The open ground paved with white jade slabs had long been prepared with all manner of specialized protective formations. When the heavy, massive pill furnace slowly descended, it did not make the slightest sound. Lin Xiao sent out a spirit seal, and a red beam shot from beneath the furnace's belly. The red crystal pillar, wrapped in a thin layer of pale-white heavenly fire, pierced the ground with the force of thunder and stabbed straight into a spiritual node three miles underground, where spiritual veins twisted together. This location for the pill furnace had also been carefully surveyed by a senior fellow disciple from Origin Sect whom Daoist Yi Yi had invited, a man most skilled at seeking dragons and tracing veins. To provide enough Spiritual Energy to sustain the enormous furnace's consumption, during these one hundred and eight days, Yi Yi had even invited three senior predecessors of Origin Sect who had been cultivating in secluded deathly seclusion. They had shifted the positions of more than a dozen nearby minor spiritual veins and connected them all to this spiritual node.
The ground gave a slight tremor. Flames over three yards high suddenly rose from the red crystal pillar, while the countless medicinal-herb patterns carved upon the pill furnace flashed with dim light. A faint wisp of heat gradually emerged from within the furnace. Soon, the Spiritual Energy surging up through the crystal pillar from underground had become as dense as thick porridge. A layer of red light wrapped around the pill furnace, and heat gradually spread outward. Thousands of Origin Sect disciples who had come to watch exclaimed in surprise and slowly scattered in every direction.
Following the proper steps, Lin Xiao sent one spirit seal after another into the pill furnace, slowly directing the fire-aspected Spiritual Energy absorbed by the furnace to transform into true fire and warm its body. He gradually preheated the forty-nine pill cauldrons inside. Only after completing all preparations, when purple smoke and crimson fire were already spewing from the furnace and the air across several miles of open ground had twisted and rippled under the scorching heat, blurring even scenery a yard away, did Lin Xiao finally let out a breath. With a slight smile, he asked Yixing, "Sect Master Yixing, what pills does Origin Sect lack the most at present? This junior's cultivation is insufficient. Among the eight grades of pills in the Great Luo Pill Dao—heaven, earth, dark, yellow, cosmos, void, primordial, and wilderness—I only have absolute confidence in refining Wilderness Grade pills."
Old Daoist Yixing's eyes lit up. He glanced at Daoist Yi Yi.
Daoist Yi Yi hurriedly said, "Qi Gathering Pills, Qi Condensing Pills, Spirit Cleansing Pills—and large quantities of Grain Abstinence Pills, Detoxification Pills, and External Wound Pills. The first three are what our younger disciples need most urgently. The latter few are currently in greatest demand at the medicine shops operated by Origin Sect." There was one thing Yi Yi did not say. Their existing stock of Grain Abstinence Pills and External Wound Pills could still sustain normal sales at Origin Sect's medicine shops. But as for Detoxification Pills of every grade, apart from the most basic few that Origin Sect could refine itself, all slightly better detoxification pills had already sold out.
Near Qi Yuan Star, where Origin Sect was located, lay dozens of barren planets containing ancient ruins. Every year, countless cultivators traveled to those planets to search hidden depths and explore secrets, hoping to gain some benefit. Origin Sect was their nearest and most convenient supply station. Grain Abstinence Pills, Detoxification Pills, and External Wound Pills were precisely the medicines consumed most heavily by cultivators heading out to explore.
Lowering his head, Lin Xiao pondered briefly before taking out a set of brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from his bracelet. Qingchu obediently stepped forward, spreading out the paper for Lin Xiao, grinding the ink, and moistening the brush. In one breath, Lin Xiao wrote down seven pill formulas and casually handed them to Daoist Yi Yi, who stood beside him. "Senior Yi Yi, prepare the medicinal ingredients according to these formulas. This junior intends to simultaneously refine Qi Gathering Pills, Qi Condensing Pills, Spirit Cleansing Pills, Grain Abstinence Pills, Jade Truth Detoxification Pills, Meteor Reception Pills, and Muscle Regeneration and Pus Removal Powder!"
