Medicine King Scripture of Dao Refining

"To possess a concealment method so similar to that of the fishing pond... Sun Piaomiao's strength and heritage might be even greater than imagined." Even as Li Fan pondered this in secret, the stone pill in his eyes abruptly underwent a transformation. Formations and pills fundamentally shared the same origin. Li Fan's attainment in the Dao of Formations had already peaked, even brushing the threshold of the "Immortal" realm. Drawing connections across disciplines, though he had never formally studied the art of pill refinement, he was far superior to ordinary alchemists in this world. Moreover, medicine and pillcraft were inextricably linked, and Li Fan possessed the true legacy of the Heavenly Physician... At this moment, prompted by Ruan Tianxiao's reminder, Li Fan felt as though he had transformed into an alchemist. With heaven and earth as the furnace, the round stone in his hand truly became a crystal-clear pill! In an instant, the originally faint pill fragrance grew tens of millions of times richer. Saliva involuntarily welled in his mouth. Li Fan's throat bobbed, and the urge arose to swallow this pill straight into his stomach. *It seems this stone pill is truly a gift left by Sun Piaomiao for his descendants...* The thought flashed through Li Fan's mind, but he immediately tossed the pill in his hand over to Ruan Tianxiao. "Then try this pill yourself!" Li Fan said indifferently, seemingly unaffected by the temptation of the stone pill. Ruan Tianxiao trembled uncontrollably from excitement. Fearing that Li Fan might change his mind, he swallowed the stone pill immediately. The others from the Medicine King Sect, who had gradually come to their senses, were overcome with looks of bitter regret. Yet the moment Ruan Tianxiao swallowed the stone pill, his demeanor and aura transformed completely, as if he had become an entirely different person. Standing with his hands clasped behind his back, he swept his eyes faintly across everyone present, his face filled with nostalgia and reminiscence. Though he stood right before them, it felt as if they occupied entirely different times and spaces. Ethereal and otherworldly, he was like a banished immortal from the heavens. Such a distinct transformation did not escape the notice of Li Fan and the others. However, their suspicion was so utterly astonishing that they buried it deep in their hearts, not daring to utter a sound. "Sun. Piao. miao," Li Fan said slowly, articulating each word. At the same time, the phantom of the wooden sword quietly primed itself, ready for an immediate escape at any moment. Having his life essence altered by the stone pill, Ruan Tianxiao—now seemingly possessed by the Medicine King Sect's ancestral founder, Sun Piaomiao—reminisced for a brief moment before sitting cross-legged in midair. He began to expound the Dao. "A pill is the mutation of the Great Dao of heaven and earth; a medicine cures the afflictions of all things under heaven. The Great Dao is formless, independent and unvarying, operating continuously without peril. Brought together through pills, manifested through medicines. What is heaven and earth? Merely a pill formula." The very first sentence arrested the rapt attention of everyone present. Li Fan included. Without letting down his guard, Li Fan frowned, engraving every single word spoken by Sun Piaomiao deep into his memory. "The Dao has life, and the Dao has death. As the Dao is born and perishes, as the Dao manifests and wanes; so a pill is born, so a pill is completed. "The moment a pill is formed, it appears alive yet is truly dead. It is the shadow of the Great Dao, the corpse of the Great Dao." ... Ruan Tianxiao expounded unhurriedly, and a phantom of a pill furnace materialized before him. Within that furnace, suns rose and moons set, and star seas drifted and sank. All things lived and died, and heavens and earth rose and were extinguished. As the light repeatedly dimmed and flared, the displayed cycle of reincarnation grew faster and faster. Ultimately, it converged to a single point. It seemed pitch-black and extinguished, yet also brilliantly dazzling. Or perhaps it was both at once. "Life and death as one, uniting with the Dao in truth. "Carefree beyond all worldly things, my pill is formed." As the final sentence fell, the phantom of the pill furnace shattered and dispersed. A searing tempest, seemingly real, swept across the area. Though it was merely light and shadow, the gust tossed Li Fan's beard and hair. Everyone present caught glimpses of the birth and demise of star seas and the Great Dao within it. Like magnificent fireworks, it vanished in a flash. The ethereal, otherworldly aura on Ruan Tianxiao faded along with the disappearance of the light and shadow. "Ugh..." Ruan Tianxiao groaned in pain, as if jolting awake from a dream. He clutched his forehead, seemingly enduring excruciating agony. Copious amounts of fresh blood spurted from his seven orifices. Li Fan also observed that Ruan Tianxiao's divine soul looked as though it had been crammed full and ravaged by something. It was covered in cracks. However, a mysterious energy absorbed from ingesting the stone pill was nourishing and helping heal it. Otherwise, with Ruan Tianxiao's mere Dao Integration cultivation, his divine soul would have long perished. Seeing this, the people of the Medicine King Sect rushed forward to treat him. Li Fan's mind remained fixed on the profound text Sun Piaomiao had just expounded through Ruan Tianxiao's body. "'Life and death as one, uniting with the Dao in truth. Carefree beyond all worldly things, my pill is formed.'" Li Fan murmured the last phrase repeatedly, a rare sense of exhilaration surging within him. "Brilliant, utterly brilliant. This scripture of Sun Piaomiao is far superior even to the Heavenly Physician's treatises. "This text..." Li Fan frowned, and just as he was about to give this text a name, a phrase sprang naturally to mind. It was clearly the only choice that would occur to any being who had heard these words: *Medicine King Scripture of Dao Refining.