Black-Corner Region, Iron Cloud City.
This place was the stronghold of a Dou Emperor-level faction in the Black-Corner Region, the Black Cloud Sect. A round of interrogation was currently taking place in the rear mountains.
"People from the Hall of Souls? They have their eyes on Young Master?"
Looking at the old man shrouded in black mist before her, Qing Lin's voice became noticeably more solemn.
Upon closer inspection, the old man's eyes had already lost their focus. He was completely dazed and had no ability to resist whatsoever.
"Qing Lin, should I beat him to death?" Zi Yan casually yawned and asked in boredom.
Intelligence work was really boring!
"No. He's still useful." Qing Lin gently shook her head.
A flash of green light passed through her eyes, and her voice, infused with soul power, carried an added hint of authority.
"Repeat the orders you received exactly as they were given."
"Yes, Venerable Qing Lin!"
The old man mechanically nodded.
"The original order we received was: 'Use the forces you have in the secular world to closely monitor this person's movements, but do not act rashly. Without this Protector's permission, you are not to engage in any hostile actions against him.'"
"When did you first begin monitoring Young Master Lin Yuan? And why did you take notice of him in the first place?"
Qing Lin fully displayed her meticulous nature, carefully interrogating this Dou Emperor-level Soul Envoy in an attempt to uncover the entire situation.
Inner Academy, Pan's Gate.
Lin Yuan sat opposite Xiao Yan and Yao Lao.
"Before the Spirit Ascension step, please circulate your soul cultivation technique for a while and gather spiritual energy for me in advance!" Lin Yuan looked at Yao Lao and said solemnly. "Without Spirit-Nurturing Dust, this is the only way we can perform the Spirit Ascension method."
"Of course. Leave this matter to me."
Yao Lao nodded and agreed without hesitation.
This concerned his resurrection, so naturally, he would spare no effort.
Afterward, Yao Lao straightened his expression and said solemnly, "Lin Yuan, there is something I need to ask you to help me with. I hope you can lend me a hand."
"Please, Senior."
Lin Yuan's expression became serious.
"With your strength and talent, I imagine you will be heading to the Central Plains before long."
Yao Lao chuckled softly before continuing thoughtfully, "I hope that once you arrive in the Central Plains, you can make a trip to the Starfall Pavilion and help me with the method of refining a new body."
Without any precedent to refer to, Yao Lao could not determine exactly how long his resurrection would take. Naturally, it would have to be carried out in the safest possible place.
Fortunately, with Xun Er's help, he had already contacted Feng Xian. His old friend was secretly making his way over.
With Feng Xian protecting him afterward, everything would be much easier. It would not be long before he could finally escape this state of being neither human nor ghost.
Thinking of this, Yao Lao could not help but feel somewhat excited. He casually waved his hand and said boldly, "As for my resurrection, I won't be stingy with the payment. Just like before, you can name whatever you want."
"I agree."
Lin Yuan nodded.
"As for the payment, give me a wisp of the Bone Chilling Flame's child flame. When refining the perfect body, I will need to borrow your Bone Chilling Flame. If I can familiarize myself with its child flame beforehand, the possibility of something going wrong will be much lower when the time comes."
The Bone Chilling Flame possessed the unique characteristic of containing both extreme heat and extreme cold. Lin Yuan had always coveted this strange flame, and now the opportunity had been delivered right to his doorstep.
Suppressing the anticipation in his eyes, he calmly looked toward Yao Lao.
"A child flame of the Bone Chilling Flame?"
Yao Lao looked at Lin Yuan in confusion and said solemnly, "Don't you already possess a Heavenly Flame? Why are you seeking a child flame? Although the Bone Chilling Flame ranks eleventh, the power of its child flame is still far inferior to that of a true Heavenly Flame."
"Why?"
Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked in return, "As an alchemist, isn't it perfectly normal to seek out interesting flames?"
"Interesting...?"
Yao Lao's eyes became slightly unfocused.
Fragments of the past flashed through his mind as he sighed.
"Yes, Interesting. At your current stage, whether in terms of strength or alchemy, you have indeed reached the point where you can pursue the meaning of the word 'interesting.'"
"Hehe."
Lin Yuan chuckled softly and pressed on, "Then, Senior, do you agree to this condition?"
Yao Lao pondered for a moment before nodding.
"I can agree to it. Once the Bone Melting Blood-Replenishing Pill is successfully refined, I will give you the child flame!"
