Chapter 122: Half a Year of Studying the Art of Alchemy

As Arius’s thoughts churned, he had already fed the pill to the Thunder Ant in his hands.

This was no ordinary pill—

It was a top-grade Insect Nourishing Pill, strengthened and refined through the Mirror of Immortal Appraisal.

He had only five of these pills left.

And to create them, he had spent nearly half his wealth.

But—

It was worth every bit of the cost.

A single pill could provide three hundred years’ worth of cultivation to an ordinary venomous insect.

This was the greatest advantage of nurturing spirit insects—

As long as resources were sufficient, they could be rapidly cultivated to formidable levels.

There was no concern over unstable foundations or bottlenecks in cultivation.

For spirit insects, their role was simple—

To charge into battle without hesitation, to die without fear, to be a living weapon.

They were, in essence—disposable.

The Thunder Ant’s potential was limited.

Even after two rounds of enhancement using the Mirror of Immortal Appraisal, it would still struggle to surpass the Level 2 realm.

At best, it could reach Level 2 Perfection before hitting its limit.

Of course, Arius could continue investing in its potential—

But there was no need.

Firstly—

The Mirror of Immortal Appraisal became more resource-intensive the more it enhanced a single target.

• The first enhancement required only a small investment but yielded massive improvements.
• The second enhancement was still manageable, but the cost increased exponentially.
• The third enhancement? A complete waste of resources.

Secondly—

Arius’s Insect Nurturing Pouch already contained many other spirit insects—some with far greater potential than the Thunder Ant.

So why prioritize this one?

Simple—

The Thunder Ant was the easiest to raise.

It was a test subject, an opportunity to hone his skills in spirit insect cultivation.

At the same time, it would serve as his first battlefield commander—a temporary Insect King for the early stages of his plan.

As soon as the pill dissolved, the Thunder Ant’s aura surged—

Crackling with violent spiritual energy, its tiny body trembled, encased within a cocoon of electricity.

Arius’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

If he fed it all five pills, then within two to three months, it would reach—

Level 2 Perfection.

The growth rate of spirit insects was simply terrifying.

But it came at a steep cost—

Nurturing spirit insects was a bottomless pit of resource consumption.

Without the Mirror of Immortal Appraisal, raising a single Level 2 insect would require the same amount of resources it took for ten cultivators to break through from the Body Tempering realm to Level 2.

And even then—

A Level 2 spirit insect would still be far weaker than an actual Level 2 cultivator or a true spirit beast.

Of course—this was the normal way.

If nurtured naturally, spirit insects could absorb worldly spiritual energy, slowly growing stronger over time.

But Arius did not have the luxury of time.

Unless he recklessly consumed vast amounts of medicinal pills, ignoring his own cultivation foundation, it was impossible to advance from Level 1 Late-stage to Level 2 in such a short period.

And Arius’s ambition was greater than that—

He was pursuing the path of immortality.

Even if he failed to forge a Dao Foundation aligned with the Heavenly Dao, he would at least strive for an unblemished Dao Foundation.

Since his own strength could not be rushed, he would rely on his spirit insects instead.

With enough resources and the right Insect Nurturing techniques,

In just one year, a mere hatchling could evolve into a Level 2 Perfection insect—

Perhaps even reaching the Level 3 realm, forming a true Insect King.

Previously, Arius had considered using the Mirror of Immortal Appraisal to enhance spiritual talismans instead.

After all—

Aragon State was on the brink of collapse.

At any moment, demonic forces could unleash chaos upon the land.

If he could refine powerful enough talismans, they could serve as defensive measures—

To protect his family, to protect his interests.

But—

Talismans were ultimately consumables.

Once their power was expanded, they became useless scraps of paper.

And if he encountered an enemy too strong, he wouldn’t even have the chance to use them.

Spirit insects, however, were different.

Yes—they were also considered disposable.

But unlike talismans, as long as they survived, they could keep fighting indefinitely.

They were a sustainable weapon, one that grew stronger over time.

They possessed a degree of intelligence, capable of acting as his watchdogs, alerting him to potential threats.

And if a true enemy approached—

Arius would not need to lift a single finger.

He could simply sit back and watch, as his enemies were devoured alive—

By an endless tide of spirit insects.

Having powerful venomous insects guarding him was a world apart from relying on consumable talismans in a desperate battle.

With spirit insects, he could command from the shadows—never exposing himself to direct danger.

After returning the cocooned Thunder Ant to his Insect Nurturing Pouch, Arius proceeded to distribute additional resources to his other spirit insects, venomous bugs, and parasitic creatures.

As of now, his true combat force included:

• One Early Level 1 Thunder Ant
• Five Bone Tempering Devourer Horned Ants
• Thousands of Skin Tempering Tri-Horned Demon Bees

If he could:

• Raise the Tri-Horned Demon Bees to Early Level 1
• Cultivate the Five Devourer Horned Ants to Early Level 2
• Push the Thunder Ant to Level 2 Perfection

Then—

As long as he didn’t encounter a Level 3 cultivator, Arius would have little to fear.

By his calculations—

If he allocated two-thirds of his family’s entire annual income, combined with the enhancements of the Mirror of Immortal Appraisal, he could just barely build this venomous insect force.

With such strength, as long as the De Molinos family remained discreet, they could secure their foothold in Aragon State.

After all—

Even among cultivators, Level 3 and Level 4 experts were exceedingly rare.

In fact—even Level 2 cultivators had little reason to venture into De Molinos family territory.

The chances of drawing unwanted attention remained low.

After ensuring that all of his spirit insects were in optimal condition, Arius shifted his focus.

From within his storage ring—

A cauldron appeared before him.

His next step—alchemy.

Arius had studied basic alchemy before—briefly—during his time at Albigensians Sect.

In the Body Tempering realm, cultivators had yet to develop true internal mana.

Thus, to refine medicinal pills, they required:

• Earth Vein Spiritual Flames
• Or specialized alchemical cauldrons imbued with magical formations

Back then, Arius had only studied for two to three months.

His original goal was to learn basic alchemy and earn some spirit stone fragments for survival.

However—

His comprehension of alchemy was far from outstanding.

Albigensians Sect’s Earth Fire Vein was unstable, and he lacked access to high-grade alchemy manuals.

In the end, he had given up.

Now—he was returning to it once more.

A wave of nostalgia washed over him.

Things were different now.

Now—he had reached the Late Level 1 realm.

Now—he possessed divine sense.

Now—he had the Mirror of Immortal Appraisal.

And—he had enhanced high-tier alchemy manuals through its power.

Mastering the Dao of Pills would take years.

But achieving a basic foundation in alchemy?

That—was merely a matter of time.