The Pill Frying Furnace

The raging flames on Skyfire Peak burned for a full one hundred and eight days.

Lin Xiao floated above the sea of fire, nourished by the pure and dense fire-attribute spiritual energy for one hundred and eight days. His hair and eyebrows had turned a fiery red. As the wind swept past, his long hair flew, and occasionally, tiny sparks of fire would flash as his strands rubbed against each other. His Daoist Robe had already turned to smoke and dissipated. A faint red glow emanated from his slightly gaunt body, like an iron ingot just pulled from a furnace. A flicker of lightning occasionally flashed in his pupils, and a thin wisp of purple fire darted rapidly within his irises.

The True Essence within him surged like a great river. The Golden Core in his dantian had returned to the size of a chicken egg. After one hundred and eight days of cultivation, aided by the Black Tortoise Ring's ferocious devouring ability, Lin Xiao's cultivation had not only recovered to his previous peak state but had also advanced significantly. The condensation and purity of his True Essence were incomparable to before.

Furthermore, the Black Tortoise Ring had been very cooperative this time, not plundering Lin Xiao's just-recovered True Essence. Instead, it had even expelled a wisp of extremely pure Essence of Kui Water, which meticulously cleansed and tempered Lin Xiao's Golden Core. To temper a pure fire-attribute Golden Core with the supremely yin and frigid Essence of Kui Water was a situation that could easily lead to the dissipation of one's cultivation and death. However, the origin of this Black Tortoise Ring was unknown, and it was astonishingly miraculous. In short, it had successfully tempered Lin Xiao's Golden Core, making its quality, despite Lin Xiao only being at the early Golden Core stage, not inferior to that of a cultivator at the late Golden Core stage.

Purple Skyfire True Essence surged in his dantian. The Golden Core continuously inhaled and exhaled the churning True Essence, its radiance growing more dazzling. A layer of ethereal purple fire qi coiled around the Golden Core, making it appear exceptionally agile and lustrous.

"Ah~~~" Lin Xiao let out a long cry to the heavens, his cry like a dragon's nocturnal lament, shaking the sea of fire below. He brought his hands together, slowly forming a seal to conclude his cultivation. His fiery red hair and eyebrows gradually returned to their original dark hue, and his reddish body also regained its usual fair and delicate complexion. Glancing down at his bare body, Lin Xiao retrieved a spare Daoist Robe from his bracelet and quickly put it on. Ever since his first cultivation experience where he burned off all his clothes, Lin Xiao's bracelet had always been stocked with dozens of identical Daoist Robes.

He turned to look at Yi Xing and the others standing on the white clouds in the distance. Lin Xiao slowly piloted the Crimson Dragon Sword over, bowed deeply to the Daoist Yi Xing, and said calmly, "This junior was impolite."

Daoist Yi Xing smiled lightly, shaking his head. "It's nothing, it's nothing. These past few days, young friend Lin Xiao seems to have entered a state of enlightenment. Your cultivation must have greatly increased, which is a good thing."

Lin Xiao nodded and, riding his sword light, arrived beside Daoist Yi Xing. He stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at Skyfire Peak, and said no more.

A short while later, Yi Xin arrived, riding a mass of white clouds with Qingchu. A faint sheen of oil could be seen on Qingchu's lips, indicating she had just eaten something. From a distance, Qingchu spotted Lin Xiao and eagerly called out, "Brother Lin!" Following her cry, the cloud under Yi Xin's feet suddenly accelerated, quickly bringing them close to Lin Xiao.

Qingchu excitedly jumped from the white cloud, landing on the sword light beneath Lin Xiao's feet. Lin Xiao quickly channeled a breath of True Essence, strengthening the sword light of the Crimson Dragon Sword by a few points, and steadily caught Qingchu. Nodding to Qingchu, Lin Xiao calmly said, "Mm." Despite the simple reply, Qingchu was overjoyed, her face beaming. She quickly moved closer to Lin Xiao, her small hands tightly gripping the hem of his robe. Yi Xin quickly glanced at Lin Xiao and Qingchu, her gaze filled with a hint of loss as it slowly turned towards Yi Xing.

