Gu He, who had been meditating, heard the system's notification sound in his mind. Before he could react, two more consecutive chimes followed.
[Ding! Detected that the host has granted the second disciple, Little Fairy Doctor, the fourth-tier peak-grade pill—Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill.]
[Congratulations to the host for triggering a 5,200 fold refund! Obtained: Seventh-tier pill—Dou Ancestor Pill.]
[The seventh-tier pill, Dou Ancestor Pill, has been deposited into the system space. Please check, Host.]
[Ding! Detected that the host has granted the second disciple, Little Fairy Doctor, the fifth-tier peak-grade pill—Soul-Tempering Pill.]
[Congratulations to the host for triggering a 7,180 fold refund! Obtained: Eighth-tier pill—Holy Soul Pill.]
[The eighth-tier pill, Holy Soul Pill, has been deposited into the system space. Please check, Host.]
After listening to the system prompts, Gu He was momentarily stunned. But he quickly understood—this meant the Little Fairy Doctor had already broken through to the eight-star Dou Master level and received the rewards he had left for her.
A glint of joy flashed in Gu He's eyes. Initially, he had left these rewards at the Misty Cloud Sect merely as an experiment. He wanted to see if the system's refund mechanism could still trigger without him personally bestowing the items.
Now, it seemed this method was indeed viable.
Gu He was pleased with this result. After all, he couldn't remain at the Misty Cloud Sect forever, nor could he stay by every disciple's side at all times. This discovery meant he could act more freely in the future.
The only drawback was the Empowerment—the reward he valued most. For this, he had to be physically present to trigger the system's refund mechanism. This trip outside had cost him one such opportunity.
Had he been at the Misty Cloud Sect, he could have personally granted the Little Fairy Doctor an Empowerment. His cultivation might have even advanced further, possibly reaching the three or four-star Dou Ancestor realm.
But such situations were inevitable and might occur more frequently in the future. All Gu He could do was minimize losses by fully utilizing the system's monthly refund opportunities.
Having figured this out, Gu He calmed himself and focused his mind on the system space.
Inside, his gaze swept across three objects floating in the space: a soft armor radiating a bright blue glow and two exquisite jade bottles.
His attention first settled on the blue soft armor.
"Is this the Black Ice Sacred Armor?" Gu He murmured.
"System, extract the Black Ice Sacred Armor!"
As soon as he spoke, the blue armor trembled slightly before transforming into a streak of light that shot toward him. When the light faded, Gu He found himself clad in the soft armor beneath his robes.
Channeling his Dou Qi into the armor, a brilliant blue light erupted, illuminating the entire system space. A surge of frigid dou qi condensed into a layer of black ice armor, encasing his entire body.
Touching the icy surface, a chilling sensation seeped into his fingertips.
The moment he extracted the armor, information about it flooded his mind.
The Black Ice Sacred Armor was an eighth-tier Magic Core Soft Armor, embedded with multiple eighth-tier magic cores.
With this, Gu He was confident that no one below the Dou Ancestor realm could harm him. Even attacks from a Dou Venerate could be marginally resisted.
Of course, this was limited by his current cultivation. If he ever broke through to the Dou Venerate realm, he could fully unleash the armor's power, allowing him to withstand a Dou Venerate's strike unscathed.
'A fine treasure indeed!' With a satisfied thought, he withdrew his Dou Qi, and the armor reverted to its soft form, clinging to his body.
Next, his gaze shifted to the two jade bottles. With a thought, he summoned one to his palm.
Information about its contents flowed into his mind:
Dou Ancestor Pill (Seventh-tier) – After consumption, raises the user's cultivation by one star within the Dou Ancestor realm. Only effective once.
"A pill to boost cultivation!"
Gu He's eyes gleamed. The missed opportunity for an Empowerment had left him somewhat regretful, but this pill made up for it.
Currently a two-star Dou Ancestor, consuming this pill would elevate him to three-star.
Normally, such pills were best saved for bottlenecks, as they only worked once. Most high-level Dou Ancestor would reserve them for critical moments when breakthroughs seemed impossible.
But Gu He didn't need to worry about such things. With the Apprentice System, cultivation resources were never scarce. If there was a chance to grow stronger, he would seize it without hesitation.
After storing the Dou Ancestor Pill in his spatial ring, he turned to the remaining jade bottle.
As it landed in his palm, another wave of information surged into his mind:
Holy Soul Pill (Eighth-tier) – Greatly enhances soul power upon consumption. Warning: Must not be taken below the Dou Ancestor realm, or the soul will be torn apart, resulting in death.
"A pill to strengthen the soul! And an eighth-tier one at that!" Gu He's eyes sparkled with excitement.
As an alchemist, soul power was of utmost importance. Though he had already stepped into the seventh-tier, his foundation was still shallow, limiting him to refining only low-grade seventh-tier pills.
This Holy Soul Pill could elevate his soul power significantly.
Soul power was an enigmatic force—most could only passively experience its growth, unable to control it directly. Even now, Gu He could only manipulate it without deep comprehension.
However, having read the original work and inherited memories from a ninth-tier alchemist, he understood some of its secrets.
In the Dou Qi Continent, soul power had no strict tiers but was divided into realms, each representing a vast gap in ability.
These realms were:
Mortal Realm – Where most people, even alchemists below the eighth-tier, remained.
Spirit Realm – Some seventh-tier alchemists might barely touch this level. At this stage, one could imbue pills with spirituality, a necessity for eighth-tier pills.
Heaven Realm – Required to refine ninth-tier pills, which possessed intelligence akin to living beings.
Emperor Realm – A legendary state, said to be capable of refining Emperor-grade pills, tied to the mythic Dou God (Dou Di).
Currently, Gu He's soul was at the Mortal Realm, though far stronger than most.
This Holy Soul Pill could drastically shorten the distance to the Spirit Realm, possibly even pushing him to the peak of the Mortal Realm.
With anticipation, Gu He withdrew his consciousness from the system space.
Back in his physical body, he glanced at Yun Yun, who was sound asleep.
Consuming the Dou Ancestor Pill would cause too much disturbance, so he decided to take the Holy Soul Pill first.
With a thought, the jade bottle appeared in his hand. Removing the cap, a rich medicinal fragrance wafted out.
Tilting the bottle, a thumb-sized, dark-red pill rolled into his palm.
The pill's surface was smooth and lustrous, shrouded in a faint mist that swirled with a life of its own—sometimes forming intricate shapes, a clear sign of its spirituality.
The difference between seventh and eighth-tier pills was stark. Seventh-tier pills were potent but lifeless, while eighth-tier pills were living pills, brimming with spiritual wisdom.
…
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