Chapter 157: Dragon Breath Pill (2)

Now, Hun Yuanzi had silently released his inner elixir, as if indicating he no longer cared what happened.

“What’s going on?” Yang Hao couldn’t hear the communication between Hun Yuanzi and the Kadith dragon clan at all, and he was so anxious that sweat poured down his forehead.

“I’ve always exploited you, so now it’s time to return your inner elixir,” Hun Yuanzi said casually, though anyone could detect the aged sadness in his voice.

“Who wants you to return it? I prefer to keep it with you—as if depositing it in a bank. Whatever you swallowed from me today, I’ll make you spit it all out someday!” Yang Hao became frantic, shouting, “What exactly are you trying to do? We still need to fight this cursed dragon together, escape this damned place, and seek revenge!”

“Hear me out!” Hun Yuanzi firmly silenced Yang Hao, his tone resolute. “Right now, I simply don’t have the strength to withstand dragon breath, nor can I escape from the Kadith dragon clan. There’s only one way—the only way…”

“What way?”

“The Dragon Breath Pill!” When Hun Yuanzi uttered this name, his voice sounded even more desperate than Yang Hao’s. “This is a pill only mentioned in legends; no one has ever truly seen it, let alone crafted it. Legend says that whoever consumes the Dragon Breath Pill will no longer fear dragon breath. It can even rapidly elevate the spiritual power of an ordinary person, enabling direct mental communication with dragons.”

Yang Hao couldn’t understand why Hun Yuanzi sounded so desperate. “If such a great thing exists, quickly teach me how to make it! I’ve got the cauldron and the ingredients ready. Just tell me what else is needed!”

“It’s useless. It’s useless,” Hun Yuanzi had already reached a state of calm despair. “The Dragon Breath Pill isn’t something ordinary. Do you think it can be made just like that?”

But now, Hunyuanzi silently released his inner core, seemingly indifferent to the outcome.

“What’s going on?” Yang Hao couldn’t hear the conversation between Hunyuanzi and the Cadiz Dragon Clan, sweating in frustration.

“I’ve always been exploiting you. Now, it’s time to return your inner core,” Hunyuanzi said with forced lightness, though his voice carried the unmistakable tremor of age and sorrow.

“Who asked you to return it? I like keeping it with you—consider it a deposit in a bank! Whatever you’ve taken from me today, you’ll spit it all out later!” Yang Hao shouted in desperation. “What are you trying to do? We still have to fight this damn dragon together, escape this cursed place, and take revenge!”

“Listen to me!” Hunyuanzi’s voice cut through Yang Hao’s protests with unwavering resolve. “My current strength is no match for dragon breath, nor can we escape the Cadiz Dragon Clan. There’s only one way—the only way…”

“What way?”

“Dragon Breath Elixir!” Hunyuanzi uttered the name with a despair deeper than Yang Hao’s. “This is a legendary elixir, recorded only in myths. No one has ever truly seen it, let alone crafted it. Legend says that consuming this elixir makes one immune to dragon breath and even elevates an ordinary person’s spiritual power to communicate directly with dragons.”

Yang Hao couldn’t fathom why Hunyuanzi sounded so hopeless. “If it’s that incredible, teach me how to make it! I have the cauldron and herbs—just tell me what’s needed!”

“Useless… utterly useless,” Hunyuanzi replied with resigned calm. “The Dragon Breath Elixir isn’t some ordinary concoction. Do you think it can be crafted so easily?”

“What’s so difficult about it? What elixir can’t I make now?” Yang Hao refused to back down. Even something as complex as the Soul Aphrodisiac, which transcended levels, had been within his grasp. At worst, he’d lose some alchemical power and see his combat strength decline—still better than death.

“Consider this my final lesson in crisis,” Hunyuanzi said, as if bidding farewell. “Remember what I taught you—what are the three essentials of alchemy?”

“Energy, vessel, and ingredients.” For Yang Hao, this was child’s play. Despite Hunyuanzi’s often unserious demeanor, he had indeed imparted much knowledge.

