Chapter 16: Celestial Dao Foundation Establishment Pill

Su Han's attitude toward Miss Feng was neither warm nor cold; he treated her exactly as he would any new acquaintance.

He wasn't the protagonist of some harem stallion novel, fated to fall in love with every beautiful woman he met.

Besides, no matter how beautiful a girl was, she wouldn't be to his liking if she wasn't his type.

And figuring out if someone was his type required getting to know them over a long period.

'Of course... a pretty face and a great body are the prerequisites for me to want to get to know a girl on a deeper level.'

And as it happened... Miss Feng had more than enough capital in both those departments, so Su Han didn't mind the idea of getting to know her.

At Su Muyan's insistence, Su Han spent two days showing the two women around Lingzhou City.

On the third day, the pair left right after breakfast. For once, Su Muyan didn't drag Su Han along with them.

Su Han was more than happy not to have to act as their escort.

It wasn't that he was against spending time with a beautiful woman—especially one as stunning as Miss Feng.

But compared to going shopping with a pretty girl, he had more important things on his mind right now.

The moment his sister and Miss Feng were out the door, Su Han rushed off to find his mother, the Princess Consort.

Earth of the Four Extremes, Five Elements Essence, Yin-Yang Dual Flames.

Su Muyan had given these items to the Princess Consort the very first day she arrived at Prince Jing's Residence.

Since no one knew what these things were for, and they had sat in the imperial palace for over a thousand years without anyone discovering their value, Her Highness the Eldest Princess had only brought them along as a casual favor, not giving the matter a second thought.

When he received the Earth of the Four Extremes, the Five Elements Essence, and the Copper Vessel that sealed the Yin-Yang Dual Flames, Su Han felt the blood in his veins thrum with excitement.

Once he had the items, Su Han had planned to simply go into seclusion for a day and complete the monumental task of Foundation Establishment.

However, upon hearing that Su Han intended to begin his Foundation Establishment immediately, the Princess Consort put her foot down and made him stay.

Not only did she insist that Su Han use her private training chamber for his seclusion, but the Princess Consort also roped in Prince Jing—who, while not always dependable, was undeniably powerful—to stand guard outside and protect Su Han.

Inside the sealed training chamber, Su Han laid out four small packets, five jade vials, and one Copper Vessel on the table before him.

He opened all the packages except for the Copper Vessel, identifying each item according to the memories passed down from his ancestors.

The Four Extremes are also known as the Four Symbols, representing the attributes of earth, wind, water, and fire. The Earth of the Four Extremes consisted of Wind-infused Earth, containing the pure element of wind; Water-infused Earth, containing the pure element of water; Fire-infused Earth, containing the pure element of fire; and... a pure Earth element, free of any impurities.

The Five Elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

The Five Elements Essence were the Metal Essence, Wood Essence, Sunflower Water Essence, Fire Essence, and Earth Essence, respectively.

After identifying the Earth of the Four Extremes and the Five Elements Essence, Su Han's gaze fell upon the quaint, ancient-looking Copper Vessel. Faint, unidentifiable patterns seemed to shimmer across its surface, and his expression grew solemn.

His ancestor had only left behind instructions on how to use the Earth of the Four Extremes and the Five Elements Essence. But regarding the Yin-Yang Dual Flames, the ancestral memories contained a grave warning: 'Under no circumstances should the Yin-Yang Dual Flames be removed from the Copper Vessel.'

Su Han had no idea why the Yin-Yang Dual Flames couldn't be removed from the Copper Vessel. Of course, being an obedient descendant, he had no intention of defying his ancestor.

'When someone gives you a solemn warning not to do something, you don't go courting death just to satisfy your curiosity.'

'Curiosity killed more than just Schrödinger's cat.'

With the reverence of a pilgrim, Su Han carefully opened the lid of the Copper Vessel.

The moment the lid was lifted, two flames—one gray, one white—ignited within the Copper Vessel.

Though both were flames, and though their yin and yang attributes should have clashed, they burned together in the Copper Vessel without the slightest hint of discord. They didn't seem like opposing forces at all. Instead, they were like inseparable newlyweds, exuding a sense of profound harmony.

After opening the lid, Su Han made no attempt to remove the Yin-Yang Dual Flames from the Copper Vessel.

His preparations complete, Su Han reached for the jade box, ready to follow his ancestor's method and begin his legendary one-day Foundation Establishment.

But...

Before his hand could touch the jade box, a strange, absurd thought suddenly surfaced from the depths of his mind, causing his outstretched hand to freeze in place.

The moment he reached out, a voice in his mind seemed to tell him: 'These things before you... they can be used for Alchemy.'

The thought came out of nowhere and made no sense, yet Su Han had the distinct, unshakable feeling that it was true.

'Alchemy?'

'These materials I'm supposed to use for my Foundation Establishment... can be used for Alchemy?'

Looking at the ample materials on the table, Su Han couldn't help but hesitate.

'Should I... give it a try?'

'It costs nothing to try, anyway. If it's just my imagination, my Alchemy Skill won't just blindly waste materials trying to refine a non-existent elixir from a faulty recipe.'

Comforting himself with this thought, Su Han made up his mind.

"Alchemy."

He sent out the mental command, staring intently at the Foundation Establishment materials on the table. After a few minutes, nothing happened.

'So... it was just my imagination?'

Unwilling to give up, Su Han tried again.

"Refine Foundation Establishment Pill."

'Well, I don't know the actual name, but since it's an Elixir made from Foundation Establishment materials, it should be something like a 'Foundation Establishment Pill', right?'

And yet...

After several minutes, the materials on the table remained inert.

'So it really was just my imagination!'

'I must have gone crazy from all the Alchemy I've been doing lately, to look at Foundation Establishment materials and think they could be used to refine an Elixir.'

'Heh. Nice try, but you're not fooling me.'

'There's no way I'm refining an Elixir with these. I, Su Han, am not insane enough to fantasize about using Foundation Establishment materials for Alchemy.'

"Refine Celestial Dao Foundation Establishment Pill."

Just as he was about to prepare the Earth of the Four Extremes to begin his Foundation Establishment, his mind slipped, and he accidentally sent out one last thought.

And then...

"SWISH!"

A white light flashed. A portion of the Earth of the Four Extremes from the jade box and the Five Elements Essence from the jade vials vanished. Even the Yin-Yang Dual Flames in the Copper Vessel dimmed slightly.

As these changes occurred, twelve milky-white, crystalline elixirs appeared on the table in front of Su Han. They emitted a faint glow, each one bearing three evenly spaced Pill Patterns.

The Celestial Dao Foundation Establishment Pill—a two-star, Super Grade elixir with three Pill Patterns—had been successfully refined.