Beast Tamer Ascension

Vol 2 Chapter 45: Refining

"Even among King-tier bloodlines, there are varying levels of quality."

"Take the few Demon Kings of your Beast Taming Sect, for example. If they were to produce offspring with inherited bloodlines, at best, those offspring would have an ordinary Demon Lord's bloodline. Their bloodlines are too diluted. When faced with geniuses raised by major factions, like those with the Heavenly God Physique or the Talisman Physique, they’d only end up being suppressed."

"One step above that would be the offspring of more powerful Demon Kings, such as the descendants of dragons and phoenixes."

"As for your Dragon Carp, although it is not an inheritor of the Dragon Clan's Demon King bloodline, its atavistic mutation grants it extraordinary potential. Coupled with the nourishment of your Longevity Blood and the fortune accumulated through your mastery of the Hidden Dragon Arts, most of which has been dedicated to nurturing it, its bloodline potential now ranks in the second tier of King-tier bloodlines."

"As for the pinnacle of King-tier bloodlines, those belong to primordial creatures capable of devouring dragons and phoenixes. Even if their bloodlines have thinned over eons, reducing them to the King-tier, they can still suppress dragons and phoenixes of the same tier, making them supreme Demon Kings."

"The Ice Soul Gu refined by the Gu God Sect falls into this category. Although its bloodline is currently at the King-tier due to its recent birth, given time, its bloodline will naturally evolve. This is why most people cannot control the ten rare Gu."

"This is why I said it has the greatest potential to achieve Emperor-tier bloodline status. With its current foundation at the peak of the Eleventh Stage of Qi Refinement, it could evolve into a Gu Emperor upon reaching Foundation Establishment. Even without such a strong foundation, its evolution to the Emperor-tier is only a matter of time."

Lin Jing listened carefully and glanced at the Pine Leaf Mouse and Dragon Carp. As expected, a Demon Emperor bloodline was exceedingly rare.

He further realized the immense strength of the Southern Mountain Demon Emperor. Even possessing a Demon Emperor bloodline only meant the potential to become a Demon Emperor. Yet here stood a truly powerful Demon Emperor, slain by Senior Pine!

"Enough thinking. Time to plant trees and refine pills!" Activating the sealing formation of his cave dwelling, he signaled to others not to disturb him during his seclusion. The barrier would also prevent any spirit beasts within the academy from being attracted by the Longevity Blood he was using to water the saplings.

While Lin Jing secluded himself for pill refinement, cultivators from various factions began investigating the cause of the changes in Hidden Dragon City. However, the academy wanted to keep the fact that a Demon Emperor had nearly succeeded in assassinating one of its geniuses under wraps, forcing the matter to be downplayed.

Still, some individuals managed to uncover the truth.

"Brother Lin, you're incredible." Gao Sheng stood outside the closed mountain-protecting formation, having already heard the story from Zhang Hu.

What shocked him most wasn't that Lin Jing had been chased to Hidden Dragon City by a Demon Emperor but that Lin Jing had a Nascent Soul protector!

Even Gao Sheng's own Nascent Soul-level grandfather had refused to act as his guardian. His family hadn’t even assigned him a Golden Core protector, only giving him a few life-saving treasures and a pile of Spirit Stones!

Compared to Lin Jing, Gao Sheng suddenly felt his own treatment wasn’t even worth mentioning.

Then again, as a self-admitted wastrel, he hardly needed a guardian since no one would bother targeting him.

"Faced with such a major event, Brother Lin immediately went into seclusion. He must be feeling a lot of pressure. Mortals do have their advantages," Gao Sheng muttered as he shook his head and left after finding that Lin Jing wasn’t available.

To him, Lin Jing must have panicked and was rushing to improve his strength. By contrast, Gao Sheng realized that his lack of talent was something of a blessing—no one coveted his life as they would those with special physiques like the Longevity Body.

Gao Sheng mounted a majestic Dragon Horse and set off to find Xu Zhizhi. With Lin Jing in seclusion, Gao Sheng felt it was his responsibility to maintain order in the Dragon Palace.

