When the purple substance was completely integrated into the medicinal liquid, she threw in the White Spiritual Fruit, which possesses absorbent effects. Suddenly, the tranquil medicinal liquid began to boil vigorously. Centered around the White Spiritual Fruit, it spun rapidly, with its steaming heat spreading in all directions. The whole room seemed immersed in a foggy ocean, with visibility reduced to nothing but a white expanse.
"Quick, the Dragon Ganoderma Herb!" Master Fei was tremendously excited as he watched the boiling medicinal liquid, exclaiming excitedly. Having lived for tens of thousands of years, he had never seen such an anomaly—Medicine Spirit Surge! He had actually encountered the legendary Medicine Spirit Surge...
A Medicine Spirit Surge is a legendary phenomenon wherein the spiritual powers of medicines match each other, reaching a profound realm. The dual effects of the medicinal power and Spiritual Energy make the medicinal liquid boil and spin, creating a whirlpool of Medicine Spirit fluctuations, or simply, a Surge. It's an eloquent description of the process where the medicine gains and releases Spiritual Energy under the influence of spiritual power. This state is serendipitous and not something one can seek out. An alchemist might not encounter it even once in a lifetime. Even Master Fei, qualified as a ninth-grade Pill Master, had never come across it, but unexpectedly, this girl had. Her luck was a bit too good.
Zhiyan hurriedly tossed the Dragon Ganoderma Herb into the Medicine Cauldron. The medicinal liquid inside began to boil even more fiercely as a faint, mysterious fragrance wafted out. Soon after, Zhiyan felt a cool air seeping into her body through her pores and skin. Her body shook violently, the previous fatigue swept away, replaced by an irrepressible excitement.
Boom! As soon as the Yin Yang Energy within her made contact with that cool substance, it revved like a high-speed motor, rapidly circulating within her. With eyes gleaming brightly and a face full of excitement, Master Fei watched on. It seemed that it was better to conduct alchemy at the right moment than early. If not for Zhiyan insisting on making Spirit Gathering Liquid, she would have missed this opportunity.
Ah, a Medicine Spirit Surge! For an ordinary pharmacist, it merely elevates the spiritual realm, but for Zhiyan, who is cultivating as a Demon Doctor, it was a dual enhancement of both her cultivation base and spiritual realm.
With her eyes closed, the seconds ticked by, and when the last bit of Medicine Spirit in the cauldron had been absorbed, the boiling stopped, and everything returned to calm as if nothing had happened. However, the changes inside Zhiyan's body were earth-shattering.
The silver-white (Yin Yang) lines coiling in her abdomen had thickened tenfold. If the lines were once as thin as silk, they now resembled wires, enveloped by an orange glow on the outside and countless orange specks wandering throughout her body. When she projected her Spiritual Sense outward, she could envelop the entire Southern Gardens within her consciousness, monitoring every flower, tree, and blade of grass stirring in the wind.
"This, what is this?" Zhiyan gasped, covering her mouth in astonishment. Before, her sense only extended within the room, but now she could sense the entire Southern Gardens—that must be at least five hundred meters.
"Haha, don't doubt it, you've officially broken through Nurturing Qi to reach Foundation Establishment. Your Spiritual Power has leaped from mid-level Primary to the initial stage of Mid-level, and your external Spiritual Sense has jumped from fifty meters to five hundred meters. And from now on, you can start practicing Alchemy," explained Master Fei, smiling, his eyes twinkling with amusement. With such an unexpected and special advancement, it was no wonder she was surprised.
"Is it really that simple?" Zhiyan's mouth hung open, still looking at Master Fei with disbelief. She remembered him saying at the start that it would take at least a year to achieve Foundation Establishment, yet now, in less than three months, she had done it?
Could someone please tell her this wasn't a dream?
"Alright, don't play coy after taking advantage of good fortune. If it weren't for the fortuitous Medicine Spirit Surge, would you possess your current cultivation level? If anyone is to blame, it's your excessive luck," Master Fei scolded, giving Zhiyan a sideways glance with a hint of jealousy. He had seen people with good luck but had never encountered luck as good as hers. Back in the day, it took him a full three years to break through Nurturing Qi. Yet there she was, achieving it in just three months.
