"The Yan Alliance's legacy?"
"Indeed. My destined magic treasure has yet to be settled, and I still lack a large quantity of primary materials. Back then, Xiao Lian, the Yan Alliance's sect master, was killed by your hand. I imagine his storage bag fell into your possession as well, so I wondered..."
"You want to forge a Hunyuan Cauldron, don't you?"
Inside a side hall, two young men sat side by side, sipping tea as they conversed.
Facing Danyangzi's piercing gaze, Luo Chen nodded candidly.
The forging diagram for his destined magic treasure had been provided by Azure Pill Valley in the first place, so it was only natural that the other man knew what he intended to craft.
Danyangzi was likewise well aware of the primary materials required to forge a Hunyuan Cauldron.
Seeing Luo Chen admit it, he pondered briefly.
Then he spoke candidly. "Indeed, Xiao Lian's legacy is in my hands, and an elder broke its restrictions for me long ago."
Luo Chen's eyes lit up, and he quietly awaited what followed.
"As a major sect of artifact refinement, even though Xiao Lian's legacy was only a fraction of the Yan Alliance's treasury, the mineral materials were quite abundant.
"If you want to forge a Hunyuan Cauldron, setting aside the low-tier materials, as for the five primary materials: I have a considerable quantity of Gengjin, ten intact logs of Black Sinker Wood, and a few jin of Origin-Tracing Clay.
"However, as for Cold Marrow and Fire Spirit Diamonds, I have neither."
Danyangzi explained at an unhurried pace.
The more Luo Chen listened, the more excited he became.
He had very little Gengjin on hand—what he had accumulated himself combined with what he had traded from Diwu Qi amounted to only two chunks.
If he could obtain a supplement from Danyangzi, he wouldn't need to worry about it anymore.
Ten logs of Black Sinker Wood would be more than enough!
As for Origin-Tracing Clay, one could never have too much of it; incorporating this material granted a so-called memory function.
Even if the destined magic treasure were damaged in combat, it could slowly mend itself.
The lack of Cold Marrow was no issue!
He had two bottles of Ice Soul Cold Marrow on hand, and he had decent ties with Ice Fort; if the worst came to the worst, he could always trade for more later.
Seeing the eager look in Luo Chen's eyes, Danyangzi hesitated slightly over whether to make the trade.
However, a divine sense voice transmission arrived, making the decision for him.
"Trade with him!"
It was Supreme Elder Qingdanzi.
Danyangzi naturally had no objections, so he said, "If you want them, you can purchase them at market price. However, I won't accept low-grade spirit stones. They must be mid-grade at the very least, though top-grade would be best!"
"I understand."
Luo Chen nodded promptly.
Once a cultivator reached the Golden Core stage, whether for cultivation or combat, the spiritual energy in low-grade spirit stones was hardly sufficient.
Only mid-grade spirit stones could be of any real use.
Ever since Luo Chen began cultivating, his spiritual power had always been exceptionally abundant, and he rarely drew upon the spiritual energy in spirit stones during battle.
Other people were different.
In battle, one frequently saw the scene of a cultivator maneuvering an artifact with one hand while drawing spiritual energy from a spirit stone with the other.
Danyangzi had been very strong during Foundation Establishment, but after forming his core, his Dharmic powers would not necessarily be particularly vast.
This worked out perfectly!
Luo Chen was very poor at the moment, with virtually no low-grade spirit stones left; what remained was a batch of mid-grade and top-grade spirit stones.
"How about this: I want three chunks of the Gengjin you have, five logs of Black Sinker Wood, and three jin of Origin-Tracing Clay!"
Danyangzi raised an eyebrow. "You want that much?"
Luo Chen grinned. "It's the Hunyuan Cauldron—you know how it goes. The more complete the variety of materials, the better, and the greater the quantity, the better, right?"
Fair enough!
From what Danyangzi knew, that was indeed the case.
Danyangzi immediately retrieved the materials Luo Chen requested from his storage bag, and they completed the exchange simultaneously.
During the transaction, his gaze lingered for a moment on the ring on Luo Chen's finger.
A storage ring!
This Luo Chen was far wealthier than he had imagined; he even had a storage ring.
Even he, the newly appointed peak head of Danyang Peak, did not possess a storage ring yet.
Luo Chen naturally paid no mind to this.
Now that he had stepped into the Golden Core stage, a slight display of wealth did no harm.
