang Yourong. He directly took out a Nourishing Soul Lotus from his Space Ring, placed it alongside the eighteen other herbs, and prepared to begin.

Four top-grade magic artifact-level array flags shot out from Wang Xiu’s hands, embedding themselves around the Yunhua Alchemy Furnace. In an instant, he had established the Four Symbols Guardian Formation Against Evil.

Azure Dragon’s Power, arrayed in the east;

White Tiger’s Power, arrayed in the west;

Vermilion Bird’s Power, arrayed in the south;

Black Tortoise’s Power, arrayed in the north!

The power of the Four Symbols circulated in turn. The White Tiger’s Metal birthed the Black Tortoise’s Water, the Black Tortoise’s Water birthed the Azure Dragon’s Wood, and the Azure Dragon’s Wood birthed the Vermilion Bird’s Fire.

In the end, a dazzlingly brilliant Vermilion Bird spiritual flame rose in the center of the formation, enveloping the Yunhua Alchemy Furnace. Of course, this was not the complete form of the Vermilion Bird’s Sacred Fire, but merely a wisp of its might borrowed through the Four Symbols Formation. Even so, possessing only some characteristics of the sacred fire, it was far stronger than the alchemical flames of an ordinary Core Formation or even Golden Core Stage cultivator. When used for alchemy, its effectiveness was more than doubled.

After heating the Yunhua Alchemy Furnace with the Vermilion Bird spiritual flame for a while to raise its temperature and clear out the dregs from the previous explosions, Wang Xiu began the formal process.

Wang Xiu pointed his fingers like a sword. The first ingredient, a Buyao Flower, shot from his side and into the pill furnace. What followed was a test of heat control, as these floral spiritual herbs were quite fragile. If the heat was even slightly too intense or the heating time a fraction too long, they would either turn to ash or lose a substantial amount of their medicinal properties.

In Wang Xiu’s hands, however, the roasting and tempering of the Buyao Flower proceeded without the slightest difficulty or mishap. In just a few breaths, the spiritual flower vanished completely inside the furnace. In its place was a pool of pink liquid, crystal clear and exuding a faint fragrance. Around the liquid, motes of the Vermilion Bird spiritual flame hovered at a perfect distance, further purifying the medicinal essence, refining out excess impurities, and expelling them from the pill furnace.

Next, the Eternal Parting Grass. Wang Xiu tossed the crimson herb into the furnace. This herb was extremely fiery by nature, being a fire-attribute ingredient, so the tempering temperature required was much higher than that for the Buyao Flower. The prudent method would be to first remove the Buyao Flower essence from the furnace before proceeding to roast the Eternal Parting Grass.

However, Wang Xiu did not do so. Instead, he ignited a second Vermilion Bird spiritual flame inside the Yunhua Alchemy Furnace, enveloping the Eternal Parting Grass and roasting it ferociously at the highest possible temperature.

What was baffling was that even though the temperature of this second flame was at its absolute peak, turning the Eternal Parting Grass into a crimson liquid in moments, not a single trace of heat escaped it. The Buyao Flower essence, just inches away, remained crystal clear, its medicinal properties completely undamaged by the nearby high temperature. One could only imagine how perfect Wang Xiu’s control over the fire was.

Next came the Age-burning Vine... then the Pill-mark Frost...

One by one, spiritual herbs with completely different, even contradictory, properties were tossed into the pill furnace by Wang Xiu. All the herbs were methodically roasted and tempered, transforming into streams of pure medicinal liquid that hovered steadily in different parts of the furnace, emitting a soft, lustrous glow.

At this moment, Wang Xiu was completely immersed in the alchemy, his focus absolute. His movements flowed like water, smooth and harmonious. Each gesture seemed to contain the profound principles of the Alchemy Dao, creating a sense of beauty in his technique that was close to perfection, inspiring a deep sense of yearning in those who watched.

Jiang Ling’er stared blankly at Wang Xiu, a dazed, infatuated smile on her face, her thoughts a mystery.

As for Jiang Yourong, she was already completely and utterly dumbfounded. The alchemy skills Wang Xiu was displaying were nothing like those of a first-timer. Even great masters of alchemy who had been refining elixirs for hundreds, if not thousands, of years might not possess such a masterful air! Was this boy truly only fifteen? Was it certain he wasn’t some peerless, ancient monster who had been reincarnated?

Fifteen years old. His cultivation level was at the second level of the Core Formation Stage. He could casually set up a flawless Four Symbols Formation to borrow the power of the Four Divine Beasts. With a snap of his fingers, he could summon legions of ghosts that made even a Great Power Remnant Soul tremble.

And now, even his Alchemy Technique had reached an unbelievable level.

Watching the effortlessly elegant Wang Xiu, dressed in robes as white as snow, Jiang Yourong began to have serious doubts about her entire worldview.

The Divination Sect? More like the Hacking Sect!