The cultivator looked no older than twenty-seven or twenty-eight. After appearing, he flicked his sleeve, then sat down—and spoke in the unmistakable voice of an old man.
He started with a couple of pleasantries, then said, "Over the past few days, I've explained every step of refining the Bone Quenching Pill, one by one. Today, I'll open the furnace and refine a pill right here, so you can watch the entire process from start to finish. You're not allowed to speak or disturb me during the process. Once I'm done, you'll have five chances to ask questions for free."
With that, he drew a palm-sized pill furnace from his sleeve and tossed it into the air. It swiftly grew, soon becoming a three-legged bronze furnace taller than a man's waist. Its entire body was a dark, mysterious color, with what looked like flecks of silver mixed in. Engravings of demons and ghosts adorned its sides, while its lid resembled a pagoda.
Once it landed, the whole Great Hall seemed to grow chilly.
The cultivator formed another hand seal, and a cluster of ghostly blue flames silently sprang to life before him. They gave off a cold, desolate feeling, swiftly darted beneath the furnace, and began quietly licking its underside.
"This is an opportunity I came across when I was young: a Seventh-grade Alchemical Fire." The cultivator then took out some medicinal herbs, metals, and other materials, introducing them as he arranged them. "None of you have alchemical fire yet. If you obtain some in the future, but it's only ninth-grade, you'd be better off renting a pill room on the peak. After all, the formations installed in the sect's Grade C and higher pill rooms can directly draw on the Nine Netherworld Fire beneath the peak for refining pills. Even