Chapter 139: The Immortality of Refuse Pills, Supreme Terrestrial Fiend

“A talented alchemist.”

The man in the gray robe examined the vats of pills in the courtyard, furrowing his brow. Without hesitation, he leisurely remarked.

Zuo stood silently nearby, allowing the group to enter, look around, and handle the items in the courtyard as they pleased.

There was nothing else in the courtyard: just over a dozen vats of failed pills, a single alchemical furnace, and a neatly tended vegetable patch—nothing more.

They refrained from venturing further into the house.

“Matters of state are urgent; I hope the master will understand. Might you accompany us on a journey?” Though he spoke politely, his subordinates were already closing in around Zuo as he spoke.

“...”

Zuo did not respond, merely casting him a faint glance.

Just as the man in gray grew irritated by the silence, he suddenly felt his vision blur—and then...

Everything vanished.

The man disappeared, the alchemical furnace vanished, the walls and the house were gone, along with the vegetable patch and the neatly paved tiles.

Only the dozen or so vats of pickled vegetables filled with pills remained.

“This, this, this...”

Without diving into how Zuo became a legend whispered in the streets, it suffices to say that those vats of failed pills he left behind were later carried off by others who sought to trace Zuo’s origins through them. Unfortunately, they investigated the wrong person and eventually sealed all information related to Zuo, afraid to probe further.

Of course, this earned him a nickname—the “Failed Pill Immortal.”

“Failed Pill Immortal?” Zuo was speechless upon hearing this nickname.

Indeed, the pills he left behind were nothing special—genuinely failed concoctions.

So Zuo could only sigh in resignation and say it was his own doing.

Yet he did not give up. He moved to another place and continued refining pills.

As for why the government was recruiting alchemists from among the people, the main reason was that the Shuguo Kingdom had been conserving its strength for a long time and was now ready to emerge from isolation.

At the same time, internal conflicts had resumed within the country, forcing them to divert tensions outward, hence the western expansion.

Alchemy was meant to stockpile resources, producing various pills to be used during large-scale military campaigns.

Zuo’s new location was not a bustling city but the seaside.

He moved his house and courtyard directly to the coast.

Facing the vast ocean, he resumed his alchemical work.

Alchemy was a craft requiring skill and focus. Initially, he sought quiet amid the noise and achieved modest results, so he found a secluded spot to concentrate solely on his work.

Though hurried, this was only half a year in the microcosm of the pocket world, equivalent to about seven days in the primordial wilderness.

The seven days in the primordial wilderness saw little change, except that the Hot Witch Tribe’s allocation of equipment had decreased. Reports from the Hot Witch Tribe indicated the front lines were no longer critical, so equipment production could be temporarily reduced.

Stockpiles of Fire-Extinguishing Arrows were already piling up in the Hot Witch Tribe’s warehouses.

However, the missing Hot Witch chieftain had not returned but sent a letter instead, congratulating Zuo on breaking through to True Immortal and thanking him for his efforts in the recent war against the undead sorcerers.

Additionally, he presented Zuo with a superior Earth Fiend Pill, specially gathered upon hearing of Zuo’s keen interest in the Sea Elder’s alchemy.

There was also news about himself: having endured many battles and struggles against the witch tribes, he had now advanced to the Witch Sacrificial Realm.

This was excellent news for both Zuo and the Hot Witch Tribe.

After all, a small tribe gaining a Witch Sacrificer promised rapid development. In a few million years, producing several more Sacrificers and another Earth Witch could elevate them to a medium-sized tribe…

Though growth was uncertain, since the missing chieftain belonged to the Moon Witch Tribe, he might be recalled by them, after which someone else would be appointed as chieftain of the Hot Witch Tribe or chosen from within.

Many possibilities existed, and Zuo could not be sure of any single one. He could only prepare countermeasures accordingly.

Fortunately, the “Cavemen” of today were no longer the fragile clan that once suffered whenever a god engaged in a fight.

They were prepared to face a grander era and a more treacherous environment.

Though natural disasters in the primordial wilderness still posed challenges, the greater threats now came from conflicts between sorcerers and undead, as well as other celestial beings.

Zuo took the Earth Fiend Pill and began to dissect its alchemical properties.

He could not analyze the method used to create this Earth Fiend Pill—he only managed to extract the outer layer of Ninefold Earth Fire alchemy. The inner pill ingredients were difficult to trace, as many components had undergone radical transformation during refinement—like turning stone into gold, or fire into water. Under such methods, how could Zuo identify their original nature?

Yet Zuo had the time and the perseverance.

After setting numerous talismans and celestial spells, he placed the Earth Fiend Pill safely within the pocket world’s human realm.

Otherwise, there was fear it might harm living beings in the mortal world.

An outbreak of a biochemical disaster would cause species extinction without Zuo needing to lift a finger.

“Could the raw material for this Earth Fiend Pill be uranium?” Zuo speculated, drawing on the limited scientific knowledge from his past life.

After all, the last time he saw the elder of the Hot Witch Tribe, a meal was made with such materials, and the Sea Elder’s alchemy likely coincided with this.

Zuo had once collected uranium, a metal element, from deep within the earth, albeit sparingly, requiring access to deep ley veins.

Some ley veins might not even contain it.

But according to tales told during drunken banter with the Sea Elder, some mystic immortals possessed the ability to alter the fundamental nature of matter, truly transmuting stone into gold.

With such power, they could convert entire ley veins into uranium deposits.

Hearing of such abilities, Zuo was astonished, considering how prosperous one could become with such talent.

Though envious, Zuo believed his own method of manipulating destiny might someday reach similar heights.

Once refined into an immortal art, perhaps he could achieve the same.

However, his calculations with seventy-two spiritual brains suggested that a first-rank immortal art might not suffice—he might need a second-rank art to accomplish this.

Now, by the sea, Zuo repeatedly applied his manipulation of destiny technique to the Earth Fiend Pill, using his seventy-two spiritual brains to simulate its structure.

In the end, no conclusive result emerged.

Instead, the entire coastline suffered contamination.

Seeing this, Zuo promptly dissipated the polluted Earth Fiend aura, dispersing it into the ocean as pure spiritual energy.

Eighteen years passed in repeated experiments—eighteen years in the pocket world, half a year in the primordial wilderness.

After this extensive time investment, Zuo finally deciphered the method to refine the Earth Fiend Pill.

Due to family matters causing delays, I began to suspect my bursts of updates might be jinxed—whenever I want to flood new chapters, something always happens.