Refining the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill

In the quiet cultivation room, Xiao Yun sat with his eyes closed in thought, continuously recalling the formula and refining techniques for the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill.

The Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill was a Fourth-Tier Peak Pill. It had a high chance of raising a Da Dou Shi's strength by one star. Though it was a Fourth-Tier pill, its refining difficulty was nearly comparable to that of some Fifth-Tier Pills. Xiao Yun did not dare let his guard down in the slightest.

After pondering for a long time, Xiao Yun finally opened his eyes. With a flick of his hand, he tossed a Purple Spirit Flower into the medicinal cauldron. Under the searing flames, its medicinal essence continuously seeped out. Half an hour later, only a pool of purple liquid remained in the cauldron. The Purple Spirit Flower had long since turned to ash and was expelled through the cauldron's special mechanism.

This time, Xiao Yun did not use his usual multitasking method of wrapping the medicinal liquid in flames. Instead, he adopted the most traditional and simplest method, using Dou Qi to envelop the liquid before placing it into a jade bottle.

"Fortunately, the Purple Spirit Flower was successfully refined. I've prepared two portions of the other ingredients. If I still can't refine it, then I simply won't take this pill." Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Xiao Yun muttered to himself. The most difficult step had already succeeded. As long as he proceeded steadily from here on, he still had a good chance of refining it successfully.

After closing his eyes to rest for a moment and recovering some of his mental energy and Dou Qi, Xiao Yun waved his hand, picked up the medicinal ingredients beside him, and tossed them into the medicinal cauldron. His Soul Power controlled the flames as they continued extracting the medicinal essences.

Time slowly passed. An hour later, Xiao Yun had exhausted all the ingredients and finally extracted all the medicinal essences needed for the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill.

Huff!

Xiao Yun let out a deep breath, then began the next step: fusing and shaping all the medicinal essences into a pill. While controlling the flames within the cauldron, he poured all the medicinal essences from the jade bottles into it.

At the same time, Xiao Yun half-closed his eyes as surging Soul Perception swept out from his mind and directly entered the medicinal cauldron. Every reaction and fusion rate produced by the merging medicinal essences was promptly transmitted into his mind.

Then, following the refining method recorded in the formula, Xiao Yun swiftly used his Soul Power to control the flames, making adjustments or remedies so the medicinal essences could smoothly fuse into a pill.

Fusion was the most important step in pill refining. Any mistake would turn all previous effort into ashes in an instant. Thus, at this stage, Xiao Yun unleashed all his Soul Perception, carefully controlling the temperature of the flames without daring to lose focus for even a moment.

Fortunately, whether because refining pills for Zi Yan had given Xiao Yun more practice or because his Soul Power had grown stronger, the entire pill-fusion process went very smoothly. After several hours, a somewhat pitted pill gradually emerged within the flames.

Seeing this, Xiao Yun finally breathed a sigh of relief. His hands swiftly formed seals as his Soul Power guided the remaining medicinal liquid in the flames, gradually filling in the pill's pits. Once the medicinal liquid was completely depleted, the pill became an extremely smooth purple pill. A rich pill fragrance instantly spilled out, filling the entire cultivation room with a faint medicinal aroma.

"Pill formed!" A soft shout echoed through the room. Purple light flashed within the medicinal cauldron, and Xiao Yun caught a round pill between two fingers. Looking at the little thing that had taken nearly half a day to make, he tried to stand, only for his legs to go weak and nearly send him stumbling. He could not help but smile bitterly. "A Fourth-Tier Peak Pill really is exhausting. This one pill nearly cost me my life."

The Dou Qi in his body had long been on the verge of depletion, and his mental energy had been excessively drained. While refining, he had been too focused to notice, but now that it was over, all he wanted was to find a place to lie down and sleep properly. In the end, his cultivation level was still too low. If he were a Dou Ling, he would not have ended up in such a sorry state.

"I'll sleep here. No one's going to disturb me anyway." Xiao Yun looked around but did not step forward to remove the Azure Fire Crystal Card. He was not short on such trifling sums now. What was wrong with paying to sleep in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower?

The next day

Dong!

The ancient toll of a bell rang through the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, waking Xiao Yun from his pleasant sleep.

"Mmm, that felt so good." Now fully awake, Xiao Yun stretched lazily. Listening to the crisp crackling of his bones, he let out a long breath.