As the Dragon Horse soared through the air, Gao Sheng speculated aloud, "Brother Lin's protector slew a Dragon Clan Demon Emperor. That Dragon Blood should definitely be used to refine some top-tier Rising Dragon Pills. When Brother Lin emerges, I’m sure it’ll be time to distribute pills. Whether he can advance his bloodline to the Demon King tier depends on your performance during this time." Gao Sheng patted the white horse. "Off we go. Get to work!"

"Master is wise!" The Dragon Horse was stunned. While it was actually information provided by the Demon-Slaying Bureau, for Gao Sheng to connect the dots with his pig-brain was a miracle. The Dragon Horse couldn’t help but feel pleased.

Back at Lin Jing’s cave, he continued watering the saplings daily with his Longevity Blood. The saplings thrived and didn’t take long to grow under the nourishment.

Thanks to the perfected Longevity Art and Senior Pine’s assistance, the saplings bore fruit much sooner than expected. Within days, nine golden-green pinecones were produced, delighting Lin Jing.

Standing before the sapling, Lin Jing cradled the divine fruits and asked, "Senior Pine, what effects do the seeds within these pinecones have?"

"What do you expect? Longevity and vitality, that’s it," Senior Pine replied dismissively.

"That’s all I need. Let’s try refining pills!" Lin Jing nodded. Despite Senior Pine’s terse response, the fruits were precisely what he needed to enhance the Pine Leaf Mouse’s longevity and vitality. ṟàΝö฿ÈṨ

He collected the pinecones and, noticing the now barren sapling, summoned the Pine Leaf Mouse.

"With nine pinecones, we have nine chances to refine pills. Surely we’ll succeed at least once. The tree is no longer useful; you can absorb its energy with the Longevity Art," Lin Jing said, stroking the Pine Leaf Mouse.

The Pine Leaf Mouse's bright eyes sparkled as it eagerly eyed the sapling.

But before it could act, Senior Pine intervened, reclaiming the sapling.

"Your mastery of the Longevity Art has reached a minor level. This sapling holds no value for you; its nutrients are all in the pinecones."

"Ah!" The Pine Leaf Mouse protested.

While they argued, Lin Jing entered the cave and examined one of the pinecones. Preparing to refine pills, he first called for the Dragon Carp.

The Dragon Carp leaped from the Hundred Beast Cauldron at Lin Jing’s arrival, its gaze sharp with anticipation.

It was finally time.

The Dragon Carp had waited for this day, knowing that after the Pine Leaf Mouse’s Longevity Foundation Pill was completed, Lin Jing would use it, alongside a Rising Dragon Pill, as the basis for developing the Transforming Dragon Foundation Pill.

In other words, the Pine Leaf Mouse was merely its test subject. When it underwent its Foundation Establishment to transform into a dragon, it would surpass all.

As a proud member of the Dragon Clan, the Dragon Carp refused to remain the weakest among Lin Jing’s companions.

"With all the materials ready, let’s begin."

Lin Jing’s eyes gleamed as he stared at the Hundred Beast Cauldron. Taking a deep breath, he retrieved the nine materials required to refine the Longevity Foundation Pill and prepared them one by one.

With a wave of his arm, a ripple of spiritual energy flashed around his storage bag.

• The first bottle: Longevity Blood.
• The second bottle: Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid.
• The third item: Five-hundred-year-old Spirit Ginseng.
• The fourth item: Parasitic Grass.
• The fifth item: Pine Leaf Mouse’s life-bound Red Leaf.
• The sixth to ninth items, culminating with the Divine Pine Pinecone!

“Begin refinement. I’ll control the flame’s temperature,” Lin Jing said. With that, the Hundred Beast Cauldron was enveloped in flames. Dragon flames surged as the Dragon Carp exhaled fire, and Lin Jing carefully added the Spirit Ginseng to begin extracting its essence using the fire refinement technique.

