Chapter 100: Diversifying the Mind

The Divine Lake Immortal Sect functioned like a massive conglomerate, dispersing countless resources across all three kingdoms for cultivation. The taxation duties of each kingdom’s royal family were to collect these resources on behalf of the sect. Blackwood Village, where Chen Luo and his companions settled, was one such village within this vast framework, with its inhabitants serving the colossal entity that is the Divine Lake Immortal Sect, akin to ants working tirelessly.

The true rulers of the three kingdoms were seasoned disciples who had descended from the Divine Lake Immortal Sect. If Chen Luo indeed became an Inner Sect disciple, none of them would dare offend him, a recognized genius, over mundane worldly interests.

“I can provide you with a mark,” Chen Luo said after a moment of contemplation.

“But how long it lasts will depend on your sincerity.”

Having experienced multiple furnace explosions, he was now destitute. With someone willingly offering assistance at his doorstep, there was no way he could turn them away.

As for the potential trouble from the Fu An clan, Chen Luo saw it as inconsequential. As long as he remained under the protection of the Divine Lake Immortal Sect, such imminent issues would not arise. Those outside might be greedy, but they weren’t foolish.

Seeing Chen Luo nod in agreement, Fu An sighed with relief. If negotiations had failed here, his only option would have been to approach Elder Sister Huang Ying.

He retrieved a bag of holding from his robes and gently swiped his hand across its opening.

A four-meter-long skeleton materialized within the room.

“This is the skeleton of a Qi Refinement stage Tiger Beast King. Although the most valuable beast blood has already been drained, the tiger’s bones still hold considerable worth. At auction in the market, if lucky, it could fetch around five hundred spirit stones.” Despite having made up his mind earlier, Fu An couldn’t help feeling somewhat reluctant as he presented the item.

Five hundred spirit stones was no small sum.

“A beast skeleton?” Chen Luo’s gaze swept over the skeleton, momentarily flickering when he noticed the intact skull on the tiger’s frame.

Previously, he had only encountered humanoid skulls; this was his first time seeing one from a beast.

‘I wonder if I can extract anything from it.’

Unfortunately, there was no essence blood left; otherwise, attempting extraction might have allowed him to utilize ancient techniques and directly advance to the ninth layer of Qi Refinement! Of course, this was merely wishful thinking. According to the mummified brain’s knowledge, creatures without even a beast core were considered mere wild beasts.

“My father and his men paid a high price to hunt down this tiger demon,” Fu An explained briefly. “Although it was only at the Qi Refinement stage, seven retainers from our royal household were killed in the process, and my father’s injuries also resulted from that battle.”

In the territories of the three kingdoms, wild demonic beasts had nearly vanished completely. The ones encountered outside typically fell into two categories: those with owners and those too formidable to confront.

Coming across a Qi Refinement stage tiger demon was sheer luck. Fu An’s family had already sold the valuable flesh and organs from the beast, and they were even prepared to sell its skeleton before Fu An made a last-minute decision to offer it to Chen Luo instead.

“Can’t purchasing a demon beast’s bones for five hundred spirit stones grant Inner Sect disciple status?” Chen Luo asked curiously.

He wondered how exactly the sect sold Inner Sect disciple positions. Such a highly profitable business seemed ripe for expansion once he ascended to a higher position within the hierarchy. It would be practically printing money!

“An Inner Sect position on Wu Dao Peak costs three thousand spirit stones, with adjustments based on individual aptitude,” Fu An said bitterly.

He had been saving up for some time to purchase his status, but after they learned about his aptitude, the price increased by another two thousand on top of the initial three thousand. This final surge proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, shattering his plans to acquire Inner Sect disciple status altogether.

“All right, I’ll take this tiger skeleton.”

With a wave of Chen Luo’s hand, he channeled spiritual energy and stored the Tiger King’s bones in his bag of holding. Then, he duplicated the aura from his identity token and transferred it to Fu An.

This aura would remain valid for three years. Afterward, if Fu An wished to continue using it, there would be an additional cost!

“Many thanks, Shixiong.” Fu An accepted the token, visibly relieved.

With this, he could now safely return home.

As for what happens after three years, well, solutions can always be found then. He couldn’t believe all his brothers in the royal family were equally inept; if indeed they were, renewing the status wouldn’t matter. A clan without any cultivators simply loses its entitlement to noble privileges.

Chen Luo closed the door behind him.

Relieved, Chen Luo sat down and retrieved the demon beast’s tiger king bone from his bag of holding.

‘Upon contact with deceased creature’s brainwaves, Degradation Rate 99%. Read now?’

It actually worked!

Chen Luo promptly chose to read it, feeling a surge of entirely different brainwaves flood his mind. With his body already hosting one hundred twenty external brains, he instantly reached his limit, causing blood to trickle from his nose. However, this time, it wasn’t truly beyond his capacity. After a brief moment of dizziness, he managed to endure.

“The strength of these brainwaves is significantly lower than that of cultivators.”

Regaining his composure, Chen Luo began carefully discerning the differences between the two sets of brainwaves.

The tiger demon’s signals were noticeably weaker, despite being at the Qi Refinement stage, far inferior compared to a cultivator of similar level.

He attempted to access the tiger demon’s brain.

‘Body too weak, unable to hunt.’

