After leaving the Blazing Sky Tower, Xiao Yan and Mo Chen followed the guidance of the Pill God's Notes and set out for Medicine God Valley in the southeastern Pill Realm.
Unlike the eerie Mist Swamp and the grim Blazing Sky Tower, Medicine God Valley presented an entirely different sight. Spring reigned here all year round, emerald-green medicinal herbs carpeted the ground, and an intoxicating herbal fragrance filled the air. Palm-sized sprites, green from head to toe, could even be seen flitting among the herbs. They were Pill Spirits, unique to the Pill Realm. Gentle by nature, they fed on the spiritual Qi of medicinal herbs.
"So this is Medicine God Valley? It's like a paradise," Mo Chen couldn't help exclaiming as he took in the sight. He had grown up in the Pill Region and seen countless medicinal fields, but never a place so full of life and overflowing with spiritual charm.
Xiao Yan nodded inwardly as well. Not only were the medicinal herbs in Medicine God Valley incredibly varied, but they were also exceptionally old. Spiritual herbs more than a thousand years old grew everywhere, and a few plants gave off a faint rosy radiance-treasures that came along only once in ten thousand years, as anyone could see.
"The Pill God's Notes say there's a Yao Ling Hall at the heart of Medicine God Valley. The fragment of the Heart of the Pill Realm should be there," Xiao Yan said, pointing to a palace shrouded in rosy light at the center of the valley.
The two carefully crossed the medicinal fields, doing their best not to harm the precious herbs. The Pill Spirits didn't seem afraid of strangers and flew curiously around them. A few bolder ones even landed on Xiao Yan's shoulder and sniffed at the scent of Heavenly Flames on him with their little noses.
"These Pill Spirits are so cute." Mo Chen smiled and held out his hand. One Pill Spirit landed on his fingertip and rubbed gently against his skin. A cool stream of spiritual Qi flowed into his body, refreshing his spirits.
Just as the two were about to reach Yao Ling Hall, the medicinal field ahead suddenly shook violently. A giant medicinal plant, a hundred feet tall, rose from the ground, its roots and stalks transforming into dozens of thick vines that lashed at them!
The plant was pitch-black from end to end, with serrated leaves and purple poison sacs covering its roots and stalks. It was clearly a mutated medicinal plant corrupted by dark energy-the Heart-Eroding Vine King.
"Watch out!" Xiao Yan shoved Mo Chen aside. Five-colored Heavenly Flames blazed to life on the Heavy Xuan Ruler-the Heavenly Flames had increased to five kinds after merging with the Pill Realm's Origin Fire-and he met the attacking vines head-on.
Sizzle!
The Heavenly Flames scorched the vines black on contact, but the Heart-Eroding Vine King's regenerative power was immense. New vines soon grew from the severed ends, attacking even more fiercely.
"This thing has been deeply corrupted by dark energy. Ordinary attacks won't work on it," Xiao Yan shouted to Mo Chen as he dodged. "Find its core!"
Mo Chen nodded, circulated his spiritual power, and carefully studied the Heart-Eroding Vine King's movements. The Pill Spirits seemed to sense the threat. They let out shrill cries and fired tiny pellets of spiritual Qi at the Heart-Eroding Vine King. Though not very powerful, the pellets could temporarily hinder its movements.
"There!" Mo Chen's eyes lit up, and he pointed to a lump of flesh glowing black at the Heart-Eroding Vine King's base. "Its core is wrapped in dark energy!"
Xiao Yan looked where he pointed and spotted the lump. Taking a deep breath, he channeled the power of the Origin Stabilizing Divine Stone into his feet and shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. He slipped past layer upon layer of vines and charged straight at the Heart-Eroding Vine King's base.
Roar!
The Heart-Eroding Vine King seemed to sense the danger. All its vines coiled toward Xiao Yan, and its poison sacs burst, sending purple venom raining down.
"Heavenly Flames: Lotus Bloom!"
Xiao Yan gave a low shout, and the five-colored Heavenly Flames gathered before him into a giant lotus of fire, blocking every drop of venom. At the same time, he hurled the Heavy Xuan Ruler. It became a streak of light and shot straight at the black lump.
Puchi!
The Heavy Xuan Ruler pierced the lump, and the five-colored Heavenly Flames erupted, burning away every trace of the dark energy within.
The Heart-Eroding Vine King let out a wretched shriek. Its enormous body began to wither and soon turned into a pile of black ash, leaving behind only a crystal-clear seed with a faint trace of spiritual Qi still lingering on it.
"Is this... the Heart-Eroding Vine King's origin seed?" Mo Chen picked it up and discovered to his surprise that the dark energy within had been purified by the Heavenly Flames, leaving only pure vitality.
Xiao Yan took the seed and could feel the immense life force it contained. "Perhaps we can plant it again. It might grow into a new medicinal plant."
He buried the seed in the soil and infused it with a trace of the Heavenly Flames' power. It quickly sprouted and grew into a small green vine. Though nowhere near its former size, it was full of life and had clearly returned to normal.
The Pill Spirits cried out cheerfully and danced around the newly grown vine.
