Rise of the Alchemy God

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In these five years inside the minor dimension, Ethan had accomplished many things.

From advancing his cultivation base to enhancing his skills, alchemical recipes, items, and more.

During all this time, he hardly ever took a break, as when he cultivated to consolidate the acquired Qi and begin the crystallization process, he would also recover from physical fatigue.

He constantly kept himself busy, wanting to make the best use of the time he had at his disposal.

After the first two years of cultivation, he had to stop his pill-making routine, as they no longer provided him with the same benefits, as he could not accumulate any more Qi until he broke through his current stage.

And to break through, he needed the cocoon of light to hatch, which took another three years.

During these three years, while the cocoon absorbed part of his Qi, he focused on enhancing some of his abilities.

Normally, Ethan would be much more selective about where to spend his system points, but the amount he earned during these two years was not small.

It's enough to say that he managed to save up more than 1,350 SP per day if he refined constantly for five hours a day.

Multiplied by the two years of following this routine, the amount he had accumulated was around 950,000 SP, an exorbitant amount, even for him.

Seeing this number, Ethan was filled with joy, but it didn't last long.

When he finally started upgrading his skill recipes and saw their escalating costs, he was shocked by the ever-increasing prices.

A level 2 recipe of perfect grade cost a whopping 10,000 SP.

A level 3 recipe of low grade cost 5,000, likely lower because it was of a lower grade within that level.

But that didn't last long either.

The price for mid-grade went back up to 10,000 SP.

Then came exactly what Ethan had feared:

the price for a high-grade level 3 recipe was a staggering 100,000 SP.

Although he hesitated, he bought it.

He wanted to see if this rule of multiplying by ten would continue at higher levels, and unfortunately for him, it did.

The price for a level 3 recipe of perfect grade was 1,000,000 SP.

Seeing all those zeros lined up, Ethan nearly had a heart attack.

One million.

That was the price for just the perfect grade of a level 3 recipe.

This amount was almost the equivalent of two full years of effort.

Ethan didn't even want to think about how much a level 4 recipe would cost.

He was already happy with what he had, and for now, high grade was enough.

Especially because, with his current alchemical abilities, he wouldn't be able to easily refine pills beyond level 2.

He had tried, and the result was exactly what he had expected.

It was the same situation as when he had first obtained the level 2 recipe but couldn't refine them as easily as he had with level 1 recipes.

On this note, Ethan discovered that it was also possible to upgrade his alchemical abilities to the next stage, but when he saw the price, it stung his heart a little.

[Price: 50,000 SP]

Though reluctant, he decided to spend that amount of system points.

He already had the level 3 recipes, so it made sense to elevate his abilities to that level.

Now Ethan could be considered at the same level as a two-star alchemy master.

If the outside world knew there was such a young alchemy master, it would cause an uproar throughout the kingdom.

In the end, with his various purchases, his SP, which had once been 950K, was now just over 600K.

This was without a doubt the most expensive expense he had ever made, but even he knew it was worth it.

He hadn't upgraded all of his recipes to level 3.

Only the basic recovery recipe, which was also the most advanced one he had.

The others, after reaching level 2 perfect grade, were not upgraded further.

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It was pointless to do so, as it would have been just a waste of SP.

He had decided to bring at least 10 recipes to this level mainly because he could then register them in the system's laboratory, allowing him to produce them up to this level using the system.

He discovered that up to level 1, this was possible, but for higher levels, he had to personally refine 10 of each at perfect grade for that level.

So, he decided to choose the 10 most important recipes and upgrade them to perfect grade, stopping at high grade for the others.

There was no need to go further; after all, it wasn't a small number, and it would have cost too many unnecessary SP.

Ethan's improvements ranged from his alchemical abilities to his physical skills.