On the contrary, it could demonstrate his strength and earn the respect of others.
What delighted him now was that among the five primary materials required to forge the Hunyuan Cauldron, he had already gathered four!
Only the Fire Spirit Diamond remained.
That was a very rare fire-attribute mineral among Tier 3 materials.
As long as he gathered the Fire Spirit Diamond and the Luotian Sect helped him assemble the auxiliary materials, he could consider beginning the refinement of his destined magic treasure.
All five elements complete, hunyuan unified as one!
"This trip has truly not been in vain!"
...
Three months later.
Inside the Tier 3 immortal abode, Luo Chen abruptly opened his eyes.
At this moment, his spirits were surging and his Dharmic powers brimmed with vitality.
As he rose to his feet, thunderous pops resonated through his muscles and bones.
When he stepped out of the abode's entrance, several strands of divine sense reached out toward him.
"Fellow Daoist, are you prepared?"
"My state is peak; it is high time to show what I can do."
"Splendid, splendid!"
Qingdanzi chuckled heartily and immediately sent out a divine sense transmission.
Following his transmission, a bell suddenly tolled across Azure Pill Valley—nine times in succession!
This was a toll that only resounded when the sect's very survival was at stake.
Immediately afterward, streaks of escaping light shot across the valley.
Clearing the grounds!
Every disciple cultivating in the Inner Pill Valley departed, converging toward the five peaks.
Luo Chen, however, moved against the flow, stepping into the Inner Pill Valley.
Upon his arrival, as far as the eye could see, thirty Foundation Establishment True Cultivators stood upon the ground, every single one over two hundred years old.
Every one of them was an incomparably seasoned Tier 2 alchemist.
The alchemy attainments of some among them were such that even Luo Chen held them in high regard.
These were the very foundation of Azure Pill Valley!
Before each of them stood a dainty Azure Pill Glazed Cauldron.
At the feet of each person lay an earth fire vent channeled by a formation.
"Who knows how long Azure Pill Valley has plotted for this day, or how much manpower and resources they have poured into it!"
As Luo Chen sighed with emotion, he looked up at Qingdanzi in midair.
The youth nodded slightly and called out softly,
"Take your positions!"
At the command, Luo Chen stepped into a position flanking the center.
Boom!
A massive cauldron landed steadily before him.
Like him, Danyangzi, Master Chiding, Master Xingyun, and Qingyunzi each brought out an Azure Sky Glazed Cauldron.
Higher above, a massive cauldron was already in place.
That was the mother cauldron of the Azure Sky Glazed Cauldrons!
Controlled by Supreme Elder Qingdanzi.
The youth took a deep breath and spoke with immense solemnity:
"Begin!"
With that command, everyone sprang into action.
The first to move were neither Qingdanzi nor the thirty Tier 2 alchemists, but Luo Chen and the other four.
Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!
Five plumes of fire of varying colors spat from their mouths in succession.
Then, sustained by their Dharmic powers, they began slowly warming the Azure Sky Glazed Cauldrons.
This was the first step:
Warming the cauldrons!
This step was the simplest, giving Luo Chen ample time to observe the others.
Danyangzi's source true fire was Purple Zenith Skyfire, which he had witnessed in the past.
Master Chiding possessed Chiding Fire, from which his Daoist title had been derived. That singular fire had originated within the belly of a cauldron-shaped mountain in the Lianxia Mountain Range back in the day, born at Tier 3. Its might was not inferior even to the Wither-Bloom Fire that the Yan Alliance had first obtained years ago.
Master Xingyun's source true fire, however, was rather unique.
When unleashed, it did not resemble flame, but glowing sunset clouds.
She had introduced it before: an exotic fire called Sky Burning Fire, obtained from a sunset sky of fire clouds in the Jade Cauldron Domain after she attained the Golden Core stage.
It was the essence of clouds, a marvel among fires.
Its nature was ethereal and elusive, yet once aroused, it could aggressively stretch across thousands of li, truly living up to the name of Burning the Sky.
"It has long been rumored that the Jade Cauldron Domain is a domain of fire, boasting countless earth fires and numerous singular fires.
"Now it seems the rumors were not exaggerated in the least. Not counting Qingdanzi and Qingyunzi, the four of us possess four different singular fires.
"I've heard that the Sword Sect, Luoyun Sect, and Mount Ailao all possess singular fires of their own. Even Ice Fort, according to Master Canglong, controls a kind of glacial flame.
