Alchemy

The next day, behind Jia Nan Academy.

The usual paths leading into the mountains were blocked off by cordon lines. Several stern-looking instructors guarded every intersection, forbidding anyone from approaching.

News spread through the Inner Academy like the wind, drawing many students to gather in the distance, craning their necks to look.

"What's going on? Why is the back mountain sealed off?"

"I don't know. It was like this when I woke up this morning."

"Did something happen?"

Lin Xiuya, Liu Qing, and Lin Yan were also in the crowd.

Lin Xiuya stood with his arms crossed, gazing at the vaguely visible outline of the valley in the distance, his brows slightly furrowed.

Liu Qing maintained his usual tough expression, his eyes filled with inquiry.

Lin Yan looked at his palm, where the dark red Fire Poison marks seemed to have faded slightly, but were still glaring.

"Many Elders are on guard," Lin Xiuya said in a low voice, signaling them to look at the familiar figures on the distant hillside. "I'm afraid something really big is happening."

Liu Qing snorted, "It can't be that the Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower collapsed, right?"

"The tower is fine," Lin Yan shook his head. "I even went to Cultivate there this morning."

As the three were speculating, a petite purple figure suddenly slipped out from behind the cordon line, like an agile purple sable, and hopped in front of them in a few bounds.

"Zi Yan?" Lin Xiuya was stunned. "How did you get out from inside?"

Zi Yan's small face was flushed with excitement, her amethyst-like eyes sparkling.

She brushed off non-existent dust from her clothes, looking like she "knew a secret".

"It's Shen Wen!" Her voice was crisp and she lowered it a bit, but couldn't hide her smugness. "He's going to do Alchemy! Old Man Su was afraid something would go wrong, so he sealed off the back mountain and told me to come out and play."

"Alchemy?" Liu Qing raised an eyebrow. "What kind of Medicinal Pill requires sealing the mountain?"

Zi Yan blinked, then spat out a few words: "Eighth Grade Pill."

The air went quiet for a moment.

The expression on Lin Xiuya's face froze. Liu Qing put down his arms.

Lin Yan suddenly looked up, his eyes widening.

The surrounding students who vaguely heard these words were also stunned, and then a buzzing discussion exploded.

"Eighth Grade? Did I hear that wrong?"

"Eighth Grade Pill… just how terrifying would the Pill Lightning be that it attracts?"

"Isn't Elder Shen a Seventh-Rank Alchemist? How…"

"Are you stupid! If Zi Yan says it's Eighth Grade, then it must be Eighth Grade! Elder Shen must have already reached the eighth rank long ago!"

"But Eighth Grade Pill Lightning… can the Academy withstand it?"

Worry and shock mixed in the air.

For the vast majority of people, an Eighth Grade Pill was something that only existed in legends.

It is said that not even a Douzong Peak expert would dare to face the Pill Lightning it attracts head-on.

Just then, a low hum came from the direction of the back mountain.

Everyone subconsciously looked up.

The originally clear sky had somehow gathered thick leaden clouds. The clouds hung low, rotating slowly to form a huge vortex. In the center of the vortex, electric light faintly surged, emitting a heart-palpitating hissing sound.

The Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth began to riot, as if stirred by an invisible giant hand, rushing madly toward the back mountain valley.

The wind picked up, carrying a heavy sense of oppression, blowing people's robes until they rustled.

"It's starting…" someone muttered.

The back mountain valley.

This usually quiet mountain hollow was now filled with violent heaven and earth energy. The air twisted, the light dimmed, and sand and stones flew.

In the center of the valley, Shen Wen, dressed in a black robe, stood before a primitive dark red giant cauldron.

The cauldron was engraved with obscure runes and was currently emitting a scorching aura; it was the heaven burning cauldron.

Not far from his side, the three top experts of the Academy, Su Qian, Qian Mu, and Bai Lie, stood in a triangle, watching the sky with grave expressions.

Further out, several Douhuang-level instructors were ready for battle.

"Can this kid… really do it?" Qian Mu's voice was dry. Watching the thunderclouds in the sky gathering thicker and thicker with electric snakes darting about, he clenched his fingers unconsciously.

