Sun Lie looked at Meng Chong and said irritably, "Your grandfather gave the order for me to help you disperse your cultivation as quickly as possible."
"With my method, your cultivation can be completely wiped out in a single night. What, do you not dare?"
Meng Chong immediately raised his brows and puffed out his chest. "Why wouldn't I dare?!"
Sun Lie burst into laughter. "Good. I did not misjudge you."
Then his tone shifted. "In truth, cultivating through a pill furnace has existed since ancient times."
"You have surely heard of the divine ability Fiery Eyes Golden Gaze."
"To cultivate this divine ability, one must first possess the immortal aptitude of Fiery Eyes or Golden Gaze, then climb into an old pill furnace."
"After the furnace is lit, the cultivator must endure forty-nine days and nights of bitter torment. Their eyes cannot close throughout the process; at most, they may blink. They must fully endure smoke and scorching fire while gritting their teeth through the pain."
"This time, when you enter the pill furnace, you must be mentally prepared."
Meng Chong nodded gravely.
Sun Lie opened his Storage Bag and took out a large bowl and a small glass vial.
The bowl contained an amber-colored viscous substance, orange-yellow and crystalline. The vial held granules of red and yellow powder.
Sun Lie instructed, "Come, take off all your clothes."
"First smear on what is in this bowl, then sprinkle the medicinal powder in the vial all over your body."
Meng Chong gave an "oh," stripped himself bare, and accepted the bowl and vial.
He first applied the contents of the bowl, then evenly scattered the powder from the vial.
Gradually, he began to feel that something was off. Sniffing as he spoke, he said, "Old Sun, why does this smell like honey and cumin?"
Sun Lie tipped back his head, took a huge swig from the gourd, then laughed. "Hahaha, you only noticed now? Your grandfather said you were terrible at every one of the hundred arts of cultivation. He was not wrong!"
Meng Chong's face immediately darkened. "I may not be good at pill refining, but I have eaten plenty of pills. I have eaten even more Spirit Food."
Sun Lie nodded. "Since ancient times, food and medicine have never been separate."
"The best medicinal nourishment is food nourishment."
"What difference is there between Spirit Food, spirit chefs, spirit pills, and pill refiners?"
At this point, he waggled his brows at Meng Chong. "Surely you are not afraid I will kill you and roast you until you are fragrant and crispy?"
Though he had not met Meng Chong many times, he had accurately grasped the latter's personality.
Meng Chong was even younger than Ning Zhuo, only fourteen years old, though he looked eighteen or nineteen. He possessed a youth's fierce ambitions, strove to outdo others, and took pride in the Meng surname and glory in his Lineage.
"Do not underestimate me." Meng Chong shot Sun Lie a glare and climbed straight into the Purple Sun Furnace.
Sun Lie let out a wine-scented belch, followed close behind, and slammed the pill furnace door shut.
The sound of the furnace door closing made Meng Chong's heart jump.
The pill furnace was sealed, but dim light still remained within.
Standing before the furnace door, Meng Chong swept his gaze around and immediately discovered that the bottom of the pill furnace had long been covered with all kinds of medicinal ingredients.
At the sight, Meng Chong's heart settled slightly. This showed that Sun Lie had prepared in advance.
Just looking at the honey and cumin smeared over his body, the whole thing seemed somewhat unreliable. But considering Sun Lie's status as a grandmaster pill refiner, this arrangement surely had a purpose.
Without hesitation, Meng Chong walked to the center of the pill furnace and sat down cross-legged.
Outside the Purple Sun Furnace, Sun Lie threw back his head and gulped down wine, then opened his mouth and spat.
Boom.
Wine-fire surged forth and ignited the Purple Sun Furnace.
Within a few breaths, the temperature of the air rose violently. The crimson firelight reflected off Sun Lie's face, dyeing it bright red.
It is here. Meng Chong's heart stirred as he sensed the sudden surge in temperature.
The pill furnace interior, dim just moments before, instantly brightened and filled with crimson light.
