Chapter 2191, Success
Right now, even with Liu Yan’s help, whether this furnace of Extraordinary Treasure Pills could be refined successfully was debatable.
However, succeeding now would undoubtedly greatly improve Yang Kai’s comprehension of the Alchemic Dao.
After working frantically for some time, Yang Kai let out a long breath.
By now, all the herbs had been added to the pill furnace, and what remained was for him to control the heat by applying the appropriate Spirit Arrays, then complete the Pill Condensing.
Only now did Yang Kai take a moment to quickly shout, “I advise you not to have any ideas about that stem!”
Although he had been concentrating on Alchemy just now, Yang Kai had not stopped monitoring his surroundings.
He clearly saw that many people were interested in this stem, but they didn’t know if he needed it for some purpose so no one dared rush in to take it.
“Oh, why not?” Zhuang Bu Fan asked doubtfully upon hearing this.
Yang Kai’s expression turned solemn, “This stem is the source of the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, if it is left, perhaps within a hundred years another Extraordinary Treasure Lotus will be born in the Star Boundary, but if it is picked… Within ten thousand years, there will be no such spirit flower in this world. There’s no telling when it will be born again.”
“Is that true?” Lan Xun’s eyes flashed as she had never heard such information before.
“Believe what you will!” Yang Kai quickly said.
“That has nothing to do with me!” Wu Chang suddenly shouted, “What problems occur ten thousand years from now can be solved by the people of that time. Since you don’t need this stem, then I’m claiming it for myself!”
“You dare!” Yang Kai turned his head and glared at Wu Chang while simultaneously palming the top of the Black Jade Furnace.
This move caused the complexions of all cultivators present to change drastically, turning nervous as they worried about what Yang Kai was trying to do.
“If you dare to touch it, I’ll ruin this furnace of Spirit Pills!” Yang Kai shouted in a deep voice, his expression calm and determined.
“Hey…” Xia Sheng’s mouth twitched as he stared at Yang Kai in surprise, quickly coaxing, “Brother Yang, why act this way… it’s just a stem. If Brother Wu Chang wants it, just let him have it, it’s not necessary to threaten the Extraordinary Treasure Pills just to stop him.”
He didn’t know what kind of madness had possessed Yang Kai to go so far as to threaten Wu Chang with the Extraordinary Treasure Pills.
One had to know that this move was not just a blatant threat to Wu Chang, but to every cultivator present.
One wrong move and Yang Kai would become everyone’s enemy.
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to him though. “If anyone dares to approach within ten meters, I will immediately destroy this medicinal liquid. Do not test me!”
When these words came out, Wu Chang really didn’t dare to move anymore.
Although the stem looked quite extraordinary, it was definitely not as valuable as the Extraordinary Treasure Pills. Offending Yang Kai over this was obviously not worth it.
“Wu Chang, don’t act hastily!” Xiao Chen was also taken aback and hurriedly called out to Wu Chang.
Wu Chang paused on the spot as he stared at Yang Kai with gloomy eyes and said coldly, “You dare to threaten me!”
“I’m not threatening you…” Yang Kai’s eyes flashed a strong light as he said calmly, “I simply wish to preserve hope for future generations.”
Lan Xun smiled hearing this and commented, “I’ve heard that when Alchemists collect rare spirit herbs, they will do their best to preserve the vitality of the original spirit’s medicine. On top of that, they will never collect spirit medicines that are not yet mature… I was a little sceptical about this at first, but now it seems such rumours are true.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Our predecessors planted trees, which allowed us, their descendants, to enjoy cool shade. Who can say for certain that encountering this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus today was not because a senior expert left behind a similar stem a hundred years ago? Others left hope for us, so we should not act to cut off hope for the future, otherwise, it will damage the cycle of the Heavenly Way.”
As soon as he said this, Lan Xun’s beautiful eyes lit up as she revealed a thoughtful look.
“Furthermore…” Yang Kai continued, “This stem does not have any of the magical effects of the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus. At most, it can help slightly temper one’s Source Qi and Spiritual Energy. All the essence of the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus is already inside the furnace. Brother Wu Chang, are you sure you want this root instead of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills?”
Wu Chang’s face turned ugly. In fact, when Yang Kai said that the stem was not very useful, he had already lost interest in it, but in front of everyone’s eyes, he had no way to back down without losing face, so he could only stand there gloomily and glare ruthlessly.
However, a moment later, the stem suddenly shook before bursting into a million specks of colourful light and disappearing from sight, as if it had never even existed.
“This…” Xiao Chen was dumbfounded.
Yang Kai smiled and said, “Good, now the root has left and no one will be able to find it again.” After a pause, he added, “By the way, if the spirit flower was picked before reaching maturity, the entire Extraordinary Treasure Lotus would have ended up this way.”
Hearing this, many people suddenly broke out into a cold sweat, secretly rejoicing that someone with the appropriate knowledge and foresight was here, otherwise, someone would have definitely picked this spirit flower before it matured and everyone would have lost.
Turning his head, Yang Kai continued to focus on controlling the heat and portraying appropriate Spirit Arrays.
