The Pill Is Formed

It was impossible to tell how much time had passed. The cave abode suddenly opened. Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly, and he stepped forward at a brisk pace. Yet Li Yufu emerged from the cave abode with bloodshot eyes and a dazed, hollow look, carrying three items in his hands. A jade slip. A jade bottle containing a spirit pill the size of a longan. The pill was pure white, as immaculate as the Nine Illusions Heavenly Orchid. A wisp of spiritual mist perpetually hovered around it. It was none other than the Calamity Crossing Pill! In addition, there was a charred piece of wood, pitch-black from end to end and about the thickness of a finger. "Martial Uncle." Only upon seeing Qin Sang did a flicker of life return to Li Yufu's eyes. In a wooden voice, he said, "These were all left for you by Great-Grandmaster." Qin Sang opened his mouth, his voice strained. "Your Great-Grandmaster... he..." Li Yufu nodded, tears pooling in his eyes, his voice choked with profound sorrow. "Great-Grandmaster failed his tribulation. As his Nascent Soul was on the verge of collapsing, he used Emperor Flowing Dew to hang on by a breath until he finished refining the Calamity Crossing Pill. Then... then..." Though Qin Sang had been the one to guide him into the immortal gate, from his cultivation through the Qi Refinement stage to the Core Formation stage, and even his alchemy skills, he had received Yunyouzi's unreserved guidance to achieve what he was today. To him, Yunyouzi was family. Now that his kin had fallen, separated forever by life and death, how could he not grieve? Hearing this, Qin Sang closed his eyes and let out a long sigh to the heavens. No wonder he had felt something peculiar about Yunyouzi's aura earlier. Having failed the tribulation, Yunyouzi should have perished on the spot, yet he had swallowed Emperor Flowing Dew, using who knew what method to prolong his life just enough to persevere until he refined the Calamity Crossing Pill for him. "What virtue or ability do I possess to deserve this..." Qin Sang's eyes were vacant as he murmured to himself. After a long time, Qin Sang finally collected his thoughts. He received the three items from Li Yufu's hands. Knowing that the jade slip likely held Yunyouzi's dying words, he immediately sent his divine consciousness into it. This jade slip differed from ordinary ones; it was not merely meant for recording text. When his divine consciousness entered the jade slip, it felt as though he had stepped into an unknown space. Inside this space stood a figure with his back turned to him. Clad in Daoist robes, with hair and beard white as snow, exuding an immortal style and Daoist bearing—it was none other than Yunyouzi. "Senior?" Qin Sang called out tentatively. Yunyouzi turned around, his figure appearing slightly ethereal. "Brother Qin!" A smile surfaced at the corners of Yunyouzi's lips, yet a trace of desolation flashed through his eyes. He sighed, "Seeing you here means my true body has failed the tribulation." "Are you a thought sealed away by Senior with restrictions?" Qin Sang asked in surprise. Yunyouzi nodded. "You must have many doubts, Brother. I exist for this very purpose; once I have said my piece, it will be time for me to dissipate. Allow me to clear up your questions one by one. Besides, there is one final matter after my death for which I must entrust you to aid me once more." "Please speak, Senior. This junior will do his utmost!" Qin Sang said solemnly. Yunyouzi had failed his tribulation, yet he had not forgotten his promise to refine the Calamity Crossing Pill for him. For such immense kindness, Qin Sang had no way to ever repay him. Now that Yunyouzi had a task to entrust to him, how could he refuse? "This old Daoist knows you are a man of honor whose word is worth a thousand pieces of gold. During the years you went missing, I also found several candidates to entrust, but none compared to you. Seeing you safe and sound, this old Daoist was overjoyed beyond words..." Yunyouzi said, his face filled with gratification. Hearing this, Qin Sang could not help asking, "Senior had a premonition about this calamity long ago?" "Do you remember what I once told you? This old Daoist has two great tribulations in his lifetime. The first tribulation was when my divine soul was discordant; with your help, Brother, I obtained the Three Lights Jade Liquid and the green copper chunk and plunged into demon fire. And the second tribulation was precisely this Nascent Soul Tribulation..." Yunyouzi paused and sighed. "The root cause has to do with this old Daoist's origins." "Your origins?" Qin Sang's heart stirred. Recalling the Emperor Flowing Dew, he quickly focused his