53: Chapter 53 Refining Second-Grade Pills, Setting Up Arrays in the Void, Demonic Traces Appear and Disappear

The contract with Baicao Hall gave Ye Qing a stable source of Spirit Stones.

He did not slack off because of this; instead, he focused more on his own Cultivation and the improvement of his skills.

His Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivation progressed steadily under the continuous nourishment of the space, moving solidly towards the Middle Stage.

In terms of alchemy, he began to attempt refining Second-Grade Medicinal Pills.

The few Second-Grade Pill Formulas gifted by Shopkeeper Zhou Ming were the "Ningyuan Pill" (for consolidating the foundation and cultivating the primordial essence, suitable for Foundation Establishment Early Stage), "Clear Heart Dew Pill" (for resolving Heart Demons and assisting cultivation), and "Explosive Flame Pill" (a one-time attack Medicinal Pill).

The main Materials were more precious, and what Baicao Hall provided were mostly common goods with a few decades of age.

Ye Qing did not mind; he first used common Materials to practice, becoming familiar with the complex refining process of Second-Grade Medicinal Pills and the higher requirements for fire control and Divine Sense.

After failing several times, he accumulated experience.

When he successfully refined a Low Grade Ningyuan Pill with common Materials, he began to use the space's reserves.

On the Floating Landmass, the jade marrow ganoderma was already fifty years old, its leaves crystal clear like jade, full of medicinal power. The soul soothing flower was also growing well, its buds ready to bloom, emitting a heart-calming fragrance.

Using the fifty-year-old jade marrow ganoderma as the main ingredient, supplemented by several high-quality auxiliary herbs produced by the space, he opened the furnace to refine the Ningyuan Pill.

The Foundation Establishment True Fire was stable, and his Divine Sense controlled the process precisely. The extraction of medicinal power, Fusion, and pill coagulation were all done in one go.

Six pills were formed, each round and full, with restrained medicinal fragrance and faint cloud patterns on the surface—they were clearly of High Grade quality!

Ye Qing picked one up and felt the pure and gentle power of consolidating the foundation and cultivating the primordial essence within it, which far exceeded the samples provided by Baicao Hall.

"The high-age main Materials cultivated in the space, combined with my mana and fire control, produce extraordinary quality indeed."

He followed the same method, using the soul soothing flower as the main ingredient to refine the Clear Heart Dew Pill, also obtaining High Grade quality.

The Explosive Flame Pill had strong offensive capabilities, so he needed to be extra careful to control its explosive properties during refining. Ye Qing tried adding a trace of extremely weak spatial vibration power guided from the "Void Turbulence Zone". As a result, after the Medicinal Pill was formed, its explosive power did not increase, but its blast radius and penetrating power seemed to carry a hint of spatial tearing characteristics, making it even harder to defend against.

He sold a small amount of the regular High Grade Ningyuan Pills and Clear Heart Dew Pills to Baicao Hall in exchange for Spirit Stones and more Second-Grade Pill Formulas and Materials.

The specially made Explosive Flame Pills and those previous "special" First-Grade pills were kept for his own use or to ambush others at critical moments in the future.

Regarding Formation, the deduction of the "Lesser Heavenly Cycle Five Elements Earth Vein Array" entered a critical stage.

This Formation required at least five core Formation bases, placed in the Five Elements directions, connecting with the earth veins to form a cycle.

Ye Qing used the bronze ancient shield fragments obtained from the Black Wind Three Tyrants, the thick back armor of a Wind-Gale Rhinoceros, the main stem of an iron wire vine, the "Water Spirit Jade" nourished beside the moonlight jade tree, and a piece of high-quality "Earth Fire Stone" as bases to refine five core Formation bases for Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

Once the Formation bases were refined, they needed to be deployed in the field to draw on the earth Qi before their effectiveness could be known.

Naturally, he would not test it in his rented Immortal Cave; the commotion would be too great.

That day, he left Liuyun City and drove the "Wind Spirit Wings", flying towards a desolate hilly area in the northeast.

