When the token landed in his hand, a strand of intent surged forth in an instant, seeking to rush into Luo Chen's sea of consciousness.
With a shift of thought, Luo Chen instinctively deployed his Prison-Suppressing Soul Technique, blocking the intrusion.
Yet sensing it briefly, he realized that this intent, teeming with vast amounts of information, harbored no malice, and so he released his blockade.
The intent entered his sea of consciousness and dissolved in an instant, leaving behind only that deluge of information.
Luo Chen digested it rapidly.
Across from him, Mister Xuan Yan naturally noticed this scene and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
*This Luo Chen's soul foundation is remarkably profound!*
That wisp of intent had been left behind by Chu Yan.
Though Chu Yan had not yet reached the Soul Formation realm when she departed Mingyuan in those years, she was a genuine late Nascent Soul Great Cultivator.
Caught off guard, very few ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators could have withstood a divine sense intent left by her.
Luo Chen's inadvertent display of a soul foundation comparable to a Great Cultivator was truly astonishing.
Once Luo Chen opened his eyes, Mister Xuan Yan took the initiative to ask, "How is it?"
Savoring the information, Luo Chen's fingers slowly began forming incantation gestures as surge after surge of vast magic power poured from his meridians.
The burden was so immense that even Luo Chen found it somewhat difficult to bear.
The barriers of his purple mansion had already parted, and the miniature Nascent Soul opened its mouth, inhaling and exhaling great drafts of pure magic power.
With these motions, the entire world seemed to be pried into motion.
Even certain inexplicable existences were drawn toward him.
With difficulty, Luo Chen asked, "Is it like this?"
Mister Xuan Yan stared blankly at the sight, utterly incredulous.
He had thought Luo Chen might spend some time to learn that alchemy technique and unlock the token.
Yet he had never imagined that Luo Chen could grasp it in an instant, executing it with convincing proficiency.
What kind of talent, what kind of genius was this!
Only after a long while did Mister Xuan Yan say with profound gravity, "Exactly so!"
As though granted affirmation, Luo Chen suddenly relaxed, withdrawing his magic power and breathing a deep sigh of relief.
Looking down at the token in his hand, his face was filled with marvel.
The Alchemy Saint had left an alchemy technique upon the surface of the token.
Indeed, this technique was the key to unlocking the token.
Only by learning this alchemy technique and successfully executing it could one unlock the token.
It sounded simple, as though any alchemist could pick it up.
Yet in truth, its sheer difficulty was something only grandmasters like Mister Xuan Yan truly understood.
For this technique, named *Refining Heavenly Secrets*, could only be learned by alchemists who had cultivated law true intent.
Furthermore, even an alchemist possessing law true intent might not have mastered it as swiftly as Luo Chen—practically in an instant.
The secret behind it was tied to another peculiar experience of his.
Setting that aside for now, Luo Chen looked at Mister Xuan Yan with a tinge of sympathy.
"From the looks of it, Mister, you must have forcibly attempted this technique, which led to your present state?"
Looking across the stream, Mister Xuan Yan nodded forlornly.
"Yes. I was already in a state of fleeting resurgence. Relying on my understanding of the alchemical dao, I managed to learn this technique. Yet when executing it, even disregarding the peril of assimilation by heaven and earth, I still could not pry open the origin qi of heaven and earth, let alone find that elusive wisp of spiritual opportunity in the unseen."
*Refining Heavenly Secrets* had only one purpose: to leverage the origin qi of heaven and earth, capture spiritual opportunity, and fuse it into medicinal pills.
In this way, the pill would possess spirituality, naturally elevating its grade a tier above ordinary pills.
This explained why the first- to fourth-tier pills in the Alchemy Saint Hall trials possessed such remarkable spirituality—it was because under Chu Yan's hand, they had each been imbued with an imperceptible wisp of spiritual opportunity.
Yet to execute this technique normally, one needed law true intent to bypass the threshold entirely.
That was why Mister Xuan Yan had previously said only Luo Chen could unlock the token.
For Luo Chen was that exceptional being who had comprehended law true intent prematurely in the Nascent Soul stage!
And what was more, he was an alchemy grandmaster as well!
Still, Mister Xuan Yan could not understand.
"Did you study a similar alchemy technique in the past? Why were you able to grasp it instantly, without even a learning process?"
"Perhaps this technique shares an affinity with me! In the past, I unintentionally performed a similar feat." Luo Chen smiled faintly, but then added in deep admiration, "Yet back then, I only knew what worked without understanding why. It cannot compare to how the Alchemy Saint grasped its principles and even created a dedicated alchemy technique."