Refining seven different kinds of pills at once! Seven different kinds of pills in one furnace!
Cold sweat seeped across Daoist Yi Yi's forehead. He was not afraid; he was excited, and filled with hope.
If Lin Xiao truly succeeded, and if this pill furnace's output really was as immense as he had described, its value to Origin Sect would be beyond measure.
A fair-faced Daoist behind Yi Yi snatched over the pill formulas and rapidly scanned them. He suddenly raised his head, staring at Lin Xiao as he asked in shock, "These pill formulas, these pill formulas..."
Lin Xiao looked at him and said gravely, "A thousand years ago, Great Luo Pill Dao had already improved the formulas for these basic spirit pills."
The fair-faced Daoist rushed before Lin Xiao, seized his arm, and shouted, "But! Looking at this Qi Gathering Pill, how can the medicinal properties of Three-Star Grass and Clinging Serpent Vine possibly avoid clashing?"
Daoist Yixing gave a low cough, flashed before the fair-faced Daoist, and snatched the pill formulas from his hand before passing them to Yi Yi. Only then did he slowly say, "Junior Brother Yidan... This is Great Luo Pill Dao's exclusive secret. How could you..."
Lin Xiao gave Daoist Yidan a surprised look. Even his Daoist title contained the word "pill." Could Daoist Yidan be a pill-refining fanatic?
Yet Daoist Yidan urgently cried, "Tell me why the medicinal properties of Three-Star Grass and Clinging Serpent Vine will not clash and produce deadly poison, and I will pass Origin Sect's Heart Refining Secret Record on to you!"
The Heart Refining Secret Record? The legendary supreme heart-refining tome, said to be the only cultivation manual in the cultivation world capable of perfectly resisting invasions by extraterritorial heavenly demons? Lin Xiao looked at Daoist Yidan in surprise. Daoist Yixing, however, coughed forcefully and jabbed a finger into Daoist Yidan's back, causing him to choke on his breath for a long while, unable to utter a word. Two Origin Sect elders quickly flashed over, efficiently grabbed Daoist Yidan by the arms, and dragged him away.
Daoist Yidan struggled madly, staring at Lin Xiao with his mouth gaping wide. At last, he managed to force out a breath. "Young Friend Lin Xiao! Fellow Daoist Lin Xiao! ...Lord Lin Xiao! Tell this poor Daoist that method, and aside from the Heart Refining Secret Record, I will even teach you Origin Sect's Primordial Supreme Clarity Treasure Scroll! This is the cultivation world's greatest technique for refining qi! Think it over carefully..."
An Origin Sect elder covered Daoist Yidan's mouth. The Origin Sect disciples gathered around the open ground to watch all had green eyes. The Primordial Supreme Clarity Treasure Scroll was the supreme tome that fewer than a thousand people in all of Origin Sect were qualified to cultivate! Of over a million disciples, only a thousand could cultivate it. One could well imagine how precious and miraculous its techniques were.
Lin Xiao rolled his eyes and stared wordlessly at the sky. Daoist Yidan truly did not belong in Origin Sect. He should have joined Great Luo Pill Dao!
Daoist Yixing merely laughed dryly, going "heh heh heh heh," without knowing what to say. Daoist Yidan was the direct junior brother under the same master as Daoist Yixing. With his junior brother behaving so disgracefully, even Yixing, as sect master, felt he had lost face. The terms Daoist Yidan had offered were simply earth-shattering! He had so casually promised to give away the two supreme tomes on which Origin Sect relied to establish itself in the cultivation world. What was that supposed to mean? Did it not make Origin Sect's secret manuals seem far too cheap?
Daoist Master Yizhen broke the awkward atmosphere at precisely the right moment. He laughed heartily, warmly patted Lin Xiao's shoulder, and pointed at the pill furnace. "Young Friend Lin Xiao, your pill furnace is called something like the Pill Frying Furnace, the Flowing Pill Furnace, or the Pill Sea Furnace. Those names are truly dreadful. It is still a rare high-grade Precious Artifact, so you should give it an imposing name worthy of it!"