The Spiritual Qi here was thin, and it was rarely visited by people, making it a good place to test the Formation.

After finding a valley with relatively flat terrain where the Five Elements earth Qi was slightly skewed, Ye Qing began to set up the Formation.

First, he carefully surveyed with his Divine Sense to determine the five best earth vein nodes.

Then, he drove the five core Formation bases deep into the nodes according to the Five Elements directions and activated and connected them with specific runes and his own mana.

As the Formation bases entered the ground, they immediately resonated weakly with the earth veins.

Ye Qing pinched the incantation with both hands, his mana surging, chanting the incantation according to the deduced Formation formula, guiding the spiritual power of the five Formation bases to interweave and circulate with each other.

Gradually, with the five Formation bases as the center, faint five-colored spiritual light rose from the ground, connecting with each other to form a blurry light shield covering a radius of thirty zhang.

Inside the light shield, the Five Elements Spiritual Qi began to circulate spontaneously, generating and restraining each other. The aura became obscure and difficult to understand, and external Divine Sense would be interfered with and delayed if it probed in. The ground also seemed to be more solid and stable.

"The Lesser Heavenly Cycle Five Elements Earth Vein Array, the prototype is formed!"

Ye Qing felt a little happy. Although the range was not large and the power was far from reaching the theoretical expectations, the basic framework had been established, proving that the direction of the deduction was correct.

Next, he only needed to continuously adjust the structure of the Formation bases, optimize the circulation of spiritual power, and deepen the connection with the earth veins; the power of this Formation would surely increase steadily.

He was immersed in the debugging of the Formation when he suddenly frowned, stopped his movements, restrained his aura, and looked sharply at a pile of rubble on the east side of the valley.

Just a moment ago, his Divine Sense, which far exceeded that of his peers, captured a trace of an extremely weak, neither human nor beast, fishy stench, and a faint dark Demonic Qi fluctuation that almost blended into the environment.

Something was hiding over there, spying for a long time.

Ye Qing's expression remained unchanged, as if he had noticed nothing, and he continued to pretend to debug the Formation, but his Divine Sense had already quietly locked onto the pile of rubble.

After Foundation Establishment, he was more sensitive to the aura of the Yao Race. This Demonic Qi was cold and obscure, carrying a fishy smell, definitely not an ordinary beast, nor an ordinary First-Grade Yao Beast. It was at least Second-Grade and good at hiding.

Was it passing by? Or did it specifically track him here?

Ye Qing was vigilant in his heart, but he did not show it on his face. He even deliberately left a flaw, turning his back to the pile of rubble and bending down to check a Formation base.

The moment he bent down—

Chi chi chi!

Three pitch-black, lightning-fast water arrows emitting a fishy stench shot out from the pile of rubble in a triangular Formation, aiming straight at the back of Ye Qing's head, back, and lower back! The angle was tricky, and the timing was ruthless.

Before the water arrows arrived, the cold, fishy stench had already hit his face, making him nauseous; it was clearly poisonous.

Ye Qing seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. The moment before the black water arrows reached his body, his figure moved three feet to the left without warning.

"Void Step"!

A faint afterimage remained in place, and the three poisonous water arrows missed their target, shooting into the ground, immediately corroding three black pits the size of a bowl, sizzling with smoke.

"You dodged fast!"

A hoarse and unpleasant voice sounded, the pile of rubble exploded, and a black shadow shot out, hovering in mid-air.

It was a hideous Yao monster nearly a zhang long, covered in jet-black scales, with a single eye on its head, four pairs of sharp walking legs on its abdomen, and a forked poisonous hook dragging on its tail! Its single eye was scarlet, staring fixedly at Ye Qing, its mouthparts opening and closing, dripping with viscous poison.

The Demonic Qi it emitted had reached the Second-Grade Middle Stage, equivalent to a Human Race Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivator!