* Li Fan narrowed his eyes slightly, savoring these words as a profound gravity overtook his heart. *This Medicine King Scripture of Dao Refining is clearly Sun Piaomiao's foundational supreme legacy. Compared to it, that so-called World-Saving Longevity Scripture is childishly crude, completely unrefined.* *It isn't a simple cultivation technique, but a guiding philosophy pointing straight toward the origin of the Great Dao. Just like the Mending the Heavens Record, though it mentions no specific method of cultivation, anyone with reasonable comprehension can grasp suitable techniques and divine abilities from it.* Given Li Fan's current experience and accumulation, contemplating this *Medicine King Scripture of Dao Refining* still sent an endless stream of inspiration and insights gushing through his mind. The subtlety and profundity of this method was readily apparent. A storm of thoughts raged within him, taking three full days and nights before it gradually subsided. Even then, lingering sparks of inspiration flashed from time to time. Li Fan recorded and preserved every single thought that had arisen. Only then did he have the leisure to review everything that had just occurred. At the same time, doubts inevitably sprouted in his mind. *Does Sun Piaomiao still live in this world?* Ruan Tianxiao's possession had seemed to stem from an ancient legacy left behind by Sun Piaomiao through the stone pill. Yet for some reason, Li Fan had an inkling of a sensation that, at that moment, Sun Piaomiao had truly descended from some unknowable distance using Ruan Tianxiao's body. *This Medicine King Scripture of Dao Refining makes no mention of ascending to immortality, yet it still describes a plane of power surpassing the mortal realm.* *I would rather believe this is a new scripture created by a present-day Sun Piaomiao who possesses ten thousand years of accumulation, rather than something he comprehended back then...* While Li Fan was deep in thought, the Medicine King Sect cultivators, who had helped Ruan Tianxiao slowly recover, were jubilantly discussing the *Medicine King Scripture of Dao Refining* among themselves. "Refining the Dao, refining heaven and earth, is just like refining a pill. My prior understanding of the Dao of Alchemy was far too shallow!" "To think our Medicine King Sect's true legacy was so incredible. Yet we allowed it to gather dust for ten thousand years... What a sin, what a sin!" ... While the others were engrossed in heated discussion, Liu Ruchen quietly approached Li Fan. "Senior, I think I understand why there was an issue when we unfolded the immortal domain chess piece earlier. "If we compare that process to refining a pill, it was as if our pill fire was too fierce—too rushed, too impatient. It needed to be nurtured gently with a slow fire, taken one step at a time," Liu Ruchen said with immense confidence, having gained new insights. Li Fan did not burst his bubble, merely nodding slightly. "No need to rush. The scripture left behind by Sun Piaomiao is vast and profound. Even I benefited immensely. Take this opportunity to comprehend and digest it thoroughly." Liu Ruchen cupped his hands, preparing to return to discussing the scripture with the other elders. Before leaving, he hesitated, then asked in a whisper, "Senior, is Ancestor Piaomiao... still alive?" It seemed Li Fan was not the only one who had experienced that illusion earlier. Li Fan did not answer directly, offering Liu Ruchen only a meaningful smile. Next, while exchanging their insights, the people of the Medicine King Sect thoroughly excavated the ruins of their former sect, digging several feet into the ground in an attempt to find other relics left by Sun Piaomiao. Unfortunately, that stone pill appeared to be Sun Piaomiao's sole legacy. After turning up empty-handed in the end, Li Fan led the Dao Integration elders of the Medicine King Sect back into the Daqi pocket world. Some went into secluded cultivation, while others began refining pills, eager to convert their insights into tangible gains. *Refining the Dao...* If even these Dao Integration elders could reap such gains, let alone Li Fan. Gazing toward the Xuanhuang Realm from afar, the inspirations he had suppressed and recorded earlier erupted all over again. *In a sense, the process I planned in this lifetime to elevate Xuanhuang into an immortal domain can also be viewed as refining a pill.* *It similarly involves adding ingredients, tempering with external forces, and then completing the pill.* A sharp light surged in Li Fan's eyes, and unprecedented perceptions swept over him like a tidal wave. *Only, my choice to achieve Dao Integration with the Heaven-and-Earth Essence of the Xuanhuang Immortal Domain is like keeping the packaging while throwing away the jewel. After the pill is formed, I would be discarding the most precious pill without ingesting it, merely licking the pill patterns on its surface and devouring its dregs...