A few days later.
After the first batch of second-tier demon cores that Ye Qingxuan had arranged to purchase arrived.
He directly entered his blessed land cave, sealed himself off from external perception, and immersed himself in seclusion for research and development.
Before going into seclusion, Ye Qingxuan specifically instructed the two brothers, Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu, not to let anyone else disturb him during his闭关 (seclusion).
After sealing the Qingxuan Blessed Land, Ye Qingxuan spent all his time outside of daily cultivation dedicated to studying the path of alchemy.
Every day, Ye Qingxuan used various alchemical methods, continuously attempting to refine demon cores according to his own ideas.
But without exception, during the refining process, these demon cores either solidified directly, turning into various bizarre pills, or they simply exploded.
Fortunately, they were only second-tier demon cores; the explosive power was manageable. Ye Qingxuan could suppress the explosion’s range himself, without needing to toss the core into the void.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, a month went by.
During that month, Ye Qingxuan utilized various alchemical techniques inherited from the Earth Immortal legacy, but he still couldn’t realize the concept in his mind.
With no other choice, Ye Qingxuan had to temporarily end his seclusion to adjust his state of mind.
Just as he exited the blessed land, Ye Qingxuan saw the two brothers, Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu, sitting cross-legged at the entrance.
“What are you two doing here?”
Seeing them guarding the entrance, Ye Qingxuan was a bit surprised.
Seeing Ye Qingxuan emerge from seclusion, Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu quickly stood up:
“Young Master, you’re out of seclusion?”
“Mm-hmm, just came out to clear my head a bit. Why are you two stationed here?”
Hearing Ye Qingxuan’s question, Ye Zhaoheng rubbed the back of his head and said simply,
“You said not to let anyone disturb you, right? Zhao Yu and I thought we’d guard the entrance together, just in case someone tries to bother you.”
Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan suddenly understood and couldn’t help but chuckle,
“You two don’t need to do this in the future. Just cultivate in your own dwellings. If someone comes, just tell them I’m in seclusion. You may go now!”
After he sealed the blessed land, unless someone forcibly broke in, no one else could possibly enter.
So guarding it wasn’t really necessary. He just needed Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu to inform others that he was in secluded cultivation.
“Yes, Young Master.”
The two brothers didn’t argue with Ye Qingxuan’s words. They exchanged a glance and acknowledged the order before leaving.
After they left, Ye Qingxuan went to his stone pavilion and brewed himself a pot of tea.
Slowly sipping the tea, he gazed into the distance, lost in thought, but his mind still unconsciously churned with ways to realize his ideas.
Suddenly, Ye Qingxuan slapped his thigh excitedly and exclaimed,
“How could I be so foolish? If alchemical methods alone won’t work, why not incorporate talisman techniques? I could even try artifact forging, array formations – I can try them all!”
With this thought, ignoring everything else, Ye Qingxuan returned to the Qingxuan Blessed Land and began a new round of seclusion.
Three years later.
A figure appeared above the Qingxuan Blessed Land. Sensing the still-sealed state of the land below, he asked helplessly,
“Zhaoheng, Zhaoyu, is Qingxuan still not out of seclusion?”
Hearing the question, Ye Zhaoyu flew out from his dwelling, stopped at a respectful distance from the visitor, and answered respectfully,
“Yes, Young Master Qingxiao, my master has entered seclusion again.”
Indeed, the visitor was Ye Qingxiao.
Although by the Ye family’s generational hierarchy, Ye Zhaoyu should address Ye Qingxiao as ‘clan uncle’, his current identity was solely that of Ye Qingxuan’s attendant.
Therefore, for fellow cultivators of the same generation who were on good terms with Ye Qingxuan, he and Ye Zhaoheng had privately agreed to address them uniformly as ‘Young Master’.
Over the past three years, Ye Qingxiao had come to the Qingxuan Blessed Land several times looking for Ye Qingxuan, but every time he arrived, Ye Qingxuan was in seclusion, so they never met.
Seeing only Ye Zhaoyu, Ye Qingxuan asked curiously,
“Where’s Zhaoheng? Where did he go?”
“My elder brother went out on some business and hasn’t returned yet.”
Actually, Ye Zhaoheng had gone to deliver pills to Tianfu Shop. Although Ye Qingxuan was in seclusion, he would periodically emerge, hand pills to Ye Zhaoheng, and have him deliver them to Tianfu Shop.
However, Ye Zhaoyu wasn’t sure if Ye Qingxiao knew about the relationship between Tianfu Shop and his master, so he didn’t specify.
