Refining the Grade Six Soul-Melting Pill!

The altar of the Snake-Person Race was located deep within the tribe, consisting of a vast plaza.

In the very center of the plaza stood a tall stone pillar, with a flame that never extinguished burning at its peak. That was the sacred fire of the Snake-Person Race, said to have been burning for hundreds of years.

Surrounding the plaza were tiers of steps, capable of seating several hundred people.

At this moment, the steps were quickly filled with Snake-People, young and old, male and female. In the front row sat the several Dou Wang leaders, Mo Basi among them.

Directly facing the altar, a single, massive stone chair had been placed.

Medusa sat there, looking down at the scene from above.

Ye Xiu stood in the center of the altar, the Five-Hole Medicine Cauldron placed before him.

The scene was quite intimidating.

Ye Xiu swept his gaze across the surrounding Snake-People; their eyes held curiosity, suspicion, and the desire to watch a spectacle, while a few were clearly ill-intentioned.

He paid them no mind, lowering his head to begin preparing the medicinal ingredients.

Medusa watched from above, not saying a word.

Mo Basi stood beside her, muttering in a low voice, "Your Majesty, letting a human refine medicine on the altar, this..."

Medusa merely cast a glance at him.

Mo Basi immediately shut his mouth.

Below, Ye Xiu had already begun.

Puff!

Purple-gold flames erupted from his palms, darting into the medicine cauldron. The temperature of the entire altar rose by several degrees instantly, causing those Snake-People sitting nearby to instinctively shrink back.

Ye Xiu ignored them, focusing his full attention on the medicine cauldron.

The Soul-Melting Pill was a tier six medicinal pill, far more complex than those he had refined previously. It required more ingredients and was much more troublesome to process.

However, he was now a tier six Alchemist, with hundreds of tier six pill recipes stored in his mind, as if he had been refining for hundreds of years.

He tossed the ingredients in one by one, refining and purifying them.

The surrounding Snake-People, who had been whispering to each other at first, gradually fell silent. They all stared at the youth in the center of the altar, watching the movements of his hands and the churning flames within the cauldron.

The flames shifted from purple to gold, then to a purple-gold, as if they were alive.

Medusa watched from above, a strange light flashing in her eyes.

She had seen many Alchemists, and she knew those famous ones from the Jia Ma Empire. But never had anyone given her this feeling while refining medicine.

It was as if the flames were a part of his own body, to be manipulated however he pleased.

Time passed bit by bit.

The sun slowly moved from directly overhead to the west.

Sweat began to bead on Ye Xiu's forehead, but his hand movements remained steady.

The final step: fusion.

Several medicinal liquids slowly drew near, touching one another. At first, there was some resistance, but Ye Xiu did not rush, using his soul power to slowly suppress them, forcing them to merge little by little.

In his hands, those medicinal liquids were like obedient children.

Another incense stick of time passed.

Ye Xiu let out a low shout: "Rise!"

He slapped the side of the cauldron, and the flames instantly extinguished. The lid flew off, and five pills the size of dragon eyes shot out from the cauldron, tracing an arc through the air.

Ye Xiu snatched up a jade bottle and scooped them out of the air.

All five pills were safely inside.

The surroundings fell into a dead silence.

The Snake-People looked at the jade bottle in Ye Xiu's hand, each of them looking as if they had seen a ghost.

Five pills?

A tier six medicinal pill, one set of ingredients, and he produced five?

This was simply unheard of!

Mo Basi stood beside Medusa, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a fist. Although he was not an Alchemist, he knew what a tier six medicinal pill represented. For a normal Alchemist, producing one was decent, two was an extraordinary performance, and three would be a stroke of immense luck.

This brat had produced five?

Medusa stood up from the stone chair, glided down the steps, and walked up to Ye Xiu.

Ye Xiu handed the jade bottle to her.

"Open it and verify."

Medusa took the jade bottle and poured out one of the pills.

The pill was round and plump, its surface smooth, with faint, pale golden patterns faintly visible.

Pill patterns!

She raised her head and looked at Ye Xiu, her eyes carrying a hint of satisfaction.

Ye Xiu wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled. "Is it acceptable to you, Your Majesty?"

Medusa was silent for a moment before nodding.

"Not bad."

For these two words to come from her lips was already an extremely high evaluation.

The surrounding Snake-Person Race members heard their queen say this, and the way they looked at Ye Xiu changed completely.

This kind of person was truly fucking impressive.

After finishing the pill refinement, Ye Xiu was in no rush to leave and sat on the altar to rest.

Medusa put the pill away, walked to his side, and looked out at the distant desert.

"In one week, you are going to swallow the Heavenly Flame, correct?" Medusa asked.

Ye Xiu nodded. "Yes."

"Are you confident?"

Ye Xiu thought for a moment and said, "I should have about a seventy or eighty percent chance."

Medusa turned her head to look at him, her brows slightly furrowed.

"What do you mean by 'should'?"

Ye Xiu couldn't help but smile and countered, "What is this, is Your Majesty worried about me?"

"Hmph, arrogant." Medusa turned her head back again.

After a while, she suddenly asked, "Where does your confidence come from? Since ancient times, very few people have been able to subdue a Heavenly Flame. Why is it that with you, I don't feel any pressure?"

Ye Xiu looked at the setting sun in the distance and said, "Your Majesty, please just wait and see."

Medusa did not ask again.

On the distant horizon, the sun sank bit by bit, dyeing the entire desert a deep crimson.

Over the next week, Ye Xiu did not stay idle.

Although he felt that his Innate Medicine Body might have an immunity to flames, a Heavenly Flame was too bizarre; no one could guarantee anything. If something went wrong, he would truly become a joke.

Therefore, he had to make the necessary preparations.

The Blood Lotus Pill, a tier five pill, was specifically used for bodily protection. Taking one before swallowing a Heavenly Flame would form a protective film on the surface of the body, which could save his life at a critical moment.

Ye Xiu had long since prepared the medicinal ingredients for this pill. The Blood Lotus Essence was bought from the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion in Qingshan Town, and the Ice Spirit Flame Grass was dug up from the cave belonging to the Little Doctor Fairy.

One thing was still missing: the Ice Spirit Cold Spring.

He had originally planned to go to Heiyan City to trade for it with that old guy named Gute. That old man had the Ice Spirit Cold Spring in his possession and wanted to trade it for the Companion Amethyst Source.

As it turned out, when he went to Heiyan City to get certified as an Alchemist last time, that old guy wasn't there, so the trade didn't happen.

Ye Xiu had been a bit worried, but when Medusa had people send over the list of medicinal ingredients a few days ago, he discovered that it actually contained an item that could replace the Ice Spirit Cold Spring.

The Snake-Person Race was truly worthy of being the local power; they had no shortage of good things.

Ye Xiu picked out those ingredients and spent an entire night refining a batch of Blood Lotus Pills.

For the remaining time, he sat cross-legged in the courtyard to cultivate.

Medusa would come over sometimes, sit for a while, and then leave. Sometimes she wouldn't speak, and sometimes they would chat for a few sentences. The relationship between the two of them just continued in this way—neither too close nor too distant, and rather ambiguous.

A week passed by very quickly.

On the night of the seventh day, Ye Xiu stood in the courtyard, looking at the moon overhead.

Tomorrow, he would go to meet the Green Lotus Core Flame.

He took a deep breath and clenched his fists.

A four-star Dou Huang, a tier six Alchemist, and a batch of Blood Lotus Pills!

That is enough!