Wu Chang stood awkwardly on the spot for a moment before letting out a cold snort and with a stern expression sat back down.
*Gululu…*
The Black Jade Furnace continued to percolate.
With time, more and more people grew anxious as their eyes darted about, the entire mountaintop gradually filling with a tense atmosphere.
It seemed that everyone was waiting for the moment when the Extraordinary Treasure Pills were completed, and once that happened, chaos would break loose.
Yang Kai knew this as well, but he maintained a state of absolute calm, focusing all his effort into his Alchemy.
At a certain moment, he wore a serious expression and began pouring his Source Qi into the Black Jade Furnace. At the same time, he stood up directly and began forming a complex series of hand seals, injecting a profound and mysterious flower of energy into the Alchemy Furnace.
“Pill Condensing!” It wasn’t clear who shouted these words, but once they did, everyone’s breathing became somewhat rapid as excitement and expectation filled the crowd’s faces.
This was the last step in Alchemy, and if it was executed well, it would lead to a successful refinement, but if it was not, all previous efforts would be in vain.
Yang Kai’s hands danced in a marvellous display, with a solemn expression on his face as big drops of sweat soaked his robes, his whole figure looking like he had been dunked in water as his face turned pale, seemingly exhausting an incredible amount of energy.
But even so, his movements were methodical and calm.
“Can a Pill Condensing method… be so amazing?” Lan Xun’s eyes showed a faint radiance as she stared at Yang Kai’s movements.
Although she was seeing the Nine Heavens Profound Pill Method for the first time, that did not prevent her from discovering how profound this Pill Condensing method was. This Pill Condensing method seemed to harmonize perfectly with the Heavenly Way, a dazzling and awe-inspiring sight to behold.
As if inspired by Yang Kai’s movements, a faint resonance of the Heavenly Way began to spread out and fill the air.
It was not surprising for Lan Xun to be entranced though as the Nine Heavens Profound Pill Method was a method granted to Yang Kai by the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone. It was an innate product of Heaven and Earth, and even contained elements of the world’s fundamental truths.
Lan Xun was able to realize the mysteries of this method with her First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, so the Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators present could as well.
None of them understood why, but as they observed Yang Kai execute his Pill Condensing method, many cultivators were involuntarily drawn into a kind of enlightened state, their tension and anticipation fading away as they unknowingly immersed in a state of comprehension.
At a certain moment, Yang Kai suddenly roared, “Solidify!”
Seemingly having exhausted all his strength, Yang Kai patted the furnace with both his palms as his body shook slightly.
Along with his movements, a ding-dong sound suddenly sounded from the Alchemy Furnace.
At the same time, rays of multi-coloured light burst from the Black Jade Furnace.
Success!
At that moment, everyone understood that the refinement of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills… had succeeded!
Everyone began pushing their Source Qi, wanting to rush towards the place where Yang Kai stood and snatch this peerless pill that could clear their path to the Emperor Realm.
It was then, though, that the world trembled and a muffled sound echoed in everyone’s head.
An astonishing pressure descended from above, causing everyone to go stiff as some even felt their breath catch in their chest.
Everyone turned their eyes up towards the sky where dark clouds had at some unknown point appeared. Lightning and thunder shuttled across these black clouds as a kind of vast aura filled the air and made all present feel a deep sense of insignificance.
“Pill Tribulation!” Lan Xun exclaimed as a look of panic appeared in her beautiful eyes for the first time.
“So, you’ve come!” Yang Kai mumbled lowly.
Even before he began refining the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, Yang Kai had faintly guessed that this refining might lead to a Pill Tribulation.
The effects of the Extraordinary Treasure Pill were too Heaven defying, to the point that its mere existence was intolerable to the Heavens. Once it successfully came into being, the omnipresent World Principles would naturally try to destroy it!
Looking at the ferocity of this Pill Tribulation, it would likely be even more ferocious than if a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator was trying to break through to the Emperor Realm. How could a trivial Spirit Pill withstand such destructive impetus? Likely a single blow would be all that is necessary to disintegrate these pills. Even if Yang Kai was at full strength right now and used everything he had to guard them, whether these newly refined Extraordinary Treasure Pills could survive this Pill Tribulation was doubtful.
Once that happened, all his efforts and everyone’s expectations would burst into nothingness.
At the critical moment, Yang Kai patted his Alchemy Furnace and at the same time moved his Divine Sense.
In the next moment, Liu Yan turned into a ray of flames, shot out from the Black Jade Furnace, and was directly collected by Yang Kai into the Small Sealed World.
Without anyone noticing, Liu Yan had swept away some of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills from the furnace.
At this moment, everyone’s attention had been drawn to the Pill Tribulation, so who would notice Liu Yan’s actions? Even if someone did see Yang Kai’s Artifact Spirit return, they would likely not have imagined that she had swept away some of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills as well.
Soon, something that surprised everyone happened.
High up in the sky, the Pill Tribulation which had just condensed began to dissipate, its frightening thunder and lightning fading away and disappearing.
After only ten breaths, calm had been restored, leaving only some lingering fear in everyone’s heart as they glanced around in confusion.
