Custom Pill Furnace

As Lin Xiao and Qingchu walked out of the Great Hall, the old man Li Le turned around and went into a small room behind the hall.

The room was clean, with blue bricks on the floor and walls made of polished bricks covered with plain white bamboo paper. In the center of the room sat Daoist Yi Yi, cross-legged on a straw cushion. He had three strands of long beard under his chin, a handsome face, and his eyes were half-open, with faint purple light and auspicious energy shooting out from the corners. Hearing Li Le's footsteps, Daoist Yi Yi slowly raised his head. A cold bolt of lightning shot from his eyes as he asked indifferently, "Little friend Lin Xiao, what brings you here?"

Li Le respectfully placed the thick stack of prescriptions in front of Daoist Yi Yi. He chuckled, "Guest Cultivator Lin wrote a prescription, all common medicinal ingredients for refining ordinary pills, but the quantities are truly enormous. Hmm, there are also a few items whose uses are unclear, and their quantities are much smaller." He bent down, picked up the top prescription from the thick stack, and respectfully handed it to Daoist Yi Yi.

"Hmm, ten catties of Fine Gold and ten catties of Warm Jade, found alongside the fire-element Spirit Stone vein, all ground into powder?" Daoist Yi Yi tilted his head in thought, then suddenly chuckled, "Interesting, little friend Lin Xiao, this is truly the nature of the Great Luo Pill Dao, yet he still remembers such small matters. Hmm, the powder of Fine Gold and beautiful jade seems to have only one use, especially the Fine Gold and beautiful jade that naturally possess a trace of fire-element spiritual energy from being born in the fire-element Spirit Stone vein?"

Without even looking at the prescriptions, he nodded and said, "Prepare all the medicinal ingredients, and add another twenty percent to each for little friend Lin Xiao. Hmm, pass down my decree, from now on, whatever little friend Lin Xiao needs, give it all to him." Daoist Yi Yi said in a low voice, with a hint of anticipation, "The Great Luo Pill Dao was annihilated, but perhaps he can give us a surprise? In the current cultivation world, the lack of those pills is truly a life-threatening matter. Let's see how much he learned in the Great Luo Pill Dao."

Li Le bowed slightly and took three steps back. Just as he was about to leave the room, he stopped. He glanced at Daoist Yi Yi hesitantly and lowered his voice, "But Guest Cultivator Lin just injured~~~" Li Le gestured towards the door and said with a wry smile, "Behind those few people, there is Ancestor Yi Xuan supporting them. Ancestor Yi Xuan was the Supreme Emperor five generations ago, you see?"

Daoist Yi Xuan's eyes shot out with brilliance. He said coldly, "Send those five people to the wood-chopping shed in the back mountain for three years of hard labor to temper their minds. I will handle Yi Xuan. You may go." A soft halo of light slowly spread from Daoist Yi Yi's body, and his figure gradually faded within the halo, eventually disappearing into the air.

Li Le silently bowed towards the cushion, walked forward, grabbed the thick stack of prescriptions, and turned to leave quickly. A smug smile on his face, he muttered in a low voice, "Hmph, so this is your fate, you few? You were always arrogant and overbearing, and the old man couldn't do anything to you. Today, you have angered Ancestor Yi Yi, so you'll have a taste of your own medicine!"

Lin Xiao, with Qingchu, walked by a large lake. The lake was at the foot of the tall mountains they had just left, stretching for perhaps hundreds of miles? A white stone embankment was built along the lake, and mountain azaleas were planted along the embankment. The Yuan Sect's mountain gate was in eternal spring, and the mountain azaleas were in full bloom. The sea of fiery red flowers stretched from their eyes to the horizon. The narrow stone embankment was like a thin silver chain in the sea of fire. Lin Xiao and Qingchu walked slowly forward along this thin silver chain, with fiery flowers beside them and a rich fragrance in their noses.

