Refining Earth Core Soul Marrow, Advancing to the Spirit Realm!

The next day, a man in white appeared in an unnamed valley within the Black Corner Region.

"This is the place to enter seclusion and make a push for a Spirit Realm soul."

The man in white was Gu He. During this time, he had devoured the souls of many powerful experts, causing his soul, which had long remained at the Mortal Realm Peak, to show the first signs of loosening.

Sensing this, Gu He could not help but feel delighted. This was an excellent opportunity to break through to a Spirit Realm soul.

In order to achieve a breakthrough in one go, Gu He had even stopped hunting the experts of the major factions and chosen to enter seclusion instead.

Once he entered seclusion, he would make a single, determined push toward a Spirit Realm soul.

Before long, Gu He carved out a dark cave from thin air to serve as his place of seclusion.

With a thought, Gu He released the Black Scale Cold Flood Dragon from the System Space.

"Master!"

"You finally decided to let me out."

The moment the Black Scale Cold Flood Dragon emerged, it transformed into a burly man in black robes and looked at Gu He with a wronged expression.

Clearly, being stuck in the dark, silent System Space all this time had made the Black Scale Cold Flood Dragon feel extremely miserable.

Seeing the grievance on Black Lin's face, Gu He felt somewhat apologetic as well. Had he known, he should have taken Han Feng and the others' corpses with him. At least Black Lin could have had a hearty meal.

Gu He would not show the slightest mercy toward such vicious scoundrels.

Leaving their corpses intact was already an immense blessing.

If not for the fact that all their valuables had fallen into his hands, Gu He would have long since reduced their corpses to ashes with a single blaze.

"Alright. Guard me well while I'm in seclusion. Once I emerge, I'll take you somewhere for a good meal," Gu He comforted Black Lin.

At those words, the Black Scale Cold Flood Dragon's eyes lit up. He immediately obediently headed to the cave entrance, patted his chest, and said, "Master, rest assured and enter seclusion. With me here, I absolutely won't let anyone disturb you."

Gu He nodded, then strode into the depths of the cave.

The cave was not spacious, but it was more than sufficient. After embedding several Moonlight Stones into the walls, soft light poured down from all sides, driving away all the darkness within the cave.

Gu He quickly arrived at the center of the cave and sat down cross-legged. However, he did not immediately begin. Instead, he lightly closed his eyes and adjusted his state of mind and condition.

Whether the Earth Core Soul Marrow could be successfully prepared would determine whether Gu He could completely advance to a Spirit Realm soul!

Therefore, he absolutely could not allow himself even the slightest distraction.

Gu He kept his eyes closed for nearly half an hour before slowly opening them.

His dark eyes were calm and still, like an unfathomably deep pool.

He slowly exhaled, then swept his palm through the air before him.

In the next moment, four jade boxes floated before him. With a flick of his finger, their lids opened, and a peculiar fragrance immediately spread out, invigorating Gu He's spirit.

Of the four ingredients, the Earth Core Soul Marrow and Pill Spirit Paste could be directly mixed as long as the proportions were properly controlled. As for the Sky Jade Stone Essence, the stone essence within first had to be extracted before it could be added to the mixture.

Extraction was not a difficult task, especially for Gu He as he was now.

Gu He immediately beckoned with his hand, and a green stone flew out and hovered before him.

From afar, this green stone looked no different from an ordinary rock. Yet upon closer inspection, one could see many rather strange patterns covering its surface. Its exterior was also somewhat translucent, and under strong light, one could vaguely see a viscous fluid flowing inside.

The moment his hand touched the green stone, a cool sensation spread through his palm. When he gently shook it, the faint sound of liquid sloshing within could be heard.

This green stone was the seventh-grade spiritual treasure, Sky Jade Stone Essence, and one of the treasures used to balance the Earth Core Soul Marrow.

Gu He glanced at the Sky Jade Stone Essence before him, then opened his mouth and spat out emerald-green flames, which completely enveloped it.

The instant the flames appeared, Gu He raised their temperature to an extremely high level. Thus, in less than half a minute, cracks began spreading over the surface of the Sky Jade Stone Essence, while an exceedingly faint smell drifted out from within.

Seeing this, Gu He nodded slightly. He flicked his finger, and a thin stream of force struck the Sky Jade Stone Essence. With a crack, chunks of stone fell away, finally revealing the pale white slurry hidden within.

Only then did Gu He gradually lower the temperature of the flames until they became a thin wisp, burning beneath the stone.