Hearing this, Lin Yuan stood up and smiled.
"Good. Then there's no time to waste. Let's set off immediately! This alchemy session will require Senior's assistance, but your existence cannot be exposed. I've found a good place in the rear mountains. Let's go there and begin refining the pill."
As he spoke, he leisurely walked toward the rear mountains.
"Let's go, Little Yan."
Yao Lao waved toward Xiao Yan and said indifferently, "Watching a Grandmaster-level alchemist refine a pill from such close range will also be a considerable opportunity for you."
"Yes, Teacher!"
Xiao Yan nodded heavily.
Before long, Lin Yuan carried Xiao Yan out of Pan's Gate and flew toward the depths of the rear mountains.
Inner Academy, Rear Mountains.
In an extremely secluded valley, a streak of light shot over from the distant sky.
Upon reaching the valley, it came to a complete stop in an instant. The transition from extreme movement to absolute stillness contained not the slightest trace of hesitation, as though it had been accomplished naturally.
The light dissipated, revealing Lin Yuan and Xiao Yan.
Lin Yuan casually tossed Xiao Yan onto a stone platform and teased, "Brother Xiao, you can't even handle this speed. You really need to train harder."
Xiao Yan shook his somewhat dizzy head and helplessly glanced at Lin Yuan.
The other party had not even bothered to provide him with Dou Qi protection and had directly carried him at the extreme speed of a Dou Ancestor. Then, he had even performed that ridiculously abrupt stop just now.
How could a mere Dou Spirit possibly endure that?
However, Xiao Yan glanced at the smiling Lin Yuan.
He couldn't win, so he would endure it for now.
At this moment, Yao Lao floated out of the Bone Flame Ring. After carefully sensing his surroundings, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"It really is a good place. Circulating a soul cultivation technique here to gather spiritual energy will definitely yield twice the result with half the effort."
"Of course. After all, I carefully selected it."
Lin Yuan chuckled softly.
"As for the spiritual energy, I'll leave it to Senior."
After saying this, his figure moved and landed on a stone platform in the valley.
Lin Yuan raised his hand.
The Ten Thousand Beasts Cauldron landed with a bang on the bluestone platform before him. With a flick of his finger, a wisp of azure flame entered the cauldron and transformed into a raging blaze.
The scorching temperature spread outward with the Ten Thousand Beasts Cauldron at its center.
Lin Yuan closed his eyes and contemplated.
The refining method for the Bone Melting Blood-Replenishing Pill flowed through his mind like running water.
After a moment, he took a deep breath.
His tightly closed eyes slowly opened, and a sharp glint flashed within them.
For this refinement, he was already completely confident.
His palm swept across the air, and nearly a hundred medicinal ingredients flew out of his Storage Ring, hovering around him.
Immediately afterward, he lightly waved his sleeve.
The three jade boxes floating in the air opened, and three medicinal ingredients flew out.
They were precisely the three primary ingredients of the Bone Melting Blood-Replenishing Pill: Blood Essence Demon Fruit, Ten-Thousand-Year Green Spirit Vine, and Snow Bone Ginseng.
Lin Yuan fiercely waved his sleeve.
A powerful gust of wind swept the medicinal ingredients revolving around him into the medicinal cauldron.
The azure flame instantly surged upward. With a casual sweep, the pure medicinal energy required for the Bone Melting Blood-Replenishing Pill was perfectly extracted from the ingredients, suspended inside the medicinal cauldron and radiating astonishingly pure energy.
At the same time, Lin Yuan diverted a portion of his attention and began circulating the Heavenly Heart Soul Art.
Wisps of spiritual energy seeped out from the void. Under Lin Yuan's guidance, they gathered toward the Ten Thousand Beasts Cauldron and gradually merged into the extracted medicinal powders and medicinal liquids.
After the refined medicinal ingredients were infused with traces of spiritual energy, their quality quietly increased considerably.
Seeing this, Yao Lao nodded slightly.
He immediately circulated his own soul cultivation technique, the Pure One Soul Art.
An unusual suction force suddenly emerged.
The surrounding space faintly fluctuated as wisps of spiritual energy seeped out and gathered between his hands.
Xiao Yan watched the two of them.
He could sense something profound, yet his perception was insufficient to truly grasp it.
An inexplicable feeling of being "blocked" welled up within his heart.
"Little Yan, don't bite off more than you can chew. Focus on observing the alchemy."
