Path to Immortality: Mastery of a Hundred Arts Chapter Five: The First-Rank Alchemist

"Getting close to an alchemist is far more difficult than I imagined. I need to try a different approach."

Li Feng took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down as quickly as possible.

"This time, I will steer clear of Jin Yanzi. As long as I don't appear before him, I should be fine."

[This simulation consumes 1.2 years of lifespan. Remaining lifespan: 3.4 years.]
[Simulating...]

[At nineteen, you earn the favor of Madam Jin.]
[You take the initiative to approach the Red Glow Gang, eliminate Tie Hamu, and install a puppet leader.]
[At twenty, you have memorized two thousand types of herbs and five hundred spirit plants, mastered sixty counterfeit pill formulas, and become a first-rank spirit planter.]
[At twenty-one, you learn from Madam Jin that Jin Yanzi has left to visit friends at the Heavenly Crane Sect.]
[Seizing the opportunity, you skillfully infiltrate Jin Yanzi's pill room and unexpectedly discover a transcribed copy of a first-rank low-grade pill formula: Yellow Dragon Pill.]
[The Yellow Dragon Pill has the effect of advancing cultivation. You order the Red Glow Gang to collect materials for its production.]
[After a year of relentless day-and-night experimentation, you accumulate a wealth of alchemy experience.]
[At twenty-two, you successfully refine the Yellow Dragon Pill and officially enter the ranks of first-rank low-grade alchemists.]
[Under the medicinal impact of over a thousand Yellow Dragon Pills, you break through to the third level of Qi Refining just as your lifespan is about to expire, gaining two additional years of life. At this point, the Yellow Dragon Pill no longer has much effect on you.]
[With only two years of life left, you frantically purchase herbs, mass-produce Yellow Dragon Pills, and sell them on the black market in exchange for spirit stones.]
[At twenty-three, you keep a low profile and refine fifty thousand Yellow Dragon Pills, single-handedly crashing the market price of the pill.]
[This move directly incurs the resentment of your peers, leading to a hysterical investigation by them.]
[Although you are targeted, this bitter training solidifies your alchemy foundation and earns you five thousand low-grade spirit stones.]
[You spend three thousand low-grade spirit stones at the Alchemist Association to purchase a first-rank high-grade pill formula: Spirit Enhancement Pill.]
[The Spirit Enhancement Pill can advance cultivation and can be used by cultivators from the first to the ninth level of Qi Refining. It has few side effects and is extremely popular among Qi Refining cultivators.]
[You spend your remaining two thousand low-grade spirit stones on cultivation, yet you fail to break through.]
[Helpless, you try to refine the Spirit Enhancement Pill day and night. Thanks to your outstanding talent in alchemy, you finally achieve a 40% success rate at twenty-four.]
[Your lifespan is exhausted. You die at the age of twenty-four.]
[You died!]
[The simulation has ended. You may retain one of the following options!]
[Cultivation realm at twenty-four.]
[Alchemy experience at twenty-four.]
[Combat experience at twenty-four.]

...

"System, I'll give you 0.1 years of lifespan; keep all the options."

[Only one can be selected (▼へ▼メ).]

The system stood firm by its few remaining principles.

Li Feng gritted his teeth, feeling the sting of loss. "I'll give you one year of lifespan."

He had to obtain both his cultivation realm and his alchemy experience.

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the cultivation realm at twenty-four!]
[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the alchemy experience at twenty-four!]
[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the combat experience at twenty-four!]

...

As the system's voice faded, a vast amount of knowledge regarding pill composition flooded Li Feng's mind, and a dense, misty spiritual energy surged into his Dantian.

His aura began to climb, only slowing down once he had broken through to the third level of Qi Refining. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he practiced the Crane Origin Art; the speed of his small circulation was significantly faster than before.

Feeling the power within his body, Li Feng had no joyful expression on his face after the breakthrough. Cultivation was difficult enough, but alchemy was far more arduous than he had ever anticipated.

"Damn it!"

He cursed under his breath and temporarily dismissed the idea of further simulations. Each time a simulation ended, the flood of memories into his brain was a heavy burden; he needed time to recover.

When the sky began to turn light the next day, Li Feng finished his cultivation and prepared to go out to purchase herbs and an alchemy furnace. As he walked downstairs, he saw Sister Hong leaning against the window, drinking alone. She was dressed in a fluttering long gown, her features as delicate as a painting—cold, noble, and untainted by the world.

"Why are you up so early?" Sister Hong asked, her lips parting slightly as she noticed Li Feng.

"Going out for a stroll to get some air."

"The morning market in Anhe City is crowded. You're unfamiliar with the area and might get lost. Take Cuicui with you."

Sister Hong called for Cuicui and, leaving no room for refusal, placed her by his side. Cuicui was young, only sixteen or seventeen, and possessed a graceful, delicate beauty—a budding flower.

Holding onto Li Feng's bamboo staff, they walked out of the Biyan Hall. Along the way, Cuicui chattered incessantly about the various specialties of Anhe City. The streets were filled with porters and peddlers; pedestrians moved in groups, shoulder to shoulder.

Taking advantage of a moment when Cuicui wasn't looking, Li Feng let go of the bamboo staff and slipped away into the vast sea of people.

...

Cuicui remained oblivious, continuing to talk with great enthusiasm.

Over an hour later, she turned back and realized with a jolt that he was gone! Panic crept across her face. Li Feng was a top-tier technician at Biyan Hall; if she lost him, she would be in serious trouble. After searching everywhere in vain, she returned to Biyan Hall in a state of panic.

Seeing Sister Hong balancing the books, she rushed over to explain what had happened. Sister Hong listened, offered a helpless smile, and tapped Cuicui on the forehead with a slender finger.

"You, you can't even keep an eye on a grown man. When will you ever improve?"

Cuicui lowered her head, feeling embarrassed.

"He returned half an hour ago. He said after getting separated from you, he asked for directions and found his own way back. He's resting in his room upstairs right now."

Sister Hong gestured toward the third floor. Seeing that he had returned, Cuicui patted her chest in relief and asked curiously, "Sister Hong, why do we need to keep such a close watch on Brother Zhang San? He doesn't seem like a bad person."

"He's only been at Biyan Hall for a day, yet he seems so familiar with everything—even knowing you like red date cakes."

Sister Hong handed the cakes to Cuicui, her thoughts swirling. Li Feng had bought them specifically when he returned. Seeing the red date cakes, Cuicui was instantly tempted, casting Sister Hong's words to the back of her mind.

In Li Feng's room, two bronze alchemy furnaces—one main and one auxiliary—stood on the floor, accompanied by the various herbs he had just purchased.

Li Feng began to work with practiced efficiency. Through the simulation, he had gained an immense amount of alchemy experience. First-rank low-grade pills were now extremely easy for him to produce with a high success rate.

He worked until evening, and the table in the room became crowded with bottles and jars. These containers held pills with various special properties: Corpse Dissolving Pills, Five-Poison Pills, Soul-Eroding Pills, Bone-Stripping Pills, Disguise Pills, Yellow Dragon Pills...

Under the night sky, Anhe City was brightly lit. There was a bustling gambling house in the city, which happened to be territory of the Red Glow Gang, and Tie Hamu frequented it often.

According to the simulation, Tie Hamu would eventually come to cause trouble. Li Feng planned to make a visit tonight to eliminate the potential threat and avoid future complications.