He was a Douzong Peak expert, but facing this level of heaven and earth might, he still felt his scalp tingle.

Bai Lie didn't speak, but his tensed jawline betrayed his inner nervousness.

Su Qian took a deep breath, his gaze falling on Shen Wen's straight back. "He said he could handle it."

The voice wasn't loud, but it carried a sense of desperate trust. "He knows the consequences of failure better than we do. Since he dares to refine it, he must have confidence."

That said, the palms of his hands behind his back were already soaked with sweat.

Before the cauldron, Shen Wen was focused and undistracted.

Dozens of jade boxes floated in front of him, their lids already open, revealing medicinal ingredients of various shapes and intense Spiritual Qi.

The most eye-catching were two small jade bottles. One contained a dark golden viscous liquid, emitting a scorching and violent aura; that was the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Essence Blood.

The other contained silvery-white blood, which looked gentle but contained Void Realm fluctuations that made the Soul tremble; this was the Void Ancient Dragon Essence Blood he had exchanged from Zi Yan for a Douhuang Pill.

Dragon Phoenix Fusion Blood Pill.

This was an Eighth Grade Pill Formula that he had deduced based on the Snake-People Clan's heavenly soul blood fusion pill, incorporating his own understanding of the Bloodline Dao, and adding various rare auxiliary medicinal ingredients.

It aimed to maximize the stimulation and Fusion of the two top Bloodline Powers, and its effect was far beyond the original version.

"Rise."

Shen Wen let out a low shout and formed hand seals.

The Myriad Beast Spirit Flame rose from his palm. The flame was crimson, but under the infusion of the Origin power of the Flame Ancestral Symbol, the color gradually turned into a chaotic gray.

As the flames flickered, they faintly resonated with the surrounding heaven and earth energy, emitting a terrifying power not inferior to a Heavenly Flame.

He flicked his fingers, and one by one, the medicinal ingredients were thrown into the heaven burning cauldron.

The flames were as obedient as his own fingers, precisely enveloping every medicinal ingredient, the temperature changing in an instant.

Refining, purifying, Fusion… every step was carried out under the absolute control of his Heavenly Realm Soul power, flowing like clouds and water, without the slightest stagnation.

The chaotic flames rolled in the cauldron, sometimes turning into the shape of a Dragon, sometimes condensing into the shadow of a Phoenix, constantly forging and blending the essence of the medicinal ingredients.

The rich medicinal fragrance permeated the air, actually forming a faint spiritual mist in the valley, and taking a single breath made one's spirit soar.

Time passed bit by bit.

The thunderclouds in the sky were already so thick that they seemed to press down on the mountain peak. The center of the vortex was pitch black, and the occasionally flashing electric light illuminated the valley in a ghastly white.

The rumbling of thunder was continuous, as if giant beasts were roaring behind the clouds.

Qian Mu and Bai Lie's faces became paler and paler.

This kind of pressure was already beyond their cognition.

Su Qian pursed his lips tightly, his eyes fixed on Shen Wen and the Medicine Cauldron.

The Fusion of the medicinal liquid in the cauldron had reached the most critical moment.

The Heavenly Demon Phoenix Essence Blood and the Void Ancient Dragon Essence Blood were introduced simultaneously by Shen Wen using a clever technique, and two Bloodline Powers that were equally domineering but had completely different attributes suddenly collided!

"Weng—!"

The heaven burning cauldron trembled violently, emitting an unbearable hum. The runes on the cauldron flashed wildly, and a crimson light burst forth.

Shen Wen's eyes were as sharp as knives, and his hand seals changed as fast as flying.

A majestic Soul Power poured out, forcibly intervening in the conflict between the two Bloodline Powers, guiding them to blend slowly and arduously along the trajectory set by the Pill Formula.

The chaotic flame suddenly contracted, turning into a thin film that tightly wrapped around the violently struggling essence energy in the cauldron.

The power of the Flame Ancestral Symbol was pushed to the extreme, suppressing, harmonizing, smelting…

I don't know how much time passed.

The resistance in the cauldron gradually weakened, and a strange and harmonious fluctuation began to spread.

The mass of essence energy was no longer restless, but instead slowly contracted and condensed, emitting a magnificent radiance intertwined with gold and silver.