A faint consciousness transmitted, slightly surprising Chen Luo. Upon closer inspection, he discovered numerous fragmented pieces of knowledge added to his mind.

Mostly, they comprised methods for absorbing spiritual energy to strengthen limbs and claws, even including techniques for tail usage.

From a different perspective, new information emerged.

“This can be considered a fresh discovery.”

Composing himself, Chen Luo carefully stored away the Tiger King’s demonic bone, planning to check tomorrow if Junior Sister Huang Ying had completed her seclusion. If so, he would ask her to assist in selling it.

Since his mind had already extracted its essence, the demonic bone held little further use for him.

His attention returned to the pill furnace.

He decided to start a new batch as an experiment, with two external brains diligently studying the pill formulas obtained from Du Jian.

Multiple brains working simultaneously did not hinder his focus or affect the pill concoction process.

After sitting down, Chen Luo performed a hand seal, causing the pill furnace to spin and rise, its lid automatically opening. This technique was mastered through extensive experimentation and intuition gained by the external brains.

“The black grass is toxic; consuming too much causes diarrhea, but just two bites can enhance strength slightly.”

As his palm touched the packet of herbs, a thought suddenly emerged from the newly acquired tiger demon brain.

This made Chen Luo pause momentarily.

He looked again at the packet of herbs in his hand. These were meticulously selected based on his own research, deemed most likely to yield successful pills. The pharmacological analysis also provided insights into their components, all from a human alchemist’s perspective. However, viewing them from a beast’s standpoint offered a completely different understanding.

From the perspective of the tiger beast, Chen Luo suddenly realized the cause of his previous ‘condensation’ failures.

“Aha!”

He paused, swiftly adjusted the proportion of the black herb in his hand, and recombined the ingredients before placing them back into the pill furnace.

The new viewpoint from the tiger’s brain sparked numerous ideas in Chen Luo’s mind. He envisioned collecting the brains of various herbivorous beasts and those sensitive to fire temperatures, as they could potentially offer alternative insights. This approach could extend beyond pharmacology and temperature control, even reaching into combat techniques. For instance, if he could read the brain of Xianhe Chengfeng—an immortal crane—would it enable him to master the Wind Control Technique perfectly? Additionally, there was the composite Dragonfish within the sect’s Divine Lake Formation.

The overlap in perspectives from Wu Dao Peak disciples alone was too high.

What he needed was diversity!

By assimilating these varied viewpoints into himself, he would become the next generation’s grandmaster alchemist—a versatile arcane cultivator!

“I should visit Beast Control Peak!” Chen Luo had a sudden epiphany.

Fifteen minutes later.

Under Chen Luo’s control, the spirit flame’s temperature gradually stabilized, showcasing a mastery akin to that of an experienced, lifelong alchemist.

The medicinal ingredients had fully dissolved.

Under Chen Luo’s adept control of fire, the liquid within the pill furnace gradually flowed and slowly converged towards its center. Previously, this was the step where his furnaces would explode. However, with the adjustments made by the tiger beast’s brain, he surprisingly navigated through this stage without incident.

After a short while, the surface temperature of the pill furnace rose significantly, turning it a deep shade of red. The liquid inside coalesced into a spherical shape.

Chen Luo began to alter his technique.

The flames beneath the pill furnace transitioned from fierce to gentle, resembling a simmer. This process consumed a substantial amount of his internal spiritual energy.

Pill concoction indeed required immense stamina; there was no denying that statement.

Gradually, the flame’s temperature decreased.

Finally, when the heat completely subsided, the pill furnace descended gently from mid-air to the ground.

Chen Luo exhaled deeply, took a brief moment to rest, and then approached the furnace.

With a wave of his hand, the lid automatically opened, releasing a potent medicinal aroma.

Chen Luo reached inside.

Using his spiritual energy, he swirled the contents of the pill furnace and successfully extracted a pitch-black medicinal pill.

After numerous attempts, he finally managed to produce something other than burnt residue!

“Well, at least it’s a pill.”

Chen Luo held the medicinal pill to his nose and took a whiff, encountering a sharp, pungent scent.

‘Toxic!’ one external brain immediately responded.

‘Causes diarrhea!’ echoed the second external brain.

These were the feedback from two distinct minds: one with extensive pill-concocting experience and the other from the tiger monster.

The result left Chen Luo slightly disappointed. On his first successful attempt, he had created a pill that was unfit for consumption. However, instead of discarding it, he considered its potential from another perspective—it could serve as an excellent laxative. Perhaps someday he could give it to Junior Sister Huang Ying to sell and recover some costs.

Being an alchemist was far more lucrative than being a talisman master.

“The proportions still need adjustment,”

Composing himself, Chen Luo set aside the pill furnace, sat cross-legged, and began replenishing his spiritual energy.

At his current strength, the sixth layer of Qi Refinement, he required rest after each batch of pills. This was merely the basic Qi Nourishing Pill; for more complex medicines, his available spiritual energy would likely be insufficient.

“Let’s examine the pill formula Du Jian Shidi gave me, see if there’s anything useful to learn.”

During this half-day, his two external brains had thoroughly analyzed the pill formula. Now, while recovering his spiritual energy, it was the perfect opportunity to integrate and fully comprehend the knowledge.