Chapter Ninety-One: The Art of Healing and the Art of Alchemy

It was just a one-on-one fight. Against two opponents, he still had an eighty percent chance of winning, though he might have to pay a price. Against three, his chances fell to fifty percent, and the cost would be grievous.

Of course, that referred to situations where those Meridian-Opening experts were careless no longer and fought him with all their strength.

As for mental assaults, there was no need to count those. They were not of much use against Meridian-Opening experts. Against those below that level, he could kill one with a single punch; there was no need for such attacks at all.

Two hundred and fifty-three strands of vital energy, when driven by the Wind-Thunder Force, were equivalent to one thousand two hundred and sixty-five strands. Add to that the thickness and length of his vital energy threads, and the total could be multiplied a hundredfold, amounting to one hundred and twenty-six thousand five hundred strands.

In terms of vital energy alone, he was already no weaker than a fifth-aperture expert in the Qi Meridian Realm.

Finally, there was the realm of intent. Normally, once intent was unleashed among those of the same realm, it was enough to make one invincible.

Alas, intent was the expression of an extremely profound understanding of martial arts. When it was unfolded, it manifested more on the level of spirit, or rather, soul.

At present, for some unknown reason, he could bring forth the intent, but not the full realm.

The moment the intent was formed, his soul force would howl out and shape a blade domain.

In truth, this should have been a good thing. It was something that only appeared when intent had been cultivated to its deepest level, and it was terrifyingly powerful.

Yet, with his current fleshly body, he did not dare let his soul roar out. He would not even risk a spiritual assault beyond the Qi Meridian Realm; let alone letting his soul surge forth to construct a domain.

So it was not that he could not use intent.

He simply did not dare.

Otherwise, with only the strength of a body that had already stepped into the Qi Meridian Realm, once intent was unleashed, who in the Qi Meridian Realm could stand against him?

"Little fellow, they're all yours."

Lin Fan pointed at the corpses of Liu Hong and Greedy Wolf, then smiled at Little Gold, who had somehow already climbed onto his shoulder and bared its ferocious fangs.

He knew that the instant he appeared here, the instant Liu Hong and Greedy Wolf revealed their killing intent toward him, Little Gold had awakened.

It had unwound itself from its curled shape like a pigeon egg and regained its true form, ready at any moment to strike at Greedy Wolf and Liu Hong, only restraining itself because of his command.

Hiss!

Little Gold affectionately rubbed its face against Lin Fan's cheek, then shot out from his shoulder in a flash. With a whoosh, it landed on Liu Hong. Its body swelled in an instant, it seized Liu Hong in its mouth, and with a tilt of its head, swallowed him whole.

After that came Greedy Wolf, along with several of Greedy Wolf's underlings, all of whom soon ended up in Little Gold's belly. As for the storage rings these people had left behind, Little Gold kept them for Lin Fan.

A quick glance was enough for Lin Fan to realize he had made a modest fortune.

Among the storage rings of Greedy Wolf, his underlings, and Liu Hong, the silver alone totaled more than two million taels.

Naturally, most of it belonged to Greedy Wolf and Liu Hong. Greedy Wolf's ring held over one million taels, while Liu Hong's contained nearly five hundred thousand, and the rest came from the other underlings.

But the most valuable things in these rings were not the silver. They were the rare treasures of heaven and earth.

In Greedy Wolf's ring were three dragon-blood vines. These were precisely the main ingredient used to refine Dragon Meridian Pills, and they had an extraordinarily powerful effect on helping Qi Meridian experts open the acupoints throughout their bodies.

A single finished ordinary Dragon Meridian Pill was worth one or two million taels of silver.

Although the dragon-blood vine was not a finished Dragon Meridian Pill, it was the main medicinal ingredient for such a pill, and thus was exceedingly precious. One vine could fetch six hundred thousand taels.

It was said that a Nine-Tailed Dragon Meridian Pill, once refined, could smash through all the acupoints of a Meridian-Opening expert, instantly elevating them to the Meridian-Opening Realm without any side effects.

However, both the main and supplementary ingredients for the Nine-Tailed Dragon Meridian Pill were extremely difficult to find, chiefly because the required age was so rare. The dragon-blood vine alone had to be nine thousand years old, a thing practically unheard of in the world.

And even if one managed to gather all the ingredients, there were still very few capable of refining it.

As everyone knew, whether apothecaries or alchemists, there were several levels.

The ranks of apothecaries were: ninth-rank apothecary, eighth-rank apothecary, seventh-rank apothecary, sixth-rank apothecary, Apothecary King, Apothecary Emperor, and Apothecary Saint, the master of the healing arts.

The ranks of alchemists were: ninth-rank alchemist, eighth-rank alchemist, seventh-rank alchemist, sixth-rank alchemist, Alchemy King, Alchemy Emperor, and Alchemy Saint.

At the same time, both ninth-rank apothecaries and ninth-rank alchemists were called apprentices. Only upon reaching the eighth rank could one truly be called an apothecary or an alchemist.

