After My Rebirth, I Ended Up Happily Ever After with the Saintess - Chapter 83

The veiled guidance from her master, Resident Mu Yun, was like a stabilizing anchor cast into her turbulent heart. Ye Li knew well that before her strength was sufficient to flip the chessboard, endurance and accumulating power were the only options. The accumulation of power was not solely in the elevation of her cultivation realm, but also in the solidification of her comprehensive capabilities. Auxiliary skills like alchemy, talisman crafting, and array formations often played unexpected roles at crucial moments, and were the vital pillars for the Dark Pavilion’s survival and growth.

The undercurrents targeting the Dark Pavilion seemed to have temporarily subsided due to the core members’ decisive submersion, but Ye Li understood that this was merely the calm before the storm. She had to utilize this precious interval to rapidly enhance the Dark Pavilion’s overall strength and self-sufficiency.

In the earthen-fire pill room of the Cloud Elixir Peak’s small courtyard, waves of heat rolled. Ye Li’s expression was focused as she manipulated the earthen fire, meticulously refining the medicinal liquids in the pill furnace. What she was refining this time was not an ordinary elixir, but a Tier 2 High-Grade Elixir — the “Obstacle Breaking Pill.”

The pill’s effect was singular yet vital: it could slightly increase the success rate for Pulse Condensation Realm cultivators in breaking through minor realm bottlenecks. Although its effect on herself was minimal, it was urgently needed by the Dark Pavilion’s core members like Lin Feng and Xia Zhihe, who were still in the Pulse Condensation Realm. Furthermore, the Obstacle Breaking Pill was perpetually in short supply on the market and its price was exorbitant. If the Dark Pavilion could stably produce it, it would become an important financial source.

The difficulty in refining the Obstacle Breaking Pill lay in the extreme control over the heat and the perfect fusion of various medicinal properties. Ye Li held her breath, her spiritual sense like the most precise carving knife, perceiving every subtle change within the pill furnace. Thanks to the enhancement of her comprehension by the Samsara Mirror and her rich experience from her past life, her understanding of medicinal properties far surpassed that of alchemists at her current level.

“Condense!”

Seeing the moment was ripe, Ye Li changed her hand seal and let out a soft cry. The pill furnace hummed, the lid opened, and three pills, the size of longans, with a moist sheen and surrounding pill halos, shot out, being caught by the jade bottle she had prepared.

High-grade Elixir, and three pills per batch, a one hundred percent success rate!

Gazing at the Obstacle Breaking Pills emanating an enticing medicinal fragrance in the jade bottle, a look of satisfaction crossed Ye Li’s face. Through this period of focused study and countless practice sessions, her standard in the path of alchemy had stabilized at the Tier 2 High-Grade Alchemist level. Besides the Obstacle Breaking Pill, she could also proficiently refine various commonly used Tier 2 healing and spirit-restoring elixirs, all of superior quality.

Aside from alchemy, Ye Li dedicated more energy to the study of Array Formations. As an ancient sect, the Ice Soul Profound Palace’s ruins were bound to be heavily restricted, and proficiency in array formations would grant a significant advantage during exploration. She cross-referenced the array formation texts she had consulted from the Scripture Repository with the scattered array formation insights from the Profound Cosmos Venerable’s legacy, making rapid progress.

One day, she took out the core of the puppet and some Star Essence Gold obtained from the Meteorite Wasteland. She had no intention of repairing the puppet but aimed to forge a portable “Minor Cosmic Star Array Plate,” using the core as the foundation.

This array plate was conceived based on ancient records and her understanding of starlight power. With the puppet core as the array eye and the Star Essence Gold outlining the array patterns, if successful, its activation could form a small-scale Starlight energy field, offering defense, enemy containment, and spirit energy gathering effects. It was especially suitable for use at night or in places rich with starlight power.

Refining the array plate was more complex than alchemy, involving multiple steps like material smelting, rune inscription, and energy circuit construction, demanding extremely high control over spiritual sense and spiritual power. Ye Li failed several times, wasting a considerable amount of precious Star Essence Gold, but she was not discouraged. Each failure was followed by a careful review and adjustment of her plan.