Meng Chong's body temperature rapidly climbed. The honey coating his skin began to melt, the cumin granules released a wild fragrance, and vast amounts of mana steamed from his pores like clouds and mist.
At this moment, outside Purple Sun Villa, strange light flickered in Sun Lingtong's eyes.
Her spirit eyes pierced through layers of walls, revealing a blurry scene.
"Excellent. Sun Lie is refining pills. This is the perfect chance to make a move." Her heart leaped with joy.
Once pill refining began, the pill refiner often could not leave even a single step.
That meant Sun Lie, a Foundation Establishment peak combatant, was temporarily crippled!
"Formation Breaking Talisman, go!"
Sun Lingtong acted with extreme decisiveness, directly bringing out her strongest method.
Sensing the attack, Purple Sun Villa's formation activated in an instant, forming a hemispherical barrier of light.
The Formation Breaking Talisman looked tiny and insignificant, but upon landing on the light barrier, it immediately crumbled apart. The specks of faint light released by its dissolution directly melted away the hemispherical barrier.
Purple Sun Villa's formation had failed!
"Go." Ning Zhuo had been waiting for a long time. His cloak flared.
A great number of Mechanical Thunder Stillness Birds shot forth.
They streaked through the air in trails of lightning, covering the front courtyard.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Piercing alarm bells erupted from Purple Sun Villa.
Ning Zhuo's heartbeat quickened slightly. He untied the two Storage Bags at his waist, grabbed their bottoms, opened their mouths wide, and shook out everything within.
One Mechanical Creation after another expanded from small to large, each restoring its true size as it landed upon the ground.
Twenty brass mechanical humanoids and forty Red Copper mechanical beasts advanced in orderly ranks, charging toward Purple Sun Villa.
Purple Sun Villa naturally had guards stationed within.
Four Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators and eighteen late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators were all alarmed.
The Foundation Establishment cultivators cast spells, clearing away the Mechanical Thunder Stillness Birds.
Meanwhile, the eighteen late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators formed a battle formation, erupting with power surpassing the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage as they held their ground.
The Mechanical Creations crashed in like a tide, while the battle formation was like a reef by the sea. No matter how the tide surged and battered against it, it remained immovable.
"Little brother, Sun Lie is refining pills in the Pill Refining Room!" Sun Lingtong's voice secretly transmitted over.
Ning Zhuo's heart stirred. He immediately split off a portion of the mechanical creations and sent them charging in unison toward the Pill Refining Room.
Attack what the enemy must save!
"Damn it!" The four Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators cursed, but did not move.
A Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator suddenly emerged from the shadows. Holding a dharma mirror, he released mirror light that enveloped every Mechanical Creation rushing over.
With another shake of the mirror, the hidden Tassel-Haired Wanderer immediately appeared upon its surface.
"He is there!" the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator holding the mirror shouted, pointing out Ning Zhuo's exact location to his companions.
A figure then shot away like lightning.
"Another hidden Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator!" Ning Zhuo's pupils contracted. Thunder Stillness Birds circled and danced around him, while the Bangs Haired Hanging Death Whip rose like a black python lifting its head, ready for battle.
Very soon, fierce fighting erupted within the dark alley where he was hiding.
"Hmph! I hope this person is as skilled as Sun Lingtong said." After Han Ming glanced toward Ning Zhuo's direction, she also began to act.
Yin wind swirled around her body. She moved with great speed and without the slightest sound, like a ghostly shadow.
The ghostly shadow flitted through the air, first rushing toward the pill room. When she saw another Foundation Establishment cultivator appear at the entrance, she decisively changed direction and charged toward the Medicine Storage Room.
But halfway there, sword light flashed. A flying sword shot forth like lightning, intercepting Han Ming's ghostly figure.
A Foundation Establishment peak cultivator slowly emerged.
"Tonight, I only seek pills. I do not wish to hurt anyone." Han Ming narrowed her eyes and spoke.
What answered her was a fierce flash of sword light.
Before you continue