Thousand-Venom Purge Pill
The morning sun painted Azure Cloud City in streaks of pale gold, but the courtyard of the Pill Academy was already alive with anticipation.
Apprentices, instructors, and even a few nobles from the outer city had gathered, murmuring among themselves. Rumors had spread like wildfire: the silver-haired youth who had humiliated Xu Tian yesterday would now attempt The Thousand-Venom Purge Pill —the pill that even high-grade alchemists avoided.
Lin Xian entered the courtyard with calm, effortless steps, white hair shimmering under the sun. Xiao Jin perched on his shoulder, tail flicking lazily, golden eyes glinting with silent approval.
Xu Tian, standing beside the old and damaged cauldron etched with spirit-metal runes, frowned sharply. "Do you even know what you're doing, boy?"
"I've studied this formula for as long as I know," Lin Xian said lightly. "Every attempt fails at the fusion phase. The poison attributes clash violently."
Xu Tian's eyes narrowed. "And you dare—?"
Lin Xian interrupted, voice calm: "Poisons can't be suppressed. They must be guided."
The courtyard fell silent.
He approached the cauldron, fingers brushing the rim. His God Eyes of Insight flickered open, golden rings swirling faintly in his pupils. The air seemed to warp, the energies around him trembling as if acknowledging his presence.
The flame kindled—not bright or roaring, but shadowy and rhythmic, flowing like liquid night.
"What flame is that?" one apprentice whispered. "why is it blackk…"
Xu Tian's eyes widened. "i have never seen something like that before…."
He raised a spirit stone—and crushed it. The essence scattered into the cauldron like silver mist.
Then, without a word, Lin Xian began forming hand seals.
The movements were so fast that most could only see afterimages—his fingers weaving through invisible threads, his hands gliding with impossible precision. Yet there was no violence in the motion. Every shift of his wrist carried grace, every seal flowed into the next like ripples in still water.
First seal: Silver-mist moss rose and circled him like drifting stars.
Second seal: Ghostroot split open, its toxins writhing like tiny serpents before turning transparent.
Third seal: Venomsilk flower bloomed midair, scattering faint sparks of violet.
The cauldron responded to each seal with low, resonant hums, the Shadow Nirvana Flame pulsing like a heartbeat.
Xu Tian's brows twitched. "His control… it's too perfect. He's commanding three elemental essences at once!"
Lin Xian's focus deepened, golden light flickering behind his calm expression. Inside, however, his thoughts were steady and sharp.
> "I could refine this to perfection," he thought. "No cracks, no flaws—true immortal-grade purity."
"But that would be… too much. It's better to hide the edge of the blade."
"Eighty percent purity will be enough to humble Xu Tian—and not enough to draw unwanted eyes."
A faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"Shadow converges. Yin breath flows. Poison returns to silence," he murmured—a soft incantation, part verse of the Heaven-Slaughter Nirvana Scripture, part guiding melody.
The cauldron shimmered as the concoction thickened. Smoke rose in delicate tendrils, curling as if alive, the pungent stench of failure replaced with a faint, intoxicating purity. The apprentices staggered backward, sensing the overwhelming spiritual control radiating from him.
Xu Tian's jaw tightened. "A mortal vein cultivator… controlling fluctuations like this… his soul strength… it's… monstrous."
Lin Xian flicked his wrist. Herbs dissolved mid-air, poisons neutralized, energies harmonized. A single black droplet condensed in the cauldron's center, a perfect fusion of all toxins, purified through annihilation.
"Now," he whispered.
BOOM!
A shockwave of black light burst from the cauldron, sending faint tremors through the courtyard. The Shadow Flame vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving behind a soft, pure fragrance, almost otherworldly. Fragments of failed ingredients littered the floor, and the spectators froze.
From the center of the cauldron, a single pill rose, glowing faintly with dark-silver veins.
The crowd gasped.
*Wow it works!"
"The pill… the aroma.. the glow.. It's at least 80% purity! Its a Grandmaster level of mastery!"
Xu Tian's expression stiffened. His heart raced. The boy—this youth—had achieved in moments what even he could not.
Lin Xian lifted the pill effortlessly, eyes flickering gold as he blew lightly across it. "Your flame was too fierce during the fusion stage." he murmured. "You forced it instead of guiding it."
The words struck like thunder. Even the elders flinched.
Xu Tian's pride crumbled, replaced with reluctant awe. "You're right… I forced it. And the heavens punished me."
He stepped forward, clasping his hands with respect. "Boy, what is your name?"
"Lin Xian."
A hush fell across the courtyard. Xu Tian repeated the name quietly, memorizing it.
Then Lin Xian did something that silenced even the viewers. He tossed the pill lightly toward Xu Tian.
"Here," he said. "Take it. I don't need it."
Xu Tian caught it, stunned. "You… you're giving this to me?"
"It's a minor antidote," Lin Xian replied, voice calm. "Nothing of real value."
Apprentices almost choked. That pill could sell for thousands of spirit stones!
Although Lin Xian could have sold the pill, his experience tells him that Xu Tian is a formidable figure. He chooses to present it as a gift, calculating that the value of Xu Tian's goodwill far exceeds its price.
Xu Tian looked down at the pill, then back at Lin Xian, a deep laugh escaping him. "Ha-ha! Today, you've humbled me. I've seen countless prodigies, but none like you. Xu Tian owes you a favor!"
He reached into his sleeve and withdrew 500 spirit stones and a crimson-gold emblem, engraved with a nine-petaled lotus and a flame sigil. Its edges glimmered faintly with runes.
"Present this anywhere under the Pill Alliance. You'll be received as my direct guest. No one dares oppose you while it's shown."
Lin Xian took it calmly, faint smile curling his lips. "I'll accept."
"Do. And should fate allow, I'd like to see you refine again… perhaps something that would even make the heavens tremble."
Xiao Jin leapt onto his shoulder, tail flicking triumphantly.
The disciples parted silently as the white-haired youth walked through them, sunlight catching the emblem and his shimmering hair.
Behind him, Xu Tian stood, heart still racing, a smile of disbelief and awe on his lips. That one phrase—"It's a minor antidote"—kept echoing in his mind.
He sighed, shaking his head. 'That boy... he's going to rewrite history.'"