"Tsk, despite its relatively modest territory and meager resources, it is extraordinarily rich in fire-element resources.
"I wonder what unique qualities other great domains possess."
While Luo Chen mused to himself, Qingyunzi also released his source true fire.
It was azure, tinged with black.
Luo Chen's brow furrowed, sensing a faint familiarity.
That color, that sinister, insidious nature...
"Is that Green Sun Demonic Fire?"
"There's no mistake—this is the Green Sun Demonic Fire recorded in the Green Sun Art I obtained before.
"It is not naturally formed, but an artificially cultivated demonic fire."
According to the Green Sun Art, creating this kind of demonic fire required adding three kinds of fire essences along with the monster cores of thirteen low-tier fire-attribute demonic beasts before such a fire seed could be obtained.
A cultivator would refine it, merging it with spiritual energy, to produce the Green Sun Demonic Fire.
Its might was respectable, and its efficacy for an alchemist was extraordinary.
Yet it had a drawback: unlike the naturally born originless fires possessed by Luo Chen and the others, which formed their own self-sustaining seeds once refined—burning inextinguishably so long as Dharmic power endured—
the fire seed of the Green Sun Demonic Fire depleted over time!
One had to replenish it periodically with monster cores of the same origin; otherwise, the fire seed would eventually extinguish, and it was highly likely to backlash against the cultivator.
"Judging from its smoky aura, this fire seed was probably created less than fifty years ago.
"Calculating the timing... could it be that Qingyunzi intentionally created this demonic fire only after acquiring the recipe for the Nascent Soul Formation Pill?
"That must be it.
"Azure Pill Valley prepared extensively to refine the Nascent Soul Formation Pill and would never overlook source true fire. That also explains why Azure Pill Valley knew I had refined the Wither-Bloom Fire even though I rarely displayed it. They must have conducted a thorough investigation regarding the fire afterward."
Luo Chen's thoughts wandered across these disparate threads.
Meanwhile, the others had already begun their tasks.
Thirty veteran Tier 2 alchemists acted in unison.
In groups of six, each team refined a different batch of medicinal herbs.
One variety after another of Tier 1 and Tier 2 herbs was retrieved from their storage bags.
These had already been pre-processed.
Now, they were placed into the child cauldrons to be refined and merged.
Time slipped slowly by.
Suddenly!
Luo Chen lifted his eyelids, raised a hand, and summoned a mass of liquefied medicinal extract flying toward him.
The liquid entered the cauldron.
True fire surged to incinerate and condense it!
Not only that, Luo Chen retrieved three Tier 3 medicinal ingredients from his storage ring, using various alchemy techniques to clean and prepare them before incorporating them into that ball of medicinal extract.
Pure Heart Hand, Cloud Transformation Hand, Washing Brook Hand, Star-Plucking Hand...
Moving simultaneously with him were the other four.
Thirty people divided neatly into five groups of six.
Each group corresponded to one Tier 3 alchemist.
Each person processed a distinct herbal extract.
"Thirty-two auxiliary ingredients, nineteen Tier 3 ingredients. Once they are processed, they will be handed over to Qingdanzi for consolidated refinement, and a few primary materials will likely be added then.
"With so many types required, it seems this recipe for the Nascent Soul Formation Pill is not an ancient relic, but a modern formula deduced in recent eras?"
Luo Chen's alchemy attainments were exquisite.
Without needing to guide the final pill formation, merely handling medicinal materials allowed him plenty of leeway to multitask.
Observing with close attention throughout, he had already committed every medicinal material needed for the Nascent Soul Formation Pill to memory.
He was even deducing the style of the recipe.
Pill recipes from antiquity and primeval eras often pursued an austere, natural simplicity.
The required primary and auxiliary materials were few in number.
Though pills crafted from such recipes often had many flaws, their virtue lay in simplicity, and their potency was heavily dictated by the primary materials—the better the primary materials, the stronger the medicinal power!
Conversely, recipes that emerged after antiquity, in modern eras, were different.
Because aged, high-grade herbs grew scarcer by the day, the proportion and variety of auxiliary ingredients steadily increased.
The interplay among primary ingredients paid far closer attention to the principles of mutual generation and restraint.
In this way, relatively lower-tier and weaker ingredients could be balanced to achieve effects comparable to ancient great medicines.
In short, it was the ingenuity of later generations: compensating for weakness through synergy, arriving at the same goal via different paths.
