Time passed quickly.
Nearly a month slipped by just like that.
Over that month, nothing major happened in the Jia Ma Empire. Everything remained peaceful.
As for the Snake-People Tribe, after hearing what Chen Xuan told them and witnessing the gulf between themselves and a supreme expert like Jia Xingtian, they had been deeply shaken. Aside from handling routine affairs, they devoted all their remaining time to cultivation.
After all, they knew full well that the Snake-People Tribe would soon relocate to the Black-Corner Region. That was a place where only the strong survived. Without absolute strength, only death awaited them.
Even the other members of the Snake-People Tribe could not help working harder when they saw their many leaders cultivating so diligently.
For a time, a frenzy of cultivation seemed to sweep through the entire Snake-People Tribe.
Meanwhile, inside the Snake-People Tribe's Sacred Hall, Chen Xuan wore a solemn expression as the Dou Qi energy in his hand condensed into a mass of tangible yellow flame.
Before him stood a deep-black cauldron engraved with a giant serpent, while beside him lay two crystalline cores radiating red and green energy.
"Take it slowly. It doesn't matter if you fail."
As Queen Medusa watched Chen Xuan's movements, her gentle voice flowed straight into his mind.
Hum!
At her words, Chen Xuan's expression grew slightly more solemn. He raised his right hand a little, and a deep-yellow flame emerged in the air. Then another yellow flame surged from his other palm and shot straight into the Snake-People King Cauldron.
The scorching flames burned in the air, and soon a searing wave of heat could be felt all around.
Just as the flames reached their highest temperature, Chen Xuan's expression sharpened. With a slight movement of his right hand, he placed a fourth-tier fire magic core directly into the Medicine Cauldron.
Hiss, hiss!
The scorching flames made direct contact with the fourth-tier magic core, producing a series of hisses. Soon, it melted into a mass of fiery-red liquid.
Now! The instant he saw the fourth-tier fire magic core turn to liquid, a gleam flashed in Chen Xuan's eyes. With a movement of his palm, a fourth-tier magic core containing wood energy and a medicinal ingredient emitting an eerie green glow entered the Medicine Cauldron at once.
A fourth-tier wood magic core and a soul-piercing leaf.
These were all essential ingredients for refining the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill, a peak fourth-grade pill.
Like the fourth-tier fire magic core, the two ingredients melted directly into two masses of liquid upon touching the scorching flames inside the Medicine Cauldron.
Boom!
A powerful surge of medicinal energy burst from the Medicine Cauldron, making even the deep-yellow flames under Chen Xuan's control tremble.
"Now comes the crucial moment. Using flames to refine the ingredients isn't difficult. What matters most is fusing them together perfectly. That's the hardest part."
Chen Xuan watched the three masses of liquid energy inside the Medicine Cauldron, his expression grave.
His many previous failures had all resulted from unstable energy during the fusion stage, which caused the cauldron to explode.
This step required extraordinarily precise control over the heat to fuse the three medicinal liquids perfectly.
To control the proportions of the three medicinal liquids while also monitoring the heat, he had to divide his attention between two tasks.
The slightest discrepancy in either the proportions of the three medicinal liquids or the temperature of the flames would cause the cauldron to explode.
This was why high-ranking alchemists held such exalted status on the Dou Qi Continent.
There were simply too few alchemists capable of reaching this level!
Even this peak fourth-grade pill was so difficult to refine, let alone the work of higher-ranking alchemists.
The hardships involved in becoming a truly supreme alchemist were beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
Chen Xuan's expression was now utterly solemn. His soul power poured out, enveloping the three portions of medicinal liquid energy.
Then he began by guiding the wood magic core liquid and the soul-piercing leaf's energy liquid into the fourth-tier fire magic core liquid, little by little.
Hiss, hiss, hiss!
As the three streams of energy slowly merged, a series of hisses rang out, signaling that the medicinal liquids had begun to fuse.
As time trickled by, the three medicinal liquids progressed toward complete fusion, step by step.
After a while, all the medicinal liquids could be seen merging completely into one violently fluctuating mass of energy, which was slowly taking the shape of a pill.
"Just one last step!"
Only upon seeing this did Chen Xuan relax a little.
Rumble!
In an instant, Dou Qi energy surged out of Chen Xuan's body. Both his hands rose, and the deep-yellow flames swelled abruptly, engulfing the mass of energy.
There was still one final step before the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill could be successfully refined: removing the impurities.
The deep-yellow flames enveloped the mass of medicinal liquid energy. Under their scorching heat, it slowly condensed into the shape of a pill. Countless black impurities were forced out, and the pill grew ever rounder and smoother.
Hum!
After an unknown length of time, a hum rang out, and the fragrance of a pill drifted from the Medicine Cauldron.
The instant Chen Xuan caught that faint fragrance, delight finally appeared on his face.
It worked!
The deep-yellow flames in his hands slowly faded, and a pill, purple all over and giving off a rich fragrance, appeared in the air.
This was the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill.
A fourth-grade pill capable of allowing a Da Dou Shi expert to advance by one star.
"You succeeded!"
"You really succeeded!"
The instant the pill appeared, Queen Medusa cried out in delight, "You finally refined the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill, a peak fourth-grade pill!"
Indeed!
After an entire month, Chen Xuan had finally succeeded in refining the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill.
Now, he was only one step away from becoming a Fifth-Rank Alchemist.
Having successfully refined the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill, Chen Xuan was highly confident that he could become a Fifth-Rank Alchemist. A year at most, half a year at least—he was certain he could reach that rank.
With a slight movement of his palm, Chen Xuan drew the floating pill into his hand. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and say, "I finally succeeded!"
Knock, knock!
Just as Chen Xuan was marveling at his success, several knocks sounded at the palace door. Leader Yue Mei suddenly entered the great hall and addressed him respectfully. "Your Majesty, the members of the Jia Ma Imperial Family have arrived outside the Holy City. Would you like me to escort them here?"
The Jia Ma Imperial Family?!
At her words, delight appeared on Chen Xuan's face. "Good things really do come in pairs! Hurry and welcome the members of the Jia Ma Imperial Family inside."
The arrival of the Jia Ma Imperial Family could mean only one thing.
The Dou Ling Pills had been successfully refined!
That was eight Dou Ling Pills!
Once those eight Dou Ling Pills were in hand, the strength of the entire Snake-People Tribe would soar once more.
Chen Xuan had not expected the people of the Jia Ma Empire to successfully refine the Dou Ling Pills in just three years.
Before you continue