Chapter 101: Remarkable Progress in Cultivation!-Just Came Down the Mountain and Was Surrounded by Beautiful Senior Sisters(A Lonely Scene on the Desert)

Of course, in reality, there is no elixir that requires eighty-one days to refine.

The so-called "nine times nine, eighty-one days" is nothing more than a lie told by those unlearned, fake Daoists—either to delay time or to make their concoctions seem more precious.

It’s said that nine is the utmost number, and emperors have always favored these numerals, making them powerful tools for such charlatans to deceive.

Emperors pursue immortality, but how could immortality ever be so easily attained?

These fraudulent Daoists can barely manage to craft pills for health and longevity; as for immortality elixirs, even the likes of the Hermit of Mount Bao would fail without the right materials.

To seek immortality, one must either cultivate internal alchemy or rely on treasures of heaven and earth.

But genuine treasures have long since been claimed by insightful experts as consumables—how could a mere provincial emperor expect to be served such rarities?

Take, for example, the current Grand Commander of the North, Tang Zhanguo, who went to great lengths in pursuit of prolonged life.

Furthermore, the head of the Black Tortoise can only grant longevity, not immortality.

True everlasting life means neither aging nor dying, neither decay nor exhaustion, not merely a lengthy existence.

Thus, in Ye Tian’s view, only those who can face life and death properly and live with sincerity count as truly happy; otherwise, fretting daily over one's demise is no way to live—it would be better to face the inevitable early.

The next five hours passed.

During this time, Ye Xiaomei left and returned, bringing back a large bowl of oden from the convenience store, and fed him one stick after another while Ye Tian was forging his pills.

Until the sky grew bright and the morning sun rose, its rays sneaking through the basement’s long corridor, quietly illuminating a corner.

“It’s done!”

Ye Tian, his face aglow with excitement, lifted the ‘lid’ of the purple-gold cauldron. As the white smoke dissipated, a sticky, paste-like substance clung to the vessel. Though the scent was rich, its appearance was quite revolting.

Ye Xiaomei felt a wave of nausea and pinched her nose, saying,

“This isn’t an elixir at all—it looks like it failed.”

“What do you know!”

Ye Tian shot her a glare, yet he cradled the paste as if it were a treasure, ignoring the scalding heat, and quickly rolled it into balls.

“Who said pills must be perfectly round? They’re meant to be hand-rolled!”

He explained as he worked, fashioning each ball to the size of a thumb and placing them into a prepared box—no more, no less, exactly ten.

“In honor of your patience through all this, I’ll give you one.” Counting the pills, Ye Tian’s face twisted in struggle, but at last he carefully picked out one and handed it to Ye Xiaomei, as if it were an extraordinary treasure.

“Eh?”

Looking at the black pellet in her hand, the island girl grimaced in distaste. The pill’s scent was extremely strong—what Ye Tian called medicinal, she found foul!

Could it really be a ruined pill, and her master was using her as a guinea pig?

“Master, may I not eat it?”

“If you won’t, give it back—I’m quite reluctant to part with it!” Ye Tian said gruffly, reaching to snatch the Qi Gathering Pill. Only then did Ye Xiaomei sullenly retract her hand, suppressing her discomfort and swallowing it whole.

“Quick, meditate!”

Upon Ye Tian’s urging, she hurriedly sat on the floor to sense its effects.

Almost immediately, a surge of heat rose from her lower dantian! Or rather, it was scorching, blazing hot!

The sensation felt like a fiery serpent coursing through her body—sometimes rising to her upper abdomen, sometimes coiling around her back, wherever it went, a wave of relief followed!

Finally, the heat returned to her dantian.

It was as if her entire blood and qi had been unblocked, then gathered and returned by the fire serpent to her core!

Before Ye Xiaomei could savor the lingering effects, her lower abdomen suddenly swelled with energy, her martial cultivation’s true qi expanding rapidly!

In her astonished gaze, the threshold of the early Taishan Stage shattered dramatically!

“I’ve broken through!”

Ye Xiaomei was overjoyed; after swallowing just one pill, she had leapt an entire minor realm, and her cultivation still showed signs of further progress!

How miraculous!

At this moment, when she looked again at the wooden box in Ye Tian’s hand, her eyes changed completely.

She swallowed hard, quietly reaching for the box, her gaze greedy.

“Master, dear master, could you give me a few more~?”

“Out! Out! Out!”

Ye Tian barked, delivering a swift kick, and she retreated with a sheepish grin.

Savoring her breakthrough, Ye Xiaomei was deeply moved. All those years following Ito Sasuke, she gained nothing but hardship.

But after less than ten hours with Ye Tian, he had already bestowed such precious pills upon her.

A wise minister serves the right lord—how true that ancient proverb from the Dragon Kingdom proved to be.

In this short time, the gloom of yesterday’s fall into servitude quietly melted from her heart.

“Henceforth, I must serve my master well, and earn his trust!”

Ye Xiaomei resolved inwardly.

After carefully observing her condition, seeing the effects stabilize, Ye Tian finally relaxed and urged, “Find a quiet place to digest the remaining power.”

“With your momentum, there’s still room for improvement.”

“Yes, Master!” Ye Xiaomei replied playfully, then bowed respectfully before quickly leaving.

“Now, it’s my turn.”

Closing and locking the basement’s alloy door, Ye Tian returned to the deepest part and took out the now-cool pills from the wooden box.

Nine Qi Gathering Pills!

Feeling his own martial qi sea, Ye Tian frowned.

After breaking through to the Beidou Stage, his cultivation had slowed considerably; even with daily meditation and breathwork, progress was like rowing upstream—extremely difficult.

“Today, with these nine Qi Gathering Pills, I will surely break through!”

Resolute, he poured all the pills into his mouth as if eating beans—swallowing them whole, not chewing a single one.

Moments later, his stomach erupted in tumult, an unmatched surge of heat raging through his dantian!

The power of nine Qi Gathering Pills far exceeded Ye Xiaomei’s single dose. Though Ye Tian’s cultivation was much higher, the sudden force was almost unbearable.

Scorching hot!

At that instant, Ye Tian felt as if someone were stirring his abdomen with red-hot tongs, the searing pain twisting his features.

But soon, the heat flowed from his dantian to other parts of his body, and the pain faded, his entire meridians opened and his qi sea cleared.

Time passed—how long, he couldn’t say.

When he opened his eyes again, a voice sounded outside the chamber.

“Master, are you awake?”

“Yes, come in.”

Ye Xiaomei opened the alloy door and stepped inside, only to be startled by the scene before her.

Ye Tian was enveloped in white steam, as if he had just emerged from a steamer, but most astonishing was the transformation in his aura.

“I am now… late Beidou Stage!”

Ye Tian murmured, unable to believe it himself.