"Bring the herbs!"
A sharp shout sounded in his ears, and Luo Chen jerked his head up.
The extract inside his cauldron had been refined to a near-transparent state.
Luo Chen released his control.
A surge of incomparably profound and pure Dharmic power emanated from the glazed cauldron—not his, but Qingdanzi's.
The true master of the Azure Sky Glazed Cauldrons was Qingdanzi!
Under his manipulation, the mass of raw herbal extract instantly soared into the sky.
Unbeknownst to them, Qingdanzi had already released his own source true fire.
Its hues were multicolored, resembling a rainbow.
Amidst the surging flames, an exotic fragrance faintly diffused.
Catching scent of that fragrance, Luo Chen's expression shifted slightly.
"Is this... pill fire?"
Not Golden Core true fire, but genuine, bona fide pill fire!
Rumors circulated among alchemists:
a formidable alchemist who concocted pills year after year could nurture a pill fire with the aid of secret alchemical arts.
Using an elixir as a fire seed and tempering it with Dharmic power, it was kindled into flame.
Such true fire was not a naturally born originless fire, yet its potential and might were by no means inferior, and it was perhaps even better suited to an alchemist!
According to lore, the Alchemy Saint from the Mingyuan Sect who attained the Dao in the Central Plains possessed a pill fire unique to him.
Luo Chen had never imagined that a mere Azure Pill Valley would actually possess a pill fire!
Even if it appeared to be only at Tier 3.
"To refine this Nascent Soul Formation Pill, Qingdanzi has truly played all his cards!"
Amidst his astonishment, Luo Chen's attention quickly shifted away from the pill fire.
He was the first to decoct his herbal extract.
Yet the others were not slow either, finishing their respective extracts one after another.
Then, guided by Qingdanzi, all the extracts entered the mother cauldron and were enveloped by the pill fire.
In midair,
Qingdanzi tapped his fingers rapidly, constantly shifting hand seals.
Vast Dharmic power surged forth, yet softened immensely upon entering the mother cauldron.
Furthermore, three medicinal ingredients flew out from his person, plunging into the cauldron as well.
Luo Chen's dark eyes blazed with spiritual light as he watched the scene intently.
"Divine Iris..."
Well, the Divine Iris was the only Tier 4 herb he recognized.
However, he committed the shapes of the other two to memory as best he could.
One resembled a monkey brain, while the other looked like a lotus pedestal.
If given the chance later, he would certainly look up detailed information on these two Tier 4 herbs.
As long as he had accurate information on the herbs, and could experiment repeatedly with the proportions, age, and medicinal potency, he would eventually piece together a recipe.
When the time came, he could have his panel assist with initial appraisal... In other words, even if Qingdanzi went back on his word and withheld the recipe for the Nascent Soul Formation Pill, Luo Chen could deduce the complete recipe on his own!
"Everyone, lend me your strength!"
Qingdanzi roared in a low voice.
The five below responded in unison:
"Understood!"
"Here it comes!"
"Behold my technique!"
At their call, five pillars of multicolored flame soared into the sky, converging beneath the mother cauldron.
With their aid, Qingdanzi's alchemy became increasingly composed.
The medicinal liquids in the mother cauldron continuously melted and merged, gradually taking on the consistency of a paste.
Time marched steadily on.
The sun rose and the moon set.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed!
Suddenly!
A foul stench wafted across several li.
Suspended in midair, Qingdanzi looked grim.
Watching this, Luo Chen drew back his source true fire.
It had failed!
Within the Inner Pill Valley, every cultivator went quiet as cicadas in winter, not daring to make a sound.
Qingdanzi took a deep breath, resetting his mindset.
"Again!"
...
Since ancient times, alchemy rarely succeeded in a single attempt.
No matter how gifted an alchemist was, they often had to endure numerous failures before achieving anything.
Even the Central Plains' Alchemy Saint, renowned across the Mountain Sea Realm, had walked the path of failure step by step.
Such failure was entirely standard.
To concoct the Nascent Soul Formation Pill, Qingdanzi had made exhaustive preparations.
In terms of raw materials alone, he had gathered at least twenty sets.
The five Tier 3 alchemists were all Golden Core cultivators, sufficient to sustain continuous refinement for months.
The only concern was the thirty assisting Tier 2 alchemists.
Yet Azure Pill Valley had prepared for this as well.