Looking at the wild sea of flowers with a slight daze, something seemed to stir in Lin Xiao's heart, and he felt a little more strength in his body. He turned his head to look at the vast expanse of the white lake. Several giant boats were slowly drifting on the lake. A group of Yuan Sect handyman disciples, dressed in coarse cloth Daoist robes, were shouting and casting nets to catch fish. A flock of ospreys were circling rapidly in the sky, seemingly preparing to beg for some scraps from these handyman disciples to fill their bellies.

Qingchu quietly followed behind Lin Xiao, gently pulling on his robe sleeve with her small hand. She stared blankly at Lin Xiao's slightly thin and lifeless back, her mind filled with the scene of Lin Xiao sending away the five senior brothers and sisters who had bullied her for years with a wave of his hand just now. Qingchu's small hand tightened, gripping Lin Xiao's robe sleeve even more tightly. Besides Li Le, who cared for her dearly, Qingchu suddenly realized that in this cold world, she seemed to have found another person she could trust and rely on.

Although Lin Xiao's face was always as cold as a corpse, and his voice was as unpleasant as a ghost's cry, he gave Qingchu an extremely warm feeling. It was a warm feeling that was safe, peaceful, and penetrated straight to her heart. It was a different kind of warmth from the elder's care that Li Le gave her, a warmth that made her feel a little lost.

Holding Lin Xiao's robe sleeve like this, Qingchu quietly followed behind him. Looking at the white stone embankment under her feet, Qingchu wished that this stone embankment would never reach its end.

"Qingchu!" Lin Xiao suddenly called out. Qingchu had been staring blankly at Lin Xiao and hadn't heard him call her.

Lin Xiao was stunned for a moment. He abruptly stopped and turned to look at Qingchu. Qingchu looked at Lin Xiao blankly, then suddenly realized that Lin Xiao had called her just now. She lowered her head with a little panic, a little fear, and a little shyness, and said in a low voice, "Big Brother Lin, um, what is it?" Before she could finish speaking, half of her face had turned red, and the other half was a purplish-green, with a faint chill emanating from it that made her nearby cheeks turn green and white.

"Hmm, are there any skilled artifact refiners in the Yuan Sect?" Lin Xiao didn't notice Qingchu's expression and asked indifferently, "Hmm, are there any skilled artifact refiners in the Yuan Sect?"

"Artifact refiners?" Qingchu opened her mouth and frowned, thinking for a long time before hesitantly pointing to her nose with her finger and saying in a low voice, "That would be the Artifact Hall supervisor, Ancestor Yi Zhen, who is the most skilled, right? But Ancestor Yi Zhen rarely helps people refine artifacts, and it's basically impossible for us to see him."

Qingchu quickly looked up at Lin Xiao, then lowered her head again and said in a low voice, "I haven't been to the Artifact Hall either, so I don't know where it is. I've only heard that the Artifact Hall is on 'Skyfire Peak', but Skyfire Peak~~~"

Lin Xiao gently patted Qingchu's head and said indifferently, "It's naturally difficult for you to see him, but I am a guest cultivator of the Yuan Sect, and I'm going to see him for Yuan Sect matters, so it shouldn't be too difficult. As for the location of the Artifact Hall~~~" Just then, a flying boat carrying a faint auspicious aura flew by in the sky. Lin Xiao grabbed Qingchu and rode the Crimson Dragon Sword to catch up with the flying boat.

The Yuan Sect disciple piloting the flying boat saw Lin Xiao fly up and quickly bowed, saying, "This humble Daoist is Zhi Ji, greetings fellow Daoist. May I ask who you are?" This Yuan Sect disciple, who looked about fifty years old, looked Lin Xiao up and down with surprise. Lin Xiao was still wearing the Daoist robe made by the Great Luo Pill Dao, and at first glance, it was clear he was not from the Yuan Sect.

"Lin Xiao, Guest Cultivator of the Yuan Sect." Lin Xiao asked indifferently, "May I ask which direction Skyfire Peak is in?"

