Dan Ding Peak.
The roars of tigers and dragons already echoed between heaven and earth, audible clearly across the entire peak.
"Judging by this phenonon, Elder Xue's alchemy must have advanced further."
"Could he be refining a fourth-grade treasure pill? That would make him a true Grandmaster Alchemist."
"Even his domain has been unleashed—whatever he's refining must be extraordinary."
Across the peak, disciples and stewards murmured among themselves, all brimming with curiosity.
Fu Tu gazed at the dragon-tiger manifestation above the peak, lost in thought.
"Steward Fu Tu, your Green Serpent Blood Spirit Pill is ready."
A male true disciple in white robes handed over a wooden box.
Fu Tu accepted it and asked, "Do you know what kind of pill Elder Xue is refining today?"
"I don’t know either," the true disciple clicked his tongue helplessly.
"Whenever Master refines pills with Junior Brother Xiaobao, he never lets us observe."
"I see."
Fu Tu nodded and turned toward Rare Beast Peak.
......
At the peak.
Flas surged violently within the cauldron, dancing wildly like the steps of a demon.
Li Mo, draped in the Formless Glazed Veil, had his face flushed red by the firelight. The flas flickering across his body burned even deeper in hue than those within the cauldron.
Though the inner energy he refined was ager compared to the furnace fire, its quality was far superior.
"Elder Xue, I’m fine."
Young Li signaled that he could handle even greater intensity.
Xue Jing narrowed his eyes, observing Li Mo’s slightly reddened skin—just like Tang Xiaobao, who was also unhard. He exhaled in relief, though his heart was filled with astonishnt.
This wasn’t sothing re physical resilience could achieve.
Even the blacksmiths from the Divine Arms Peak wouldn’t withstand such scorching heat.
"Then I shall raise the furnace’s temperature further," Xue Jing said gravely.
"Rember—do not stop circulating your energy."
"Understood!"
Xue Jing ford a pill-refining seal.
The dragon and tiger coiled around the cauldron slowly stirred, as if coming to life.
The temperature climbed once more.
"Junior Brother Li."
Tang Xiaobao spoke beside him.
"Hmm?"
"If you really can’t bear the burns later… just lick a couple of tis."
"......"
Li Mo stared at his earnest little face, unsure how to respond.
"No one has ever entered the cauldron with before," Tang Xiaobao said, visibly moved.
"If your thod works, and we cultivate together later, I might finally complete my acupoints. A few licks from you are nothing."
"This… is the bond between us!"
"...Alright, I understand."
Li Mo didn’t know how to refuse.
Strangely enough, he felt inexplicably fired up.
"Let’s begin."
"Mm!"
Tang Xiaobao practiced a pill-refining technique, while Li Mo closed his eyes and focused on his own cultivation.
Fully channeling the Crimson Lotus Blazing Art, his entire body burned like a living fla.
The Golden Crow blood hidden in his kidneys now boiled, adding fuel to the fire.
Though the furnace’s temperature didn’t rise, the flas, infused with his inner energy, grew increasingly profound.
The dicinal ingredients Xue Jing had just tossed in were refined into purer essences.
Seeing that neither was struggling—instead complenting each other perfectly—Xue Jing swallowed a Clear Mind Pill Li Mo had given him and waited for the herbs to fully dissolve.
This was only the first step.
Nearly an hour later…
The "marinating" phase—no, the even dispersion of dicinal energy—was complete.
This ti, the golden glow on Tang Xiaobao’s body shone even brighter than before. His sparkling eyes opened in delight.
"Master, Junior Brother Li, the effects this ti are amazing!"
"Whew… It was tough, I won’t lie."
Li Mo was fine, but the heat was unbearable—he felt like he was burning alive.
Yet the results spoke for themselves.
Most of the Golden Crow blood hidden in his body had been refined away.
anwhile, the lotus in his dantian slowly unfurled another petal.
"I’m proceeding to the next step," Xue Jing announced solemnly.