Lin Xiao rose to his full height and deeply bowed to Daoist Master Yizhen. "The pill furnace was made by all you seniors. Please give it a name yourselves."
The moment Lin Xiao said that, dense green light erupted from Daoist Master Yizhen's eyes. Yixing, Yi Xin, and the other Origin Sect elders hastily retreated dozens of yards away. Lin Xiao was still wondering why when Daoist Master Yizhen suddenly seized his shoulders. Eyes staring straight ahead and saliva flying everywhere, he shouted, "Then this poor Daoist shall not stand on ceremony. What do you think this pill furnace should be called? The 'Chaos Furnace'? Or the 'Creation Furnace'? Perhaps the 'Heavenly Vault Furnace' would be good too! The 'Thick Earth Furnace' could barely match it as well! Hmm, how about the 'Heaven and Earth Primordial One-Qi Furnace'? Or perhaps the 'Great Dao Creation Furnace'? Hmm, what else? The 'World-Subduing Number One Furnace'? Hmm, that sounds a little too domineering. Then let us call it the 'Number One Furnace Under Heaven.' Look how huge it is—calling it number one under heaven would not be wrong!"
Droplets of saliva splattered across Lin Xiao's face. Looking at Daoist Master Yizhen's rapidly opening and closing lips, Lin Xiao felt his vision darkening in waves. He had only made a polite remark on instinct. Who could have known it would bring such enormous trouble down upon him?
Qingchu, however, had stars sparkling in her eyes as she gazed with boundless admiration at Daoist Master Yizhen, whose words flowed like a river in flood. Qingchu, who had not seen much of the world, felt that Daoist Master Yizhen was astonishing just for being able to think of so many majestic names. As expected of a patriarch—every name he came up with differed from those of ordinary people. Qingchu felt that at most, she could only think of names like "Pill Refining Furnace," "Fire-Burning Furnace," or "Medicine-Boiling Furnace." How could any of them possibly be as resounding as the names Daoist Master Yizhen had spoken?
In no more time than it took to finish a meal, Lin Xiao had been made dizzy and confused by the thousands of majestic, awe-inspiring names sprayed from Daoist Master Yizhen's mouth. He opened his eyes blankly and looked at Daoist Master Yizhen, his heart trembling in waves. He wanted to pull his arm free from Daoist Master Yizhen's "demonic claws," but the tall and powerfully built Daoist Master Yizhen possessed absurd strength. Lin Xiao's body had been tempered by heavenly fire, yet even his strength could not compare to Yizhen's. With both arms tightly gripped, how could Lin Xiao move at all?
Fortunately, Daoist Yi Yi arrived with a large group of blue-robed Daoists and rescued Lin Xiao from his plight.
Still unable to decide what name to bestow upon the pill furnace, Daoist Master Yizhen irritably released his grip and watched helplessly as Lin Xiao fled. Lin Xiao led Yi Yi and the blue-robed Daoists to the furnace, teaching Yi Yi and the others how to continuously arrange the ingredients when refining pills with the Pill Frying Furnace. Daoist Yidan, who had been tightly restrained by two fellow senior brothers nearby, somehow summoned a burst of divine strength. He flung both senior brothers more than a dozen yards away, then rushed forward with shining eyes and followed Lin Xiao step for step, listening to him explain the mysteries of the furnace.
"True friends are few indeed... The world only knows to pursue flying swords and magical treasures, yet it does not know that flying swords and magical treasures need good names to do them justice!" Daoist Master Yizhen sighed somewhat mournfully. Then his glowing eyes suddenly fixed upon Qingchu, who was staring at him with absolute admiration.
"You... are called Qingchu, right?" With a broad smile, Daoist Master Yizhen crouched before Qingchu and grabbed her as she fearfully kept backing away. He looked at Qingchu with a smile and chuckled, "Little girl, pick a pleasing name for this old Daoist, one worthy of this pill furnace's title. Hmm, and this old Daoist will give you a high-grade flying sword to play with. How about it?"
