Versatile Sword Cultivator

Chapter 38 – Studying alchemy

When the members of the Moon Shadow Guild had all left, Canglan Medicine Valley seemed to return to its tranquility.

Until a girl emerged from a dark corner.

"Phew! Guys, today's livestream was worth it, wasn't it? Not only did Xiazi bring you a guild war, but you also got to see the exclusive moves of a super expert, Lin Jichen!"

As she spoke, Liu Xiazi began to reminisce about Lin Jichen's series of actions, murmuring her evaluation.

"Facing the siege of so many Blood Fiend members with such calmness, effortlessly sweeping through them like autumn leaves, and even taking down a late-stage Qi Refining boss on the side—who else has such prowess?"

The audience couldn't refute; indeed, they couldn't think of a second expert who could compare to Lin Jichen, at least not one they had seen.

The livestream had them all fired up.

"I, Liu Xiazi, hereby declare that I believe Lin Jichen is currently the number one expert in 'Tale of Immortal'! Who agrees, who disagrees?"

Surprisingly, even the viewers who usually loved to argue with Xiazi all agreed.

If Lin Jichen wasn't the top expert, then who was?

At this point, Liu Xiazi's eyes suddenly sparkled with hearts, and she cupped her face, looking infatuated.

"Most importantly, Lin Jichen is so handsome. I've decided, he's my idol from now on! My dream guy!"

The chat exploded with vomiting emojis, but Liu Xiazi ignored them all.

Having found a new idol, Liu Xiazi eagerly pulled up the livestream recording.

She edited the footage of Lin Jichen single-handedly taking on dozens of people and the Medicine Spirit Falcon, then posted it on the 'Tale of Immortal' forum.

She gave it a very eye-catching title: "Tale of Immortal's Top Expert Lin Jichen, Single-Handedly Defeats Blood Fiend Guild!"

The video had barely been uploaded when its views skyrocketed like a rocket...

Everyone who saw the video was in awe, bowing in admiration.

Of course, many couldn't understand how Lin Jichen's damage could be so high; they suspected he might be cheating.

In the video, the Blood Fiend Guild became a laughingstock, mocked by netizens.

So many people attacking one person, yet getting killed so many times, and in the end, not even daring to fight back, with the guild leader leading the escape—what a disgrace.

Li Fengwen hadn't expected to be recorded. Seeing the video and the overwhelming ridicule online, he flew into a rage, smashing many antiques at home.

To save face, Li Fengwen immediately responded on the forum on behalf of Blood Fiend, claiming that Lin Jichen's damage was abnormal.

The implication was clear: Lin Jichen must be cheating, and it wasn't that Blood Fiend members were incompetent.

Many players thought Li Fengwen made a good point, but others believed Lin Jichen wasn't cheating.

In any case, because of this video, Lin Jichen became a hot topic, sparking heated debates.

Meanwhile, Lin Jichen, unaware of all this, returned to the Tianyan Sword Sect with the Yin Sustaining Grass, ready to hand it over to Elder Tianqing.

Unexpectedly, Elder Tianqing was in the alchemy room, refining elixirs.

"Bring the Yin Sustaining Grass in first; I'll take it after I finish this batch of elixirs."

Elder Tianqing's voice came from inside the alchemy room.

Lin Jichen entered the alchemy room, where Elder Tianqing was adding herbs to the furnace.

Next to him was a herb bed with various herbs, including the Yin Sustaining Grass, of which only two stalks were left.

It seemed insufficient, which was why Lin Jichen had been sent to find more.

It looked like Elder Tianqing still wanted to continue refining the Youth Retaining Pill.

Lin Jichen realized this was a rare learning opportunity.

Alchemy was a secondary profession in 'Tale of Immortal.' Besides alchemy, there were many other secondary professions in the game.

For example, artifact forging, feng shui, herbalism, mining, beast taming, and so on.

These secondary professions were all very useful.

In his previous life, besides being a magic cultivator, Lin Jichen was also a seventh-grade herbalist and a sixth-grade alchemy master.

