Exploring Immortality Cultivation-Chapter 929 - 14: Protective Dharma Strange Fire of the Buddhist Sect

"Brother Jie..." Lian Xinjie felt a bit uncomfortable with this form of address. However, he also understood that Wang Qi was doing this to conceal his identity. His first reaction to Wang Qi's question was: "Herbs? Do you know how to refine pills?"

"No, I'm just curious..." Wang Qi shook his head, without revealing the truth.

Before going out to sea, he made ample preparations. When Liu Yi handed over those supplies to him, she specifically mentioned that the Ruyi Bag contained many items that had been tainted by Heart Demon Curse Power. If necessary, he could discard all those items in a transaction, polluting the entire Ancient Method Immortal Sect.

Even though this was not a recommended contingency plan, Wang Qi also needed to fully understand the situation of this black market and prepare himself.

Lian Xinjie whispered, "It's because the herbs here are really hard to acquire, so there's a decree from the Holy Emperor, prohibiting anyone who hasn't passed the Pill Master examination from contacting herbs. So, if you're not a Pill Master, it's best not to acquire herbs, or else it will lead to trouble. Artifact refiners face similar restrictions."

"Oh?" Wang Qi showed some interest. To be honest, this decree from the Holy Emperor was the least foolish decree he'd heard since going out to sea. In any field, the more standardized and regulated the practices, the more intricately they can be developed. He couldn't help but ask, "Assessment? How is it done?"

"First is the written test. To pass the written test, you have to thoroughly study the Alchemy Scripture and be familiar with the properties of various drugs... That's the basic requirement," Lian Xinjie whispered. "If you haven't passed the written test, then touching herbs is illegal, resulting in a downgrade of cultivation, along with hefty fines—very troublesome. So, people who aren't Pill Masters typically just sell the herbs here on the black market."

Wang Qi nodded, then asked, "Now, on Spirit Phoenix Island, is there any place specifically for training Pill Masters?"

Lian Xingling answered without hesitation, "Many of the Wanhua Sect's disciples are skilled in alchemy..."

The Wanhua Sect, originating from the same source as the current Tianling Ridge's Ten Thousand Wood Valley, was a continuation of the Wanhua Valley from ten thousand years ago. However, during the reformation of Wanhua Valley two thousand years ago, some people refused to accept the Modern Cultivation Method and were unwilling to oppose the Ancient First Divine Tao Holy Infant Sect. At that time, Wanhua Valley split into Ten Thousand Wood Valley and Wanhua Sect, with the latter directly aligning with the far western Shenzhou region, under the protection of the Holy Emperor.

Wang Qi shook his head, "Besides that?"

Lian Xinjie was puzzled, "Besides that? There's no other alchemy sect on Spirit Phoenix Island, right?"

Wang Qi shook his head, giving up on explaining the concept of "vocational schools" and the like.

The Alchemists of the Ancient Method Immortal Sect still adhered to the oldest master-apprentice tradition, guarding their knowledge jealously, without developing a systematic industry with standardized norms.

"Take me over there to have a look."

Lian Xinjie and Wang Qi parted ways with the crowd and continued toward the west. In the part of the black market farthest from Spirit Phoenix Island, Wang Qi witnessed the legendary herb trading zone. Here, the air was filled with a faint herbal aroma, mixed with the scent of the sea, creating a unique fragrance.

In every stall, the most abundant items were jade boxes and porcelain bottles. The jade boxes contained herbs, either fresh or already prepared. As Wang Qi walked along, he noticed that these herbs were mostly marine, half from animals and half from plants, unlike on the Shenzhou Continent, where spirit plants were predominant, and animal-based materials were relatively few.

At an unguarded moment, Wang Qi even spotted several paper books. Curious, he picked one up and leafed through it, only to be surprised that it was actually one of the introductory textbooks from the Immortal Institute on the Shenzhou Continent!

This was the alchemy textbook used for Shenzhou's enlightenment.

However, compared to Shenzhou's introductory textbook, this one had omitted a lot of theoretical content, leaving only the explanations of drug properties and alchemy techniques.

"Don't read if you're not buying," the book seller coldly said.

Wang Qi was a bit curious, "This is... what?"

"Introductory book," the seller glanced at Wang Qi, noting the quality of his vestment robe, and suspecting he might be a potential customer, recommended, "Memorize this, and passing the Pill Master written test won't be an issue. However, this is a banned book, so don't read or copy it on Spirit Phoenix Island... Considering you're fated to encounter it, I'll sell it to you for ten Spirit Stones."

Wang Qi was taken aback, then put down the book and left immediately.

That book was free on the Shenzhou Continent. As long as you could enter the Immortal Institute, you could obtain it for free.

"Knowledge, really, is both expensive and cheap..."

In this area bustling with Pill Masters, besides herbs and finished elixirs, the best-selling items were the "flames."

The so-called "flames" were actually a type of divine skill. Every cultivator could ignite Spiritual Fire out of thin air, and after Core Formation, they could draw Alchemy Fire from their Golden Core. However, Pill Masters always pursued better flames. Tail spikes—they spent years crafting a flame divine skill within themselves. This fire-related divine skill allowed them to refine elixirs with greater ease.

Similar to the innate divine seal of the innate divine abilities of demon beasts, these divine power talismans of the True Fire divine powers can also be traded. As long as one has refined these divine power seals, they can save decades of hard work.

