The Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor

Over a month later, Shi-Mo City was once again shrouded in dark clouds. Such a strange phenomenon should have shocked the residents of a city that barely saw rain all year, yet the pedestrians on the streets now mostly wore expressions of indifference. Over the past month, they had discovered that every few days, the sky would become overcast, followed by a pillar of light shooting into the heavens.

The more knowledgeable elders knew that this was at least the sign of a Grade 6 medicinal pill being formed. To see such a phenomenon every few days made it hard to imagine just how powerful an alchemist could possess such a terrifying success rate.

Only a very small number of people who had just arrived in Shi-Mo City were puzzled, thinking it was about to rain. They stopped and looked up, only to see a pillar of light erupt from the direction of the City Lord's Mansion, scattering the dark clouds before vanishing a moment later.

In the courtyard of the City Lord's Mansion, Hai Bodong was teaching Qing Lin how to cultivate Dou Disciple energy when he suddenly felt the dark clouds gathering overhead once more. He couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Brother Xiao's success rate in refining Grade 6 pills is simply too high! This is already the twelfth time in over a month that I've seen the pill-forming phenomenon. My Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill must be finished by now, right? This is truly something to look forward to."

In the courtyard, Qing Lin had only been cultivating for a little over a month, yet she had already reached the third stage of Dou Disciple. Such a terrifying cultivation speed highlighted the horror of her constitution; she would likely reach the level of a Dou Practitioner in less than a year.

Inside his room, Shi Jian, who was in the middle of cultivation, was startled by the energy of the pill formation. After opening his eyes, he also muttered.

"Brother Xiao is truly a man of heaven-sent talent. Judging by his appearance, he is clearly no more than twenty, yet he is already a four-star Dou Emperor. He can even refine peak Grade 6 pills like the Ancestor-Breaking Pill and the Emperor-Breaking Pill. It really is infuriating to compare oneself to others."

"However, it is fortunate that I have been able to befriend such a person; this is my own stroke of luck. This Dou Ling Pill finally allowed me to advance to the seven-star Dou King level. Now that I have an Emperor-Breaking Pill in hand, once I reach the peak of Dou King, I can attempt to break through the barrier to Dou Emperor."

Shi Jian spoke with a look of relief, a smile appearing on his face afterward.

As for Xiao Jie, after successfully refining the first Vitality Pill, the second one went just as smoothly. It wasn't until the third that a mistake in the pill-coalescing phase caused the medicinal materials to be wasted, though this only made Xiao Jie more cautious.

In the end, out of sixteen sets of ingredients, he successfully refined twelve pills: five Vitality Pills, two Ancestor-Breaking Pills, four Emperor-Extreme Pills, and one Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill.

Refining the Ancestor-Breaking Pill was the most difficult among the peak Grade 6 pills; not only was the medicinal nature complex, but the techniques required were also incredibly tedious. It consumed a vast amount of Xiao Jie's soul power, but it also made his soul more refined. While it was impossible to break through to the Spirit Realm just like that, it made his soul more resilient. If he were to encounter Queen Medusa's soul technique again, it wouldn't be like last time.

After Xiao Jie placed the Ancestor-Breaking Pill into a jade bottle, he stood up to leave the secret chamber. However, due to the prolonged consumption of soul power from refining pills, he felt unsteady for a moment. He leaned against the wall for a while, took a deep breath, and then walked out of the chamber.

Hai Bodong and Shi Jian did not come to the outside of the chamber; only the guards on duty were there. Hai Bodong and the others did not know the exact time Xiao Jie would emerge, and even Xiao Jie himself did not realize that this round of alchemy had taken over a month.

The process of refining Grade 6 pills was relatively complex, which was why it took over forty days. Only someone like Xiao Jie, with his soul at the perfection of the Mortal Realm, could handle it; for an ordinary Grade 6 alchemist, it would have been impossible.

