'This… this fellow Daoist… makes sense. I never thought about it, but using Iron Blood Paste with Vein Cleaning Herbs with… and transformed in this fashion… could…'
His hands shook slightly. 'It could work, NO—it will work!' he realized as his eyes widened, and the more he listened to Mikael speak, the more shocked he became.
'Who is this disciple? For his knowledge on the path of alchemy is so advanced that even… I am not his match!?' he thought, his eyes wide in disbelief.
Once Mikael had finished his explanation, the Elder began to enthusiastically talk about alchemy with him, and Mikael, in a surprising display, answered in kind, engaging in a deep conversation that revealed his 'deep knowledge' in alchemy…
After a while, the Elder was thoroughly convinced. 'This disciple is a monster… initially I planned to give him the usual 10% discount as an alchemist, but for somebody of his knowledge…'
'He can and should receive the Sage Alchemist Badge, allowing him a 20% discount in the Alchemy Hall of the Sect!' he decided before opening his mouth.
"Fellow Daoist."
"Hum?"
"In our Alchemy Hall, we have a tradition of gifting other alchemists a badge allowing them a 10% discount, but," his gaze landed on Mikael, "this Fellow Daoist's knowledge is extremely profound and deserves to receive the Sage Alchemist Badge, allowing you a 20% discount!"
Mikael's expression shifted to surprise. "This disciple thanks the Elder for his magnanimity!" he said while giving a small cultivator salute.
Sigh.
The Elder let out a sigh that was a mix of joy and exasperation. "This old man isn't worthy to be called 'Elder' by a young man this monstrously talented in the Alchemy Dao."
"Elder is jesting; my knowledge is insignificant compared to the Elder's profound knowledge and experience in the Alchemy Dao."
"Disciple flatters me, this old man is unworthy," declared the Elder, but the wide smile that appeared on his lips as he heard Mikael drew a reaction from Mikael.
'Tsk, all these cultivators are like that—saying one thing with their mouths but thinking another with their minds…'
'Like this Elder; he says he is unworthy of my compliments, yet he seems weirdly happy to hear them for someone so "unworthy," and I also have the "odd" impression that if I were to call him unworthy, just as he called himself, he wouldn't be happy. I really, really don't know why…'
Flash.
Suddenly, a small red token with hints of blue materialized in the Elder's hand. "This is the Sage Alchemist Badge, keep it preciously!"
Mikael did a small bow before placing it in his storage ring, following which they returned to the counter at the entrance, where Mikael used his Sage Alchemist Badge and his 10,678 newly acquired Contribution Points to buy the pills he had previously named.
Normally, to buy the amount he wanted, he should have been left with 2,058 Contribution Points from the initial 10,678, but with his new 20% discount, in the end, he was left with 3,494 Contribution Points.
"Thank you for having me, Elder!" declared Mikael before, with a last bow, he left the Alchemy Hall.
Compared to when he entered, he was lighter by more than a hundred Spiritual Plants, yet heavier by 12 bottles of Lucid Mind Pill, 16 bottles of Clearheart Pill, 24 bottles of Constricting Meridian Pill, 2 bottles of Wisdom Dew Pill, 3,494 Contribution Points, and, best of all, the Sage Alchemist Badge, granting him a permanent 20% discount whenever he decided to come here to buy pills.
As Mikael's thoughts drifted to this badge, the hint of a smile appeared on his lips.
'To think that getting a permanent 20% discount was this easy… one just needs to have some knowledge of alchemy, bluff their way through, and hop—it's in the bag.'
Yes, bluffing!
Mikael hadn't suddenly become a master alchemist; it was simply that, thanks to his newly acquired knowledge, he knew of the Sage Alchemist Badge's existence and the approximate conditions required to obtain it, and consequently…
He had planned ahead, aiming to find a way to secure it, which was why, using his profound knowledge, he took the time to engage in a long conversation with the Elder, delving deep into the subject of alchemy—most notably on how he intended to deal with the impurities that would inevitably accumulate from consuming these pills.
The reason he acted like a genius alchemist had always been with this goal in mind, and the result of his strategy spoke for itself, if the Badge in his storage ring was anything to take into account.
On these thoughts, Mikael took off from the ground and, in moments, was flying high in the sky, the wind howling in his ears as he made his way through the Skycleave Mountain Range, directly toward the Azure Peak where his Cultivation Manor was located.
As he flew, a sly smile made its way onto his face as he once again thought of the 20% discount, 'Who said you needed to be an alchemist to get the Sage Alchemist Badge?' he mused to himself, feeling pleased with both the outcome and the gains of this short 'excursion.'
'Going through this annoyance was definitely worth it!'
It was on that note that he continued cutting through the sky and, quickly enough, passed the Cultivation Manor before descending toward the same beautiful natural clearing he had been using for his cultivation over the last couple of days.
Thud.
The moment his feet touched the ground, he let himself sink directly into a meditative posture.
In the next instant, four bottles of pills materialized before him, each containing a different type of precious pill. Without the slightest pause or hesitation, he popped the lids open one after another, letting the faint medicinal scent waft into the air, before smoothly tossing a pill from each bottle into his mouth in a single, practiced motion.
A heartbeat later, the bottles vanished back into his storage ring as though they had never existed.
Haaaa…
Mikael released a sharp, focused exhale, using the action to steady himself, all of his attention drawn inward as he began to feel the distinct effects of the four pills taking hold.
His mind grew tireless, his thoughts sharpened, dissolving every stray distraction; at the same time, he felt his meridians contract, making the control and circulation of his Qi far more difficult—and finally, last but certainly not least.
