Wei Ren ran straight to Elder's Garden. The only person who could help him leave the sect was Elder Qian. But Elder Qian rejected him in an instant. New disciples aren't allowed to leave the sect so soon. Plus, Wei Ren's master is Grand Healer Lu Sheng. Sending Wei Ren home would mean overthrowing his master's reputation as Elder Qian would be making decisions on his behalf.
"Your master sent me a message. You are supposed to remain here until you reach third stage Qi Streams. We will decide then whether you can leave the sect or not." These were his words.
He walked back dejectedly to his immortal cave. There was no way he could leave right now. But Wei Tian would definitely want his advice.
"I need to calm myself down." He lit an incense stick inside his immortal cave and started his breathing exercises.
Inside his dark cave there was only the red incense visible. Deathly silence encompassed his mind.
His breathing became more and more silent. Earth Law worked at full speed. His qi channelled in his meridians like water through ravines.
Six days passed. He didn't come out of his cave at all. Green Python Peak was inhabited only by him. Rest of the disciples were also summoned by the Grand Healer Lu Sheng to the Golden Crow Kingdom Border. Wei Ren was oblivious to these changes. He stayed in his cave, cultivating non stop.
On the night of the sixth day.
Bang!
The already burnt incense stick burner was blown away. With a wave of hand he opened his cave. Evil aura leaked out of his body.
Whoosh!
Like a lion he jumped out and appeared outside. It was a half moon today but the moonlight was bright enough to make everything visible at night.
He looked at the crescent moon and said one word in a deep solemn voice.
"Devour."
Leaves stopped moving. Air became non-existent. The entire sect woke up like a dragon coming out of its sleep. Cries could be heard everywhere. Elemental Qi rolled around uncontrollably like a stormy ocean.
Elder Qian rushed out of his garden and launched into the sky like an arrow. Several others also did the same. No one could understand what was happening.
A grey qi gathered inside Wei Ren's body. This was his first time using the Devour Spell fully conscious. He purified the qi as it entered his body. The qi meridians churned like happy snakes. Qi was stored in every part of his body. Pure white qi.
Two minutes later he stopped. Devour Spell stopped. He looked in the sky. Faint silhouettes of several people were visible in the sky.
He knew he would attract attention by using the Devour Spell so openly. But he couldn't wait any longer. War is at their heads. He was raised as a soldier. There was no way he would cower from a true battle. Elder Qian said that he must reach the third stage of Qi Streams before he would be allowed to leave the sect. For this he would have to reach the fourth stage of Earth Law. Then his power would be comparable to a third stage Qi Streams expert.
He went back into his cave and started cultivating. Fourteenth meridian must be formed today. The Devour Spell could be used for two minutes. As his power grew, he would be able to use it for longer periods of time.
"Earth Law, initiate!" He yelled in his heart.
Pure white qi moved inside his body. Thirteen Qi meridians shined bright in this white qi. A new meridian started to form between two other meridians.
Second stage of Earth Law focused on making supporting meridians. Supporting meridians are long and thin. Each supporting meridian uses up a lot of qi to make.
Ten minutes later, a fourteenth meridian shined inside Wei Ren's body.
"I can keep going." His back was covered with sweat. Making new meridians was quite taxing on his mind. But he had very little time. Things were already tense because of his bet with Wei Yu. He must defeat him in the Mission assignment competition but now there was the war against another kingdom. The mission assignment competition will likely get postponed or cancelled. He can deal with Wei Yu later. For now he must focus on becoming stronger. Wei Yu was already at the fifth stage of Qi Streams. Compared to him, Wei Ren was still lacking.
Twenty minutes later, the fifteenth meridian formed.
Thirty minutes later, the sixteenth meridian formed.
Three hours later, the eighteenth meridian formed.
As soon as it formed, Wei Ren collapsed from the exhaustion. Making four meridians at once took a huge toll on his mind. He woke up the next morning. All eighteen meridians functioned perfectly.
"It was worth it." Although using Devour Spell attracts too much attention, he had to use it to save up time. He was sure that some powerful people inside the Serpent Valley Sect were aware that he was the one causing these strange events. But this kind of disturbance was not enough to bring these old monsters out of their seclusion. But they would not tolerate it if he continued to brazenly steal Elemental Qi from the sect.