Lin Xiao, the new guest cultivator? Daoist Yi Yi's efficiency was very high. In just one night, news about Lin Xiao had been spread to all the deacon disciples of the Yuan Sect, and Daoist Zhi Ji naturally knew who Lin Xiao was. He immediately reacted and hurriedly bowed respectfully to Lin Xiao, "Zhi Ji greets Guest Cultivator Lin." He also saw that the cold-faced Lin Xiao was not a talkative person. He casually pointed to the southwest and said, "Skyfire Peak is seven hundred li in this direction. Guest Cultivator, fly there with your sword, and the highest peak you see is it."

Nodding, Lin Xiao thanked Zhi Ji, grabbed Qingchu, and flew southwest with his sword. A red light about ten feet long in the sky was not very conspicuous.

Daoist Zhi Ji chanted his Daoist name in surprise and muttered to himself, "Guest Cultivator Lin's cultivation doesn't seem very high, but how is this possible?" Shaking his head, Zhi Ji continued to pilot the flying boat, carrying out his duties.

Lin Xiao rode his sword forward for a while, and gradually saw clusters of clouds appear out of nowhere. In the hazy red clouds, a tall mountain was supported, and a red light shot up from the peak, reaching an unknown height, standing like a pillar between heaven and earth. Under the red light was a vast palace complex. Red jade palaces were built layer by layer from the mountaintop to the foot, and from the foot, they extended more than two li wide in all directions. It was impossible to know how many pavilions and halls were within.

In the void in front of the tall mountain, a mass of colorful clouds supported a fiery red archway. Clearly engraved on the archway were the two tadpole characters 'Artifact Hall'.

Lin Xiao was still more than two hundred zhang away from the archway when he heard a clear chime sound from under the archway. A Daoist with a green robe and white beard came out from behind the archway, smiling and cupping his hands from a distance towards Lin Xiao, "Fellow Daoist, please halt your cloud steps. Hehehe, there is a 'Skyfire Body Refinement' restriction ahead, so Fellow Daoist must not proceed further. May I ask who you are and what brings you here?"

Skyfire Body Refinement restriction? Upon hearing the word 'Skyfire', Lin Xiao couldn't help but recall the boundless pain of the Purple Thunder Heavenly Fire burning within his body when he formed his Golden Core. He instinctively shivered and quickly returned the salute, "Lin Xiao, specifically seeking to meet the Artifact Hall supervisor, Senior Yi Zhen."

"Lin Xiao?" The old Daoist guarding the archway was stunned and quickly bowed, "This humble Daoist is Zhi Ming, greetings Guest Cultivator Lin." He looked Lin Xiao up and down. Seeing that Lin Xiao's appearance was indeed exactly the same as the image in the Daoist scripture transmitted by Daoist Yi Yi, Daoist Zhi Ming glanced at Qingchu, whom Lin Xiao was holding in his hand. A faint light shot from his eyes, circling Qingchu a few times. He also detected that Qingchu was cultivating the introductory techniques for lower-level disciples of the Yuan Sect. Only then did Daoist Zhi Ming nod and smile, "Please show your token, Guest Cultivator."

Token? Lin Xiao and Qingchu were both stunned. Lin Xiao's guest cultivator token had been given to Li Le just now to gather medicinal ingredients, so where could he find a guest cultivator token now?

Frowning slightly, Lin Xiao said expressionlessly, "The guest cultivator token was just given to the mountain affairs manager Li Le to gather the required medicinal ingredients, so I don't have the token on me right now."

Lin Xiao said it so directly, and Daoist Zhi Ming was a bit dumbfounded! Even if Lin Xiao's appearance was identical to the image transmitted by Daoist Yi Yi, he would not dare to let Lin Xiao enter the Artifact Hall without a guest cultivator token. The Artifact Hall was where the Yuan Sect specifically refined various magical artifacts for its disciples, and there were countless secrets that could not be leaked. How could they easily allow someone without identification to enter? The tricks and schemes in the cultivation world were ever-changing. Daoist Zhi Ming was only at the initial Golden Core stage. How could he determine that this young man who looked exactly like 'Guest Cultivator Lin' was Lin Xiao?

