Time flowed slowly like the Cloud Sea on Nine Cloud Peak. Three months had passed since the Six Great Sects opened the Ancient Yue Grotto Heaven.
In the depths of the cave abode's Fire Chamber, a medicinal aroma lingered tangibly, permeating the air with a warm spiritual rhyme.
Chen Sheng, clad in a dark alchemist's robe, stood surrounded by dancing flames, fully concentrated as he refined a batch of Tier Three High Grade Elixir, the "Five Revolutions Longevity Pill," in front of a Tier Three Top Grade Ten Thousand Transformations Cauldron.
He had studied this pill formula for nearly ten years. Though the spiritual materials were easier to obtain than those for the "Profound Turtle Longevity Pill," the refining complexity was several times higher.
Refining this pill required five rounds of medicinal property condensation. Each round had to balance the cold and hot attributes of the spiritual materials, with even slight deviations possibly causing the pill to be ruined or the furnace to explode.
If not for him being a Tier Three Top Level Alchemist and having comprehended a secret technique for handling spiritual materials from the "Myriad Phenomena Sources Returning to Spirit Skill," he wouldn't dare open the furnace lightly.
The Myriad Transformations Cauldron in the center of the Alchemy Room was dark gold in color, with the patterns of twenty-eight constellations carved into its body. Beneath it, in the Earth Fire Stove, a pale purple earth fire burned fiercely yet restrainedly.
Three feet around the cauldron, a Tier Three High Grade Four Symbols Fire Array was set up. Its array base was composed of the fire aspects of the "Cyan Dragon," "White Tiger," "Vermilion Bird," and "Black Tortoise."
"Activate the array!"
Chen Sheng's fingers formed a spell, injecting a surge of mana into the array hub.
In that instant, the Four Symbols Fire Array activated abruptly.
The eastern Cyan Dragon Fire Aspect coiled around the cauldron like a swimming dragon, exuding the warmth of the wood attribute. The western White Tiger Fire Aspect transformed into white flames, as sharp as a tiger pouncing on prey, carrying the acute gold attribute.
The southern Vermilion Bird Fire Aspect seemed to bathe in a red fireball, spreading its wings like a Vermilion Bird, radiating the intense heat of the fire attribute. The northern Black Tortoise Fire Aspect rose as a black mist, like the breath of a Black Tortoise, containing the yin softness of the water attribute.
The four-colored flames wove together into a net, transforming into a splendid sea of fire, which adhered precisely to the cauldron's surface, neither wasting an ounce of firepower nor damaging the cauldron due to high temperatures.
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Chen Sheng's eyes were fixed on the Pill Patterns on the cauldron's body. These patterns alternated between light and dark like living creatures, with each flickering frequency transmitting the dissolution state of the spiritual materials inside the furnace.
With his right hand, he manipulated the earth fire, and with his left hand, he took a jade box from his Storage Ring. Inside the box lay a completely snow-white Thousand-year-old Snow Lotus, with ice beads on its petals glimmering coldly in the residual light of the fire array.
"Go!"
With a flick of his finger, the Snow Lotus transformed into a stream of light, hovering over the cauldron's mouth.
Rather than dropping it in directly, he used the "Myriad Phenomena Sources Returning to Spirit Skill" to mobilize mana. A faint golden light emerged at his fingertips, piercing into the Snow Lotus like fine needles, gradually extracting its Original Spiritual Qi.
This was a secret technique he comprehended after delving into the "Myriad Phenomena Sources Returning to Spirit Skill," able to refine the essence of spiritual materials. Together with the Four Symbols Fire Array, it almost perfectly preserved the effects of the spiritual materials.
Under the golden light, the Snow Lotus gradually melted into white Spiritual Liquid carrying a freezing aura. None of it was wasted as he deftly guided it with mana into the intake vent on the side of the cauldron.
The moment the Spiritual Liquid entered the cauldron, the Pill Patterns on the cauldron body lit up suddenly, and the red and black flames flared up.
The scorching Vermilion Bird Fire and the soft Black Tortoise Fire intertwined, quickly neutralizing the cold nature in the Snow Lotus Spiritual Liquid, while the Cyan Dragon Fire and White Tiger Fire gently enveloped the Spiritual Liquid, beginning the initial condensation process.
An even richer medicinal aroma surged forward, carrying the crispness of ice and snow along with the warmth of flames, invigorating one's spirit upon whiff.
"It's time!"
Chen Sheng murmured to himself, his left hand forming seals rapidly to activate a Tier Three High Grade Spirit Gathering Array.
