293: Dancheng

Yun Xuanxuan looked at the celadon jade bottle hovering before her. Her nose had already caught that frown-inducing, rancid stench. Had she not trusted Ye Hao's character, she would have thought this thing was some sinister poison refined by the Daoist Nun before her.

But having personally seen the medicinal effect of Ye Hao's spiritual power rapidly recovering after taking it, she no longer acted coy or hesitant.

She had already cast aside even the thought of death, so what was there to fear from a little smell?

Yun Xuanxuan held her breath, tilted her head back, and downed the azure spirit pill liquid in the bottle in one gulp.

But soon, Yun Xuanxuan knew she was wrong. To some extent, death truly was a form of relief.

As soon as the Medicinal Pill entered her throat, that tearing bitterness and sour, rancid taste exploded instantly. She slammed her hand over her small mouth, her cheeks wrinkling into a ball, her eyes reddening as she forced down the urge to gag and swallowed the pill with sheer willpower.

Even after swallowing it, the strange taste in her mouth lingered, but the changes occurring within her body gave her heart a jolt.

A gentle yet majestic surge of spiritual power slowly spread within her Dantian, flowing along her Meridians. Wherever it passed, her previously exhausted spiritual power regenerated rapidly like rain after a long drought. The limp weakness faded, replaced by a long-lost sense of fullness and strength.

In just a few breaths' time, the spiritual power in Yun Xuanxuan's body had recovered by seventy to eighty percent.

"A futile struggle!"

Seeing Yun Xuanxuan's aura surge after taking the Medicinal Pill, the Daoist Nun disregarded continuing to drive the Pill Furnace. The rhombus flower mirror in her hand once again condensed a green light, and a beam even thicker than before shot straight out.

"Move!"

Ye Hao gave a low shout and charged out like an arrow from a bowstring. Chaos Qi swirled around him, and his longsword hummed, carrying an incomparably sharp Sword Qi as it slashed fiercely at the green light.

Yun Xuanxuan followed closely behind. The spiritual power in her body transformed into a pale green arrow that shot out from the side, aiming directly for the Daoist Nun's vital points.

"Clang—!"

The Sword Qi and the green light collided with a boom, erupting in a piercing metallic clang. Violent energy scattered in all directions, kicking up a flurry of crushed stones.

The Daoist Nun was shaken back half a step by the impact, her blood and Qi churning. Before she could steady herself, she saw the pale green arrow right before her eyes. Her gaze sharpened, and with a flick of her wrist, the translucent white Jade Hairpin shot out once more. A clear radiance flowed around it, emitting a strange spatial fluctuation.

The arrow seemed to hit an invisible barrier; its trajectory suddenly warped, reappearing behind the Daoist Nun and smashing toward the cavern wall in the rear.

But this time, it didn't make the slightest sound. Upon touching the rock wall, the arrow dissipated silently, turning into specks of spiritual light.

The Daoist Nun instantly realized something was wrong, her expression suddenly becoming grave.

The corners of Yun Xuanxuan's mouth curled up slightly. Her arrow had been a feint all along, meant to draw out the Daoist Nun's spatial-warping Jade Hairpin!

Through their previous clashes, she had already memorized the hairpin's characteristics and its usage intervals. Now was the moment its flaw appeared.

Her body suddenly accelerated like a streak of pale green light. Under the cover of the dissipating arrow, she instantly closed in on the Daoist Nun. A pair of avian claws covered in fine, pale green feathers suddenly lunged out, their tips glinting with a cold, eerie light, aiming straight for the Daoist Nun's defenseless chest!

The Daoist Nun's pupils constricted in sheer terror. She tried to activate the Jade Hairpin for defense, only to find that as soon as her spiritual power touched it, it was bounced back by the layer of spatial fluctuations.

The cooldown hadn't finished!

In her haste, she tried to retreat, only to feel a chill creeping up her back.

Ye Hao had long since seen through Yun Xuanxuan's tactics. His longsword followed like a shadow, with Sword Qi crisscrossing to tightly seal off all of the Daoist Nun's escape routes, forcing her to take the lethal claw strike head-on!

Though they hadn't exchanged a single word, their movements were in perfect sync.

"Puchi—!"

