Sixth-Rank Demon Transformation Pill

Too ugly to wear?

That was the Pill Tower! The Pill Tower!

The Pill Tower was the sacred ground in the hearts of countless alchemists, and the most powerful alchemist organization on the entire Dou Qi Continent.

The Pill Tower was located at the heart of the Central Continent. The place where it stood was known as Pill City, which held nearly the largest number of alchemists on the continent. Everything within a thousand li of Pill City fell under the Pill Tower's sphere of influence, an area also known as the Pill Domain.

Its immense power and deep foundation made the Pill Tower's alchemist certification the strictest on the continent. Yet precisely because of this, its rank badges could be used throughout the continent, carrying absolute intimidation wherever they were shown.

At Lin Ran's age, he was already a Sixth-Rank Alchemist—and one certified by the Pill Tower at that. To these country bumpkins tucked away in some remote corner of the Northwest Continent, it was nothing short of a dimensional strike!

No wonder Lin Ran had been so dismissive of things like auctions. No wonder he could casually produce treasures like Restoration Pills and Spirit Dou Pills.

The things they regarded as priceless treasures were utterly insignificant to Lin Ran!

"Sir... are you from the Central Continent?" the Black Rock City Lord asked tremulously.

"Put away those messy thoughts of yours. I was merely passing through the Jia Ma Empire. Don't read too much into it."

Lin Ran glanced indifferently at the Black Rock City Lord before turning back to Elder Lu. "Go on. What pill do you want refined? Of course, I hope you can offer something of matching value. Otherwise..."

"Green Yi understands."

Green Yi gave a deep bow, then carefully took out an ancient yellowed parchment from her Storage Ring. A pained expression surfaced on her lovely face.

It was not an act. She had no idea how much effort she had spent obtaining this prescription, but in order to have the pill refined, she could only hand it over to an alchemist without reservation.

That was the privilege of alchemists. They did not even need to do anything; people would willingly bring them all manner of things they had painstakingly acquired, changing hands in the process.

Xiao Yi Xian stepped forward and curiously accepted the pill formula, unconsciously murmuring the name written on it.

"A Sixth-Rank... Demon Transformation Pill?"

"Demon Transformation Pill?"

Lin Fei and Xue Mei were utterly bewildered. They instinctively looked toward Otto and Frank, only to find the same confusion on their faces.

Clearly, even they had never heard of this pill.

Gute, however, looked startled. "It's actually a Demon Transformation Pill. Your Heavenly Snake Mansion truly has grand ambitions!"

"Old... Gute, you know what this Demon Transformation Pill is?" Otto asked in confusion. The "old fellow" that had nearly slipped from his mouth was forcibly changed into Gute because Lin Ran was present.

Gute was not offended. He, Otto, and Frank were considered the three strongest alchemists in Black Rock City, and they normally had a close relationship, so they naturally did not care much about forms of address.

Faced with Otto's question, Gute nodded solemnly.

"I once heard my younger brother mention it. This Demon Transformation Pill is an inferior version of the Humanoid Transformation Pill, and its effects are similar. It is simply not as effective as the Humanoid Transformation Pill, only allowing magical beasts to partially transform into human form. Even so, it can still be considered a supreme treasure to magical beasts."

For magical beasts, transforming into human form or remaining untransformed made a world of difference.

Before transforming, although magical beasts far surpassed humans in physical strength, the power they could wield was restricted in every way by their beast bodies. Once they transformed, however, they could retain the strength of a magical beast's body while cultivating human Dou Techniques and Cultivation Methods.

This enhancement was by no means as simple as one plus one equaling two. Moreover, after transforming, magical beasts would gain intelligence and heightened wisdom. Thus, transformed magical beasts were almost always top experts who led their beast clans!

Unfortunately, only Seventh-tier magical beasts could transform. Breaking through realms was exceedingly difficult for magical beasts, far harder than for humans, and many magical beasts could never reach the Seventh-tier in their entire lives.

If they wished to transform, they needed a pill: the Humanoid Transformation Pill!

"I never expected your Heavenly Snake Mansion to seek a Demon Transformation Pill. It seems your ambitions are no small matter..."

Gute gave Green Yi a grave look, but Green Yi did not care. She replied calmly, "People die for wealth, birds die for food. We are all merely seeking to go one step further."

As they spoke, Xiao Yi Xian handed the pill formula to Lin Ran.

Demon Transformation Pill!

Three faint black characters had been written somewhat indistinctly upon the ancient parchment, carrying a subtle aura of antiquity.

Lin Ran's gaze slowly swept across the parchment. Naturally, he had long heard of the Demon Transformation Pill. After all, this sort of pill was not particularly rare in the Central Continent; he simply did not know its formula.

"Demon Transformation Pill, listed as Sixth-Rank. It allows magical beasts to partially assume human form. Though it cannot achieve complete transformation, it still grants magical beasts their long lifespans while giving them some of humanity's cultivation talent..."

"What do you think, sir?"

Green Yi looked at Lin Ran expectantly. "May this pill be refined?"

"It's acceptable. Where are the ingredients?"

Lin Ran answered casually, then, before everyone's eyes, unceremoniously put the ancient pill formula into his Storage Ring.

There were certain unspoken rules in the alchemy world. Whoever wished to ask an alchemist to refine an unusual or obscure pill not only had to provide the formula and materials themselves, but also had to allow the alchemist to dispose of the formula as they pleased. Even if the alchemist chose to claim it for themselves, that was entirely normal.

In the alchemy world, creating a pill formula was not as simple as casually writing it down with a pen. When creating one, an alchemist had to use their soul force as ink and a pen as a guide in order to successfully produce a qualified formula.

When using a pill formula, an alchemist needed to send soul force into it in order to obtain the essential data concealed within, such as the required quantities of medicinal ingredients, the appropriate intensity of the flame, and so on.

These were all matters that required extreme attention when refining pills. Without such information, no matter how outstanding an alchemist's skills were, they would still need to conduct many experiments before possibly refining the pill recorded in the formula. Yet during those experiments, many precious medicinal ingredients would likely be wasted, resulting in an enormous loss.

Therefore, many people could possess a pill formula for a long time yet still be unable to reproduce it. Seeing Lin Ran's actions, a trace of heartache appeared on Green Yi's beautiful face, but she had no choice. She carefully took out another Storage Ring and handed it to Xiao Yi Xian once more.