Whenever their concoction paused, they would immediately sit cross-legged and ingest pills to recover their condition.
If anyone could not hold out, senior alchemists from the Grand Pill Academy would step in as substitutes.
In this cycle, as long as raw materials remained, Qingdanzi would not stop.
From then on, the process repeated continuously just as before.
With each failure, Qingdanzi applied his profound alchemical mastery to identify the causes.
"Group A, watch the proportion of Crane Feather Grass! Its potency is too unstable."
"Danchenzi, control your heat! Your source true fire is too high a grade—lower your Dharmic power output."
"Danyang, what are you doing? Do not let your mind wander!"
"Qingyunzi, remember to replenish your fire toad monster cores. Your fire seed is destabilizing."
"Fetch Tianshan Cold Jade to cool and stabilize the Azure Sky Glazed Child Cauldrons!"
...
Suns rose and moons set; stars wheeled across the sky.
Unwittingly, a full month had passed!
The Inner Pill Valley, once thick with sweet pill fragrances, was now steeped in a stench that made one retch.
This state of affairs was naturally the result of repeated failures in refining the Nascent Soul Formation Pill.
The pill stench produced by the failure of a Tier 4 elixir would not disperse anytime soon.
Yet no one cared.
Everyone was intensely preparing for the next attempt.
Luo Chen seized a spare moment to recover his Dharmic powers.
Only now did he suddenly realize that the spiritual land of the Inner Pill Valley had actually been promoted to Tier 3.
"Is it because the formation of five peaks shrouding the valley was broken, and Azure Pill Valley no longer intends to nurture it slowly, instead releasing all its years of accumulated reserves to achieve this promotion?"
Luo Chen could feel that by simply circulating his life cultivation art, he could absorb spiritual energy far denser than that of a high-grade Tier 2 spiritual land.
As his gaze shifted, opposite him, Danyangzi looked rather pale.
His condition was not good!
Understandable, given the six Golden Core cultivators present.
Qingdanzi went without saying—ninth layer Golden Core, merely a step away from Great Perfection.
Master Chiding and Master Xingyun were both seventh layer Golden Core great cultivators!
Even the former sect master Qingyunzi possessed a third layer Golden Core cultivation.
Luo Chen and Danyangzi had the lowest cultivation in the room, having formed their cores not long ago.
By comparison, Danyangzi's Dharmic depth fell far short of Luo Chen's.
Although pill concoction did not consume too much, continuously channeling source true fire took a heavy toll.
If Danyangzi continued to drain himself recklessly like this, he might not even be able to sustain his first layer Golden Core realm.
Newly formed cores were the most prone to realm regression!
In particular, driving source true fire drained Dharmic powers severely.
It was precisely with this in mind that Azure Pill Valley had been willing to cover all of Luo Chen's cultivation supplies during these months.
Otherwise, Luo Chen would never have risked realm regression to help.
"Still, it should be soon!"
Luo Chen could sense that through each failure, Qingdanzi had steadily grasped the pattern.
As Azure Pill Valley's chief alchemist and the inheritor of the founding ancestor's Daoist title, Qingdanzi's alchemical talent and skill were undoubtedly peerless.
Twelve failures had accumulated enough momentum.
Could success come on the very next attempt?
Just as Luo Chen was pondering this, his heart twitched, and he instinctively turned his head.
Many others did the same.
All because five Golden Core Revereds, led by Tao Wan, had mobilized together and flown into the sky.
Not only that:
all five main peaks blazed with radiant light.
Upon each main peak sat a formidable cultivator of at least the mid Golden Core stage.
Azure Pill Valley's mountain-protecting grand formation had activated!
This meant a powerful enemy had arrived!
Amidst the fresh breeze and white clouds, a nine-storied Daoist palace parted the mist, halting slowly outside Mount Yuanhua.
The palace was extraordinarily majestic, with golden chains spanning across and planks joined together flat as solid ground.
Carved upon it were true dragons and heavenly phoenixes, along with depictions of ancient auspicious beasts such as the pixiu and qilin.
Every tier boasted lofty watchtowers and flying eaves, gilded from top to bottom, with brocade sails hanging high... Sails!
The moment they saw that sail insignia, countless people blurted out:
"Tianfan City!"
From the ninth tier, a teasing voice echoed languidly:
"This Seat was just wishing to see what unique wonders Azure Pill Valley's alchemy holds.
"Do continue!"
Chapter 468