There is no superiority or inferiority between the outer elixir method and the condensed inner elixir that is popular today;
However, with the development of the times and the improvement of today's methods, the method of external alchemy has gradually declined... This method has extremely high requirements. In addition to one's own qualifications, one must also be proficient in the method of alchemy.
However, not all people who cultivate immortality have talents in both aspects.
It is very possible that a spirit with excellent qualifications has mediocre talent in the alchemy path, and therefore cannot refine a satisfactory external elixir, thus wasting his extraordinary talent.
Of course, it does not mean that refining a top-quality elixir and forming it using the method of external elixirs will definitely lead to a top-quality Yuan Dan.
Waidan is just a means, not the result!
The process of forming the elixir still requires the transformation of the essence, energy and spirit, and there are flaws in the transformation. Even if the outer elixir is a top-quality elixir, the Yuan elixir formed may still be inferior or of average or top quality.
It can be seen that the conditions for achieving the outer elixir and the Yuan elixir are very stringent.
But today's method is to strip away the alchemy path.
Even if a monk's alchemy skills are mediocre, he can still follow the method of forming inner alchemy and enter the realm of Yuan Dan!
Over time, the outer alchemy method was replaced by the inner alchemy method, and gradually declined, which became a matter of course.
It is precisely because of this that the Yuan Dan in a monk's body and the refined elixir are almost exactly the same in terms of level classification... they are a line of inheritance that has been passed down since ancient times.
And Shen Mo is already a fourth-level alchemist, proficient in the method of refining elixirs.
By analogy, he knew how difficult it was to make a perfect elixir for the first time!
If there is no great opportunity, no extraordinary qualifications, and no exhaustive preparation...it is almost impossible to achieve the top-grade Yuan Dan in one go.
On the contrary, if he is given the opportunity to keep trying, just like refining elixirs, and completely max out his proficiency in condensing Yuan Dan, Shen Mo will be confident that he can form a Yuan Dan of excellent quality!
But this kind of idea is really wishful thinking, and even practicing martial arts can't help him realize it.
A cultivator at the pinnacle of the Spirit Sea Realm will only have a few opportunities to form an elixir throughout his life, and the first time he attempts to form an elixir, he has the highest chance of success and the best quality of the elixir.
If the first breakthrough fails, the essence, energy, and spirit will suffer irreversible contamination and damage during the process of transformation... The next time you form an elixir, the chance of success will plummet. Even if you are lucky enough to form an elixir, the quality of the Yuan elixir will also deteriorate.
It will be extremely poor, most likely it will be defective, and it will be mid-quality if it is the best!
Under such circumstances, the experiences and insights left by the ancestors of the Yuan Dan Realm in the history of the sect become extremely precious.
"Three seniors who have formed the Hunyuan Qi Pill, one of them has become a top-grade pill, and the other two have reached a middle-grade pill."
"Judging from their explanations, the process of transformation of spirit, energy and spirit is crucial, but preparation beforehand is also indispensable..."
"It's just that these methods are not easy to do."
A total of four methods for improving the quality of Yuan Dan are recorded on the Jade Slips.
The first one is to enter the Ascension Pool in the Lingxu Wonderland, which is made up of the essence of Yuanling. It has unpredictable and magical water that can wash the Taoist body and infiltrate the soul.
Thereby, the effect of removing the disease, recovering and reborn can be achieved!
This method has extraordinary miraculous effects on all immortal cultivators, allowing the monk's Tao body, true essence, and soul to reach their optimal state.
However, the amount of water in the Ascension Pool is limited, and it is accumulated approximately every thirty years before a disciple can enter it and purify his soul.
With Shen Mo's status and potential, it is not difficult to get this quota once in thirty years...
However, the entrance to the Lingxu Wonderland is nine days away and is uncertain. Now all the teleportation formations have failed. It is impossible to re-build a grand formation and teleport directly to the entrance of the secret realm!
Even Ancestor Zhou Zhiwei had difficulty finding the movements of the Spiritual Void Realm, and had to spend months or even years searching for them in the outer world.
This method is obviously not feasible at the moment, so there is no need to think about it!
In addition, Shen Mo's "Three Heads and Six Arms True Immortal Technique", "Spiritual Soul Meditation Sutra", "Great Sun Tathagata Heart Sutra" and other immortal arts have been practiced to a very high level.
As long as you don't use the magic of sacrificing yourself, your energy and spirit will probably be in excellent condition;
Even if he enters the Ascension Pool to wash his body and infiltrate his soul, the effect will not be as obvious as that of an ordinary monk. His foundation is too good!
The second type is to practice a dual cultivation method together with a Taoist companion.
When the soul and body are blended together, with the help of the momentary ethereal state, try to transform the spirit, energy and spirit.
And this method has extremely strict requirements on both oneself and the Taoist companions. In a state where the body and mind are not separated from each other, all secrets will be seen by the other party.
In such a state, it is difficult for each other to reach the point of intimacy, where yin and yang complement each other...
Once there are twists and turns in the process, it will affect the elixir formation, and even push both parties into the abyss of obsession.
Therefore, this method seems easy and pleasant, but in fact, in the history of the sect, few senior ancestors have improved the quality of Yuan Dan through this method!
After a brief thought, Shen Mo threw this method out of his mind.
The secrets about him cannot be revealed even to the closest people.
Not to mention, at this moment, Zhao Lingyin is still trapped in the secret realm of mountains and rivers. Who can he turn to to practice dual cultivation techniques?
The third method is to find a blessed place that suits your own skills and use the favorable location to make breakthroughs and promotions.
The fourth method is to swallow heavenly materials and earthly treasures such as Hunyuan Fruit and Qingling Immortal Qi during the process of condensing the elixir. You can also take Hunyuan Dan specially prepared for condensing the Hunyuan Qi elixir.
Shen Mo can give the latter two methods a try.
It's a pity that the recipe for the fifth-grade Hunyuan Dan was lost hundreds of years ago.
At that time, the immortal forces and the mortal forces in the sect were almost like fire and water. In the fierce battle, even two people in the Yuan Dan realm fell, almost overthrowing this thousand-year-old sect; many precious classics and techniques,
All the talismans and elixirs were lost and damaged, and there was no news from them again!
The fifth-grade Hunyuan Pills retained in the sect's treasure house have also been exhausted by predecessors who practiced the "Hunyuan Yi Qi Jue" and tried to form pills over the past few hundred years!
In other words, for Shen Mo, the most feasible options at present are to find a blessed place that suits him and to find treasures from heaven, materials and earth.
In addition, he had a vague idea in his mind, maybe... he could try to restore the recipe for the fifth-grade Hunyuan Dan!
According to the descriptions of three Yuan Dan Realm seniors, Shen Mo can roughly judge that the effect of Hunyuan Dan is similar to breaking through in a blessed land that suits him, and swallowing the Hunyuan Fruit, Qingling Fairy Qi and other heavenly and earthly treasures.
It was to help him realize the Hunyuan Dao Fruit when he formed the elixir, and further enhance the transformation of his essence, energy, and spirit!
In this way, even if there are flaws in the transformation of essence, energy and spirit, they can be forcibly compensated for, thereby promoting the middle-grade Yuan Dan to the high-grade Yuan Dan, and the high-grade Yuan Dan to the perfect Yuan Dan.