"Poison Water Mysterious Scorpion? Or a mutated single-eyed species?" Ye Qing recognized this Yao, and his heart was awe-struck. The Poison Water Mysterious Scorpion was already difficult to deal with, good at poison and hiding for sneak attacks. This single-eyed species' aura was even colder, and its poison was likely even stronger.

"Human Cultivator, your perception is sharp." The one-eyed scorpion spoke in human language, its voice hoarse. "Obediently offer your essence blood and soul, and this general might let you die more quickly."

"Yao Race scout?" Ye Qing's eyes turned cold. Being able to speak human language, having high intelligence, and calling itself "this general", it was definitely not an ordinary Yao Beast, but likely a reconnaissance or assassination unit sent by the Yao Race.

"Dead people don't need to know too much!" The one-eyed scorpion let out a sharp hiss, its figure suddenly blurred, turning into a black line. Its speed was astonishing, its four pairs of walking legs were like knives, slashing at Ye Qing in mid-air, while the poison needle on its tail flickered with dark light, ready to strike.

Facing the pounce of a Second-Grade Middle Stage Yao general, Ye Qing did not retreat but advanced.

"Well come!"

He gave a low shout, and his mana erupted all around him, his Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivation displayed without reservation. Chaos light flowed on his right fingertips, and a "Void Finger" struck first, pointing towards the scorpion's single eye.

The scorpion seemed to sense the spatial fluctuations, its scarlet single eye shrank suddenly, and its figure twisted in the air, avoiding the vital point of its eye. The "Void Finger" hit its shoulder black armor, making a crisp "ding" sound. The black armor showed a fine crack, but it did not penetrate.

"Space power? Interesting!" The one-eyed scorpion's single eye became even more fierce, its tail hook like a poisonous dragon coming out of its cave, bringing a piercing shriek, stabbing straight at Ye Qing's throat, its speed reaching the extreme.

At the same time, it opened its mouth and spat out a large cloud of pitch-black, fishy-smelling poisonous mist, which instantly spread, covering a radius of ten zhang, blocking vision and corroding spiritual power.

Ye Qing was in the poisonous mist, but his expression remained unchanged. The "Void Dao Seed" fluctuated slightly, and ripples appeared in the space around him. The poisonous mist could not get close to him, pushed away by an invisible force.

He waved his left hand, and the Chaos Spirit Shield that had fused with the Void unloading force instantly appeared.

Clang!

The scorpion's tail hook stabbed hard on the Spirit Shield, sparking dazzling sparks. The Spirit Shield shook violently, light flowing, dissolving and deflecting the huge force and poison.

Taking this opportunity, Ye Qing moved again, "Void Step" deployed, like a ghost, instantly appearing on the side and back of the scorpion. His right hand opened five fingers, and five mana chains of different colors, containing the meaning of the Five Elements rotation, shot out, entangling the scorpion's four pairs of walking legs and body.

"Five Elements Demon Sealing Chain!"

This was a trapping Spell he created himself by drawing on the concept of Formation.

The scorpion roared, the dark light on its black armor surged, struggling violently, the Five Elements chains buzzing, showing signs of breaking.

After all, it was a Second-Grade Middle Stage Yao general, with vigorous Demonic Qi.

Ye Qing's eyes turned cold, and his mind communicated with the "Void Dao Seed" deep in his Divine Soul.

The phantom of the Dao Seed trembled slightly, and a purer and more mysterious Void True Meaning poured out.

He no longer held back, put his hands together, and then pushed forward violently!

"Great Void Cleaving Slash!"

A crescent-shaped light blade, only a foot long, thin as a cicada's wing, almost transparent, with tiny spatial ripples rippling at the edges, flew out from his palm, silent and soundless, drawing a mysterious trajectory, slashing towards the connection of the scorpion's neck—where the black armor was relatively weak.

The scorpion's single eye widened instantly, sensing a fatal threat, struggling crazily, Demonic Qi spewing out like it was free, and the dark light on its body armor condensed into substance.

