Twenty-Six: Four Furnaces, One Refinement

The next day, the morning sun began to rise.

Yao Chen's soul form drifted out from the black ring. After a full day of meditation and focus, he had adjusted his state to its absolute peak. His soul power was vast, and his eyes shimmered with a mix of confidence and solemnity.

Refining four Grade Eight pills at once was an incredibly arduous challenge, even for him in his prime, and it allowed for no mistakes.

"My Lord, this old man is ready to begin," Yao Chen said respectfully to Lin Hai, who stood quietly to the side.

Lin Hai nodded slightly, saying nothing, merely waving his sleeve.

An invisible, majestic force instantly enveloped the entire back mountain of the Xiao Clan, completely isolating this area from the outside world to prevent the coming commotion from attracting unwanted prying eyes.

Yao Chen took a deep breath, his gaze suddenly becoming razor-sharp. He formed profound hand seals and let out a low shout: "Rise!"

The massive, bone-white Bone Chilling Flame surged forth. Instead of manifesting a cauldron, he used his exquisite control to weave and condense the flames directly in mid-air into four massive medicine cauldrons composed entirely of Heavenly Flame!

Each flame cauldron was incredibly solid, with flames swirling over their surfaces and runes flickering in and out of existence, radiating astonishing heat and energy fluctuations.

Immediately following this, he split his soul power into four strands, acting like the most dexterous hands to simultaneously scoop up dozens of precious medicinal herbs from the four jade boxes on the stone table, casting them into the four flame cauldrons respectively.

This scene was incredibly shocking!

Simultaneously refining four Grade Eight pills required a level of control over flame and soul power that could only be described as monstrous!

The slightest deviation could lead to uneven refinement of the medicinal properties, or even cause the herbs to be incinerated instantly.

As the herbs entered the cauldrons, they withered and melted under the scorching heat of the Bone Chilling Flame, refining into drops of pure, multicolored medicinal essence.

Yao Chen was fully focused, beads of sweat even seeping from his forehead. His soul power operated at an unprecedented intensity, precisely controlling the temperature changes within the four flame cauldrons to ensure that every portion of medicinal liquid reached a state of perfection.

The entire refinement process lasted for two full hours, during which he could not afford the slightest distraction.

When all the herbs had been refined and four clusters of glowing, energy-surging medicinal essence floated within the four flame cauldrons, even Yao Chen felt a trace of fatigue, though he felt far more excitement.

Next came the fusion.

This step was even more perilous, requiring dozens of medicinal liquids with vastly different attributes and violent energies to be fused together perfectly. The slightest carelessness would trigger an energy explosion, ruining all previous efforts.

Yao Chen held his breath, his hand seals shifting like lightning.

Under his guidance, the medicinal liquids within the four flame cauldrons began to slowly approach and merge... The process was slow and heart-stopping, with energy fluctuations vibrating violently, yet they were firmly locked down by the barrier Lin Hai had erected.

Another hour passed, and four fist-sized, multicolored nascent pills, their surfaces beginning to show pill patterns, finally took shape within the four flame cauldrons!

The astonishing medicinal fragrance was almost tangible. Even with the barrier blocking it, a trace leaked out, causing Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian, who were cultivating in the distance, to feel refreshed and their spiritual energy circulation to accelerate.

The final steps were pill gestation and soul infusion. This was the most critical step in the formation of a Grade Eight pill, requiring the absorption of massive amounts of heaven and earth energy and the triggering of a Pill Lightning baptism!

"Condense!"

Yao Chen roared, pushing his soul power and Bone Chilling Flame to their limits!

The four nascent pills spun crazily, like four black holes, greedily devouring the surrounding heaven and earth energy!

The barrier set by Lin Hai even fluctuated slightly, voluntarily lifting its restrictions on energy to allow even more majestic power to surge into the back mountain.

The sky instantly darkened, black clouds gathered at an alarming speed, and low thunder rumbled across the heavens!

This time, because four Supreme Pills were being refined simultaneously, the might of the incoming Pill Lightning far exceeded the last time!

Within the thick black clouds, silver snakes danced wildly, and a faint cyan glow even began to emerge!

The destructive pressure made everyone in Wutan City feel palpitations and weak in the knees, and they looked toward the Xiao Clan in terror.

"The Pill Lightning is here! And it is a quadruple-layered Pill Lightning!" Yao Chen's expression was grave; the power of this lightning could likely threaten an ordinary Spirit Venerable!

However, Lin Hai merely glanced indifferently at the terrifying Pill Lightning that was about to strike, and raised his hand once more.

He still only pressed down lightly.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, no brilliant collision of energy.

The terrifying quadruple-layered Pill Lightning, which could have leveled the entire Wutan City and the surrounding hundred miles, was pressed back into the black clouds as if by an invisible, cosmic giant's hand!

The sky-filling, rolling silver and cyan lightning, after emitting a series of muffled roars, actually shrank back into the clouds like a docile sheep, and then... the clouds dispersed and the lightning vanished. The sky cleared, as if nothing had ever happened.

Yao Chen: "..." (He was already too numb to be shocked.)

He steadied himself and focused on completing the final step of pill gestation.

A moment later, four brilliant pillars of light shot into the sky from the four flame cauldrons. A dense, ultimate medicinal fragrance permeated the air, making one feel as if their cultivation bottleneck had loosened just by taking a breath.

Four pills, the size of dragon eyes, round and flawless, radiating a noble purple-gold luster with naturally formed Great Dao pill patterns on their surfaces, rose slowly and hovered in the air. They were full of spirituality, pulsing slightly as if they were alive.

Grade Eight pills, Supreme Pills, four pills successfully formed! And all of the highest quality!

Yao Chen let out a long sigh of relief. His soul form appeared somewhat translucent, clearly having expended a massive amount of energy, but his face was filled with a tired yet satisfied smile.

Successfully refining four Grade Eight pills at once was a milestone achievement in his career as an alchemist!

He carefully placed the four Supreme Pills, which radiated terrifying energy, into the jade bottles he had prepared long ago, and respectfully handed them to Lin Hai: "I have not failed the mission, My Lord."

Lin Hai took the jade bottles, glanced at the slightly weakened Yao Chen, and flicked his finger, sending a strand of law energy into his soul to aid his recovery.

"Well done. Recover; there are still a large number of pills that need you to refine," Lin Hai said calmly.

Feeling the soul power within him rapidly recovering, Yao Chen felt a surge of spirit and bowed: "I am willing to serve you, My Lord!"