309: Chapter 309 He did it

The sixth golden pattern appeared, and the precious light grew even more intense.

The six golden patterns were arranged in a perfect arc within the Pill Furnace. Each pattern was identical in depth, spacing, and luster, as if carved from the same mold.

The quality of the golden patterns depended on the state of the medicinal power at the moment of condensation, and the distribution of medicinal power within the Pill Furnace could not be absolutely uniform.

Unless the medicinal power itself carried some kind of unified "background color," allowing all golden patterns to exhibit the same quality when condensing, regardless of their position.

Dao Rhyme was that background color.

From the first step to the ninth, as each Spirit Medicine was incorporated throughout the process, a layer of Dao Rhyme was ground into the Qi of Creation.

By the pill condensation stage, the entire furnace of medicinal liquid had already been saturated with Dao Rhyme.

After the medicinal power was divided, each stream carried the same concentration of Dao Rhyme, so the quality of the condensed golden patterns was naturally identical.

This was the ultimate plan Su Cheng had exchanged for over forty days of preparation, three furnaces of trial and error, and six days of deduction.

It wasn't just about making adjustments during the pill condensation stage; it was about making adjustments at every single step.

Then came the seventh golden pattern.

"Hiss..." A gasp came from the viewing area.

The moment the seventh golden pattern condensed, the precious light in the Pill Furnace jumped a level from amber to a faint cyan-gold.

"Old Qingmu." Elder Chiyang's voice on the viewing platform was somewhat dry.

"Hmm."

"That Disciple of yours..."

"Hmm."

Elder Chiyang swallowed, not asking any further.

The eighth golden pattern formed. The cyan-gold precious light within the Pill Furnace had condensed into a substantial ball of light. The lines of the eight golden patterns were so deep they seemed carved into the Soul of the Medicinal Pill, each one filled to the extreme.

The entire square began to quiet down. Those who understood what they were seeing had understood, and those who didn't could read the wrongness from the reactions of others.

Everyone was waiting for the ninth one.

Su Cheng had ruined his previous two furnaces at this step, so what about this one?

In the independent space, Su Cheng's Divine Soul had begun to ache faintly due to the continuous use of the Spirit Gathering Technique.

For a Physical Body at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage to bear the consumption of a Divine Soul at the Foundation Establishment Peak, backlash would occur after more than three hours. He had already held on for over two hours.

There was still over thirty percent of the Qi of Creation in reserve; for a Cultivator at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, this foundation was already considered abundant.

Although the conversion rate of the Qiankun Creation Art was low—absorbing ten parts of Spiritual Qi but only keeping two parts of Creation Spiritual Power—he had been accumulating it all these years. Slow progress in cultivation was not without its benefits; the extra time had all turned into his stock of Qi of Creation.

If it really came down to comparing the total amount of Spiritual Power, he wouldn't lose to anyone of the same rank; even a Cultivator at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage might not have more than him.

For the final push, it was enough.

Su Cheng pushed both palms flat in front of his Dantian. He didn't channel it through his fingertips; like the fourth furnace, he released it directly from his Dantian.

The Dao Rhyme wrapped around the creation spirit liquid, turning into a very thin layer of cyan mist that enveloped the entire Pill Furnace.

But this time, the Dao Rhyme enveloping the Pill Furnace was not there to "gild" it; the medicinal liquid inside the furnace no longer needed additional Dao Rhyme.

The purpose of this layer of cyan mist was isolation.

It completely separated the interior of the furnace from the outside world, allowing the process of medicinal power condensing into patterns to be completed in an absolutely stable environment.

The ninth golden pattern began to condense.

The medicinal power followed the marks left by the Qi of Creation to return to its place, and the cyan-gold light extended from the beginning to the end of the ninth golden pattern.

One inch, two inches, six inches, eight inches...

The lines closed completely, and all nine golden patterns were formed.

The precious light in the Pill Furnace suddenly retracted at the moment it closed, as if it had been sucked back by something.

Then, cyan-gold light erupted from within the Medicinal Pill, passing through the furnace walls, through the cyan mist of Dao Rhyme, and through the Restriction of the independent space, spilling over the Zixiao Peak square.

Su Cheng could not see the scene outside; he only saw a Medicinal Pill floating in the center of the Pill Furnace.

