Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Since stepping down as the Acting Clan Leader, Li Zhirui hadn't set foot outside his room for the past few months, focusing solely on modifying the Hundred Herbs Pill.

Moreover, freed from dealing with trivial matters, Li Zhirui found himself with considerably more time at his disposal. Aside from the fixed hours each day dedicated to cultivation, he now had more time for alchemy and practicing the Visualization Skill.

The modification of the Hundred Herbs Pill was nearing its end, and it wouldn't be long before he completed it. Then, he would have another Spirit Pill to accelerate his cultivation.

The reason why Li Zhirui was so attentive to the Hundred Herbs Pill, besides the subsequent third-stage Pill Recipe—which was nowhere in sight and seemed a distant goal—was because Spirit Pills had a resistance factor!

No matter how high the quality of a Spirit Pill or how minimal its toxic effects, once the amount consumed surpassed a certain limit, the medicinal effectiveness of the Spirit Pill would begin to wane.

And the higher the quality of a Spirit Pill with fewer toxic effects, the more coveted it was, simply because this limit was set higher.

Just as with the Jade Spirit Pills Li Zhirui took during the Qi Cultivation Stage, initially, the effects were quite significant. But after taking three to four hundred pills, the effects started to decline.

This was still because the Jade Spirit Pills Li Zhirui refined were of decent quality; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to assimilate so many without building up resistance.

——

One day, Li Zhirui arrived at the Marketplace aboard his Spirit Boat, intending to purchase one or two second-stage Magic Artifacts.

It was almost laughable that even several years after his Foundation Establishment, Li Zhirui still wielded first-stage Magic Artifacts like Pine Needles and had not replaced them with second-stage ones.

Initially, Li Zhirui believed he wouldn't be venturing out any time soon and all the Spirit Stones he earned were used to cultivate Spiritual Medicine, leaving him with not many to spare.

Then one thing after another occurred, and Li Zhirui could never find the time to visit the Marketplace for Magic Artifacts.

He didn't want to settle for less and planned to buy the best second-stage Magic Artifacts in one go to avoid needing replacements as he advanced in his breakthroughs, so he kept accumulating Spirit Stones.

If it weren't for this, with Li Zhirui's Contribution Value within the clan, he could have exchanged for an ordinary second-stage Magic Artifact from the warehouse a long time ago.

Now, with over ten thousand Spirit Stones in his possession, purchasing two excellent second-stage superior Magic Artifacts should be no issue.

Li Zhirui entered the Hundred Instruments Tower in the Marketplace, which specialized in selling Magic Artifacts. Immediately, an assistant came forward and bowed, asking, "Senior, what kind of Magic Artifact would you like to purchase? Hundred Instruments Tower can certainly fulfill your needs."

As he spoke, he led Li Zhirui through the aisles, heading toward the compartments.

"Bring me all the second-stage superior Magic Artifacts with Water-Wood Attributes. I'd like to take a look." When buying Magic Artifacts, one couldn't just look at the Jade Slips; they had to first test the compatibility with oneself.

"Please wait a moment, Senior!" The shop assistant was overjoyed, hardly believing he had encountered a big spender today!

And truly, it was only a moment before the assistant returned with a storage bag imbued with a Secret Technique. Under Li Zhirui's watchful eye, he took out thirteen Magic Artifacts that met Li Zhirui's specifications.

These could be divided into three categories: offensive, defensive, and utility Magic Artifacts. Offensive artifacts were in majority, totaling seven items, including the Qingyuan Sword, Profound Water Blade, Corrosive Water Gourd, and others.

Defensive artifacts were next with four items, namely the Ancient Vine Shield, Azure Dragon Crown, Water Cloud Spirit Bead, and Serene Water Bracelet. The Ancient Vine Shield had the strongest defense, but it consumed more Mana and could only protect from one side.

There were only two utility artifacts: one was the Mirage Mist Treasure Mirror, which could cast illusionary realms, and the other was the Jade Hairpin, which stabilized the mind.
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Li Zhirui was most curious about the Corrosive Water Gourd, so it was the first artifact he examined.