It looked as though the flames were heating a stone bowl. Within the bowl, the white slurry continued to bubble faintly, and every burst bubble released a light fishy odor.

This fishy odor was the impurities within the stone essence. Only after refining them away could it be used to balance the Earth Core Soul Marrow.

This kind of extraction required little concentration from Gu He. In just over ten minutes, all the fishy odor within the white slurry had been completely expelled.

After finishing the extraction of the stone essence, Gu He's expression remained unchanged. With a wave of his hand, several exquisite jade bottles and vessels appeared in his grasp. Then, with a thought, fine streams of liquid flowed from the four jade boxes before him and, under Gu He's control, poured together into a transparent jade bowl.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

The moment the four liquids came into contact, a faint mist erupted. Then, as though they were bitter enemies, they began corroding one another. Tiny bubbles continuously emerged where they met.

Gu He stared without blinking at the four liquids as they eroded one another. A moment later, the Pill Spirit Paste and stone essence completely dissipated, leaving behind only the somewhat mottled Earth Core Soul Marrow.

"There's too much Earth Core Soul Marrow."

Seeing this, Gu He gently shook his head. According to the formula, successfully prepared Earth Core Soul Marrow should be emerald green, whereas the liquid in the bowl was mottled in color. It was clearly a failed product.

Gu He did not feel discouraged by this first failure.

If he had succeeded on the first try, his luck would have been far too good.

Still, Gu He felt a little pained. Earth Core Soul Marrow was simply too precious. If he failed several more times, even his heart would bleed.

What followed was largely unchanged. He continued tirelessly adjusting the proportions of the three treasures. If there was even one fraction too much or too little, it would disrupt the balance among the four liquids and result in failure. Therefore, he could not allow his state of mind to fluctuate because of failure while mixing them.

Gu He failed three times in mixing the four heavenly treasures, and those three failures consumed nearly a third of the ingredients.

Though the price was steep, there was still not the slightest trace of impatience on Gu He's face. Moreover, his mixing technique became increasingly practiced, and he no longer hesitated as much when adjusting the proportions.

With his current alchemy attainments, there were probably not many in the entire world who could surpass him. Naturally, such failures would not disturb his state of mind. After all, if he could not endure even this, how could he become a true powerhouse?

Gu He fixed his gaze on the jade bowl. Four differently colored liquids gathered at his fingertips. Whenever the amount of one liquid in the bowl decreased, he swiftly added a tiny amount, doing his utmost to maintain the balance within.

After repeated failures, the liquid in the jade bowl this time became increasingly clear and lush in color. A faint fragrance gradually spread from it.

Smelling that fragrance, a ripple finally appeared in Gu He's previously unchanging eyes. One of his fingers trembled gently, and a drop of stone essence slowly fell into the jade bowl.

Sizzle!

As that drop of stone essence fell, faint mist immediately rose from the jade bowl. Once the mist dispersed, what remained was a small bowl of jade-like viscous slurry brimming with vitality.

"Whew."

Seeing the quality of the liquid in the jade bowl, Gu He finally let out a relieved breath. He then carefully poured the slurry within into a fine jade bottle.

Of course, this small amount of prepared Earth Core Soul Marrow was far from enough to transform his soul. However, with this first success, the following preparations became much easier. In roughly two hours, Gu He successfully mixed nearly half of the remaining three heavenly treasures.

Looking at the jade-green liquid in his hand, which had already filled the bottle to the brim, a pleased smile finally crossed Gu He's face.

Though he had failed many times earlier, the successful product remaining was already enough for him to use this time.

"Now comes the most important part."

Holding the jade bottle, Gu He took a deep breath, a trace of excitement flashing through his eyes.

If this transformation succeeded, he would be able to break through to a Spirit Realm soul.

A Spirit Realm soul corresponded to an Eighth-grade Alchemist.

As long as Gu He broke through to a Spirit Realm soul this time, becoming an Eighth-grade Alchemist in the future would naturally follow as smoothly as water flowing downhill.

Only then would he truly possess the qualifications and strength to contend against the powerful experts of the world!

"This time, no matter what, I must succeed!"

A fierce glint flashed through his eyes. Gu He raised the jade bottle without hesitation and poured it directly into his mouth. Tilting back his head, he swallowed nearly more than half of the Earth Core Soul Marrow, which gurgled down his throat and into his body.

The instant the Earth Core Soul Marrow entered his body, Gu He's head immediately buzzed. The soul power at his brow suddenly swelled as though it had been stimulated by some catalyst. The expansion was so violent that an intense swelling pain erupted between his brows, as if his head were about to explode at that very moment!