The smile on Daoist Master Yizhen's face was exceptionally strange, and Qingchu was truly frightened by it. But when she heard that there would be a high-grade flying sword, her heart stirred somewhat.
That moment of hesitation plunged Qingchu completely into the boundless sea of suffering from which Lin Xiao had just escaped. Daoist Master Yizhen eagerly sat cross-legged before Qingchu, his eyes shining as he launched into a fierce verbal spray. Great sheets of saliva fell over Qingchu's head and face like rain, splashing down with a "whoosh." Qingchu's little face wrinkled into a ball. She looked tearfully at Daoist Master Yizhen, filled with endless regret for her tiny moment of greed.
"Wuu, I should have followed Brother Lin to refine pills just now." Qingchu carefully raised her sleeve and wiped away enough spittle from her face to wash it, her head nearly drooping to the ground.
Daoist Master Yizhen was still chattering away without pause. The names he thought up became ever more ethereal, ever grander in momentum, ever more ancient and primordial...
Lin Xiao's explanation to Yi Yi, Yidan, and the Origin Sect elders who had later gathered over, including Yixing and Yi Xin, was already reaching its end.
The Pill Frying Furnace was, in truth, something Patriarch Luo Yu had designed according to the principles of an assembly line. Using several incomplete ancient formations he had comprehended, Luo Yu had constructed forty-nine small pill cauldrons within the furnace. Each small pill cauldron could effectively be considered an independent pill furnace. Formations had been solidified onto every cauldron for each step required in refining pills: extracting medicinal ingredients, condensing medicinal potency, drawing out active components, merging medicinal effects, refining medicinal potency, nurturing pills, and forming spirit pills. Moreover, the spirit formations on the pill cauldrons could transform according to the pill refiner's will.
For example, all forty-nine pill cauldrons could simultaneously transform into cauldrons for extracting medicinal raw materials, or all transform into cauldrons for nurturing pills. In short, they could undergo endless transformations according to the pill refiner's will, their mysteries inexhaustible. As long as the pill refiner set the refining procedure for each of the forty-nine pill cauldrons, the furnace could automatically complete the entire pill-refining process at a steady rate.
The only troublesome part was that after the medicinal ingredients in the first pill cauldron, where they were extracted, were transferred by the spirit formations to the cauldrons for the next refining stage, someone needed to replenish that cauldron with new ingredients. Yet with the two hundred blue-robed Daoists assigned by Daoist Yi Yi to help, Lin Xiao only needed to monitor the pills being refined inside the furnace and did not need to worry about such trivial matters at all.
The pill furnace's preheating had long been completed. After introducing the basic principles behind the furnace's pill refinement, Lin Xiao looked at the furnace before him with a faint sigh. In his heart, he silently prayed a few words to Patriarch Luo Yu, who had already ascended beyond mortality. Then, forming a spirit seal with his fingers, he raised the furnace lid. With a muffled "hum," a mass of purplish-red flames surged over a hundred yards high. Several blue-robed Daoists standing a little too close to the furnace were caught unprepared, and their robes burst fiercely into flame.
Yi Xin softly rebuked them. Clusters of fine mist sprayed forth from thin air, falling upon the Daoists and extinguishing the flames on their bodies. The burned skin on their bodies also gradually healed under the nourishment of the rain and dew, though the speed was somewhat slow.
Lin Xiao apologetically shook his head at the Daoists. With a flick of his fingers, several Azure Wood Pills he had refined in Spring Return Valley flew out, transforming into clusters of azure qi that entered their bodies. Their wounds immediately healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. Before long, they had scabbed and healed, and the blood scabs swiftly fell away, revealing clean white flesh beneath. The Daoists looked at one another, then simultaneously bowed to Lin Xiao in thanks.
