After watching the Dan Family Siblings leave, Ling Xi finally turned his gaze to Cao Ying.
"Miss Cao, hand over the Blood Lotus Essence and the Fourth-Order Ice Attribute Magic Core. Then we'll be even."
At that, Cao Ying's brows immediately knitted together.
"Wait, didn't we agree that I'd help you refine the Blood Lotus Pill?"
"Heh!"
Ling Xi raised an eyebrow and suddenly smiled, then drawled, "That was the plan, but then I got my hands on Purple Abyss, a treasure on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking, didn't I?"
"With my current Alchemy Skill and strength, I should be able to use Purple Abyss, this treasure on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking, to refine a fifth-grade pill, right?"
Watching Ling Xi's smug expression and hearing him repeatedly call Purple Abyss a treasure on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking, Cao Ying nearly ground her teeth to dust.
"Hmph. A cauldron can increase an Alchemist's chances of successfully refining a pill, but it's still a bit risky."
Cao Ying tried to persuade him, speaking as if she had his best interests at heart.
"With my Alchemy Skill and Purple Abyss, I can guarantee you an exceptionally high-quality Blood Lotus Pill."
"Miss Cao, you were planning to take advantage of me, weren't you?"
Ling Xi snorted and exposed her scheme without hesitation.
"If you use Purple Abyss to refine the Blood Lotus Pill, won't you leave a soul imprint on the cauldron?"
"What if you take off with it after you finish refining the pill? What am I supposed to do then?"
Cao Ying's face flushed slightly when Ling Xi saw through her intentions, but she soon let out a long breath.
"Purple Abyss was once the possession of an elder from our Pill Tower. It went missing many years ago. Who could've guessed it would be in this space?"
"Or that the Mysterious Armored Dragon Turtle had hidden it in its belly, only for you to find it?"
Heavenly Flames and the cauldrons on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking were every Alchemist's pursuit. Cao Ying was no exception.
"Some things just can't be envied into your hands."
Ling Xi chuckled and held out his hand to Cao Ying.
"Hurry up and give me the ingredients for the Blood Lotus Pill. I can hardly wait."
"Bastard!"
Cao Ying cursed under her breath, but still took two jade boxes from her Nakai Ring.
"I only have one set of ingredients—the Blood Lotus Essence and the Fourth-Order Ice Attribute Magic Core. That means you'll only get one chance to refine the pill!"
"You needn't worry about that, Miss Cao."
Ling Xi put away the jade boxes Cao Ying handed him. Without even saying goodbye, he used Flowing Fire Afterimage Steps and darted down the mountain.
"That damn bastard!"
Cao Ying ground her teeth and stamped her foot.
Of everyone who had come to this space, she'd gained the least. She'd even given away two medicinal ingredients.
At least the Dan Family Siblings had each gotten two portions of Mysterious Yellow Quenching Spirit Milk.
"Just you wait. We'll see each other again!"
She glared several times at the direction Ling Xi had disappeared before finally leaving the mountaintop.
Ling Xi's figure flickered through the forest. The wind rushing beneath his feet matched his cheerful mood.
He'd traded a single Form-Shaping Grass for a treasure on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking. Even Ling Xi hadn't expected his luck to be this incredible.
After traveling for about a full day, he finally returned to his temporary base behind the waterfall.
"So this is a treasure on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking?"
After meditating for another night and bringing himself into peak condition, Ling Xi took out the Purple Abyss Cauldron.
He reached out and touched Purple Abyss's slightly rough surface, marveling at it.
"They say Purple Abyss formed when spiritual energy gathered in a strange purple stone. It wasn't forged afterward. Looks like that really is true."
A cauldron forged after the fact wouldn't have the grainy texture found on Purple Abyss—the sort of texture only stone possessed.
"The Blood Lotus Pill... It's time to refine it."
After taking two deep breaths, Ling Xi brought out all the ingredients needed to refine the Blood Lotus Pill.
"I only have one set of ingredients. I'd better succeed on the first try."
Ling Xi sat cross-legged before the Purple Abyss Cauldron and waved his hand. Golden-red Crimson Sun Fire surged into the cauldron, and a fierce blaze instantly erupted within.
As the temperature inside the cauldron rose, the strange, naturally formed patterns on its surface slowly lit up.
Bathed in the flow of purple light, Ling Xi felt completely at peace.
Ling Xi waved his hand toward the Blood Lotus Essence on the ground, and it flew into the cauldron.
Under the refining power of the golden-red flames and the suppression of the purple light, the Blood Lotus Essence quickly turned into a pool of pure, crimson liquid.
Soul power surged from Ling Xi's forehead, enveloped the crimson liquid, and guided it into a jade bottle he'd prepared beside him.
Refining the Blood Lotus Essence went surprisingly smoothly, but the other two main ingredients were more troublesome.
The Fourth-Order Ice Attribute Magic Core was an ice-attribute ingredient to begin with. Even under the seventh-grade Crimson Sun Fire, it took an entire night of continuous heating before it finally became a pool of pure energy liquid.
The Ice Spirit Flame Grass possessed both ice and fire attributes, making it even more important to proceed with extreme caution while refining it.
Refining a fifth-grade pill was still a little beyond Ling Xi's current abilities. From the time he'd first encountered Alchemy to now, only a little over a year had passed.
His soul power was strong enough to refine a fifth-grade pill, but his low Dou Qi cultivation still limited his Alchemy Skill.
Fortunately, he had the Purple Abyss Cauldron, a treasure on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking.
Whether it was the cauldron's innate ability to gather fire or its purple light that brought peace of mind, Purple Abyss ensured that Ling Xi hadn't made any major mistakes during this attempt.
"As expected of a fifth-grade pill. Just extracting the essence from these ingredients took two days."
Ling Xi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and put all the extracted ingredients into the cauldron.
"Clang!"
The mass of liquid clearly repelled itself with great force, and for a moment it careened wildly around inside the cauldron.
"Condense!"
Ling Xi changed the hand seal he was forming. A surge of soul power poured from his forehead into the cauldron, forcibly pressing all the ingredient essences together.
With the Crimson Sun Fire continuing to heat them, the various ingredients finally began to merge.
This was the most crucial step in pill refinement. Even the slightest mistake could instantly burn up all the hard-won ingredient essences.
Ling Xi didn't dare let his attention waver for even a moment. He carefully controlled his soul power and watched every stage of the merging process.
With the cauldron's assistance, the worst-case scenario didn't come to pass.
After two whole days of merging and heating, a blood-red pill gradually took shape inside the cauldron.
Red pill fragrance mingled with strange energy from heaven and earth and drifted out of the cauldron. The sight filled Ling Xi with excitement.
"A colored pill fragrance. Looks like the pill's going to succeed."
As time passed, the red pill's rough, irregular shape gradually became smooth and round.
"Condense!"
Ling Xi changed his hand seal, and the golden-red Crimson Sun Fire inside the cauldron suddenly surged.
Within the flames, the red pill finally took shape!
Before you continue