Deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, an enormous mountain of flesh lay motionless on the ground. Foul-smelling blood flowed down its sides, as though forming a pool beneath it. The mountain of flesh and pool of blood looked like a scene from hell.
The mountain of flesh was none other than the corpse of a nine-thousand-year Soul Beast. Though its life had been extinguished, a vast amount of Soul Power remained in its body. To both Ten-Year Soul Beasts and Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, the corpse was a rare delicacy and a precious aid to cultivation. Yet those Soul Beasts only dared sniff at it and let out low growls from more than ten meters away. The mountain of flesh clearly held great appeal for them, but they could only watch from afar; not a single beast dared set foot in a powerful being's domain.
The reason was simple: this was not something they could lay a paw on.
Xiao Yan sat upright atop the mountain of flesh, his eyes tightly shut. Powerful soul force and streams of Heavenly Flames poured without cease into the enormous medicinal cauldron hovering above his head. Vast quantities of rare medicinal ingredients of every kind flew from his Storage Ring and into the pill cauldron.
This Storage Ring, also known as the Bone Flame Ring, had flown out of the Emperor Flame alongside the Heavy Xuan Ruler when Xiao Yan broke through to two rings. Xiao Yan often counted himself lucky that his Second Martial Soul was the Heavy Xuan Ruler rather than this little ring. After all, hitting people with a ring would have been far too strange. Even so, the Heavy Xuan Ruler could hardly be considered a conventional Martial Soul-it too bore nine layers of seals, and the glowing seal patterns upon it lent it an added touch of sanctity. The Heavy Xuan Ruler still could not have Soul Rings attached to it; this had been established through testing when Xiao Yan reached three rings. At the time, Bibi Dong believed Xiao Yan could already absorb a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring of considerable quality. Greatly troubled by the mutations of the Emperor Flame Martial Soul's Soul Rings, she had sent Ghost Douluo to accompany Xiao Yan in hunting the first Soul Ring for his Heavy Xuan Ruler Martial Soul. The result with this Soul Ring had also been jaw-dropping: no matter what Soul Ring the Heavy Xuan Ruler Martial Soul absorbed, it would turn black tinged with red, just like the Heavy Xuan Ruler itself. The sight had given Bibi Dong another terrible headache, but at least Xiao Yan's Soul Ring was no longer a jumble of colors this time.
It was only then that Xiao Yan learned of the Heavy Xuan Ruler's nine layers of seals. Like the seals on the Emperor Flame, they required a powerful, pure energy to break through. But breaking them would not awaken another kind of Heavenly Flame. Instead, they would yield all manner of wondrous things-Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills, pill formulas and pill-refining techniques, or pills, equipment, and all kinds of heavenly materials and earthly treasures. The Bone Flame Ring was one of them.
"Perhaps these strange things didn't fall from the heavens. Perhaps they came from us," Yan Xiao had once speculated. "Though we don't know why we crossed over here, as top experts from that distant other world, we obviously wouldn't have been so poor as to be empty-handed. Perhaps the precious things we carried with us were sealed just as we were when we first came to this world. I suspect your Heavy Xuan Ruler became the vessel for those seals and turned into a Martial Soul because of it, just as the Emperor Flame is the vessel for the seals on the Heavenly Flames." Yan Xiao had stared intently at the Heavy Xuan Ruler, as though hoping to glimpse some clue to the seals that way. Unfortunately, he had found nothing in the end. "I don't know how they managed to seal tangible things inside another tangible thing, but since this world has great powers capable of sealing us, once peerless experts, into our present state, and turning your two greatest assets into the fundamental logic of this world-Martial Souls-creating a little sealed space probably wouldn't be much of a problem for them. But why, after sealing everything we had, would they let us reclaim those things by growing stronger..."
In any case, Xiao Yan had worn the Bone Flame Ring ever since. Although the Douluo Continent also had plenty of Storage Soul Tools, and he naturally had his share as the Pope's personally taught disciple, he was accustomed to storing anything truly important or from that distant other world in the Bone Flame Ring. Times had changed, and the Bone Flame Ring, once empty, was now well stocked.
