External Alchemy Pill, Internal Alchemy Method

External Alchemy Pill, Internal Alchemy Method

Like a cycle, the Azure Sky Jade Dragon's exploded body nourished the earth. Its overwhelmingly powerful poison and life attributes transformed the once-barren land, creating a canyon capable of supporting poison-attributed soul beasts.

The Dragon Pill fused with Essence of Life Gold fell deep into the earth. Who knew how long it took before a group of people discovered it? After pounding and hammering at it to no avail, they placed it in a box and sent it to a treasure vault filled with rare valuables.

One Soul Douluo after another came to inspect the Dragon Pill, which looked no different from a stone. In the end, they all shook their heads, saying there was nothing they could do.

A Titled Douluo had once attempted to uncover the secrets within the Dragon Pill, but he failed to fulfill his wish even until he died of old age, passing away filled with resentment.

After the Titled Douluo died of old age, the Dragon Pill was returned to its case and locked away once more in the depths of the treasure vault.

Who knew how many years later, the dust-covered case in the treasure vault was opened again...

The world returned to normal, and Chen Ming abruptly opened his eyes, his forehead drenched in sweat.

The Azure Sky Jade Dragon had died completely. Forget about a Dragon Soul—even the slightest trace of baleful aura had been worn away. If its Dragon Pill had not been purified by devouring its kin, then fused with Essence of Life Gold in that desperate situation, it could never have remained intact.

The reason Chen Ming was covered in sweat was entirely due to the mental pressure he felt. Although what he saw through Spirit Vision was merely a replay of the past, that immense aura and terrifying pressure had still been firmly imprinted in his mind.

What was rather laughable was that in this memory centered on the Sky Blue Jade Dragon, the Sky Blue Jade Dragon itself had given Chen Ming the least pressure.

Even at its peak, its own power was far weaker than Di Tian's aura. Compared to that god-level lightning, it was even less worth mentioning.

Chen Ming wiped the sweat from his forehead. When he realized his heart still could not calm down quickly, he hurriedly took out a piece of jerky from his Storage Soul Tool, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed mechanically.

The unbearable taste flooded Chen Ming's mind, forcing him to snap out of the shock of those memories. He hurriedly took out a large cup of fruit juice from his Storage Soul Tool and tipped his head back, gulping it all down.

Only then did Chen Ming turn his attention to the stone-like Dragon Pill in his hand.

"This thing may have an impressive origin, but it seems unusable. Both Essence of Life Gold and the Azure Sky Jade Dragon's Dragon Pill are treasures rarely seen in the world, yet under the pressure of the Heavenly Thunder, the two melted and fused into one. It has become something that may never have appeared on the continent before."

"And most importantly, most of the Life Force within the Essence of Life Gold was worn away by the lightning. What the Dragon Pill fused with was less Life Force than some incomplete trait of the Essence of Life Gold. Because of that trait, this Dragon Pill can't be utilized through ordinary methods."

Chen Ming muttered inwardly, though he was not too disappointed.

He understood as well that if this thing could truly be used so easily, Qian Renxue could never have simply given it to a mere Soul Grandmaster like him as a gift.

If it had not been used up by someone centuries ago, then at the very least, it should have been given to Dugu Bo, the Poison Douluo, in exchange for a favor. It should have had nothing whatsoever to do with a Soul Grandmaster like him.

Still, as Chen Ming looked at the Dragon Pill, his heart itched.

Even if the Heavenly Thunder had washed away its attributes and reduced its effects to a tenth or even a hundredth of what they once were, this Dragon Pill was still an invaluable treasure to a Soul Grandmaster like him.

As long as he could make use of it, even if only to a negligible degree, he could gain considerable benefits from it.

But how was he supposed to use it?

Chen Ming tapped the Dragon Pill, which no longer looked round in the slightest, his mind swirling with thoughts.

"Refining it into my body is probably impossible. Never mind whether I have the technique for it; my Soul Power isn't enough. If it really entered my body, this thing might only need to breathe in and out once before I die. For a Titled Douluo, it might only take a thread of Soul Power, but it could drain me, a Soul Grandmaster, to death seven or eight times over."

"If I really want to try that, I'll have to wait until I become at least a Soul King or Soul Emperor."

"As for using it to make medicine..."

At that thought, Chen Ming twitched his lips awkwardly.

The fact that this Dragon Pill had survived a god-level Heavenly Tribulation was proof enough of its hardness. In the hundreds of years Chen Ming had witnessed through Spirit Vision, whether Soul Douluos or Titled Douluos, none had managed to cut off even a fingernail-sized piece despite exhausting every method they had.

To use this thing for medicine, he would at least need to contact those Assault System Super Douluos skilled in explosive power. Perhaps Qian Daoliu would even need to use the Angel God Sword to cut it open.

Making medicine—pass.

What should he do?

Chen Ming habitually poured Soul Power into it, and suddenly, an idea came to him.

"External Alchemy Pill! Internal Alchemy Method!"

Ancient Daoist alchemy had the concept of external elixirs. Though later developments gradually disparaged external elixirs as an unorthodox method that cultivated nature but not life, no one could deny that external elixirs were indeed an excellent transitional method.

"Since taking it into my body won't work, I'll use it as an external elixir! I'll find a way to make this thing absorb the Soul Power between heaven and earth, then absorb the Soul Power inside it myself!"

"Let me think. If I want to establish a connection with something like this..."

Chen Ming took a small knife from his Storage Soul Tool. After thinking for a moment, he also took out all his blood-replenishing medicinal herbs and bandages.

Chen Ming first placed the Dragon Pill into an iron basin, then sterilized the knife over the fire. Finally, he carefully cut a small opening in his arm and let blood drip onto the stone.

Yet Chen Ming's actions produced no reaction. It was as though he had merely dripped a puddle of water onto it; the Dragon Pill showed no sign of absorbing the blood at all.

Chen Ming's thoughts shifted, and he summoned his Martial Soul. As blood continued to drip, he controlled his Soul Power and Spiritual Power, fusing them together.

As the Soul Power fused with Spiritual Power entered it, the stone-like Dragon Pill gradually began absorbing Chen Ming's blood. However, no connection formed between the two.

Seeing this, Chen Ming gritted his teeth and stamped his foot. He grabbed several pills from beside him and stuffed them into his mouth. While maintaining the fusion of Soul Power and Spiritual Power, he tried to inject his own spirituality into the Dragon Pill.

After more than half a day of consumption, when Chen Ming's entire body was nearly trembling, an imperceptible connection finally formed between him and the Dragon Pill.

The blood in the basin was instantly sucked dry by the Dragon Pill, and Chen Ming could feel a response when he poured Soul Power into it.

Seeing this, the greatly drained Chen Ming hurriedly stopped. He quickly staunched the bleeding, applied medicine, and wrapped his arm in bandages, preventing himself from losing too much blood at once.

After stuffing another handful of medicine into his mouth, Chen Ming carefully held the Dragon Pill from the basin against his chest, sat on the ground, and entered a meditative state.