Mister Xuan Yan froze. *A similar feat in the past?*
*In cultivation?*
*Or in alchemical refinement?*
If the former, it would merely be like many cultivation geniuses throughout the world who stumbled upon it by chance while comprehending law true intent—something he cared little about.
Yet if the latter, what sort of pill would require Luo Chen to refine spiritual opportunity into it?
Mister Xuan Yan was a straightforward, simple man.
He held nothing back and asked directly.
While others might consider such an inquiry impolite, Luo Chen, as a fellow traveler on the alchemical path, understood the elder's thirst for knowledge.
Yet touching upon that past event, Luo Chen fell silent.
Seeing this silence, Mister Xuan Yan realized he had overstepped.
He instinctively moved to apologize, but just as the words reached his lips, it dawned on him: if it were merely a matter of cultivation, there would be no reason to keep it secret.
Only if his suspicion held true—that Luo Chen had refined some extraordinary pill—would he find himself so hesitant.
Instantly, Mister Xuan Yan's heart pounded against his ribs.
"I only wish to see it... No! Even a description would suffice."
"I am willing to exchange my *Xuan Yan's Book of Alchemy* for your answer!"
Luo Chen waved his hand. "That is far too valuable. In truth, your kindness in bestowing this token upon me is more than enough to earn that answer. It is only that..."
Luo Chen glanced at the sky. This blessed land was sealed; no one could pry into it.
After all, the token had not yet been unlocked, which meant the main gates remained closed.
Meanwhile, the elder before him was shedding life force at a rapid, uncontrollable pace; his passing could not be far off.
*A dying man...*
Luo Chen took a deep breath, retrieved a jade box from his storage bag, and pushed it gently toward Mister Xuan Yan.
Holding his breath, the old man received the jade box and opened it with utmost caution.
A brilliant golden glow greeted his eyes.
Instantly, the elder was overwhelmed with agitation.
"A fifth-tier divine pill!"
He looked up at Luo Chen in disbelief. "You refined this?"
Luo Chen nodded. "Yes. I refined it during my Golden Core stage. Its name is the Law Derivation Divine Pill, and it took three full years."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Mister Xuan Yan cried out repeatedly as if jolted. "How could anyone in the Golden Core stage refine such a pill? Even Chu Yan only managed by a stroke of fortune to concoct a fifth-tier divine pill while in the Nascent Soul realm, thereby earning the title of Alchemy Saint! How could you..."
Luo Chen offered neither argument nor explanation.
He simply watched in silence as the old man carried on like a flustered child.
Only after a long while did the elder regain his composure.
Upon his deathly gray face, an unnatural flush lingered from his intense agitation.
"A fifth-tier divine pill... it contains blood threads. Was a blood refinement method used? No, that seems like a power akin to magic power.
"Named Law Derivation... does it aid cultivation?
"Just smelling its aroma gives a sense of mental lucidity and soul vitality. Yet within it lies an immense, even terrifying power—one no Nascent Soul cultivator could likely endure. You must not take this pill at your current realm; only upon reaching Soul Formation might you withstand that terrifying medicinal potency.
"Alas, my time is at an end. Otherwise, with the aid of this pill, I might have had the strength to attempt a breakthrough to Soul Formation."
Murmuring to himself, Mister Xuan Yan closed the jade box with immense reluctance and returned it to Luo Chen.
Along with it came a thick roll of bamboo slips.
Luo Chen carefully put away the Law Derivation Divine Pill before looking at the bamboo slips floating in front of him.
"Mister, I am truly unworthy of this."
Mister Xuan Yan waved his hand. "This is not *Xuan Yan's Book of Alchemy*, merely the deduction of a remnant recipe. Take a look and you will understand."
Curious, Luo Chen unrolled the bamboo slips. A multitude of terms struck him with a sense of familiarity.
In an instant, he realized which pill's remnant recipe it was.
The *Empowerment Pill*!
Luo Chen was overjoyed.
Mister Xuan Yan appeared lost in melancholy, his emotions still reeling from the shock of the Law Derivation Divine Pill.
In the final hurdle, he had failed due to the limitations of his cultivation realm.
Now it seemed there was good reason for Luo Chen's impending success.
It was not merely his cultivation realm, but his alchemical realm as well.
This young man was far more than a grandmaster.
He was already an alchemical master on par with Chu Yan!
"Indeed, I guessed you would be interested in this remnant recipe."
"A fellow Daoist entrusted me to refine this pill, but despite years of study, I made little headway—mostly because too much of it was missing." Luo Chen conversed with him while perusing the slips, then paused. "Wait, why are the styles of herb pairings here so completely different, and even contradictory in places?"
Mister Xuan Yan smiled. "That is because the deduction paths recorded on these slips do not belong to me alone. In her day, Chu Yan also deduced this Empowerment Pill, which was once renowned in antiquity. Unfortunately, no complete pill survived; otherwise, she surely would have reverse-engineered the entire recipe."
