Chapter 3647 — The Pill Hall

"I have the pill formula right here." Senior Brother Kubi at once drew a pill formula from his robe and handed it to Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao took it and read it over carefully. The Barrier-Breaking Foundation Pill, he found, was a fourth-grade pill like the Heavenly Dao Golden Pill, and its effects were indeed just as he had surmised—it shared a marvelously kindred efficacy with the Heavenly Dao Golden Pill!

Only, though both were of use to Foundation Establishment cultivators, there was still a slight difference between the two.

The Barrier-Breaking Foundation Pill could indeed help a Foundation Establishment cultivator break through a barrier—whether the barrier between the early Foundation Establishment stage and its peak, or the barrier between the peak of early Foundation Establishment and the mid stage, a single dose could aid the breakthrough.

But there was one precondition to the pill taking effect: the taker must already have touched the cultivation barrier. If that condition were not met, then no matter how many of these pills one swallowed, they would be utterly without effect.

Moreover, taking the Barrier-Breaking Foundation Pill did not guarantee a breakthrough one hundred percent of the time. From the early stage to its peak it was somewhat easier, but from the late stage to the peak of the late stage, it all came down to the quality of the pill—if the quality was poor and the taker's aptitude lacking as well, then a breakthrough would not come easily.

By contrast, the Heavenly Dao Golden Pill—the so-called Foundation Establishment Golden Pill—could not only be used to break through barriers, but could also be taken as an experience pill when one had not yet touched a cultivation barrier. Its value therefore far surpassed that of the Barrier-Breaking Foundation Pill.

To take a simple example: Wei Zhao had by now been in the early Foundation Establishment stage for some time, but his accumulated foundation was not long, and he had not yet touched the barrier to the peak of the early stage. Were he to take a Barrier-Breaking Foundation Pill at this moment, it would be fair to say it would have no effect at all. But if he took Foundation Establishment Golden Pills—one to touch the barrier, one to break it—then he could advance straight to the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage!

So although both were fourth-grade pills, there was still a distinction of high and low, of superior and inferior, between the two!

Still, that did seem a bit extravagant. The raw materials for the Barrier-Breaking Foundation Pill were less complicated than those for the Foundation Establishment Golden Pill, and Wei Zhao could very well take them in combination to achieve the best result.

Seen in that light, Senior Brother Kubi's pill formula for the Barrier-Breaking Foundation Pill had come at precisely the right time. And since it was a fourth-grade pill, it could be refined using the Shennong Cauldron that Han Jingyi had modified—enough to guarantee the success rate of the refinement!

At this thought, Wei Zhao nodded and said, "Senior Brother Ku, I'm confident I can give this Barrier-Breaking Foundation Pill a try, but I'll need some time to gather the medicinal ingredients."

The ingredients the formula called for, though less complicated than those for the Foundation Establishment Golden Pill, still belonged to a fourth-grade pill; gathering them all would take a bit of time.

At these words Senior Brother Kubi's eyes lit up. He said hastily, "I have the ingredients—three full sets of them, prepared and all—but they're stored in my cave dwelling. If you can refine them, Junior Brother Lin, I'll go back and fetch them for you right now!"

And without waiting for Wei Zhao to agree, Senior Brother Kubi turned and left the cave dwelling, so impatient to retrieve the ingredients that he could not wait a moment longer.

Wei Zhao was caught between laughter and tears. In all the time he had known Senior Brother Kubi, the man had always struck him as a sluggish sort, the kind you could beat with a stick and still not get a peep out of. Never had he seen him in such a frantic hurry.

In truth, it was no wonder Senior Brother Kubi was so excited. He had already been a cultivator of the early Foundation Establishment stage for many years, and for more than half a year now he had been stuck at the barrier between the early stage and its peak. However diligently he cultivated, there had never been the slightest sign of it loosening.

Given his original temperament, he would not have been so anxious as he was now; he could well have gone on cultivating slowly, seeking an opportunity for breakthrough.

But times had changed. Now that Lu Bianren's position was in grave peril, once he was transferred out of Welcoming Pavilion, then even if only for the sake of those junior brothers who looked to him—Wei Zhao and the others—he, as their senior, would have to step forward and shoulder the burden. And the strength of the mere early Foundation Establishment stage was plainly no match for Meng Jueming.

To break through that barrier in a short time, the most direct and effective method was the Barrier-Breaking Foundation Pill. Had he been a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator seeking to break through to the peak of the late stage, a single pill might not have sufficed; but for him, at the early stage, success was all but certain.

For any cultivator, the most delightful thing in the world was always a breakthrough in strength—and Senior Brother Kubi was naturally no exception.

In but a brief moment, Senior Brother Kubi came striding briskly back, a herb basket on his back. So swift was his round trip that Wei Zhao was left dumbstruck—so the fellow could be this nimble after all!

Wei Zhao even suspected he might have a pair of Gale-Chasing Lightning Boots and the Butterfly Microstep himself!

"Junior Brother Lin, have a look at these ingredients and see if they're enough. If not, I'll think of some way to get more," Senior Brother Kubi said, panting heavily.

Wei Zhao nodded and carefully checked them against the pill formula. It was just as Senior Brother Kubi had said—here were three full sets of ingredients, which meant that if all went well, three Barrier-Breaking Foundation Pills could be refined! And even allowing for the chance of unexpected failure, at the most pessimistic estimate, this much material would at least guarantee one success!

"These ingredients are more than enough." Wei Zhao then looked at Senior Brother Kubi, somewhat puzzled. "Senior Brother Ku, you couldn't have known before this that I was an alchemist. Were you gathering all these ingredients to have someone else refine them?"

By any ordinary reasoning, since Senior Brother Kubi was no alchemist himself, if he urgently needed the Barrier-Breaking Foundation Pill he would at most have gathered spirit jades to buy one in the market, rather than going to the trouble of collecting so many ingredients himself. After all, no matter how many ingredients one piled up, they would not turn into pills on their own—someone still had to refine them.

"That's right. I had originally planned to apply to the Pill Hall, but the cost would have been steep, and I couldn't scrape it together in a short time. Since you can refine it yourself, Junior Brother Lin, that's all the better." Senior Brother Kubi spoke with no small measure of relief.

"The Pill Hall?" Wei Zhao was taken aback.

Though these newcomers had been at Welcoming Pavilion for some time now, they still had no overall understanding of the power structure of the North Island's Three-Tiered Pavilion and the various independent halls. Welcoming Pavilion, after all, had never taught them anything of the sort; under normal circumstances, one only gradually came into contact with such matters after successfully establishing one's foundation and entering the Three-Tiered Pavilion. The Spirit Jade Hall, of course, was an exception.