Imperial Master of Alchemy, First Rank!

He opened his eyes, and his entire demeanor underwent a fundamental transformation.

If one were to say that previous alchemists were artisans of 'technique,'

then at this moment, every breath he took, every move he made, exuded the profound charm of the 'Dao.'

He looked at the Pill Formula in his hand again. The previously abstruse and obscure parts now seemed suddenly clear, and he could even easily point out several flaws that could be improved.

"So... that's how it is."

Lin Yuan's lips curved into an arc, a calm expression of understanding everything.

He did not rush to act, but instead closed his eyes, rapidly deducing the Pill Formula for the breaking nascent soul returning origin pill in his mind with the power of his Divine Soul.

From the ultimate perspective of a First-Grade Alchemist, that exquisitely crafted ancient Pill Formula now appeared full of loopholes, laughably naive.

"The main ingredient ratio is too crude, wasting thirty percent of the medicinal power for nothing. It's simply a wanton waste of Heaven And Earth Treasure."

"The Fusion order of the auxiliary medicines is reversed. If 'Dragon Saliva Incense' and 'Phoenix Blood Vine' are swapped, the medicinal properties can be enhanced by another one and a half tenths."

"The final construction of the pill patterns is superfluous and overly complex, which instead locks down the potential of the Medicinal Pill. Utterly foolish..."

This feeling was like a Grandmaster of Mathematics looking back at his calculations from his apprentice days, finding optimization opportunities everywhere.

He opened his eyes, his gaze brimming with divine light, no longer any trace of solemnity, only absolute composure.

With a flip of his palm, an ancient bronze Pill Furnace landed steadily.

"Om!"

With a slight thought, a wisp of faint blue flame rose from his palm, precisely the Earth Core Nether Fire.

Lin Yuan flicked his finger, and the Earth Core Nether Fire accurately entered the Pill Furnace, which instantly glowedcrimson.

His Divine Sense swept out, and the Spirit Stones and Heaven And Earth Treasure piled up in his Storage Pouch transformed into streams of light, guided by an invisible large hand, orderly flying into the Pill Furnace.

The entire process was as if naturally formed, without any trace of effort, not like refining a wondrous pill capable of shaking the Eastern Domain, but rather like cooking a delicate small dish.

He even had the leisure to ponder to himself, "Three million Spirit Stones as the foundation... Old Monster Xuan Yin truly went all out. If this batch explodes, he might have a myocardial infarction on the spot and directly pass away?"

Time flowed by.

Inside the Pill Furnace, the Spirit Stones and spiritual materials, under the scorching of the faint blue flame, quickly melted into masses of pure medicinal liquid of various colors.

Lin Yuan's expression was calm, but his hands moved like phantoms, forming profound incantations one after another.

With each incantation struck, the medicinal liquid within the Pill Furnace underwent a miraculous Fusion, and the furnace body emitted a clear, resonant hum.

His Divine Sense transformed into tens of thousands of invisible threads, precisely controlling the Fusion of every drop of medicinal liquid, removing even the most minute Impurities.

Under his improvements, the eighty-one steps originally recorded in the Pill Formula were drastically streamlined to thirty-six steps.

Efficiency increased several times, and the loss of medicinal power was reduced to the extreme.

Outside Tingfeng Courtyard.

Gu Zheng and Su Meiniang stood side by side, their expressions solemn, like two divine Protector generals.

Three hours passed, and the quiet room remained silent, making their hearts pound in their throats.

Just then.

"Om—"

An indescribably rich medicinal fragrance, transforming into a tangible tide, instantly swept through the entire courtyard.

Just a light sniff made the two feel refreshed, and the magical power within their bodies began to boil.

"The pill fragrance is overflowing! It's about to succeed!" Su Meiniang exclaimed in surprise, her captivating face filled with shock.

The two looked at each other, seeing the wild joy in each other's eyes.

But this was just the beginning.

"Boom!"

Above Black Stone City, the clear sky, which had been cloudless, suddenly gathered large patches of colorful pill cloud interwoven with Laws!