Luo Chen was surprised to learn that the bamboo slips were a joint effort by both masters.
Then again, he had heard that many were interested in the Empowerment Pill, and even the Alchemy Saint had publicly collected fragmented versions of this ancient recipe back then.
"Do not pin too much hope on these slips either. At best, they only deduced around seventy to eighty percent, and it might even be in the wrong direction. It can only serve as a reference," Mister Xuan Yan cautioned.
Luo Chen felt not the slightest disappointment. Even as a mere reference, it was vastly better than his current state of feeling like a blind man touching an elephant.
The fragmentary recipes Deng Taiyue had given him were simply too messy and disjointed to form any coherent framework.
Otherwise, an ordinary fourth-tier pill recipe would have been completed by him long ago.
How could it have dragged on for decades with so little progress?
Seventy to eighty percent?
As long as one or two of those paths were correct, Luo Chen was confident he could complete the recipe in full!
Luo Chen stowed the bamboo slips away and smiled. "Though I feel unworthy of receiving it, these slips are indeed of immense use to me, so I shall accept them."
Compared to a lifelong legacy of alchemical knowledge, the value of a single fourth-tier remnant recipe was considerably lower.
Though humble in his words, Luo Chen did not carry much psychological burden.
Mister Xuan Yan did not mind parting with such a remnant recipe either, sitting down directly upon the grass.
He was growing tired.
"Begin!"
"I want to see what Chu Yan truly left behind inside that token. A single alchemy technique would never warrant such elaborate pains on her part."
"While I still draw breath."
Looking at the weary, languid elder, Luo Chen nodded firmly.
Over four years had passed since he entered the Alchemy Saint Hall, and his son was still waiting outside.
Unlocking the Alchemy Saint token as soon as possible to complete the trial was something he too was eager to accomplish.
A sudden wind stirred.
Luo Chen's robes fluttered as he floated slowly into the air.
Just as before, his hands trembled rhythmically as he formed hand seals in methodical order, magic power coursing through his broad meridians toward his fingertips.
The barriers of his purple mansion opened once more, and his Nascent Soul opened its eyes, inhaling and exhaling magic power!
It was just as strenuous as before.
With a stir of his heart, vast source power surged like tidal waves from his limbs and bones.
Sure enough, with the addition of this source power, performing the technique *Refining Heavenly Secrets* instantly became far easier.
*Just as I thought!*
Luo Chen confirmed his conjecture.
Back in the Alchemy Realm when refining the Law Derivation Divine Pill, he had failed numerous times.
On his final attempt, burning his bridges, he had used source power to mobilize the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, successfully concocting the Law Derivation Divine Pill just before exhausting all his strength.
To him, that pill refinement had felt like a dream!
Even after succeeding, he had not known why.
Even his alchemist rank had not advanced to fifth-tier despite refining a fifth-tier divine pill.
Clearly, the attribute panel had deemed that he knew what worked without understanding why, judging him to remain only a fourth-tier alchemist.
Yet walking his path step by step afterward, through repeated sessions of cultivation, Luo Chen had formed vague conjectures regarding the cause of his success.
Only now, after coming into contact with the alchemy technique *Refining Heavenly Secrets*, did Luo Chen truly achieve full clarity!
It turned out that back in the Alchemy Realm, he had channeled spiritual opportunity into the pill!
Desolate beasts were native creatures of the Mountain Sea Realm, truly the darlings of the Heavenly Dao.
The source power within desolate beasts seemed to be on the same tier as a cultivator's magic power or a body cultivator's astral qi, yet within this world, it was an energy far more attuned to the surroundings.
And far easier to channel spiritual opportunity with!
Back then, though Luo Chen's immortal cultivation realm was only Golden Core, his physical body had long since reached the fourth tier, making him scarcely different from a desolate beast.
Mobilizing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth with source power, he had inadvertently drawn forth that so-called spiritual opportunity.
It was unintentional then, but Luo Chen later realized it was no mere accident!
That he could now discern the flow of spiritual opportunity whenever he channeled source power to manifest the Crimson Eyes and Golden Pupils was proof of that!
Yet being able to see it was one thing; knowing how to channel or even capture spiritual opportunity was another entirely.
The alchemy technique left by Alchemy Saint Chu Yan was the very tool to channel spiritual opportunity!
Midair.
Luo Chen's robes fluttered, his Crimson Eyes and Golden Pupils shining bright and piercing.
As his fingers wove incantations, he sought the presence of spiritual opportunity.
And this search yielded fruit without the slightest effort—it was right all around him!
