The Extreme Alchemist of the Mighty Cauldron

It’s not surprising that Elder Qian was stunned. Before entering the Endless Dungeon, Fang Lin was only at the Earth Element Fifth Layer. This was only because Fang Lin received the heritage of the Four Saints and refined a Golden Core, which helped him advance. Without the Golden Core, Fang Lin would have been at just the Earth Element Third Layer.

However, after a less than one-month-long journey to the Endless Dungeon, he had progressed so much, reaching the Earth Element Seventh Layer.

How long had it been since Fang Lin joined the Purple Mist Sect? Less than two years, yet he had swiftly advanced from a mere outer disciple at the Human Origin Fifth Layer to his current level. This could indeed be called a miracle.

This caused Elder Qian to suspect, whether Fang Lin had devoured any natural treasures that could greatly boost his cultivation level in the Endless Dungeon. Otherwise, it would seem impossible for him to have progressed so rapidly.

Elder Qian looked at him with a serious look on his face, “Fang Lin, let me tell you. If you indeed consumed any natural treasures that enhance your cultivation, you must be very careful. Such treasures usually come with disadvantages. Increasing your cultivation too quickly will make your foundation unstable, which will greatly affect your future progress.”

Fang Lin merely grunted in acknowledgment, wanting to gloss over this matter.

However, Elder Qian who seemed to care a lot about Fang Lin, walked up to him and placed one hand on his shoulder, furrowing his brows as he carefully inspected him.

Fang Lin did not dare to move, allowing Elder Qian to inspect him helplessly.

“Hmm? A plentiful of Inner Strength and vigorous vitality, a solid foundation; indeed, there seems to be no problem,” Elder Qian said with a somewhat surprised tone.

Fang Lin thought to himself, it would be strange if there were a problem. After all, he had absorbed and refined a drop of Immortal blood, thoroughly integrating it into his body. It wasn’t as simple as just consuming any natural treasures.

“Well, it seems there’s no need to worry about you. Yet remember, haste makes waste. While it’s good that your cultivation has progressed rapidly, remember the foundation is also critically important. Don’t sacrifice your lifetime cultivation for temporary gains,” Elder Qian sternly advised.

Fang Lin nodded solemnly. He understood these principles naturally. However, being taught by Elder Qian, as his mentor, he couldn’t help but react with respect.

“I invited you here to evaluate your Pill Refining prowess. Are you capable of refining a third-grade pill?” Elder Qian asked upfront.

Fang Lin said, “I suppose I could.”

Without uttering a word, Elder Qian slapped his Nine Palace Bag, resulting in an antiquated Pill Furnace materializing before Fang Lin.

“Do you know the Pill Formula for the Green Spirit Pill? Refine one for me to see.” After saying that, Elder Qian moved a small bench from aside and sat down.

The Green Spirit Pill was a low-tier third grade medicinal pill. It was one of the simplest pills in the third-grade category and was an excellent test for a Pill Refiner’s basic skills. Almost all places judge a Pill Refiner’s ability based on whether they can refine a Green Spirit Pill.

Fang Lin touched the Pill Furnace, looked around, and asked, “Can I use the medicinal herbs here?”

Elder Qian waved his hand, indicating that Fang Lin was free to use them.

Fang Lin then proceeded to pick the herbs required for refining a Green Spirit Pill. None of them were particularly rare, and all could be found in Elder Qian’s medicinal herb field.

Elder Qian nodded secretly, seeing that Fang Lin was adept in harvesting herbs without destroying his herb field. He was rather impressed with this.

Once the herbs were ready, Fang Lin returned to the Pill Furnace and, after taking a deep breath, started refining pills with great confidence.

Lighting the fire, adding the herbs, refining pills…

He did all these steps in one go, without resorting to any flashy techniques or making any errors or omissions. Everything was very clear, systematic, and natural, leaving no room for criticism.

Soon, a batch of Green Spirit Pills was completed. With the aroma of pills permeating the air, Fang Lin took them out carefully and respectfully placed them in front of Elder Qian.

“Master, could you please comment on the quality of the pills I refined?” Fang Lin said with a grin.

Elder Qian peered at the bottle of Green Spirit Pills and carefully inspected each of them, a peculiar look on his face.

Each pill was of superior quality with no flaws, as if forged by an experienced elder Pill Refiner.

Even if Elder Qian himself were to refine them, he might only achieve the same level as Fang Lin. Going beyond this would mean reaching a perfect quality, which wasn’t something crafted so easily.

However, Fang Lin was clearly just a teenager, only seventeen or eighteen years old. How could his accomplishments in Alchemy Tao be on par with those elder Pill Refiners who had been immersed in it for decades?

Elder Qian couldn’t comprehend this, but what overcame his doubts was joy. After all, Fang Lin was his own disciple. The more the student excelled, the happier the master.

“Well done, you’re indeed at the Three Cauldrons Pill Refiner level. When you have the opportunity, you should go to the Pill Alliance to obtain the official title of the Three Cauldrons Pill Refiner,” Elder Qian nodded, a look of genuine appreciation on his face.

Fang Lin was also considering this. His Martial Arts level had soared so much that he could now refine many third-grade pills he wasn’t capable of refining before. Therefore, it was beneficial for him to enhance his Pill Refiner’s rating at the Pill Alliance.

Although Fang Lin was not fond of the Pill Alliance, he could not deny that being recognized as a Pill Refiner from the Pill Alliance was quite useful. At the very least, it commanded respect when traveling.

“Fang Lin, I heard you made improvements to the pill formulas in the Pill Formula Palace?” Elder Qian suddenly asked.

Fang Lin was taken aback, wondering why he queried this. Nonetheless, seeing Elder Qian raised this issue, it was obvious he knew the details. Fang Lin saw no need to hide and admitted it directly.

Elder Qian’s eyes lit up: “You mean, you met a sage when you were young, who instructed you and made you memorize many pill formulas?”

Fang Lin nodded. However, those were his excuses back then. It seemed that he would have to keep telling those lies now.

“Good, then, help me look at this pill formula.” Saying so, Elder Qian pulled out a jade box and carefully opened it.

Inside the jade box was a piece of aged and yellowing paper with densely written text all over it.

With just a glance, a hint of surprise flashed by in Fang Lin’s eyes, yet he managed to avoid Elder Qian’s scrutiny.

Fang Lin solemnly accepted the pill formula, spread it out with care and started studying it meticulously.

By the time he finished, Fang Lin had almost figured out the essence of it. However, he noticed that the pill formula wasn’t complete.

“How is it? Did you find anything?” Elder Qian, who had been watching Fang Lin intently, asked anxiously after noticing his unusual expression.

Fang Lin furrowed his eyebrows, “Master, where did you get this pill formula?”

After a moment of hesitation, Elder Qian sighed and confessed, “I found it in an ancient tomb when I was traveling around in my youth. I’ve read it countless times, yet I still can’t figure out the type of pill this formula is for.”

Fang Lin gave a wry smile, “Master, did you miss a piece? This formula is incomplete.”