“The Dragon Breath Elixir exists only in legend. To my knowledge, no one in our sect has ever succeeded in crafting it.” Hunyuanzi spoke as if recounting a distant, unrelated tale. “The history of the Alchemy Sect spans tens of thousands of years, yet the legend of the Dragon Breath Elixir dates back millions of years—when dragons and humans coexisted. To communicate with dragons, ancient sages sought to create this elixir. But they never anticipated the cost.”

“What cost?” Yang Hao’s eyes widened, momentarily forgetting the ancient dragon before them.

“Countless alchemists perished in the attempt—half of the ancient practitioners, their blood spilled before the dragons.” Hunyuanzi’s words made Yang Hao glance at the Cadiz Dragon, now motionless, its wings folded, exuding an eerie serenity. “When the elixir was finally forged, its creator stood atop a mountain, gazing upon the valley below—strewn with the bodies of his comrades. The weight of that single pill was more than he could bear.”

“What happened? Did he take it?”

Hunyuanzi fell silent, lost in thought or grief. After what felt like centuries, he sighed. “Had he consumed it, human history might have changed. We, as descendants, could have understood the dragons’ will, avoiding centuries of bloodshed.”

“He didn’t take it?” Yang Hao couldn’t believe it. After such sacrifice, the elixir was discarded?

“No.” Hunyuanzi’s answer was firm. “The purpose of the elixir was to bridge communication. But standing amidst the carnage, its creator saw no need for dialogue—only vengeance. He wept, then cast the elixir into the abyss. Returning to humanity, he trained warriors, marking the first chapter of the Dragon Slaying Era.”

“Dragon Slaying Era?” Yang Hao gasped. He never imagined the elixir’s history intertwined with that infamous epoch.

Strictly speaking, the Dragon Slaying Era wasn’t a defined period but a name for a dark age. Every decade, a team of ten warriors would venture to a dragon’s lair for battle. Though dragons were revered as divine, humans fought relentlessly, like moths to flame, for a thousand years—countless lives lost on both sides.

This era ended only when dragons vanished from the human world, leaving behind tales recorded as the “Age of Defiance.”

Would Yang Hao now become one of those legendary dragon slayers? The thought terrified him. Yet he now understood the elixir’s origins and the near-impossible challenge of crafting it.

“The requirements for the Dragon Breath Elixir—energy, ingredients, and vessel—are beyond reach. Since the Dragon Slaying Era, no one has succeeded.” Hunyuanzi chuckled darkly. “Of the three, energy is the simplest: an alchemist who’s transcended the Nascent Soul realm, using their alchemical power.”

“Simple?!” Yang Hao nearly spat blood. He’d barely reached the Harmony Stage—far from Nascent Soul. Using alchemical power would regress his combat strength. “Then the other two must be impossible.”

“The ingredients, for others, are unattainable. But for us, they’re within grasp.”

“Dragon breath!” Yang Hao wasn’t slow. “The Cadiz Dragon’s just waiting to roast me alive.”

“The true impossibility is the vessel.” Hunyuanzi paused dramatically. “Countless deaths taught us: to craft this divine elixir, the vessel must be a living dragon.”

“A… living dragon?” Yang Hao swallowed hard. “Would it agree?”

A foolish question. If dragons consented, history wouldn’t be written in blood. Without waiting for an answer, Yang Hao groaned, “So it’s hopeless. We’re doomed.”

“Only the elixir can save you!” Hunyuanzi insisted. “Without it, you die. But if crafted, you live. Remember your duty—you can’t die yet.”

Yang Hao had no death wish, but the odds seemed insurmountable. “You said it yourself—the requirements are impossible!”

“Not for me.” Hunyuanzi’s voice was steel. “I broke through the Nascent Soul realm millennia ago. That’s why my spirit endures.”

Yang Hao froze. Realization struck—Hunyuanzi wasn’t asking him to craft the elixir. He intended to do it himself.

