118: The history of the ninth-grade elixir

Dan Ding was clearly stunned, evidently not expecting Lu Hao to ask such a question.

"Little friend Lu, it's not good for you to know such things right now; it's better to start from the basics and practice diligently."

Lu Hao was unwilling to give up and continued to ask:

"Old Mister Dan, I just want to understand; it won't affect anything."

After saying that, he took out a gourd of fine wine and said with a smile:

"Old Mister, I'll treat you to a drink."

Seeing Lu Hao's persistence, Dan Ding took the wine gourd, took a delightful sip, and then began to explain slowly to Lu Hao.

Lu Hao patiently listened and finally understood why Dan Ding had initially thought that such a matter would affect him.

The refinement of Nine-Rank Pills was too difficult, too difficult!

Nine-Rank Pills were forbidden items of heaven and earth... Every Nine-Rank Pill had unimaginable and incredibly Heaven-Defying effects!

The finest among them could even directly revive a deceased Cultivator!

Lu Hao was all too familiar with the difficulty of reviving a person; he had personally revived a Tribulation Transcending Stage Cultivator.

Now, a single pill could achieve this effect, which was enough to show the Heaven-Defying nature of these Nine-Rank Pills.

It was precisely because Nine-Rank Pills were so Heaven-Defying that the difficulty for Alchemists to refine them was almost no less than a fool's dream!

In the history of Danling State, there had never been any record of anyone successfully refining a Nine-Rank Pill alone.

Once, this continent had nurtured one Alchemy Prodigy after another, who, with overwhelming talent, charged all the way to the Grandmaster of Alchemy Realm!

After thousands or tens of thousands of years of cultivation in this Realm, they would, without exception, choose to challenge the supreme Realm of Supreme Grandmaster of Alchemy!

But without exception, all Cultivators who dared to challenge the supreme Realm perished...

Some died from mental exhaustion, some died from pill backlash, and some suddenly lost their Souls, leaving only their bodies.

In any case, they all ultimately met their end through various forms of death.

This happened again and again, leading all Alchemists to doubt whether Nine-Rank Pills could truly be refined.

They were unwilling to believe, but they saw no hope...

For a time, it seemed as if all the Cultivators in Danling State had lost the most important essence of an Alchemist.

If the ultimate goal is destined to be unreachable, what is the purpose of my struggle?

To reach the Grandmaster Realm, and then wait for death?

No! This absolutely cannot be! The Alchemists of Danling State refused to accept it; they wanted to fight again! We Alchemists must never fall before reaching the Peak!!

There were always some who were incredibly devout to the Dao of Alchemy, even willing to sacrifice their lives for it!

Thus, after preparing for thirty thousand years, a group of chosen prodigies of the Dao of Alchemy once again charged towards the supreme Peak of the Dao of Alchemy!

This time, their Dao Hearts were incomparably firm; they wanted to forge a bright future and a grand path for future generations, without regret even if they died!

That time, twenty-three Grandmasters of Alchemy from the Three Great Sects of Danling State, an unprecedented number, acted together!

That was already all the Grandmasters of Alchemy in the entire Danling State!

Succeed or die trying!

The pill formation activated, countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures were thrown into the formation, and the twenty-three Grandmasters of Alchemy stood in their respective positions, acting in unison!

They had chosen the most difficult method of pill formation!

This method was called the Heaven and Earth Pill Refining Method, which they, the twenty-three, had summarized by combining various Alchemy methods.

After their discussions and refinements, they unanimously believed that this was the most likely way to successfully refine a Nine-Rank Pill.

Using heaven as a furnace and earth as a cauldron, concentrating the rare alchemical materials of the entire Danling State, the entire pill refining process created astonishing phenomena.

At times, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and fierce winds blew; at other times, myriad rays of light shone, and colorful clouds drifted.

All the Alchemists in Danling State were quietly waiting.

Their hearts were filled with an immense desire for this attempt to succeed, thereby breaking the Nine-Rank curse.

The phenomena continued without cessation for a full eighty-one days.

The twenty-three Grandmasters of Alchemy exerted all their strength in refining, and after eighty-one days, the pill finally formed as a Nine-Rank Pill!

At the moment the pill formed, heaven and earth resonated, and the sun and moon lost their light!

At that instant, it seemed there was nothing in the entire world that could compare to it.

The aura of that Nine-Rank Pill permeated the entire Danling State at an astonishing speed.

All the Alchemists in Danling State felt the aura of the Nine-Rank Pill!

They rejoiced, they went mad, they roared! Countless Alchemists shed tears of excitement; this day had finally arrived!

But their joy didn't last long, as bad news followed.

The twenty-three Grandmasters of Alchemy had painstakingly persevered for eighty-one days to form the pill, with not a single one making even the slightest mistake!

In the final few days, everyone was burning their Soul power at all costs, staking everything, leaving no room for retreat!

Regardless of whether this pill refining succeeded or not, their demise was already a predetermined outcome!

But they felt it was worth it; if they could have the chance to personally refine a Nine-Rank Pill, what was death?

If one hears the Dao in the morning, one can die in the evening without regret!

They were able to persevere for eighty-one days entirely due to their incomparably firm Dao of Alchemy heart.

It was their unparalleled obsession with Nine-Rank Pills that sustained them!

At the moment the pill finally formed, they finally lost the pillar that sustained their lives...

The twenty-three Grandmasters of Alchemy finally witnessed the ultimate pill formation, and one after another, they looked up to the sky and laughed loudly, then, with smiles on their faces, they all perished in succession...

Their demise took away a glorious era, but at the same time, it ushered in an even more glorious era!

Following the demise of all twenty-three Grandmasters of Alchemy, another calamity appeared!

Above the firmament of the entire Danling State, a Lightning Tribulation was slowly gathering!

From the looks of it, heaven was going to unleash endless Lightning Tribulations, intending to destroy this Nine-Rank Pill!

Heaven and earth did not permit the advent of the Nine-Rank Pill!

At this moment, all the Alchemists in Danling State went mad; they could not accept such a consequence!

The twenty-three Grandmasters of Alchemy exhausted everything to finally form the pill; what kind of faith in the Dao of Alchemy was that!

How could the Nine-Rank Pill, which they had refined with all their might, be destroyed by this damned Lightning Tribulation?

Facing the sky full of Lightning Tribulations, one Alchemist after another flew into mid-air without hesitation.

They stared coldly at the tribulation clouds covering the heavens and earth, their eyes filled with unyielding spirit, pride, and disdain!

Lightning Tribulation! Today, this pill, you will not destroy it! This is the will of countless Alchemists of our Danling State!

The Lightning Tribulation seemed to sense the will of the Alchemists of Danling State, and it roared in anger as well.

Nine-Rank Pills are Heaven-Defying items, not tolerated by heaven and earth, and must be destroyed!