Chapter 11: Ignorant of Alchemy, He Swallows It Whole

According to Xu Yu’s notes, the Void Return Pill and the Transformation and Life Pill were extremely high-level elixirs. They were beyond the use of even the masters of the four great halls, reserved for those at the Dao Fruit Realm. In the entire Taichu Sect, besides the Sect Master, Perfected Man Huanglong, only four Grand Ancestor-level experts had reached that realm. One had died of old age decades ago, two were in year-round seclusion, and the last was nearing the end of his lifespan, searching everywhere for celestial treasures to refine into life-extending pills.

A One-Leaf Golden Lotus! It was a supreme spiritual herb that even the sect’s Grand Ancestors were desperately seeking!

Qin Haoxuan was overcome with excitement, his blood boiling. The last vestiges of sleepiness vanished. It seems I’ll have to sleep through class again tomorrow, he thought, because he had decided to go and harvest that treasure from the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley tonight. With a treasure like the One-Leaf Golden Lotus, a little scorn from others was nothing.

He endured the wait until nightfall. After dinner, everyone sat cross-legged to cultivate. Around the Purple Seed disciples, spiritual energy churned and boiled. Their bodies were like great oceans, swallowing vast amounts of spiritual energy at a speed that left even Elder Chu in awe. Is this the aptitude of a Purple Seed disciple?

Around the two Gray Seed disciples, the spiritual energy was also dense, but their absorption speed was clearly no match for the Purple Seeds, though still much faster than the disciples with weak seeds.

The Spirit Field Valley was a place with relatively abundant spiritual energy, and cultivating here was much faster than elsewhere. Yet, Qin Haoxuan could only absorb a tiny amount. Compared not just to the Purple Seed disciples, but even to the Gray Seeds like Zhang Yang and Murong Chao, the difference was like heaven and earth.

If the Purple Seed disciples were as fast as rabbits, then the disciples with weak seeds were as slow as snails.

No, this won’t do. At this rate, the gap between us will be enormous in less than three months. By then, neither Zhang Kuang nor Li Jing will let me off easy.

Gritting his teeth, Qin Haoxuan decided to cultivate the Dao Heart Seed Demon Art he had received from the Undying Witch Fiend.

This is a demonic art. Will cultivating it be dangerous? He wasn’t sure, but to avoid being left in the dust by Zhang Kuang and the others, and to prevent being casually crushed by them in the future, he decided he had to take the risk.

The profound and mysterious text of the art appeared in his mind. He read the brief introduction: “The Dao Heart Seed Demon Art is a supreme grand art, passed down from a supreme demon god.”

The first part of the art was a high-level incantation, vastly different from the low-level Spirit Induction Art. The explanation was very clear: although it was a demonic art, it required the support of immortal arts to be cultivated. Without practicing the immortal arts of a sect, one could not master it.

Qin Haoxuan tried it a few times and succeeded in guiding the qi. He immediately felt the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surge into his dantian like a mighty river, watering his Immortal Seed.

A strand of grayish-black True Qi that had always clung to his dantian also quietly entered his Immortal Seed along with the massive influx of spiritual energy.

Overjoyed at the countless-fold increase in his absorption speed, Qin Haoxuan quickly stopped. He was, after all, a disciple with a weak seed. If his absorption speed was too fast, it would arouse suspicion. But then he looked around and saw that the air around him was calm. Not only was the spiritual energy not churning, but it wasn’t even noticeably denser.

Qin Haoxuan was secretly delighted. So, the Dao Heart Seed Demon Art is this discreet when absorbing energy. This was, in fact, a common trait of all high-level cultivation arts. If they were all as flashy as the low-level Spirit Induction Art, wouldn’t the sect’s Grand Ancestors cause a cataclysm every time they cultivated?

Continuing to practice the art, Qin Haoxuan’s absorption speed was many times faster than with the Spirit Induction Art, even vaguely on par with the Gray Seeds, Zhang Yang and Murong Chao. But compared to Zhang Kuang and Li Jing, there was still a world of difference. No wonder every Purple Seed disciple was a favored child of the cultivation world. This only strengthened his resolve to go to the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley, harvest the One-Leaf Golden Lotus, and swallow it.

After cultivating for several hours, it was late at night. The diligent disciples had gradually gone to sleep. Although hard work was important, they were still mortal bodies. Cultivating without rest would be counterproductive. Thus, whether they had strong seeds or weak seeds, they all fell fast asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

Although tired, Qin Haoxuan was driven by the desire to increase his strength. Once everyone was asleep, he possessed the little snake and slipped out, heading straight for the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley.

Despite the clear, starry night, the sky above the valley was covered in dark clouds. From outside, he could hear the mournful wail of the wind within.

Having been there the night before, Qin Haoxuan dove in without hesitation.

“You’re back!” As soon as he entered, the Undying Witch Fiend, not far from the entrance, greeted him. Qin Haoxuan ignored him and went straight for the One-Leaf Golden Lotus.

As he approached the lotus, his heart pounded. This was a spiritual herb used by the Grand Ancestor-level figures of the Taichu Sect. If refined into a pill, its medicinal properties could be preserved to the greatest extent. But if swallowed raw, more than half of its efficacy would be lost.

