Cao Yun observed the entire process and even gained some insights. At that moment, he realized that Xiao Xuefeng was even more impressive than he had imagined. Honestly, if she could break through to the Sage realm and beyond, she might soar all the way to becoming not only a Spirit alchemist but literally a God alchemist. Besides, she was less than two hundred years old. In other words, she actually had a chance of cultivating all the way to becoming an Immortal. Of course, they needed to break the curse of the Forsaken Dao Era first. Considering that no one really knew what had caused this, it was difficult to imagine. But, hopefully, they would be able to find a way in less than a millennium.
Since everyone had failed to even find the cause in fourteen millennia, it was hard to say. Obviously, Cao Yun wanted to break through himself. But he was also hoping for his allies, for his brothers and sisters, that they could all break through. After all, if they didn't, they would all die way before him. The prospect of burying everyone he knew wasn't very enticing to Cao Yun. He was envisioning a future in which he could explore the vast mysteries of the Dao and the universe while sharing it with the people he loved.
Suddenly, Cao Yun realized that he had lost himself in his thoughts and went back to the present. Maybe it was because the time of the final confrontation was upon him that Cao Yun was becoming more emotional. Recently, he had noticed that his mind wandered a bit more often than usual. Or, maybe, it was because of his recent breakthrough. As his Soul Embryo was stabilizing, some thoughts and emotions might rise to the surface before Cao Yun could do anything to control them. Anyway, he would have to meditate on it. Thankfully, he had not lost his concentration completely, and it wasn't a very important moment.
When he focused back on the Thirteen Celestial Pyre, the young man sensed that Xiao Xuefeng was done with all the pills but one. Now that only one pill remained, she and her alchemists focused all their efforts on it while only four alchemists were holding the other pills, making sure they didn't disturb the process. Strangely, the pills were eerily calm. More than being docile, they almost seemed subservient. It was as though they were bending to the will of the alchemists, like pets trying to please their masters. Immediately, Cao Yun knew that something wasn't quite right, and he had a feeling he knew what it was.
Anyway, Xiao Xuefeng was successful. All five pills were a success. The eighth circles had been inscribed in them all. Even the fifth pill that was unstable had the potential to become a success. Unfortunately, it was almost impossible for the pill to reach the Perfect grade. However, just refining a 5-star Spirit pill was already good enough.
Once Xiao Xuefeng was done, all the alchemists around the Thirteen Celestial Pyre looked up at Cao Yun. Since Director Hua and Spirit Master Xiao had vouched for him, no alchemist dared criticize his presence. However, it didn't stop them from doubting his abilities. That young man who no one had ever seen before would actually take care of the ninth circles. Moreover, he would be in charge of the final process of the refinement. Most alchemists were just doubting him without ulterior motives, but a handful were just jealous.
As a matter of fact, people had been betting on how well or poorly this young man would perform. Of course, no one but a select few knew that he was Young Sect Master Chen Guo, or Cao Yun for that matter. Cao Yun was wearing a mask, hiding his identity completely, but they could all tell that he was young despite his great cultivation. Since he was a 7th-grade Spirit Warrior, no one doubted his talent or strength, but it wasn't enough to make a good alchemist. As such, most people were just waiting to see what he would do. Honestly, he had already helped, and it had been pretty good. Unfortunately, it fueled the jealousy of some alchemists.
Cao Yun descended from above and got closer to the Thirteen Celestial Pyre. From his own body, he took out wisps of his Black Heart Flame. The entire audience was shocked by this fire. Being alchemists, they could assess a flame just by seeing it. The flame in that young man's hand was extremely dangerous. Most likely, it would consume them all if they tried to wield it. And yet, Cao Yun controlled it as though it were just a normal flame. Of course, Cao Yun was using his Dao of Death, his Rune of Fire, his Solar-Orchid Flame seed, and his Drop of Wrath's intent. He was using everything he had to reach perfection in his control of the Black Heart Flame.
Most alchemists could tell the origin of the Black Heart Flame. There was no doubt that it had been cultivated through devouring souls. Although it was eerie, it didn't necessarily mean that Cao Yun was a demonic cultivator. The main difference between orthodox cultivators and demonic cultivators for the people of the Hongchen Kingdom was the way things were done, not the acts themselves. Indeed, torturing and consuming the souls of innocent people for one's cultivation was part of the demonic path. But consuming the souls of demons or of humans trying to kill you wouldn't be frowned upon by anyone. The main difference was in the way one saw the world. The demonic path was defined by the attitude of seeing everything and everyone as a mere resource. Human beings were nothing more than crops one could reap for their benefit.
Since Cao Yun had been chosen by Xiao Xuefeng, no one would even remotely suggest that he was a demonic cultivator. Most likely, he had taken this flame from a demonic cultivator and then cultivated it himself. Everyone had this thought, and everyone was right.
From his spatial ring, Cao Yun took out five small objects. At first, people couldn't tell what they were. Before they had a good look, they were all engulfed in the Black Heart Flame. It was only at this moment that some alchemists realized what those objects were. Others guessed. For the rest of the alchemists, it would take a few hours before they guessed.
Those objects were 9-demonic cores Cao Yun had taken from the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu. Although he had already used some of the cores and even let Hongyu cultivate with some of it, the five objects weren't five different cores. Cao Yun had processed a single core and had cut it into several pieces. Considering that only five pills remained, Cao Yun only required five pieces, and the seven other pieces could be used for other things. In fact, Cao Yun wondered if he could forge more of those pills in the near future. After all, if the pill was successful in helping a cultivator break through to the Sage realm, refining more of them would help his friends and brothers. But finding a 9-core demonic beast perfect for refining this pill was extremely difficult, those weren't ingredients Cao Yun could buy, even with all the money in the world.