Upon stepping into the seventh rank, one became a renowned physician or a famous alchemist. Reaching the sixth rank earned one the title of master of the healing arts, or master alchemist.

When Lin Fan once saved Jiang Beicheng, he had been called a little divine doctor, and the Jiang family had been stunned by his abilities, believing he had already attained the level of a renowned physician.

Now, with comparison, one could naturally understand how precious a renowned physician truly was. Throughout the entire Ice and Snow Kingdom, there were only a few dozen such people.

With a population of billions, the Ice and Snow Kingdom had only a few dozen of them. Tell me, was that not precious? What was more, Lin Fan was still so young. In the future, he might even become a master of the healing arts, or perhaps even an Apothecary King.

As for refining a Nine-Tailed Dragon Meridian Pill, at the very least one would need an Alchemy Emperor to do it. Yet in the Ice and Snow Kingdom, even master alchemists were few and far between, there was not a single Alchemy King, let alone an Alchemy Emperor.

Likewise, each rank could only refine pills of that rank. In general, when a pill was formed, it would be accompanied by patterns. These patterns were called tails.

A master alchemist could at most refine four-tailed pills. One tail meant seventy percent potency, two tails meant eighty percent, three tails meant ninety percent, and four tails meant full potency.

The pills refined by a master alchemist could, at most, achieve the full effect of a pill, and could not surpass it.

But once one reached the level of Alchemy King, things were different. An Alchemy King could at most refine eight-tailed pills.

Five tails meant one hundred and twenty percent potency, six tails meant one hundred and fifty percent potency, and seven tails meant two hundred percent potency, doubling the pill's medicinal effect outright.

When an Alchemy King refined an eight-tailed pill, congratulations: the pill's potency had reached an unprecedented five hundred percent.

That was why such a figure was called an Alchemy King.

However, when an Alchemy King refined pills, if they were low-grade pills, six tails or seven tails were common, while eight tails were rare. But when refining pills of the same grade, being able to guarantee five tails or six tails was already extremely impressive.

Only an Alchemy King who had stepped extraordinarily far along this path might occasionally produce a seven-tailed pill. As for eight tails, an Alchemy King might go through his entire life without seeing it more than a handful of times.

An Alchemy King had the ability to succeed, but success was by no means easy. The difference was much like being excellent in school, having once scored a perfect mark, or having the chance to score one in the future.

But could you guarantee that you would get full marks every time, or even most of the time?

Because that was the limit of your ability. It was impossible to reach the limit every single time. The same was true for an Alchemy King, only far more complicated.

First, one's ability could not possibly reach perfect extremity every single time. Every movement, every incantation, every control of the flame, the timing of adding the herbs, the weather, and so on, all of it mattered.

Second, the materials used to refine the pills could not possibly be perfect every time either. The time of harvest, whether they were damaged, what vessel they were stored in, how long they had been left standing, all of these were important.

Therefore, when an Alchemy King refined pills of the same rank, his skill no longer possessed the miraculous ability it had when refining low-grade pills, where the rotten could be turned into the wondrous.

For pills of the same rank, an Alchemy King still had to give his all. As for how many tails the finished pill would have, that depended on heaven, earth, and human fortune.

Or rather, on how the heavens chose to favor him.

As for an Alchemy Emperor, when he took action, low-rank pills were basically guaranteed to become eight-tailed pills. If he occasionally failed, it was usually with extremely difficult pills or newly created formulas.

As for nine tails, there was also a thirty to forty percent chance.

And as for the sages of the alchemical path, it was said that any pill they refined would inevitably become a nine-tailed pill, with no exceptions, even for pills of the same rank.

Even more terrifying was the rumor that they were capable of refining ten-tailed pills. Like an Alchemy King refining a nine-tailed pill, the odds were very low.

But once a ten-tailed pill took shape, it would become an earth-shaking event. It was said that the moment a ten-tailed pill formed, it would be endowed with spiritual awareness and become a living thing.

The stronger the medicinal effect of a pill, the stronger its power.

If a pill was refined for a River Realm expert, then it belonged to a River Realm expert. But once a ten-tailed pill took shape, it would possess cultivation no weaker than that of a River Realm expert.

The Dragon Meridian Pill was a seventh-rank pill, and could only be refined by a renowned alchemist.

However, a renowned alchemist could only guarantee that the pill would form at all. Once formed, it would have fifty percent of its medicinal effect; whether it reached fifty-something percent or sixty-something percent was uncertain.

Even so, the Dragon Meridian Pill had an immense effect on Qi Meridian experts, and great clans would not hesitate to buy it at an exorbitant price for the sake of their younger generation.

From this alone, one could see just how valuable the main ingredient of the Dragon Meridian Pill, the dragon-blood vine, truly was. Yet these three vines were only a hundred years old, and at most could be used to refine a four-tailed Dragon Meridian Pill, which was why their price was not terribly high.

Of course, that was only what lay in Greedy Wolf's storage ring. The things in Liu Hong's ring were even more precious: a full thirteen Earth-Origin Fruits.