He calmed his mind and observed the newly formed meridians. Using Devour Spell had a big downside. His qi would become unruly if he used it too often.
A faint red glow appeared in his meridians that wasn't there before. He tried casting an Attraction Spell. There was some resistance in his qi but he still succeeded.
"It is already becoming difficult to control my qi. I have to spend even more time controlling the yin-yang marbles or my control will weaken too much." Devour Spell is a double edged sword. If I use it too much, my future as an alchemist will be gone.
He pondered over his meridians for some time and then decided that he will use Devour Spell only once a month. This way he won't annoy the sect elders too much and also prevent too much of the evil aura from entering his body and making his qi uncontrollable.
"Time to visit the old dwarf." He had promised the old dwarf that he would deliver him fifty White Root Pill Potions by the end of the month.
He hastened to the old dwarf's shop. Just like before the old dwarf was nowhere to be seen. Wei Ren waited for a few minutes. The old dwarf strode into the shop and bowed to Wei Ren.
"Gu Ping is ashamed that he kept Brother Bei waiting. Let me offer you a cup of tea as an apology." He said with a pretentious smile.
"He should work on his expressions." Wei Ren thought in his heart.
"No need, Senior Gu. I wish to start concocting the potions immediately." He didn't care about tea.
"Oh. As you wish Brother Bei, I have already prepared all the necessary ingredients in the Concoction Chamber. Please follow me." There was a clear sign of relief on the old dwarf's face. He obviously had no intention to serve Wei Ren tea.
Wei Ren followed him to the same Concoction Chamber.
The inside of the chamber was several degrees hotter than the outside. But this much heat was nothing for cultivators. He opened a jade box placed beside the Thousand Leaf Pill Cauldron. There were enough ingredients inside it to make seventy Pill Potions.
He showed Wei Ren several properties about the Pseudo Karmic Flame and the Thousand Leaf Pill Cauldron.
"According to our previous conversation, Brother Bei only needs to make fifty White Root Pill Potions for me by the end of the month. Brother Bei's Pill Potions are very rare. Cultivators avoid spending Qi stones on Pills. Instead they buy Pill Potions as they are cheaper. I am sure Brother Bei understands that his Pill Potions are exactly what cultivators seek. They can advance their cultivation bases much faster with Pill Potions. If Brother Bei can successfully deliver fifty Pill Potions then we can do this every month. This old soul is willing to give Brother Bei a share of the profit if Brother Bei agrees." The old dwarf licked his lips with greed written all over his face.
Wei Ren only slightly nodded. Seeing that Wei Ren was not going to say much, the old dwarf decided to leave him alone.
Wei Ren watched the old dwarf stumble out of the Concoction Chamber. He sat down cross-logged in front of the Thousand Leaf Pill Cauldron. He gazed into the beautifully crafted Pill Cauldron. There was not even a single scratch on it.
He was going to concoct a large batch of Pill Potions for the first time. He wasn't sure if he would be able to make the same Potions with 80 percent potency. But he had to try it. If he succeeded then he would be able to fasten his cultivation speed. There are more than enough ingredients for him to make several Potions for himself. There is an unspoken rule for hiring an alchemist. If you want to hire an alchemist then you have to provide the ingredients yourself. An alchemist wouldn't want to waste his time in searching for the required ingredients. All alchemists enjoyed this privilege. Plus there would be no need to return the excess ingredients. The alchemist can use them for his own use.
Wei Ren intended to do the same. He tapped the Pill Cauldron twice. A deep green flame ignited inside the cauldron.
"Pseudo Karmic Flame!" He looked at the beautiful flame dancing in front of him. A demonic core must be burnt to use this flame. Demonic cores are very rare. They are found inside powerful Magical Beasts. Only magical beasts stronger than the River Formation stage have demonic cores.
"I wonder how this demonic core fell into that old dwarf's hands."
He started the Pill Concoction. Ingredients were dropped into the Pseudo Karmic Flame. Several minutes later, the first batch of Pill mixture was ready.