Within the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, where fire-element energy was abundant, merely sleeping for a night had restored his body to peak condition. He could now consume the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill and attempt to break through to the Dou Ling realm.

With that thought in mind, Xiao Yun pushed open the door and entered the corridor within the Ancient Pagoda. Watching large numbers of students with red light glowing in their eyes hurry out of the pagoda, he hesitated briefly before moving against the crowd toward the center of the Ancient Pagoda. The entrance to the next level was there, and breaking through to Dou Ling required a massive amount of natural energy. Only the lower levels of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower could meet that requirement.

Moving against the crowd, Xiao Yun circulated the Dou Qi within his body and made it cling to his skin. This way, anyone who bumped into him would be bounced away. Since the amount of Dou Qi was small, it would only push people aside without harming them. Using this method, Xiao Yun moved swiftly through the crowd. In less than ten minutes, he arrived at the center of the Ancient Pagoda.

Looking at the entrance leading to the next level, Xiao Yun strode forward. Just as he was about to enter, he noticed something wrong with the space at the entrance.

"Is this... a spatial barrier?"

This was Xiao Yun's first time at the entrance. He had not expected to encounter this. Somewhat speechless, he looked up at the sky. The Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower truly was full of mechanisms. There was even a spatial barrier placed at the entrance.

"Of course it's a spatial barrier. It's there to stop certain overconfident little fellows from sneaking down below." An aged voice sounded, followed by a figure appearing beside Xiao Yun.

"Elder Liu, hehe, you aren't talking about me, are you?" Upon seeing the figure's face, Xiao Yun greeted him with a grin.

Elder Liu glanced at Xiao Yun and said irritably, "Brat, don't you know that you aren't allowed to run around inside the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower when the ancient bell sounds? Besides, you haven't even adapted to the first level yet, and you already want to go lower?"

Hearing Elder Liu's words, Xiao Yun smiled sheepishly. "No, Elder Liu. I want to break through to Dou Ling and need a large amount of natural energy, so I wanted to take a look at the lower levels. Besides, I've already adapted to the first level. Even if I hadn't, I brought Ice Heart Pills." As if afraid Elder Liu would not believe him, he released a trace of his aura.

Feeling Xiao Yun's aura, shock appeared on Elder Liu's face. He said in surprise, "I remember you only broke through to Eight-Star Da Dou Shi a few days ago. Now you're about to break through to Dou Ling again?"

"I had a few fortuitous encounters, nothing more. And this time, I plan to consume the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill and see whether I can use the opportunity to break through to Dou Ling."

"Fine, but don't be too hasty. Although the Heart Flame in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower can temper you when breaking through with pills, it is still ultimately improper. Unless you've been stuck at a realm for a long time, it's best not to rely on pills." After hearing Xiao Yun's explanation, the surprise on Elder Liu's face faded somewhat, but he still spoke earnestly.

"I understand, Elder Liu. Then can you let me cultivate in the lower levels?"

Staring into Xiao Yun's eyes, Elder Liu placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let me sense the condition of the Dou Qi in your body." As he spoke, a stream of Dou Qi passed through Elder Liu's arm and entered Xiao Yun's body. Hearing this, Xiao Yun steadied his mind and lowered his Dou Qi's defensive barrier, allowing Elder Liu's Dou Qi to circulate smoothly through his body once.

"Hmm, the Dou Qi in your body is unexpectedly solid, without the slightest trace of instability." After sensing the state of Xiao Yun's Dou Qi, Elder Liu pondered for a moment. The astonishment on his face deepened as he said, "Since that is the case, and you have your reasons, I'll make an exception this once. Follow me."

With that, Elder Liu's figure flashed as he quickly arrived at the entrance. Light flashed from his Storage Ring, and he took out a jade tablet, pressing it into an inconspicuous groove in the wall beside them. Immediately afterward, the space ahead rippled. Within only a few blinks, Xiao Yun discovered that the spatial barrier before him had dissipated.

"The spatial barrier is gone. Hurry down. Remember, if you can't endure the scorching Heart Flame below, go rest in the outermost resting room on the second level. When the tower gates open tomorrow, return to the first level." Elder Liu patted Xiao Yun's shoulder as he reminded him.

"Thank you for the reminder, Elder Liu. I'm going down now." After bowing to Elder Liu, Xiao Yun turned and headed toward the spiral staircase below.