The Elixir Hall had been sealed for nearly a week.
The doors and windows were tightly shut, and the curtains hung low. Every crack that might let in light had been sealed shut with thick cinnabar, and even the cloth strips stuffed under the door gaps had been soaked in vermilion to ensure not a single trace of aura would leak out.
The entire Elixir Hall resembled a massive container with its mouth and nose covered. Inside, there was only Bai Cen and a single furnace of burning fire. The elixir fire roared inside the hearth, pale blue-green flames erupting from the vents in the furnace walls.
The flames licked the furnace walls, letting out a continuous, high-pitched screech like the wailing of a soul. In truth, it was simply the cauldron itself bearing a burden it was unwilling to endure.
The air around the hearth was warped and distorted by the heat. Standing in front of the furnace, the entire Elixir Hall seemed to be slightly swaying.
The chunks of Glass Sword Heart had completely liquefied inside the medicine furnace. They had originally been solid, but now they slowly dissolved, deformed, and flowed within the flames, turning into a translucent liquid that slowly swirled at the bottom of the furnace.
The surrounding liquefied medicinal herbs were operating in tandem—crimson, amber, and deep blue juices each occupied a section of the hearth, pushed forward by the flames.
They were originally incompatible, bouncing away whenever they touched, like oil and water that could never mix. That barrier preventing them from merging with the medicinal herbs had remained stubbornly in place during his attempts over the past few days. Bai Cen had tried increasing the fire's intensity, adjusting the order in which the herbs were added, and placing talismans on the outside of the furnace—but none of it had succeeded.
But this time, he had finally found a method that actually worked.
The soul of a beloved. Using soul fire as a guide, he cast the soul deep into the hearth, letting it slowly release its aura within the heat. The soul gradually dissolved under the scorching of the elixir fire—its edges softening in the high temperature, emitting an aura like an extremely thin layer of oil that blanketed the space between the liquefied sword heart and the liquefied herbs.
The barrier did not vanish immediately. First it thinned, changing from a wall into a membrane, and then from a membrane into an almost imperceptible boundary. Then, even the boundary disappeared.
The medicinal liquids merged. The moment the elixir liquid completely fused inside the hearth, the several swirling fluids combined into one. Their colors shifted from a chaotic, multi-colored mess into a uniform pale blue-green, and a layer of fine bubbles rippled across the surface like a living organism breathing.
Bai Cen sat high with his eyes closed, pressing both hands against the sides of the furnace. Spiritual energy poured from his palms, extending along the patterns on the inside of the hearth. The screeching of the furnace grew increasingly ear-piercing, as if metal and flame were tearing at each other.
He continuously channeled his spiritual energy inside, feeling the primal embryonic form within the hearth slowly solidify, contract, and compress—transforming from a large mass of fluid into a tight, perfectly round sphere.
The screeching gradually faded. The flames slowly died down, shrinking from a hearth full of roaring blue-green fire back into the embers at the bottom.
A white, translucent pill flew out from the furnace, rising into midair and hovering for a moment like a liberated star. It was completely clear, with a pale blue-green mist constantly swirling inside.
Bai Cen reached out and caught it. The moment the pill landed in his palm, he felt a thread of coolness seep through his fingertips into his skin—subtle, as if it were confirming that he had touched it.
The Glass Sword Pill. His theory was correct. Innate talent could indeed be used to refine pills. He stared at the pill in his palm, this realization replaying in his mind over and over again.
He was the first person to ever refine such a pill. Unprecedented and unparalleled. He had taken a step forward in this era—a step that no one else could ever hope to catch up to!
This would be an insurmountable milestone in the history of elixir refiners! His name would be remembered for eternity! As he held the pill, his grip was exceptionally gentle, terrified of causing any damage to it.
However, he was so engrossed that he forgot to evaluate the pill's rank. A Heaven Rank pill would attract pill tribulation lightning. If the medicine failed to form a pill, or if the pill lacked a proper rank, the Heavenly Tribulation would not be triggered. But he had already succeeded.
Tribulation clouds gathered in the sky, and lightning flashed. The air above the Elixir Hall grew as dark and heavy as if something were pressing down on it. A thick bolt of lightning tore through the air, striking down ruthlessly toward the roof of the Elixir Hall. Inside the room, Bai Cen had not yet fully woken from the joy of successfully forming the pill when he suddenly heard a tearing sound from above. His expression changed drastically. “Pill tribulation!” Before his joy could even fade, a new wave of excitement surged. This meant that the quality of this pill had absolutely reached the Heaven Rank.