The Wisdom Dew Pill's power surged through him. In an instant, his thinking became more agile and fluid, his comprehension leaping forward, and problems that had once seemed insurmountable now felt… solvable, given enough effort.
'Marvelous—at this rate, the results will be incredible!'
Feeling the pills' effects and knowing that each second was money being burnt, Mikael wasted no time in executing the Qi Control Method and once again throwing himself into training.
Sitting in the middle of a beautiful natural clearing with his eyes closed, Mikael's presence rapidly diminished, and within only a couple of seconds, it fell to the 5th layer of the Body Forging Realm, from which he began to work.
'8.31… the pills and the Qi Control Method working together allow my efficiency to be 8.31 times higher than when I previously trained using the suppression method!'
This discovery came merely five minutes after he began training his Qi Control, as he, with his Quantum Computer-like mind, was able to easily and in detail analyse the effects of the various pills before finally reaching this conclusion.
A small smile touched Mikael's otherwise peaceful face as he redoubled his efforts, fully aware of just how effective his training was at this moment.
In this way, time began to quickly pass, with Mikael's Qi Control increasing at a ridiculous pace.
In just 30 minutes, he was able to suppress his presence to the level of a 4th layer Body Forging Realm cultivator.
Another 40 minutes later, he reached the 3rd layer.
An hour after that, he reached the 2nd layer.
Two hours later, his presence dropped another notch as he reached the 1st layer of the Body Forging Realm.
Even then, this level of control was still far from enough for Mikael, so he pushed on, continuing his intensive control training and suppressing his presence further and further.
In the following hours, he remained at the 1st layer of the Body Forging Realm, yet his presence kept growing weaker and weaker, though even after another six hours, he was still at that same level.
This was normal, after all—reducing his presence enough to fall from that of a 1st layer Body Forging Realm cultivator to that of a mortal would naturally take time and be difficult. He was certain of this, as a mortal was, in the end, ten times weaker than a 1st layer Body Forging Realm cultivator, and consequently, this leap was by far the hardest to execute.
23 hours.
And it showed, for it was only after nearly a full day of relentless Qi Control training that he finally took this step, his presence 'growing' weak enough to be mistaken for that of a mortal.
Jump.
Just as the 'timer' of his Qi Control training reached the 24-hour mark, Mikael's closed eyes suddenly opened and, in the next instant, he sprang to his feet.
"Now it's 'rest time'," he murmured to himself before, with rapid and practiced movements, he removed his taoist robes.
Within seconds, he stood completely naked, his toned and perfect body fully revealed, the lines of his muscles sharply defined as he neatly folded the robes and placed them on the ground, Sangrelia resting atop the fabric.
Step.
His foot pressed into the grass, the sound resonating softly as his bare figure approached a nearby stream, and then, without the slightest hesitation, he leapt forward.
Splash.
Crystal-clear water burst upward as his body plunged into the cold depths, sinking swiftly until his feet touched the bottom. Without pause, he crossed his legs into a meditative position, small bubbles slipping past his lips as though he were breathing underwater.
Mikael remained motionless in his meditative posture for a few seconds before releasing a quiet sigh.
'Time to rest…'
The next moment, his body gave a slight tremor as all of his pores opened—not to accept water, as one might expect, but to release something.
A small, black liquid with a disgusting texture began seeping out from every pore, momentarily staining the crystal-clear water before the current of the stream carried it away.
As this was happening, tremors coursed through Mikael's body, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails pierced his skin and drew blood, while the veins across his body bulged with strain.
It was clear to anyone that he was enduring pain beyond imagination.
'Fuck, this is even worse than I expected!' he inwardly cursed, yet even then he did not halt—did not even slow his actions.
Once more, he forced himself to focus inward, calling upon a mix of his Partial Body Control Trait, the natural body control innate to a cultivator, and the full weight of his extremely powerful mind coupled with the Unrestrained Mind, using them together to continue to 'scrub' away the stubborn impurities that had accumulated from the constant pill consumption of the last 24 hours.
As could be expected, this process was not merely painful—it was excruciating. It was like having his bone marrow extracted over and over, but not in a single, clean motion where the pain would strike sharply and then fade.
No—no—no, Mikael wasn't that fortunate.
For him, it was like slowly grinding down his bone marrow with coarse sandpaper, each passing instant sending a fresh wave of agony coursing through his body.
Yet even as the pain clawed at every fiber of his being—the kind of pain that would make one choose death over enduring a single more second—Mikael, long accustomed to suffering and forcing his way through pain, remained seated in meditation on the stream's floor.
He endured the long, excruciating minutes during which the impurities were expelled, bit by bit, until finally nothing more came out.
Splash.
Water burst upward as he leapt from the stream, his breath heavy and laboured, the strain in his expression leaving no doubt that the underwater ordeal had been anything but pleasant…
For a moment he simply stood there, staring at nothing, before shaking his head and moving with practiced swiftness—slipping back into his clothes, lowering himself into a meditative position, and consuming fresh pills to replace those whose effects had faded.
As their power began to seep into his body, he let out a small sigh. "And to think that even this 'scrubbing process' isn't enough to remove the pills' impurities entirely, that it's only the preparatory step meant to slow their accumulation rate before the true cleansing…"
At the thought of the 'true cleansing' awaiting him in the not-so-distant future, an involuntary shiver ran down his spine.
Author Note:
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———
This chapter introduces a worldbuilding fact that I want to emphasize, pills aren't free power-ups.
You get pretty awesome benefits like Mikael who training became 3 time more efficient just from the pills alone but without money and without way to clean the accumulating impurities you aren't getting stronger you are destroying yourself on the long term…
That's why Mikael impurities process was so 'joyous' and this only the preparation…
Yeah Mikael is in for a really really good time.
———
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— End of Chapter —