The next day, on the back of Starfall Peak, inside the stone tower.
“Teacher, the body refinement is about to begin, are you ready?” Xiao Yan gently placed the bones of a four-star Dou Zun onto the stone platform, then turned to look at Medicinal Elder, and asked.
“Yes.” The Medicinal Elder nodded solemnly. At this moment, even with his mental state, he could not help but feel a wave of fluctuation.
“Elder Feng, the process of refining the body and fusing it may take some time. During this period, do not let anyone enter the stone tower…” Xiao Yan’s gaze shifted, and he looked towards Elder Feng and the others, speaking in a deep voice.
“Rest assured, as soon as you start, Starfall Pavilion will enter a state of alert, and the experts outside will be summoned back,” Elder Feng nodded gravely. As long as the Medicinal Elder recovered his peak strength, Starfall Pavilion would grow rapidly, and when facing the retaliation of the Soul Palace, they would have the power to resist. Therefore, no mistakes could be allowed.
Xiao Yan nodded slightly, gradually steadying his mind. After a moment, he took a deep breath, flicked his finger, and a jade bottle containing the Life Bone Fusion Blood Pill slowly floated towards the Medicinal Elder. The Medicinal Elder, well-versed in these steps, did not hesitate and extended his hand to receive the bottle. Then, with a thought, a wisp of his soul flew out and circled around Xiao Yan.
Seeing that Xiao Yan and the Medicinal Dust had started, Elder Feng and Little Healer Immortal exchanged glances and quietly exited the stone tower, making no sound to disturb them.
The departure of the group did not cause any distraction; Xiao Yan’s expression remained serious. He grabbed the wisp of soul beside him and then slapped the bones on the stone platform, forcibly integrating the soul into the skeleton.
“Teacher, I will first refine the body. Once it is successful, you can enter and complete the fusion step!” Xiao Yan shouted softly, his hand clenching another jade bottle which appeared in his palm. Inside, blue and red blood flowed slowly, radiating astonishing energy fluctuations, causing the surrounding space to shudder.
To refine the body for the Medicinal Elder, everything Xiao Yan prepared was of the highest quality, thus the difficulty of the procedure far exceeded the previous one when he helped the Heavenly Fire Venerable.
“Go!” Flicking his fingers, the blue and red blood in the jade bottle shot out, spilling over the gray-white skeleton and instantly emitting white smoke, accompanied by sizzling sounds.
“Zzzt!” The moment the blue and red blood touched the gray-white skeleton, the colors spread rapidly. In a blink of an eye, the color of the skeleton changed from gray-white to a splendid azure and red, and faintly, dense energy fluctuations emanated from within the bones.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan raised his hand, and the azure and red skeleton levitated automatically. With a wave of his sleeve, purple-brown flames surged out, enveloping the entire skeleton. The Phantomeagle Blood Essence was quite overbearing and difficult to integrate, so he had to use a different fire to bake the energy into every bone of the skeleton. Only then could the skeleton truly absorb all the astounding energy.
As the flames burned fiercely, a faint layer of blue and red light appeared on the azure and red skeleton. Despite this, the intense heat still caused bubbles to form on the surface of the bones, occasionally bursting and releasing dense energy.
This tempering and burning was a time-consuming process, lasting nearly an entire day. Finally, Xiao Yan’s closed eyes slowly opened. By now, the azure and red color of the skeleton had clearly darkened, losing its original brilliance. But Xiao Yan knew that the energy had gradually seeped deep into the bones.
Sighing deeply, Xiao Yan glanced at the Medicinal Elder, who nodded with a smile. Now, Xiao Yan’s flame control had undeniably improved, perhaps even surpassing the Medicinal Elder. This was a source of great satisfaction for the old man, as, although he valued Xiao Yan’s strength, as an alchemist, he was most concerned with his disciple’s alchemy skills.
Seeing the old man’s contentment, Xiao Yan also smiled. Just as he was about to put out the flame, something occurred to him, and he hesitated for a moment before walking towards the stone platform. In the Medicinal Elder’s puzzled gaze, he ruthlessly snapped off the right arm of the skeleton.
“Huh?” Seeing this, the Medicinal Elder was stunned, not understanding.