Then, the joyful expression froze on his face. The magnificent, golden roof of the Elixir Hall shattered violently, sending broken tiles and fractured beams exploding outward amidst the firelight.
The dancing lightning reflected in Bai Cen's terrified eyes. The bolt struck his body—the body of an elixir refiner, which was already quite weak compared to other cultivators of the same rank. He was instantly blown away, his back slamming heavily against the wall.
He let out a muffled groan and coughed up a mouthful of blood, which was flecked with tiny black particles. Had he not raised a protective layer of spiritual energy in time just now, that single strike might have killed him outright.
Panting heavily, he looked up at the sky. The tribulation clouds had not yet dispersed; they were slowly gathering for the next lightning strike. The quality of this pill was absolutely beyond ordinary Heaven Rank, reaching at least the low-grade Heaven Rank level.
The pill tribulation lightning for Heaven Rank pills was divided into grades: one strike for low-quality, three for low-grade, five for mid-grade, seven for high-grade, and nine strikes would make it a divine pill. Right now, even after the first strike, the lightning tribulation was still gathering, meaning it was at least low-grade—three strikes. Panic gradually crept into his eyes.
He absolutely could not survive three strikes of pill tribulation lightning. The strike just now was only equivalent to a full-force blow from a peak Soul Transformation cultivator, but the next one would be at least at the Void Refinement level. He was merely an elixir refiner whose cultivation was entirely piled up using pills; he knew exactly how unstable his foundation was.
He clutched the pill tightly in his hand and looked down at it. The Glass Sword Pill was still slowly spinning in his palm. If he destroyed the pill, the Heavenly Tribulation would disperse, and he would survive.
But—he could not destroy it! Even if he couldn't keep this pill, and even if it didn't end up in his hands, he could never allow this successful refinement to be ruined. This was the crystallization of his entire life's work, his theory and wisdom that surpassed this era. Even if his body perished and his Dao dissolved, he could never destroy it!
His eyes threatened to split. Facing the descending second bolt of lightning, he gathered all of his spiritual energy, focusing it entirely on the medicine furnace before him. “Refine for me!” The mouth of the furnace burst wide open as the elixir fire and lightning intertwined, thunder and sparks roaring in unison.
The Heaven Rank medicine furnace that had accompanied him for many years let out a massive explosion amidst the lightning. Cracks spiderwebbed across its walls, spreading from the bottom of the hearth to the mouth before it completely shattered. Shards rained down onto the ground, scattering among the lightning and ashes.
The backlash and impact from the furnace were so violent that a sweet taste flooded his throat. He bent over, blood mixed with small clots gushing from his nose and mouth like water, dripping onto his lapels. He wiped his face with his hand; his fingertips were covered in bright red and charred black.
He spat out the blood clots and looked up at the third bolt of lightning still gathering in the sky—the tribulation clouds were even thicker than before, lightning rolling within the clouds, far from finished. A wave of resentment surged from the depths of his heart. Why does heaven treat me like this! Why!
The lightning was about to strike. He summoned all of his magical treasures to protect himself, keeping the pill safely tucked inside the inner pocket of his robes; even if he died, the pill would not be destroyed. He closed his eyes. He accepted his fate. At least he had witnessed it with his own eyes—a person's innate sword talent could indeed be turned into a material for refining pills. At least he had proven his theory correct. What a pity, though, that no one would ever see what happened when someone consumed his pill.
With a shift of his mind, he retrieved the pill from his storage bag, holding it between his fingers. If he ate it, no one would ever know he had succeeded. But if he didn't, he would never see its effects. His breathing grew heavy. His knuckles turned slightly white as he gripped the pill. With a pot of wine before me, why care for a thousand years of fame after death? I'll eat it! I will die with no regrets!
Just as Bai Cen held the pill and was about to bring it to his lips—
A magnificent sword light pierced through the heavens, stretching across the horizon as if it had wounded the sky, leaving a purple “scar of blood” behind. The sword light tore through the clouds, splitting the gathering lightning, and passed through the shattered roof of the Elixir Hall, pointing straight at Bai Cen.
“Put that pill... down!”
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