* Li Fan pondered. As this thought arose, an unquenchable ambition welled within him—the desire to swallow the future Xuanhuang Immortal Domain whole, treating it as a pill! Once the thought took root, it was impossible to suppress. His heart leapt, urging him to take action immediately. Alertness instantly flared within Li Fan. He closed his eyes, forcefully subduing the restless impulses in his heart. *The train of thought and premise are indeed correct.* *The pity is...* *Not just anyone has the ability to consume the immortal pill that is the Xuanhuang Immortal Domain.* *Even if I exhausted every single trump card right now, I likely couldn't manage it.* Li Fan was not blinded by immense benefits; he maintained a clear appraisal of his own strength. *Even if swallowed, an immortal pill could end in indigestion and fatal bodily rupture.* *Hmph, how could I be so foolish?* Every detail of the *Medicine King Scripture of Dao Refining* flashed across Li Fan's mind once more. *Sun Piaomiao can be called a first-rate alchemist of this world.* *Yet his upper limit was ultimately confined to refining pills in a single lifetime.* *Whereas I...* The words of the scripture transformed into starlight filling the sky, surging and billowing as Li Fan absorbed them. *With the aid of Trueness, I can refine pills across a second lifetime, a third lifetime!* *In this regard, I possess an advantage that no one else in this world can compare to!* *I was born to be the topmost tier of alchemists!* Refocusing his gaze on the Xuanhuang Realm, thoughts whirled through Li Fan's mind. *Even if I am destined to be unable to consume the Xuanhuang immortal pill directly in this lifetime, I can still use the methods of pill refinement to make Xuanhuang's elevation smoother and more harmonious. My previously planned methods would work, but viewed now, they are undeniably too crude.* *Furthermore...* *The experience accumulated in this lifetime can be applied entirely to the next, or even the lifetimes after that.* *Alchemists in this world rack their brains to concoct a single good cauldron of pills. Once refinement begins, there is no turning back; there are only two outcomes: success or failure.* *Yet I can refine the exact same cauldron of pills repeatedly until it reaches its theoretical pinnacle.* Within Li Fan's vision, an immense purple-gold pill furnace suddenly manifested, enveloping heaven and earth. The towering world of Xuanhuang, along with all living beings within it, was transforming into a single pill inside this purple-gold furnace! *Now, all that remains is to see when the fire is lit!* Sensing that the number of beings encompassed by the Juntian Ceremony in the pocket world had reached the Xuan Celestial Vessel's requirement, Li Fan moved like lightning, speeding toward the border of the Star Sea. Before long, he returned to the vicinity of the Xuan Celestial Vessel and deliberately released his aura. "Hm? The aura on your body..." "Did you gain new insights?" Perhaps because they had participated in the Juntian Ceremony together, Zhong Daogong and the other elders of the vessel keenly detected the subtle change in Li Fan. Li Fan was no longer as forthcoming as before, merely offering a smile. "The target number of beings enveloped by the Juntian Ceremony has been reached. It can be initiated at any time. "When shall we equalize the power of the Star Sea? "I have waited so long that I am growing rather impatient." Without asking to board the vessel, Li Fan cut straight to the chase. After a brief silence, the elders of the vessel gave their reply: "We... still need to make some preparations. "Seven days from now, right outside the vessel will suffice. "Fellow Daoist may enter first to rest." Li Fan shook his head in polite refusal. "No matter, I shall simply wait here. "I have had new realizations while communing with the Star Sea recently. Being inside the vessel would only disrupt them." The people of the vessel did not insist, and the atmosphere lapsed into an eerie silence. Li Fan stood tall amidst the stars, eyes closed in contemplation, looking as though he were truly comprehending something. Seven days later, the elders filed out in succession. After nodding to Li Fan, they began setting up the ceremony in the void outside the vessel. One white paper banner after another was planted according to a peculiar sequence. Li Fan saw clearly that what was inscribed upon those banners was none other than the superposition of over a dozen different True Immortal seal characters. Li Fan was thoroughly familiar with every single True Immortal seal character, yet when merged and layered together like this, they seemed to take on a different significance. *Hm?* Li Fan's heart stirred, recalling the immortal domain chess piece currently sealed in Daxuan. It too was an overlap of True Immortal seal characters, though the ones on the vessel's banners were far cruder. *Still, they should be sufficient to support the ceremony.* To Li Fan's eyes, the banners resembled sharp, elongated needles, standing proud in the void as they plunged fiercely into the Star Sea. "Alas, ah!" With the ceremony arranged, the elders took their positions. Zhong Daogong, at their head, flew into the center of the formation, threw his head back, and let out a resounding cry.