Heaven and Earth Anomalies

In the central ancient city of Ten Thousand Demons Valley, on a certain square, Yan Kuan sat cross-legged before a blazing furnace. Inside the fiery red cauldron, a large mass of pale red refined medicinal liquid was churning rapidly.

Since the day Yan Kuan brought the broken sword of Great Sage Chisongzi and held an equal discussion with the high-ranking members of Ten Thousand Demons Valley, a preliminary deal had been struck. The valley would provide spiritual herbs for Yan Kuan to refine, and the resulting pills would be split sixty-forty, with Yan Kuan taking sixty percent.

This agreement seemed to put Ten Thousand Demons Valley at a disadvantage, but in truth, they were the ones gaining the upper hand. After all, in the cultivation world, those capable of refining high-grade pills were few, and those willing to cooperate with the Demon Race were even rarer.

Moreover, in the cultivation world, hiring someone to refine pills typically required preparing at least three sets of materials along with generous gifts before a pill master would even consider taking the job. Yan Kuan only asking for sixty percent was already quite reasonable.

This transaction benefited both sides. Ten Thousand Demons Valley turned easily wasted spiritual herbs into pills that were easier to absorb and refine. Aside from receiving sixty percent of the pills, Yan Kuan also gained the opportunity to rapidly improve his pill refining skills.

With the support of Ten Thousand Demons Valley's spiritual herbs, his pill refining technique advanced by leaps and bounds. He quickly produced many Fourth Grade Peak pills and eventually began attempting to refine Fifth Grade pills. Today's attempt was the closest he had come to success.

Yan Kuan had failed several times before. This time, he meticulously controlled his spiritual power, splitting it into two streams that surged into the Medicine Cauldron. One stream fiercely suppressed the flames, while the other wrapped around the medicinal liquid like lightning, then suddenly unleashed an extremely powerful compressive force.

The pale red medicinal liquid seemed to sense the compression around it, rippling violently. With each ripple, immensely strong energy ripples burst forth, colliding relentlessly with Yan Kuan's spiritual power.

On the white marble square, the Medicine Cauldron suddenly trembled slightly, and a crisp clashing sound rang out from within. The figures watching this scene couldn't help but tense up. The previous failures had occurred at this very moment, so their worry was unavoidable.

But this time, Yan Kuan, controlling the cauldron, remained extremely calm. He simply clenched his hand abruptly toward the cauldron from a distance, as if trying to crush the air before him.

With his motion, the violently churning medicinal liquid in the cauldron suddenly froze. The surrounding soul power surged in an instant, and the originally large mass of liquid had now shrunk to the size of half a fist.

"Condense!!!"

Yan Kuan released even more spiritual power with a low shout. The half-fist-sized medicinal liquid in the cauldron trembled violently, shrinking at a visible speed. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a thumb-sized, pale red pill embryo.

This step of forming the pill was the most difficult. Since it had succeeded, as long as things continued smoothly, the chances of truly completing the pill were extremely high.

Inside the fiery red Medicine Cauldron, crimson flames leaped upward continuously. The scorching heat nearly turned the cauldron into a blazing furnace. In the center of the furnace, amidst the flames, the irregularly shaped pill embryo gradually became round under the baking heat.

On the surface of the rounded pill, a magnificent luster grew increasingly radiant. From a distance, it looked like a red gem, emitting dazzling light within the crimson flames.

After the most difficult step of pill condensation succeeded, Yan Kuan flawlessly completed the subsequent stages. As time passed, fine beads of sweat gradually appeared on his forehead, his breathing grew rapid, and his face took on a hint of pallor.

Yan Kuan's physical condition was not particularly good, but his mental state was unexpectedly strong. His eyes sparkled as he stared fixedly into the cauldron. Amidst the crimson flames, a dark red pill flickered in and out of view.

This fully formed pill had now completely internalized its energy fluctuations, appearing like an ordinary pill, with none of the characteristics expected of a Fifth Grade Pill.

Yan Kuan was approaching the final stage of pill completion and retrieval. Since this was his first successful attempt at refining a Fifth Grade pill, he stared unblinkingly at the dark red pill. This Fifth Grade Dragon Strength Pill was nearly perfect, on the verge of truly emerging.

Within the cauldron's flames, the dark red pill began to spin rapidly. As its rotation intensified, the scorching energy in the crimson flames converged into twisted, invisible slender streams, pouring into it continuously.

"Clang!"

Just as a vortex formed at the center of the flames, a ring of dark red energy ripples suddenly burst from the pill's surface, slamming heavily against the inner wall of the cauldron with a crisp, loud sound.

Witnessing this change in the dark red pill, Yan Kuan's expression turned joyful. He had simulated this scenario countless times in his mind, but this was the first time it had become reality.

This was the chaotic fluctuation of natural energy caused by the formation of a Fifth Grade pill, a heavenly phenomenon unique to high-grade pills. Only by refining pills above the Fifth Grade did a pill master truly step into the hall of mastery.

"Retrieve the pill."

Yan Kuan's hands swiftly formed countless seals. With his movements, the crimson flames rapidly receded, and the spinning dark red pill gradually calmed its energy fluctuations. But the increasingly rich medicinal fragrance drew countless sounds of swallowing from the surroundings.

As Yan Kuan completed the final seal, the dark red pill flew out of the cauldron, and he caught it before placing it into a jade bottle. In that brief moment, several impatient figures had already gathered around him.

"Brother Li, is that the Dragon Strength Pill in your hand? It smells wonderful. Is this really just a Fifth Grade pill?"

Sun Wukong, the Third Valley Lord of Ten Thousand Demons Valley, had long lost his usual composure. His scratching and fidgeting made him look every bit the monkey he was.

The pills Yan Kuan had refined earlier included some that could benefit the high-ranking members of Ten Thousand Demons Valley, but for Sun Wukong, a Dragon Transformation Realm powerhouse at least comparable to a Battle Ancestor, their effects were nearly negligible. He had simply been investing in Yan Kuan's potential.

But what he didn't know was that on the Battle Qi Continent, even ordinary Battle Ancestors would treat a Fifth Grade pill master with courtesy. This was because Fifth Grade pills still had some effect on Battle Ancestors. Sun Wukong's newfound warmth also stemmed from this reason.

He hadn't held high expectations before, thinking Yan Kuan was still far from refining pills that could benefit him.

But what he hadn't expected was that the gap between Fourth Grade Peak and Fifth Grade pills, though seemingly a thin line, represented two entirely different levels.

"Third Valley Lord, please prepare more spiritual herbs according to my pill formula. I have some ideas for subsequent pill refining."

Yan Kuan showed a cold demeanor, but this did not dampen the enthusiasm of Ten Thousand Demons Valley's high-ranking members. In their eyes, such stubbornness in a genius was a good thing. Sun Wukong quickly ordered several great demons to mobilize the entire valley into action.