The array patterns lit up, and spiritual qi within the cave poured in like tides from all directions. Through the array hub, it transformed into four-colored Spiritual Streams, slowly infusing into the cauldron.
The Cyan Dragon Spiritual Stream replenished wood attribute spiritual power, the White Tiger Spiritual Stream enhanced the sharpness of gold attribute, the Vermilion Bird Spiritual Stream increased the heat of fire attribute, while the Black Tortoise Spiritual Stream balanced the humidity of water attribute, providing the purest spiritual power for the pill refining.
His right hand continued to finely adjust the earth fire, accordingly changing the flames of the Four Symbols Fire Array.
The Cyan Dragon Fire and White Tiger Fire weakened slightly to avoid overly condensing and destroying the vitality of the Spiritual Liquid, while the Vermilion Bird Fire and Black Tortoise Fire remained stable, maintaining the internal temperature balance of the cauldron.
The key to this "Five Revolutions Longevity Pill" lay in the character "Revolutions"!
Each round of condensation required the medicinal properties to circulate within the Four Symbols Fire, just like the endless cycle of the four seasons, to fully unleash the medicinal effects of the spiritual materials.
As time passed, subtle "gurgling" sounds emanated from the cauldron, and occasionally, golden mist wafted from its mouth—a sign that the Pill Spirit was nearing formation.
Chen Sheng exhaled a long breath of impure air, while beads of sweat emerged on his forehead, but he dared not relax in the slightest.
He pushed his mana to the limit, and his finger seals changed with increasing speed, causing the flames of the Four Symbols Fire Array to rise and fall accordingly.
Sometimes gentle like a spring breeze, sometimes scorching like a summer sun, sometimes cool like autumn frost, sometimes harsh like winter snow.
Time slowly passed, and after another three days, accompanied by the increasingly violent tremors of the Pill Furnace, the Pill Qi surged towards the sky, as if it would burst the Pill Furnace open!
"It's ready!"
A flash of brilliance gleamed in Chen Sheng's eyes as he cast the final Pill Collection Technique. With a "buzz," the cauldron lid lifted with a rush of air.
A golden elixir light shot skyward from the mouth of the cauldron, transforming into three pills of complete snow-white, tinged with a faint golden light, flying out from the cauldron.
On the surface of each pill naturally formed a spiral Pill Pattern, like annual rings, revolving in the air, radiating an incredibly strong spirituality.
With a flick of his finger, the three pills landed steadily into a jade bottle he had prepared earlier.
The moment the jade bottle closed, a light clicking sound was heard, and the bottle body automatically formed a faint golden restriction, perfectly sealing the Longevity Pill's spiritual rhyme, without letting a wisp of medicinal aroma leak.
Chen Sheng stored the jade bottle in his Storage Ring, wiped the sweat from his forehead with a raised hand, and, although a bit fatigued, he couldn't hide his satisfaction.
This batch of "Five Revolutions Longevity Pills" can be considered high grade. Each pill can extend a Golden Core Cultivator's lifespan by a hundred years, making it a hard currency in the Cultivation Realm.
After all, lifespan is fundamental to a cultivator. Even a Golden Core Perfection Cultivator would pay any price for the temptation of living an extra hundred years.
He walked to the window, looking at the rolling cloud sea in the distance, recalling the spiritual materials within the Ancient Yue Grotto Heaven.
Inside the Grotto Heaven, there's the "Myriad Spirits Stone Milk" that aids in cultivating the "Myriad Phenomena Sources Returning to Spirit Skill," and the "Sword Grinding Stone" suitable for Sword Cultivators...
More so, the core spiritual material "Phoenix Wood" for refining quasi-Tier Four Longevity Pills and "Qilin Grass" for quasi-Tier Four Realm-Breaking Pills, treasures hard to find in the outside world, now accessible via exchange.
Before the Grotto Heaven opened, he had already made agreements with many Golden Core Cultivators entering the Secret Realm through the Chen Clan Commerce Association.
Master Liu, a Loose Cultivator from the Northern Territory, promised to offer the "Phoenix Wood" as spiritual material in exchange for two Longevity Pills.
Several Inner Sect Sword Cultivators from the Myriad Swords Sect also wished to exchange "Qilin Grass" for a combination of Realm-Breaking and Longevity Pills to prepare for breaking through the late stage of the Golden Core.
...