Yao Lao's stern voice suddenly came from the side.
"Don't think too much about soul cultivation techniques for now. Once you reach the required level of cultivation, I will teach it to you. By then, you'll understand."
The threshold for cultivating soul techniques was far higher than that of Dou Qi techniques.
If one's soul power foundation was insufficient, then even with the enhancement provided by a soul cultivation technique, one would still be unable to sense spiritual energy, let alone absorb it.
A mere Dou Spirit, even with the assistance of a soul cultivation technique, still could not reach the standard required to sense spiritual energy.
Moreover, breaking through one's Dou Qi cultivation realm would bring with it a significant enhancement to one's soul power.
On the Dou Qi Continent, someone with a powerful soul did not necessarily possess a high level of Dou Qi cultivation.
However, someone with a high level of Dou Qi cultivation would certainly not possess weak soul power.
Focusing on Dou Qi cultivation first and only beginning to cultivate a soul technique after reaching a certain realm was the proper approach. It was the principle of sharpening one's blade without delaying the task at hand, and it was also Yao Lao's plan for nurturing Xiao Yan.
"Yes, Teacher!"
After responding, Xiao Yan withdrew his thoughts and seriously observed Lin Yuan's alchemy process.
With Lin Yuan's current soul power and ability to control flames, the refining process was almost flawless.
That smooth, flowing beauty of the process was something even Yao Lao could hardly find fault with.
Xiao Yan was even more immersed in it, absorbing this rare experience.
Refining a high-grade medicinal pill was an extremely time-consuming task.
Even with the assistance of a Heavenly Flame, merely completing the extraction process took Lin Yuan an entire day.
After extraction came the even more time-consuming fusion and nurturing.
As time passed, Xiao Yixian, Medusa, and Qing Lin, who had completed her investigation, also arrived at this secluded valley and quietly watched Lin Yuan refine the pill.
It was extremely rare for them to witness the refinement of an Eighth-Grade medicinal pill.
Amid this tranquil atmosphere, time passed rapidly like sand slipping through one's fingers.
Ten days later.
"Boom——"
High above the cloudless sky, a faint rumble of thunder suddenly rang out. Everyone present immediately sensed that the energy of the entire world had suddenly erupted into a violent disturbance.
Almost simultaneously, everyone turned their gazes toward the bluestone platform and the figure sitting cross-legged upon it.
"Lin Yuan..."
Lin Yuan, who had been sitting cross-legged on the stone platform, slowly opened his eyes after keeping them shut for several days. A streak of lightning flashed through his deep eyes. The energy of heaven and earth seemed to have been drawn toward him, as clouds rapidly gathered beneath the heavens, causing the entire world to grow dim.
Lin Yuan calmly rose to his feet and quietly gazed at the Beast Cauldron. He then suddenly swung his sleeve.
"Clang——"
A crisp metallic sound rang out as the lid of the Beast Cauldron suddenly opened. A powerful energy fluctuation swept outward, followed by a scorching pillar of azure flame that shot into the sky with a sharp "whoosh," reaching straight toward the heavens.
At the end of the pillar of flame, clouds began rapidly gathering. In merely a few moments, they had transformed into a mass of thunderclouds.
The thunderclouds churned violently and gradually became more dazzling. Before long, the pitch-black clouds transformed into three-colored thunderclouds intertwined with azure, silver, and crimson.
"The three-color limit?" Lin Yuan secretly nodded.
Although the pill had been successfully refined, he did not relax in the slightest. Instead, both he and Yao Lao looked even more solemn.
Because what came next was the moment of Spirit Ascension.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Yuan rapidly formed several hand seals. The azure pillar of flame suddenly dissipated, revealing a dark-red pill wrapped in faint mist. An astonishing energy fluctuation radiated from it as it abruptly appeared within everyone's sight.
Lin Yuan's eyes sharpened at the sight, and the seals in his hands changed.
His immense Spiritual Strength surged out from between his brows without reservation, penetrating deep into the dark-red pill and activating a tiny azure flame crystal hidden within.
"Chi——"
An extremely faint sound came from the center of the pill.
Countless nearly invisible strands of azure flame emerged from the pill's core. The previously smooth and rounded surface of the pill immediately became uneven, while wisps of faint spiritual mist began to seep out from within.
Under Lin Yuan's meticulous control, the strands of azure flame transformed into an azure flame lotus, sealing the escaping spiritual mist within.
