Unable to resist Liu Bai's repeated requests, Elder Chi Huo finally agreed to speak with the Dean regarding the matter of the Divine Spiritual Mountain.
However, Elder Chi Huo also reminded his troublesome student with a sigh.
"Although your displayed combat strength is impressive, convincing the Dean to allow you to participate in the Divine Spiritual Mountain is still uncertain, unless you can advance your cultivation to the Heaven Completion Realm before then."
Originally, Elder Chi Huo intended to use this "challenge" to discourage his disciple's reckless idea, but to his surprise, Liu Bai actually breathed a sigh of relief after hearing it.
"So that's all?"
Elder Chi Huo was momentarily speechless.
For ordinary people, even for prodigies such as Lin Zheng and others, breaking through from the Late-phase Heaven Transformation Realm to the Heaven Completion Realm would take at least half a year. Although Elder Chi Huo knew that this disciple could not be measured by common standards, achieving that in such a short time still seemed impossible.
After all, the opening of Divine Spiritual Mountain was less than five months away. Reaching the Heaven Completion Realm and displaying strength strong enough to satisfy the Dean was not something that could be achieved by words alone.
But what he did not know was that, for someone like Liu Bai who possessed extraordinary means, increasing cultivation was actually the easiest task.
"Teacher, don't worry. I will definitely meet the Dean's requirements before the Divine Spiritual Mountain opens."
Waving his hand impatiently, Elder Chi Huo drove the infuriating yet gifted youth away.
"This little monster… if he truly accomplishes what he says, it won't be long before his cultivation surpasses mine."
After sending Liu Bai off, Elder Chi Huo muttered under his breath, then tidied up his Artifact Refining Chamber and prepared to discuss the Divine Spiritual Mountain matter with the Dean.
Having received his reward, Liu Bai was in excellent spirits. However, instead of returning directly to the Willow God Society headquarters, he headed toward the Spiritual Value Hall.
There were still several months before the Divine Spiritual Mountain would open, and Liu Bai planned to use this time to improve both his pill refining and artifact refining techniques.
Previously, he had devoted all his energy to improving his cultivation and cultivation arts, leaving these two aspects neglected. Now that he had sufficient experience, he could raise his cultivation anytime he wished, and his arts were already complete. It was a good opportunity to shift focus.
"As for pill refining, this will be my first time, so I'll start with a First Grade Spiritual Pill."
Among the ten pill formulas Liu Bai possessed, only one was a First Grade pill, called the Taiyuan Pill. It was used by cultivators at the Spiritual Movement Realm and Spiritual Wheel Realm. A single pill could help a Spiritual Movement Realm cultivator advance by one level, with gentle medicinal power, making it an excellent low grade pill.
Aside from that, there was a Second Grade pill, the Solid Body Pill, meant for cultivators at the peak of the Spiritual Wheel Realm. It could strengthen the body and assist in condensing the soul, a rare auxiliary pill that helped in breakthroughs.
As for the Third Grade pills, Liu Bai naturally chose the Spirit Soul Pill, one of the most popular among new students at Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy. It was used to enhance the cultivation of those at the Divine Soul Realm, which covered nearly ninety percent of the freshmen. The market demand was enormous.
Lastly, there was the Soul Stabilizing Pill, used by cultivators who had just entered the Divine Soul Realm. It could stabilize the soul and improve the success rate of fusing with a Spiritual beast's essence.
After sorting the medicinal ingredients for these four types of pills, Liu Bai compiled a mixed list and ordered one hundred sets of each material. The clerk at the Spiritual Value Hall counter could not help but widen his eyes in surprise.
Nowadays, there was no one in the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy who did not know Liu Bai, but none had ever heard that this genius could also refine pills.
As for the second list Liu Bai handed over, which contained a large number of artifact refining materials, no one paid much attention to it. After all, everyone knew that this prodigy had already been personally accepted by the Grand Elder of the Artifact Refining Institute, causing such a stir that the Grand Elder of the Spiritual Array Institute almost fought over him.
If Liu Bai's talent in pill refining turned out to be as extraordinary as his talent in artifact refining and array mastery, then even the Grand Elder of the Spiritual Pill Institute might personally try to recruit him.
If that truly happened, the entire academy would be in an uproar.
