The Fire Banyan Ruins.
Dressed in black robes, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged before the crater of fire, his eyes closed. A vast amount of Spiritual Strength surged outward from between his brows, transforming into two invisible hands that reached towards the crater.
As soon as the Spiritual Strength approached, the dense magma beneath the crater seemed to sense it, churning violently and unleashing a wave of intense heat. Then, a wisp of purple flame suddenly ignited from above, and under the influence of the Spiritual Strength, the surging heat of the magma was easily neutralized.
Then, the flames slowly descended, rapidly expanding into a raging inferno as they entered the crater, completely engulfing the space below. The medicinal herbs that had been floating above the lava were also swallowed up by the Heavenly Flames.
"Hehe, this little fellow is quite impolite. Beneath that magma, my Volcanic Stone Flame intensified the refining process, yet he managed to suppress even that."
Sensing the situation inside the crater, Huo Qing 'Elder Zhang face broke into a smile. The young girl beside him, however, looked hopefully at Xiao Yan's retreating figure, her delicate lips pouting as she asked in confusion:
"Grandpa Huo Qing, even you aren't very confident. Do you think Senior Xiao Yan can succeed?"
"Hey, little girl, you dare to tease this old man..."
Huo Qing gently tapped the girl's forehead with his finger, and she immediately stuck out her tongue, shrank her neck, and gave an embarrassed smile.
"Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. I consider myself to have started cultivating quite early, which this young fellow naturally cannot match. However, when it comes to alchemy, with such a foundation, looking across the continent, there are probably only a handful of young people who can surpass him."
Upon hearing this, Huo Xing and his sister exchanged bewildered glances, both seeing a deep sense of shock in each other's eyes. They naturally had no doubt about Huo Qing's words, but such high praise was truly astonishing.
"Hiss..."
Meanwhile, inside the crater, under the scorching heat of the Heavenly Flames, the medicinal herbs rapidly shed their outer shells, and their essence was gradually extracted, some as powder, some as viscous paste, and some as liquid rich in violent energy. Hundreds of medicinal herbs were refined by Xiao Yan's Heavenly Flames in just a few hours, and the subsequent process was also completed in one go by Xiao Yan.
With the pill formula given by Huo Qing, Xiao Yan had gained a considerable understanding of the Fire Spirit Pill. Many of the medicinal materials were sourced in a rather unconventional and daring way. However, judging from the formula, the pill's grade was only the low seventh rank. With Xiao Yan's current alchemy skills, it wouldn't be too difficult for him to refine it.
In the blink of an eye, five days had passed since the Fire Spirit Pill was refined. Huo Rong and her brother had been guarding this place all day, their eyes fixed on the fire pit in the center of the giant pit, their eyes full of curiosity.
Although their experience didn't reveal any mystery, the flickering flames within the crater and the faint fragrance of elixirs emanating from the surrounding air brought a look of delight to their faces.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, from the direction of the crater, a dragon's roar containing a special fluctuation suddenly rang out. The two Huo Xing outside immediately turned their gazes and saw that within the crater, amidst the rising flames, a perfectly round, crimson pill was slowly rising into the air. Even more strangely, around the pill, a small dragon formed from the fragrance of the pill was circling continuously. Finally, under the scorching heat of the Heavenly Flames, it gradually shrank and merged into the pill.
"It's done!"
They naturally knew that the transformation of Pill Qi into a dragon was a symbol of top-grade elixirs. However, at the very moment the brother and sister exclaimed in surprise, a large cloud of thunderclouds was rapidly gathering above the giant pit and on the dome of the sky!
" Pill Lightning!"
Upon seeing this, Huo Xing exclaimed in surprise and quickly stepped forward to stand beside Xiao Yan. At the same time, Huo Qing's figure materialized in mid-air. He first glanced at the pills floating above the fire pit, clicked his tongue in amazement, and then slowly descended, respectfully smiling at Xiao Yan:
"Young friend Xiao Yan, your methods are truly remarkable! I admire you!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan, who had just stood up, gently shook his head and sighed:
"Senior, you flatter me. I do have some experience in alchemy, especially since this is only a low-grade seventh-rank pill."
Upon hearing this, Huo Xing and Huo Xin raised their eyebrows even higher. Such a high-level pill was already a luxury for them, but in Xiao Yan's words, it was nothing special. Alchemists are truly an enviable profession!
"Haha, never mind, the most important thing right now is to deal with this Pill Lightning first."
The group chatted incessantly, Huo Qing simply waved his hand, slowly raised his head, and looked up at the thunderclouds in the sky with the others. Huo Qing gently twirled his wooden staff, and his figure was about to step into the air, but he was stopped by Xiao Yan.
"Senior, leave this Pill Lightning to me."
Upon hearing this, Huo Qing was taken aback, then hurriedly replied:
"Young man, you've only just finished refining the pill. Even if you're immune to this Pill Lightning in your current state, you'll still suffer greatly if you try to take it. With me here, I can't possibly make you take action again."
Xiao Yan shook his head with a wry smile, silently cursing to himself. Then, he flicked his finger, and with a flash of light beside him, the purplish-black Northern King appeared. He then glanced at Huo Qing and chuckled:
"Senior, this Pill Lightning has some use for me, so please leave it to me."
After the Northern King absorbed the Lei Yuan last time, his strength has now officially reached the Mid-Stage Eight-Star Yuan Zong. If he can absorb this Pill Lightning this time, who knows how much his strength will increase?
Upon seeing this peculiar puppet, Huo Qing was taken aback once again. Although he had noticed it before, he had only glanced at it briefly and had not observed it closely. Now that he saw it in person, this puppet covered in Long Lin seemed quite different. However, seeing Xiao Yan's confident expression, he did not want to stop him any further. He nodded and stepped aside.
"Young man, since you insist on this, I cannot force you. However, there is one thing: if anything unusual happens, I will intervene. Please do not blame me."
"Thank you so much, senior!"
Xiao Yan nodded with a smile, his gaze fixed on the sky, his eyes sharpening as he pointed lightly and said in a deep voice:
" Northern King, go!"
The moment the command was uttered, the Northern King's body sank slightly, and then shot into the sky like a cannonball. Amidst the rolling thunderclouds, lightning gathered like a coiled dragon, and the Northern King charged straight into the thunderclouds, engaging in a fierce battle with them!