Plant VS Cultivation

Chapter 163: Refining the Condensed Gold Pill

Gu Mo and the Demon locked eyes for a moment before she turned and left. Though she still had a few trump cards left unused, there was no denying that she had lost the exchange.

This meant that the young human Grandmaster standing before her wasn't someone easily dealt with. Even if she went all out and managed to eke out a win, it would be a pyrrhic victory at best.

And injuries—especially ones that impacted combat strength—were things all demon beasts sought to avoid at all costs. Once weakened, one would immediately become a target for other ambitious demon beasts. This was one of the brutal rules of survival in this sea region. Not even a top-tier demon like the Lord Chisha was exempt. Only those lofty Demon Kings had the luxury of slightly escaping such a vicious cycle.

She still had hopes of advancing to the Demon King realm. It was impossible for her to stake her foundation and future on a reckless battle here. Compared to that goal, the death of Xuan Shui Zhenren wasn't all that important. The Demon was clearly a master of weighing gains and losses. One without such sense wouldn't have survived for this long.

As she withdrew, the other demon beasts who had come to support her were briefly stunned but quickly dispersed, fearing that if they lingered too long, they'd be caught and slaughtered by the human Grandmaster guarding Giant Crab Archipelago.

Within moments, the oppressive demon cloud hanging over the archipelago dissipated, and the bright sunlight returned once more.

"Truly worthy of the title Grandmaster—he actually forced the Demon to retreat!"

Off in the distance, several observing Core Formation cultivators were filled with awe. The strength Gu Mo had displayed was enough to prove that he operated on the same level as a millennium-old demon like the Lord Chisha Grand Demon.

With such a formidable figure standing guard, the Giant Crab Archipelago would be safe and secure for a long time to come. For cultivators trying to eke out a living at sea, a stable sanctuary free from sea demon attacks was priceless.

"I need to improve my strength as soon as possible."

While the Core Formation cultivators rejoiced, Gu Mo was filled with unease. He could tell the Demon hadn't fought with her full power. While he wasn't afraid of her now, what truly worried him was the future—whether the growing Giant Crab Archipelago would eventually attract the attention of a Demon King.

Forcing the Demon to retreat brought only temporary peace. To truly gain a foothold in the sea region, he needed enough strength to face a Demon King head-on.

Only when even a Demon King couldn't touch him would true security be achieved.

But that was easier said than done. Gu Mo's actual cultivation was still at the Foundation Establishment stage. Reaching that level of power was undeniably difficult. That said, if given enough time—and if he was willing to invest—he could potentially cultivate top-tier third-grade plants like the Cherry Bomb and Entangling vines. Even if they couldn't kill a Demon King, they might be enough to hold one off.

The upper-tier third-grade spiritual land Gu Mo currently occupied was more than sufficient to nurture such top-tier plants. The only unknown was how long it would be before a Demon King took interest in the Giant Crab Archipelago.

If he had enough time, he could prepare slowly. But if one came too soon, before he was ready, things could turn disastrous. So, Gu Mo decided to establish a baseline safeguard:

First, raise his own cultivation realm.

As long as he stepped into the Core Formation stage, then even if a Demon King showed up, he could at least run. Thanks to his mastery of the Wind Escape Technique, Gu Mo had a fair amount of confidence in his ability to flee. Combined with the island's grand formation and his plants' interference, escaping a Demon King wasn't entirely out of the question.

To ensure that this breakthrough went smoothly, Gu Mo decided to first refine a Condensed Gold Pill. He had recently concocted many third-grade pills, and ever since acquiring the Iceflame Tree Stump, his alchemy skills had surged. At this point, he felt ready to attempt refining the Condensed Gold Pill.

Once the pill was successfully refined and he stepped into the Core Formation realm, Gu Mo would upgrade his top-tier third-grade plants in one go. Then, he could truly rest easy.

"Alright, I'll use this commission to practice."

Back at the spiritual field on his island, Gu Mo pulled out an alchemy commission—one from Shi Yunjie of the Crimson Coral Archipelago. Coincidentally, the pill requested was the Condensed Gold Pill.

However, the materials Shi Yunjie provided were barely passable in quality—good enough for practice, but not ideal for producing a high-grade pill.

"If I fail this time, I'll just compensate him with another one later." Gu Mo tossed Shi Yunjie's ingredients into the furnace. He wasn't confident in succeeding on his first attempt, but he had plenty of ingredients for refining the Condensed Gold Pill—thanks both to the stash left behind by the Golden Claw General and the rewards from previous commissions.

