The brilliantly colored Empyrean Flame churned within the Medicine Cauldron as stalk after stalk of spiritual medicine fused together, transforming into ten spheres of light that circled the cauldron.
At this moment, Yan Kuan adjusted his breathing and took out the final—and most difficult to handle—ingredient: a Ginseng Fruit Tree Branch.
The emerald-green Undying Divine Tree branch gave off a faint fragrance. Its immensely rich life force stirred an irresistible urge to devour and refine it.
Yet upon closer inspection, one would discover threads of black light hidden within the Undying Divine Tree's emerald radiance of life. The concealed death energy lay deeply buried within that life force; once refined into the body, it would invade the cultivator and turn them into something evil.
Yan Kuan tossed the Undying Divine Tree branch into the Medicine Cauldron. The power of the Empyrean Flame was immediately driven to its limit, yet beneath the raging flames, the branch did not change in the slightest.
Yan Kuan continuously urged the Empyrean Flame onward, increasing the fire's power. More than an hour later, he finally made it become even more vivid and emerald, but the deeply hidden black light could no longer be concealed.
As the Empyrean Flame continued to burn, cracks finally spread across the surface of the Undying Divine Tree branch. Green radiance and black energy, mixed together, flowed endlessly.
Yan Kuan's soul power covered every corner of it, sensing the strengths of both energies as he did his utmost to maintain a certain balance.
The hand seal in his fingers suddenly changed. He swiftly pointed out a finger, slicing off a portion of emerald liquid and storing it within a Jade Vial. This was the usable life essence he had painstakingly separated out, and Yan Kuan did not intend to use it in this pill refinement.
The Undying Divine Tree branch gradually turned to ash. Emerald life energy and pitch-black death energy intertwined, vaguely forming a Taiji diagram of flowing green and black.
Under Yan Kuan's control, the fused liquid mass continuously spun. The ten portions of extracted medicinal liquid flying around it were also guided by him, merging one after another into the green and black halves in a particular sequence.
With the primary ingredients basically refined, Yan Kuan slightly relaxed and pondered for a while before taking out a Jade Vial. As he slowly tilted its mouth, a drop of strange crimson blood gradually fell.
The crimson blood droplet floated before Yan Kuan. Though small in volume, the energy contained within it was immensely vast.
This was Blood Essence from the body of that Guardian of Dragon Tiger Mountain, an expert at the Dao-Slaying King level. Yan Kuan had brought him to Outer Dragon Tiger Mountain that day, then used the Empyrean Flame to help refine away the death energy from his remains, allowing him to rest in peace.
During that process, for some "unknown" reason, he had not only obtained many wondrous methods of Dragon Tiger Mountain, but that senior Dao-Slaying King had also "gifted" him a mass of Blood Essence. It was probably to repay him for helping him rest in peace!
The Blood Essence of a Dao-Slaying King naturally contained unimaginable energy. If it were used as the catalyst to refine a Life-Devouring Pill, then should the refinement succeed, the pill's quality would reach an inconceivable level.
Yan Kuan stared at the crimson drop of Blood Essence. A moment later, he flicked his finger, and the blood floated lightly forward before falling into the Medicine Cauldron.
The instant the crimson blood entered the Medicine Cauldron, the overwhelming energy contained within directly stirred up storms inside it.
Yan Kuan did not hesitate. Using his soul power, he guided the blood into the condensed medicinal liquid. In an instant, the winds and clouds abruptly shifted, and a heaven-shaking phenomenon erupted.
The heavy crimson Medicine Cauldron shook violently several times. Though it had not yet cracked, waves of erupting energy were already on the verge of bursting out of the cauldron.
Yan Kuan's expression remained calm as he watched the spinning medicinal liquid gradually contract, finally forming a pill embryo like a tiny sea urchin covered in spikes. Violent energy surged without cease, while Yan Kuan continuously tried to stabilize it.
Clang! Clang!
Wave after wave of energy slammed against the inner walls of the Medicine Cauldron, and ringing soundwaves echoed throughout the entire plaza.
"You'd better behave yourself!"
Flames suddenly burst from Yan Kuan's eyes. He pointed with his right index finger, and a drop of blood shimmering with multicolored flame instantly rushed into the pill embryo. The already blazing Empyrean Flame became even more domineering, forcibly refining away all resistance under Yan Kuan's control.
Yan Kuan's own blood, together with the Empyrean Flame, suppressed the pill embryo before gradually refining and compressing it.
Within the Medicine Cauldron, brilliant multicolored flames enveloped a mass of liquid about half the size of a fist. The liquid was somewhat variegated in color, though crimson made up the majority. Yet within that crimson hue, several energies of different colors seemed to be slowly fusing with it.
Yan Kuan's soul power sensed the calm within that liquid mass, and he relaxed slightly. After the earlier upheaval, the following process had become much more stable. Once all the medicinal power within had completely fused, it would be time to truly form the pill.
Of course, this was a relatively slow process that would last at least several days, but Yan Kuan could afford to wait that long.
Yan Kuan slowly closed his eyes, diverting a sliver of his focus to circulate the Burning Art and absorb the surrounding energy of heaven and earth. His soul power still hovered within the Medicine Cauldron, controlling the heat and the fusion between the various medicinal powers.
Six days slowly passed. As dawn arrived on the seventh day, a ray of sunlight broke free from the earth's restraint and shot over from the distant forest sea, shining into the Medicine Cauldron.
As if struck by inspiration, Yan Kuan suddenly opened his eyes. Two blazing golden beams accurately fell into the Medicine Cauldron, and he understood that the moment to release the pill had arrived.
The multicolored Empyrean Flame within the Medicine Cauldron slowly receded, revealing a strange pill embryo before his eyes. It was about the size of a Dragon's eye, radiating green, black, and red light. Its uneven surface looked extremely unattractive, yet it carried pure medicinal power.
Yan Kuan changed his hand seals, and the Empyrean Flame released a faint warmth that slowly seeped into the pill embryo. This final pill-nurturing step did not last long. Around ten hours later, the pitted pill embryo within the flames had completely transformed into a perfect pill.
A round pill the size of a Dragon's eye appeared before Yan Kuan. Its outer layer was blood-red, while emerald green and pitch-black colors flowed within it.
The green and black colors resembled a pair of yin-yang fish, outlined within the pill. They seemed to possess a trace of intelligence, making for an extremely wondrous sight.
At the instant this pill fully took shape, the sky above this part of Ten Thousand Demons Valley suddenly darkened. Layers of black clouds rapidly gathered overhead, while silver lightning wandered everywhere like Silver Serpents.
"Heavenly Thunder is descending!"
Yan Kuan looked up at the strands of silver lightning about to fall. Not only was there no fear on his face, but a faint delight appeared instead. The descent of Pill Tribulation Lightning meant his pill had succeeded. Once it endured the lightning tribulation, he could collect the pill.
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