At last, Cao Yun opened the lid of the Thirteen Celestial Pyre. For a split second, he felt as though the five pills were about to leap toward him, but they didn't. Although he wasn't sure why, Cao Yun could conjecture. Maybe they had been afraid of the Black Heart Flame. After all, those pills were now full of the souls of the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu as well as the souls it had devoured. However, it was the optimistic hypothesis, but Cao Yun had other guesses. He was afraid for his guesses to be proven right...
Anyway, he had to go on.
Twelve alchemists soared through the air and joined Cao Yun. As they flew toward him, they grabbed flames from the Core Earthly Life. When they formed a circle around Cao Yun, the fire was creating a kind of mantle around them all. The very moment Cao Yun threw the Black Heart Flame-covered pieces of 9-demonic cores, the alchemists unleashed their flames directly into the Thirteen Celestial Pyre. Immediately, Sun Liao activated three layers of array formations. The intense heat was enough to literally melt the ground around the cauldron. Since the Calamity Wing had been made out of Ageless Marble, it was an incredible feat. Without the array formations of Sun Liao and his array formation masters, several alchemists would have caught on fire. They would have most likely survived, but it would have been painful.
In fact, the alchemists around Cao Yun were all in great pain. Although they were ready and were using their Wei Qi and spiritual senses to protect themselves, they could feel the heat. Their clothes were also starting to burn and even melt, despite choosing durable fabric for them. Right now, all the alchemists and Cao Yun were bathed in pure fire, and their clothes were the fire itself.
Despite the intense heat, they didn't close the cauldron. Their flames were now the lid of the cauldron. Although it was terrifying, the spectacle was also grandiose. Golden and crimson flames were rising from the very core of the Piaolu planet, forming a mantle around those alchemists and then whirling down into the cauldron. At the center of it all, Cao Yun was controlling five beads of pure darkness that were swimming in this incredible torrent.
Twelve alchemists had been prepared because, in the best-case scenario, there would have been twelve pills. Since more than half of the pills were already gone, the alchemists could now work together on fewer pills. Two alchemists at a minimum were working on a single pill at a time. Cao Yun had a moment of hesitation, but he decided that the two alchemists who remained, since ten were already busy, would split up. One would work on the fifth pill, the unstable one, while the other would help with the first one, the best one. Another approach would have been to put them both on the first pill to help bring it higher and higher, but Cao Yun didn't want to discard Xiao Xuefeng's efforts. Moreover, he really wished to provide a pill to the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute as payment. They had supported him so much, they deserved him taking that risk.
All that being said, Cao Yun still devoted most of his efforts to the first pill, it had to be successful. Besides, he also had to poison it thoroughly. Until now, the poison was almost complete within the pill, but Cao Yun had another idea. He didn't want to just put the Shattered Soul Hellbloom in it, he had also planned for something else, something he had hidden from everybody. It wasn't that Cao Yun didn't trust his brothers and sister, or even Director Hua or Spirit Master Xiao. However, he realized the kind of man he was dealing with. Cao Yun would never have enough contingencies.
Despite this incredible heat, the pills didn't melt at all. However, the souls that had been inscribed on the surface of the pills began to burrow deeper and deeper. Cao Yun's spiritual senses could navigate the flames without any problem thanks to his Solar-Orchid Flame. As such, he could tell that the circles were near perfection. Indeed, the way they were drawn on the surface would determine how they would actually sink into the pill. When the time was right, he got the five pieces of 9-demonic core close to the pills. Then, he used his Black Heart Flame to consume the pieces and inscribe the final circle at the center of the pills.
For this part, timing was essential. Cao Yun had to inscribe the circles while the other circles were sinking into the pills. As such, he had to inscribe the circles differently on each pill at the same time so that all nine circles would be harmonious. However, there was a silver lining, the pills didn't resist at all. In fact, they quite literally welcomed it. The Black Heart Flame was easily imbuing the pills with the properties of the cores. At the same time, Cao Yun was injecting something else directly into the first pill. It was more painful than he had thought, but it was his ace against Emperor Weide. Even if the poison wasn't as effective as he hoped, this wisp of soul within the Nine-Souls Calamity Ascension Pill would be his trump card. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to use it. But Cao Yun didn't want to take this chance with the life of his sister in the balance.
Almost no alchemist was able to sense anything within the cauldron. Besides, Xiao Xuefeng and Director Hua would have chastised anyone trying to send their spiritual senses inside at the moment as they would just disturb the process. Cao Yun had promised to write about the experience later on, as had the twelve alchemists. Not only the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute, but every single alchemist in the Hongchen Kingdom would be studying their works for decades if not centuries.
The final circle was much faster to inscribe. In fact, Cao Yun already knew how long it would take. Indeed, he had to inscribe it completely before the other eight circles fully sank into the pills. Otherwise, they would take the space that the ninth circles needed. In other words, Cao Yun had around eight hours to inscribe the ninth circles. It was a very difficult task. Although it was the easiest circle, the time constraint and the necessity to work in harmony with the other circles were making it incredibly difficult. More than that, Cao Yun was also under a lot of pressure as he could destroy the work of every other alchemist before him. On top of everything else, Cao Yun was feeling as though he was already fighting for the soul of his sister. And, in a sense, he was.
What truly disturbed Cao Yun was the docility of the five pills. Clearly, they all wanted to reach perfection. For that, they were ready to bend to Cao Yun's will. After seeing them being violent and lashing out, it felt eerie, as if they were plotting against him.