I looked over the pad before signing it. A devil never signs anything without reading it. The pad said did I acknowledge I had received the package. I signed it and took the box into my quarters.
All the herbs I needed to become an Orchid Alchemist were before me. I put them into my storage bag and then hopped back into my bed. Tonight I'll go back and start practicing alchemy. Today, let's just get a good rest so my mind is fresh.
I woke up that evening feeling refresh. Sleeping in such a comfortable bed had done wonders for my state of mind. It was now nighttime, I planned to get a lot done in the alchemy lab tonight. Before I headed to the alchemy lab I looked over the information in 'Alchemy of the Lost Ones'.
Every pill, potion, or way you deliver your drugs starts with the pill core. There are 9 distinct branches of pill cores, almost all pill cores you will ever form fit into these branches in one way or another. Mastering crafting within these branches is the easiest way for an Alchemist to advance in the ranks of Alchemy. The branches are as follows: healing, enhancement, offensive, defensive, cultivation enlightenment, cultivation a.s.sistance, cultivation recovery, longevity, and ability granting.
Healing pill cores are pill cores used for healing the user, whether it be from ailment, injury, or poison. Dozove is a core ingredient to craft a Tier-1 healing pill core.
Enhancement pill cores are pill cores used for enhancing the abilities of the user, whether it be increasing the users speed, strength, or intellect. Uccu Spore is a core ingredient to craft a Tier-1 enhancement pill core.
Offensive pill cores are pill cores used for launching offensive attacks. Whether it be from poison, singular attacks, or area effect attacks. Eramom is a core ingredient to craft a Tier-1 offensive pill core.
Defensive pill cores are pill cores used for granting additional defenses to the user, whether it be a defensive shield, a defensive armor, or strengthening the body of the user. Poqeafras is a core ingredient to craft a Tier-1 defensive pill core.
Cultivation enlightenment pill cores are pill cores used for granting Dao enlightenment to the user, whether it be enlightenment in a new Dao or a Dao the user already knows. Thorn Ivy is a core ingredient to craft a Tier-1 cultivation enlightenment pill core.
Cultivation a.s.sistance pill cores are pill cores used for granting help to the speed in which one can cultivate, whether it be breakthrough pill cores, level-up pill cores, heart demon warding pill cores, or cultivation speed-increasing pill cores. Pida Root is a core ingredient to craft a Tier-1 cultivation a.s.sistance pill core.
Cultivation recovery pill cores are pill cores used for granting recovery to a cultivator's qi or essence, whether it be quick recovery or over-time. Mellow Petal is a core ingredient to craft a Tier-1 cultivation recovery pill core.
Longevity pill cores are pill cores used for granting increased longevity to the user. This is self explanatory, any pill core that grants an increase in life is under the longevity branch. Emerald Sorrel is a core ingredient to craft a Tier-1 longevity pill core.
Ability granting pill cores are pill cores used for granting abilities to the user. Whether it be invisibility, night vision, fire breathing, or any ability you can think of. These pill cores are usually onetime use, but some ability granting pill cores can grant permanent abilities.
The most difficult to craft pill cores are cultivation enlightenment and longevity. At Tier-1 you might not notice any difference, but as you move up the ranks of alchemy, you will notice a stark increase in difficulty in crafting these specific pill cores. It's no secret that these are central things to making a cultivator more powerful, so crafting the corresponding pill core becomes tedious.
The best-selling pill cores are healing pill cores and cultivation a.s.sistance pill cores. Granting someone a second life or increasing the speed at which someone can cultivate are both consumable potions that are needed in high quant.i.ties. The level-up pill core is one of the greatest a.s.sets to any alchemist, these pill-cores can unequivocally grant one minor-cultivation level in every Tier of cultivation. It ranks just below longevity and cultivation enlightenment pill cores in crafting difficulty.
I separate cultivation recovery and cultivation a.s.sistance for a principled reason. Though they are usually used in tandem to increase the speed at which someone may cultivate. We cannot use pill cores under the branch of cultivation a.s.sistance in battle. So it's proper to separate the two. Some alchemy schools of thought consider them one branch however after my many years of practice I think it's proper to separate them.
The most varied pill core would be the ability granting pill cores. Since there are so many types of abilities that can be granted it really is almost a separate alchemy system in itself. Some pill cores within this branch are even more difficult to craft than enlightenment and longevity pill cores, especially ones that grant permanent abilities.