“Is that so? Well, I’ll be off then. When Qingxuan comes out of seclusion next time, remember to contact me.”
Ye Qingxiao didn’t press further when Ye Zhaoyu was vague. He left those words and departed.
“Okay, Young Master Qingxiao, rest assured.”
Watching Ye Qingxiao’s departing figure, Ye Zhaoyu quickly responded.
Meanwhile, inside the Qingxuan Blessed Land.
Ye Qingxuan held a pill with a slight metallic sheen in his hand and chuckled softly,
“Fourth-tier Nuclear Explosion Pill, finally complete.”
During the three years, as early as the first year, Ye Qingxuan had succeeded in combining the four methods—alchemy, artifact forging, array formation, and talismans—according to his original concept, to produce the pill he had envisioned.
Using artifact forging to integrate spiritual materials and reinforce the demon core’s shell.
Using array formations to inscribe formations onto the core’s shell, setting up the three key formations: Energy Infusion, Energy Equilibrium, and Detonation.
Using alchemy to channel energy, controlling the power of the demon core’s self-destruction.
Finally, using talisman techniques to engrave a first-tier detonation talisman onto the core, providing the ultimate control.
Because the idea was inspired by nuclear explosions from his previous life, Ye Qingxuan named this pill he developed the ‘Nuclear Explosion Pill’.
After three years and several improvements, Ye Qingxuan had successfully developed a fourth-tier version.
A top-grade second-tier Nuclear Explosion Pill is powerful enough to rival the self-destruction of a Foundation Establishment peak cultivator, equivalent to the full-force strike of an early Zifu cultivator.
A top-grade third-tier Nuclear Explosion Pill rivals the self-destruction of a Zifu peak cultivator, equivalent to the full-force strike of an early Golden Core cultivator.
A top-grade fourth-tier Nuclear Explosion Pill rivals the self-destruction of a Golden Core peak cultivator, equivalent to the full-force strike of an early Nascent Soul cultivator.
The power of the Nuclear Explosion Pill far exceeds that of same-tier talismans, being fully comparable to a talisman one tier higher.
Moreover, the cost of a Nuclear Explosion Pill is nearly the same as a talisman of the same tier.
This means a top-grade fourth-tier Nuclear Explosion Pill costs about the same as a top-grade fourth-tier talisman, but its power rivals a low-grade fifth-tier talisman.
And that’s not all. During those three years, Ye Qingxuan also developed other series of Nuclear Explosion Pills.
For example, the Cleansing Nuclear Explosion Pill.
If you replace the violent energy in a standard Nuclear Explosion Pill entirely with the energy of a Cleansing Pill, you can refine a Cleansing Nuclear Explosion Pill.
When detonated, the Cleansing Nuclear Explosion Pill can directly clear various types of harmful external energy within its range that are detrimental to cultivators.
Currently, the highest level Ye Qingxuan can refine is a top-grade fourth-tier Cleansing Nuclear Explosion Pill, which covers a range of a full ten li.
It can clear most harmful energies of the fourth tier and below within that ten-li radius.
The reason it only works on energies up to the fourth tier is that the fourth-tier Cleansing Nuclear Explosion Pill is infused with the energy of a fourth-tier Cleansing Pill. While the quantity is large, the quality is the same, so the main difference is the expanded area.
For instance, a low-grade fourth-tier Cleansing Pill is infused with the energy of only one fourth-tier Cleansing Pill, covering only a range of one thousand meters.
Furthermore, the energy from a Cleansing Nuclear Explosion Pill doesn’t cause significant harm to cultivators. A simple spiritual energy barrier is enough to completely block its energy.
The Cleansing Pill and the Cleansing Nuclear Explosion Pill—one is for internal use, the other for external. Which offers better value depends on the cultivator’s intended usage.
Beyond the Cleansing Nuclear Explosion Pill.
The Nuclear Explosion Pill series also includes the Poison Burst Nuclear Explosion Pill, Gale Force Nuclear Explosion Pill, Sandstorm Nuclear Explosion Pill, Inferno Nuclear Explosion Pill, Glacial Nuclear Explosion Pill, and many others.
For these series, the internal energy is pushed to its maximum limit)by Ye Qingxuan, granting them power comparable to attack talismans one tier higher.
However, many of these series are indiscriminate in their effects, not distinguishing friend from foe. You need to take protective measures beforehand.
Of course, you could also set them as traps and detonate them remotely. Who would ever expect someone to be such a sly dog as to use a pill for a trap?
