Chapter 255

Chapter 255: Great Rise in Reputation

It was clear the Four Seas True Immortals recognized their Alchemy Skill fell far short of Fang Lie’s. Rather than wasting their Pill Furnaces, they chose to yield them to Fang Lie. What mattered was obtaining better spirit pills for their cultivation.

Fang Lie naturally accepted without hesitation. Considering cultivators consumed at most one special spirit pill per month, a single batch could sustain four people for years. To him, this posed no burden—merely a trivial task.

He thus took possession of the jet-black Alchemy Cauldron and began refining spirit pills for his clients.

As Fang Lie exclusively used purified medicinal essences, bypassing time-consuming impurity removal, his alchemy speed proved extraordinary. While others required days, months, or even years per batch, he completed each in mere hours.

Dozens of orders, including the batch for Four Seas True Immortals, took only half a month.

The delivered spirit pills immediately caused a regional uproar.

All clients had met Fang Lie on his island around the same date. Yet within fifteen days, he’d distributed numerous batches—averaging multiple batches daily.

Such speed dwarfed other alchemists’ typical months-long delays. Moreover, Fang Lie’s pills contained virtually no impurities while boasting potent efficacy—top-grade spirit pills surpassing all contemporaries.

Had they not witnessed it firsthand, none would believe Fang Lie produced these. Even Xuan Sect’s master alchemists could barely match this quality.

Yet none rivaled his speed. By these metrics, didn’t Fang Lie surpass Xuan Sect’s finest?

Though limited by cultivation level from crafting higher-tier pills, Fang Lie’s performance remained monstrous. Given growth, he’d undoubtedly become the world’s foremost alchemist, humbling even Xuan Sect’s proud legacy.

Facing such a future Great Pill Master, cultivators scrambled to curry favor. Upon receiving pills, they promptly sent rewards—often premium gifts or extra low-grade fire element spirit stones.

Though worthless to them, these stones aided Fang Lie. A trivial price to secure ties with tomorrow’s top alchemist.

Post-delivery, more high-level cultivators emerged, orders snowballing—even Fire Tribulation Immortals joined. Though Fang Lie couldn’t yet craft their required pills, his cultivation speed suggested capability within decades.

Pre-orders became prudent. Others sought stockpiles—high-level cultivation demanded top-grade spirit pills. Even those with adequate reserves coveted Fang Lie’s superior products for emergencies.

Thus Fang Lie’s fame exploded across millions of miles, drawing distant cultivators to Qingyu Island.

The island now teemed with visitors—dozens of high-level cultivators daily. Overwhelmed, Fang Lie delegated Wind Tribulation Immortal receptions to Little Peach Red, reserving personal meetings for select Fire Tribulation Immortals.

He maintained the ban on Demonic Path cultivators, infuriating Demonic Overlords. Desperate ones lacking high-rank materials needed Fang Lie’s unique ability to substitute Low-grade Materials—yet found themselves denied.

Without these pills, many neared collapse from Demonic Path arts’ backlash. Emboldened, a dozen Demonic Path Wind Tribulation Immortals stormed Qingyu Island together.

They never reached shore. Fellow Wind Tribulation Immortals resting below the mountain intercepted them—none would risk Fang Lie’s safety compromising their future orders.

Moreover, Fang Lie was working alone. No matter how fast he refined pills, there was a limit. Meeting the demands of so many powerful cultivators proved difficult. Many were already scheduled six months out. If demonic path cultivators joined the queue, the wait would stretch even longer.

Wanting to curry favor with Fang Lie, the righteous cultivators banded together. Twenty-odd Wind Tribulation Immortals and one Fire Tribulation Immortal who happened to be visiting formed a defensive line. Their combined auras caused terrifying waves to erupt across the sea beneath them.

The approaching demonic path masters immediately retreated, fleeing far away while the blocking cultivators roared with laughter.

When Fang Lie received this information, he simply smiled and continued his alchemy work. Each completed batch of spirit pills meant another favor owed – valuable currency for his future ambitions.

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

One day during pill-refining, Little Peach Red burst in shouting, "Master! That Mr. Suan Mei is here with seven unusually powerful Wind Tribulation Immortals!"

"Hmm?" Fang Lie maintained control of the furnace flames as he asked, "How strong?"

"Their magic reserves are overwhelming!" she exclaimed. "I could barely stand in their presence! Each is at least ten times mightier than Mr. Suan Mei! I’ve only sensed such terrifying pressure from Inner Gate Core Disciples of major sects before. Who knew such talents existed among scattered cultivators?"

Cultivators varied wildly even at the same realm. To become a Wind Tribulation Immortal, one needed a Golden Pool spanning at least two hundred li. Those failing this struggled to advance further.

Reaching Fire Tribulation required a five hundred li Golden Pool, though success remained unlikely. Thunder Tribulation demanded a thousand li minimum. The difference between a two hundred li and thousand li Golden Pool meant a hundredfold disparity in magic reserves and combat strength.

Most scattered cultivators barely managed three to four hundred zhang Golden Pools. Major sect disciples typically exceeded five hundred zhang, with elites surpassing a thousand. Yet even thousand zhang practitioners only had one-third chance at Fire Tribulation, and one-twentieth for Thunder Tribulation.

Exceptions like Mo Lanyun existed. Blessed with an Immortal spiritual root, her three thousand li Qi Sea might expand beyond ten thousand li during Golden Pool formation. Such prodigies almost guaranteed Thunder Tribulation success unless killed prematurely.

But Mo Sect higher-ups typically possessed mere thousand li Golden Pools. For scattered cultivators, seven to eight hundred li was considered exceptional.

Little Peach Red’s report shocked Fang Lie. Mr. Suan Mei himself supposedly had a thousand li Golden Pool with Thunder Tribulation potential. If his companions possessed tenfold greater reserves…

"Three to five thousand li Golden Pools?" Fang Lie muttered. Such talents should be sect treasures, not wandering followers.

After finishing his current batch, Fang Lie handed the jade bottle to Little Peach Red for delivery and hurried to Purple Tower’s reception hall.

Seven middle-aged cultivators stood waiting. Their pristine dao robes – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet – pulsed with distinct spiritual energies covering all Five Elements plus wind and thunder. Remarkably, these conflicting energies harmonized perfectly, forming an interconnected formation that made the group appear as one entity.

Fang Lie’s eyes narrowed. This coordination suggested specialized cultivation methods and formation arts – rare even in major sects.

Clasping his hands in greeting, Fang Lie announced, "Apologies for the wait. Pill refinement demands full attention."