With the Heart-Eroding Vine King dealt with, the two finally entered Yao Ling Hall.
Yao Ling Hall's architecture was simple and elegant. Many jade bottles and medicinal cauldrons were displayed inside, making it clear that this was where alchemists had refined pills in days past. Above a stone platform in the center of the hall floated a crystal fragment emitting a green light. It was the fourth fragment of the Heart of the Pill Realm!
Beside the fragment lay an ancient medicinal scripture, recording the properties and uses of every medicinal herb in Medicine God Valley. Several pages even described how to nurture Pill Spirits and have them assist in pill refinement.
"Wonderful!" Mo Chen carefully took the fragment and joined it to the previous three. The crystal sphere was more complete, and the light it emitted grew softer.
Xiao Yan picked up the medicinal scripture and read it carefully. The entries on Pill Spirits made his eyes light up. Not only could they accelerate the growth of medicinal herbs, but they could also sense how well ingredients had fused during pill refinement, helping alchemists control the heat with precision and greatly increasing their success rate.
"If we can take some Pill Spirits back, they'll be a great help to the Great Thousand Alliance in refining purification pills," Xiao Yan said.
Mo Chen nodded in agreement. "I just don't know if these Pill Spirits are willing to come with us."
As if they understood, the Pill Spirits outside the hall flew in and gathered around the medicinal scripture in Xiao Yan's hands. One slightly larger Pill Spirit with a red mark on its forehead landed on the stone platform, nodded gently at Xiao Yan, and gave a clear cry.
"It looks like it agreed!" Mo Chen said in delighted surprise.
Xiao Yan smiled as well. He could sense the Pill Spirit's goodwill, so he placed the medicinal scripture on the stone platform and let the Pill Spirits look through it themselves. They gathered curiously around the scripture, touching it gently with their little claws, and soon understood its contents.
The Pill Spirit with the red mark on its forehead nodded at Xiao Yan again, then turned and called out several times to the others. Dozens of Pill Spirits answered and flew over to Xiao Yan and Mo Chen, clearly willing to leave with them.
"This is wonderful!" Mo Chen was overjoyed. He quickly took out several empty jade boxes and carefully placed the Pill Spirits inside, lining the boxes with soft spiritual herbs to ensure they wouldn't be hurt.
Just as the two were preparing to leave Yao Ling Hall, the medicinal scripture suddenly gave off a soft light. Its pages turned on their own, finally stopping at a map. A secret realm deep within Medicine God Valley was marked on it, with the words "Pill Spirit Spring" written beside it.
"Pill Spirit Spring?" A thought stirred in Xiao Yan's mind. "Could there be some treasure there?"
Following the map, he led Mo Chen and the Pill Spirits deep into Medicine God Valley. There they found a steaming spring. Its water was pale gold and gave off spiritual Qi a hundred times denser than that of the surrounding medicinal herbs. The herbs around the spring grew especially lush, and several had even gained intelligence and could gently sway their leaves.
"This spring water... contains pure life essence!" Mo Chen walked to the edge of the spring and scooped up a handful. The instant it touched his skin, it turned into a warm current that flowed into his body, nourishing his meridians and Origin Qi.
Xiao Yan also tried absorbing some spring water. He could feel the Heavenly Flames within him growing more active, and his High-Grade Origin Emperor cultivation became more stable.
"If we take this spring water back to the Great Thousand World and use it to water medicinal herbs, we can quickly grow a large supply of the spiritual herbs needed for purification pills," Xiao Yan said.
He took out several specially made jade bottles and filled them with water from the Pill Spirit Spring. The Pill Spirits, meanwhile, jumped cheerfully into the spring and played, absorbing its spiritual Qi. They all seemed to grow a little bigger.
When they left Yao Ling Hall, Xiao Yan also put away the medicinal scripture, which played an important role in cultivating medicinal herbs and Pill Spirits.
The sky over Medicine God Valley remained clear, and the Pill Spirits stayed quietly in their jade boxes, as though aware of the mission they would soon shoulder.
"Next stop, the Soul Refining Prison." Xiao Yan looked at the entries in the Pill God's Notes, his gaze growing grave. "The Pill God's Notes say the Soul Refining Prison is where souls are tempered in the Pill Realm. It's full of violent soul energy, and there are Soul-Devouring Ghosts corrupted by dark energy. It's extremely dangerous."
Mo Chen's smile faded, and he nodded. "We need to be prepared."
The two wasted no more time and flew toward the Soul Refining Prison.
The medicinal fragrance of Medicine God Valley gradually receded behind them. Ahead, the sky began to darken, and a faint trace of hostility filled the air. They were clearly drawing closer to the Soul Refining Prison.
They had collected four fragments of the Heart of the Pill Realm, and the hope of reforging the seal was growing. But they both knew that the rest of the journey would only become more difficult.
But as long as their conviction endured, their footsteps would not stop.
Xiao Yan tightened his grip on the Heavy Xuan Ruler, feeling the pulse of the five-colored Heavenly Flames within him and the warmth of the Heart of the Pill Realm fragments. His gaze was resolute.
Soul Refining Prison, here we come.