Half a month later.

In the middle of the Zhongming Mountain Range, there stands a remarkably peculiar isolated peak. Its summit and base are plump and bulging, while its waist is constricted like a woman's slender form, resembling a massive gourd with large ends and a narrow middle.

Precisely because of this shape, the peak is named "Gourd Peak." Like Dragon Taming Peak, it is one of the most crucial peaks within the entire Zhulong Dao.

Gourd Peak is not steep, standing less than a thousand zhang tall. At the base of the mountain, a high-quality spiritual spring bubbles forth, nourishing all living things on the peak, keeping the vegetation lush green year-round, as if in perpetual springtime.

Surrounding the peak is an extremely tight defensive array, perpetually activated. Therefore, all elders and disciples within the sect, whether inner or outer, must pass through the teleportation hall at the foot of the mountain to enter the peak.

The reason for such strict protection is simple: nearly all of Zhulong Dao's pills originate from this peak, and the alchemists cultivated by the sect reside here year-round.

Within Gourd Peak, the Earth Alchemists capable of concocting pills for Immortals naturally hold the highest status and position.

Ordinarily, a True Immortal realm cultivator, following a normal cultivation pace, might take anywhere from a century to tens of thousands of years to open a single Immortal Aperture. Moreover, opening Apertures becomes increasingly difficult. However, with the aid of pills matching one's realm, this time can be significantly shortened.

However, the crafting of such pills requires spirit herbs that have often grown for tens of thousands of years as the primary ingredients, and even the auxiliary ingredients are scarce and expensive. Combining so many materials can only yield one batch of pills. Even for experienced Earth Alchemists, without dozens of attempts, the success rate is pathetically low.

This is why only large sects or powerful organizations can cultivate Earth Alchemists.

At this moment, Han Li emerged from the Linchuan Pavilion near Gourd Peak, arrived at the foot of the mountain, and entered a golden-yellow, double-eaved palace.

This palace is closely connected to the array surrounding Gourd Peak, serving as the sole entrance and exit.

After verifying his identity, Han Li stepped directly into a central teleportation array. As a burst of white light rose, he vanished from the spot.

Before long, he appeared in a vermilion palace atop the peak.

The furnishings within the palace were no different from a pharmacy in the mortal world, with a counter in front and shelves in the back. However, the shelves holding Earth-ranked pills all bore obvious restrictions.

Few people were inside the palace, aside from two attending elders and several individuals wearing the robes of inner sect elders, who had come to purchase pills.

Seeing Han Li enter, one of the attending elders, a slender, amiable-looking middle-aged man, approached and asked, "I am Ye Nanfeng, the steward of this Immortal Pill Pavilion. May I ask what you require?"

"I am Li Feiyu, and I wish to purchase some pills to aid in my cultivation," Han Li replied, cupping his fist in salute.

"So it's Daoist Li. Allow me to recommend a few pills..." Ye Nanfeng said with a smile.

"Thank you for your trouble," Han Li nodded.

"For Daoist Li's current cultivation level, the most suitable pill for advancement is the 'Unification Essence Pill.' Each bottle contains ten pills and costs only two hundred merit points. If you seek a more potent effect, the 'Imperial Spirit Pill' will certainly not disappoint. However, this pill is slightly more expensive, costing five hundred merit points per bottle, also containing ten pills," Ye Nanfeng introduced.

Although Han Li was somewhat prepared, he was still taken aback by the price.

He had previously completed three standard steward-level tasks, and his current merit points were less than five hundred. The price of these pills was truly exorbitant.

"The Imperial Spirit Pill is indeed not cheap," Han Li said with a wry smile.

"Naturally. The Imperial Spirit Pill can only be refined by Master Hu Yan within the entire sect, and its quantity is very limited," Ye Nanfeng explained with a smile.

Upon hearing the title "Master Hu Yan," Han Li couldn't help but recall the slovenly old man in a gray-white Daoist robe, never without his gourd of wine.

Could this person be a high-level Earth Alchemist?

"Daoist Li, if neither of those suits you, the 'Spring Dew Pill' is also suitable. It's cheaper than the Imperial Spirit Pill and more effective than the Unification Essence Pill, making it the most cost-effective," Ye Nanfeng asked when he noticed Han Li seemed lost in thought.

"May I ask, Elder Ye, does this Immortal Pill Pavilion sell pill formulas?" Han Li suddenly asked.

"This... Could it be that Daoist Li intends to refine pills yourself?" Ye Nanfeng asked, taken aback.

"Oh, it's like this. I happen to know an Earth Alchemist who has just advanced, and he has promised me that as long as I can provide the pill formula and spirit herbs, he is willing to help me try to refine pills," Han Li explained.

Upon hearing this, Ye Nanfeng wore a hesitant expression.

Seeing this, Han Li knew that the other party probably wanted to advise him that it would be more worthwhile to buy pills than to purchase spirit herbs and pill formulas for someone to experiment with.

"The formulas for the Unification Essence Pill and the Spring Dew Pill are both available for sale. Only the formula for the Imperial Spirit Pill has not been authorized for sale by Master Hu Yan," Ye Nanfeng said, ultimately changing his tone, perhaps out of consideration for their shallow acquaintance.

"I wonder, how many merit points are required for these two formulas?" Han Li asked.

"The Unification Essence Pill formula requires fifty merit points, while the Spring Dew Pill requires one hundred and fifty merit points," Ye Nanfeng replied.