His recollection came to an abrupt end. "The time has come." With that, Xiao Yan's eyes snapped open, and he struck down forcefully with his right hand. Countless streams of blood burst from the mountain of flesh, carried by his soul force into the cauldron, where they mixed with the medicinal liquid that had already been refined to near perfection. Xiao Yan then waved his right hand, and the Soul Ring from the corpse began to spin violently. With each revolution, it shrank a little, until it became a small purple sphere and entered the cauldron as the final ingredient.
"All the main ingredients are ready. If my guess is correct, then..." Xiao Yan unleashed all his soul force, and the medicinal cauldron shook in response. A rich pill fragrance spread for ten li around. This time, it was no longer that elusive scent that seemed to be there one moment and gone the next, but the true fragrance of a fourth-tier pill. When the Soul Beasts gathered there caught the scent, they began howling like mad, as though under some sort of temptation. Some could not even restrain themselves from charging at the medicinal cauldron, clearly having cast life and death to the back of their minds.
Countless chrysanthemum petals drifted down, beautiful and captivating, yet they cut down every Soul Beast that charged forward like a rain of blades. "Beasts will be beasts. Not a brain among them." Seeing this, the other Soul Beasts no longer dared venture in, and could only sniff the pill fragrance to quench their thirst.
Xiao Yan cupped his fists to the man who had lent him a hand. "Thank you, Grandpa Chrysanthemum." The man immediately beamed from ear to ear, watching Xiao Yan refine the pill with great admiration. Chrysanthemum Douluo had taken a particular interest in Xiao Yan since he was young, practically treating him as his own son. Little wonder: Yue Guan was over seventy and unlikely to have descendants of his own, and he had watched Xiao Yan grow up. How could he not feel affection for him?
Xiao Yan abruptly changed the formation of his hands. The pill cauldron's shaking gradually subsided, and the pill fragrance slowly grew restrained. "Success or failure hinges on this one move. Go!" Xiao Yan thrust both hands forward, sending three Heavenly Flames surging into the fire opening and raising the temperature inside the furnace once more. With the addition of the three Heavenly Flames, the shaking inside the cauldron finally stopped altogether. Xiao Yan observed it with his soul force. The pill inside the cauldron was rotating slowly, already beginning to take shape. The three Heavenly Flames surrounded it, and it continuously absorbed and compressed them until they fused into one. At the sight, joy sprang up in Xiao Yan's heart. He immediately pressed his palms together and shouted:
"It's done!"
With those words, the pill burst out of the cauldron, absorbed all three flames, and landed in Xiao Yan's palm.
The pill was green and the size of a longan. On closer inspection, green, white, and purple Pill Patterns encircled it, adding a touch of beauty.
Overjoyed, Xiao Yan slowly raised the green pill and declared in a ringing voice:
"The Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill is complete!"
Xiao Yan smiled proudly, while Yue Guan, seated atop the treetops, applauded him from the bottom of his heart. Xiao Yan had successfully circumvented the layers of restrictions imposed by the two worlds and recreated a pill from another world in this one.
That was only natural. Magic Cores were crystallizations of the energy contained in the bodies of magical beasts from the other world, while the Soul Rings and essence blood of this world's Soul Beasts clearly contained all their power as well. Though vastly different, they could barely serve as substitutes. Moreover, they were better suited to being combined with the heavenly materials and earthly treasures of this world, producing a more harmonious sense of a seamless whole.
"I once thought Soul Rings would be the best substitute for Magic Cores, but I never expected Soul Beast essence blood to be even more effective," Xiao Yan mused. "The Soul Ring used in this refinement only served to replenish energy. More essence blood could have done the same, and as something tangible, essence blood is easier to refine and store, and far more convenient to collect than an intangible Soul Ring. That senior with the Black Tortoise Martial Soul, who developed this method on his own, really was a genius..."
Xiao Yan gazed at the Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill. It was the beginning of a miracle, and it would forever change everything in this world.