Yixing and the other Origin Sect elders exchanged looks, their faces full of smiles as they nodded repeatedly. Great Luo Pill Dao's spirit pills truly possessed more than twice the efficacy of pills refined by other sects. Origin Sect also refined some basic spirit pills for treating burns, but how could their effects possibly be this swift and potent?
Yixing even unconsciously turned to glance at Daoist Yidan. Perhaps Daoist Yidan could learn something from Lin Xiao?
Yet Daoist Yixing quickly dismissed the thought in shame. Greed was what cultivators feared most. He silently recited his Daoist title several times, calming the greedy desire that had suddenly surged within his heart.
Lin Xiao muttered a few more words to the blue-robed disciples responsible for arranging the ingredients, ensuring they remembered the sequence in which the ingredients were to be added. Only then did he sit cross-legged beside the pill furnace, slowly extending his divine sense into it and setting the procedures for every small pill cauldron. He was refining seven kinds of spirit pills simultaneously. Some required as many as thirty-seven medicinal ingredients, while others required only six. The degree and sequence of extraction differed for each ingredient. The temperatures the herbs could withstand and the intensity of fire needed to merge their medicinal properties also differed. Even the rate at which gentle and fierce fire had to shift during the final pill-nurturing stage differed.
Only someone deeply familiar with every pill formula and the process of refining every kind of spirit pill could use the Pill Frying Furnace to refine pills, after making meticulous settings for every pill cauldron.
The Pill Frying Furnace seemed convenient and swift, a supporting treasure capable of vastly increasing pill-refining speed. Yet to gain such convenience and speed, how many spirit pills would a pill refiner have to refine in an ordinary furnace beforehand to become so familiar with every formula and every refining process?
Only because Lin Xiao had been fortunate enough to receive the inheritance of the Great Luo Pill Scripture from Yao'er had he gained the qualifications to use the Pill Frying Furnace without enduring overly arduous training.
And only because the blood and flesh of Great Luo Pill Dao's entire sect had allowed Lin Xiao to seek shelter under Origin Sect had he managed to gather the materials and refine such a Pill Frying Furnace!
Thus, when Lin Xiao slowly opened his mouth and ordered the blue-robed Daoists to begin arranging the ingredients, his emotions were complicated beyond description. His heart felt heavy, as though it were falling toward the ground. Waves of sorrow and agony swept through his heart like muffled thunder, making his vision repeatedly darken, making his five viscera and six bowels knot into a ball.
The various medicines needed for the seven types of spirit pills were placed into the pill cauldrons in their proper order.
Lin Xiao closed the furnace lid and pointed at the pill furnace. A ray of spirit light shot forth, and the flames within the furnace surged. Underground Spiritual Energy was continuously drawn up by the crystal pillar, merging into the pill furnace and becoming blazing currents of flame.
In only a quarter of an hour, Lin Xiao raised the furnace again and shouted gravely, "Arrange the ingredients again!"
Yixing and the other Origin Sect elders were all startled! They had not even seen the pills emerge, yet they were arranging ingredients again?
But recalling what Lin Xiao had just said about the miraculous properties of this furnace, Yixing and the others barely suppressed their curiosity and stood silently a hundred yards behind Lin Xiao.
In this manner, Lin Xiao had the Daoists arrange ingredients seven times in rapid succession. His hand seals shifted through thousands of changes, taming the furnace fire until it was as obedient and docile as a well-behaved kitten. Standing beside Lin Xiao with green eyes, Daoist Yidan watched Lin Xiao's unpredictable fire-controlling spirit seals, his heart itching with longing. He sighed softly, "These are grandmaster-level fire-controlling spirit seals! Great Luo Pill Dao's other abilities may be one thing, but this skill in pill refinement... How many people under heaven can compare?"
Lin Xiao suddenly shouted, "The Spiritual Energy is too abundant, the furnace fire's spirit power too strong, and the pill-nurturing speed too fast! Quickly, prepare all kinds of jade containers! Prepare to receive the first batch of pills!"
Before his words had faded, seven holes the size of human heads opened on the pill furnace's lid. Seven streams of purple smoke rose, gathering above the furnace into cloud masses shaped like lingzhi mushrooms. A wondrous fragrance spread far into the distance.
