The Break Calamity Pill Is Complete, Evolution Begins

"From the way he controls fire, his alchemy skills must be quite impressive. But how come I've never heard of anyone called Qing Huo?"

But no matter how much Gu He itched to take a peek, he didn't dare sneak a look at Qing Huo refining a pill.

Peeking at someone else's pill refinement was a great taboo in the alchemy world!

"Teacher, are you sure you're all right in this state?"

Xiao Yan looked at Yao Lao's solidified soul form, unable to hide his concern.

"This is the Black Robe I wore when I traveled the continent in my youth. It conceals my aura and hides my figure, so don't worry about them seeing through me."

Yao Lao said casually. But when he saw Xiao Yan still staring at him, he could only reassure him.

"It won't consume much soul power. That Soul Origin Fruit Yun Li gave me last time replenished all the soul power I'd lost. Nothing will happen, so relax!"

Pale flames ignited in Yao Lao's palm. He raised his hand and poured them into the simple, ancient-looking black pill cauldron before him. Flame energy swirled and gathered around the cauldron, keeping it warm at all times.

Black Demon, eighth on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking. It was said to have been kept by a Grandmaster Alchemist from ancient times...

With a flick of his finger, the medicinal ingredients needed to refine the Break Calamity Pill dropped into the cauldron like scaled fish darting through the water. His fingertip twitched, and the pale flames turned into more than a dozen fireballs, enclosing all the ingredients.

The refinement proceeded in an orderly fashion!

Xiao Yan carefully watched Yao Lao refine the pill. His own level was still low, so every movement Yao Lao made and every way he wielded his soul power greatly inspired him. Many things he hadn't understood before suddenly became clear.

Watching Yao Lao display a grandmaster's bearing with every gesture, Xiao Yan felt nothing but respect and envy.

"The Break Calamity Pill is a Sixth-Grade Pill. To refine it, one must use a Heavenly Flame as a guide and the power of heaven and earth as fuel, supplemented by... When the pill is complete, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth will gather of its own accord. The pill will be purple, marked with three lines. Its effect is to restore the source and break through difficulties!"

Xiao Yan recalled what the Break Calamity Pill recipe said. No wonder Gu He had said that unless one was a seventh-grade Alchemy Master, there was no guarantee the pill would form.

On the Dou Qi Continent, soul realms were divided into four great stages: Mortal, Spiritual, Heavenly, and Emperor.

Born into the mortal world, all of us were ordinary people. Though the Mortal Realm was a classification used for alchemists, even an ordinary person unable to cultivate Dou Qi could attain a Mortal Realm soul after reaching adulthood, provided they didn't excessively exhaust their mind. The only difference was the strength of their soul.

A first-grade alchemist's soul was weak, and the pills they refined were no more effective than the remedies of an ordinary physician. Second- and third-grade alchemists generally had souls in the early Mortal Realm, and the pills they refined gradually moved beyond ordinary medicinal methods. Fourth-grade alchemists were in the middle Mortal Realm, fifth-grade in the Late Mortal Realm, and sixth-grade at the Mortal Realm Peak.

But even upon reaching the Mortal Realm Peak, one's soul was still mortal, and one couldn't draw on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to refine pills. The effects of the pills were still on par with ordinary...

"It's about to form!"

Yao Lao gave a reminder and formed a hand seal. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth, usually so difficult to absorb, now flowed into the cauldron, drawn by his soul power.

The Black Demon Cauldron floated in midair. Through its diamond-shaped fire opening, one could just make out a purple pill spinning in the pale flames.

As the pill-taking process continued, fine ripples of energy gradually escaped, but before they could spread, an inexplicable force stopped them.

"Clink!"

Yao Lao beckoned with one hand. The surging energy from the final moment was forced back into the cauldron, and the pill, purple with three lines, shot out and landed precisely in the jade bottle on the table.

"The Break Calamity Pill may carry the name of a Sixth-Grade Pill, but its refining method isn't especially sophisticated. It's simply made under demanding conditions, and its formation method involves seventh-grade techniques. Otherwise, it wouldn't even measure up to an ordinary Fifth-Grade Pill."

Holding the jade bottle, Yao Lao spoke with a smile. From what he said, the alchemist who had devised the Break Calamity Pill recipe really was an oddball!

Yao Lao casually put the remaining sets of ingredients into his Storage Ring, then covered himself and Xiao Yan with the Black Robe again and left the room.

"Creak..."

"Hmm?"

So soon? Gu He stood up in surprise. It hadn't even been half a day. Could the refinement have failed?

"Master Green Fire, this is..."

"Fortunately, I've fulfilled your request!"

Xiao Yan came out of the room holding the jade bottle and beamed. Yao Lao stood quietly beside him, like a lifeless statue.

Gu He took the jade bottle and sensed its contents. Then, full of admiration, he bowed to Yao Lao.

"Master Green Fire, today I've finally learned that beyond a person there's always someone greater, and beyond the sky there's always another sky. Even in such a remote place, there are people stronger than Gu He!"

"Mr. Gu He, you flatter me. My insignificant skills hardly deserve such praise."

Yao Lao genuinely thought the Break Calamity Pill had been no challenge at all. But to Gu He, his words sounded like a humble grandmaster's. As a result, Gu He admired Yao Lao all the more.