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[------------------------------

Name: Ethan

Cultivation: Dantian Expansion (Level 10)

Qi: 100,000/100,000

Physique: Heavenly Body of the Sacred Flames

Strength: 246 --> 341

Agility: 231 --> 335

Intelligence: 207 --> 304

Soul Strength: 150 --> 168

[Shop]

[Storage]

[System Points]: 585.130

-------------------------------]

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Even his spiritual artifact did not stay at the same level and increased in grade.

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[----------------------------

[Gold Cauldron]

Name: Gold Cauldron

Grade: High-Grade Spiritual Artifact

Description: An ancient artifact, corroded by the passage of time, that has begun to reveal its former splendor.

Perfect for refining more demanding pills, and thanks to its high durability, it can also serve as a good shield.

Ability: Size Shifter

Requirements for the upgrade:

- Refine 10 Level 2 perfect-grade pills (10/10)

- Refine 1000 Level 3 low-grade pills (1000/1000)

- Refine 100 Level 3 mid-grade pills (100/100)

- Refine 10 Level 3 high-grade pills (10/10)

- Refine 1 Level 3 perfect-grade pill (0/1)

-----------------------------]

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It had gone from being a shiny bronze cauldron to a golden one, with its entire surface now covered in all sorts of inscriptions and symbols.

The more the cauldron increased in grade, the more it resembled the amphora of the Seven Sages.

Ethan had already completed most of the requirements for its upgrade to the next grade, but one was still missing.

And that was none other than producing at least one level 3 perfect-grade pill, which meant spending 1 million system points.

He lacked that sum, but even if he had it, he wouldn't spend all that money right now.

It would simply be too excessive a spending, even for him.

Even at this grade, the cauldron could rival any cauldron out there.

Ethan didn't know the grade of the cauldrons used by grandmasters, but judging by the ones used by master alchemists, he could get an idea, and he was sure his cauldron wouldn't lose to theirs.

The cauldron had also become much heavier, and even with his strength at the peak of the third stage, he had to admit it was quite a struggle to move it.

He definitely wouldn't be able to use it as a weapon easily, but given its increasing hardness, it should be sufficient as a shield.

Ethan had significantly increased his strength in these five years, and he still had another 20 years in this place.

If all went well, by the end of those 20 years, he would have reached the peak of the fourth stage, and perhaps even surpassed it.

Just like in the previous times, after he had assimilated Zhong Hei's soul into his Dantian, the system suggested an advancement.

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[------------------------

It's possible to break through to the Soul Cultivation stage.

Do you wish to proceed?

[Y/N]

Price: 10,000 SP

-------------------------]

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Ethan, opening the screen, stared at it for a few seconds.

Taking a deep breath, he calmed his mind and proceeded to press "Yes."

The process of advancing to the next stage began.

At this stage, the cultivator had to deepen the bond with their spiritual beast until, in the end, the two would completely merge.

He had no idea what to do at first, so he left everything in the hands of the system, just like he had done with the previous cultivation stages.

Immediately after the process started, Ethan felt fluctuations coming from his Dantian.

He thought the advancement process would start from there, and he was right.

In his Dantian, in that space with the now-dim luminous sphere that was once radiant, it began to react to the fluctuations of Qi converging in the Dantian.

Little by little, it started to glow again, and around it, a bluish-green mist began to accumulate.

The surrounding mist was slowly drawn toward the sphere, and once it arrived, it gathered around the sphere, forming a thin ring of energy, far from the one Ethan had seen long ago.

The ring of energy condensed more and more as the surrounding cloud accumulated in it.

At a certain point, it stopped absorbing the cloud, and a slight change could be noticed in it.

The ring had begun to move.

Although slowly, the rotating movement that the previous ring of light had returned, and as it moved, light electrical discharges emanated into the surrounding area.

Soon after this phenomenon occurred in his Dantian, Ethan felt a tingling sensation coming from all the meridians in his body, receiving a sudden surge of energy.

Gradually, the heat in them increased, and some of them could be seen burning, only to regrow afterward.

"Argh!"

This process, just having started, brought Ethan sudden and immense pain, and he had to do everything he could to keep his mind stable as he endured the advancement process.