There was a vendor with three completely transparent pristine glass bottles placed in front of him. Inside the bottles, three different attributes of True Fire divine power seals were sealed. One was entirely pure white, warm yet pure yang, another appeared as pitch black as ink, emitting various evil qi. The last one was completely dark blue, neutral and peaceful.

The first two types of True Fire have miraculous effects whether used for alchemy or combat. The first one is more suitable for supplemental medicine, while the second is better for poisons. As for the third, its flexibility, though its destructive power is not obvious, can perfectly stimulate the medicinal properties of herbs.

Out of curiosity, Wang Qi stood for a moment in front of the stall. However, he wasn't very interested in these. The Heavenly Entropy Technique had already penetrated the superficial aspect of "fire", delving into the domain of "temperature" and "motion". This was something no True Fire divine power could match. With such a cultivation technique at his disposal, what reason would Wang Qi have to be interested in those True Fire divine powers?

Modern Alchemists, having completed the industrialization of alchemy, have even less need for personally cultivating such True Fire divine powers.

Wang Qi turned to leave. At this moment, a person separated the crowd, their eyes scanning back and forth over the three spirit flames in the vendor's hand, then focused on the first and second, inquiring about the price of the two True Fire divine power seals.

The person was also wearing a vestment robe isolating spiritual sense, their face masked, identity unknown. However, the vestment robe she had found today didn't fit very well, clinging tightly to her form, revealing her mature, feminine figure. In response to this young woman's inquiry, the vendor merely glanced at her sideways, then in a particularly old voice, quietly uttered the names of two elixirs. As soon as the names of these two elixirs were spoken, a small commotion ensued around them, apparently signifying their rarity.

From the reaction of the crowd, Wang Qi roughly understood that these two elixirs were commonly used for a Nascent Soul to break through to Divinity Transformation.

On Spirit Phoenix Island, the Body Integration Realm was beyond reach for any but those of direct lineage to the Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao, and for ordinary cultivators, the Divine Separation Stage was the pinnacle they could hope for.

The old man was a superpower about to ascend to the Divine Separation Stage!

Who would have thought that after hearing the price, the woman would exhale in relief, seemingly not considering it a big deal. However, she was still not satisfied with the spirit flames offered by the elderly vendor and asked quietly, "Vendor, do you know where to find that kind of exceptionally pure, righteous-imbued powerful spirit fire divine power?"

"Righteous qi?" The old man furrowed his brow, then said flatly, "If you give this old man half a year, I can add a hint of Confucianism's qi intent into the Melt Snow Pure Yang Flame, turning it into Six-Yang Melt Snow Qi Fire. However, this requires a hefty deposit..."

The woman appeared troubled.

At this moment, someone suddenly stepped forward and said, "I have the spirit fire you're looking for!"

The elderly vendor's eyes narrowed, and a hint of killing intent arose within him. He always detested those who blatantly "snatched business." However, the newcomer didn't seem affected by his aura at all, leaving him uncertain and hesitant to act directly.

Within the black robe, Wang Qi paid no attention to his gaze. After resuming practice of the Two-Phase Transcendence Chapter, he feared no one; the mere Nascent Soul Level pressure could easily be countered by the chapter's automatic defense. Moreover, the robe he wore was no ordinary item, equally capable of defending against mere pressure.

Wang Qi spread his palm open. In the center of his palm lay a semi-transparent jade bottle. A faint golden flame flickered within, like a candle flame. However, within this small flame seemed to reside a strength that could support Heaven and Earth, utterly pure, yang, and righteous. Just seeing this flame, people couldn't help but experience a surge of truthfulness, goodness, and beauty in their hearts.

"Boluo Divine Flame, the Protective Dharma Strange Fire of Ancient Buddhism, righteous and pure. It's far superior to any mishmash flames."

As Wang Qi spoke, he cast a seemingly disdainful glance at the three spirit flames from the elderly vendor.

The woman's breathing quickened, but without the slightest hesitation, she immediately asked, "What would you like in exchange, sir?"

Under Zhen Chan's guidance, Wang Qi named three types of elixirs often used by Divine Separation Stage cultivators for healing. The aged vendor, realizing too late he had encountered a formidable opponent, let out a cold snort, inwardly feeling a slight trepidation.

The woman wasted no time, immediately producing the requested elixirs for Wang Qi, accepting the "Boluo Divine Flame" into her possession, then taking flight and escaping.

The elderly vendor seemed somewhat unwilling, yet dared not ascertain Wang Qi's actual cultivation, letting a hint of strong, blood-steeped killing intent slip, as if baring his teeth. Lian Yichen, a bit alarmed, whispered complainingly, "Daoist Fellow Wang, why provoke the Blood Refining Sect? Even though they've submitted to the Emperor's command, they were unquestionably a demon sect thousands of years ago!"

"Demon Path, ah..." Wang Qi's tone bore a strange mockery. "Honestly, Demon Path cultivators who act so openly chaotic and are immediately recognizable as villains aren't very successful in my view."

Lian Xinjie wondered aloud, "Why would you say that?"

"Do you know what the most evil spells in the world look like?"

"What?"

Wang Qi clandestinely transmitted, "Righteously awe-inspiring."