"Understood!"
Elder Xue had given him ample ti to adjust.
Having experienced the earlier refinent, Li Mo now understood how to synchronize his energy with the Dragon-Tiger Cauldron.
"Here we go!"
A bucket of Black Mire Wood Oil was poured in.
For about… ten seconds?
The temperature imdiately spiked again.
Li Mo frowned.
"Are you uncomfortable?" Xue Jing asked urgently.
Li Mo: "...Promise , Elder Xue—next ti Ying Bing cos asking for ingredients, you must refuse."
Xue Jing froze.
What nonsense? He’d never given out ingredients before.
Ying Bing had visited once, asking if Black Mire Wood Oil was edible. Who could’ve guessed it’d be used for cooking?
Well, at least Li Mo was fine…
The window of opportunity was fleeting.
Now ca fusion—the most critical step in pill refinent!
"Let’s do this!" Tang Xiaobao declared solemnly.
"I’m ready!" Li Mo responded with equal intensity.
BOOM—
The temperature skyrocketed.
At close range, Li Mo caught the scent of pill fragrance—now a hundred tis richer, so intoxicating it felt like a whiff could elevate one to immortality.
Tang Xiaobao was enveloped in the purified dicinal energies.
The essences churned and surged, rging into his body alongside the flas infused with Li Mo’s energy.
Under the scorching blaze, he resembled a golden statue—a child forged from pure gold.
To Li Mo’s surprise, the Blazing Art’s flas didn’t harm Tang Xiaobao at all.
Perhaps because…
The Blazing Art’s destructive fury only targeted the wicked?
Still, Li Mo didn’t dare let his guard down. The perception he’d honed under Shang Wu’s training remained sharply focused on every fluctuation of energy.
"Haah…"
At the sa ti, he maintained the Crimson Lotus Blazing Art with all his might.
Finally…
The mont had co!
Multicolored radiance erupted from Tang Xiaobao’s body, encircled by dragon-tiger golden light.
His small fra began to dissolve—or rather, be drawn into his heart.
Li Mo finally saw it clearly.
This was Tang Xiaobao’s true form.
A golden pill, pulsating with profound Dao rhythms, boundless and majestic beyond asure!
The pill bore seven orifices.
And now, under the infusion of dicinal energies, an eighth orifice slowly began to form.
"Master, it’s not enough!"
The pill trembled slightly, emitting Tang Xiaobao’s anxious voice.
Xue Jing was, after all, not a Grandmaster Alchemist.
He had given his all.
Yet he could only watch helplessly as the faintly opened eighth orifice began to seal once more.
"Leave it to !"
The flas roared like thunder.
Enter the best chef of Autumn Water Pavilion, the Flaming Pot King of Purple Sun Mansion—Chef Li!
Pushing the Crimson Lotus Blazing Art to its limits at the Initial Maturity stage.
Was this martial arts?
No—this was the culmination of centuries of insight!
The single-petaled lotus in his dantian swayed as he consud another drop of Golden Crow blood.
SCREW IT, LET IT BURN!
BOOM—
The cauldron’s lid spiraled into the sky once more.
The dragon-tiger apparition above roared with newfound vitality.
"Did… did we succeed?"
Xue Jing slumped to the ground, staring blankly at the cauldron.
But the phenonon had grown too violent, surpassing even his domain’s control.
"Xiaobao!"
"Li Mo!"
He called out twice.
A few seconds later, a response finally ca.
"Master, I’ve beco a Mystic Golden Pill!"
Tang Xiaobao’s voice rang out in delight.
This ant he had opened another orifice.
One step closer to the legendary Nine-Orifice Golden Pill.
Yet before Xue Jing could revel in his joy, $2i Mo's puzzled voice chid in:
"Uh... Elder Xue, I think I’ve also ford an... Xuan Dan?"
"Wait, no..."
"Senior Brother Xiaobao beca my Xuan Dan?!"
Xue Jing: "?"
What the hell?
______
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