Feng Lingtian woke when daylight spilled down from above the valley. Morning light passed through the mist rising from the hot springs, casting several soft shafts of light onto the alchemy platform. The air held the faint pungency of sulfur and the fresh bitterness of vegetation; mingled together, they instead left one feeling clearheaded.
Feng Lingtian emerged from the stone house and opened Lingtian's Notes, finding the key deductions for the Immortal Herbs used in the three pills he would refine today-Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum: steady fire and slow simmering, with Soul Power supporting it from beneath; Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone: utmost gentleness, neither speed nor haste, with Soul Power divided into threads to permeate it; Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid: nurture over a gentle flame, with the supplementary ingredients going in first. These three pills differed from the previous four batches-the first four had honed the precision of his control over the heat, whereas these final three tested his spiritual power and temperament. He had to quiet himself and keep his composure.
Feng Lingtian approached the alchemy platform, pressed his palm against the furnace wall, and slowly poured in Soul Power. The furnace fire lit. He planned to refine the Vajra Limit-Expansion Pill first-with Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum as its main ingredient, supplemented by Metalstone Vine and Ironbone Grass, it could break through the strength limits of Power Attack System and Defense System Soul Masters. Feng Lingtian opened the jade box, cut off several petals with a jade knife, and placed them in the furnace. The instant the petals entered, the entire furnace sank a fraction, but this time he responded with greater composure-he layered his Soul Power faster, immediately replacing each layer as it was crushed. Two hours later, Feng Lingtian lifted the lid, and a bronze sheen spilled up from the bottom. Eleven Vajra Limit-Expansion Pills, each heavy in the hand, as though a mountain had been compressed into a fingernail.
Feng Lingtian did not stop. He pressed his palm against the furnace wall again and poured in Soul Power once more. Next came the Ice Muscle Limit-Expansion Pill-with Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone as its main ingredient, supplemented by Ice Marrow Flower, it could gently nourish the meridians and increase female Soul Masters' affinity for Soul Power. He opened the crystal bottle, removed a small section of stem and leaves, and placed it in the furnace. The furnace fire was mild as spring water, and his Soul Power separated into exceedingly fine threads, winding around it one by one, as carefully as a spiderweb cradling dewdrops. Two hours later, the fire went out. Nine Ice Muscle Limit-Expansion Pills lay quietly at the bottom of the furnace, like pearls condensed from moonlight falling on water, glowing with an exceedingly faint, lustrous white sheen.
Only the final batch remained: the Mundane-Cleansing Origin-Fortifying Pill. Feng Lingtian did not rush to fire up the furnace. Two consecutive batches had consumed a considerable amount of Soul Power, but more importantly, the core of the Mundane-Cleansing Origin-Fortifying Pill lay in a single word: stillness-with Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid as its main ingredient, supplemented by Heart-Clearing Grass and Foundation-Fortifying Flower, it could remove impurities from the body and remedy flaws in one's constitution. If his heart was not still, the medicinal properties would disperse. Feng Lingtian sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and let his breathing slow little by little. The hot springs in the valley bubbled in the distance, while the cold pool's surface remained utterly motionless. He sat like that for a quarter of an hour, only opening his eyes and rekindling the furnace fire once his heartbeat and breathing were both steady and even.
Once ready, Feng Lingtian opened the bamboo box, plucked several petals from the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, and placed them in the furnace. This time, his Soul Power was no longer taut, but calmly enveloped the medicinal properties within the furnace like the waters of the cold pool. The supplementary ingredients went in first, followed by the main ingredient, as the gentle flame slowly carried the process forward. Two hours later, the fire went out. Ten Mundane-Cleansing Origin-Fortifying Pills glimmered pale blue-green at the bottom of the furnace, as clean as the sky when it first cleared after rain.
Seven Immortal Herbs, seven kinds of pills-at last, they were all finished. Feng Lingtian bottled the pills one by one and let out a long breath. From the fiercest fire to the stillest water, he had made it through every kind. How good that felt.
Feng Lingtian did not rest immediately. The seven kinds of Immortal Herb pills were for his teammates, but on this trip to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he also wanted to bring some pills home for his parents. His mother, Bai Qingyin, had suffered damage to all her internal organs, and her old injuries required long-term gentle nourishment. Drawing on the medicinal principles for nourishing the five organs in the True Explanation of the Dao of Alchemy, combined with his own understanding of medicinal properties, Feng Lingtian created a pill specifically for his mother and named it the Meridian-Warming Pill. This batch did not require Immortal Herbs; all its ingredients were ordinary medicinal herbs growing around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, but he had carefully selected every one. The furnace fire burned mildly, neither hurried nor restless, and the medicinal properties slowly fused over the gentle flame. An hour later, the fire went out, leaving several light-brown pills at the bottom. The Meridian-Warming Pills were complete.