“But the vessel? The Cadiz Dragon isn’t your kin. It won’t just let you inside to brew a potion!” Yang Hao scoffed. “This is no time for jokes.”

“It will.” Hunyuanzi’s calm was eerie. “The Cadiz Dragon Clan, though ruthless, doesn’t feed on human flesh. What sustains them are power entities—souls and consciousness imbued with energy.”

“Power entities?”

“A Nascent Soul is a power entity—a soul or will carrying strength. Dragons consume these to grow stronger.”

Yang Hao shuddered. Suddenly, everything made sense—Hunyuanzi’s odd behavior, his urgency to teach, his burdening Yang Hao with responsibility.

Hunyuanzi was offering himself as the sacrifice.

“This is the final lesson of crisis,” Hun Yuanzi sounded as if delivering his final words before death. “Have you forgotten what I taught you before? What are the three essential elements of alchemy?”

“Ability, tools, and ingredients,” Yang Hao replied as if it were child’s play. Although Hun Yuanzi had always seemed more like a joker than a mentor over the years, he had indeed taught Yang Hao countless things.

“The Dragon Breath Pill is a legendary elixir, something my sect has never successfully created,” Hun Yuanzi spoke as if recounting a distant tale unrelated to himself. “The history of the Alchemy Cauldron Sect spans thousands of years, but the legend of the Dragon Breath Pill dates back millions of years. Back then, humans and dragons coexisted in the same world. To communicate with dragons, human sages attempted to create the Dragon Breath Pill. However, those ancestors never foresaw the immense cost they would pay in pursuit of it.”

“What kind of cost?” Yang Hao’s eyes widened, nearly forgetting the ancient dragon looming before him.

“In their attempts to craft this pill, nearly half of the ancient cultivators were lost. Thousands of gifted individuals spilled their blood before the dragons,” Hun Yuanzi continued, prompting Yang Hao to glance involuntarily at the distant Kadith dragon, which now stood still, wings folded, exuding no trace of its earlier terrifying presence. Hun Yuanzi continued, “When the Dragon Breath Pill finally emerged in the hands of one cultivator, he stood atop a mountain peak, gazing out only to find all his friends and warriors dead below in the valley. The pill in his hand had become too heavy for him to bear.”

“What happened next? What did he do after taking the Dragon Breath Pill?”

Hun Yuanzi fell silent, whether in sorrow or nostalgia, it was impossible to tell. After what seemed like centuries, he finally spoke with a sigh: “If he had truly taken that Dragon Breath Pill, perhaps the fate of humanity would have changed forever. We descendants might have been able to read the minds of gods, and there would have been no bloody history afterward.”

“He didn’t take it?” Yang Hao couldn’t believe his ears. After so much time, such a great cost, nearly half the cultivation experts lost, and the person still didn’t consume the Dragon Breath Pill.

“No,” Hun Yuanzi replied decisively, without hesitation. “The original intent of creating the Dragon Breath Pill was to communicate with dragons. But when this person held the pill, he saw only the blood of his countrymen spilled by dragons. Suddenly, he felt that such hatred no longer required any further dialogue with the dragon race. So he wept bitterly and threw the Dragon Breath Pill into the abyss. From then on, he returned to the human world and devoted himself to training more experts. It was from that moment that humanity began its legendary history of dragon slaying.”

“History of dragon slaying?” Yang Hao exclaimed in astonishment. He had never imagined that the history of the Dragon Breath Pill was so closely tied to the famous legend of dragon slayers.

Strictly speaking, the dragon-slaying history wasn’t a specific era but rather a name given to a certain period. In ancient times, every decade, the human world sent a ten-member dragon-slaying warrior group to a dragon cliff to engage in life-and-death battles with the dragon race. Although dragons were also considered divine beings in ancient times, humans fought them relentlessly like moths drawn to a flame, continuing this dragon-slaying war for over a thousand years. Countless experts perished in the quest, yet many dragons also lost their lives.

This dragon-slaying history only ended when dragons completely vanished from the human world. The stories recorded in ancient histories and magical legends were later known as the Age of Defiance.