Although Liu Bai's exchange involved a massive quantity of materials, their grade was not particularly high, so the total cost was only a little over fifty thousand Spiritual Values. For Liu Bai, who currently possessed several million, it was insignificant.
Returning to his residence, he found that Su Xuan and the others were still in secluded cultivation. Even the usually lazy Su Ling'er was diligently training for once, which filled Liu Bai with relief.
The ambush by Yu Yuan that had caused heavy casualties to Hong Xiao's team had deeply affected many students of Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, especially the freshmen.
Imagine, a team of more than twenty people, the weakest at the Late-phase Heaven Fusion Realm, with two leaders at the Early-phase Heavenly Transformation Realm, and yet only six had survived, all gravely wounded. Everyone now understood the cruelty of the outside world.
Though they were currently safe within the academy's protection, they would one day have to venture out. If they did not strengthen themselves now, would they also end up slaughtered and erased from existence later?
After this incident, a wave of cultivation fervor once again swept through the freshman area of the academy, and many flocked to the Spiritual Value Hall to exchange for pills.
Amid this intense atmosphere of cultivation, Liu Bai took out his long unused Flame Cloud Furnace from his storage ring.
Although it was only a mid grade spiritual artifact, Liu Bai had no intention of replacing it. The low grade pills he planned to refine were well within its capacity.
Besides, he had never used it since redeeming it, and abandoning it now would simply feel wasteful.
Even though this was his first attempt at pill refining, Liu Bai was not nervous in the least. In his mind, he had already simulated the entire process countless times. His foundation was solid. The only thing missing was hands-on experience.
Activating his spiritual power, a golden flame appeared in Liu Bai's palm. The flame seemed to possess intelligence as it transformed into a tiny Golden Crow, fluttering above his hand.
This was the Golden Crow True Flame, which Liu Bai had gained after fusing with the ancient Golden Crow. Containing a trace of its divine intelligence, the flame was more than capable of refining low grade pills and could even handle mid level Fourth or Fifth Grade Spiritual Pills with ease.
With a flick of his wrist, Liu Bai opened the lid of the Flame Cloud Furnace, and the tiny Golden Crow flew inside, instantly transforming into a blazing golden fire that filled the entire furnace. The once cold metal quickly heated to a glowing red.
The first step of pill refining was warming the furnace, which used spiritual fire to raise its temperature gradually, preventing sudden heat surges that could cause explosions during ingredient refinement.
When the temperature reached the proper level, Liu Bai waved his hand, and several medicinal ingredients floated into the air.
The Taiyuan Pill required only nine ingredients, but each demanded a different refining temperature. Liu Bai had to precisely control the changes in the furnace's heat, as even slight deviations could destroy the ingredients.
For an ordinary alchemist, this step would require countless attempts to master, consuming a terrifying amount of materials in the process. This was why training a Spiritual Pill Master was so expensive that most forces could not afford it.
It was also the reason the Spiritual Pill Institute was the smallest among all departments in Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy. Including tutors, students, and even a few elders, their total number barely exceeded a hundred.
Most of the time, the Spiritual Pill Institute remained quiet and unnoticed within the academy.
One by one, the medicinal ingredients were tossed by Liu Bai into the Flamecloud Furnace. After refining, each was properly preserved. The entire process was smooth and natural, with his control over the furnace's temperature precise down to the smallest degree.
If this scene were to be witnessed by the Grand Elder of the Spiritual Pill Institute, he would likely react just as that senior from the Spiritual Value Hall had imagined—by doing whatever it took to snatch this prodigy away.
There was no helping it. With the alchemy techniques and proficiency Liu Bai now displayed, he had already surpassed ninety percent of the Spiritual Pill Institute's students.
Even some instructors might not possess such a solid foundation as his.
Time ticked by. Since this was Liu Bai's first attempt at refining pills, he deliberately slowed his pace, taking an entire day to complete his first pill.
For someone of Liu Bai's current alchemist level, this speed was indeed slow. After all, even an ordinary Grade Two Spiritual Pill Master could control the time needed to refine a Grade One Spiritual Pill within three hours.
However, there were benefits to moving slowly. Liu Bai could take the opportunity to practice and reinforce every fundamental alchemical step that existed within his mind, making this an excellent form of consolidation.