*A coincidence?*
*No!*
*It must be the spiritual opportunity drawn here during my earlier cultivation!*
Spiritual opportunity was exceedingly difficult to find; even Soul Formation mighty figures had to rely on the vast spiritual qi of fifth-tier spiritual grounds to naturally attract spiritual opportunity to aid their cultivation. It was certainly not something Luo Chen could summon on a whim merely by casting an alchemy technique.
Especially since he was far from proficient with it.
However, this space was an enclosed blessed land.
Before its opening, an ancestor of the Mingyuan Sect had employed methods to channel spiritual opportunity into it.
Furthermore, Luo Chen had previously experienced another sudden enlightenment in his Wither-Bloom True Intent; in that state, spiritual opportunity naturally converged upon him.
Had Luo Chen turned to cultivation rather than remaining fixated on refining the Liangyi Pill, his magic power would surely have surged tremendously.
Even so, that spiritual opportunity had yet to disperse.
Since he could see it now, he might as well save his strength and capture it directly!
Without hesitation, Luo Chen beckoned with his hand, and those scarce strands of spiritual opportunity sank into the token.
The next instant!
The white jade token suddenly emanated a misty, radiant glow.
In the sky, a lifelike yet hazy phantom silhouette manifested.
Though the figure was hazy, the facial features were crystal clear.
Brows and eyes painted like a masterpiece, eyes like autumn waters.
The bridge of the nose was straight yet gentle, like a work of art meticulously carved by a master sculptor.
Her lips parted slightly, resembling newly blossomed cherry blossoms.
The contour of her cheeks was slightly rounded, lending her an aura that was delicate yet spirited and lovely.
A pair of bright eyes gazed downward.
She seemed to be looking at Luo Chen.
Yet upon closer inspection, she was merely gazing at an empty void.
With a casual wave of her hand, an alchemy cauldron condensed purely from magic power materialized in the air.
Then, one after another, various ingredients were tossed into it.
At the same time, numerous other illusions appeared across the surroundings.
Just like before, they showed the phantom of this woman, refining pills as well.
Only the ingredients introduced were bizarre and varied, completely different from one another.
Melting ores and metals into liquid, drawing herbs and trees into medicine, wreathed in clouds and mist, accompanied by wind and thunder—under her motions, even a pocket dimension collapsed and shattered!
By the stream.
Mister Xuan Yan watched this spectacle thoughtfully.
Condensing qi into a cauldron, refining all things of heaven and earth into pills... was this what she had left behind?
Law insights into the alchemical dao!
Merely observing brought him immense benefit; Luo Chen, who was truly receiving the bestowal, would surely reap even greater rewards.
If Luo Chen could rely on this opportunity to comprehend the alchemical dao's law true intent, he could use it in the future to ascend to Soul Formation.
Within the entire Alchemy Saint blessed land, a colossal amount of spiritual qi surged toward Luo Chen.
...
Just as the phantoms manifested in the blessed land, the vast clouds and mist that had shrouded the Alchemy Saint Hall for hundreds of years began to churn violently.
Great swathes of mist began to dissolve, transforming into fine, scattering raindrops that plummeted to the earth.
Outside the hall, Chen Mozi, Xin Yisheng, Lu Chun, and the others all realized what was happening.
Chu Yu hesitated to speak, her expression a mix of reluctance and relief.
That an outsider had claimed her ancestor's inheritance marked her failure, yet she would no longer be shrouded beneath that crushing pressure day in and day out.
Castellan Lingtian rushed over, filled with both shock and delight.
"There are still two people inside the Alchemy Saint Hall. Who passed all the trials and obtained the Alchemy Saint's inheritance?"
"Luo Chen?"
"Or Mister Xuan Yan?"
Within the Mingyuan Sect, countless gazes turned in unison toward the Alchemy Saint Hall.
Voice transmissions rippled outward in all directions with the hall at the epicenter.
Everyone knew that the position of Master of the Alchemy Saint Hall in the Mingyuan Sect, vacant for hundreds of years, finally had an owner.
Yet who that new master was remained unknown.
The clouds and mist turning into rain, an anomalous celestial phenomenon, seemed to trigger a chain reaction.
Located within the Eastern Desolation yet standing independent of it, the Mingyuan Sacred Land spanned an area the size of eight or nine Jade Cauldron Domains.
At this moment, under the chain reaction, dark clouds gathered as lightning flashed and thunder roared.
Raindrops came crashing down, stirring up clouds of dust.
Only a single place remained untouched by this upheaval:
Mount Yanfu, suspended high in the nine heavens!
Inside Tianming Palace, the three great ancestors opened their eyes in unison.
With a brief sweep of perception, Ancestor Yuming caught the faint wisps of aura leaking from the surging expanse of clouds and mist.
"It is Luo Chen!"
Chapter 904