After a moment of silence, Daoist Zhi Ming said with a wry smile, "Guest Cultivator Lin, in that case, please allow Zhi Ming to go and report to Ancestor Yi Zhen." He gave Lin Xiao a slightly apologetic look.

Lin Xiao pondered for a moment, understanding the implications. He nodded with a cold face, "Very well, thank you."

Daoist Zhi Ming bowed to Lin Xiao and hurriedly rode a green light towards the peak of Skyfire Peak. The sword light was swift, more than ten times faster than Lin Xiao's sword riding speed! A green light instantly disappeared into the red light. Lin Xiao stared blankly in the direction Zhi Ming disappeared and nodded with a hint of bitterness, "My sect's Sword Control Art is indeed a step behind other sects!" Lin Xiao's heart gained another thought. As the only remaining disciple of the Great Luo Pill Dao, perhaps he should fundamentally improve some of the weaknesses of the Great Luo Pill Dao.

"Perhaps, if our sect had a powerful Sword Control Art, we wouldn't have been ambushed and killed by the demonic path this time~~~" Lin Xiao's expression turned grim, and he gritted his teeth tightly, making a crisp 'crunch' sound. He didn't realize at all that Daoist Danling and the others had been ambushed and killed without a fight.

After waiting for only the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, a red light and a green light flew out from the pillar of light at the top of Skyfire Peak. A Daoist with a red face, wearing a fiery red Daoist robe embroidered with large flames in gold thread, rode the red light and sped over. From a distance, two beams of golden light shot from his eyes and swept over Lin Xiao. A thunderous laugh suddenly burst from his mouth, shaking the archway in front until it hummed. "Hahaha, little friend Lin Xiao, what business do you have with this old Daoist? Heh heh, Zhi Ming, you are truly ignorant. Why are you blocking Guest Cultivator Lin?"

The red-faced Daoist lowered his sword light, and a faint cloud of clouds appeared out of thin air under his feet, and he gracefully slid in front of Lin Xiao. He slapped Lin Xiao's shoulder forcefully and laughed, "Speak, what do you need this old Daoist Yi Zhen to help you with? Hmm, I can't do other things, but if you want to refine any magical artifacts, flying swords, or the like, I can help you prepare a few excellent items."

Ancestor Yi Zhen was exceptionally strong. Lin Xiao, who was over eight feet tall, stood in front of him, but only reached his chest. Qingchu, who was shrinking beside Lin Xiao, was even more insignificant. Contrasted with the old Daoist's massive body, she was like a small dog standing in front of a strong horse, completely unnoticeable.

The old Daoist's arms were almost as thick as Lin Xiao's thighs. The two forceful pats he gave Lin Xiao's shoulders almost made Lin Xiao fall off his sword light. Lin Xiao swayed and finally managed to stabilize himself on the sword light, but his shoulders felt a burning pain. Lin Xiao gave a dry smile and bowed to the old Daoist, "Senior Yi Zhen, Fellow Daoist Zhi Ming was just being cautious, and I didn't take it to heart. Hmm, I did come to seek your help this time."

"Hmm! I figured as much! No one would come to Skyfire Peak to find me for no reason." Ancestor Yi Zhen shook his head, grinned, and said, "They all think I have a fiery temper and don't act like a Daoist, so they are reluctant to see me! Hey, since you have business, then come up with me. Hmm, the Purple Smoke Wisteria, a specialty of Skyfire Peak, is just bearing fruit. Hmm, you can try some fresh ones."

Grabbing Lin Xiao's shoulder, Ancestor Yi Zhen rode his sword light towards the peak of Skyfire Peak. His vast true essence formed a protective shield around him, tightly wrapping Lin Xiao and Qingchu within the shield. He carried the two of them up to the peak at lightning speed, rushed into the red light, and slowly descended into a straight vertical cave from the mountaintop.

