Gazing slowly over the dozen or so snow-white jade boxes before him, Xiao Yan inhaled deeply, suppressing the fluctuations in his heart. With a flick of his fingers, the massive “Ten Thousand Beast Cauldron” materialized out of thin air and crashed heavily to the ground, sending a deep, resonant hum echoing. His eyes narrowed as visions of the methods for refining the “Rank Breaking Pill” and the numerous things to be mindful of flashed through Xiao Yan’s mind. After a while, his eyes snapped open, and green flames rose up within their pitch-black depths.
*Puff!*
With a faint sound, a wisp of green flame darted from Xiao Yan’s fingertips, and with another flick, it transformed into a flowing light, shooting like lightning into the medicine cauldron.
The moment the flame entered the cauldron, its tiny form rapidly swelled. In an instant, the meager flame turned into a raging conflagration, burning furiously within the cauldron. As the green flames roared, the already glaring red surface of the “Ten Thousand Beast Cauldron” became even more blinding, as if enveloped by a fiery dance of flames.
“This medicinal cauldron left by Han Feng is indeed no ordinary object. Despite being subjected to the repeated scorching of the alien flame, it remains unscathed. Its quality might even rival that of my teacher’s ‘Black Demon.'”
Looking at the “Ten Thousand Beast Cauldron” that showed no cracks even after countless uses, a satisfied glint flashed in Xiao Yan’s eyes as he muttered to himself.
After the temperature inside the medicinal cauldron reached a steady state, Xiao Yan waved his hand, and a white jade box, slightly radiating coldness, was drawn into his grasp. Inside the box, nestled a branch-like object, appearing as if carved from ice, though not particularly good-looking. However, the intense medicinal aroma emanating from its core hinted that this was no ordinary item.
This object was called the “Cold Marrow Branch,” not actually a branch, but a formation of extremely pure frigid energy condensed in intensely cold regions. If someone cultivating ice-element battle qi were to refine and absorb it, their qi would become even colder. This made it a treasure beyond price in their eyes. Xiao Yan had been fortunate to obtain it, thanks to an opportune encounter where he had inadvertently trespassed into a frigid pool in a remote mountain, narrowly escaping the mad pursuit of a beast on the verge of breaking into the seventh rank.
Holding the “Cold Marrow Branch” with two fingers, an icy, bone-chilling cold swiftly permeated into his fingertips, numbing his entire arm. Catching sight of his frost-laden hand, Xiao Yan focused his mind, and the green flame within surged forth, swiftly expelling the penetrating cold.
With a gentle toss, the Cold Marrow Branch was accurately placed into the medicine cauldron, and the green flames surged, swallowing it whole like a monstrous maw.
Facing the incineration of the flames, the Cold Marrow Branch did not give up; instead, it continuously emitted frigid fog, attempting to withstand the erosion of the high heat. The fog and the green flames eroded each other, emitting hissing sounds, and the point of intersection became engulfed in a pale mist. This “Cold Marrow Branch,” armed with the accumulated essence of eons of extreme cold, managed to hold against the Refined Spirit Lotus Heartflame for a short time.
“Indeed, it lives up to its reputation as something worth a beast’s death to guard…” Seeing this scene within the cauldron, Xiao Yan couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. He then focused his mind, and the temperature within the cauldron sharply increased!
Under the relentless onslaught of the rising heat, the Cold Marrow Branch gradually could not hold out. The icy, crystal-like substance on its surface began to show signs of melting.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan let out a sigh of relief. It was indeed fortunate that he had the alien flame; if it were any ordinary flame, it would likely take at least a day or two just to refine the Cold Marrow Branch, consuming both time and a significant amount of his qi. For an alchemist, the alien flame was indeed no less than a peerless weapon.
After roughly an hour of refinement, the hard Cold Marrow Branch finally transformed entirely into a viscous, snow-white liquid, brimming with dense, pure energy. Upon finishing the refinement, Xiao Yan spent another half hour quenching it, and without pausing, he once again threw another stubborn ingredient into the cauldron…
Time flowed steadily in the sealed chamber. The number of ingredients in the jade boxes before Mang Yan gradually decreased, and the rich, intermingling medicinal fragrance lingered in the air, like a cloud of mist.
