Dragon Power Pill

After entering the Golden Core stage, the Xiantian true qi within him had transformed into the higher-level purple-gold core flame.

This meant he could finally cast off mortal limitations and begin refining genuine pills and artifacts of the cultivation world.

With the system's tenfold critical return, he did not actually lack ordinary cultivation resources.

As long as he kept giving things to Qin Yu, Qin De, and the others, the system would keep returning higher-grade treasures to him.

"But the problem is, even the cleverest cook can't make a meal without rice." Qin Chen frowned slightly.

The Qianlong Continent was, after all, only a Mortal Realm, with thin spiritual energy and meager resources. Finding century-old blood ginseng or thousand-year-old spirit herbs here was already the limit. The medicinal herbs several thousand years old, or rare treasures containing special laws, needed to refine miraculous pills for Golden Core stage cultivators were nothing but legends on the Qianlong Continent, all but extinct.

Without basic materials, he could not refine high-grade pills; without high-grade pills to give away, the system could not trigger higher-level returns. It was a vicious cycle.

"Since I can't make a leap in high-end combat power for now, I'll start with the foundations at the bottom." Qin Chen's gaze gradually sharpened. "The Chu Family has an army a million strong. Although our Qin Family has the Fierce Tiger Army, we're still at a disadvantage in numbers. If Father wants to raise troops in rebellion, what he lacks most is an invincible iron army whose soldiers can each fight ten men, or even a hundred!"

The Dragon-Tiger Pills had been a reward returned by the system earlier. He had once asked Qin De to secretly gather the materials to refine them, and now the time had come.

Qin Chen then wrote to Qin De, telling him he could now refine Dragon-Tiger Pills.

Afterward, under Qin De's secret arrangements, cartload after cartload of precious medicinal ingredients was covertly delivered to the underground chamber at Cloudmist Manor.

Inside the chamber, Qin Chen sat cross-legged before a bronze medicinal cauldron half a person's height.

Although the cauldron was merely a mortal object, reinforced by Qin Chen's Golden Core stage cultivation, it could just barely withstand the high temperatures of pill refinement.

"Rise!"

Qin Chen flicked a finger, and a wisp of purple-gold flame flew from his fingertip, instantly landing beneath the cauldron.

This was precisely the purple-gold core flame nurtured at his Golden Core stage. Its temperature was extraordinarily high, and it contained a trace of lightning's powers of destruction and life.

Qin Chen fed medicinal ingredients into the cauldron one after another, his movements flowing like clouds and water.

Refined by the purple-gold core flame, the ingredients yielded their innermost medicinal essence almost instantly, their impurities burned away completely.

Qin Chen formed seals with both hands, sending out one profound pill-gathering incantation after another.

"Condense!"

Accompanied by a medicinal fragrance so rich it seemed impossible to disperse, the cauldron's lid shot skyward. Dozens of round, full, crimson pills, faintly patterned with dragons and tigers, flew out, and Qin Chen deftly collected them in a jade bottle.

"Thirty-six pills in one batch, every one of supreme quality. Refining mortal-grade pills at the Golden Core stage really is an attack from a higher dimension." Qin Chen looked at the Dragon-Tiger Pills in the jade bottle with satisfaction.

Over the next month, Qin Chen transformed completely into a merciless pill-refining machine.

Without resting day or night, relying on the Star Body's freakish recovery and the abundant true qi of his purple-gold lightning core, he forged a full ten thousand Dragon-Tiger Pills through sheer effort!

When Qin Chen secretly arrived at the Eastern Pacifying Prince's Residence with several large wooden chests filled with Dragon-Tiger Pills and set them before his father, Qin De, the King Who Guards the East, who would not change expression even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, completely lost his composure.

"These... these are all Dragon-Tiger Pills that can let people break through to the Houtian Peak?!" With trembling hands, Qin De picked up a crimson pill. Sensing the violent medicinal power within it, his eyes nearly popped out.

