The two pieces of acquired jade were indiscernible in their properties. Their surfaces bore no labels, and their exact nature could only be determined through personal experimentation.
Chu Xuan, not one to overthink, picked up a blood-red piece of jade. He wrapped the jade in spiritual Qi and began the slow process of refining it.
The refining was exceedingly slow. After two days, only a strand of the jade had been processed, transforming into a strange power that merged into Chu Xuan's body. At that moment, Chu Xuan shuddered as if his body was rejecting this foreign substance.
"Don't reject it, this is good stuff!" Chu Xuan gritted his teeth, forcefully suppressing his body's instinctive rejection. Managing his spiritual Qi to both refine the jade and suppress his body's reactions was enormously draining.
Chu Xuan, who had cultivated his Beast Golden Core using the "Thunder Python Golden Core Technique," possessed an amount of spiritual Qi that surpassed most Golden Core cultivators.
Yet, even his reserves were proving insufficient. Casually, he slapped his hand down, popping a Qi Restoration Pill into his mouth. It dissolved, its potent medicine swiftly replenishing his depleted spiritual Qi.
Days passed, and in the tranquility of Blue Star, Chu Xuan was the undisputed sovereign. No one could disturb his peace, which was precisely why he had chosen this location for his refining.
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed. The acquired jade floating before Chu Xuan had faded to nearly invisible. With a light crack, it shattered, falling to the ground as a pile of jade remnants. The acquired spiritual body, refined through secret methods, had fully integrated into Chu Xuan's system.
Chu Xuan carefully sensed the changes within his body. After a long time, he reopened his eyes, a flash of joy crossing his face.
"True Blood Elixir Body! Who would have thought it would be a top-grade spiritual body?"
Chu Xuan marveled. The grading of spiritual bodies was similar to that of spiritual roots, categorized as inferior, common, superior, ultimate, earthly, and heavenly grades.
Chu Xuan's own previously created Evil Wood Spiritual Body was a common spiritual body. He had not expected that absorbing the acquired jade would grant him an ultimate-grade spiritual body.
Chu Xuan had heard about the True Blood Elixir Body long before. It was one of the ultimate spiritual bodies most suitable for the path of alchemy. Whenever he added his own essence blood to any elixir he crafted, the potency of the elixir would increase.
With the True Blood Elixir Body, Chu Xuan could refine elixirs on his own in the future without needing to hire others, and perhaps he could even refine for others.
For many cultivators, obtaining alchemy recipes was an expensive endeavor, requiring purchase. Yet, when hiring an alchemist, they had to provide the recipe, materials, and spiritual stones.
In this way, alchemists could read numerous recipes without any cost to themselves and profit handsomely. Well, if after crafting the elixirs they disposed of their clients, the profits would be even greater.
In the future, when Chu Xuan progressed from breaking his Golden Core to forming his Nascent Soul, he would inevitably need to craft his own elixirs. His proficiency in alchemy wasn't as stellar as in formation setting or artifact refining. He couldn't even produce a high-grade Heaven Patching Pill on his own and had to entrust others, staying watchful beside them during the process to prevent poisoning. Now, able to refine elixirs himself, he no longer needed to worry about such matters.
Chu Xuan looked pleased and turned his attention to the second piece of acquired jade, which appeared dull and ordinary. "So plain," he mused. "Feels like it might be a low-grade spiritual body; I wonder if it'll conflict... Should I absorb it?"
Rubbing his chin in thought, Chu Xuan considered that possessing multiple spiritual bodies could be good or bad, depending on the situation. If the spiritual bodies did not conflict and could complement and balance each other, their combined effect could be greater than the sum of their parts. That would indeed be beneficial. However, conflicting spiritual bodies could pose a problem, pulling in different directions and causing internal strife.
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