The Medicinal Pill was deep amber throughout, and the nine golden patterns on its surface looked as if they had been drawn stroke by stroke with the finest gold thread—deep, full, sharp in their lines, and evenly spaced.

The cyan-gold precious light emanating from the core of the Medicinal Pill illuminated the entire furnace as if it were broad daylight.

One pill, only one.

But when Su Cheng stared at this Medicinal Pill and raised his hand to draw it out of the Pill Furnace, his hand trembled slightly.

The moment he took hold of this pill, he sensed its quality.

supreme grade!

He had done it.

The cyan-gold precious light lingered over the Zixiao Peak square for about ten breaths before slowly dissipating.

Then, the square exploded. Everyone started speaking at the same time, merging into giant waves of sound.

"supreme grade?!"

"Cyan-gold precious light, that is the precious light only possessed by a supreme grade Medicinal Pill!"

"No, no, no, wait a moment, this isn't right... It seems only High Grade nine-aperture golden spirit pills have ever been refined so far; even when the Old Ancestor announced it at the time, he didn't mention supreme grade..."

"Can this Su Cheng at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage really refine a supreme grade one?"

"Did we make a mistake? Is it possible the color of the precious light was misidentified?"

No one would misidentify it.

The Golden Core Elders could not have misidentified it, not to mention that the three Nascent Soul True Lords were also present.

But that was precisely the problem; the expressions of the three Nascent Soul True Lords made everyone present realize that the matter was far bigger than they had imagined.

True Monarch Iron-Face stood up. This Nascent Soul Ancestor, who had once been in charge of the Sect's Law Enforcement Hall for hundreds of years, had rarely stood up in public in the last thousand years.

Once he stood up, it was either because someone had violated the Sect rules or something extraordinary had happened.

True Monarch Wanxiang's spirit fan was already closed, her palms slightly sweating.

She was deducing every detail of Su Cheng's Alchemy process, but the conclusion she reached at the end was something she could not quite accept.

According to conventional Alchemy theory, it was absolutely impossible for a Cultivator at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage to refine a supreme grade nine-aperture golden spirit pill.

This wasn't "unlikely"; it was "theoretically non-existent."

The nine-aperture golden spirit pill was truly different; it required the Alchemist to inject a "spiritual sublimation" that transcended the Materials themselves during the pill condensation stage. The source of this spiritual sublimation was either an extremely strong true intent of Alchemy or high-level power at the Law level.

Because the time since the pill was created was too short, even they, the several Nascent Soul True Lords, had never personally refined a supreme grade pill.

Yet Su Cheng clearly had no true intent, and even less contact with the Law. Where did the spirituality in this supreme grade pill he refined come from?

Could it be that Su Cheng had long ago comprehended true intent, but they just hadn't noticed? But how could that be possible? How could they, dignified Nascent Soul True Lords, fail to see through a small Cultivator at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage?

True Monarch Yunyang, on the side, did not have these hesitations. He acted very decisively; an invisible Nascent Soul magic power pierced through the barrier of the independent space's Restriction and snatched away the Medicinal Pill that was still carrying the residual heat from the furnace in Su Cheng's hand.

Su Cheng's hand became empty, and he was stunned.

The light wall of the independent space immediately dissipated, and the sounds, lights, and atmosphere of the outside world flooded in all at once.

The side effects of the Spirit Gathering Technique also fully rebounded at this moment. The process of his perception of the outside world recovering from blurriness to clarity gave him a headache for quite a while.

Then Su Cheng decisively took a High Grade spirit nurturing pill, which made him feel slightly better, and then he turned to look at the high platform.

On the high platform, the three Nascent Soul True Lords were surrounding his Medicinal Pill.

Before he could even feel puzzled, he then saw two people who shouldn't have appeared here.

Two figures descended from even higher up on Zixiao Peak, riding their artifacts. Their Spiritual Pressure was as heavy as an overturning mountain; they were none other than the other two Alchemy Nascent Soul Ancestors who had been in seclusion in the Forbidden Ground for years.

The precious light and Law fluctuations emitted by the supreme grade nine-aperture golden spirit pill had alarmed them.

The five Nascent Soul Ancestors gathered on the square's high platform.