9: Opening the furnace to refine elixirs

A crimson Formation rose up, enveloping all the Lin Family members along with the surrounding streets.

The Spells of the Lin Family Cultivators bombarded the brand-new crimson light screen; far from shaking it in the slightest, they were instead neutralized by a strange power and surged back as a rolling heatwave.

"Ah!"

A Lin Family disciple standing close by couldn't dodge in time; his protective spiritual light was shattered by the heatwave, and his robes caught fire, causing him to let out a shrill scream.

Inside the Formation, the temperature rose abruptly.

Lin Tianhong was both shocked and enraged; he had never seen such a bizarre Formation, where the momentum of offense and defense could be reversed in an instant.

How could the Shen Family's tattered Mystic Water Tortoise Shell Array possibly become this powerful?

"What are you panicking for!" Lin Tianhong barked, suppressing the commotion among his clansmen.

"It's just a bluff! Keep attacking! Every Formation has its limits; I don't believe a Qi Refining Cultivator can hold out for long!"

He was furious and ordered his clansmen to continue attacking the Formation's light screen.

Atop the watchtower, Shen Yuanmo stood at the Formation's core, his expression calm.

"Shen Qifa."

"Young Lord, what are your orders!" Shen Qifa from the Alchemy room gave a start and immediately bowed.

"Go to the Alchemy room immediately, clear the Pill Furnace, and prepare to open it."

"I want you to refine a Tier 2 Medicinal Pill."

As soon as these words were spoken, not only the Shen Family clansmen but even Lin Tianhong outside the Formation heard them clearly.

Refining a Tier 2 Medicinal Pill?

At a time like this?

Although the Shen Family members were puzzled, the miracle the Young Lord had just displayed left them unable to harbor even the slightest doubt.

"As the Young Lord commands!"

Shen Qifa did not hesitate for a moment, turning and sprinting toward the Alchemy room.

Lin Tianhong Shen Qiming made a prompt decision and shouted his command: "All clansmen, take your positions in the Formation and inject your magic power into the nodes! Maintain the Formation with all your strength to buy time for the Young Lord and the Shen Qifa!"

"Yes!"

The Shen Family Cultivators responded in unison and immediately took action, continuously channeling their magic power into the glowing Formation patterns beneath their feet.

Outside the Formation, Lin Tianhong was stunned for a moment upon hearing the words "Tier 2 Medicinal Pill," and then a cold sneer appeared on his face.

So that's how it is.

That old fogey of the Shen Family is indeed at the end of his rope.

Shen Yuanmo didn't activate the Formation to trap us, but to stall for time and refine a life-prolonging pill for their Old Ancestor!

A Tier 2 Medicinal Pill must be intended for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

"A final struggle?"

Lin Tianhong felt completely at ease, and his initial trace of suspicion vanished entirely.

In his view, the Shen Family was at its wits' end; refining pills on the battlefield was simply a huge joke. As long as they broke through this Formation, all the Shen Family's plans would come to naught.

"I thought you had some heaven-defying methods, but it turns out you're just bluffing."

Lin Tianhong's judgment was utterly foolish.

Shen Yuanmo ignored him completely; a strand of his Divine Thought crossed through space and surged directly into Shen Qifa's mind.

Buzz!

Shen Qifa, who was clearing the Pill Furnace in the Alchemy room, suddenly shuddered.

A massive and exquisite stream of information exploded directly within his Divine Soul.

[Pill Formula: Tier 2 High Grade · Crimson Sun Foundation Establishment Pill]

[Main Ingredients: three sun grass, mystic water essence]

[Supplementary Ingredients...]

[Fire Control Essentials: First step, use the Profound Water Qi from the leyline as a guide to reverse Yin and Yang and generate Crimson Sun True Fire...]

A Pill Formula!

A foundation establishment pill formula that he had never seen, and hadn't even dared to imagine!

Its subversive recipe, exquisite technique, and transparent pharmacology instantly shattered the alchemical knowledge the Shen Qifa had accumulated over decades.

Using the cheapest three sun grass and almost zero-cost mystic water essence to replace Dragon Blood Sunflower?

This... how is this possible!

The Shen Qifa's Divine Soul shook violently, and he looked toward the watchtower with fanatical reverence.

The Young Lord is truly a Divine Being!

Meanwhile, Shen Yuanmo formed hand seals, and the entire Crimson Sun Profound Water Formation began to operate slowly.

He didn't go to the Alchemy room himself because the entire Formation was his Pill Furnace!