Yi Xing, with a somber expression, stood with his hands behind his back, quietly observing Skyfire Peak. He said calmly, "This Pill Frying Furnace is immense in size and requires a great deal of materials. However, with Yi Zhen and the other junior brothers working together, I believe one hundred and eight days should be enough to complete it. I am eager to see what marvels this Pill Frying Furnace holds." Without turning his head, he asked with a faint smile, "Young friend Lin Xiao, it is said this furnace can produce a hundred thousand pills in a single batch. Is this true?" His tone held little doubt, only a sense of incredulous surprise.

"Yes! The formations within the Pill Frying Furnace are exquisitely arranged. Unlike ordinary pill furnaces, this furnace can simultaneously perform steps such as preparing ingredients, condensing medicine, refining pills, nurturing pills, and dispensing pills. Producing a hundred thousand pills at once is merely a statement made out of fear of insufficient capability," Lin Xiao said calmly. "If one's cultivation is sufficient, this furnace can continuously prepare ingredients and dispense pills, endlessly. As long as there are enough raw materials, producing a million Spirit Pills daily would be as easy as flipping one's hand."

A joyful smile appeared on Yi Xin's face. He turned and nodded at Lin Xiao, chuckling softly, "In that case, we eagerly anticipate your pill-making divine abilities, young friend."

The face of Yi Yi, the internal affairs steward of Origin Sect, broke into an irrepressible smile of ecstasy. He chuckled softly, "Sect Master, with this, the supply of pills in the Origin Sect market can be restored. Over the past one hundred and eight days, basic Spirit Pills in the market have been out of stock. Fellow cultivators from other stars have been complaining and are quite displeased."

Nodding at Yi Yi, Lin Xiao said nothing more. He clenched his fists tightly, veins slowly bulging on the back of his hands like earthworms wriggling beneath his skin. Through his pale blue blood vessels, one could see the fiery intensity of Lin Xiao's blood, its rich red glow even reflecting through his skin. "Origin Sect lacks pills? This, this is wonderful!"

Lin Xiao gradually recalled the experiences of dealing with people he had heard during his time at Spring Return Hall when people seeking medical help chatted. There was no such thing as a free lunch. He could only strive to elevate his status and position within Origin Sect, and only then would he have enough strength to rebuild the Great Luo Pill Dao, enough strength to bring back his reincarnated disciples! Especially Yao'er!

That blurry face flashed before Lin Xiao's eyes again. His heart ached, and the True Essence within him became turbulent. A mouthful of blood surged to his throat, but he forcefully swallowed it back down.

The blood, mixed with the spiritual light of the five elements, sprayed all over the sky! Lin Xiao felt his body grow hot, as if fresh blood were continuously spraying onto him, making his body tremble slightly.

A palm pressed against Lin Xiao's back, and a gentle, slightly cool True Essence slowly seeped into his body. This True Essence did not conflict with the disordered fire-attribute True Essence within Lin Xiao. Instead, like a spring breeze transforming the rain, it slowly smoothed Lin Xiao's mixed True Essence. Lin Xiao turned his head; it was Yi Xin who had noticed something was wrong with Lin Xiao and had stepped forward to help him regulate his True Essence. Lin Xiao gave Yi Xin a grateful, faint smile, but he mused inwardly, "Senior Yi Xin's True Essence is so gentle. I imagine the Daoist techniques she practices lack offensive power."

Yi Xin smiled faintly. After completely helping Lin Xiao control his internal True Essence, she slowly withdrew her palm, which shimmered with a faint white light.

Daoist Yi Xing suddenly shouted in a deep voice, "Be careful, it's coming out!"

A deafening roar echoed between heaven and earth. A beam of red light shot up from Skyfire Peak. The flames covering the mountain roared upwards like the earth splitting open, exploding into a vast ocean of lava. Within the red light, a colossal pill furnace, radiating red light, slowly ascended, spewing purple smoke and flames. Around it, dozens of haggard old Daoists, standing on red clouds, slowly rose with it.

Everyone gasped in unison upon seeing the enormous pill furnace!

Heavens, such a massive thing, could it truly be a pill furnace?

(Oh dear~~~ The next chapter is quite long~ so this chapter is a bit short, mhm, mhm!)(To be continued)