Chapter 76: Four Months Later
Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Four Months Later
"Not bad!"
Zhang Chi was overjoyed as he looked at the Divine Movement Talisman.
He then summarized his successful experience, committing the feeling to memory. Afterward, he drew ten more in a row and succeeded in making another two.
"Haha, excellent!"
Zhang Chi set down his Talisman Brush and rubbed his sore hand and arm, feeling increasingly satisfied.
Achieving a ten percent success rate with a Spirit Talisman was considered mastery. As long as one mastered a single type of Spirit Talisman, even a Tier One Low Grade Divine Movement Talisman, they could be called a Talisman Master.
In fact, Zhang Chi’s success rate was a full two times higher than that of a typical novice Talisman Master.
If he continued like this and mastered more than ten types of Tier One Low Grade Spirit Talismans, he would have accumulated enough experience to attempt a Tier One Middle Grade Spirit Talisman.
For him to become a Talisman Master so quickly was absolutely unprecedented among Cultivators of the Same Tier. Even the talented He Shi couldn’t possibly compare to him.
CRACK!
Zhang Chi then took one of the Divine Movement Talismans, channeled a burst of Spiritual Power from his hand, and activated it on the spot. It worked just as expected.
After sticking the Spirit Talisman to his body, a surge of power instantly infused his legs, and his walking speed noticeably increased.
Next, Zhang Chi began practicing Artifact Refining, which proved to be a bit more difficult.
The process was more complex and time-consuming. Factoring in his daily Cultivation, he could only practice twice a day at most.
And with each failure, the losses were greater.
This was despite having free access to an Artifact Refining room and Demon Beast Materials; otherwise, the cost would have been even higher.
However, after fourteen consecutive failures, Zhang Chi finally succeeded in refining his first Magical Artifact on the fifteenth attempt.
It was a Beast Bone Flying Sword, about half a foot long, snow-white, and as thin as a cicada’s wing. It was only inscribed with a single basic Restriction, placing it at the very bottom tier even among Low Grade Magical Artifacts.
But this made Zhang Chi ecstatic, as it signified that he had now become an Artifact Refiner.
Learning the basics of Artifact Refining may have been slower than Talisman Making, but it still only took him ten days. The speed was, once again, astonishing.
Because of this, Zhang Chi had no intention of registering with the Sect. His status as an Alchemy Master was sufficient, and adding another title would seem abnormal.
HISS!
And good things come in pairs. Just as Zhang Chi was admiring his new Flying Sword, unable to put it down, a sudden cry rang out. The Four-legged Strange Snakes, which had been slumbering for ten days, had finally awoken together.
However, after waking up, the Four-legged Strange Snakes didn’t approach Zhang Chi. Instead, they immediately noticed the beetle’s presence. They faced the Spiritual Spring, letting out threatening cries with their bodies tensed in an attack stance.
The Phantom Beetle merely glanced at the strange snakes before ignoring them, not even bothering to hide.
Clearly, even though the strange snakes had grown a size larger and reached the Tier One Late Stage, they were still no match for it.
"Come here!"
Zhang Chi smiled faintly and gave a low command. Only then did the Four-legged Strange Snakes stop paying attention to the beetle and come to his feet.
Zhang Chi noticed that they had turned a silvery-white all over, no longer their previous black color.
Their claws and fangs were sharper, with a keenness and durability comparable to a Middle Grade magical artifact.
At the same time, they were stronger and moved with greater speed.
But their most potent weapon was still their venom; it would be a huge problem even for Qi Cultivation Late Stage cultivators.
The biggest change, however, was their length. They had already reached six feet, looking like large lizards. They were no longer the little creatures that could be easily hidden in Zhang Chi’s sleeves.
"Excellent!"
Zhang Chi couldn’t help but be very pleased. With these strange snakes, he had a high chance of winning against an average Late Stage Qi Cultivation practitioner without even having to lift a finger himself.
Now that the Spirit Snakes had advanced, Zhang Chi could feed them Spirit Awakening Pills again to help them continue improving.
But Zhang Chi did not feed them any more of the Demonized Spiritual Spring.
After advancing, they had become noticeably more irritable and ferocious; otherwise, they wouldn’t have foolishly tried to attack the beetle earlier.
This was clearly an effect of the Demonic Qi, which they needed to properly digest before they could continue.
After that, Zhang Chi continued his Cultivation in Seclusion.