As the ingredients were gradually refined, Xiao Yan’s expression grew increasingly grave. He knew that the real challenge was yet to come. The Rank Breaking Pill was the highest-grade pill he had ever attempted to refine, and its success rate was exceedingly low. Even among rank six pills, the Rank Breaking Pill was considered top-tier. Although such a pill might not have much direct use for true Battle Sect powerhouses, it attracted many forces, as possessing such a pill might lead to the addition of a Battle Sect-level expert, an irresistible temptation for those who valued lineage and inheritance.
Just thinking about how much effort and resources the Black Emperor Sect put into nurturing Mo Ya, one could sense the magnitude of the investment. Of course, to refine the Rank Breaking Pill, all the materials needed were rare. If not for Xiao Yan gathering a fortune during his journey aided by Zi Yan’s unique talent, it would be nearly impossible to gather these materials. Even so, Xiao Yan had only managed to secure materials for three batches. That meant he had only three chances to refine the Rank Breaking Pill. If he failed all three, it would be a long time before he could try again.
Xiao Yan’s current skills in alchemy were sufficient to handle ordinary rank six pills, but the Rank Breaking Pill was not an ordinary item. Even for him, the success rate might not exceed forty percent, and that was with the enhancement of the alien flame. Any ordinary rank six alchemist might have an even lower success rate.
Xiao Yan was well aware of the difficulty, so he didn’t dare to be careless. His gaze was fixed on the cauldron, and at one point, his mind suddenly moved, compressing the refined, pure medicinal liquids within the cauldron!
*Puff!*
The moment the various medicinal ingredients came into contact, a violent burst of energy erupted, and the carefully extracted pure medicinal liquids were shaken apart.
Sensing the change within the cauldron, Xiao Yan’s brow furrowed, and he sighed, “As expected… it’s always like this. The first attempt is indeed difficult.”
Sitting on the stone bed, Xiao Yan pondered for a moment, replaying the anomalies that occurred during the fusion of the medicinal ingredients. After a long while, he steeled his resolve, cleared the cauldron, and began again…
Refining pills was a tedious and monotonous task. After his first failure, Xiao Yan spent nearly five to six hours refining the second batch of medicinal ingredients. This time, due to his careful control, there were no issues during the fusion. However, just as the pill was about to solidify, a slight deviation occurred, and a furnace of precious herbs was wasted. Looking at the ruined herbs, Xiao Yan felt his heart bleed; these herbs were not easily replaceable.
“Damn it, I still underestimated the difficulty…”
Biting back his frustration, Xiao Yan gradually calmed his mind, and with a shaky hand, he took out the last batch of medicinal ingredients. This was his final chance. If he failed again, he would have to wait for a long time before he could try to refine the Rank Breaking Pill again.
His gaze fixed on the medicinal ingredients, Xiao Yan finally clenched his teeth and moved his hand. The flames within the cauldron rose again. The green flames illuminated his grim face, casting a cold and severe glow. As he tossed the precious herbs into the cauldron one by one, the flames swallowed them greedily.
Time flowed silently, like sand slipping through fingertips, as the beads of sweat on Xiao Yan’s forehead grew more pronounced. After a full day of non-stop refining, even he felt a bit weary.
This time, Xiao Yan poured his soul force completely into the cauldron, able to sense every movement within. Under his close scrutiny, the various pure medicinal liquids within the cauldron gradually began to fuse…
Though Xiao Yan’s heart raced in suspense, thankfully, there were no errors during this fusion. As the integration of the medicinal liquids completed, a colorful, fist-sized liquid cluster appeared within the cauldron.
Looking at the mixture of different medicinal energies, Xiao Yan did not relax. His mind remained tense, his soul force controlling the temperature perfectly, slowly releasing the heat to solidify the medicinal liquids within the cluster.
As the liquid cluster gradually shrank and solidified, about half an hour later, its surface started to harden. A rough, irregularly shaped pill embryo slowly formed…
Seeing the finally successfully formed pill embryo, Xiao Yan felt a great weight lifted from his heart. The most challenging steps had been completed. Now, all he had to do was maintain the temperature and nurture the pill embryo well, and the Rank Breaking Pill should be successfully refined!
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