Han Li frowned in hesitation, pondering which formula would be more cost-effective.

"Elder Li can decide which formula to purchase after reviewing the ingredients used in both," Ye Nanfeng reminded him with a smile.

"Then I will trouble you," Han Li nodded.

Ye Nanfeng swiped his palm in the air, and after a flash of azure light, a cyan booklet appeared.

He opened it, flipped through it briefly, and handed it to Han Li.

After receiving it, Han Li examined it and found that it contained the required ingredient list for the Spring Dew Pill.

"One 50,000-year-old Coiled Dragon Herb, three 5,000-year-old Ocean Severing Flowers, a handful of Wind Bellows Sand, seven 3,000-year-old Gloom Nether Fruits..." Han Li pointed to these names, reciting them one by one.

He discovered that among these fifteen spirit herbs, there were very few ordinary herbs. Most were high-level spirit herbs of considerable age, with the youngest requiring at least three thousand years.

"Elder Ye, I wonder how the spirit herbs in this Immortal Pill Pavilion are sold. Do they also require merit points for exchange?" Han Li asked Ye Nanfeng after a moment of contemplation.

"No, apart from some particularly rare spirit herbs that are too old, which must be settled with Immortal Essence Stones, other spirit herbs can be purchased with Immortal Essence Stones or high-grade spirit stones," Ye Nanfeng shook his head and said.

"How many spirit stones would it take to purchase all the ingredients needed for one batch of Spring Dew Pill?" Han Li continued to ask.

"The Coiled Dragon Herb, as the main ingredient, must be settled with Immortal Essence Stones, priced at seven Immortal Essence Stones. The remaining spirit herbs will cost about two thousand high-grade spirit stones. Of course, you can also settle with Immortal Essence Stones," Ye Nanfeng said after a moment of contemplation.

Upon hearing this, Han Li secretly clicked his tongue. If calculated at this price, even if he spent all the Immortal Essence Stones and high-grade spirit stones he had, he would not be able to buy enough spirit herbs for a few batches of this pill.

He flicked a page with his finger, about to turn it to the back, but Ye Nanfeng reminded him:

"The Unification Essence Pill is located earlier. Elder Li should be able to see it by flipping a few pages forward."

Han Li flipped the booklet forward two pages as instructed and indeed saw the spirit herb list for the Unification Essence Pill.

When his gaze fell on the "One 50,000-year-old Candle Lichen Herb" on the first line of the formula, his eyebrows slightly raised.

This herb was the main ingredient for refining the Unification Essence Pill, and he had planted it in his cave's spirit herb garden. Furthermore, he had already cultivated several of them, and their age was roughly equivalent, just enough for use.

He continued to look at the more than ten auxiliary spirit herbs behind, but he was not so lucky. They were all spirit herbs that he had never planted.

"Then, apart from the Candle Lichen Herb, how many spirit stones are required for each of these other spirit herbs?" Han Li asked.

"If the main herb Candle Lichen is excluded, the other spirit herbs require one thousand two hundred high-grade spirit stones," Ye Nanfeng replied.

After hearing this, Han Li had a plan in mind.

His purchase of the pill formula this time was also the first time he was trying to refine an Earth-ranked pill. He didn't know how much spirit herb would be wasted, so choosing the Spring Dew Pill formula, which required more expensive spirit herbs, would definitely not be worthwhile.

"Then I'll take the Unification Essence Pill formula," Han Li said, having made up his mind.

"Alright, please give me your token," Ye Nanfeng said.

Han Li turned his hand and took out his elder token and handed it over. After deducting fifty merit points from it, the latter returned the copied pill formula and token together.

"In addition, I want to purchase the other spirit herbs needed to refine the Unification Essence Pill, excluding the Candle Lichen Herb, ten portions of each," Han Li immediately took the pill formula, carefully checked it again for a moment, and then said.

With all his savings, he would have little left after buying these spirit herbs.

After the transaction was completed, Han Li bid farewell, left Gourd Peak, and went straight back to his cave.

...

Three months passed quickly.

During this period, Han Li hardly left the secret chamber, focusing all his attention on studying the pill formula, carefully pondering every detail of its refining process, meticulously deducing it in his mind, and performing the pill refining a thousand times over in his mind.

Although he already had a lot of alchemy experience before, different pill ingredients had vastly different details in the refining process. These differences were often the critical factors that led to the failure of the alchemy.

Therefore, he planned to thoroughly understand the pill formula before starting to refine it.

Until today, he finally decided to try refining the Unification Essence Pill for the first time.

Inside the secret chamber, on the low table behind the meditation cushion, there was an incense burner with a long cyan-gray incense stick inside. The top of the incense stick was lit with a red star, emitting wisps of green smoke that exuded a calming and fragrant scent.

Han Li sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion with his back to the low table. After sitting quietly with his eyes closed for a long time, he slowly opened his eyes again. His entire mind was unified, and he no longer had any miscellaneous thoughts.

On the ground in front of him was a purple bronze furnace about a foot square. The furnace was engraved with patterns of flames and ancient runes. Next to it was a piece of cyan brocade, on which were placed more than a dozen spirit herbs such as the Candle Lichen Herb.

This pill furnace was something he had obtained from the Mirage Yuan Beast's cave before. Although its grade looked ordinary, it should be enough for refining the Unification Essence Pill now.