The rosy clouds rolled, auspicious Qi streamed in thousands, and within them, even phantoms of ancient Divine Beasts like Dragons, Phoenixes, and Qilin galloped and frolicked, enveloping the entire Black Stone City in a dazzling divine splendor.

At the center of the city, inside Xuan Yin Hall.

Old Ancestor Xuan Yin, who was sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes, and dazzling light burst forth from his cloudy old eyes!

He took a step, and his figure had already appeared outside the great hall. Looking up at the sky, his entire body froze.

"Pill... pill cloud! This is the legendary pill cloud anomaly that only appears when a Divine Pill is born!"

Old Ancestor Xuan Yin's voice trembled. He had lived for a thousand years and had only seen a few scattered records in the most ancient texts!

Before he could recover from his shock, an even more terrifying Spiritual Qi vortex brazenly formed above Tingfeng Courtyard!

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi within a hundred-mile radius, as if drawn by an invisible giant mouth, transformed into a visible torrent of Spiritual Qi, madly pouring into the center of the vortex!

Inside the city, countless Yin Corpse Sect Disciples who were Cultivating were horrified to find that they could not absorb even a trace of Spiritual Qi from the air!

All the Spiritual Qi was domineeringly plundered by that terrifying vortex!

"Heavens! What happened?"

"What kind of anomaly is this?"

"The direction... it's Old Ancestor's residence!"

Countless Disciples rushed out of their rooms, looking up in horror at the magnificent scene in the sky, their exclamations echoing throughout the city.

"All of you, get back! No one is allowed to approach Tingfeng Courtyard by half a step. Violators will be killed without mercy!"

Old Ancestor Xuan Yin's roar, mixed with endless wild joy and majesty, transformed into rolling thunder, exploding in everyone's ears.

He no longer looked like he was on the verge of death; he was so excited that his face was flushed, and his beard trembled wildly.

He stared intently at the center of the Spiritual Qi vortex, his eyes full of fanaticism.

It's done! It's really going to be done!

Old Ancestor Xuan Yin couldn't control himself and burst into maniacal laughter, his laughter shaking the entire city, and even tears of joy streamed from the corners of his eyes.

At this moment, he completely lost his composure.

Inside the quiet room.

Lin Yuan seemed oblivious to everything outside, his mind completely immersed in the Pill Furnace.

"Condense!"

He let out a low shout, and his hands suddenly clasped together!

"Clang!"

A sword cry, like a Dragon's roar and a Phoenix's cry, shot up from inside the Pill Furnace!

The furnace lid was forcefully blasted open!

A golden Medicinal Pill, the size of a dragon's eye, perfectly round, with nine dazzling pill patterns swirling on its surface, transformed into a stream of light, intending to tear through the Void Realm and escape!

This pill had developed sentience and wanted to flee on its own!

"Trying to leave?"

Lin Yuan curled his lips and reached out to grab it.

It wasn't a giant hand of magical power, but his own hand, yet it seemed to cross spatial distances, arriving later but reaching first, seizing the golden Medicinal Pill in his palm.

The pill felt warm and smooth in his hand, and a boundless life essence Qi and pure medicinal power flowed into his palm.

Lin Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

As the Medicinal Pill emerged, the anomalies in the sky slowly dissipated, leaving only the lingering medicinal fragrance, proving that everything that had just happened was not an illusion.

With a flash of spiritual light, three figures appeared out of thin air in the small courtyard.

Old Monster Xuan Yin stood at the front, with Gu Zheng and Su Meiniang behind him.

The stone door of the quiet room slowly opened, and a medicinal fragrance a hundred times more intense than that in the courtyard, mixed with extremely pure Spiritual Qi, surged out like a tide.

The three walked into the room.

They saw Lin Yuan looking tired, but his eyes were astonishingly bright.

He didn't speak, but simply spread open his palm.

A golden Medicinal Pill, the size of a dragon's eye, quietly floated above his palm.