This branch is usually a black hole of resources as even if you find a new pill core to form in this branch it's hard to market. New alchemists should avoid this branch for this very reason, only when you are seeking enlightenment for a breakthrough in your Alchemy Dao should you travel down this rabbit hole.
Offensive and defensive pill cores are useful, but they are usually not as useful as a corresponding treasure that can be used multiple times. Although some poisons are helpful in a.s.sa.s.sination, you don't want to be known as a poison alchemist. If someone dies mysteriously, you will be the first one questioned. Most alchemists practice these in secret for their own hidden cards, not introducing these pills to market. Just like the ability granting pill cores, do not travel down these branches until you establish yourself within your craft.
Enhancement is a whole different ball game, certain pills such as the berserker pill are useful to cultivators and can be used in tandem with powerful treasures. Making it an additional life-saving measure for cultivators. They aren't as marketable as the best-selling pill cores listed above, however. No single cultivator needs a stack of 100 berserker pills. So although they can sell, it's not worth it unless you have an established alchemy shop as supplemental sales.
The best path for a new alchemist is to master cultivation a.s.sistance, cultivation recovery, and healing. While you are having troubles with advancing your Dao dabble in longevity and ability granting. Cultivation enlightenment pills are great boons, but you can't enlighten someone on a Dao you don't know. So an alchemist can't consume their own cultivation enlightenment pills to strengthen themselves.
The most important thing for an Alchemist is to ensure their cultivation increases at a study speed. With the pills and potions we can craft, this becomes second nature to us. Because Alchemy is such a broad field, some alchemists get lost in their research forgetting what matters most, their own cultivation.
I've gotten lost before in my research losing years of valuable cultivation time, but it's imperative that you stay the course with your cultivation. Master the path of crafting cultivation a.s.sistance, cultivation recovery, and healing pill cores and your coffers will overflow, while your cultivation rises like a soaring eagle.
I closed the book and felt the author was right in his theories. Although I had not started practicing alchemy yet, I knew it would be a complicated profession. With blacksmithing, crafting every type of weapon was different. I had truly never become a master blacksmith or a grandmaster blacksmith.
Though I crafted Destiny, it was a one-off master crafting which was hard for me to emulate. These t.i.tles were for blacksmiths that could craft weapons above their tier or two steps above their tier consistently. My grandfather was a grandmaster blacksmith, able to craft weapons two tiers above himself. He was a Count, but able to craft Duke Weapons. I did not understand how the old fogey did it, but he had really dived deep into the Blacksmith Dao.
Past grandmaster there was the fabled challenger in a profession. Challengers were heaven-defying, bold enough to challenge even the heavens with their talents. They could craft things a full three tiers above themselves! I had read a story about one ax-crafting gnome named Tyler who would constantly fight for Challenger, though he would often find himself not even a master of his craft. His toxicity would always hold him back. Battling the heavens with your talents was not a simple matter.
It went back to what my Devil Ancestor told me when I first began learning Dao, to be a master of something you had to focus on one thing. Pouring your heart and soul into one profession leads to greater heights than separating your attention into multiple ones. I am talented and able to learn Daos at a quick pace, my hubris has gotten the better of me. To become an Indigo Alchemist, I would have to have enlightenment in Alchemy Dao to reach the master rank or breakthrough to Viscount within five years.
Both paths have their strengths and weaknesses if I pursue them. If I work on attempting to break through to Viscount, it would consume a lot of my time, and I don't even know if I would be successful. This leaves me much less time to learn the Alchemy Dao because even if I was a Viscount learning the Alchemy Dao would not become much easier. However, if I focus on learning the Alchemy Dao, there's a chance I never reach the master rank with it.
I don't have enough information to make this decision now. I need to learn alchemy first to see how proficient I am at improving at it. After a year of diligently practicing alchemy, I will reevaluate my path. Enough with the idle thought. To the alchemy lab!
After getting an understanding of what to work on, I finally exited my comfortable quarters and headed to the alchemy lab. I would work with Pida Root to start, to learn to craft a Tier-1 cultivation a.s.sistance pill core. I had to be economical in my crafting by learning what was valuable first, or I would quickly run out of phallic points and be served on a platter by the Satyr.
When I got to the alchemy lab, I found a troll working with 'The Champ'. He was large around 9-feet tall with putrid green skin. He was shirtless wearing a loincloth, with long flowing locks draped across his back. The d.a.m.ned troll had taken my prized furnace. I eyed him with fury!
"Hey mon, this is mi furnace. Don't cha be having any ideas about it, mon," said the troll as his toxic skin boiled and bubbled.
