Xu Taiping tilted his head back to look at the rainbow pillar disappearing into the hall's roof. Smelling the medicinal fragrance that had begun spilling continuously from the pill furnace, he finally took a deep breath, lowered his head, and asked Ping'an:
"Ping'an, when will this batch of Soul-Merging Pills be ready?"
Ping'an did not answer immediately. Instead, he pressed a hand against the furnace wall, closed his eyes, and focused, using Mind-Heart Communication to sense the pills inside.
Xu Taiping waited quietly beside him.
A moment later, Ping'an finally opened his eyes and looked gravely at Xu Taiping.
"Eldest Brother, this batch of Soul-Merging Pills will need at least another half month. Taking them out even a day early-or even an hour-could undo all our efforts."
When Xu Taiping heard Ping'an say that the pills would need at least another half month before they were ready, his expression likewise grew grave.
Only after a long while did he nod gently.
"Ping'an, keep watching the pill furnace. Leave the rest to me."
Knowing full well how important these Soul-Merging Pills were to Xu Taiping, Ping'an dispensed with courtesies and nodded.
"All right, Eldest Brother!"
After leaving the main hall, Xu Taiping woke Old Daoist Huang and explained to them:
"The heavens phenomena when the Soul-Merging Pills emerge will inevitably draw nearby demonic beasts and cultivators. The pills still need at least half a month, so we must think of ways in advance to stop them from being snatched away."
The big orange cat that Old Daoist Huang had become frowned.
"With my current fighting strength, I'm afraid I couldn't even handle a Heaven Shocking Realm cultivator."
Dahei, however, volunteered:
"Master, this servant's fighting strength has improved again over the past half year. You can send this servant to intercept