In the blink of an eye, two days passed.
While Yun Yun worked on breaking the Amethyst Seal, Gu Shenge had taken meticulous care of her. Their relationship gradually grew more familiar, and they were no longer so distant.
The cave was cool and damp. Yun Yun sat idly on the stone bed, her jade hand propping up her cheek as she glanced toward the entrance now and then. Unconcealed worry filled her beautiful eyes. Why hasn't he come back yet? Could he have run into danger?
A moment later, a golden figure appeared at the cave entrance. Yun Yun's eyes lit up, joy brightening her pretty face as she hurried to her feet to greet him.
"You're back."
As Gu Shenge looked at the beautiful sect master coming toward him, a faint, elegant fragrance wafted over. He smiled and raised the Dust-Removing Flower in his hand, speaking gently.
"Mm. I found the last herb."
When Yun Yun saw the Dust-Removing Flower, her expression turned complicated. She had only casually said that she wanted to break the Amethyst Seal as soon as possible, yet Gu Shenge had gone all over the Magic Beast Mountain Range to find the ingredients for a Po E Pill. The beautiful sect master was deeply moved.
What Yun Yun didn't know was that Gu Shenge hadn't left the cave to search for ingredients for the Po E Pill. He had returned to Medicine Valley to guide Qing Lin and Xiao Yi Xian in their cultivation. As for the ingredients for the Po E Pill, he had bought them all from the System Store.
Sigh... Running back and forth between two places was exhausting.
The beautiful sect master gazed at Gu Shenge, her eyes rippling with a gentle, moonlit warmth, threaded with tenderness. Her jade lips parted, and her voice rang clear and sweet.
"Actually, you didn't need to go to all this trouble. I'll be able to break the Amethyst Seal in a few more days. I don't need a Po E Pill."
"Not only can the Po E Pill help you break the Amethyst Seal, it can also make your body resistant to it. The next time you fight the Amethyst Winged Lion King, if you're hit by the Amethyst Seal again, you'll have a chance to resist it. That's the most important part."
Gu Shenge explained gently. A wave of warmth welled up in the beautiful sect master's heart. So that was why he wanted to make her a Po E Pill. He really had thought of everything.
He asked Yun Yun to sit to one side, then took the Blazing Flame Cauldron out of the System Space.
The moment the dark red cauldron appeared, the fire-attributed energy drifting through the world gathered around it, and the temperature in the cave rose noticeably.
A golden glint flashed at Gu Shenge's fingertip and shot toward the entrance, sealing it off. This would also keep the pill's fragrance from spreading when it was finished, lest it attract magic beasts.
Although Yun Yun had seen many alchemists refine pills, this was her first time watching someone make a Sixth-Grade Pill. She obediently sat to one side, watching him work.
He gave his hand a slight shake, and green flames sprang forth. No longer suppressing its heat, the Green Lotus Core Flame unleashed a terrifying temperature. The cave grew hotter still, and the moisture in the air evaporated. The space around Gu Shenge rippled faintly, and the stone walls showed signs of melting. Yun Yun's eyes widened in open astonishment.
So this was the power of a Heavenly Flame!
The beautiful sect master stared at the green fire, feeling its scorching heat for herself and marveling inwardly. It was even more terrifying than the purple flames released by the Amethyst Winged Lion King. No wonder alchemists prized Heavenly Flames so highly.
The Green Lotus Core Flame behaved like a docile pet in Gu Shenge's palm, turning into a green serpent of fire that slipped into the Blazing Flame Cauldron and blazed fiercely. Then, one herb after another went into the cauldron.
At the same time, Gu Shenge's hand moved like a conductor's baton, swift and graceful. Under his control, the green fire inside the Blazing Flame Cauldron divided into more than a dozen tiny flames, wrapping around the herbs, burning them, and extracting their essence.
The green flames danced like a beautiful woman displaying her alluring grace, while droplets of herbal essence adorned her movements. The scent of medicine wafted from the cauldron. Every step of the process unfolded in perfect order, smooth and practiced.
Under Gu Shenge's control, the dark red cauldron rose into the air and slowly spun. Green flames writhed inside it like serpents. Centered on the cauldron, wave after wave of tiny energy ripples spread in circles, one after another, in every direction, only to fade away before reaching the cave walls.
Inside the Blazing Flame Cauldron, the green flames surged around a faintly visible, pale-purple pill embryo no bigger than a thumb. Under the Green Lotus Core Flame's heat, it gradually took shape.
Time passed, and before long the sun had set. Evening glow spread across the peaks, as though painting the mountains red.
Yun Yun watched Gu Shenge as he focused on refining the pill. His serious expression filled her beautiful eyes, and without realizing it, her gaze took on a hint of warmth.
Suddenly, a deep purple pill fragrance wafted from the cauldron in midair, filling the entire cave in an instant. It lingered without fading.
Seeing this, Yun Yun guessed the pill was about to be complete. Though she had never witnessed a Sixth-Grade Pill being made, she had heard what happened at the moment of completion: a powerful surge of energy would burst forth. If the alchemist failed to control it, the pill could be ruined at the very last moment.
As the pill fragrance rose, Gu Shenge's gaze sharpened. The most critical step had arrived.
He pressed both hands down. The green flames inside the cauldron flared violently, wrapping the pale-purple pill embryo in the Green Lotus Core Flame in an instant and subjecting it to even more intense heat.
The green flames burned for only a few seconds before quickly dying down. As they faded, a smooth, thumb-sized pill appeared inside the cauldron, glowing faintly. It was pale purple all over, as beautiful as purple jade, and spun round and round. At the same time, an extraordinarily violent surge of energy burst from within it!
The Blazing Flame Cauldron was made from volcanic rock, hardened by the flow of lava, and was incredibly tough. When the pill was completed, the cauldron blocked part of the energy surge. But the rest gushed from its mouth like a waterfall, sending ripples through space that raced in all directions, crashing into everything in their path. At this rate, the cave would surely collapse under the force!
Seeing the commotion caused by the completion of a Sixth-Grade Pill, the beautiful sect master's eyes filled with anxiety and worry. She didn't care if the pill was ruined; she was afraid Gu Shenge would be hurt.
Gu Shenge reacted at once, forming a hand seal. Brilliant golden light burst forth and became a barrier that enveloped the surrounding space, intercepting the energy released by the pill and suppressing it little by little!
While they were both focused on the pill, the previously clear spring in the cave began to churn and roil, as though something inside it were about to emerge.
A dark shadow gradually rose from the depths of the spring, slowly growing larger. A loud crash followed, and water burst into the air, forming a thin curtain. A huge pink-and-purple serpent, three or four zhang long, shot out of the spring.
"Hiss~ Hiss~ Hiss~"
The giant serpent had no scales. Its body was made of pink-and-purple flesh, and it gave off a rotting stench. Its huge, diamond-shaped eyes fixed on the nearly completed pill, filled with bestial hunger. Its forked tongue flickered repeatedly, and its tail swayed with surprising agility.
Feeling the aura of the pink-and-purple serpent, Yun Yun whipped around. She had never imagined that a second-tier Illusion Desire Python was hiding in the cave spring!
PS: Something came up yesterday, so I didn't update as much. Sorry!
Before you continue