After plucking the lotus, Qin Haoxuan decided to swallow it tonight. Although it was a great luxury, he didn’t know the first thing about alchemy, let alone refining a treasure like this.

The thought of having someone else refine it and splitting the pills flashed through his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. If his secret—that he could enter and exit the valley in his snake form—was revealed, even the sect’s Grand Ancestors would be overcome with greed. They would capture him and force him to constantly enter the valley to search for treasures, without giving him any of the benefits.

To avoid future trouble, waste was a necessary evil. The valley was vast, and there were surely countless treasures inside. As long as his secret wasn’t exposed, the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley would be his private treasury. Even with such extravagant consumption, he would never be able to exhaust its riches.

Just as Qin Haoxuan was about to leave, the Undying Witch Fiend, who had been ignored, became anxious.

“Hey, hey, little snake! Are you planning to just swallow it like that? This is a Nine-Leaf Golden Lotus, even if it only has one leaf, it’s still a rare treasure! If you use it for alchemy, it will be of immense benefit to you!”

Qin Haoxuan rolled his eyes at him. Although he couldn’t speak in his snake form, the meaning was clear: Easy for you to say. Can you refine it for me?

“Right. Even though you can enter and exit the valley, you are, after all, just a snake,” the fiend muttered to himself with a sigh.

He had watched this One-Leaf Golden Lotus grow for several hundred years. It was a rare treasure. Anyone who obtained it would treat it with utmost care, adding other spiritual herbs to refine a furnace of high-quality pills. To think it was about to be swallowed raw by this damned snake.

If he could stand up, the Undying Witch Fiend would surely stomp the wasteful Qin Haoxuan flat and spit, “Spendthrift!”

Qin Haoxuan couldn’t be bothered with the slightly deranged fiend, who hadn’t seen a living creature in thousands of years. He quickly left with the lotus.

Watching Qin Haoxuan’s departing figure, a sinister smile appeared on the fiend’s withered face. He muttered to himself, “Yes! Just a little more patience…”

He returned to the dormitory around 1 AM. Back in his own body, Qin Haoxuan placed the lotus in a jade box he always carried. He had bought it for his herb-gathering expeditions. Many spiritual herbs would lose their potency if not stored properly, eventually becoming no different from common weeds. Although his box was not made of high-grade jade, it could slow down the loss of medicinal efficacy.

Leaving the dormitory, he found a deserted spot in the wilderness. He took the lotus out of the box and examined it carefully. It was about four inches long, entirely golden, with a single leaf, no bigger than a thumbnail, shimmering in the cold moonlight.

“Extravagant, so extravagant!” Qin Haoxuan held the lotus as if it were a priceless treasure. This tiny golden plant was a massive reservoir of spiritual energy. A pill refined from it could potentially help a Grand Ancestor stuck at the Dao Fruit Realm break through to the Dharma Manifestation Realm, or at the very least, extend their lifespan.

Compared to it, the other spiritual herbs he had found were no better than weeds. He wanted to admire it a little longer, but the lotus’s color had already faded slightly, a sign of its potency dissipating. Besides, it wasn’t safe to carry such a treasure. It was best to get it into his stomach.

To avoid any complications, Qin Haoxuan steeled his resolve. He cast aside all thoughts of waste, brought the lotus to his lips, and intended to take a small bite. But the moment it entered his mouth, it dissolved into a searing hot liquid and flowed down his throat.

As the lotus entered his stomach, he felt a fire ignite within him, and his entire body became unbearably hot.

Qin Haoxuan immediately sat down cross-legged and circulated the only technique he had practiced, the Spirit Induction Art, to guide the spiritual energy generated by the lotus through his limbs and meridians.

As he circulated the art, the fire in his abdomen subsided, and the heat in his body disappeared. The abundant spiritual energy within him flowed freely at his command. The Spirit Induction Art, which he had struggled with, suddenly became familiar and smooth. He absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, merging it with the energy inside him, and watered the tiny crack in his Immortal Seed. The slit in the seed glowed with a vibrant green light, crazily absorbing the spiritual energy he sent its way.

In cultivation, one loses track of time. Between retrieving the lotus and meditating, the night passed quickly. The morning sun shone on his face, waking him from his blissful state of cultivation.

The moment he stopped circulating his energy, the fire in his abdomen reignited, and his body became hot again. It felt as if he had just swallowed a pot of chili soup, a ball of fire that threatened to make his body explode. He had to take off his shirt, exposing his torso to the cool morning breeze, hoping for some relief, but it didn’t help much.

At the same time, the side effect of his soul-travel kicked in. Waves of sleepiness washed over him.

And so, the scene unfolded: a young man with a weary face, shirtless, yawning, dragged his heavy feet to the lecture hall. His disheveled appearance left the others dumbfounded. This Qin Haoxuan was truly something else, finding new ways to attract attention every day. Elder Chu just shook his head, sighing that he was a lost cause.

“Is that any way for a cultivator to dress?” Zhang Kuang’s sarcastic remark earned a nod of approval from Elder Chu. An immortal should not dress like a peasant.

Qin Haoxuan was both hot and sleepy. He knew that with Zhang Kuang’s new status as a Purple Seed, even the elder would give him face. He decided not to argue to avoid trouble. Sleep was more important.