attention. "This old Daoist originally hailed from Ziwei Palace, a spiritual bamboo from Xuanpu Palace that attained the Dao and gained sentience. At the time of my emergence into the world, I encountered a hunt by human cultivators and great demons. Fortunately, I escaped with my life. Afterwards, I concealed my true origins and cultivated in the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea of the Demon Realm..." Yunyouzi spoke at a leisurely pace, recounting his past experiences. Xuanpu Palace, spiritual bamboo, Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea... A bolt of lightning flashed across Qin Sang's mind as something abruptly struck him. Utter shock gripped his heart. "Senior, could it be that you are..." "Indeed. Three of the Ten Great Divine Woods have emerged in the Xiaohan Realm, and one of them was the Pure Fortune Ortho-Bamboo. The Pure Fortune Ortho-Bamboo developed intelligence and, upon its birth, escaped right from under the noses of those Nascent Souls and great demons—that was this old man!" A glimmer of pride flashed in Yunyouzi's eyes. Qin Sang was completely stunned. Yunyouzi's true form was actually the Pure Fortune Ortho-Bamboo! He had considered countless possibilities, but he had never imagined that Yunyouzi was a spiritual bamboo that had attained the Dao—and one of the Ten Great Divine Woods, the Pure Fortune Ortho-Bamboo at that! "Wait, that's not right. Senior, you are clearly a human?" Qin Sang said, his face full of bewilderment. He had known Yunyouzi for so long, journeying from the Ancient Immortal Battlefield to Boundless Valley, and then to Ziwei Palace, going through perils time and again. If Yunyouzi possessed a demon body, it would have been impossible to hide it so perfectly without revealing the slightest clue. Yunyouzi's smile faded, and he sighed softly. "I was originally a spiritual bamboo, but through a twist of fate, I became human. "Back then, I suffered grave injuries by chance and was healing near Great Sui. To make matters worse, before my injuries healed, my heavenly tribulation arrived. I was forced to seek a deserted mountain to face the tribulation. "While I was undergoing the tribulation, the human Yunyouzi happened to wander there to gather medicinal herbs. Seeing the heavenly lightning phenomena, he thought an immortal had descended to the world, and he climbed over mountains to seek immortality. Before he could even draw close, he was knocked unconscious by the shock of the lightning tribulation. "Just as his soul was extinguishing, I also failed my tribulation. My true form was destroyed by the tribulation lightning, and my soul was on the verge of scattering into nothingness. "In that hazy, dazed state, a wisp of my remnant soul unexpectedly entered his body. "Whether the lingering might of the tribulation lightning threw the heavenly laws into chaos or due to some other cause, our two remnant souls actually merged together, gaining a new lease on life. "However, my divine abilities and treasures were all ruined, and I was left without a shred of true essence in my body. I became a mortal seventy years of age, and my divine soul was left with lingering defects as a result. "From then on, and even up to this day, I cannot say for certain whether I am the Pure Fortune Ortho-Bamboo or Yunyouzi. "Perhaps because of my prior cultivation in life, on the whole, the consciousness of the spiritual bamboo was the dominant one. "Since I was in a human body, I took the name Yunyouzi. Thus, my bond with you, Brother, can only be called the workings of fate. "At that time, I was decrepit and old, and the remnant soul of the spiritual bamboo offered no help whatsoever. I had only a few years left to live. But I did not want to sink into the mortal dust like that. Fortunately, my memories remained intact, and I had once done a favor for Piaoya of the Taiyi Dan Sect. Moreover, the Taiyi Dan Sect excelled in alchemy, which suited me best. Perhaps there was a sliver of opportunity to step onto the immortal path once more. "So, taking the identity of Yunyouzi, I joined the Taiyi Dan Sect and became Piaoya's alchemy boy... "In the course of my cultivation, I gradually sensed that because the two souls had been forcefully mashed together, a rift still remained within my divine soul. The divergence between them persisted, never having truly fused into one, creating an immense obstacle to my cultivation. From that point on, I began searching for a solution." Yunyouzi slowly unveiled that hidden secret. He paused slightly. "Truly resolving this hidden danger was due, on the one hand, to those heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and on the other, to the inspiration I gained from you, Brother."