With no shortage of materials, Gu Mo didn't need to fear failure. Worst case, he'd just try again and hand Shi Yunjie a pill after succeeding.

After all, alchemy inherently carried a risk of failure. Though he technically had no obligation to provide compensation, most alchemists tried to ensure that their clients received the pills they paid for.

A failed batch reflected poorly on an alchemist's reputation. If you failed too often, no one would place orders with you anymore. Without commissions, an alchemist would end up broke and forgotten.

Currently, Gu Mo boasted a 100% success rate for fulfilling alchemy commissions—every client had received their requested pill. Of course, that didn't mean every batch succeeded. He did fail occasionally, but because his costs were low, he could afford to try again without worry.

For ordinary alchemists, a failed batch meant the client bore the loss. Shouldering it themselves would be financially painful. But for Gu Mo, that wasn't a concern.

This level of reliability—100% fulfillment on alchemy commissions—had made Gu Mo famous. Every day, cultivators from across the Giant Crab Archipelago came to ask Shi Yuwei when the master alchemist would be taking new orders again.

But they were destined for disappointment. After reaching a satisfactory level of proficiency with third-grade pills, Gu Mo had stopped accepting new commissions.

Now, he needed to focus entirely on studying the Condensed Gold Pill and preparing for his breakthrough into the Core Formation realm. He no longer had time to be distracted by other alchemical tasks.

Those pseudo-Core and false-Core cultivators who had fled when they heard the Grand Demon was coming were now drowning in regret.

They had finally made it to the front of the queue, only to cancel their commissions—and now, even if they wanted to submit new ones, the master wasn't accepting any.

Meanwhile, news of Gu Mo's triumph over the Demon quickly spread, drawing even more cultivators from across the sea region.

Every day, the Giant Crab Archipelago changed. With the growing number of cultivators, a market town was established, along with a variety of services catering to the needs of cultivators.

At this point, the Giant Crab Archipelago had practically become a city of immortals within the sea region. In the past, human cultivators lived under constant threat from sea demons, surviving day to day in fear.

Even if they found valuable treasures, they had no one to trade with. The sea was full of demons—not exactly ideal business partners.

Now, with the Giant Crab Archipelago, the latent trade potential of the sea cultivators had exploded. The newly founded market town bustled with activity—"raking in gold every day" wasn't an exaggeration.

Thanks to the region's abundant natural resources, cultivators now had a viable way to convert their finds into cultivation materials.

Don't underestimate this kind of opportunity. For unaffiliated rogue cultivators, it could mean everything. It gave them hope of progressing further on the path of cultivation.

Of course, the profits from the market on the Giant Crab Archipelago naturally included a share for Gu Mo. After all, without Gu Mo, the mighty grand cultivator, overseeing this place, there would be no peace on the archipelago—and without peace, the market wouldn't exist in the first place.

Gu Mo didn't refuse this extra source of income. Although he didn't require many pills to aid his cultivation—saving him quite a bit of money—that didn't mean there were no other expenses.

For instance, what he currently needed most was a high-quality pill furnace. While the one he was using was indeed a treasure-grade artifact, it was already showing its limitations. This was especially true ever since Gu Mo acquired the Iceflame Tree Stump—every time he used the iceflame for alchemy, he had to keep the flame's power at its absolute minimum.

He was afraid that if the iceflame got even slightly stronger, it would freeze the furnace and render it unusable. The Torch Tree Stump could control the intensity of a flame, and after fusing with the iceflame, it could also regulate the power of the icy fire.

Otherwise, refining pills with a strange fire wouldn't be this easy. Everyone knew that strange fires were powerful, but taming one for pill refinement or artifact forging was a profound and complicated skill. Many alchemists and artifact forgers who were lucky enough to obtain a strange fire had to spend massive amounts of time trying to subdue it.

Gu Mo, however, had skipped that entire process thanks to the Torch Tree Stump. He could immediately use the strange fire in alchemy.

Now, the biggest bottleneck preventing Gu Mo from taking his pill-making skills further was the furnace itself. He'd already sent Shi Yuwei to scout the newly opened market for one, but they hadn't found anything. In fact, given how this sea region didn't even have any alchemists, it was no surprise that pill furnaces were nowhere to be found either.

If he wanted a proper pill furnace, Gu Mo would have to save up and buy one from the greater cultivation world.

"It's done!"