Finally, after consuming a large portion of the Star Essence Gold, a palm-sized array plate, dark silver in color and covered with profound starlight patterns, took shape in her hands. She carefully embedded a few high-grade spirit stones into the center as a driving source, then took a deep breath and infused a thread of spiritual power into it.

Whir!

The array plate trembled slightly, its surface patterns lighting up one by one, emitting a hazy starlight. An invisible force field expanded from the array plate’s center, enveloping the quiet room. Ye Li could clearly feel that the spirit energy within the force field’s range became more active, the space also seemed more stable, and it simultaneously possessed a certain effect of isolating detection.

“Success!” Joy flashed in Ye Li’s eyes. Although this Minor Cosmic Star Array Plate was only the prototype of a low-tier magical artifact, its diverse effects and immense potential were significant enough to play a vital role at crucial moments. This marked her official entry into the threshold of an Array Master.

As for Talisman Crafting, she did not spend too much time on it but focused on optimizing and improving existing talismans. She more skillfully integrated a thread of the sealing intent from the Ice Soul Heaven Sealing Finger into the “Ice Soul Sealing Talisman,” increasing its power. Although the difficulty of production also rose correspondingly, the success rate stabilized at about twenty percent. These enhanced Ice Soul Sealing Talismans were designated as strategic reserves for the Dark Pavilion, distributed only to core members for self-defense.

With her advancement in auxiliary skills, the Dark Pavilion’s “blood-creation” capability significantly increased. With the ample resource support provided by Lin Feng, Xia Zhihe’s alchemy standard also steadily improved, enabling her to proficiently refine various Tier 2 elixirs. The high-quality elixirs refined by both were quietly introduced into the market through a new, more covert channel re-established by Zhao Xiaoyi, bringing stable and considerable spirit stone income to the Dark Pavilion.

Zhang Yuan and Li Yun were not idle during their “laying low” mission in the Northern Territory. Zhang Yuan, relying on his keen sense for materials, discovered a small “Cold Iron Ore” deposit in the icy plains. Although the reserve was not large, the quality was excellent. Its secret extraction greatly alleviated the Dark Pavilion’s pressure on refining materials. Li Yun collected many ice-type spiritual herb seeds unique to the Northern Territory and secretly sent them back for Xia Zhihe to attempt cultivation in a hidden herb garden behind the Cloud Elixir Peak.

Despite the core members being scattered, under Ye Li’s remote coordination and resource support, the Dark Pavilion, like a resilient vine, quietly grew in the shadows, its roots becoming increasingly solid. Financial resources, material assets, and even intelligence capability (Sun Xiaohou continued to transmit scattered information through covert means from a different location) were steadily improving.

On this day, Ye Li received an encrypted message from Lin Feng from his distant mission location via the sub-mirror. The content was brief but exhilarating:

“Pavilion Master, I have lived up to expectations. I have touched the barrier of the Spirit Abode Realm and will attempt to break through soon. Senior Sister Zhihe is also advancing rapidly and is not far from the Spirit Abode Realm.”

Upon receiving this news, Ye Li let out a long sigh of relief. If Lin Feng and Xia Zhihe could successfully break through to the Spirit Abode Realm, the Dark Pavilion would achieve a qualitative leap! Two Spirit Abode Realm cultivators would be sufficient to support a force within the sect that could not be underestimated.

She replied: “Excellent! Safety first for the breakthrough. Prepare sufficient elixirs and choose an absolutely safe location for the attempt. Wishing you success!”

Closing the communication, Ye Li walked to the window and looked toward Profound Heaven Peak. The dates for the Heart Inquiry Mirror verification and the ruins exploration were drawing closer. She opened her palm; a wisp of extremely cold spiritual power was contracting and expanding, faintly shimmering with starlight.

“Auxiliary skills have achieved moderate success, the Dark Pavilion is initially stable… Next, it’s time for my cultivation breakthrough.” She murmured to herself, her eyes filled with confidence. Before venturing into the tiger’s den of the ruins, she must elevate her strength to the next level!