Feng Lingtian placed the Meridian-Warming Pills in a small jade bottle and made a point of sticking a label on it bearing the word "Mother." After a moment's thought, he gathered several more herbs from the medicinal garden that fortified the foundation and nourished one's origin. His father, Feng Qingxuan, was striving to reach Titled Douluo, consuming enormous amounts of Soul Power, and needed pills to consolidate his foundation. Feng Lingtian adjusted the proportions according to the characteristics of his father's Soul Power and named this pill the Soul-Fortifying Pill. Soul Power flowed slowly into the furnace, and the fire burned mildly. An hour later, the Soul-Fortifying Pills were finished as well. He placed them in another small jade bottle and attached a label reading "Father."
Only after putting away his parents' pills did Feng Lingtian pack all the pills together into his storage pouch. He took out the resonance stone and infused it with a wisp of Soul Power, bringing a faint glow to the surface of the dark blue-green, round stone. Dugu Bo should receive the signal and come over soon. He cleaned the alchemy platform, closed his notes and tucked them into his robes, then walked to the entrance of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's valley and sat down against the rock wall. Morning light now filled the entire valley, and the hot springs still bubbled in the distance.
With everything completely finished, the tension he had maintained for days finally eased entirely. Exhaustion surged over him like a tide, but greater still was his satisfaction. Feng Lingtian could feel that his meridians were clearer than before, and his Soul Power flowed somewhat faster as well. Every batch of pills he had refined these past few days had tempered his Soul Power. The barrier at rank twenty-six had long since loosened, and now, as his spiritual power relaxed, his Soul Power surged upward in one rush and settled firmly at rank twenty-seven.
Not long after Feng Lingtian sat down beside the rock wall, a heart-quaking disturbance suddenly arose deep within Sunset Forest. Birds and beasts scattered in alarm, ancient trees trembled, and the terrifying pressure of a Titled Douluo bore down upon the valley entrance without restraint.
Feng Lingtian snapped his head up and saw a jade-green figure sweep through a skyful of fallen leaves, appearing above the valley entrance in an instant. As Dugu Bo landed, his steps abruptly halted. He did not look at Feng Lingtian immediately. Instead, as though he had discovered a new continent, he sniffed hard, an expression of extreme astonishment and uncertainty appearing on his face.
"This smell..." Dugu Bo frowned, his gaze sweeping over the empty valley entrance before finally settling on Feng Lingtian. "It isn't poison, nor is it any of the medicinal herbs I know. But this medicinal fragrance that nourishes the meridians, fortifies the foundation, and replenishes one's origin is actually purer than those nameless, strange flowers in my valley?"
Although Dugu Bo could not recognize the Immortal Herbs and did not even know what Feng Lingtian had just refined, as an expert who had spent a lifetime working with poisons and medicines, his perception of medicinal properties was exceptionally keen. The lingering traces of several kinds of supreme-quality pills mingled in the air, making even a Titled Douluo like him feel his Qi and blood flow more smoothly. Even the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor Poison within him seemed to have quieted somewhat.
Dugu Bo strode up to Feng Lingtian, a sharp gleam bursting from his jade-green serpentine pupils, his tone carrying a gravity it had never held before. "Brat, just what did you do? Why has the air in this valley suddenly become so 'nourishing'?"
Meeting his gaze, Feng Lingtian nodded calmly without revealing the truth about the Immortal Herbs. "I only refined a few kinds of pills to help my family and teammates regulate their bodies. Senior, all the pills are finished. Please take me back."
Dugu Bo looked deeply at the boy before him, who was only somewhere in the twenties in rank. Although he could not smell the familiar scent of poisonous herbs, he could sense that Feng Lingtian's presence had grown more rounded and substantial than it had been several days ago.
"All right," Dugu Bo said, suppressing his doubts, his voice deep and firm. Then a teasing smile curled his lips. "Since you're finished, let's go. Otherwise, after I've kept you away from the academy for so long, people might think I abducted you for some shady business."
At that, Feng Lingtian could not help smiling, amused by the old man's deadpan joke. He briskly shouldered his pack and casually straightened the front of his robes, his movements light and composed.
"You jest, Senior. Let's be off."
The two exchanged a glance, then swept out of the valley one after the other. Behind them, deep within Sunset Forest, pairs of greedy eyes seemed to be watching the place where that strange medicinal fragrance had just dispersed...