With her cultivation base improved and her spiritual power greatly increased, the subsequent alchemy proceeded exceptionally smoothly. On the twenty-fifth day, Zhiyan finally stepped out of her room. Nearly a month of potion making had significantly altered her aura, which was now calm and restrained, graceful as a flowering blossom. Standing there, her delicately tender lips curled in an almost imperceptible smile, she appeared approachable yet somehow distant, inviting closeness yet remaining elusive.
"Yanyan, how are you feeling? Do you want to take a rest?" As soon as Zhiyan's foot crossed the threshold, Ouyang Peng followed suit, draping his arm over Yanyan's shoulders with a look of affectionate concern.
"I'm not tired. This is Qi Gathering Liquid, specially concocted for father. After drinking it, it will aid in the gathering of spiritual energy and could help father break through the blind physique to reach Primary Sage," Zhiyan said, handing a bottle of dark red Qi Gathering Liquid to Ouyang Peng. Qi Gathering Liquid and Spirit Gathering Liquid sound similar, yet are worlds apart – Qi Gathering Liquid being a second-grade primary-level medicinal liquid that any Sage could consume, while Spirit Gathering Liquid is a mid-level fourth-grade elixir, designed for Grandmaster-level sages, with a potent effect and an exorbitant price.
"Good, good, I will definitely drink it," Ouyang Peng said with a laugh, accepting the bottle with tears shimmering in his eyes and his voice trembling slightly. No matter when, she always kept him close to her heart. What more could he ask for in this life than to have a daughter like her?
After chatting with Ouyang Peng for a while, Wen Cheng arrived. Zhiyan had entrusted the entire responsibility of the medicine sale conference to Wen Cheng, and with only five days left until the event, there were many issues that required discussion between them. Seeing the situation, Ouyang Peng took his leave.
After half an hour, all the details were settled, and Zhiyan proceeded to apply acupuncture to Wen Cheng for detoxification, and in the end, also gave him a bottle of Qi Gathering Liquid.
"This is not appropriate, my dear girl, I appreciate the thought, but I really cannot accept this," Wen Cheng refused, pushing away the bottle of Qi Gathering Liquid. These precious elixirs, casually presented, were worth hundreds of gold coins, and he did not feel right accepting them.
"What's this about being old? You've advised father, and in Yanyan's heart, you're like a grandfather. What's wrong with Yanyan offering a few bottles of elixir as a token of respect to her grandfather? If you don't accept it, Yanyan might get angry," Zhiyan said, batting her eyelashes and puffing her cheeks in a mock angry manner, her delicate and tender charm enhanced by a glint of spirit, cute without losing allure.
"Alright, alright, to have a granddaughter like you, one could wake up from a dream with a smile. I'll take it, but you're not allowed to haggle with me over the money for the herbs," Wen Cheng said, his old face turning red with emotion which surged like the waves of a mighty river, his wise silver eyes twinkling with satisfaction. His white beard and hair fluttered in the wind. Without an heir of his own, he had never expected to end up with such an excellent girl as a granddaughter. This made his life feel complete. To have an Alchemist as a granddaughter, his life was fulfilled.
After bidding farewell to the overjoyed Wen Cheng, Ouyang Jin and Pin Yiyun appeared before Zhiyan together—one sunny and handsome, the other cold and striking. When the two of them stood side by side, they were a sight for sore eyes.
Especially Ouyang Jin today, in a white robe, shedding his usual indifference and aloofness, he carried a hint of gentle demeanor that made him look very much like Ouyang Peng in his younger days. If Ouyang Peng had not been a cultivation-blind back then, he probably would have carried the same proud confidence as Ouyang Jin did now.
"Yanyan," Ouyang Jin closed in on Zhiyan, calling her tenderly, his dark pupils shimmering with unusual emotions.
Caught off guard by his sudden address, Zhiyan shivered and instinctively stepped two paces back. "Cough cough, are you sick?" she stared at Ouyang Jin with suspicion. Damn it, this kid couldn't be here to hassle her just because he failed to buy the Primordial Essence Liquid last time, could he?