On the surface of the pill, nine profound and magnificent pill patterns slowly circulated like living things, and a boundless life essence Qi rushed towards them, making the magical power within their bodies leap with joy.

"This... is this a supreme grade breaking nascent soul returning origin pill?"

Old Ancestor Xuan Yin's voice was dry and hoarse, his cloudy old eyes wide with shock.

A Third-Rank Alchemist refining this breaking nascent soul returning origin pill would at most produce a Medium Grade, most likely a Low Grade, or even cause the furnace to explode.

But this one was supreme grade, how could he not be excited?

A Medicinal Pill of this quality, not to mention in the Eastern Domain, but even in the vast Central Divine Land, it was uncertain if any Alchemist could refine it.

"I have not failed my mission."

Lin Yuan looked at Old Ancestor Xuan Yin, who looked like he was about to faint, and solemnly placed the Medicinal Pill into a jade box, then casually tossed it to Gu Zheng.

He rubbed his slightly sore old back and sighed.

"It's just that burning three million Spirit Stones really makes a lot of noise. It almost burst this Junior's Pill Furnace. Next time there's such a job, you'll have to pay more."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Su Meiniang and Gu Zheng were stunned.

Old Ancestor Xuan Yin was so choked by his words that he almost couldn't catch his breath.

Pay more?

Is this even about paying more?

"Haha... hahahaha!"

After a brief silence, Old Ancestor Xuan Yin suddenly burst into an earth-shattering maniacal laugh, his laughter shaking the scattered stones in the entire courtyard, and an unnatural flush appeared on his Death Qi-filled face.

"Heaven bless my sect! Heaven does not wish for my Yin Corpse Sect to perish!"

"With this Divine Pill, Zheng'er... Zheng'er will definitely be able to step into the Nascent Soul realm!"

Then, he looked at Lin Yuan, his eyes full of gratitude.

"Little friend Lin Yuan, you are truly a Divine Alchemist! This old man... this old man is willing to give you a great gift!"

Lin Yuan waved his hand, "No need for a great gift. Just give me more Spirit Stones next time."

Old Ancestor Xuan Yin was speechless. This kid is really a money-grubber!

But he was in a good mood, so he didn't mind. He laughed heartily, "Alright, alright! As long as little friend Lin Yuan is willing to help, Spirit Stones are not a problem!"

"Good!" Lin Yuan smiled, "Then I'll take my leave first. I'm a bit tired."

He turned and walked towards the quiet room.

Old Ancestor Xuan Yin looked at his back, his eyes filled with profound meaning.

"This kid... is not simple."

"Old Ancestor, what do you mean?" Gu Zheng asked.

Old Ancestor Xuan Yin shook his head, "I can't tell for sure, but this kid's alchemy skills are far beyond what a First-Grade Alchemist should possess."

"Could it be... that he is a Pill Emperor?" Su Meiniang asked in shock.

Old Ancestor Xuan Yin's eyes narrowed slightly, "Pill Emperor... that's a realm that only exists in legends. But this kid's methods... are indeed similar to those described in ancient texts about Pill Emperors."

"Then... what should we do?" Gu Zheng asked.

Old Ancestor Xuan Yin smiled, "What else can we do? We just need to treat him well. Such a talent, even in the Central Divine Land, would be fought over by major sects."

He paused, then continued, "Moreover, I have a feeling that this kid is not just an Alchemist. His cultivation base... is also unfathomable."

The two women were shocked. They had never seen Old Ancestor Xuan Yin give such a high evaluation to anyone.

"Alright, Zheng'er, go and break through!" Old Ancestor Xuan Yin said.

"Yes, Old Ancestor!" Gu Zheng nodded, her eyes full of excitement.

She took the jade box and walked into the quiet room.

Su Meiniang looked at Old Ancestor Xuan Yin, her eyes full of curiosity. "Old Ancestor, what do you plan to do?"

Old Ancestor Xuan Yin looked at the sky, his eyes filled with ambition. "The Yin Corpse Sect... will rise again!"