This Young Master is not Cannon Fodder

Ding Mian walked into the center, where a giant jade cauldron stood. Around him, many members had arrived, all watching or observing with bated breath. This naturally included Meng Tingfeng. He even sensed a curious and playful gaze from a handsome man surrounded by five beauties.

Nearly a century had passed by since Ding Mian arrived. During this time, he rarely left the Numinous Sword Sect. And when he left, he only visited the Sword Continent and didn’t cross the seas to visit the other islands. Most of the time, he stayed at his residence to concoct pills. Aside from the ones requested by the Numinous Sword Sect, he also concocted many other pills that piqued his interest.

He was very interested in pills like the Sword Will Pill. As the name suggested, anyone who ingested the pill will have a higher chance of developing sword intent. Of course, it’s impossible to directly upgrade to the level of sword intent. It’s more likely that they would awaken sword qi or upgrade to sword light.

It was not without risk either.

Those whose willpower were too weak would have their minds shattered by the powerful concept contained within the pill. Becoming braindead was the best choice. At worst, their souls might collapse because they were unable to withstand it. For those who embarked on the path of the sword, the Sword Will Pill was a good if dangerous tonic, but for those who already awakened other types of intents, it was the most deadly poison.

For analogy, it was like adding water to boiling oil. How can there not be an explosion?

Despite the Sword Will Pill sounding impressive, it was impossible to mass produce. The core ingredient, the Sword Will Leaf, was something grown exclusively by the Numinous Sword Sect, and it cost a sky-high price to purchase. Of course, the number of Sword Will Leaves might be much higher than outsiders think, but the sect had a monopoly, so they could set the price as they liked.

Although the Sword Will Pill was a seventh-rank pill, it could be used by almost anyone, even mortals. The only requirement was a strong will to weather the negative effects. As long as the Numinous Sect wanted to, they could form a powerful force. Even if only one in ten survived, it would be a worthwhile exchange.

However, except for Ding Mian, no one could concoct the Sword Will Pill in the Numinous Sword Sect in thousands of years.

Just like how the Numinous Sword Sect had a monopoly on the Sword Will Leaves, Ding Mian had a monopoly on the Sword Will Pills. This allowed him to have a much deeper and more intimate relationship with many elders of the sect. After all, even if they couldn’t use it, they could give it to their outstanding disciples or descendants.

It was what allowed Ding Mian to become an inner guest elder much earlier than he predicted, saving decades, if not a century of time.

As for the reason why so many people gathered here? It was to see if Ding Mian would succeed in concocting an eighth-rank pill. It wasn’t just any eighth-rank pill, but the Monarch Sublimation Pill.

Although true immortal lords are rare, they are larger in number than immortal monarchs. Logically speaking, so many immortal lords were on the cusp of fully understanding a worldly law and gaining the ability to ascend to a seamless immortal. Yet, most of them would be stuck at this juncture until their death. It didn’t help that, as sword immortals, battles were the most useful for their breakthrough, but in the Numinous Realm, where they reigned for ages, was peaceful.

Ironic that the very thing that would help them wasn’t available because of the sect’s very own presence.

The Monarch Sublimation Pill could help immortal lords comprehend a complete law. While it was only a chance, it increased the likelihood by more than thirty to sixty percent depending on the quality of the pill. Of course, the immortal lord who took the pill also played a role. The more accumulation they have, the greater the chances.

When Ding Mian arrived at the cauldron, he didn’t do anything and sat in a lotus position. He closed his eyes and slowly breathed, adjusting his condition.

None of the people watching were surprised. Even when concocting sixth-rank pills, alchemists like Ding Mian had to maintain their peak condition. One mistake was all it would take to cause the pill to fail.

After a few minutes, Ding Mian opened his eyes and floated until he could see the inside of the cauldron. He waved his hand and an azure flame ignited under the cauldron, and an intense heat radiated off of it.

Many of the people narrowed or widened their eyes when they saw the flame. Flames had levels like cultivation. Although they didn’t know what characteristic the blue-green flame had, they categorized it as a monarch-level flame. Although it was not unheard of for cultivators to control elements beyond their realm, alchemists did not pursue power, but control. For Ding Mian to use a monarch-level flame as an immortal, it spoke volumes of his technique and confidence.

Soon, the cauldron turned from black to blue-green. The air around the cauldron also twisted and deformed from the sheer heat, but Ding Mian watched, like he was oblivious to the blistering heat.

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Then, an unknown and wilted herb appeared in his hand, which he threw into the cauldron. The herb was roasted by the heat, but it didn’t blacken or even wilt. After hours, a greenish drop of liquid was extracted from it. Once the liquid appeared, the herb turned into ash.

Ding Mian continued to drop materials into the cauldron. Sometimes it was a few stalks of grass, other times it was a branch, and sometimes even a bone. This continued for thirty days. As time passed, the number of people didn’t decrease but increased instead.

Finally, on the thirty-first day, a lotus seed appeared in Ding Mian’s hand. The moment it appeared, a fragrant lotus scent filled the air.

This lotus seed was a seed from the Heavenly Law Lotus. Created from the fragment of the Thirty-Six Petaled Azure Lotus, a mortal who ate the Heavenly Law Lotus could transform into an immortal even without cultivating. It was the core ingredient of the Monarch Sublimation Pill.