Gu Mo's first attempt at refining the Condensing Gold Pill came to a close. The furnace hadn't exploded, which meant the process went relatively well. A faint medicinal fragrance wafted out of the furnace—clear proof that a pill had been successfully formed. The only question was its quality.

With a hand seal, the furnace lid opened. Inside, Gu Mo saw a slightly misshapen pill—clearly an inferior-grade product.

Inferior pills were flawed versions of regular ones. While they still retained some of the intended effects, they also came with notable drawbacks.

However, for Foundation Establishment cultivators stuck at the peak of their realm and unable to advance to the Core Formation stage, even an inferior pill could be extremely tempting. After all, using one was better than having no pill at all.

Some cultivators knew full well that without a breakthrough pill, they had almost no hope of advancing. But if they tried to force a breakthrough, failure meant certain death. If they didn't attempt it, the slow decline of their remaining lifespan meant death by attrition.

So if there was even a single inferior Condensing Gold Pill available, they'd still take the gamble. With luck, even if they couldn't achieve a true Golden Core, forming a false core would still extend their lifespan by hundreds of years.

In theory, this inferior pill was enough to fulfill Shi Yunjie's commission. But Gu Mo had no intention of damaging his own reputation. At the very least, he wanted to deliver a genuine, high-quality Condensing Gold Pill.

Producing even an inferior-grade pill on his very first attempt already proved how advanced Gu Mo's alchemy skills were—of course, he also had the powerful support of the iceflame and the Torch Tree Stump.

Now that he had some experience, Gu Mo wasted no time. After adjusting his state slightly, he immediately began a second attempt, this time using top-tier spiritual ingredients.

Outside the island.

Shi Yunjie stood near the edge of the island, visibly excited. Just moments ago, he had received a message from Shi Yuwei, instructing him to come collect his pill. He had only commissioned one thing—the Condensing Gold Pill.

Now, with Shi Yuwei summoning him to receive it, it meant the commission had been fulfilled. With this pill, he could finally attempt his Core Formation breakthrough.

Shi Yunjie had been stuck at the peak of Foundation Establishment for many years. If not for Gu Mo's arrival, he would've already tried to break through by force before his dwindling lifespan started affecting his state of mind.

Now, with a Condensing Gold Pill in hand, Shi Yunjie felt his chances of reaching the Golden Core stage had risen significantly.

"Alliance Leader Shi, here is your pill."

Shi Yuwei handed him a jade bottle. By this time, her aura had completely changed—she was no longer at the Qi Refining stage, but had become a genuine Foundation Establishment cultivator.

In just a few short years, Shi Yuwei had gone from a mortal girl with spiritual roots to a Foundation Establishment cultivator. And all of it was thanks to Gu Mo.

No one knew this better than Shi Yunjie. Shi Yuwei had originally been a sacrificial offering to the Giant Lizard Demon, but now she was a figure of great influence on the Giant Crab Archipelago. Even the Golden Core cultivators would nod in greeting when they saw her.

Because Shi Yuwei represented that grand cultivator.

Whoosh...

Forcing himself to calm his racing thoughts, Shi Yunjie carefully opened the jade bottle. The next moment, a thick medicinal aroma poured out. Inside, he saw a perfectly round pill with golden pill lines etched across the surface.

"A Condensing Gold Pill—a genuine one!"

Shi Yunjie gripped the jade bottle tightly. In his eyes, the path to Core Formation was now clearly opening up before him.

"Miss Yuwei, would it be possible for me to attempt the breakthrough here?" Shi Yunjie looked around cautiously. With such a precious item in hand, he was deeply concerned about being ambushed if he left the island.

Besides, breaking through to the next realm required a secure environment, and nowhere in the Giant Crab Archipelago was safer—or had denser spiritual energy—than this place.

"Alliance Leader Shi, won't you prepare a little more? Rushing into a breakthrough is rarely wise," Shi Yuwei advised.

"It's fine. I've been preparing for this moment for many years," Shi Yunjie replied with a wave of his hand.

"Then allow me to consult the elder."

Shi Yuwei returned to the mist-covered area. Of course, she had to report this to Gu Mo. When Gu Mo heard that Shi Yunjie wanted to break through here, he agreed without hesitation. With the Condensing Gold Pill now successfully refined, Gu Mo himself was preparing for his own breakthrough to Core Formation. Watching another cultivator attempt it first would be the perfect opportunity for insight.

To assist, Gu Mo even designated a Tier-3 spiritual vein for Shi Yunjie to use in his breakthrough.

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