Deep underground, the water-attribute Spiritual Qi within the Tier 2 Spiritual Vein was forcibly extracted by the Formation, flowing along the profound Formation patterns as the chilling Qi was filtered and purified layer by layer.

Finally, its attributes were reversed, transforming it into the purest and most overbearing fire-attribute power, which surged precisely toward the earth fire vent beneath the Alchemy room.

Boom!

At the Alchemy room's earth fire vent, crimson-gold flames suddenly shot up three feet high, their temperature far exceeding that of ordinary earth fire by tenfold!

Outside the Formation, Lin Tianhong noticed the flow of spiritual power within the Formation, which further confirmed his judgment.

"He's extracting the leyline's spiritual power; he's putting everything on the line!"

Lin Tianhong gave orders to the three Guest Elders with solemn expressions beside him.

"Three Fellow Daoists, this Formation is strange and surely has a weak point. Please strike from different directions to find the flaw! Everyone else, gather all Cultivators at the seventh level of Qi Refining and above, and prepare to launch the strongest strike!"

"Alright!"

The three Guest Elders dispersed and began searching for the Formation's weakness.

Inside Linjiang City.

The shocking upheaval at the Shen Family residence had already alerted all the local powers.

Spies from various families were rapidly reporting the series of incredible sights.

"What? The Lin Family has been trapped by the Shen Family instead?"

"How is that possible with the Shen Family's broken Formation?"

"Latest news! The Shen Family's Young Lord, Shen Yuanmo, is... opening the furnace for Alchemy inside the Formation!"

As the news spread, all the cultivation families in Linjiang City fell into a state of immense shock and confusion.

Fighting a battle before a Formation, with life and death on the line, and he actually has the leisure to refine pills?

What kind of play is the Shen Family putting on?

Inside the Alchemy room.

The Shen Qifa had already entered a focused state.

Following the techniques Shen Yuanmo had imprinted in his mind, he began to process the medicinal ingredients.

After he injected special magic power and cut and ground them in a specific order, the ordinary Tier 1 Spiritual Plants, the three sun grass, actually emitted a rich medicinal property far exceeding their grade.

That pure fire-attribute medicinal power was almost comparable to certain Tier 2 Spirit Medicines!

The more the Shen Qifa processed them, the more shocked he became.

This kind of method that turned the mundane into the miraculous was simply unheard of!

Atop the watchtower, Shen Yuanmo was under immense pressure.

He was multitasking.

On one hand, he had to divert his Divine Sense to maintain the massive Crimson Sun Profound Water Formation and resist the Lin Family's increasingly frenzied attacks.

On the other hand, he had to divert another portion of his Divine Sense to use the Formation as a medium to remotely and precisely regulate the heat within the Pill Furnace and guide the Fusion of the medicinal power.

The consumption of his Divine Sense was terrifying.

Fine beads of sweat had already seeped from his forehead, and his face was somewhat pale.

This kind of unnaturally resilient Divine Sense was simply not something a Qi Refining Great Perfection Cultivator should possess.

Outside the Formation, the Lin Family members had finished gathering.

"It's right there!" a Guest Elder shouted, pointing at a node on the light screen.

"The spiritual power flow here is the most sluggish; it must be the Formation's weak point!"

Lin Tianhong's killing intent was fully revealed.

"All Guest Elders, Elders, and Deacons, hear my command!"

"Target, straight ahead! Use all your strength to blast it open in one strike!"

"Kill!"

Under Lin Tianhong's command, dozens of Spell lights and over ten Magical Artifacts converged into a destructive torrent, carrying a momentum that could tear through anything as they slammed heavily into that Formation node.

Rumble!

The crimson light screen shook violently, and the light upon it dimmed by thirty percent.

"Pfft!"

Several Shen Family clansmen responsible for maintaining that Formation node were struck hard, coughing up blood on the spot and collapsing to the ground.

The Formation was about to give way!

Lin Tianhong was overjoyed at the sight and was about to order a second round of attacks.

Just then, a sudden change occurred!

An indescribable, rich medicinal fragrance suddenly soared into the sky from the direction of the Shen Family's Alchemy room, instantly spreading throughout the entire Linjiang City.

Above the sky, Spiritual Qi gathered, and a patch of Seven-Colored Pill Clouds appeared out of thin air, expanding rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden celestial phenomenon.

Within the pill clouds, a faint golden arc of lightning suddenly flashed by.

Although the arc was small, it contained a trace of the heart-palpitating power of the world's laws.

That was the embryonic form of a Pill Tribulation, which only appears when a Supreme Grade pill that theoretically shouldn't exist is refined, triggering a trace of the world's laws!