However, the "Great Void Cleaving Slash" was not a pure power attack, but also contained a trace of the True Meaning of spatial cutting.

Chi—

After a soft sound, the crescent light blade was like a hot knife cutting through butter, passing through the solid protective dark light without any obstruction, slashing across the scorpion's neck.

The scorpion's struggling action froze suddenly, its scarlet single eye filled with unbelievable horror.

The next moment, its hideous head and body slowly separated, and pitch-black, fishy-smelling blood shot into the sky like a fountain.

The corpse fell to the ground with a bang, twitched a few times, and then there was no sound.

Second-Grade Middle Stage Yao general, one-eyed Poison Water Mysterious Scorpion, dead.

Ye Qing panted slightly, his face appearing slightly pale. Continuously casting "Void Step", "Void Finger", "Five Elements Demon Sealing Chain", and especially the last full-power "Great Void Cleaving Slash", consumed a lot for him at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

He quickly took a self-refined High Grade Ningyuan Pill, the pure medicinal power dissolved, replenishing the consumption.

At the same time, he scanned the surroundings vigilantly, confirming that there were no other ambushes.

Then, he walked quickly to the side of the scorpion's corpse.

The corpse of a Yao general was more valuable.

He first wrapped it with mana and carefully removed the dark-glowing poison hook and the scarlet single eye. These two were the most precious Materials on this Yao, the poison hook could be used to refine poison-attribute Magic Treasure, and the single eye might have special pupil technique value.

Then, he took the rest—flesh, carapace, internal organs, Yao Dan (Second-Grade Middle Stage)—and ingested them all into the "Waste Zone" of the space in his body.

The space sent a joyful throb and began to quickly decompose and absorb this sumptuous feast.

The pure energy fed back rolled in, not only replenishing the consumption instantly, but also pushing his cultivation a big step forward towards the Foundation Establishment Early Stage Perfection.

Ye Qing could feel that the space seemed to have expanded slightly again, and his resistance and understanding of "poison", "water", and "yin" attributes had also slightly improved.

After cleaning up the battlefield and erasing the traces of the fight, he quickly put away the Formation Materials that had not been fully deployed, cast "Wind Spirit Wings", and turned into a green rainbow, moving away from this place.

Galloping all the way, while reviewing the battle just now.

"Second-Grade Middle Stage Yao general, its strength is indeed formidable, especially good at hiding and sneak attacks. If it weren't for my sharp Divine Sense and the Void Dao Seed to deal with it, I might have suffered. 'Great Void Cleaving Slash' has decent power, but the consumption is too large, it cannot be used as a routine means. I still need to study more labor-saving and more efficient killing moves."

"Yao Race scouts have appeared hundreds of miles outside Liuyun City, it seems the border situation is indeed tense. I am afraid Liuyun City will also be affected soon. I need to speed up my cultivation, improve my strength, and pay attention to the movements in the city."

Returning to the Immortal Cave in Liuyun City, he opened the Formation.

Ye Qing took out the poison hook and single eye obtained from the scorpion and studied them carefully.

The poison hook had a deep dark light and strong toxicity, so it needed to be handled properly. The single eye was scarlet, and even though it was dead, it still had a trace of weak mental fluctuation, which was quite strange.

He temporarily sealed and put away the two items, leaving them for future processing.

His consciousness sank into the space.

The 150-zhang Immortal Cave seemed to have more active Spiritual Qi because it absorbed the corpse of the Second-Grade Yao general. The moonlight star seed grew another section, with silver brilliance and starlight interweaving. The jade marrow ganoderma and soul soothing flower were growing well. The spirit plants on the black soil were lush.

The energy fed back from the space was continuous, nourishing his Dao foundation and Divine Soul.

"Developing steadily, but the storm outside has already risen. I need to work harder."

Ye Qing closed his eyes and began to guide the space energy to consolidate his cultivation, deduce Spells, and comprehend the Void.

The sky over Liuyun City was still clear.

But the undercurrents were already surging.