Could it be that today Yang Hao would become a dragon slayer like those warriors of the Age of Defiance? This was something Yang Hao couldn’t even imagine. But at least he now deeply understood the origins and the immense difficulty of crafting the Dragon Breath Pill.

“The three elements required for the Dragon Breath Pill—ability, ingredients, and tools—are all extremely difficult to obtain. Since the Age of Dragon Slaying, no one has ever successfully crafted even one pill,” Hun Yuanzi actually managed a smile. “Among the three, ability is the easiest. It merely requires a cultivator who has surpassed the Yuan Ying stage and can use alchemical power.”

“This is easy?” Yang Hao nearly spat blood. He had struggled through countless dangers and near-death experiences just to barely break through the Harmony stage, still far from Yuan Ying. Using alchemical power meant sacrificing his combat effectiveness, something no cultivator would willingly do. “As for the other two—ingredients and tools—they must be unimaginably difficult.”

“The raw materials needed for the Dragon Breath Pill are impossible for others to obtain, but for us now, they’re within reach.”

“Dragon breath!” Yang Hao wasn’t stupid. From the name itself, he immediately figured it out. “Of course, the main ingredient of the Dragon Breath Pill is dragon breath. That damned Kadith dragon keeps glaring at me, as if it’s about to give its adopted son a taste of its breath.”

“The most incredible part of crafting the Dragon Breath Pill lies in the tool,” Hun Yuanzi paused mysteriously. “After countless deaths, people finally discovered that to create such a divine pill, one must use a real dragon itself as the alchemical vessel.”

“Real…?” Yang Hao swallowed hard and asked a foolish question, “Would the dragon agree?”

Indeed, a foolish question—if dragons were willing to agree, would there have been those years of bloodshed claiming thousands of lives? So without needing Hun Yuanzi to answer, Yang Hao already understood: “You’re just talking nonsense. According to you, the Dragon Breath Pill is impossible to create, and we can only wait helplessly for it to kill us.”

“Only the Dragon Breath Pill can save you!” Hun Yuanzi surprisingly insisted. “Without it, you’re doomed. But if you can make it, your life can still be saved. Don’t forget—you can’t die now. You have your duty.”

Yang Hao had no intention of dying, but he had been pushed to this point. In a foul mood, he roared, “You yourself said how impossibly difficult it is to craft the Dragon Breath Pill. It’s simply unachievable!”

“It’s possible!” Hun Yuanzi declared firmly.

“Possible?” Even if Yang Hao were to die, he wouldn’t believe it. “How could that be? I haven’t even reached Yuan Ying. How can I craft the Dragon Breath Pill?”

“You haven’t, but I have. Thousands of years ago, I already broke through Yuan Ying. Otherwise, how could I remain intact as a ghost all these years?”

Yang Hao was stunned. He finally understood—Hun Yuanzi hadn’t been suggesting that Yang Hao himself should craft the life-saving Dragon Breath Pill. Instead, Hun Yuanzi intended to do it himself.

“But… what about the vessel? It must be a real dragon. That Kadith dragon isn’t your relative. Would it let you enter its body to craft pills? That’s a joke. You’re making jokes at a time like this?”

“It will. It’s waiting for me to enter its body,” Hun Yuanzi said calmly, as if making a decision he had long prepared for. “Although the Kadith dragon clan is among the most brutal creatures in the universe, they don’t feed on human lives. Even consuming countless human bodies brings them no benefit. The true sustenance that supports the growth and strength of dragons is cosmic entities of power.”

“Entities of power? What are they?”

“A Yuan Ying is an entity of power—an aware soul, a conscious mind infused with power. Such entities are the best nourishment for dragons. Only by consuming vast numbers of these power entities can dragons grow stronger.”

Yang Hao shuddered. He suddenly understood why Hun Yuanzi had been speaking so strangely today, why he seemed determined to teach him everything at once, and why Hun Yuanzi seemed to be placing all responsibility squarely on Yang Hao’s shoulders.