Every day, he focused on Qi Cultivation, Body Cultivation, Refining God, and sword practice. He also practiced Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and Talisman Making. Additionally, he cultivated Magic, attended lectures, read, occasionally joined private trade meetings, and wandered the Sect Marketplace. His life was full and busy.
However, as time went on, Zhang Chi, Qin Susu, and the others all reduced the frequency of their lecture attendance.
Their knowledge base was already quite rich, and the ordinary free courses were of much less help to them.
This was especially true for Zhang Chi. With his powerful Divine Soul, he learned more quickly and only needed to occasionally attend lectures that interested him.
Furthermore, Qin Susu and the others extended the interval between private trade meetings to once a month.
After all, as their Cultivation improved, it would become normal for them to enter seclusion for dozens of days at a time.
「Four months passed in the blink of an eye.」
One morning, Zhang Chi was performing Alchemy when, after a rumble from the Pill Furnace, three longan-sized, jade-green Elixirs flew out, emitting a fresh herbal fragrance.
"Tier One Upper Grade Guiyuan Pills, I finally succeeded! And three of them in one go!"
Zhang Chi raised a hand and pulled the three Elixirs out of the air. After observing them for a moment, a smile spread across his face.
After so much hard work, his Alchemy had finally reached the Tier One Upper Grade level.
The time was also about right. He could now reveal a skill level of a Tier One Middle Grade Alchemist to the public.
This would allow him to accept higher-level Alchemy tasks and publicly sell Tier One Middle Grade Elixirs.
Besides, while this revealed rate of improvement was fast, it wasn’t so fast as to be shocking.
At the same time, over the past four months, his Artifact Refining skills had also improved tremendously. It wouldn’t be long before he could refine a Middle Grade magical artifact.
His Talisman Making, which was easier to practice repeatedly and aided by the Upper Grade Talisman Brush, had progressed at an extremely astonishing rate, already reaching the Tier One Upper Grade level.
Its rate of improvement had come from behind to surpass even his Alchemy.
Aside from these three arts, Zhang Chi’s strength in Body Cultivation and Qi Cultivation was also steadily increasing, though not enough time had passed for any major breakthroughs to occur.
SWOOSH...
Seeing that it was already light outside, Zhang Chi immediately rode his Golden Bamboo Leaf Flying Sword toward the Pill Hall.
"Good kid, you’ve become a Tier One Middle Grade Alchemist? I knew you had a talent for Alchemy!"
Upon learning that Zhang Chi wanted to be assessed for his Pill Master level, the elderly Foundation Establishment Steward of the Pill Hall, Fu Hongchang, couldn’t help but widen his eyes and exclaim in surprise.
"I just got lucky and found my rhythm recently. Besides, I was stuck at Tier One Low Grade for a long time, so this rate of improvement isn’t actually that fast," Zhang Chi said humbly.
"Regardless, a Tier One Middle Grade Alchemist is a great talent. This is a good thing for both the Sect and for you personally. Come, let’s go get you assessed."
Fu Hongchang’s admiration for Zhang Chi grew.
’Not only does he have a decent talent for Alchemy, but he’s also so humble at such a young age. He’s destined for great things.’
Fu Hongchang then led Zhang Chi to an Alchemy Room and once again prepared some Alchemy Materials for him.
This time, he consulted Zhang Chi and provided the materials for refining the Gathering Essence Pill.
Of course, Zhang Chi could also refine the Tier One Middle Grade Demon Soul Pill with a high degree of proficiency, but he didn’t want to reveal that just yet.
The result, naturally, was without suspense.
An hour later, Zhang Chi successfully refined two Gathering Essence Pills of acceptable quality.
This was with Zhang Chi intentionally holding back his skill to avoid being too shocking; otherwise, he could have produced around six pills.
"Not bad. You are indeed a Tier One Middle Grade Alchemist now. You can accept higher-level tasks from now on. In addition, your treatment from the Sect will be improved accordingly."
"And I’ll say it again: if you need anything in the future, don’t hesitate to come find me for help."
Fu Hongchang nodded in satisfaction after inspecting the Elixirs and immediately took Zhang Chi’s Identity Token to update his registration.
Afterward, his attitude toward Zhang Chi became even more amiable.
"Alright, Senior Uncle. Actually, I happen to have a favor to ask," Zhang Chi said with a slight smile.