At this moment, the dark-red pill entered a peculiar state of being "formed, yet not fully formed."
"Now! Senior Yao..."
"Catch!"
Yao Lao raised his hand, sending a fist-sized mass of Spiritual Energy compressed to the extreme flying rapidly toward Lin Yuan.
This was the result of his efforts over the past several days.
"Perfect timing!"
Lin Yuan caught the massive concentration of Spiritual Energy with his Spiritual Strength and guided it into the azure flame lotus.
In an instant, the Spiritual Energy within the azure flame lotus became several times denser.
Then, he suddenly bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood mist, which was completely absorbed into the azure flame lotus.
"Blood Sacrifice, Spirit Return!"
A clear shout rang out.
Under Lin Yuan's precise Spiritual Strength control, the azure flame lotus transformed into a vortex of flames. It accurately compressed the enormous amount of Spiritual Energy sealed within it through the barely visible pores on the surface of the pill, forcing all of it into the pill!
When every strand of Spiritual Energy had been absorbed into the pill, its previously uneven surface visibly became smooth and perfectly rounded.
The three-colored thunderclouds in the sky began churning once again, as though they had been drawn by some mysterious force.
At a certain moment, a streak of golden light suddenly appeared before rapidly spreading outward.
Four-colored thunderclouds had appeared!
When the golden portion of the thunderclouds expanded until it was equal in size to the other three colors, the churning thunderclouds gradually weakened.
Then, a streak of violet light pierced through the clouds, dyeing a section of the thunderclouds a faint purple!
Five-colored thunderclouds had appeared!
A terrifying thunderous might erupted and spread throughout the sky. An oppressive force capable of shaking one's soul descended from the heavens.
Seeing this, Yao Lao's eyes flashed with wild joy.
"It actually reached five colors! This is truly..."
Although he and Lin Yuan had discussed producing a four-colored Eighth-Grade pill, his actual expectations had been much lower.
An Eighth-Grade, three-colored Bone Melting Blood Fusion Pill would already have been acceptable to him.
But now, it had reached five colors.
This was a genuine surprise, far beyond his expectations.
After all, without Spirit Nurturing Dust, increasing the pill's grade by two colors through pure Spirit Ascension was extraordinarily difficult.
"These additional two colors certainly didn't come easily!"
"The flawless refinement process, incorporating Spiritual Energy into the pill at every step, and my assistance. Not a single one of these three factors could be missing."
As Yao Lao pondered, the thunderclouds suddenly contracted.
A violent thunderclap resounded through the heavens.
A gigantic five-colored bolt of lightning shot out from within the clouds, accompanied by a terrifying crackling sound as it ferociously descended toward Lin Yuan.
Feeling the terrifying energy contained within the lightning, Medusa and Qing Lin's expressions immediately changed.
This was far beyond what they had imagined.
Even Xiao Yixian, who had already witnessed Pill Lightning several times, could not help clenching her fists tightly.
This five-colored Pill Lightning was on an entirely different level from the ones she had witnessed before.
Lin Yuan calmly gazed at the five-colored Pill Lightning whose might shook the heavens. Instead of showing any worry, his expression became even more excited, and anticipation flashed in his eyes.
With a flick of his finger, a puppet radiating the aura of a peak Dou Ancestor, its body interwoven with golden and silver light, shot upward and collided violently with the Pill Lightning.
"Chi——"
When the two collided, the ferocious Pill Lightning exploded outward, transforming into countless tiny lightning snakes.
Yet, like rivers flowing into the sea, all of them were completely swallowed by the Heavenly Demon Puppet.
The aura of the Heavenly Demon Puppet also began to rise.
From the level of a peak Dou Ancestor, it began making tiny yet solid strides upward.
After one bolt of Pill Lightning was devoured by the Heavenly Demon Puppet, the thunderclouds in the sky seemed to become enraged and frantically poured down bolt after bolt of five-colored lightning.
Yet not a single one managed to break through the Heavenly Demon Puppet's defenses.
Every bolt was completely absorbed and devoured.
The violent eruption of the five-colored thunderclouds lasted for nearly ten minutes before finally dissipating helplessly.
And at the moment the thunderclouds disappeared, under Lin Yuan's blazing gaze, the final trace of silver on the Heavenly Demon Puppet's body completely transformed into gold.
The Heavenly Demon Puppet had been successfully refined!
----
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