Battle Qi Transformation Wings

The brilliant and resplendent Empyrean Flame refined the endless Sea of Thunder descended from the heavens, and the heavy layers of clouds in the sky finally dissipated completely.

As the thick, oppressive thunderclouds above dispersed, warm sunlight once again poured down from the sky, bathing this land that had been ravaged by Pill Tribulation Lightning. That sensation of warmth left many of the Demon Race with a strange feeling of rebirth, as if they had survived a calamity and been renewed.

The Empyrean Flame enveloped the Spirit Pill as it slowly descended. Yan Kuan waved his right hand, and the Empyrean Flame withdrew and scattered. A round, lustrous pill floated gently from his palm into midair, radiating a dense, brilliant light.

The moment this pill appeared, the fragrance of alchemy in the surrounding heaven and earth became markedly richer. Countless gazes followed it; the suspended pill shone like a luminous pearl, dazzling and eye-catching.

The pill was a deep blood-red, roughly the size of a dragon's eye. It appeared extremely mystical at first glance—one look and it seemed like a transparent orb filled with blood.

Inside the pill, faint traces of emerald green and pitch-black light swam about. At the very center of the pill, a blood-red glimmer appeared particularly dark, vaguely resembling a tiny eye, giving the whole thing an eerie sensation.

A faint mist of spiritual energy lingered on the surface of the pill as it floated in the air. An emerald-green spirit dragon and a pitch-black yin serpent intertwined, appearing and disappearing in turns.

"A pill condensing spiritual mist—this is a pill approaching the Eighth-Rank. Although it didn't trigger a multi-colored lightning tribulation, in terms of divine efficacy, this Flawless Life-Devouring Pill is no weaker than some Eighth-Rank pills. The Undying Divine Medicine truly is a heavenly treasure, but it's a pity it was tainted."

Yan Kuan shook his head with some regret. This Life-Devouring Pill had been refined to perfection—so perfect it was almost unbelievable. But his role in it was mostly just guiding the energy to prevent the cauldron from exploding. Being able to refine a pill approaching the Eighth-Rank was largely due to the extraordinary efficacy of the main ingredient.

The Undying Divine Medicine was a creation of heaven and earth. Aside from a few naturally born Divine Seeds, most Undying Divine Medicines were actually transformed from Immortal King Remains, containing traces of the Immortal King Dao Fruit Law, which is why their effects were so remarkable.

A branch of the Divine Tree was far inferior to the Divine Tree's Dao Fruit, but it was still a divine object that could take effect on Quasi-Emperors or even Emperors. Using it to refine pills naturally resulted in a very high grade, even serving as the main ingredient for an Emperor Pill on the Battle Qi Continent.

However, a branch of the Undying Divine Tree that had been contaminated by death energy was a divine object of an even lower tier. Although it still retained its longevity effects, it was far inferior to a pure branch of the Undying Divine Tree.

Yan Kuan using it to refine pills was essentially making the best of waste. The Life-Devouring Pill refined this way far exceeded the limits of Yan Kuan's own alchemy skills.

Yan Kuan himself was a Sixth-Rank Alchemist. Under normal circumstances, he could attempt a Seventh-Rank Low-Grade pill, but he couldn't guarantee success. An Eighth-Rank pill was something he wouldn't even dare to think about before—yet now, he had refined one.

Seventh-Rank and Eighth-Rank pills, though similar in appearance, could be distinguished at a glance even by someone completely ignorant of alchemy. That difference lay in spiritual nature.

A Seventh-Rank pill, no matter how dense its energy, was still a Dead Pill. But an Eighth-Rank pill had already developed its own spiritual nature. Such a pill was called a Living Pill, or a Spirit Pill.

Just like the Life-Devouring Pill before Yan Kuan now. A faint mist of spiritual nature swirled around the pill, vaguely condensing into the forms of a dragon and serpent. Though it was so weak it seemed on the verge of dissipating at any moment, this was still true spiritual nature—a genuine Spirit Pill.

The spiritual energy gathering in the heaven and earth gradually thinned. Yan Kuan reached out and stored the Spirit Pill into a jade bottle. The warm bottle stirred a growing heat within his heart. He felt an urge to immediately go into seclusion and break through.

Deep within the most core spiritual land of the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, nearly tangible spiritual energy flowed outside the meditation chamber. This secret ground of the valley used formations to continuously lock in and refine spiritual energy, gathering it here to form a special cultivation site. Only successive Valley Masters had been able to cultivate here throughout history.

Yet today, this secret ground of the Ten Thousand Demons Valley welcomed a stranger. Yan Kuan was likely the first human to set foot here in the thousands of years since this site was built.

He had reached an agreement with the Three Valley Masters of Ten Thousand Demons Valley, borrowing this place's spiritual energy to go into seclusion and break through, at a cost that was not particularly high. Because the Ten Thousand Demons Valley saw his potential, they were willing to invest in him, and wanted to secure this favor.

After adjusting for three days, Yan Kuan felt he had reached a state of perfection. He sat cross-legged on the cushion left by Old Crane. Streams of pure spiritual energy converged toward his position, and the Battle Crystals churning within his Sea of Bitterness began to change.

He hesitated no longer. With a flick of his hand, a jade bottle like emerald appeared in his palm. As he tilted the bottle, a blood-red pill the size of a dragon's eye rolled out. A strange fragrance spread, invigorating the spirit.

Yan Kuan glanced at the Life-Devouring Pill in his hand, then without hesitation brought it to his lips. Opening his mouth, he quickly swallowed the pill into his body.

The Life-Devouring Pill dissolved upon entering his mouth, transforming into a somewhat turbulent surge of blood-energy medicinal power that crazily flooded into Yan Kuan's body.

As the vast, pure medicinal power surged into his body, the corners of Yan Kuan's mouth twitched slightly. The medicinal power rapidly entered his meridians, flowing in all directions.

The Burning Art within Yan Kuan's body began to circulate on its own. In a daze, it seemed as if some barrier inside him had opened. While his cultivation level soared, his body also underwent a very noticeable transformation.

As the medicinal power surged within Yan Kuan, his cultivation level rose rapidly. Outside, the space around him also fluctuated violently. Streams of energy emerged, gathering above his head into an energy vortex, which then slowly seeped in through the crown of his head.

Inside Yan Kuan's body, the Life-Devouring Pill was continuously exerting its divine effects. This pill did not possess the violent medicinal nature of explosive power; instead, it was a gentle energy that helped elevate cultivation.

It nourished Yan Kuan's body. The Heavenly Meridians within him gleamed with a crystalline light, bringing his meridians and dantian up to the level appropriate for a cultivator of his rank. This was a leap of transformation from the inside out.

Such rapid change could not be achieved by the pill alone. It also consumed the body's own life-source energy. Perfect transformation came at the cost of depleting one's life foundation—this was why those who took the Life-Devouring Pill were left with only three years to live.

With a thunderous boom, the rhomboid Battle Crystal within Yan Kuan's body instantly vanished into the Sea of Bitterness. The divine power flowing within the sea underwent a distinct change. Surging divine power raced along the path of the Burning Art, and suddenly, both sides of Yan Kuan's spine stirred.

"Boom!!!"

Crimson flame wings burst forth from behind him, spanning over a zhang in width, like the wings of a phoenix—gorgeous and breathtaking.

Battle Qi Transformation Wings—the hallmark of a Dou Wang Strong. This signaled that Yan Kuan's strength had reached another level. But less than a quarter of an hour had passed since he took the Spirit Pill, and the changes were still ongoing.