Great Sun Divine Pill

"Insolent! You've got some nerve!"

The Golden Flood Dragon flew into a rage. "You bald Daoist, I have guarded this place for tens of thousands of years. Everything here is mine! Touching my things—you're courting death!"

As soon as the words fell, the Golden Flood Dragon opened its blood basin of a mouth and spat out a golden pillar of light straight at Red Cloud.

Red Cloud flashed aside, seemingly ignoring the obstruction of the lake water as he effortlessly evaded the beam.

The Golden Flood Dragon's attack struck the canyon wall. With a thunderous boom, it blasted a massive hole into the rock face.

"What terrifying power."

Red Cloud silently raised his guard.

Next, the Golden Flood Dragon spat out several more beams of light in succession, but Red Cloud dodged every one of them.

"Bald Daoist, die!"

The Golden Flood Dragon roared. Golden light blazed from its body as it transformed into a bolt of golden lightning and pounced at Red Cloud.

Red Cloud no longer dodged. He shook the small flag-like Firecloud Banner in his hand, and it immediately expanded.

The Firecloud Banner was entirely crimson, emanating faint fiery radiance and rosy clouds. Hazy fire clouds spread out, holding back the lake water.

"Literary Dao divine ability, Stroke of Divine Inspiration."

Red Cloud lightly swiped at the Golden Flood Dragon.

A red beam shot from the Firecloud Banner and transformed into a flaming sword. The Golden Flood Dragon's body was cleaved in two before it could even let out a scream.

The Golden Flood Dragon's corpse slowly sank to the bottom of the canyon, then began to dissolve into the water.

Red Cloud calmly put away the Firecloud Banner. Looking at the Golden Flood Dragon's corpse, he made a slight beckoning gesture.

A pale-golden Sunflame Mystic Stone flew over.

A Peak-Stage Golden Immortal powerhouse could not even withstand a single move before the Firecloud Banner. Such was the might of a spirit treasure—it could unleash power several times greater than one's own.

Once Water Beasts were killed, they turned into water. If they did not drop a Flame Yang Stone or Sunflame Mystic Stone, it meant one had fought bitterly only to end up with nothing.

Red Cloud looked at the Golden Flood Dragon's Sunflame Mystic Stone. A dragon-shaped phantom swam within it, clearly indicating its exceptional quality.

"This Sunflame Mystic Stone is even better than the Golden-Scaled Demon Crocodile's. It is enough to improve my physical body further."

Overjoyed, Red Cloud left the canyon and found a secluded spot to prepare for pill refinement.

It was an underwater cave, enclosed by natural stone walls and extending deep into the mountain range, making it difficult to discover.

Red Cloud set restrictions at the cave entrance and throughout the cave, then took out a pill furnace and spiritual herbs and began refining the Great Sun Divine Pill.

Red Cloud sat cross-legged on a prayer mat. Before him stood a pill furnace of reddish gold, its body covered in lifelike Four Symbols cloud-seal patterns, as though they might manifest into the world at any moment.

Samadhi True Fire continuously baked the pill furnace.

"Sunlight Divine Water, Golden Crow Grass..."

Seeing that the heat was sufficient, Red Cloud flicked his sleeve, and a mass of Sunlight Divine Water floated out from the Jade Dew Bottle.

The Sunlight Divine Water was crystal-clear, yet it seemed to contain a miniature sun within, radiating golden brilliance too dazzling to gaze upon. This single mass made the air within a hundred zhang scorch and warp.

His hand seals shifted in rapid succession, and the Sunlight Divine Water fell into the furnace. The pill furnace immediately hummed and trembled, its Four Symbols patterns seemingly coming alive as the phantoms of the Four Symbols became vividly apparent.

When the Sunlight Divine Water began to simmer, Red Cloud's expression turned grave. With a flip of his right hand, a stalk of Golden Crow Grass appeared in his palm.

The Golden Crow Grass seemed forged from pure gold. Fine patterns covered every leaf, resembling the feathers of the Great Sun Golden Crow and emitting scorching Sun Power.

The instant the Golden Crow Grass entered the furnace, the pill furnace shook violently, but Red Cloud forcibly suppressed it.

Refined by the Samadhi True Fire, the essence of the Golden Crow Grass was extracted and merged into the Sunlight Divine Water.

Suddenly, within the pill furnace, a blazing sun hung in the sky, as though all the yang energy between heaven and earth were converging into the furnace.