Yixing and the others had only just frantically taken three or five jade bottles and jade jars from their storage treasures when countless sparkling points of light burst from the seven openings with a rush like a locust swarm. Lin Xiao shouted as he hurriedly formed spirit seals, collecting over two thousand spirit pills. All the remaining points of light shot into the sky, then rapidly fell back down.
Yixing and the others collected only a little over twenty thousand pills before exhausting every jade container on them. They could only watch helplessly as over seventy thousand remaining points of light fell to the ground with a series of crackles, colored pill pellets rolling everywhere across the floor.
"Good heavens! It really is one hundred thousand pills in one furnace!" Daoist Master Yizhen, who had been babbling away, opened his mouth wide. It could no longer close.
Qingchu, who was desperately wiping the saliva off herself, turned around. Staring blankly at the tens of thousands of pills rolling all over the ground, she abruptly opened her little mouth, her eyes widening enormously. "Brother Lin, you're incredible!" Qingchu stared foolishly at Lin Xiao, who was busily controlling the furnace fire, and both her eyes shone brightly.
Daoist Yi Yi beamed as he looked at the pills rolling over the ground, chuckling nonstop. "The floor is made of jade slabs too, so it is fine, fine. A little dust... no matter. We can sell them to those cultivators later... Hahaha! As long as our own disciples are not taking them, what does a little dirt matter?"
Yixing stroked his beard and laughed in satisfaction. After consuming so many materials to refine such an enormous pill furnace, they could finally give an account to the Supreme Elders who lived in seclusion and cultivated in secret.
Yi Xin also smiled softly. She looked at Yixing. So long as Yixing smiled, she smiled happily as well.
The blue-robed Daoists had also forgotten to continue arranging ingredients, and Lin Xiao no longer gave the command to do so. Yi Yi and the others had made thorough preparations, but they had not prepared enough containers for storing pills. This furnace of pills had merely been intended to verify that Patriarch Luo Yu's theory was correct and to give Origin Sect a little confidence.
The pill furnace erupted in six more pill geysers. Hundreds of thousands of pills rolled across the ground, and the air was filled with the fragrance of countless spirit pills.
Lin Xiao gently stroked the pill furnace and calculated in a low voice, "A high-grade Precious Artifact? Its power is probably comparable to a Cosmos Grade pill furnace, but it makes refining pills exceptionally easier and more convenient. By that measure, would the Heaven Grade pill furnaces in the sect not be treasures surpassing Immortal Artifacts?" The hairs on the back of Lin Xiao's neck rose one by one. Those pill furnaces had all fallen into the hands of the Blood God Ancestor!
Daoist Yidan merely crouched stupidly on the ground, blankly staring at a pile of spirit pills before him.
Whether in color or fragrance, they surpassed the pills he refined by several grades. Moreover, Lin Xiao had refined hundreds of thousands of such basic spirit pills at once. At most, Daoist Yidan could only refine a thousand of the most basic pills in a single furnace!
"This is the gap... Truly the methods of a grandmaster!" Daoist Yidan's eyes glowed as he softly sighed. "I wonder when Young Friend Lin Xiao will refine higher-grade spirit pills? Surely that will open this poor Daoist's eyes wide?"
Some of the Origin Sect elders were rejoicing, while others were dazed. Meanwhile, the Origin Sect disciples watching from all around were already looking at Lin Xiao with eyes filled with awe and reverence.
A grandmaster of pill refinement! He absolutely was!
They had never imagined that pill refinement could be carried out like mountains collapsing and seas roaring, with hundreds of thousands of spirit pills rushing from a pill furnace in such a torrent! Even for the most basic Grain Abstinence Pills, they had never dared imagine such a sight.
Lin Xiao was unquestionably a genuine grandmaster of pill refinement!
The Origin Sect disciples' eyes shone brightly. Their own sect now had a grandmaster of pill refinement. This... was truly wonderful!
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