The sharp claws pierced fiercely into the Daoist Nun's right shoulder, instantly penetrating flesh and tearing through bone. From the deep, bone-revealing wound, blood gushed out like a fountain.

Yun Xuanxuan's claws exerted force again, tearing away a string of shredded flesh and blood droplets. The intense pain caused the Daoist Nun to let out a shrill scream, and her aura instantly withered.

Seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Ye Hao twisted his longsword and pierced through the Daoist Nun's left knee. With a crisp "crack," the sound of bone shattering was clearly audible.

With both legs injured, the Daoist Nun could no longer support herself and fell heavily to her knees. The rhombus flower mirror, deprived of spiritual power, slid down as its light dimmed, clearly no longer capable of being activated.

"Quickly, destroy the Pill Furnace!"

Ye Hao withdrew his longsword and spoke urgently to Yun Xuanxuan.

At the moment of life and death, the Daoist Nun could no longer care about maintaining the bronze elixir furnace. Her residual Soul Emergence Stage cultivation suddenly erupted in a desperate counterattack, only to see a wisp of a miniature silver-white Flying Sword streak across like a meteor chasing the moon, instantly piercing through her chest.

Another heaven-rank magic treasure... The Daoist Nun's body stiffened, the madness and resentment in her eyes gradually fading as she took her final breath.

Having successfully completed its task, the Flying Sword emitted a faint hum, then quickly flew back to Li Pingan's side as if seeking credit.

Only then did Ye Hao let out a heavy sigh, gasping for breath several times.

Yun Xuanxuan's figure flickered, heading straight for the bronze elixir furnace in the center of the cavern like a pale green afterimage.

At this moment, the Demonic Qi within the Pill Furnace churned even more violently. The ancient runes engraved on the furnace body shone with a blinding light, and the scorching air currents almost ignited the atmosphere. Clearly, the demon transformation pill had reached the final stage of completion.

Without the slightest hesitation, she condensed all her spiritual and demonic power into her wings. A pale green radiance swirled before her as she slammed them fiercely against the body of the Pill Furnace!

"Bang—!"

The dull explosion shook the cavern, causing it to tremble. Violent power surged into the Pill Furnace along with the radiance, and spiderweb-like cracks instantly covered the furnace's body. The blazing furnace fire suddenly went out, and a pungent burnt smell mixed with the dissipating Demonic Qi, filling the entire cavern.

Yun Xuanxuan followed up with a kick to the bottom of the furnace. The bronze elixir furnace toppled over with a crash, its lid rolling away, and the not-yet-solidified medicinal dregs and black smoke within poured out.

Looking at the Pill Furnace that was on the verge of shattering and had completely ceased operation, her tense nerves finally relaxed. She raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, and just as a smile of relief was about to form on her lips, a blinding golden glow suddenly erupted from the wreckage of the toppled furnace!

In an instant!

The glow broke through the obstruction of the Pill Furnace fragments, piercing straight toward the cavern's ceiling like a sharp sword, forcing its way through the thick rock layers and shooting directly into the sky!

Outside the cavern, heaven and earth changed color!

Above the originally gloomy Rain God Continent, the dark clouds completely dispersed, and golden light showered down from the sky as Seven-colored Auspicious Clouds gathered from all directions, layer upon layer.

"This is... the Celestial Phenomenon of a saint-grade pill's birth!"

Ye Hao's figure dashed to Yun Xuanxuan's side. Looking at the golden light that pierced through heaven and earth, his expression became grave to the extreme.

Yun Xuanxuan's face was dark. She never expected that even after destroying the Pill Furnace, the demon transformation pill would still be able to break through its shackles and manifest in a saint-grade form.

Even though the Pill Furnace had been completely destroyed, the demon transformation pill had actually broken free from its restraints and successfully emerged from the furnace!

And it had actually reached the saint-grade rank.

Immediately after, a figure appeared out of thin air above the Chusheng Sect. It was the Chusheng Sect Ancestor who had previously gone to Yaoshi City, True Person Tianxuan.

He looked aged, with graying hair. Looking at the phenomenon rising into the sky from the Sect's back mountain, a greed that could not be hidden instantly burst from his cloudy eyes:

"It's done! The demon transformation pill is finally done!"