"A full ten thousand," Qin Chen said with a smile. "Father, bestow these pills upon the Fierce Tiger Army's most loyal and elite officers and soldiers. In one month, you'll have an iron army of ten thousand Houtian Peak warriors. With this army, Chu State's million troops will be nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs."

Qin De drew a deep breath, a terrifying brilliance bursting from his tiger-like eyes. He understood the strategic value of these ten thousand Dragon-Tiger Pills all too well. This was not merely an increase in strength, but the absolute confidence the Qin Family needed to raise the banner of rebellion and establish dominion over the world!

"Chen'er, you... you truly are the qilin son of our Qin Family! With you here, why should we fear our great undertaking won't succeed!" Qin De was excited beyond measure, patting Qin Chen heavily on the shoulder.

The instant Qin De accepted the ten thousand Dragon-Tiger Pills, the familiar system notifications arrived in Qin Chen's mind as expected, like heavenly music.

[Ding! Detected that the host has gifted Qin De ten thousand Dragon-Tiger Pills!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host! A tenfold critical return reward has been triggered!]

[Distributing reward... Congratulations, host! You have obtained ten thousand supreme-grade Xiantian spirit pills-Dragon Power Pills!]

Qin Chen's heart gave a fierce leap, and his consciousness instantly sank into the system space.

Inside the system space, ten thousand exquisite mutton-fat jade bottles were arranged in neat rows.

Each jade bottle held a pill dark gold throughout, with faint miniature True Dragon phantoms roaming across its surface.

Dragon Power Pills!

These were supreme-grade spirit pills truly suited to the Xiantian realm, and even immensely beneficial to Golden Core stage cultivators!

Dragon-Tiger Pills merely stimulated mortal potential, whereas Dragon Power Pills truly contained an exceedingly faint trace of flood dragon blood essence power.

If a Xiantian expert took one, it could not only instantly replenish all their true qi but also greatly strengthen their body and broaden their meridians. It even offered a chance for a Xiantian Paragon expert to glimpse an opportunity to break through to the Golden Core stage.

Ten thousand Dragon Power Pills... Qin Chen laughed wildly inwardly.

He had just been worrying that the Heavenly Cycle Star Body was a bottomless pit, with insufficient energy to ignite the second Micro Star-Dust.

These ten thousand Dragon Power Pills were truly charcoal delivered in the snow!

Although the energy level of Dragon Power Pills was not enough for him to directly ignite large quantities of Star-Dust, the immense vital energy and spiritual power contained in ten thousand of them combined would definitely raise his Star Body another level. They could even fully stabilize the first Star-Dust and begin nurturing the embryonic form of the second.

"Father, I'll leave the army's reorganization and training to you. I still need to enter seclusion for a while to digest some insights," Qin Chen told Qin De, forcibly suppressing his urge to swallow the Dragon Power Pills immediately.

"Good! Good! Go into seclusion without worry. Your father will handle matters outside," Qin De said with a hearty laugh.

Leaving the residence, Qin Chen turned into a streak of purple-gold light under cover of night and returned once more to the secret chamber at Cloudmist Manor.

He sat cross-legged and, without hesitation, took out a bottle of Dragon Power Pills and tipped out a dark-gold pill.

The moment the pill left the bottle, it actually gave an exceedingly faint dragon's roar, seemingly trying to break free as though it possessed sentience.

"Submit!"

Qin Chen snorted coldly and swallowed the Dragon Power Pill outright.

Boom!

The instant the pill entered his belly, it transformed into a gigantic, violent dragon of dark-gold energy, rampaging through Qin Chen's meridians.

Yet before this energy could wreak havoc, the faint Star-Dust within Qin Chen's Shanzhong acupoint flickered slightly, unleashing a terrifying devouring force that tore the energy dragon apart and greedily absorbed it.

Sensing that the Star-Dust within him had grown a little brighter, Qin Chen's lips curved in satisfaction.

Then he tipped another pill into his mouth.