A pill furnace stood in the Solar System.
It had swallowed every bolt of heavenly tribulation lightning and every trace of Dao resonance, along with all the light of the sun. Now the final stage of refinement was complete, and it floated quietly among the stars.
"Did it succeed...?" asked Divine Mechanism, his mouth dry. It had been a long time since anyone had seen him.
The old friends looked toward the two cultivators.
After several thousand years apart, the gap between them had grown so vast they might as well have belonged to different species. What those two thought and considered was now almost beyond the understanding of lower-ranked cultivators. The difference in their souls' computational power was too great.
Canghai, Sun Slayer, Myriad Mechanisms, and the others desperately wanted to advance to Dao Integration so they could once again take part in research at the forefront of immortal science. It mattered greatly to their own Dao Paths and to the future of the Immortal Sect.
Jiang Ding looked at Yuan, then took a slight step back, leaving the spotlight to the leader.
"Hahaha!"
"Old friends, of course it succeeded!"
Seeing so many old friends again, Yuan was excited. It felt as though he had returned to his youth. "Since none of you can wait, let's open the furnace."
"Don't worry. There's a share for everyone. No one will be left out."
Yuan stepped before the tribulation-lightning pill furnace and connected with the Central Array-Spirit Computer. Layers of restrictions opened before him, revealing the furnace within, seemingly both solid and made of energy.
"Open!"
He cast a hand seal.
Hum!
Hummm!
The furnace trembled. Cracks gradually appeared, and then it broke apart into powder, exposing what lay inside.
An extraordinary fragrance swept outward, spreading in orderly fashion to citizens