Because magic cultivation heavily relied on elixirs, just the mana recovery elixirs alone would have been a huge expense if bought.

To make ends meet, Lin Jichen had no choice but to gather herbs and refine his own elixirs. He had no other way, and after refining so many, he had become a sixth-grade alchemy master.

Occasionally, when he was short on money, he could even sell some elixirs.

In 'Tale of Immortal,' all secondary professions were ranked from one to nine, with one being the lowest and nine being the highest.

A ninth-grade alchemy master was also called a grandmaster.

Elder Tianqing was a grandmaster-level alchemy master.

Being able to observe and learn from him was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Lin Jichen.

He placed the Yin Sustaining Grass on the herb bed but didn't leave.

"You can watch from the side, but don't make any noise."

Elder Tianqing seemed to guess Lin Jichen's intention and didn't chase him away, not keeping his skills to himself.

This was all for Leng Feiyan's sake; otherwise, he would have kicked Lin Jichen out long ago.

No one liked being watched by strangers while showing off their skills.

Lin Jichen was secretly delighted; having a backer was great, everyone in the sect had to give him face.

Elder Tianqing began refining elixirs, his expression becoming serious.

He methodically added different herbs to the furnace.

Lin Jichen remained silent and still, his eyes fixed on Elder Tianqing's every move.

"Comprehended the essence of alchemy, alchemy aptitude +5%."

After just half a minute of watching, Lin Jichen received an unexpected surprise, his face lighting up with joy.

But he suppressed his excitement and continued to watch silently.

Another minute passed.

"Comprehended the essence of alchemy, alchemy aptitude +5%."

This time it took longer, five minutes.

"Comprehended the essence of alchemy, alchemy aptitude +5%."

Fifteen minutes.

"Comprehended the essence of alchemy, alchemy aptitude +5%."

Thirty minutes.

"Comprehended the essence of alchemy, alchemy aptitude +5%."

...

Just like that, Lin Jichen watched Elder Tianqing's every move without blinking.

An hour passed, and Lin Jichen's alchemy aptitude had increased by 25%!

Just as Lin Jichen wanted to continue watching, the furnace suddenly emitted black smoke.

"Not good! Another failure."

Elder Tianqing had just finished speaking.

Boom!

The furnace exploded.

Elder Tianqing walked out of the alchemy room, looking dejected, followed by the unlucky Lin Jichen.

The old and the young, both covered in soot, looked like beggars fleeing from Africa.

Elder Tianqing glanced at Lin Jichen and burst into hearty laughter.

"Kid, watching me refine elixirs comes at a price. You're unlucky; I happened to be experimenting with a new elixir, and furnace explosions are quite common."

Lin Jichen smiled wryly. But turning into a beggar was a small price to pay if it meant increasing his alchemy aptitude.

He wanted to continue watching, but Elder Tianqing seemed unwilling to let him stay.

"You helped me find the Yin Sustaining Grass, so I can't let you go unrewarded. Take your payment and leave; I need to continue refining elixirs."

Elder Tianqing tossed a wooden box to Lin Jichen.

Lin Jichen opened the box to find a bottle of elixirs and a bracelet inside.

[Spirit Grade·Attribute Elixir]: Permanently increases a random combat attribute by 1-5 points. Quantity: 3 pills.

Requirements: None.

...

[Spirit Grade·Gentle Breeze Bracelet]: Speed +5, Evasion +8%, Movement Technique Skill Cooldown -10%.

Requirements: None.

...

Great items!

Lin Jichen was delighted.

Attribute Elixirs were highly sought after, and the bracelet's attributes were top-notch, boosting speed, evasion, and most importantly, reducing the cooldown of movement technique skills.

Lin Jichen unceremoniously stored the box in his ring, grinning widely.

"Thank you, Elder!"

Elder Tianqing waved his hand with a kind smile, "Alright, off you go."

Knowing that Elder Tianqing truly didn't want him to stay, Lin Jichen reluctantly turned to leave.

Still unwilling to go, he took two steps and looked back!