Using entries to cultivate immortality in chaotic times

...

Before long—

they entered the inner part of the Star Battle Sect, passing through the areas for the servant disciples, outer sect disciples, and inner sect disciples, and arrived at the place where guests were received: a sizeable teahouse with a burning incense of agarwood.

Along the way, they saw many disciples, and the entire sky above the Star Battle Sect was suffused with the scent of medicinal herbs.

Most of the disciples were alchemy cultivators.

However, it seemed that explosions from alchemy furnaces were quite common; on their way, they heard more than a dozen explosions.

"Please wait here for a moment,"

said the Mountain Guarding Disciple who had led them to this place with a serious expression, "I'll go report to the elder and be right back."

"Okay."

After the Mountain Guarding Disciple left, Fat Long heard the occasional explosions coming from outside the window and couldn't help but remark, "No wonder alchemy cultivators spend so much money; with the rate these furnaces are blowing up, they must be spending quite a fortune just on alchemy furnaces over a year, right?"

"I remember the mid-grade Foundation Establishment alchemy furnace at the Qiantian Bazaar auction was sold for 200 spirit stones. If the ones that just exploded were all mid-grade Foundation Establishment alchemy furnaces, did thousands of spirit stones just go up in smoke within this short time?"

"Over the course of a day, that would be tens of thousands of spirit stones gone just from explosions - that's a bit absurd."

"Not really,"

said the scholar with a slightly strange look on his face as he gazed out of the window at the occasional explosions, "I've been to other alchemy cultivation sects, and I've never seen one where the furnaces explode so frequently. What is this, refining pills or making fireworks?"

...

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea passed.

An old man with white hair and noticeably singed eyebrows and beard entered the teahouse with hasty and anxious strides. On seeing Chen Qiu and his companions, the irritation on his face lessened a bit, but his voice still trembled with irritation.

"Let me introduce myself, I am the Inner Sect Third Elder of the Star Battle Sect."

"I apologize for making you all wait. I just had a furnace explode. I hurried over here as soon as I heard from the disciples that distinguished guests had arrived," he said.

"I've been briefly informed by the disciples that you all require the Replenishing God Pill to repair damage to divine sense. May I ask about the cultivation of the person who will be taking this pill? So I can provide a suitable remedy based on the cultivation level, as different levels can withstand different potencies."

"Peak of Foundation Establishment,"

Chen Qiu, worn out from enduring pain for so long, replied in a somewhat tired and soft voice, "It's for me to take. I've had an accident, and my divine sense has been damaged, so I've come to your sect specifically to request this pill."

"You?"

The elder flashed a hint of skepticism and said reflexively, "Nonsense. How can the divine sense of someone at the peak of Foundation Establishment be damaged?"

In most cases, divine sense damage occurs when battling a Golden Core Great Power, and by unfortunate chance, one's divine sense gets injured. But the Sea of Consciousness of a Foundation Establishment cultivator is in a state of chaos, which is completely defenseless, making it impossible to be damaged. Once it suffers a Divine Sense Attack, the only outcome is total destruction.

There wouldn't be a chance just to be damaged.

"Wait a moment—"

Just then, the elder took another look at Chen Qiu from head to toe, suddenly pulled out a portrait from his chest, compared the portrait and Chen Qiu, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, "Are you the recently renowned Chen Qiu?"

"The most powerful Talent of Magic Practitioner from Da Xia, Chen Qiu?"

"Weren't you in the Boundless Icefield? How did you suddenly end up in the Endless Desert?"

Then he seemed to have an epiphany; his voice mixed with a hint of admiration, "If it's Chen Qiu, then I can understand. I've heard that you once killed a Golden Core Great Power while being of a lower level; presumably, that's when your divine sense was injured, right?"

"No wonder you, hailing from Fufeng City, would go to the Boundless Icefield. Southern State has the most alchemy cultivation sects; you must have gone there seeking a cure, right? But it looks like you returned without success."

"But... unfortunately, the Star Battle Sect also has no solution."

"The Replenishing God Pill is a low-grade Golden Core pill, specifically designed to repair the divine sense damage of a Golden Core. Even if the potency is adjusted to the weakest, it's still more than the Sea of Consciousness of a Foundation Establishment cultivator can bear, not only failing to heal but possibly exacerbating the damage."

"A Foundation Establishment cultivator... simply cannot take the Replenishing God Pill."

"..."

After a long silence, Chen Qiu, still unwilling to give up, probed again, "Isn't there any possibility at all?"

"No,"

the Inner Sect Third Elder replied regretfully, shaking his head, "If you had come a few months earlier, there might have been a way, but the sect has encountered some trouble in the past few months, and it doesn't look like the trouble can be resolved anytime soon."

"What kind of trouble?"

Chen Qiu asked.

If there was even the slightest chance, he did not want to give up. Damage to the Sea of Consciousness meant it would be difficult for him to form a perfect Golden Core. If it could be healed, it would naturally not affect him, but with ninety percent of his Sea of Consciousness destroyed, the thought of forming a perfect Golden Core was nothing but a dream.

"This..."

The elder hesitated for a moment, then seemed about to speak but paused. After a moment, he added, "Wait here for a moment; I'll request guidance from the Great Elder."

"Okay."

...

Soon, the elder returned, following another elder who looked even older. This elder had deep green hair and beard, resembling the color of a pickled garlic clove, but like the Third Elder behind him, his beard and eyebrows were singed, clearly also a victim of a recent furnace explosion.

"This is the Great Elder of our Star Battle Sect."

As soon as the Great Elder took his seat, he looked seriously at Chen Qiu and said, word for word, "Daoist Chen, what I'm about to discuss with you is one of the core secrets of the Star Battle Sect. I hope that, after learning about it, whether or not you can help, you will try to keep it confidential."

"I've only shared this information with you, Daoist Chen," he continued.

"And the Replenishing God Pill you seek is closely related to this matter."