Next, Red Cloud continuously added all kinds of spiritual herbs. The blazing sun seemed to transform into a living Three-Legged Golden Crow, circling the pill furnace three times before letting out a clear cry and greedily devouring stalk after stalk of spiritual herbs.

As the spiritual herbs merged into it, the Three-Legged Golden Crow transformed once more into a mass of blazing white true fire.

The most perilous moment of pill refinement had arrived.

The Sunlight Divine Water was extremely yang, while the Golden Crow Grass was pure yang. When the two met, they would inevitably ignite yang fire that could burn the heavens.

Ordinary pill refinement emphasized "balancing yin and yang, using yin to restrain yang," but the Great Sun Divine Pill defied common sense. It deliberately went against the grain, refining yang with yang.

To refine the Great Sun Divine Pill, the yang fire had to be layered upon layer until it reached a critical point. At the instant before it burned everything to ashes, extreme yang would give birth to yin, and Yin-Yang would reverse.

The slightest mistake would mean the pill destroyed and the refiner dead.

Time sped by. Fine beads of sweat seeped from Red Cloud's forehead, each one instantly vaporized by the intense heat.

At this moment, his hands fluttered like butterflies among flowers, constantly changing pill seals as his mana surged into the pill furnace like a tide.

The pill furnace emitted muffled roars like rolling thunder, as though an ancient Fierce Beast were roaring within.

"Hah, suppress it!"

Red Cloud shouted lowly. Astonishing momentum erupted from his body, and formation patterns appeared beneath him.

These patterns formed the Extreme Yang Spirit-Locking Formation Red Cloud had spent decades carving. At this moment, the grand formation operated at full force, transforming into crimson chains that coiled around the pill furnace.

The roaring from within the furnace grew increasingly violent.

The furnace lid rattled under the impact of firelight, while blinding golden rays burst from the gaps in the pill furnace.

Red Cloud knew the most critical moment was near. The instant extreme yang gave birth to yin would vanish in a flash.

The next instant, Red Cloud abruptly withdrew all his mana. His pill seals shifted, turning offense into defense.

Inside the pill furnace, the violent yang fire lost its suppression and frantically lashed back. Red Cloud gritted his teeth and held on.

Just as the yang fire reached its utmost limit, even beginning to melt the furnace itself, heaven and earth suddenly fell silent.

It was not a silence without sound, but a stillness that transcended sound—a great sound that was scarcely heard.

The golden radiance filling the sky abruptly drew in. All heat, violence, and destruction instantly collapsed inward.

A long, distant cry rang out from the pill furnace.

Seven golden halos rippled out from the furnace, melting even the stone walls into flowing lava.

A faint smile appeared on Red Cloud's face. He slowly opened the furnace lid, and three round, plump pills flew out.

Each emitted a gentle glow, no longer dazzling but carrying the warmth of a spring breeze. Faint golden patterns flowed across their surfaces, and upon closer inspection, they depicted Three-Legged Golden Crows spreading their wings and soaring.

The Great Sun Divine Pills had reached the seventh turn. Three pills from one furnace—Red Cloud had not expected to succeed on his very first attempt.

Red Cloud took out a jade bottle and carefully stored the pills inside. These were the key to his breakthrough.

Rather than leave, Red Cloud took out the Sunflame Mystic Stones of the Golden-Scaled Demon Crocodile and the Golden Flood Dragon. Since he had started, he might as well see it through and cultivate here to break through his bottleneck.

The energy within the Sunflame Mystic Stones surged into Red Cloud's body like a tide. Red Cloud circulated the Red Cloud Dao Scripture, using the Blazing Sun Power to continuously temper his physical body.

The Sunflame Mystic Stones of the Golden-Scaled Demon Crocodile and the Golden Flood Dragon were of extremely high quality, especially the Golden Flood Dragon's Sunflame Mystic Stone. Its energy was exceptionally pure, with almost no impurities.

Red Cloud's physical body improved at a snail's pace. By the time both Sunflame Mystic Stones had been completely refined, his body still had not broken through. He remained a Late-Stage Golden Immortal.

"Continue!"

Red Cloud took out a Great Sun Divine Pill and swallowed it. The pill transformed into a hot current that struck against his bottleneck.

Boom!

The bottleneck loosened by a fraction.

Red Cloud continued swallowing Great Sun Divine Pills.