In the Storage Ring Chen Sheng held, there were a dozen pre-refined elixirs, waiting patiently for the cultivators to emerge from the Secret Realm, ready to trade elixirs for materials.
The mana in his body gently circulated with his movements, dispelling some of the fatigue from alchemy.
He turned toward the tea room at the center of his abode. The tea room was small yet elegantly arranged — beside the greenstone tea table were two rattan chairs, with an Ice Pattern Jade Tea Set on the table, and a few jars of old Spirit Tea on the antique shelf in the corner.
He lifted a jar of "Cloud Mist Immortal Tea" from the antique shelf, unsealing the wax at its mouth with his fingertips. Instantly, a refreshing tea fragrance mingled with the herbal scent from the nearby Fire Chamber, creating a peculiar harmony.
The teapot filled with Spiritual Spring sat on a small charcoal stove. The faint red charcoal fire slowly boiled the water, emitting a soft, pleasant bubbling.
Chen Sheng poured the boiling water into the teacup, letting the tea leaves unfurl and float, turning the tea a light jade color.
He lifted the teacup, took a gentle sip, and the tea fragrance dissolved on his tongue, leaving a slight sweetness, allowing his tense heart spirit to completely relax.
Setting down the teacup, Chen Sheng's gaze naturally drifted to the cloud sea outside the window:
"I wonder how Xihua is doing now."
Though he hadn't entered Ancient Yue Grotto Heaven, he learned from sect communications that over forty Soul Jades of Inner Sect Golden Core Cultivators had shattered within just three months, including some from late-stage and even Perfection Cultivators.
The Steward of the Soul Hall reported bad news every few days, each report indicating a cultivator falling in the Secret Realm.
This bloody scenario made Chen Sheng silently grateful for his prior decision.
He never considered himself particularly lucky; entering the Secret Realm rashly, a shattered Soul Jade might well have been his.
"I hope he acts cautiously and returns alive."
He sighed softly, drank the remaining tea in one go, and after a brief rest, resumed his busyness once more.
He rose and returned to the Fire Chamber, preparing to refine the Tier Three Top Level Realm-Breaking Pill with spiritual materials already in place beside the Myriad Transformations Cauldron.
With a flick of his finger, streams of spiritual materials transformed into flowing lights, floating mid-air, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
For him, the opportunity of Ancient Yue Grotto Heaven did not lie within the Secret Realm but in these batches of elixirs. Only with enough "hard currency" could he take the initiative in the subsequent materials exchange.
...
Meanwhile, deep within Ancient Yue Grotto Heaven, on the Taiyue Divine Blade's path to the summit.
Over ten thousand stone steps wound like a giant dragon from the mountain base to the cloud's edge, each step exuding a faint blue-black, engraved with intricate sword patterns, radiating a heavy sword pressure.
A layer of halo restrictions spread across the steps, covered in cloud sea. The range of Divine Sense unfolded no more than a hundred meters, about a hundred steps. At this moment, over twenty cultivators were climbing the steps.
Chen Xihua, clad in a silver-white Sword Robe, sweat soaked the robe's hem, sticking to his legs. His breath was somewhat hurried, yet he continued ascending firmly, step by step.
With each stone step, the sword intent around him condensed incrementally, faintly forming a unique Sword Intent Domain around him, precisely "Sword Intent Formation"!
He was now just a hundred steps from the peak.
Roughly five thousand steps behind him, a figure persisted with grit, Yue Wushuang carrying a black Sword Box, its clasps drenched by sweat, gleaming dully.
His swordlike brows furrowed, veins bulging on his forehead, his mana wildly running to resist the heavy sword pressure from the steps, muttering to himself:
"Almost, just two hundred more steps to reach the six-thousandth tier. Upon reaching that tier, I'll gain the insight of Sword Intent Formation, and my swordsmanship will surely reach a new height!"
As one of the true inheritors of the Sword Sect of his generation.
Yue Wushuang possessed a Celestial Grade Gold Spirit Root and Three Talents Sword Body, his talent in the Sword Dao nearly unrivaled among his peers, reaching Golden Core Perfection at under two hundred years old.
"In the history of the Sword Sect, the highest climbing of these steps was by the Sword Master of Cross and Vertical, reaching eight thousand nine hundred steps. Such brilliance as a Celestial Venerable, truly prodigious."
Yue Wushuang took a deep breath, stepping forward again, each step leaving the stone steps slightly trembling.
Every thousand steps meant a massive transformation. Yue Wushuang felt six thousand was his limit, admiring the elegance of Sword Sect's predecessors.
...