Xiao Jie felt his head was heavy. He waved his hand to summon a guard, handed him the bottle containing the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill, and said to him.

"Deliver this pill to Hai Bodong."

"Yes."

The guard took the bottle, bowed, and turned to leave, while Xiao Jie returned to his room and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

Not far from Shi-Mo City, a person and a snake looked toward the City Lord's Mansion and muttered.

"I didn't expect such a powerful alchemist to be in this small Shi-Mo City. I hope this search for the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils won't encounter any complications."

Xiao Jie slept for two days, mainly because his soul power had been severely depleted. People with profound cultivation in this world did not need to sleep; cultivation alone could keep their spirits in a good state.

Waking up from the bed, Xiao Jie rubbed his head and shook it with a wry smile.

"I don't know how long I slept this time. Since coming to this world, I haven't slept this long or this soundly. It's actually quite nostalgic."

After taking a deep breath, he began to meditate. It wasn't until two hours later that Xiao Jie opened his eyes again and summoned the Simulator in his mind. More than fifty days had passed since his last simulation, and the number of attempts had accumulated to six.

'Simulator, begin life simulation.'

'Ding, the current number of available simulations is six. Do you wish to proceed with life simulation?'

'Yes.'

'Ding, life simulation begins.'

'Day 1: You wake up from cultivation. Shi Jian sends someone to inform you that two Dou Emperors from the Heavenly Serpent Mansion have arrived, wanting to take Qing Lin away, but they were blocked by him and Hai Bodong.'

'Day 2: Knowing that Qing Lin needs to cultivate at the Heavenly Serpent Mansion to grow faster, you agree to the matter. However, you also put forward your own request: for one of their Dou Emperors to stay and assist you for three years. You pay an Emperor-Extreme Pill for the large snake to stay behind.'

'Day 3: After confirming that Queen Medusa will not attack the Jia Ma Empire in the short term, you bid farewell to Shi Jian and take Hai Bodong and the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor to the Black-Corner Region, planning to scheme for Han Feng's and Jia Nan Academy's Heavenly Flames.'

'Day 38: You arrive in the Black-Corner Region. It is just in time for the Eight-Fan Sect to hold an auction. You take out one Emperor-Extreme Pill, one Ancestor-Breaking Pill, one Emperor-Breaking Pill, and two Vitality Pills for auction, causing all the Dou King and Dou Emperor level powerhouses in the Black-Corner Region to scramble for them.'

'Day 56: You release news that you can help refine Grade 6 pills and that anyone can come, but the rule of only refining two Grade 6 pills per year causes numerous Dou Emperor and Dou King level powerhouses to scramble to line up and beg for medicine.'

'Day 141: A mysterious secret realm opens in the Black-Corner Region. You take Hai Bodong to explore it. While you are collecting medicinal herbs inside, a little girl suddenly appears and tries to snatch the Yin-Yang Soul-Returning Grass from your hand. You grab her.'

'Day 871: You break through to the six-star Dou Emperor level. You take an Emperor-Extreme Pill and advance to seven-star.'

'Day 1241: Because of your existence, Han Feng's status has declined. He secretly contacts a Soul Hall Protector, planning to eliminate you, a peak Grade 6 alchemist.'

'Day 1256: You are ambushed by the Soul Hall Protector and injured. Afterward, Han Feng appears with three Dou Emperor level powerhouses to intercept Hai Bodong and the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor. You activate the Heavenly Fire Three-Mysterious Transformation to reach the two-star Dou Ancestor level. After fighting the Soul Hall Protector for over a hundred rounds, you are unable to maintain the Heavenly Fire Three-Mysterious Transformation and are killed by him. You have died.'

'Ding, this simulation has ended.'

'Current selectable items: Emperor-Extreme Pill, Yin-Yang Soul-Returning Grass, a tree branch.'

'Please choose.'

'Choose Yin-Yang Soul-Returning Grass.'