"Master Green Fire, Brother Xiao Yan, please wait here for a moment. I'll go report to the hall master."

Gu He hurried off to find Yun Zimo. Yao Lao gave an almost imperceptible nod. Alchemists so devoted to their craft were rare these days...

"Master Gu He, the medicine... Master Green Fire succeeded?!"

Hearing Gu He's excited voice from far away, Yun Zimo nearly let the secret slip, but fortunately, he hadn't raised his voice.

"Master Green Fire is the true master. Gu He no longer deserves that title."

Gu He shook his head when he reached him. Speaking of Yao Lao, he couldn't help feeling inferior.

"Does the title of master depend solely on alchemy skills? Master Gu He, there's no need to belittle yourself."

Yun Zimo smiled, then hurried to the Divine Temple. Hai Bodong was adjusting his condition there!

By the time Xiao Yan and Yao Lao reached the Divine Temple, Hai Bodong had already begun breaking the seal. He was currently floating above a lake deep beneath the Divine Temple.

"The Ice Spirit Cold Spring!"

Looking at the pool brimming with Ice Spirit Cold Spring, Xiao Yan thought of the small bottle he'd managed to trade for with a bottle of Companion Amethyst Source. He couldn't help clicking his tongue at Queen Medusa's grand gesture.

"My preparations for devouring a Heavenly Flame don't amount to a thousandth of what she's done to prepare for her evolution!"

Xiao Yan sighed.

"The Snake-Person Tribe has accumulated its resources over hundreds and thousands of years. You've been at it for only a year or two and think you can match them? You really don't know how high the sky is!"

Yao Lao chided him with a laugh. What a brat.

Xiao Yan chuckled, then focused on watching Hai Bodong.

Purple light streaked around Hai Bodong. The Snake Seal on his forehead had now turned into a half-flood-dragon shape. Clearly, after coexisting with Hai Bodong for so many years, it had also stolen the essence of his Ice Dragon and used it to nourish itself!

The Ice Dragon phantom and the half-flood-dragon phantom wrestled, battling over Hai Bodong's body. The sudden arrival of a third force, the purple light, immediately broke their balance.

Under Hai Bodong's conscious control, the half-flood-dragon retreated step by step, until it was finally forced out of the space between his brows.

"Roar!"

The Ice Dragon raised its head and let out a long cry. Its phantom appeared behind Hai Bodong and swallowed the half-flood-dragon whole, then flowed back into his body. Purple light swirled and fused with him. Hai Bodong's battered body healed at a visible pace, and the aura around him surged higher and higher.

At last, a pair of icy-blue wings unfurled, and the aura of a Dou Emperor filled the sky.

The Ice Emperor, once the terror of the Jia Ma Empire, had returned!

"Thank you, Master Green Fire!"

After landing, Hai Bodong cupped his fists. His voice was no longer cold and aged; instead, it carried an inexplicable air of pride.

"If you want to thank anyone, thank my disciple. If not for him, I wouldn't have come here."

Yao Lao spoke softly. A Dou Emperor's favor was quite valuable to Xiao Yan as he was now.

"Thank you, Master Green Fire. Thank you, Brother Xiao Yan!"

Hai Bodong bowed solemnly. Making a clear distinction between gratitude and grievance had always been his principle.

"Now that Elder Hai has recovered his Dou Emperor strength, let's move on to Queen Medusa's evolution!"

"Elder Hai, control the energy of heaven and earth and use the surroundings to suppress the Heavenly Flame's violent nature as much as possible. Master Gu He, help control the Green Lotus Core Flame to prevent it from running wild..."

Once Hai Bodong had stabilized his aura, Gu He spoke up. They had already discussed all the details. They'd just been waiting for Hai Bodong!

"But with Master Gu He alone, I'm afraid he won't be able to control the Green Lotus Core Flame. So..."

Yun Zimo spoke up at that moment.

"I'll help too."

Yao Lao spoke as Yun Zimo had hoped, but paused, then looked toward Medusa.

"However, I have a trade in mind. I wonder if..."

Seeing Yao Lao agree, Yun Zimo's lips curved into a smile, and a flicker of excitement passed through his eyes.

"Please, Master Green Fire."

Even though Yun Zimo had warned her in advance that Yao Lao might make a request, Medusa couldn't help being surprised by how certain he'd been.

"My disciple still lacks a Heavenly Flame of his own. I'm willing to offer two Dou Ling Pills and one Dou Emperor Pill in exchange for the Green Lotus Core Flame. What do you think?"

So it really was the Heavenly Flame! Medusa had been considering it for days, and she and Yun Zimo had already discussed and settled on this decision.

An unabsorbable Heavenly Flame, in exchange for a master alchemist's favor and a young genius with limitless potential—Medusa knew which choice to make.

"If the evolution succeeds, I'll gladly hand over the Heavenly Flame. As for the trade, there's no need!"

Following Yun Zimo's earlier arrangement, Medusa spoke sincerely. The Heavenly Flame had been found by Yun Zimo and the others in the first place; she was only passing it on.

Then, before Yao Lao could speak again, purple light gathered around Medusa. A moment later, she transformed into her true form, the Purple Nether Flame Snake, above the Ice Spirit Cold Spring and before the Green Lotus Core Flame.

The evolution began!