After refining the gourd with his Divine Sense for a short period, he learned of its capability: to launch attacks by manipulating the Corrosive Water inside the gourd, it could also be used for defense, though it couldn't withstand stronger attacks.

The Corrosive Water possessed a very strong corrosive nature; while it didn't kill instantly, it would permeate into the flesh and blood. Moreover, one could add poison to the gourd to enhance the toxicity of the Corrosive Water.

As for how the Corrosive Water in the gourd was produced? The inner wall of the gourd was carved with a Formation, which could transform Mana or Spiritual Energy into Corrosive Water.

Of course, one could also opt not to use Mana or Spirit Stones and instead let the Corrosive Water Gourd slowly absorb the Spiritual Energy of the world, but the speed of the latter was incomparably slower.

After serious consideration, Li Zhirui decided to purchase the Corrosive Water Gourd, because he had just tried it out and found that the Corrosive Water could be integrated into his Water-based spells, increasing the power of his spells.

Li Zhirui had put a lot of effort into his Spells, and he had now made some achievements, not to mention that the cooperation with Da Qing also mainly revolved around each other's spells.

In terms of Defensive Magical Artifacts, Li Zhirui didn't choose the Ancient Vine Shield with the strongest defense but instead opted for the Water Cloud Spirit Bead.

Its defensive power wasn't as good as the Ancient Vine Shield, but it could summon a large amount of water clouds to shelter Li Zhirui entirely.

The total cost for these two second-tier superior-grade Magic Artifacts was more than eleven thousand Spirit Stones. After settling the bill, Li Zhirui had fewer than two thousand Spirit Stones left, so he didn't continue to wander around the Marketplace.

On his way back to Da Rong Island, Li Zhirui began to refine the Magic Artifacts, hoping to quickly reach the point where he could use both artifacts as if they were extensions of his own limbs.

----

In the mountains, the passage of time was unnoticed, and in the blink of an eye, another month had passed.

"Condense!"

Li Zhirui looked at the Green Jade Furnace in front of him, his fingers flew as he struck out one spell after another. The essences inside the furnace began to solidify, some successfully coalescing while others dissipated and merged back into the Spirit Water.

In less than the time it takes to brew a pot of tea, strands of fresh grass scent wafted from the Pill Furnace, invigorating the spirit. Li Zhirui lifted the lid of the furnace joyously, watching the three Hundred Herbs Pills floating in the water.

"I've finally succeeded!" Li Zhirui couldn't hide the excitement in his expression.

He had spent who knows how much time, how many Spirit Stones, and lost countless hairs trying to create the Hundred Herbs Pill, and now he had finally succeeded!

Although as a unique Spirit Pill of Medicine King Valley, Li Zhirui didn't dare to sell the Hundred Herbs Pill openly, at least not within the territory of Yunping State. Nevertheless, it could be used to boost the cultivation speed for himself and a few other members of the family who were at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

After all, no matter how good the Consolidating Yuan Pill was, one couldn't keep taking only that kind of Spirit Pill forever. Moreover, the cost of producing Hundred Herbs Pills was lower, saving him many Spirit Stones.

"First, enhance the success rate of producing Hundred Herbs Pill, then further improve its medicinal efficacy and reduce the pill toxicity."

In order to quickly produce Hundred Herbs Pills, Li Zhirui had only used the most basic four Alchemy spells; he hadn't employed the Pill Condensation Scripture or the Nurturing Pill Skill.

Just as Li Zhirui was preparing to redouble his efforts and refine several more batches of Hundred Herbs Pill, the family Jade Token at his waist suddenly lit up.

Moreover, this time it was flashing red, signifying that all the clan members who received the notification must gather at the main hall.

"What big event has occurred?" Li Zhirui frowned; even when he acted as the Acting Clan Leader, he had rarely used this emergency summons.

After a hasty tidy up of the Alchemy Room, Li Zhirui hurried towards the main hall. As soon as he stepped inside, he found that all the Elders of the family, including Li Shilian and Li Shiting, had already arrived!