Ding Mian casually threw the lotus pill into the cauldron, like it was some random object in the world, not some precious, unrenewable resource. A few members of the Numinous Sword Sect even wanted to rush up and grab his head to see if there was something wrong with Ding Mian’s brain. Thankfully, they held back.

The instant the Heavenly Law Lotus Seed reached the center of the cauldron, the heat intensified by over ten times. Ding Mian’s hands flashed through several hand seals nonstop. His actions did not stop even as hours passed.

After three continuous days, Ding Mian’s eyes finally turned serious. Not just him, but the spectators could sense a change in the air.

Countless strands of light exploded from the cauldron. Anyone who gazed at those strands would find their comprehension of worldly laws increase. However, many people frowned.

“Is it still too hard for him?” Meng Tingfeng muttered.

The countless strands were a sign of Ding Mian’s loss of control. The more strands that escaped, the less would be left for the Monarch Sublimation Pill. It might even cause the pill to fail directly, wasting his effort. If he failed, no matter how desperate the Numinous Sword Sect was, they would have to weigh the risk of losing a Heavenly Law Lotus Seed.

However, Ding Mian did not show any panic. Instead, he raised his hand. “Arise.”

Under the stunned gazes of countless immortals, a formation appeared in the sky. When the strands of lights touched the formation, they could not fly farther. Not only that, the formation shrunk, pushing the strands of light back. Soon, the formation shrunk until it could easily fit inside the cauldron. After that, the spectators couldn’t see what was happening. They couldn’t even use their immortal sense, because using their immortal sense would interfere with the concoction process.

Ding Mian lowered his raised hand and then made a fist. “Condense!”

The air rippled, but nothing escaped from the cauldron. No strands of light or even a faint whiff of medicinal scent.

With a wave of his hand, a jade-colored pill the size of a fingernail flew out and into Ding Mian’s palm. As the light reflected off the surface, faint lights could be seen.

After a few moments of silence, an immortal lord couldn’t help it and flew forward. A hint of uncertainty and excitement filled his voice. “Did you succeed?”

The immortal lord’s title was Wisteria. He was over ten thousand years old, but that was still considered relatively young among true immortals. More importantly, he was the strongest immortal lord and the recipient of the Monarch Sublimation Pill if Ding Mian successfully concocted it.

Ding Mian moved his palm in front of Wisteria. “I had to modify the recipes, but yes, I succeeded. Although it is only an intermediate-rank pill. You don’t have to worry about the pill losing its medicinal effect. The formation engraved on the pill will prevent that.”

Wisteria stared at the pill. He reached out to pick it up, but stopped, afraid that even the tiny touch would destroy it. Ding Mian sighed. He moved his hand, causing Wisteria to look up in panic. Luckily for him, Ding Mian only placed it in a bottle before handing it over.

Right after handing it over, another immortal came forward, almost pushing Wisteria out of the way. Although he wore the uniform of the Numinous Sword Sect and had a sword on his waist, he emanated a faint medicinal smell. “Fellow Daoist Ding—no, Lord Ding. Can you tell me what method you used at the end? Did you combine formations and alchemy to complete the Monarch Sublimation Pill? Ingenious!”

He wasn’t the only one as more and more alchemists, whether they were members of the Numinous Sword Sect or guest elders, crowded around Ding Mian. They were like swordsmen who had seen the world’s strongest sword, or even a pervert that hadn’t seen a woman in centuries.

“Alright! Enough already.” At this time, Meng Tingfeng arrived and stopped the flood of excited people. “Alchemist Ding has just finished concocting an eighth-rank pill. He is very tired and must return to his abode to recuperate. You can visit him after he rests.”

“My apologies, I let the excitement get the better of me,” a Numinous Sword Sect alchemist said.

“Yes, yes, it was our fault. But when I send an invitation, don’t ignore it, okay?” a guest elder alchemist said in a slightly joking tone. However, he wasn’t joking at all. Compared to the alchemist of the Numinous Sword Sect, he was less likely to be able to meet or get anything from Ding Mian, so he was slightly panicked.

Ding Mian nodded to Meng Tingfeng in thanks and turned around to leave. Before he left, someone, or rather, six people, entered his view. It was Ye Chen and his harem.

“I never expected Alchemist Ding to be so accomplished. If I have a request, I hope you don’t refuse,” Ye Chen said with a lighthearted tone.

Ding Mian’s expression could not be seen, but his tone was plain, almost bored. “As long as the rewards are enough, I will naturally not reject your request.”

With the words said, Ding Mian left. However, Meng Tingfeng stared at Ye Chen. “Don’t use those underhanded tricks that can’t be seen.”

“Underhanded?” Ye Chen chuckled. “I never use tricks, only might.”

Sparks flew between the two most promising sword monarchs. After a few seconds, their gazes diverted, and the two went their separate ways.

Although everything ended peacefully, the matter of Ding Mian’s success had a far-reaching effect, especially the Monarch Sublimation Pill he concocted. However, everyone was still waiting, waiting to see if Immortal Lord Wisteria successfully entered the Seamless Immortal Realm.

Six years later, a phenomenon appeared above the Numinous Sword Sect. The Dao Manifestation represented the birth of a new monarch, and his name was Monarch Wisteria!

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