After that, the process became much easier. Liu Bai began refining pills at a rate of one per hour.
By the end, even that speed felt too slow for him. So he decided to refine all the remaining dozens of sets of ingredients at once. He extracted every material simultaneously, refined them together, and when it came time to form the pills, he divided the materials evenly into several portions and completed the condensation all at once.
This method was known as the Divine Split Manipulation Technique, a skill only high-level alchemists could employ. It demanded immense spiritual strength and innate talent to execute properly.
Although Liu Bai had already mastered the fundamental alchemy arts to perfection, performing the Divine Split Manipulation Technique was still difficult. Only after he had integrated the foundational alchemy principles into the Azure Pill Scripture could he barely utilize this secret technique.
Of course, it was only possible with simple Grade One Spiritual Pills. If he attempted to use it on Grade Two Pills, he would not be able to sustain it unless he advanced his mastery in the Dao of Alchemy.
This refinement took much longer—three full hours. When the pills were finally complete, Liu Bai looked into the Flamecloud Furnace and saw more than thirty round, lustrous Spiritual Pills. A smile appeared on his face.
After refining over a hundred Taiyuan Pills, Liu Bai could clearly feel his practical alchemy skills improving by leaps and bounds. The next pill, the Solid Spirit Pill, was also successfully refined in a single attempt. To his astonishment, his pill completion rate had reached a terrifying ninety percent.
Such a success rate was something even intermediate alchemists could rarely achieve.
At this moment, Liu Bai's confidence soared.
After resting briefly, he immediately began refining two types of Grade Three Spiritual Pills. Since his current alchemist level was that of a Grade Three Alchemist, he was much more cautious this time. He did not dare attempt any risky techniques, and the time required for the refinement was also much longer.
While Liu Bai was fully engrossed in alchemy, something was happening that he was completely unaware of in the grand hall at the center of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy.
"Since everyone is here, let us discuss today's matter," said the Northern Heaven Dean, his gaze sweeping across the gathered elders, focusing particularly on the few Grand Elders.
"Elder Chi Huo spoke with me earlier," the Dean continued. "The time for the opening of the Divine Spiritual Mountain is drawing near. In the past, our Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy has never taken part in such affairs, but this time, a student has personally requested to participate."
"Divine Spiritual Mountain?"
Upon hearing this, the Grand Elders such as Punishment Hall Master Mo You were taken aback, their brows knitting together in slight frowns.
This matter was something of a sore point within the academy. After all, they were one of the mightiest powers on the Northern Heaven Continent, yet had long been excluded from participating in its grandest event. Over the years, this had given rise to many rumors and criticisms.
After pondering for a moment, Elder Zhu Tian—the one who had once been responsible for bringing Liu Bai and the other freshmen into the academy—spoke softly, "It's too dangerous."
Everyone present could already guess who that student was.
Although he had recently slain Yu Yuan, displaying power far beyond his own cultivation realm, those qualified to enter the Divine Spiritual Mountain were the most elite young experts across the Northern Heaven Continent. Compared to them, even Yu Yuan would pale in comparison.
The Dean was not surprised. The academy had abstained from participating in the Divine Spiritual Mountain for so many years, and the elders had long supported that decision. Changing their minds would take more than mere words.
Of course, the best persuasion was strength.
"In principle, I also do not approve of this," the Dean said slowly, looking around at everyone. "But since it is a request from a student, it would not be proper for us to reject it outright."
"So, I plan to give him a chance. As long as he can demonstrate a level of strength that satisfies me, then allowing our Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy to take part in this Divine Spiritual Mountain is not impossible."
This did not mean that Liu Bai could simply walk into the Divine Spiritual Mountain on his own. He would need to possess a status that even the top powers could not refute, and he must also be accompanied by powerful guardians.
After all, the Divine Spiritual Baptism had a limited number of slots. That alone was enough to cause fierce competition among the participants, and competition often led to casualties—casualties that would ignite even greater conflicts.
Without powerful protectors from the academy, Liu Bai might not even make it to the mountain before being eliminated by a Sovereign expert's hand.
And considering his enmity with the Demonic Dargon Palace, the academy would likely need to mobilize a considerable portion of its strength to secretly protect him.