Shan Hu designated a natural stone cave in the rear mountain of Dragon's Hidden Mountain as the alchemy chamber.
Using mundane jade stones he casually picked up, he swiftly carved and set up the Immaculate Spirit Refining Array. This formation was not for pill refinement itself, but a dedicated auxiliary array for purging impurities from spiritual materials and locking in their essential properties. It demanded extremely high levels of control over divine sense and true essence from the operator.
"This array can separate the impurities from the spiritual materials, but the core herbs possess extremely rigid and pure Yang properties. Even a slight deviation will cause them to vanish entirely." Shan Hu stood at the array's edge, instructing Su Qingxue solemnly. "Remember, you must use your Divine Sense primarily, supplemented by True Essence, to gently guide the array's power. Fail once, and these three core ingredients will be destroyed."
Su Qingxue understood the gravity of the responsibility; the pressure was immense. These were not just three rare spiritual herbs; they were the foundation for her Master's breakthrough to Foundation Establishment and his return to the Immortal Path.
"Qingxue understands!"
She carefully placed the Primordial Geng Metal, the Thousand-Year Spirit Turtle Herb, and the Deep Sea Dark Crystal into the three central grooves of the array. As she injected her Qi Condensation True Essence into the array's nexus, the formation immediately activated, and soft, white spiritual light began to circulate, enveloping the three materials.
The Primordial Geng Metal was the first to be touched by the light, immediately emitting a shrill metallic tremor. An extremely sharp golden aura attempted to pierce the light barrier. Su Qingxue's face paled. She instantly focused her mind, transforming her Divine Sense into an invisible hand, guiding the spiritual light to form resilient threads, gently taming the volatile golden energy.
Spirit refining is heart refining. Under the relentless assault of the Geng Metal's sharpness, the Spirit Turtle Herb's boundless vitality, and the alternating hot and cold energies of the Dark Crystal, sweat beaded on Su Qingxue's forehead. Every fraction of Divine Sense consumed brought a wave of dizziness. She had to maintain absolute concentration, pushing her early Qi Condensation True Essence to its limits just to sustain the array's stability.
Meanwhile, Shan Hu had embarked on his journey to the Southwestern border regions of China.
He did not ride Xuan Ming, opting instead for the fastest and most discreet method—Flying Sword travel. Even at his peak Qi Condensation speed, the distance from Longcheng to the Southwest required several hours.
As he passed through the heartland of Central China, Shan Hu's Divine Sense suddenly picked up an anomalous fluctuation.
It was an isolated mountain range known in the secular world as "Shennongjia," perpetually shrouded in mist and rarely visited by man. Deep within the mountains, a faint Earth-element spiritual energy and a trace of a lingering ancient array caught Shan Hu's attention.
"This aura... is somewhat familiar." Shan Hu frowned slightly, halting his flying sword.
He concealed his aura, descending silently like a falling leaf toward a gorge within the mountain range.
At the bottom of the gorge, an ancient stone gate was half-obscured by vines. The runes on the gate were faded, clearly having been forcibly broken open by a powerful force. A cold, foul, dark-art aura was steadily seeping out from within the door.
"Black Fiend Sect remnants?" Shan Hu's eyes turned cold.
In his previous life, the Black Fiend Sect had maintained a branch setup in Shennongjia, a secret base where they captured mortal cultivators and gathered nefarious spiritual herbs. He hadn't expected disciples to flee here after the sect's annihilation.
Shan Hu paid no mind to these minor characters; his goal was the core ingredient. He stepped through the stone gate, entering a pitch-black cave.
Inside, dried bloodstains littered a broken altar, evidence of a recent dark ritual. At the end of the cave, a hunched old man in black robes sat cross-legged atop an ancient jade used for sacrifices.
The old man emitted a faint, early Foundation Establishment-stage dark-art aura. In his hand, he clutched a sealed wooden box, from which a weak Earth-attribute fluctuation emanated.
Shan Hu's eyes brightened upon sensing the fluctuation: "Minor Five-Element Earth."
This Minor Five-Element Earth, while far inferior to the Five-Colored Earth Heart he sought, was still a rare spiritual material containing Five-Element Earth energy, sufficient to serve as a secondary core ingredient for refining ordinary Foundation Establishment Pills. It seemed the Black Fiend Sect remnant had stumbled upon some luck.
The old man clearly sensed the intruder. He abruptly opened his eyes, revealing two bloodshot, savage glares.
"What small fry dares to trespass on my Black Fiend Sect forbidden ground! You seek death!" the old man roared hoarsely.
He instantly perceived Shan Hu's cultivation—peak Qi Condensation. Yet, the old man showed no fear. He was already in the early Foundation Establishment stage, a rare powerhouse on Earth, and furthermore, he was within his own array formation.
The old man cackled. He changed his hand seals, and the dark array surrounding the cave instantly activated. Dozens of shadowy spirits, black as ink, condensed from all directions, forming a gigantic phantom hand that slammed down toward Shan Hu, intending to crush him instantly.
"Heh heh! Submit and die quietly! I shall use your essence and energy to nourish my treasure!"
Shan Hu stood his ground, not even raising a hand. He simply uttered two words, his voice calm yet carrying the irresistible majesty of the Heavenly Dao:
"Disperse."
The moment his voice fell, the gigantic phantom hand instantly disintegrated as if struck by sunlight, turning into nothingness. Subsequently, the dark spiritual energy, as if subjected to an invisible purification, let out piercing screams before completely dissipating into the world.
The old man's mad laughter abruptly ceased, his face contorted in horror.
"You... who are you! Impossible! No one below the Foundation Establishment stage can break my Black Fiend Ghost Hand Array!"
He trembled as he looked at the serene young man before him, suddenly feeling an extreme terror—not a gap in cultivation, but a crushing superiority in the very hierarchy of life.
"This Emperor is Shan Hu. The Black Fiend Sect is destroyed." Shan Hu stated plainly, his voice proclaiming an unalterable fate.
The old man was thunderstruck. The wooden box in his hand clattered to the ground. He finally realized that the youth before him was not a minor foe but the true Immortal who could wipe out their sect and force the Nine Tripods Sword Pavilion into submission!
"Imm—Immortal spare me! I offer this Minor Five-Element Earth! I only beg the Immortal to let me live!" The old man knelt down in terror, his forehead pressed against the cold ground.
Shan Hu did not look at him, his gaze fixed solely on the wooden box that emitted the faint Earth-attribute fluctuation.
"To spare your life holds no interest for this Emperor. Your dark art cultivation has contaminated the spiritual energy of this place."
Shan Hu flicked his finger, and a golden beam of light instantly pierced the center of the old man's forehead. The old man's body shuddered, and he lost all life force, collapsing onto the floor. To his death, he never understood how ridiculously fragile Foundation Establishment cultivation was before an Immortal Emperor.
Shan Hu picked up the wooden box and placed it into his storage ring. The Minor Five-Element Earth, though not the Five-Colored Earth Heart, could serve as a catalyst during alchemy, increasing the pill's success rate.
"It holds some value."
Taking to the air once more, Shan Hu's figure instantly shot out of the Shennongjia mist, rapidly flying toward the Southwestern border region, toward the ancient mountain range legendary as the "Ancestor of Ten Thousand Mountains."