With a flick of Liu Xi's finger, a wisp of azure flame rose and coiled into the air, and the temperature in the entire room surged instantly. Upon closer look, even the edges of the flame distorted space itself, leaving faint ripples of black radiance where the void collapsed.
Liu Xi moved his fingertip slightly, and that thread of azure fire shot toward the Ten Thousand Beast Cauldron, diving through the opening at its top. In an instant, the flames roared to life, licking the inner walls as their reflection made the carved beasts on the cauldron's surface seem alive—snarling, baring fangs, and ready to leap forth at any moment.
Feeling the temperature rise sharply, Liu Xi nodded with satisfaction and opened the first jade box before him. A wisp of chilling mist drifted out, carrying an icy fragrance. He pinched out a Snow Region Cold Lotus and tossed it into the cauldron. The fierce azure flame immediately pounced upon it, devouring everything.
At once, an intense wave of frost exploded from the Snow Region Cold Lotus. Bone-piercing cold spread outward, clashing violently with the blazing azure fire.
If this had been the old Green Lotus Core Flame, it would have taken some effort to suppress such chill. But now, this flame was Liu Xi's own Origin Flame—the merged essence of five Heavenly Flames. Its power was far from a simple sum of parts.
Under its heat, the Snow Region Cold Lotus was as fragile as a tender bloom under the summer sun, completely powerless before the burning azure blaze. The white mist evaporated in an instant, revealing the flower's delicate, crystalline body.
The flame surged higher, its heat overwhelming. The lotus shriveled rapidly, releasing thick streams of milky-white vapor that coalesced above it. As the vapor gathered, it condensed into a shimmering, pearly liquid, while the lotus below turned into a pile of black ash and burst apart with a faint pop.
Without pausing, Liu Xi moved to refine the second ingredient—the Earth Vein Blood Essence. With his immense Spiritual Power at the mid-level Spirit Realm, the expenditure was nothing to him.
Under the scorching azure flames, the gray stone cracked open with sharp kaka sounds, releasing streams of crimson mist. With a sudden bang, the rock shattered, exposing a blood-red crystal within. Viscous scarlet liquid pulsed inside it like living blood.
As the flame burned hotter, the crystal melted visibly, while faint gray impurities drifted out as mist. Only by removing these impurities could one obtain the pure medicinal essence required for a true pill.
Soon, the gray stone had transformed into a lump of thick, crimson liquid brimming with the power of the earth's veins.
After successfully refining both main ingredients, Liu Xi's face showed no relief. His posture remained perfectly still, his calm gaze fixed upon the cauldron as he began refining the third herb.
With his vast Spiritual Power supporting him, he refined one rare ingredient after another without rest, turning each into a unique, luminous liquid.
Day turned to night; the moon rose high above.
At last, a faint smile appeared on Liu Xi's face. The jade boxes around him were all empty, while inside the Ten Thousand Beast Cauldron swirled dozens of brightly colored liquid essences, each glowing faintly under the azure flames.
After a short rest, Liu Xi's hands blurred into motion, forming countless afterimages—his gestures so fast they resembled the thousand arms of a divine statue.
Then suddenly, his movements stopped, freezing into a strange, intricate seal.
"Form the Pill!" he shouted.
Dou Qi and Spiritual Power surged violently within him, pouring into the cauldron. The multicolored liquids inside arced together toward the center—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the different essences collided, immense waves of power erupted. The cauldron trembled as fierce ripples spread outward, shaking even the flames themselves.
Now!
Liu Xi's eyes sharpened. His hands changed again, forming another seal.
"Gather Spirit!"
At once, tiny motes of light appeared inside the cauldron, flickering rhythmically like newborn stars—mystical, ethereal, full of life's first breath. They danced with perfect harmony, gradually merging into the central mass of radiant liquid.
This was the true essence of refining an 8th Tier Pill. Below the 8th Tier, pills were merely lifeless medicine. But from the 8th Tier upward, they began to possess spirit—like creations of heaven and earth, infused with a trace of life itself.
However, as the refinement progressed, faint weariness appeared between Liu Xi's brows. The Spiritual Power he had expended before was negligible—but now, what he was using was his spiritual essence, and that was something even he could not ignore.
It was precisely this drain of spirit that separated ordinary alchemists from true 8th Tier masters. Some had once tried to solve this by adding Spirit-Birthing Dust—a long-lost material known to enhance a pill's spiritual vitality—but that method had vanished from the continent ages ago.
'A shame… if only I had a fragment of that old bronze tablet,' Liu Xi mused with a wry smile. 'But luck like that doesn't come twice.'
He steadied his thoughts and focused entirely on the cauldron. The swirling multicolored liquid began to stabilize as more motes of light merged into it. Gradually, the mass started pulsing rhythmically—like a living heart.
Everything was proceeding perfectly. Time slipped by, hour by hour, under the steady hum of the flames.
Three days later—
Within the cauldron, a single purple pill floated amid the azure fire, bouncing playfully as though it possessed its own will.
Liu Xi's eyes brightened with joy. Though fatigue lined his features, his excitement could not be hidden.
"8th Tier Pill—Zun Shi Pill—success!"
Bang!
In the next instant, the cauldron lid shot open. A beam of pure azure light blasted skyward, punching through the inn's ceiling and soaring straight into the heavens!
The explosion drew every eye in the city. The terrifying energy fluctuations sent shivers down the spines of countless cultivators.
Shouts filled the streets as people rushed toward the scene. Eyes burned with excitement, greed, and awe.
Heaven and earth trembled—the clouds above churned wildly, winds roared, and dark clouds gathered thickly.
At the top of the azure light pillar, mist condensed at an incredible rate, forming a vast thundercloud in mere moments.
Then—lightning flared.
First came the azure thundercloud, followed swiftly by silver.
Yet the phenomenon didn't stop there. Amidst the rolling storm, a faint crimson hue began to bloom, spreading rapidly until the entire sky was streaked with three colors of lightning.
When the clouds finally stabilized, the heavens themselves seemed to freeze—locked in the brilliance of three-colored Pill Lightning.
"Three-colored thunderclouds?!" someone gasped below.
"Only an 8th Tier Pill can summon such a phenomenon! Who could be refining it?"
"An 8th Tier Pill… heavens above…"
(End of Chapter)
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