The Spirit Ginseng... the Parasitic Grass... the life-bound Red Leaf... Lin Jing’s hand formed seals as he concentrated, merging his spirit with the flames. He meticulously extracted the essence of each material, removing impurities and residues.

Even when faced with the most challenging material, the Divine Pine Pinecone, there were no mishaps. All the materials’ essences were flawlessly refined and arranged in separate containers.

Wiping sweat from his forehead, Lin Jing noted that essence extraction was the simplest step in pill refinement. He had already used the fortune accumulated through the Hidden Dragon Arts to enhance his alchemy skills and the Dragon Carp’s potential. If he had failed at this stage, there would be no point in continuing.

“Now for the blending and ratio adjustments!” Lin Jing’s gaze fell on the prepared essences.

This step required mixing the refined powders or liquid essences in precise proportions according to the pill recipe. Since this was a newly created formula, Lin Jing relied on the experiences of past alchemists for a general guideline. Swiftly, he combined the nine components into a fist-sized medicinal paste.

The most critical step followed—Lin Jing threw the paste into the cauldron and began the final fusion process. Using high heat, he needed to ensure the materials blended thoroughly and took shape as a pill.

“Fire Dragon Spits the Pearl!”

Within the cauldron, the leaping flames transformed into a dragon, devouring the materials. The fiery dragon’s head compressed and fused the materials with lifelike movements. This technique, Fire Dragon Spits the Pearl, was among the most suitable methods for dragon-based beast flames, learned from the pill manuals in the Scripture Pavilion.

It was a composite third-grade fire control method, combining multiple lower-level techniques into a versatile approach capable of handling various situations.

Outside the cave, the Pine Leaf Mouse and Senior Pine had been arguing for an entire day without resolution. Suddenly, a loud "BOOM" echoed from within the cave, drawing their attention.

“Heh,” Senior Pine chuckled. “It seems the first attempt failed and the cauldron exploded.”

Lin Jing and the Dragon Carp emerged from the cave, their bodies covered in scorch marks.

“There was an issue with the blending ratio during refinement,” Lin Jing admitted, distressed over the wasted materials but resigned to the outcome.

For a self-created pill formula, success on the first try was nearly impossible. Unfazed, Lin Jing prepared to try again.

Over the following days, Lin Jing and the Dragon Carp repeatedly attempted the refinement. Explosions frequently echoed from the cave as they failed and made improvements, refining their techniques with each iteration.

The Pine Leaf Mouse stood anxiously outside the cave. Watching Lin Jing and the Dragon Carp emerge injured time and again, it couldn’t help but think about simply attempting a normal Foundation Establishment breakthrough. Given its current state, achieving Foundation Establishment directly wouldn’t be difficult.

But it also understood that Lin Jing was aiming for perfection. He wanted to use the Longevity Foundation Pill to elevate its bloodline to new heights. For this goal, they had labored for over three years. Success was now within reach, and giving up was not an option.

The Pine Leaf Mouse prayed that Lin Jing and the Dragon Carp would succeed soon and that the pill would help it achieve a transformative breakthrough.

A month passed. Dragon roars occasionally echoed from the cave, though they were often followed by explosions. Meanwhile, the Pine Leaf Mouse tried to trade its strange mutant spirit plants with Senior Pine in exchange for treasures.

Unfortunately, most of the Pine Leaf Mouse’s one-grade mutant plants were only useful during the Qi Refinement stage, making them almost entirely worthless to both Senior Pine and itself.

“You’ve hoarded all this junk and still expect treasures from me? Dream on,” Senior Pine scoffed.

Suddenly, a rich medicinal aroma wafted from the cave.

“The seventh attempt... is it finally successful?”

“Hahaha...” Lin Jing’s laughter echoed from the cave, a mix of relief and lingering bitterness. Senior Pine couldn’t help but remark, “This boy does have some talent.”

“Senior Pine, the pill is complete!” Lin Jing’s voice rang out.

“Please evaluate the results, Senior!”

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