Three days had passed since the hunt ended. During those three days, a stifling atmosphere had settled over Green Sun Town. Even ordinary households had noticed that something was amiss.
For a time, the entire town seemed eerily quiet. Few people walked the streets, not a single vendor had set up a stall, and even the inns had closed their doors.
Inside the bamboo hut on the Lin Family Back Mountain, all kinds of spirit herbs and Yang Yuan Stones lay piled everywhere. Lin Ge sat cross-legged before a bronze cauldron, his expression calm.
For the past three days, he had been recuperating, silently waiting for someone to arrive.
After the hunting battle, he had gone to Li Quan's loft and asked him to gather some Demon Crystals for him, the higher their grade the better, and deliver them three days later.
Though Li Quan was not a member of the Lin Clan, he had also sensed that something was amiss, so he readily agreed to Lin Ge's request.
Today was the third day. The appointed time had arrived!
Tap, tap...
A faint sound of footsteps came from outside. Lin Ge looked over and saw Li Quan.
"Here's what you wanted."
Li Quan tossed a Universe Bag in front of Lin Ge and let out a small breath. "There are a few fourth-grade Demon Crystals inside, along with several third-grade ones. That should be enough for you."
Lin Ge glanced at what was inside the Universe Bag and looked satisfied. Then he said to Li Quan, "Thanks."
"Why are you being so polite with me?" Li Quan replied with a carefree smile. His gaze landed on the mountain of spirit herbs and Yuan Stones beside them, and his eyes widened in shock.
"What are you planning to do?"
"Refine pills."
Lin Ge spoke calmly.
"What kind of pill needs this many spirit herbs and Yuan Stones?" Li Quan asked in surprise, unable to stop himself from asking again.
"Gathering Origin Pills."
Lin Ge made no effort to hide it from Li Quan and answered directly.
"Gathering Origin Pills?" Li Quan asked, baffled. He had never heard of this kind of pill.
"I can't tell you yet. I'll explain once I've succeeded."
Lin Ge shook his head slightly, then recalled something and asked, "Have you made any progress on what I mentioned last time?"
At that question, Li Quan's expression turned grave.
"Don't ask. I ran into some trouble, and I still need your help."
"No problem. I'll help you after I've dealt with this."
Lin Ge paused for a few seconds before answering.
Li Quan nodded slightly. His business couldn't be rushed, so he wasn't in a hurry.
"Then I'll be off. I'll be waiting for your good news!" Seeing that Lin Ge was about to refine pills, Li Quan didn't linger. He turned and left.
Lin Ge didn't stop him. He looked at the Universe Bag in his hand, a bright gleam flashing in his eyes.
"Everything's ready. Time to begin!"
As he spoke, Lin Ge stood up and spread his hands. A thick surge of Yuan Power slowly welled up from his palms and flew into the bronze cauldron.
In an instant, fierce flames rose inside the cauldron. Without wasting time, Lin Ge tossed one of the fourth-grade Demon Crystals from the Universe Bag into it.
The moment the Demon Crystal met the raging flames, it unleashed a violent surge of energy, making the entire bronze cauldron tremble.
Lin Ge was already used to this kind of thing and didn't panic in the slightest. He simply let the Demon Crystal continue releasing its violent energy, keeping it inside the cauldron.
The scorching flames continued to burn. Amid the blaze, the Demon Crystal slowly became a mass of Yuan Power, floating in the center of the cauldron.
The mass of Yuan Power looked small, but it was the purest energy obtained by refining a Demon Crystal—more than a hundred times purer than the Yuan Power inside a Pure Origin Stone.
"Next are the spirit herbs."
Lin Yan's gaze swept past the mountain of Pure Origin Stones and settled on the pile of spirit herbs. Without hesitation, he grabbed a large handful and tossed them into the cauldron.
Unlike Demon Crystals, spirit herbs offered no resistance to refinement. Their impurities were easily burned away, leaving behind a small cluster of fine particles.
The particles were tiny, floating all around inside the cauldron. Lin Ge carefully gathered them together.
This was the most important step in pill refinement. The particles left behind by countless different spirit herbs had to fuse with the mass of Yuan Power refined from the Demon Crystal. Only then would the process succeed.
The particles slowly converged on the mass of Yuan Power. A tremendous force of repulsion emerged, causing the previously steady particles to tremble. Even the purest Yuan Power began to grow restless.
Lin Ge's face was solemn as he drew the particles together bit by bit. Facing the growing force of repulsion, he didn't dare let his guard down. He focused his entire mind on the bronze cauldron.
As Lin Ge concentrated, time flew by. Dusk arrived quietly, but the particles inside the cauldron were now less than an inch away from complete fusion.
The flames roared on, and the temperature inside the bamboo hut steadily rose. Lin Ge was drenched in sweat, and even his vision had begun to blur.
Boom!
Suddenly, a faint cracking sound rang out. A spark of excitement appeared in Lin Ge's weary eyes, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
The mass of pure Yuan Power abruptly released a powerful suction, forcibly drawing in the particles. They slowly fused, eventually forming a round object.
"Finally, I did it."
Lin Ge relaxed slightly, his eyes shining even brighter.
Although he had prepared himself for failure on his first attempt, he hadn't expected to succeed right away. The result left him thrilled.
"Now I need to infuse it with Yuan Power."
With that thought, Lin Ge wasted no time. He tossed a large quantity of Pure Origin Stones into the cauldron, and they were instantly refined into a small pool of liquid.
As Lin Ge kept tossing them in, hundreds of Yuan Stones disappeared in an instant, while the pill inside the cauldron gradually began to gleam.
"Out of the cauldron!"
Once all the Yuan Power inside the cauldron had been absorbed by the pill, Lin Ge hurriedly caught it in a wooden bottle, then let out a long breath.
"The Gathering Origin Pill is complete!"
Lin Ge clutched the bottle in excitement, a fervent gleam in his eyes.
If he kept this up, not only would his pill-refining skill continue to improve, but his control over Yuan Power would also reach a terrifying level.
Of course, most importantly, he would be able to refine at least dozens of high-quality Gathering Origin Pills.
"The Origin Pellet Realm is no longer out of reach."
Lin Ge's excited laughter rang through the bamboo hut, adding a glimmer of life to the bamboo grove.
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