“Try this.” Xiao Yan smiled, taking out the Dou Sage’s right arm from his storage ring, which he had obtained from an ancient relic, and attaching it to the skeleton’s shoulder. Although the size didn’t fit perfectly, with the trimming of the flame, the two parts quickly merged seamlessly.
“Dou Sage’s arm?” The Medicinal Elder, with keen eyes, saw the jade-white bone arm and his expression changed, a hint of shock in his eyes.
“Yes, got it from the ancient ruins.” Xiao Yan nodded, smiling, “Whether or not it’s useful, its hardness is undoubtedly qualified.”
Xiao Yan had already seen firsthand the hardness of the Dou Sage’s bones, which must have extraordinary qualities. However, he did not intend to keep it for himself. He could not cut off his arm and replace it with this, as potential complications were unknown. For the Medicinal Elder, this was not a concern. Without a body, the new one would gradually fuse with him, and this arm would become a true part of him.
The Medicinal Elder nodded slightly. He had never heard of installing a Dou Sage’s arm during the body refinement process, but as a Dou Sage’s item, it should have significant effects, possibly becoming a catalyst for breaking through to the Dou Sage level.
After connecting the Dou Sage’s arm to the skeleton, Xiao Yan further refined it with the Thousand Lotus Heart Flame. When the arm and skeleton fit perfectly, he nodded in satisfaction.
Through long hours of tempering, the once gray-white skeleton had drastically changed. Now colored in blue and red, though the right arm remained jade-white, the tips were tinged with blue and red. Under the thousand lotus heart flame, the two had completely fused.
“Teacher!” Seeing this, Xiao Yan’s expression became solemn again, and he called out loud.
“Mm.” The Medicinal Elder nodded, knowing that this was the best time. He swiftly took out the Life Bone Fusion Blood Pill from the jade bottle, swallowed it, and his figure became ethereal, transforming into a beam of light, rushing into the skeleton.
“Boom!” As the Medicinal Elder’s soul entered the skeleton, it trembled fiercely. Light gradually gathered in the hollow eye sockets, and at this moment, a terrifying, strange energy spread out. Under this energy, the skeleton began to grow flesh incredibly.
Bones growing flesh, such a miraculous effect, naturally came from the Life Bone Fusion Blood Pill.
“Teacher, hold on!” Watching the flesh rapidly growing on the skeleton, Xiao Yan’s expression grew serious. With a low shout, the purple-brown flame burning around the skeleton intensified.
Under this intense flame, the newly formed flesh was burnt to ashes, but as soon as the ash scattered, the terrifying strange energy pervaded again, and the growth of the flesh accelerated. Eventually, only the rapid growth of the muscle buds could be seen, quickly forming a vague human shape.
This burning and growth lasted for nearly ten hours, and the skin tissue finally formed under the flame’s roasting. As the skin formed, the skeleton on the stone platform completely transformed into a human shape. Next, it awaited the Medicinal Elder’s final fusion with the body, then the Medicinal Venerated, who had stunned the world with his prowess, would truly… be reborn from the ashes!
Meanwhile, in a deep mountain in the western region of the Central Plains, a massive black great hall, resembling an ancient beast, crouched, exuding a chilling, terrible energy fluctuation.
“Pfft!” Suddenly, a wave of thick black fog poured out from the great hall. The fog condensed into numerous black figures, hovering in the air, exuding a strong and cold aura, sweeping the surroundings.
“Welcome, the Ninth Heaven Venerated!” The black figures appeared, kneeling down in the sky, their respectful voices echoing through the heavens.
As the black figures knelt, the space around them began to twist, and a blue figure slowly materialized, followed by a voice.
“Remember your mission?”
“Destroy Starfall Pavilion, capture Xiao Yan, and catch the Medicine Dust!”
Nearly a hundred voices responded in unison.
“Mm… Let’s go.” The blue figure nodded slightly, then stepped lightly in the air, his figure gradually fading away…
As the blue figure disappeared, an old man in black robes, the leader of the group, raised his head. It was the Plucking Star Old Ghost. At this moment, his gaze turned north, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
“Xiao Yan, I wonder who can save you this time, old man!”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage