When faced with immense benefits, most people instinctively think of their own interests first—this is biological instinct.
However, environments like sects, religions, and families often instill a sense of devotion, placing oneself in a secondary position.
Having given up on the disappointing family that offered no return, Yu Xiaogang turned his thoughts to himself.
‘Tang San encountered an epiphany and directly broke through one level, saving over two months of cultivation.
If I were to take Russell’s potion…
could I break through the bottleneck at the thirtieth rank?’ Yu Xiaogang’s heart raced violently; he was deeply tempted.
The inability to break through the thirtieth rank had become his lifelong obsession.
If he could overcome this bottleneck and continue cultivating, he was willing to pay any price.
Yet, thinking of his innate half-level Soul Power, Yu Xiaogang began to waver between hope and fear.
Throughout his life, he had found hope time and again, only to be disappointed repeatedly.
He hoped this time would not let him down again.
“Wait, Tang San, you said Russell is willing to sell the potion?” Yu Xiaogang was surprised.
He had initially assumed Russell would only use the potion for himself, but then he remembered Russell was just an orphan, likely having spent all his money on developing the potion.
He instantly perked up.
When he left the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family, he hadn’t taken much money, and his savings were meager.
However, relying on the Soul Master subsidy, he had managed to save over a thousand Gold Soul Coins.
In the past, Yu Xiaogang hadn’t cared much about such a small sum—as long as it didn’t affect his basic needs.
But now, it seemed, the allure was undeniable.
As for the side effects of the potion, Yu Xiaogang believed that was precisely the mindset suited for a researcher: unaffected by external emotions, making judgments with absolute rationality.
…Perhaps it could even help him forget the pain and humiliation in his heart.
Tang San nodded and explained Russell’s pricing standards.
Yu Xiaogang was astonished: “The potion is actually divided into five grades: Ordinary, Fine, Excellent, Perfect, and Transcendent?” He slowly furrowed his brow, unable to avoid considering human greed: “Are you sure this isn’t just Russell trying to make more money?” Tang San’s calm eyes discerned his teacher’s concern and replied, “No.
According to Russell’s classification, potions of each grade differ in their utilization and stimulation efficiency of medicinal properties.” “For example, an Ordinary-grade potion has a one-in-ten-thousand chance of inducing an epiphany.
A Fine-grade potion increases it to two in ten thousand.
The Excellent grade is harder to achieve, with a probability of five in ten thousand.
The subsequent two grades are one in a thousand and two in a thousand, respectively.” “At the same time, I speculate that higher-grade potions undoubtedly have smaller side effects.
They wouldn’t cause extreme emotional apathy, and at the very least, one could actively control it.” Yu Xiaogang nodded.
“In that case, it’s indeed necessary to distinguish between grades.
What grade of potion can Russell produce now?” Expressionless and in a state of extreme rationality, Tang San excluded the influence of Russell’s persuasive tactics.
He was quite certain Russell had used him as an experiment, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel anger at the moment.
“It should be Ordinary grade, but he is very confident.” Yu Xiaogang nodded without speaking, unable to stop his mind from wandering: Could Russell have obtained an inheritance from an ancient ruin, like the Soul Tools unearthed from such sites, possessing functions beyond this era?
Otherwise, how could he independently create such a miraculously effective potion?
…
Russell remained completely unaware of Yu Xiaogang’s speculations.
He focused on perfecting the potion.
Once the formula and general proportions were determined, the rest was just meticulous work—anyone could verify it.
A week later, Russell personally concocted a bottle of deep blue potion and wrote down the final step on paper.
Placing it into the Synthesizer for appraisal, it was of perfect quality.
Utilizing over eighty percent of the medicinal potency, with flawless preparation process and technique, this potion was the result.
He reviewed the formula once more: Crush mint leaves, extract the clear juice, and mix it with crushed Ice Cicada Slough.
Add this mixture to a liquid composed of ten parts water and one part oil, dissolve for ten minutes, then filter.
Add century-old sandalwood sawdust, stir with Soul Power, and wait for the sandalwood to absorb the moisture.
Then, add hollow reed stems and heat until boiling, immediately removing from heat.
Allow it to cool to slightly below body temperature, around thirty-five degrees Celsius, then filter.
Over three minutes, sequentially add Spirit-Soothing Flower, Moonlight Moss, and Fluorescent Mushroom spore powder.
Stir evenly and place in a cool area, preferably under moonlight, to await the medicinal reaction.
“It looks simple, but it’s not easy to execute.” Russell confirmed that without the assistance of the Synthesizer, given his pharmaceutical expertise, he would never have been able to create a perfect potion formula in his lifetime—at best, he’d only achieve ordinary refined quality.
With the Synthesizer, he could at least deduce what was missing at each step, greatly saving time and effort.
Russell exhaled a turbid breath, tilted his head back, and drank the perfect-quality Mind-Clearing Potion in one gulp.
Instantly, a cooling sensation spread from his throat throughout his body, and his mind became exceptionally sharp.
Prepared for this, he released his Martial Soul.
Fatigue vanished completely, as if enlightenment had washed over him.
The Blue Scale King grew, and the Blue Silver Bamboo-Scale Armor activated.
The once-difficult-to-control vines now moved as flexibly as fingers.
In just one second, a majestic and handsome blue armor took shape.
But that wasn’t all.
In a daze, Russell felt as if he had become a general standing on a high platform, commanding his soldiers with ease.
At a mere thought, they offered up their strength.
Opening his eyes, a hundred square meters of Blue Silver Grass bloomed with blue-silver specks of light, gathering toward him bit by bit.
The Blue Silver Grass swayed gently as vitality converged and flowed into the Blue Scale King Martial Soul and the Soul Bone in Russell’s chest.
Level sixteen, level seventeen!
Two consecutive breakthroughs!
Russell emerged from his epiphany, his calm mind ideal for contemplation.
He concluded that he had mastered the technique of the Blue Silver Emperor and Blue Silver King, allowing the Blue Silver Grass subjects to offer their vitality, which was then converted into his own life force and Soul Power.
Moreover, due to being in a state of epiphany, akin to unity with nature, all the Soul Power had been transformed into Russell’s cultivation.
Looking at the wilted Blue Silver Grass, Russell was not stingy.
He released all his Soul Power, feeding it back to the Blue Silver Grass.
The aura of the Blue Silver King caused the grass to grow wildly, doubling in height in less than ten seconds, thriving vigorously.
Once the feedback ended, Russell was exhausted and sat on the ground.
While circulating the Three Treasures Spirit Nourishing Art, he could still spare a thought to ponder: “I’ve mastered the ‘authority’ unique to Blue Silver King Soul Beasts.
Given the distribution of Blue Silver Grass, I likely won’t have to worry about exhausting my Soul Power most of the time.” “What’s important is that the epiphany probability of the Mind-Clearing Potion is too high.” “Did the Synthesizer’s appraisal have an error?
Or were Tang San and I just incredibly lucky?” Russell touched the External Spirit Bone on his chest—undoubtedly, the latter was correct.
“Then, it’s time to find a buyer for the Mind-Clearing Potion.” “My options are limited.
It must be a faction that poses no threat to me.” “Can’t openly buy the formula, then secretly set their sights on me…
and even if they do, they can’t threaten personal safety or restrict freedom.” In a calm state of mind, Russell realized a crucial point he had overlooked before: would those major powers really let him, the researcher, go after obtaining the potion formula?
Probably not.
But Russell had no regrets.
If he wasn’t willing to take any risks, he might as well follow Tang San and eventually become a second-tier god as his sidekick.
Since he was taking risks, it was for greater gains.