Master Dong Ye was stubborn in temperament — whatever was on his mind, he spoke aloud.
"Young Master Zhen, that jade slip, this humble monk does not recognize and cannot very well argue against. But this Heavenly Earth Lingyun Lingzhi, I firmly believe it does not merit a place among the Super Grade items. It belongs at best in the First Tier. It is merely a Heaven Grade spiritual medicine. Several items in that tier are also Heaven Grade spiritual medicines, and none of them were designated Super Grade either. Why should this Heavenly Earth Lingyun Lingzhi stand out from the rest?"
The Heavenly Earth Lingyun Lingzhi was indeed a Heaven Grade spiritual medicine.
This was something Su Huanzhen also knew — she recognized the Heavenly Earth Lingyun Lingzhi as well.
Faced with this challenge, Han Qianzhan and the Emperor in the Well both found it difficult to help Jiang Chen argue the point. After all, they were all Heaven Grade spiritual medicines, and treating them differently would be unfair.
But surely Young Master Zhen had no need to make such an unfair choice? Could it be he had something else in mind?
Jiang Chen, however, remained perfectly composed. He carefully examined the stalk of Heavenly Earth Lingyun Lingzhi and sighed, "This stalk of Heavenly Earth Lingyun Lingzhi should be between one thousand and twelve hundred years old. It was harvested a bit too early. If it had been left for over three thousand years, the value of this Heavenly Earth Lingyun Lingzhi would have increased five to tenfold."
"Ha ha, among those Heaven Grade spiritual medicines, there are some with an age exceeding fifteen hundred years. Since this Heavenly Earth Lingyun Lingzhi hasn't even reached twelve hundred years, why does Young Master Zhen hold it in such high regard?"
Master Dong Ye still could not understand.
Jiang Chen smiled. "If one were to judge the Heavenly Earth Lingyun Lingzhi solely by its own efficacy, it would merely be one among the Heaven Grade spiritual medicines. However, the Heavenly Earth Lingyun Lingzhi has a special additional function. Surely Master Dong Ye is aware of this?"
Master Dong Ye was taken aback and instinctively shook his head. He was an expert at appraising treasures, but if someone told him this Heavenly Earth Lingyun Lingzhi had other uses, he truly did not know about them.
"I would like to hear the details." Master Dong Ye was not about to give up easily.
Jiang Chen chuckled and asked, "The world of alchemy encompasses all things under heaven. You are all top-tier powerhouses of the Divine Abyss Continent — surely you are familiar with pills like the Yuan Yuan Pill and the Sacred Smile Pill?"
Master Dong Ye said coolly, "A low-grade pill like the Yuan Yuan Pill is nothing more than something martial artists in the Yuan Realm use. The Sacred Smile Pill is a grade higher, but all it does is unconditionally elevate a Sacred Realm powerhouse by one minor level. That is not exactly a remarkable function. Besides, the main ingredient of the Sacred Smile Pill is the Tianying Grass. We have heard that Young Master Zhen obtained a great deal of Tianying Grass back then and refined quite a few Sacred Smile Pills. But what does any of that have to do with this Heavenly Earth Lingyun Lingzhi?"
Everyone was baffled as well.
Jiang Chen smiled again. "Indeed, the Heavenly Earth Lingyun Lingzhi has no relation to the Sacred Smile Pill whatsoever. But consider: for elevating one's Yuan Realm cultivation by a single level, there is the Yuan Yuan Pill. For elevating one's Sacred Realm cultivation by one level unconditionally, there is the Sacred Smile Pill. Then what about the Sovereign Realm? Cannot the Sovereign Realm also be raised by one level unconditionally?"
The Sovereign Realm?
Everyone was truly startled. A pill that could unconditionally elevate one's cultivation — the only ones widely known were the Sacred Smile Pill and the Yuan Yuan Pill.
Moreover, the Sacred Smile Pill was extremely hard to come by, practically something you could only stumble upon by chance. After all, its raw ingredient, Tianying Grass, was itself a Heaven Grade spiritual medicine!
Because Tianying Grass could be used to refine the Sacred Smile Pill, it was virtually unobtainable in the martial world.
Back when Liu Zhen had produced a single stalk of Tianying Grass, it had triggered a frenzied bidding war at the Burning Purification Temple's auction.
Only later did Jiang Chen learn that there was actually an enormous batch of Tianying Grass, discovered jointly by Liu Zhen and his father, Jiang Feng.
That batch of Tianying Grass had allowed Jiang Chen to refine a large quantity of Sacred Smile Pills, bringing Peacock Sacred Mountain a genuine leap forward.
"Young Master Zhen, could it be that… this Heavenly Earth Lingyun Lingzhi can be used to refine a pill that unconditionally elevates a Sovereign Realm powerhouse by one level?" The Emperor in the Well was also astonished beyond measure.
In the martial world, advancing one's cultivation level by even a single rank was extraordinarily difficult. This was especially true once one reached the Sovereign Realm — a single level could take ten to twenty years on the fast side, or a hundred to several hundred years on the slow side.
If one could advance by a level unconditionally, it would save an immense amount of time and effort. Moreover, such an unconditional boost had no negative effects on the body and no side effects on future cultivation, which made such pills incredibly coveted.
Yet, in the Divine Abyss Continent and across the Eight Upper Domains, the highest known level that could be unconditionally elevated was the Sacred Realm.
No one had ever heard that the Sovereign Realm could be boosted in this way too.
Han Qianzhan was overjoyed. "Young Master Zhen, could it be that there truly exists a pill in this world that can unconditionally elevate a Sovereign Realm powerhouse by one level?"
Jiang Chen smiled. "There is. In the martial world, nothing is impossible. A pill that unconditionally elevates a Sovereign Realm powerhouse by one level is not all that extraordinary."
Everyone was stunned. Not all that extraordinary? Not a single person present had ever laid eyes on such a pill!
Could it be that such a pill truly existed anywhere in the entire human territories?
Master Dong Ye pondered for a moment. "At one time, Pill Fire City hinted that they possessed the formula for such a pill. However, they were always evasive about whether they truly had it, shrouding everything in mystery and refusing to give a straight answer. Still, some have surmised that Pill Fire City most likely does have both the formula and the pill itself."
Jiang Chen chuckled. "Pill Fire City hoards rare goods to string everyone along — that is something they do regularly. But this Heavenly Earth Lingyun Lingzhi has nothing to do with that pill."
What?
No connection?
If there's no connection, then what was the point of all that?
Everyone's expressions fell at once. Just moments ago they had thought they were about to hear an alchemical rumor capable of shocking the entire human territories.