It was impossible to tell how deep this cave was. In short, Lin Xiao and Qingchu couldn't see the bottom when they looked down. The thick red light shot out from the depths of the cave. As the three descended, the outside temperature became higher and higher. Ancestor Yi Zhen's cultivation was profound, and Lin Xiao's body had been refined by heavenly fire, so neither of them feared the high temperature. However, Qingchu was sweating profusely, and sweat dripped down her cheeks. Ancestor Yi Zhen glanced at Qingchu, nodded slightly, and casually cast a spiritual spell on her. A green light enveloped Qingchu, shielding her from the scorching heat outside.

Qingchu huddled under Lin Xiao's armpit and cautiously thanked Ancestor Yi Zhen, "Disciple Qingchu thanks Ancestor."

"Hmm!" Ancestor Yi Zhen merely nodded at Qingchu and said nothing more. Judging by Qingchu's clothes, she was merely a handyman disciple of the sect, likely assigned to serve Lin Xiao. What was Ancestor Yi Zhen's status? He had no interest in chatting with Qingchu. Ancestor Yi Zhen was most interested in what Lin Xiao had come to find him for.

After descending more than two thousand zhang in the cave, where faint hair-thin crimson flames could be seen gushing out from the cave walls, Lin Xiao saw a cave entrance about three zhang square on the cave wall. Two Daoist boys in red robes sat cross-legged in front of the entrance, their faces covered in sweat as they sat on a slab of blue jade at the cave entrance, meditating and adjusting their breathing.

Ancestor Yi Zhen pulled Lin Xiao into the cave entrance, raised his right leg, and kicked the two Daoist boys hard on their buttocks, shouting loudly, "You two little scamps, quickly go pick a plate of Purple Smoke Wisteria fruit to entertain our guest. Hmm, see if there's any Cold Osmanthus Brew I buried behind the cave. If there's a jar or two left, dig it out. If not, hmm, go ask your Ancestor Yi Yi for a jar of tribute wine."

The two Daoist boys were kicked and flew up, rolling awkwardly on the ground for a long distance. They nimbly got up, one flew out of the cave, and the other ran towards the back of the cave, clearly experienced in dealing with Ancestor Yi Zhen's orders.

Ancestor Yi Zhen pulled Lin Xiao to the depths of the cave, and they sat down as host and guest in a spacious stone chamber nearly a hundred zhang square. Then, he smiled and said, "I wonder what I can do for little friend?"

Lin Xiao silently took out three pieces of paper from his sleeve, flicked his fingers, and sent the pieces of paper flying towards Ancestor Yi Zhen.

Ancestor Yi Zhen casually took the piece of paper and quickly scanned it a few times.

Suddenly, Ancestor Yi Zhen jumped up from his cushion and screamed, "Heavens, is this a pill furnace? Where can you find a pill furnace a hundred zhang tall? This, how many materials will this consume?"

Lin Xiao calmly looked at Ancestor Yi Zhen and said faintly, "That's right, a specially made hundred-zhang tall pill furnace, capable of producing a hundred thousand pills in one batch!"

"A hundred thousand pills in one batch?" Ancestor Yi Zhen's eyes turned green! He paced rapidly around the stone chamber a few times, then suddenly slapped his thigh forcefully and roared, "Damn it, I— uh, this humble daoist will risk all his fortune today and refine this pill furnace for you!"

Afterward, Ancestor Yi Zhen's expression suddenly turned grim. He looked up at the sky and cried out, "How many materials will be enough for this?"

Lin Xiao hung his head, looking at his own hands, and remained silent.

Qingchu looked at Lin Xiao with immense admiration. She didn't know what Lin Xiao intended to do, but a hundred-zhang tall pill furnace? It sounded so magnificent. Qingchu felt Lin Xiao was truly extraordinary! (To be continued)